28. Slider
28
SLIDER
I smirked at her from my side of the counter where I chopped the last of the ingredients for the omelet. She was dressed in my T-shirt, announcing to pretty much everyone here that she was mine. And if that didn’t do it, the just-fucked look certainly did the job.
I would have insisted that she take a shower so no one could see her looking this fucking desirable, but I wasn’t ready to see her hair looking anything but tangled from my hands in her hair as I ravaged her body. Fuck, she was so damn gorgeous.
“Got any for us?” Thumper asked as he walked into the kitchen, winking at Audrey.
Not that she noticed. She only had eyes for me. “Like I would make anything for you assholes after you tried to kill me last time.”
“They tried to kill you over an omelet?” Audrey asked, a gorgeous smile painting her lips.
I stopped cutting to give her my full attention. “I was finishing up an omelet when these asshats came in and stole my food just as I put the first delicious bite in my mouth. They tackled me to the ground and made me choke on my food, then zip-tied me to the cabinet so I wouldn’t be able to fight back.”
“That must be some omelet,” she chuckled.
“Except, they didn’t realize I was seriously choking on my food,” I continued.
“Hey, I saved your life,” Thumper argued.
“Yeah, after you ate my omelet.”
“It was IRIS,” he snapped. “I came to the rescue.”
“You shouldn’t have had to,” I said. “It was my omelet.”
I grinned at Audrey before turning around and carrying everything over to the counter next to the stove. This was going to be amazing. I heard her walk around the counter and then felt her hands wrap around my back as she watched what I was doing.
“You’re so good at that.”
Grinning, I patted her hand as I got to work. I turned on the burner and bent over to grab a pan out of the cabinets. It was my lucky day. There was an omelet pan just waiting for me to create the perfect breakfast in its non-stick depths. It wasn’t the brand I liked, but it would do.
“It’s an omelet,” Thumper sighed. “It’s not like he’s building the Eiffel Tower.”
“Hey, if it wasn’t that amazing, you wouldn’t have tried to kill me over it,” I argued, pointing the pan at him.
“I wasn’t trying to kill you. I just wanted the food. Just like she does!”
I spun just as Audrey was snatching my peppers and popping them in her mouth. “Hey! Those are mine!”
She grinned, then leaned against the counter. It all happened so fast. I saw her put her hand down and I knew what was going to happen, but I couldn’t get the words past my lips in time or snatch her hand back. Her skin made contact with the burner as she leaned with her full weight.
I dropped the pan, lunging for her, and in my desperation, knocked the bowl of eggs from the counter. Glass shattered as I tore her hand away from the stove just as a horrible scream filled the room. Thumper was already moving across the room, turning on the lukewarm water for me as I picked her up and carried her over, sticking her hand under the stream as tears spilled down her cheeks.
“Audrey. Audrey!” I snapped, grabbing her chin so she would look at me. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ve got this, okay?”
She gave a jerky nod, but she was barely holding it together.
I turned her hand over to inspect as it ran under the water, but instantly wanted to puke. Her whole hand was blistering from the heat. How the hell had she put her hand on the fucking stove? Didn’t she realize how close she was to it?
“What’s going on?” IRIS asked, running into the room. He rushed over and with one look, ran out of the room. As an EOD expert, he not only knew how to dismantle bombs, but also knew how to care for burns, considering how much he loved to play with fire.
Chaos erupted around the house as Spencer came running in, his eyes wide with fear as he rushed over to Audrey, holding her face as he tried his best to keep her calm. I knew it had to fucking hurt, and I wanted to be the one to comfort her, but I was trying to keep her hand under the water when she tried to pull it away.
Finally, when the worst of the shock wore off, her sobs died down and Spencer had her leaning her forehead against his chest as he rubbed her back. IRIS had returned with a kit to bandage her up. As soon as he took over, I stepped back, sliding my hands over my head as I watched him carefully apply ointment. Fuck, it was bad.
My stomach churned as I watched. How could I have let that happen? I was supposed to be taking care of her, and she got a massive fucking burn all because she was too busy playing house with me.
“Hey,” Thumper snapped, grabbing my arm and tugging me across the room. I barely stepped over the broken bowl and the mess of eggs as he led me out the front door. The snap of cool morning air hit me right where I needed it.
“Fuck, what was I thinking?”
“This is not your fault,” Thumper said, pushing me up against the house. “I see where your head is. Get out of that hole.”
“I just?—”
“She burned her hand. She’ll be fine,” he said calmly, as only Thumper could in these situations. “You did not do this,” he said slowly, waiting for it to sink in.
I nodded, but did I really believe it?
He gripped the back of my neck and forced me to look at him. “You’re on protection detail, okay? It is not your fault that she burned her hand. It was an accident.”
“But she’s mine,” I choked out.
“I know,” he said with a sigh. “I get it. But you’re overreacting. In ten minutes, she’s gonna be fine. IRIS is taking care of her, and he’ll have her laughing in no time. But you cannot go in there, beating yourself up because of an accident.”
I nodded, shaking my head to clear the negative thoughts running through my head. It was an accident. “She must have taken a step back and didn’t realize how close she was.”
“Exactly,” he agreed. “It’s not like you pushed her into the stove. Not even you would think that’s a good way to win a woman over.”
My lips twitched at his teasing.
“That’s more likely something FNG would do.”
“Or Fox.”
“Well, that’s pushing it. He’d only do that if he wanted to skin you and eat you.”
Laughing, I slid my hand over my head and sighed. “Fuck, that scared the shit out of me.”
He gripped my shoulder and squeezed. “Welcome to the life of domestication.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. Not that I wouldn’t give my left nut to be with Audrey, but we had different lives. She was an action star and I was a protection agent. We didn’t even live in the same state. How would we make this work?
“Come on. I’m sure IRIS is done by now. Your girl is still hungry, and you’d better not let her down.”
The thought of even turning on the stove with her anywhere nearby made my stomach churn. But he was right. I couldn’t show her how much that had freaked me out. She needed me to be calm and in control. I followed Thumper back inside, and like he said, IRIS was finishing up the wrap on her hand and he had her laughing at something he was saying.
“I can’t help it, I’m clumsy in the kitchen!” Audrey laughed. “Ask Spencer. I use the stove to store my extra shoes.”
“She does,” Spencer sighed. “The last time I tried to bake something, I didn’t realize until after I preheated the stove that we were having Baked Manolos for dinner.”
IRIS chuckled. “I’m assuming that’s some sort of shoe.”
“They were my favorites,” Audrey sighed, wincing as she cradled her hand against her chest.
“Then why were they in the stove?” IRIS asked.
“Well, somebody invited over his sister, who just so happens to love to raid my shoe closet whenever she stops by. I had to keep them away from her.”
“You could always tell her no,” Spencer grumbled.
“You know she gets to me. She has those big eyes and that pouty look that she uses against me every time.”
“It’s called guilt,” Spencer pointed out. “She’s guilting you.”
Audrey laughed, about to say something when she spotted me in the doorway, watching her intently. She held up her bandaged hand, grimacing slightly.
“Maybe I’ll play a pirate in my next movie,” she teased.
I strode over to her, gently taking her hand in mine, examining the wrap. “IRIS did a good job.”
“Of course I did,” he scoffed behind me. “Seriously, this is my thing. How dare you suggest I can’t take care of a burn.”
“Does she need to go to the hospital?” I asked, trying to keep my worry at bay.
“She could, but they won’t do anything different than what I did,” he said pointedly, letting me know it wasn’t worth the risk.
I raised her palm to my lips and kissed it over the wrap. Fuck, I really hated that she was in pain.
“I also took the liberty of giving her some decent painkillers. You might want to get some food into the little lady.”
That yanked me out of my depressing thoughts and into action. “Right. One omelet, coming up.”
IRIS cleared his throat dramatically. “Dust my ears deceive me? One?”
Spencer frowned at him. “Did you just say dust?”
“Uh…yeah. Because that’s what it is.”
“Only if you’re cleaning your ears,” Spencer muttered. “It’s horrible how you’re butchering Shakespeare.”
“What the hell does this have to do with Shakespeare?” IRIS snapped. “I was quoting Aladdin.”
“If you were quoting Aladdin, you would have said ‘Dost mine ears.’ Dost. D-O-S-T.”
“Whatever,” IRIS griped. “Geez, does everything around here have to turn into an English lesson?”
“It does when you misquote The Bard,” Spencer scolded. “And to think, our society once claimed to be so smart.”
I rolled my eyes and slung my arm around Audrey’s waist, walking her over to the island. With both hands on her waist, I picked her up and set her on a stool. “As much as it pains me to make you wait here and listen to this nonsense, you are to stay here while I make you breakfast. You don’t get up for any reason, and you don’t go anywhere near that stove. Understood?”
Her lips twitched as she nodded. “Aye, aye, Captain.” She saluted me with her good hand, which only made my dick hard. Fuck, what I wouldn’t give to see her in a sexy Navy costume as she got down on her knees to suck my dick. Fuck, that was not what I needed to think about right now.
“What’s that look in your eyes for?” she asked, her cheeks flushing as if she could already sense what I was thinking about.
“I’ll tell you later.”
I crushed my mouth against hers and tangled my fingers in her hair. Damn, it was going to be hard to let her go when the time came. I had to remind myself that we lived two completely separate lives, and no matter how much I craved her, what we had was not love. It was just lust and a good time.
I pried myself away from her body, and then I got to work on her breakfast. But my eyes drifted back to her and the way her smile lit up the room despite the fact that she’d just burned herself a half hour ago.
“Get yourself under control, asshole. It’s never gonna work.”