Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Athena
Savoring the taste, I close my eyes.
I didn’t just moan, did I?
Popping open an eyelid, I find Liam looking at me, his fingers stroking his beard. “I could watch you eat cake all night.”
A smile teases my lips, but I fight it off. “You haven’t touched your piece yet.”
“I’m not in the mood for cake.” He pushes the plate holding a large slice of the decadent treat to the side. “Take your time eating dessert. I’m enjoying the show.”
I drop the fork onto the plate. “I can’t eat if you’re staring at me.”
“I can’t not stare at you,” he counters.
I pick up the white linen napkin we’ve shared throughout dinner. He searched every drawer in his kitchen for its twin, but I told him I only needed a corner of it, so we agreed to make do with just one.
Our hands met on it a few times. He was always the gentleman, offering it to me first.
“I had enough.” I eye the half-eaten piece of cake. “For now.”
“For now?” He pushes his index finger into the icing before he drags it over the tip of his tongue. “Maybe later we can share a piece.”
Later. After we get into his bed.
I knew what this night would entail. I didn’t come to Liam’s apartment thinking that we’d eat dinner and hang out.
The unspoken part of the invitation was that we’d have sex.
He wants to fuck me.
I don’t just see it in the way he’s looking at me. I felt it in his touch every time our fingers brushed against each other on the napkin.
“What’s running through that mind?” He leans back in his chair. “Does it involve flowers?”
Until I met him, it did.
My store was my life. I spent every spare moment I had there and poured all of myself into its success.
Stepping away, even if it was just to have dinner with a man, felt wrong.
It doesn’t feel that way with him. Being here is right. Tonight feels perfect.
I need a few more minutes to steady myself before we go to his bedroom, so I lean back in my chair too, crossing my legs at the knee. “Dinner was delicious.”
“I’ll tell my mom you said so.”
His mom. I know that she has to be the woman with the brown curls in the picture hanging on the wall behind him.
She’s in the center of a large group of people. Liam is standing to her left. Two men with jet black hair are on either side of her, and an older man with the same dark shade of hair, but peppered with gray is hugging her from behind.
There are three women in the picture too. They’re almost as beautiful as the two little girls.
That’s Liam’s family.
I dart my eyes from the silver frame when I realize I was staring.
“Does your mom ever cook for you, Athena?”
My hand jumps to my neck and the gold locket. Nestled inside are the two pictures of strangers who may or may not be related to me.
I’ve always taken comfort in the idea that they are.
“She was never a good cook.” I sidestep his question. “My brothers and I picked up pointers from watching chefs on TV.”
“So you’re self-taught?” He narrows his gaze. “I bet you’re a great cook.”
“I haven’t had many complaints.”
That statement is true if you don’t count my younger brothers, Zach and Breccan.
They thought it was funny to pick apart every aspect of the meals I’d create for them.
Deep down, I knew that they appreciated the effort.
The three of us weathered a lot of storms together, and when we joined Jeremy’s family, he helped us stay on course through bad times.
“Will you teach me how to cook?”
I can’t tell if he’s teasing or not, so I push for more. “You want me to teach you how to cook?”
“I’m a great student.” He brushes a hand over the shoulder of his T-shirt. “You’ve seen me in action with a bunch of flowers and a vase.”
I scrunch my nose. “I hope you’re better with a spatula than you are with a daisy.”
His face takes on a pained look. With a dart of his hand to the middle of his chest, he lets out a groan. “That hurt. I thought I was working my way closer to a ten.”
“What’s the reward if you make it all the way up to a ten?”
His eyes meet mine. “You naked in my bed for the night.”
I thought that was the plan for tonight, but maybe it’s not in his mind. Disappointment washes over me.
“Unless I’ve already earned a ten in setting the table.” He reaches forward to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “It’s your call, Athena.”
I imagined he’d sweep me off my feet and take me to his bedroom, but if I have to make the decision, I will. “I give your table setting skills a solid ten.”
His finger traces a path over my cheek. “You’re sure?”
I think I am.
Before I can nod, he goes on, “I’ll take things slow. If it gets to be too much, you’ll tell me. Alright?”
He’s sensitive to my needs and fears in a way I’ve never experienced with a man before. The other two men I slept with couldn’t get me into bed fast enough. It was the same pattern when we fucked. Their release mattered to them more than anything I was feeling or what I wanted.
I lock eyes with him. “You’re the most understanding man I’ve ever met.”
His hand trails down my face until it cups the back of my neck. “I want you, lilac, but more than that, I want this to be good for you. I want it to feel right.”
Nothing in my life has felt this right before.
Leaning forward, he presses a soft kiss to my mouth. “I’m going to clear the dishes. Why don’t you head to the bedroom?”
He’s giving me a minute alone to gather myself.
I need it.
“I’ll be waiting for you,” I whisper before I kiss him. “Don’t be long.”