Chapter 22
Rhyland
T he sound of her heavy breathing fills the kitchen, and I can add those, along with the taste of her pussy, as my favorite things about this space.
“Umm, Rhyland?”
I lift my gaze from her pussy to find her blue eyes staring at me, looking confused as hell. “Did you just say my brother’s name?”
“What?” Shit. “Did I say that aloud?” Hell, instant cock deflation when she nods.
“Yeah. So, umm, should I be worried that you said my brother’s name after I just came in your mouth? I mean, I know you two have always been close,” she teases. “But, umm—” She presses her lips together, suppressing a laugh.
Fuck, I can’t believe I said that. As Payton caught her breath, my mind said, Take that, Ollie .
What I didn’t mean to happen was to say it aloud.
I’m just about to tell Payton the gist of the memory of catching him and Hollie in a similar compromising position out on the bar when they were realizing their fake relationship was real.
I ran from the room and left, but not until yelling about how many sanitation laws were being broken with that.
Well, hello, hypocrite. But before I can open my mouth to speak, a burnt, bitter aroma fills the air.
“Do you smell something burning?” she asks as she pushes up to a seated position and adjusts her dress.
“Oh, fuck.” I look around and remember that I had just added the diced pancetta to a low-heat pan before I glanced over my shoulder and became distracted by her looking all sexy and right in my kitchen.
I can’t believe I got distracted while cooking, but shit, can anyone blame me?
I have zero regrets about sampling her pussy as an appetizer.
The only regret I would have is if I had caused a fire, which definitely would get us caught here.
I grab the towel and carry the pan over to the sink.
Steam fills the air with a loud hiss as I hit it with a little water.
I drop the pan into the sink and cross my arms, sighing heavily.
Fuck, I hope this didn’t ruin our night.
Giggling causes my eyes to whip back open to find Payton with both hands over her mouth and nose, trying to stifle the sounds of her laughter. I close the distance between us.
“You’re a fucking fire hazard, you know that?” I cage her in, and she wraps her ankles around my ass and brings me closer to her. No matter how bad my dick is screaming to continue what we started, we can’t, unless we want to risk getting caught.
But her lips look so kissable, and I can’t resist. I’m not sure how she feels about kissing me after I had my mouth on her, but she doesn’t hesitate at all before pressing her lips to mine. Seems she can’t get enough of me either.
I press my forehead against hers. “I’m always going to remember this exact spot while I’m here working and remember the way you taste, the sounds you make when you come, and the way your pussy squeezed my fingers so tight.”
Her chest begins to rise and fall at a rapid pace. “Same,” she pants, but before either of us says fuck it and gives in to the sexual tension in the air, her stomach rumbles loud enough for both of us to hear it.
I let out a belly-deep laugh. I should feed this girl actual food instead of just my cock, which there will be plenty of time to do once we get back home tonight. With Gabby with her aunt and uncle for the night, I plan to take total advantage of us being home alone.
“How about you refill your glass and sit your pretty ass down, and I’ll restart our dinner—this time with no distractions. I don’t need the damn place to burn down.” I laugh.
“Hey, my parts are fine, just saying,” she sasses and tilts her head over to her cutting board that, thankfully, I thought to move away before devouring her on the counter.
“Are you ever going to give me my panties back?”
“Nope,” I say, making a dramatic emphasis on the p before focusing my attention on our food while the lace material burns a hole in my pocket.
We make small talk as I recook our dinner.
I’ve known this woman her entire life, but there are so many things that I didn’t know about her.
She loves anything having to do with British royalty.
Whenever there is a documentary or podcast about the royal family, she has to listen or watch.
While pregnant with Gabby, she craved chocolate, even though she’d never liked it growing up, and since Gabby was born, she went back to hating it.
She and Hollie love to binge and talk about Dateline episodes and reality shows about yachting.
But my favorite fun fact I learned is that she is obsessed with cooking shows—specifically ones with Gordon Ramsey and Tom Colicchio.
Seems our girl has a chef fetish. Won’t see me complaining.
“Rhyland, this all looks and smells amazing,” Payton says as I set the bowls of pasta on the table I set up in the kitchen’s corner.
I wasn’t kidding when I told her I wanted a redo of her first date.
I didn’t hold back—first picking her up with flowers, preparing this dish I’ve made with love, and, of course, an orgasm for her to start our date didn’t hurt too badly either.
We’re only just getting started with our night.
I take a seat across from her and take in the view. Never had I imagined that I would be here with her, but here we are.
“Only the best for you,” I say, grabbing my wineglass and holding it up in the air. A pink hue covers her cheeks as she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear shyly before matching my movements.
“What should we cheer to?” she asks.
“Cheers, to us. To new beginnings with old friends. And to finding out if dreams really can come true.”
Payton stares at me for a moment, and I wink. I mean every word. I can’t wait to see where this road will lead us and help her see her worth and all that she deserves.
This woman across from me is gorgeous, and it’s just so crazy to me how she doesn’t even realize it. That almost makes her even more attractive.
Eventually, she blinks and clinks her glass with mine. Even though I bring the wineglass to my lips, I never take my eyes off her. From bringing the glass to her lips to swallowing, I closely watch every movement she makes, including the liquid’s movement and her neck’s motion.
Leaning back in my chair, I outstretch my legs under the table and continue watching her. It doesn’t take long to realize what I’m doing—waiting for her stamp of approval on my food.
Time feels as though it’s slowed to a snail’s pace as I watch her twirl a piece around her fork before stabbing a piece of pancetta on the end and bringing the fork to her lips.
I love that she wants to experience the entire flavor palate all at once.
Her eyes close as soon as the food hits her tongue, and she lets out a moan that matches the sounds she made earlier. I have no clue if it was an intentional sound to slip from her lips, but holy fuck, it went straight to my dick.
“So, what do you think?” There I go again, seeking validation.
“Rhy, this is the most delicious thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.”
I press my lips together to suppress a smart-ass comment of Well, clearly, you haven’t put my dick in your mouth . She giggles as she must have either read my thoughts or realized what she said.
“This is so good. I can’t believe you could just whip this up. I could never do anything like this.”
“Thank you.” I finally take a bite, and damn, I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but fucking beep beep. “And yes, you can. I’ll gladly show you some things. It was honestly quite simple, really.”
Just as we’re finishing our meals, Payton’s phone buzzes. “I’m so sorry. I know it’s so rude to have your phone out, but I wanted to keep it close by, just in case.”
“You don’t need to explain yourself, babe. It’s fine.” I nod toward her phone, telling her to get it while I stand. I grab our empty plates and walk them over to the dishwashing station.
When I come back to refill the last of the wine in her glass, Payton’s focus is on her phone, laughing with the biggest smile on her face. I’ll take that as everything is okay.
“Come here, look at this.” She waves me over.
I circle around and lean on the back of her chair.
Looking down at the phone, I watch her scroll through the images Hollie just sent.
The photos range from a selfie of the three of them to Ollie flying Gabby as if she were Supergirl and another with Hollie feeding her a bottle.
When Payton presses Play on the last one, a video, I can’t hold back my laughter.
The video shows Ollie holding Gabby just above him, making a whooshing sound.
Uh-oh , I sure hope the video and Hollie feeding had a safe time frame between them.
My heart warms at the way Ollie looks at Gabby.
I can’t wait for the day my best friend announces they’re having a kid.
Could our kids be friends? Will they grow up as cousins and best friends?
The thought of Payton pregnant with our baby should freak me out, yet it doesn’t.
Does she even want more kids? Whoa, buddy, slow the fuck down.
I focus back on the video and at the perfect timing, too.
“Oh no,” Payton shrieks as Gabby spits up on her uncle, and he instantly freaks out. “It’s in my mouth, Holls.” He gags. The video abruptly cuts off. I’m sure Hollie rushed to save their niece before he lost it. I have no idea how he’s going to handle all the smells that come out of a baby.
When Payton exits the video, wiping tears from her eyes, she reads the reassuring bottom text that arrived afterwards.
Hollie: Sorry about that, but couldn’t NOT share it. All is well here in the Mosby house. I cleaned up Gabby while Ollie showered.
Payton assists me with cleaning up the kitchen, even though I try to argue with her that I could handle it. My damn stubborn girl.
“So, what’s next?” Propping her hip on the side of the counter, Payton looks up at me through hooded lashes.
I match her stance before the corners of my lips twitch upward. “The possibilities are endless.”