23. Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Two
Leif
Turns out Aliko has no idea how to grocery shop. He’s never done it before. Ever. He’s never even been in a grocery store before. I’d love to see the look on his face if he set foot into a large one, and not this tiny one in this small village. There are limited options here.
“I can’t believe you’ve never done this before.”
“I’ve never had to,” he says. “I always order food. Eat street food.”
“Wait, so then you can’t cook, either?”
“Me and fire don’t do well together.”
I laugh as I stop by the fruit section. I guess that makes sense.
“I’m going to assume you haven’t had much fruit then, if all you’ve had is pre-made food.”
“Not unless you count pineapple on pizza, which was… confusing.”
I laugh again. “That’s one word for it.” I look over the fruit, trying to decide what to do with it. “Do you trust me to get what we need?”
“As long as you let me pay.” He grins, and I roll my eyes.
“It’s not worth arguing,” I mutter.
“Good,” he says, leaning in to kiss my head.
We both pause, but I quickly clear my throat and busy myself looking at the bananas.
I don’t hate that he just did that. He’s just never done it in public before, and we both realized it at the exact same time, it seems. But we don’t need to talk about it because it wasn’t serious.
No one here will recognize us. The only other people in this place look like they’re retired and have decided anything heavier than Elvis is evil.
They could have grandkids though… but I doubt their memory is that good.
“Banana pancakes are really good,” I say, picking up a bunch that’s yellow enough so we can eat them right away.
We make our way through the store slowly.
Aliko looks at everything as if he’s seeing it all for the first time, with wonder, trying to figure out what it is or what to do with it.
He looks absolutely devastated when we get to the seafood section and he sees lobsters in a glass case.
I don’t say anything about it, and neither does he.
When we’re done and reach the cashier, we have a cart full of groceries. It’s probably too much for the week… but that’s fine. Better than not having enough.
“Carrying all of this back is going to be fun,” I say as I put the food on the belt.
“We have reusable bags,” the cashier says with a smile, gesturing to the bright blue bags hanging on the rack beside us. “They’re very sturdy and only fifty cents.”
I look at Aliko who just shrugs and reaches for them to grab a handful. He tosses them onto the belt. As she rings up our food, she keeps glancing at Aliko, her cheeks going pink.
“Sorry,” she says with a shake of her head. “I’m not trying to be rude, it’s just that we don’t get many of your kind around here. Sorry, was that rude?” She laughs nervously.
“It wasn’t rude,” Aliko says gently. “I appreciate you saying it rather than letting me think you’re staring for other reasons.”
“Oh goodness, you knew I was staring.” She laughs again.
“Really, it’s okay. I’m used to it.”
“But you shouldn’t be. You’re just a person, like us, even if you look different.”
He nods but says nothing. When we get our total, Aliko pays with his credit card, and we move our cart full of groceries over to the counter by the window to organize them into the reusable bags.
With all of Aliko’s arms, he’s able to carry the bags easily. I offer to take one or two, but he doesn’t let me. The walk is only two blocks, but it’s already closing in on ninety degrees.
The air conditioner is welcome when we step into the house, and I already feel the sweat clinging to my body.
“What do you want for breakfast?” I ask as he puts the bags down on the kitchen table.
“Those banana pancakes sounded good. Plus eggs. Bacon, too.”
I huff a laugh. Maybe we won’t have too much food for the week.
“Go for a swim while I handle this.” I shoo him away from the bags. He steps back but doesn’t make a move to go out the door. I look at him over my shoulder. “What?”
“You don’t want my help?”
“I’ve got this. You go take care of yourself.”
“What about you?”
I chuckle. “I’m sure you will take care of me later.”
He doesn’t smile in return, even though it was meant to be a joke. He takes my chin and leans down to kiss me. It’s gentle and lingering and makes me feel way too much. When he pulls back, I’m breathless.
“I’ll be back soon,” he says.
Something in my chest gets all tight and hot.
“Of course you will. I’m feeding you.”
“That’s not…” He shakes his head and goes to the door to leave.
I try not to think about what he was going to say. It doesn’t take long to push it from my brain because I focus on putting all the groceries away.
I was torn on putting my clothes away in the drawers.
I’m used to living out of my bags because putting things away means I have to put them back in my bags, and that’s how things get lost. I prefer leaving my stuff together, but we’re going to be here for almost a week so it would be more convenient to find what I want, but it also means there is more space to lose things.
So my clothes are still in my bags, but I am putting the food away in the cabinets. If there is any leftover or unopened food, we will leave it for the next guests or the host.
After everything is away, I get to work making the pancake batter, scrambling the eggs, and laying the bacon on a tray to put in the oven. They’ll take the longest, so I get them in before I start on everything else. Eggs take minutes. The pancakes take a little longer.
When the bacon is done, pancakes are already in the pan, but I get the eggs on, so everything will be done around the same time. I get it all plated and put on the table before adding the caramel sauce, syrup, whipped cream, and ketchup—since Aliko likes that on his eggs—to the middle of the table.
I bought a bottle of iced coffee, since it’s way too hot for hot coffee, and make us each a glass with extra ice. I’m just setting them on the table when Aliko walks through the door, completely naked, with his clothes hung over his human arm.
“It smells good in here,” he says.
“Hurry up and put clothes on so you can eat.”
He tosses his clothes in the corner of the room. “Why do I have to do that?”
He takes a seat at the table that is much too small for him.
The chair creaks, but he doesn’t blink about it.
If he breaks it, he’ll just buy another.
I sit down, ignoring the fact he’s naked and hot across from me, but I can’t stop thinking about the fact his cock is right there for me to touch.
Which I really want to do, because it seems I can never get enough of this man, no matter where we are or how many times I’ve had him already.
“What is all this for?” Aliko asks, pointing to the caramel and whipped cream.
“It’s really good on the pancakes,” I say.
“I thought this was for ice cream.”
“It’s for whatever you want—” I stop abruptly because I get a flash of Aliko’s whipped cream covered dick in my head.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Just thought of something.” I grin.
“Care to share?”
“Not right now. Eat.”
He watches me for a long moment before digging into his food. Just as I knew he would, he douses his eggs in ketchup. He doesn’t leave a crumb on his plate.
“Sit,” he says when I move to stand. “I will clean this up.”
I hold my hands up in resignation and watch as he rinses everything and puts it into the dishwasher. When he grabs the condiments to put away, I say, “Leave the whipped cream.”
His brow furrows but he does as I say. When he’s finished, I grab the can and tell him to follow me.
I gesture to the couch and have him sit. His dick is soft, still long and thick, resting against his leg. It twitches under my gaze, and even more so when I kneel on the floor in front of him.
“What are you doing?” he asks curiously.
“Just finishing my breakfast,” I say innocently as I shake the can and pop the cap off.
Aliko’s brows raise as he watches me carefully. I aim the tip at his cock and press down. He flinches when the whipped cream lands on his skin but says nothing else. I put only a small amount before leaning in to lick it off. His dick hardens instantly, a low groan leaving his mouth.
“Is this why you bought that?” he asks.
“Not initially. I got the idea during breakfast.”
He smirks, grabbing his cock with his human arm and holding it out for me.
“More,” he demands.
I put a healthy amount on the tip, then open my mouth wide and take it all, sucking on the head.
He moans again, a rush of air leaving him.
“Give me that,” he says, and I give him the can.
Aliko puts more on the tip, before adding small dots up his stomach and chest. I lick them all off, one by one. He puts some on his tongue, staring me in the eyes. I lean in and kiss him. It’s the sweetest kiss I’ve ever had. He pulls me onto his lap, thrusting into my crease and we both groan.
“You need to take these clothes off,” he warns, tugging at them.
My shirt goes first because I have to stand to take off my pants. The can of whipped cream is discarded on the couch beside him, and I crawl back over him so we can finish what we started.
Aliko wastes no time slipping two fingers inside me, working them in and out to stretch me as he kisses along my jaw and neck.
“Aliko,” I whine.
He kisses the center of my chest, then flicks the ring in my nipple. “Yes, baby?”
Fuck.
Fuck, why is that so hot?
“I need you inside me,” I breathe out. “Please.”
“So eager.” He kisses my chest again, then back up to my jaw. “You want my cock inside you?”
“Yes,” I growl, digging my nails into his strong shoulders.
He chuckles as he pulls his fingers out and grabs my hips. His arm comes around to hold his cock in place for me to line up with. Another wraps around my cock, while another attaches its suckers to my balls.
“Fuck, you’re going to kill me,” I say with a husky laugh.
“Just want to make you come good and hard.”
I carefully sink onto his dick, loving the fact that he produces his own lube and we don’t have to worry about it when it’s not handy. So fucking convenient.
Even though I’m on top, Aliko doesn’t allow me to be in charge.
He lifts me up and down, using me the way he wants, even though it’s all for my benefit, anyway.
He fucks me slow, strokes me slow, sucks on my neck gently.
Everything to drive me crazy and edge me the way he knows I love.
He touches me in all the right places, and I only come when he wants me to.
My cum spills onto his chest, and he takes my hand, spreading it all over and wiping it into his skin like he’s hoping it’ll soak in as he fucks me harder, slamming up into me until his own orgasm hits. His head falls back, lips parting on a deep groan. His dick pulses, cum filling me up.
Aliko lets out a slow breath and meets my gaze, his eyes filled with so many emotions I can’t begin to read. Or maybe I can, and I just don’t want to.