Chapter 16

At vivid orange sunbeams slanting across my closed eyelids, I groaned and turned from the brightness. After inhaling, I gasped at a mélange of flowery fragrances swirling within my exhausted mind. My eyes flew open. Pastel flower print wallpaper.

Nope, not at home. Again, I sniffed. That syrupy scent of sex. Ruby’s telltale aroma. But when I rolled to scan the small room, there was only a warm dent in the mattress beside me.

After a stretch of sore limbs that sent cracking noises across the space, I glanced towards the bedroom door. It had been pulled ajar, but there was muted clinking beyond it. And sizzling. Again, I sniffed. Yep, bacon. Plus, fresh coffee. With a smile, I rolled to my feet and, after one more stretch, strode for the exit.

A brief glance into the humid bathroom showed water droplets glistening on the shower’s pale-yellow tiles. Another inhale brought her fruity, flower-scented soaps and had my grin widening. At first, I took quick steps, but once in the front room, I slowed while looking into the kitchen.

Before the stove, clad in a short, pink terry robe, she stood with an iron frying pan in one hand and a shiny spatula in the other. With damp hair wrapped in a thin white towel, she was humming to herself and gazing out through a small window towards her backyard.

“Mornin’, gorgeous.”

At my words, she jumped. As she whirled to face me, the spatula dinged off the pan.

“Oh. Um, hi, Damon.” Her brown eyes kept widening as I strode closer, flicking between the wobble of my hardening mast and my broadening grin. “After last night, I, uh, thought you, um, might be hungry. So, um, I, uh, made you breakfast.”

Bones rolling. Time to truly seal the deal.

“Oh, you did, huh?” When I glided a hand over the rear of the fluffy robe, a quiet whimper escaped her shaking, glossy lips. “Figured I might still be hungry?”

With the fingers on her back, I pressed her to me as my mouth engulfed her parting lips. As my tongue bored deep, her long eyelashes fluttered. Oh, during the night we’d fucked plenty, but hadn’t kissed.

And at first, she tensed. But with a groan, she crumpled into me. The spatula clattered to the pan as her hands flew upwards to claw at my spine. With my other hand thrust beneath the robe to clasp a firm buttock, I held her tight to me. When her trembling tongue came out to play, I chased it amid her hungrier moaning.

How long that very special kiss went on, I’ve no idea. But when I pulled away from her, she could only gasp. But at the sinking of my widespread fingers deeper into her spine and rear, she gulped. Reinforcement was important. Yet, it wasn’t me who spoke first.

“God, yes.” She trembled while trying to catch her breath. At last, my new worshipper whispered in a shaky voice, “I’m yours, Damon. All of me.”

“All of you?”

Before she could respond, I chuckled and pulled apart the terrycloth. With a quick flick of my hand, I snapped off the stove before shifting her to face the nearby counter. As her nails clawed at the surface, I stripped the robe from her shoulders. Once it dropped, I reached for the butter tray and rubbed the soft stick over my palms.