AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I smiled at her. “Blueberries are perfect. Thank you.”
Gampy was out on the patio, doing his morning Tai chi, Anthony was seated beside Alice, drinking his coffee and doing his morning crossword puzzle, and Adrien was… somewhere. I’d woken up to an empty bedroom around an hour after he normally went for his runs. And he still wasn’t back yet, so—
My spine perked as the front door opened just then, and sure enough, Adrien rounded the corner a few moments later, holding two small red boxes.
He was wearing a crisp white button-down, black slacks, and did not look like someone who’d just come back from a run. A boardroom, maybe.
“Good morning, everybody.” His face split into a sinister grin, his eyes scanning the room until they landed on me. Then they narrowed. “Sweetheart,” he sneered.
I blinked.
He was walking. Advancing. Practically charging at me.
I released the handle of my mug and took an inadvertent step back.Uh oh.
Adrien tossed the boxes onto the counter and reached for me. He was going to strangle me. Right here, right now. I could see it in his feral eyes. He was going to wrap his fingers around my neck and squeeze until—
My breath caught, my heart jumping into my throat as his one hand slipped to my lower back, the other into my hair. And just as my life began to flash before my eyes, his mouth crashed into mine.
It took a moment for things to click. For my neck to realize it was still attached to the rest of my body. For my heart to realize it was supposed to continue beating. And then…
And then…
My eyes fluttered shut, my thoughts melting to goo against the unexpected warmth of Adrien’s mouth. He tilted his head slightly, his fingers curling into a fist in my hair as he pinned my body to his, deepening the… kiss. He was kissing me.
And that was when the sparks started.
Tiny little tingles biting at my lips and fingertips, my chest, my spine, my curling toes. Until my whole body had flared to life with them. Until my hands were sliding up his chest, fisting the front of his shirt, trying to pull him closer. Until I’d forgotten who I was, where I was, what I’d been—
“Gross. Get a room.”
Alice’s voice tore through the dizzying trance I was in, and I jerked back with a sharp inhale, breaking the kiss.
What the hell?
Adrien didn’t let me go, didn’t allow me to take a step back. His eyes were hazy, his red mouth slowly slanting into an arrogantly victorious grin as he took in my expression.
“Geez, you guys,” Anthony teased lightly.
Julie was beaming like we’d plucked the moon out of the sky and gifted it to her.
“New rule,” Alice decided, her mouth bent with distaste. “No moaning at the breakfast table. Or the kitchen counter. Or anywhere else in the house. Just no moaning, period.”
Red-hot color streaked my cheeks as I contemplated wrestling my way out of Adrien’s arms and bolting for the door. Leaving the country. Changing my name. Who the fuck hadmoaned? I hadn’t moaned. Had I moaned?
I released my grip on Adrien’s shirt, acutely aware of the greedy little indents my fingers had left behind, and tried to subtly shove myself away.
It backfired.
Adrien sidestepped my attempt at establishing physical distance between our bodies and repositioned himself behind me. His arms snaked around my waist and pulled my back to his hard chest. “I went to the bakery bright and early this morning and picked up a box of your favorites, sweetheart.”
He saidsweetheartlike it was a vulgar expletive, though I seemed to be the only one that heard it.
“I’m good, thanks,” I croaked, very much tempted to elbow him in the ribs.
I wasnottempted to melt against him like butter.
I wasnot.
