“How ‘bout we get through the next few hours, and then I’ll decide if I’ll stick around long enough for you to plan a second orthirdmeal?”At least she wasn’t saying ‘no’.
Content with her answer, I reached down to pick up my boxers, and just as I’d threaded one leg through, Dakota stopped me. Her hand pressed down against the waistband, preventing me from pulling them any higher.
“On second thought…” She hummed with a prideful smirk, her gaze completely glued to my cock. “Leave them off. I want a view with my pancakes.”
“I’ll give you a show, Wildcat, but I’ll save the view for the back porch… Something tells me you’ll appreciate that one far more than any dick could offer, including mine.”
Ilefttheroomfirst, leaving Dakota to change. When she appeared in the kitchen, she was wearing nothing but my white T-shirt that had been lying on the floor beside the bed. The one I was wearing last night.
The hem fell to the crease of her ass, giving the perfect peak at her firm, round cheeks. They were all I could think about while prepping our breakfast. How badly I wanted to hold them in my palms, digging my fingers into their softness while pressing her back against the wall.
I had strong self-control. I’ve never been one to chase a tail just because it looked good, even after a couple of drinks. But being inDakota’s presence had me running fucking feral. Every image that flashed across my mind was of how she looked when she came for me; of how badly I wanted her to do it again.
“Something’s starting to smell good over there, Rhy. I didn’t take you for a man who knew how to cook. I guess I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge.” I could hear the sincerity in her tone. Not a smartass dig, but a genuine compliment.
After stacking three pancakes on a plate, I topped them with a pat of butter, then stepped over to the island counter and placed them in front of where Dakota now sat.
“Try them first. But you’ll find I can do more than just cook.” Before turning back around to prepare my own plate, I slid the bottle of maple syrup and bowl of fresh whipped cream across the Labradorite countertop. “And I bet these will make them taste even better.”
Her first bite said it all. The moan, the long-winded sigh that followed. Dakota didn’t utter a word as she continued to shove food into her face, the sound of cutlery scraping against the stoneware, audible over the music I was playing.Adorable.
“Too Sweet” by Hozier filtered through the kitchen as I settled myself directly across from Dakota.
I watched her for a brief second longer, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips, before realizing that something essential was missing from our first shared meal.
I hustled across the kitchen, reaching up and pulling out two matte black mugs from the cupboard above the espresso machine.
“How do you take your coffee,darlin’?”
Dakota paused, returning her attention to me, her fork and knife clinking against the plate as she set them down and cleared her throat to answer.
Black.“Black—”
Two sugars.“With two sugars—”
Brown sugar specifically.“Brown, please. Otherwise, whatever you have is fine too.”
“Comin’ right up.”
I didn’t need to ask for her preference; I knew exactly how she took her coffee. But she didn’t need to know that; not yet, at least. I knew more about this woman than any man who had ever shared a bed with her. And I was damn proud of that.
With two steaming mugs in hand, I returned to where I’d been standing, setting Dakota’s coffee beside her plate, while taking a sip from mine, hoping this breakfast would be her first taste of forever.
Chapter 17
Dakota
Tiff: Are you STILL there?!
Tiff: Like, for REALS?! … Why?
Tiff: OH MY GOD! Did he kidnap you?!
Tiff: Am I going to have to call the police?!
Pumpthebrakes,Tiffany…fuck…
But then again, why was I still here?
