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“There will be plenty of time for that later.” He lets his words linger, taking his time to rove his gaze over me lasciviously. I shudder at the heat, wishing we could just skip to dessert.
He presses a hand to my lower back, guiding me to the table, the innocent touch sparking salacious thoughts in my mind. My body melts against him, and I fight the urge to press myself into his side.
He pulls out a chair for me, and I slide in, consciously fighting the urge to slump my shoulder at the loss of contact as his hand slides from my back. He makes his way over to the chair opposite mine, putting way too much room between us. I let out an involuntary huff of irritation which causes Kyros’ muffled laughter to increase. I quirk an eyebrow at him in challenge, and he covers his mouth, attempting to conceal the smile I caught mere moments before. Amusement still twinkles in his eyes as he lifts up a cloche I’m sure wasn’t there a second ago.
Two plates of pasta are revealed from beneath the metal dish. I blink up at him, my lips quirking to the side, Adrian must be here, given the dishes’ sudden appearance. I glance back at the table, my mouth opening to ask the question poised on my tongue, but the plates now sit before each of us, along with cutlery, wine glasses, and a bottle of red wine.
Kyros reaches for the bottle, pouring us each a glass as he grins back at me mischievously.
“Okay, how are you doing this?” I question skeptically, glancing around the room again. Convinced Adrian must be hiding somewhere.
“I told you, Adrian helped me set all this up.” He chuckles, and I eye him suspiciously. He holds out his glass to me, apparently waiting for me to cheers him. I sigh in frustration, but raise my glass to meet his, not wanting my confusion to ruin our evening.
“To you, Liv, you’ve made so much progress in the past month. I’m so proud of you,” Kyros announces, clinking his glass to mine. The confused fog lifts from around me as his words warm my heart. I take a sip of the dry red, letting the rich wine coat my tongue, struggling to swallow it around the smile that I can’t seem to hold back. He reaches forward, his fingers twining with mine, and I take comfort in the warm caress of his palm.
We place our glasses down and just relax in the gentle movement of our hands wrapped together.
“I mean it Liv, not only have you made so much progress with your training, your personal progression has been amazing to watch as well.” His words are soft and sincere, yet I can sense the hesitation in them as his hand cautiously stills against mine.
“I don’t think I could have done it without you, Kyros,” I admit, squeezing his hand reassuringly. He opens his mouth to protest, his brows knitting together, but I interrupt, needing to make him realize how significant his impact has been. “I’m serious, not only with my powers and the extra history lessons. If it wasn’t for your kindness, compassion, and support since I returned, I’m not sure if that personal progression would have happened.”
I mean every word as they spill from me, despite fighting against the instinct that tells me to keep my emotions and feelings bottled up. I have to share this with him, to show how much I appreciate everything he’s done for me. And to show him he doesn’t have to be cautious broaching these subjects with me.
“I know it has to do with my conscious decisions, but without you being so understanding, I’m not sure my heart could have overcome the distance with Adrian and now Mateo.” Mateo, his name lingers on my mind as I form the word. My chest tightens at the distance that has formed between us. Despite my protests, I miss his jealous and possessive attitude, I miss our banter and his insistence on being near. I know a lot is going on, but I can’t let this continue much longer. At moments he seems as though he’s himself, but then his demeanor changes so fast it gives me whiplash and he’s keeping me at arm’s length.
But lately he’s been keeping his distance, just as Adrian had. I’m not sure what’s going on with him though. After he walked in on Maximus and I training, he’s been cold and distant. The only thing I can think of is the stress of Osias being my father along with the trials is too much for him.
I’m caught between giving him time and space to adjust on his own and locking him in a room until he tells me what the hell is going on. Except, my heart is too weak from this tenuous reconciliation with Adrian. I’m not sure if I can take anymore blows to my heart just yet.
Kyros’ brow furrows. He looks down, but I don’t miss the look of frustration in his gaze. I bite my lip, not meaning for my words to make him upset with his brothers.
“Hey, that wasn’t meant to make you frustrated towards them, they have their own reasons, and it’s completely separate from us.” I crook a finger beneath his chin, lifting his gaze to meet mine. “Tonight is about you and I. I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am to have you in my life … and as my mate,” I force the last words out, knowing I’ve got to voice these thoughts aloud.
His eyes pop open, and the elation brightening his gaze nearly takes my breath away. Tears prick at my eyes. I didn’t realize how just one word could bring him that much happiness and joy.
He gets up from his seat and moves his chair closer to mine, giving into the urge to get closer. The same emotions flash in his eyes as I feel thrumming through myself. He settles beside me, his fingers slowly trailing along my jaw before threading through my hair. I tilt my chin up towards his lips, which are already descending upon mine.
I moan into his mouth as we meet in a slow, tantalizing kiss. I lean into him, our fingers still entwined, both of us refusing to let go even as he moved his chair, desperate to feel the other’s skin against our own.
A sob racks my chest at the touch, and I wonder absentmindedly when exactly I became such a soft bitch, but I don’t care—not really. It’s worth it to feel this sense of euphoria, my mate’s hands touching me softly, reverently, his warm lips on mine.
He pulls away reluctantly, indecision warring in his eyes.
“I really want to continue this, but we should eat.”
My bottom lip drops, and he huffs out a breath of amusement, his heated gaze narrowing in on it for a moment before he shakes his head. He gives me a chastising look, and I shrug my shoulders. It’s not my fault he found that distracting, it’s not like I was trying … I totally was though.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart, there are plenty more surprises to come tonight.”
My eyes light up at that word, my spirits lifting at the prospect of him making me come.
“But you need to eat first, otherwise I can’t give you your next surprise.”
He coughs out a sound of amusement as I turn in my chair, promptly pulling my plate of pasta in front of me and letting his fingers drop from mine. Oh, I’ll eat if my reward is what I think it will be.
I hurriedly swirl the pasta on my fork and waste no time bringing it to my mouth. Rich tomato sauce hits my tongue. I savor the bite, chewing the tender pasta, and look up at Kyros. He’s watching me intently already, his heated gaze on my mouth.
I shake my head in amusement, motioning with my fork for him to eat too. If I have to eat, so does he, I conclude, giving him a pointed look. He huffs out a breath of frustration, begrudgingly moving his plate over to his new spot.
