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3.
Adelaide
Breakfast, he wants breakfast...the man must be starving. Shivering, I shoot Revenge a nervous smile before promptly turning around and grabbing a pan. Turning on the stove, I mix all the ingredients in a bowl and I’m not exactly being smooth. Flour, sugar and milk are flying because I’m fidgety.
I’m not always this scattered. I can be sturdy but I’ve never had someone like Revenge in my house before. Whenever I glance at him, his gaze cuts me right in the gut until I almost drop like a puddle to the floor. My throat’s dry, pulse acting like a barrel race horse in my veins and the sun shining through the windows suddenly seems so sharp as if my body is longing for something cool and dark.
Something like Revenge...
I twitch. Where did that come from? Revenge is not dark. I look at his face again and it confirms what I’m thinking. Those spirited eyes, that attentive mouth and those gorgeous and caring hands. When he brushed back my hair it was probably one of the most meaningful moments of my life. The touch was everything I’ve ever wanted, firm and strong and...
“You’re burning the pan,” Rev says huskily and I jerk. I quickly turn down the heat and throw some of the batter into the pan. I hope he’ll like this because I meant it when I said I’ll do anything to make him stay. I know Revenge isn’t the kind of man I asked for but he’s the kind of man, I could grow to adore.
Besides, I’m not the kind of girl who cares whether her husband can protect her or not. I won’t mind hiding in that hatch for the rest of my life if I need to as long as my future husband is Revenge.
The batter bubbles fiercely and I’m close to burning everything again. Good grief! I should probably pay more attention to preparing the perfect meal for Revenge than fantasizing about being his. Shaking my head to myself, I turn off the stove and make sure the pancakes are rowed nicely on the plate before taking a deep breath and I go over to Revenge.
“If you doan like it, just say so. You won’t hurt my feelings.”
Well, that’s kinda not true...if Revenge would ever be displeased with me, I’d probably start bawling. I have so much admiration for him and I don’t care that he’s a drifter. I’m not exactly royalty myself so I could never look down on Revenge for being a simple wanderer.
And there’s nothing wrong with a man trying to find his place in the world, nothing wrong at all. I bite my lip because I wouldn’t mind if Revenge found his place right here.
Revenge’s eyes flash to mine and there’s something in them, something swirling in their depths that makes me gasp. Really, a drifter? You sure about that, Addie...? I shrug myself because of course he is. Nobody ever comes to my farm unless they’re lost or need a place to stay.
“I appreciate it,” Revenge murmurs and his gaze roams down my body, lingering around my childbearing hips before moving down my bare legs. I’m not wearing any shoes but he probably doesn’t mind. Though his gaze on me does make me feel like the temperature just reached equator levels and I hurry to grab a napkin.
“It needs to be in your lap,” I murmur, “one of my old high school teachers taught me that. She was a fancy one, from the big city.” Bending down, I spread the napkin over Revenge’s lap and he lets out a tense sound in his throat and I freeze when I brush against some kind of bulge.
It grows bigger when I rub my thumb over it and I gasp, slamming a hand over my mouth.
“Sorry,” Revenge says between his teeth as I flood with all kinds of emotions I’ve never felt before. Was that for me? “Mind giving something to wash this down with?”
Grateful that he’s trying to break the tension, I whirl around and grab a carafe of juice and pour him a tall glass. When I hand it to him, our fingers touch and electricity shoots up my arm. It startles me, causing me to drop the glass and it falls, about to smash when Revenge catches it.
Some juice spills on the floor but wow, those are some fast reflexes...
Fanning myself, I sit down on a chair next to him and I can scarcely breathe. If my feelings don’t settle, I’m gonna run out of oxygen. Putting my chin in my hand, I watch Revenge dig into his food and a soft and sad smile crosses my face.
“When was the last time you ate?” I whisper and he freezes with his utensils in the air, his eyes narrowing in on mine and I add, “S’okay. You aint gotta tell me.”
“Aren’t you having any?” Revenge asks and I shake my head.
“I like watching you eat. It’s...satisfying enough.”
He nods and I watch him methodically shove food into his mouth and chew and my stomach coils. I’ve seen men eat before, didn’t find it particularly exciting but watching Revenge do it, makes me feel like my dress and underwear are all too much for me and aren’t meant to be used when he’s around.
“And I need to keep on working soon,” I murmur, “there’s a ton of stuff I still need to do on the farm.” I raise my brows. “Are you done?”
When he says he is, I hurry to clean up, humming to myself and I grab a piece of a leftover still stuck in the pan, before throwing it into the sink and I nearly choke. The salt. I put too much and I spit it out and turn to Revenge who regards me calmly.
“Why you aint say nothing?” I cry, feeling miserable that he forced all of that down.
“About what?” Revenge shrugs. He winks at me, before getting up and my face flames. He ate that whole mess simply to avoid hurting my feelings and my limbs feel heavy and warm.
Just like I thought. A good man.
“Where you goan?” I breathe when he moves toward the exit and he stops in his tracks and I bite my lip. Did I sound needy now? Probably but Revenge doesn’t seem to mind.
