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I liked having a home. A place for me that was always there. That I could count on. More, I liked that there was someone in it who liked me enough to want to be there when I walked through the door. Not once had I ever thought about what it might be like to come home to someone. I might have considered getting a dog, but that was it.
The lights were on in the house. My heart beat a little faster. What was he doing? Eating? Watching TV? Showering? I needed to know. I had to find out what he did in my home when I wasn’t around. It wouldn’t be weird to creep in and spy on him, right? With that thought propelling me forward, I jumped out of the car. Instead of going around to the front door, I headed for the side of the house.
The door opened as I hit the last step, revealing Reaper in dark jeans, dark shirt, and his hair down in waves that would make a hairstylist jealous. It was his bare feet that had me stutter-stepping. So casual, so comfortable, like he was at home.
In a way, I guess he was. We hadn’t spent a single night apart in almost a month. Not since our first date. And it hadn’t occurred to me until now that we never spent time at his place.
“You wanna come inside?” he asked, his body somehow getting bigger in the doorway as he stayed put, blocking me from going inside. My lips twitched as I nodded. “You gotta pay.” Not hiding his smile, he leaned on the door frame, arms hanging at his sides. Laughter in his eyes. I knew what he was doing. Playing with me. Teasing me. My poor heart flipped; my stomach did a weird flutter.
“And what kind of payment did you want?” I stepped closer until our bodies were almost touching and tilted my head back.
“A kiss.” Going up to my tiptoes, I slid my fingers into his hair. It took the gentlest of tugs for him to lean down and meet me.
What I tried to keep as a quick peck turned into a passionate kiss the moment our lips met. He angled his head, moved his mouth against mine.
I was wrong earlier. So wrong.Thiswas what I needed after a long day. Not the couch or food. Just him, being here when I got home. Kissing me like he hadn’t been able to breathe properly without me. Before I knew it, his hands were on my ass, lifting me up, pressing my back against the wall in the mudroom.
Our kisses were slow, like we had all the time in the world. His hands drifted up to my waist, pulling me tighter. My hands wound up in his hair, caressing his shoulders.
Being with him shut down my thoughts. My brain was always going a mile a minute. Counting, remembering, making lists of things to do. But now it was gloriously empty except for thoughts of him.
God, I loved being able to give him my total attention. Loved that I could focus on him. Loved him.
I love him.
The words filtered through my mind. Like they were normal. Like my world hadn’t just been rocked.
When had that happened? I considered breaking away from him and running. I didn’t think I’d be able to keep it a secret. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep it a secret or shout it from the rooftops and wear a shirt with his face on it.
A loud beep went off in the house and Reaper pulled away. His hand cupped my face, thumb brushing over the apple of my cheek.
“Welcome home, Einstein,” he whispered, then gave me a soft kiss on the forehead before closing and locking the door. I followed him back to the kitchen, where he was cooking before I came home, if the dirty pots in the sink were any indication.
I could count on one hand how many times I’d used the kitchen. The aroma of spices filled the air from the stove, and my house had never felt more likehomethan at that moment, with Reaper moving past me, a wooden spoon in hand. My stomach produced a frighteningly loud noise, letting anyone within a six-mile radius know how hungry I was.
I’d accidentally skipped lunch. Again.
Reaper chuckled as he stopped the timer and stirred a pot on the stove. “Do you ever eat?” he asked, but his attention was on whatever he was making on the stove so he didn’t catch my shrug. “Come here.” Once I was within arm’s reach, he lifted me up and placed me on the counter next to him. He moved like he knew his way around not just any kitchen but mine specifically. Like he’d cooked in here a thousand times before.
He opened a bottle of wine and poured until my biggest wine glass was more than halfway full, then handed it to me. Positioning himself between my legs, he placed his hands on my knees, thumbs rubbing the inside of my thighs.
The gentle motion lowered my stress. First a magic kiss, now magic fingers?
“How was your day, Einstein?” He stepped away and went back to whatever he was cooking.
“Fine. Got a new client, so I’m doing some work on that. Finished up Stanley Philips’s computer, which didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. The videos came in from all the stops the brothers made.” Reaper raised his eyebrows in question. “There’s nothing that identifies them. There were a couple shots of the women from the back. The hats and clothes they changed into made it hard for me to identify them, which was good.” I knew what I was looking for. But if anyone else watched the videos looking for them, they’d never be able to tell who the women were. “We got the only copies and deleted them from whatever hard drives they came from.”
“Good,” he muttered. Cooking mittens on his hands, he bent down, opened the stove, and pulled out a big cast-iron skillet. A savory, mouthwatering aroma filled the room. My eyes followed him as he brought the skillet to the table, and my body got all warm and gooey.
It had place settings, flowers, candles. I didn’t bother to smother the butterflies this time.
He’d made seafood paella, my favorite meal ever. The entire scene caused me to think back to all the times Reaper had brought me food. The generic containers he’d used were the same as the food carts used, so I assumed that’s where he got my meals, but now I realized he’d been cooking for me all this time.
My mind swam with a mix of emotions. Happiness? Of course. But all that joy was tinged with anxiety. The fluttering in my stomach turned to knots. I knew he’d wanted this with me, a night for only us. Things I’d never thought possible before him.
Like a relationship.
But Reaper hadn’t wavered, not once. I wanted to ask him if he loved me the way I’d just realized I loved him.
