Secret (Betrothed 9)

“Don’t give her a choice,” Balto said. “You think Cassini gets a choice in anything?”

She smacked him again then got off his lap. “I get a choice in serving you dinner.” She headed back into the kitchen. “Looks like it’ll just be me and Heath. Enjoy your scotch.”

I let myself into her apartment.

She stood at the kitchen counter, her back to me. Without turning around to see my face, she addressed me. “Hey, babe. Just finishing dinner.” She wore her sexy little shorts and a tank top, skipping the bra and letting her tits relax. Her ass cheeks hung out slightly because the bottoms were so short.

Babe. It was a title I’d never been called before, and it fit me like a tailored suit. I liked listening to it come from her lips, especially since she only did it once in a while, when she really felt the affection inside her heart. Every time she said it, she meant it, and that was sexy. “What are we having?”

“Spaghetti.” She sautéed the beef in the pan while the noodles boiled in the pot.

I came up behind her, my arms wrapping around her petite frame, covering her entire torso because our sizes were so vastly different. I pulled her into me slightly, my face moving into her neck so I could kiss her, placing my lips against that delicious skin.

She immediately froze when I kissed her, holding the spatula over the pan without stirring the food.

I pushed the strap off her shoulder so my kiss could migrate down, move across the rest of her tanned skin, tasting olives on my tongue. My mouth widened and kissed her harder, my dick pressing into her back because I held her close. My fingers gripped the thin fabric of her shirt, stretching out the fibers with my aggressive clenches. I kissed her shoulder like it was her mouth, sucking, licking, biting.

She abandoned the food entirely, closing her eyes as she felt me devour her.

My hands roamed all over her body, squeezing her tits through the shirt before moving across her stomach. My lips slid back to her neck, and I nibbled on her lobe before I let my warm breath enter directly into her ear so she could hear my pants. I gave her a final squeeze before I let her go. I stepped over to the cabinets and grabbed the plates along with the silverware. I knew she liked wine with dinner, so I grabbed a new bottle and uncorked it.

It took her a few seconds to snap out of her haze, to stir the meat before it began to burn. But there was a red tint to her cheeks like her mind immediately went to the gutter, like food was the last thing she wanted to eat.

I leaned against the counter and stared at her.

She stirred the meat again before she looked at me. She held the look for a few seconds before she continued what she was doing.

“So, you met my brother.”

She dropped the spatula onto the pan, her relaxed body now tightening in distress. She quickly grabbed it before it became too hot to touch. The food seemed to be done, so she turned off the burner and wouldn’t look at me.

I waited for a response.

She opened a cabinet and grabbed a strainer before setting it in the sink. Then she grabbed the pot and dropped the water and noodles into the metal strainer, steam rising and filling the kitchen, floating past her face and toward the ceiling. Her arms shook the bowl, letting the water drip out.

“I asked you a question.”

She finished straining the noodles before dumping everything back into the pot. Then she carried it back to the stove. “You didn’t ask me anything.”

I smiled slightly at her comeback.

She spooned the meat onto the noodles then added the sauce, stirring everything together before she added a splash of oregano and garlic. Then she sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top. When she had nothing else to do, she sighed. “Look, I didn’t know you had a twin.” She finally turned and faced me, unable to hide the fear in her eyes. She was actually afraid of my reaction. “You guys are the same weight, the same build, and he had a skull ring. You can’t blame me for making the assumption. And…I’m sorry that I punched him. I apologized to him—twice.” It was the first time she was unsure of herself, showing her embarrassment. “It doesn’t mean I don’t trust you, okay? It just—”

“Baby, I’m not mad at you.” I couldn’t stop the smile from entering my lips. “But I do enjoy watching you squirm.”

Her eyes flashed with her usual fire.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because…I’m embarrassed.” She scooped the meal onto the plates, averting her gaze so she wouldn’t have to look at me. “I guess I didn’t want to deal with this conversation until I absolutely had to.”