Chapter 23

Twenty-Three

The potatoes were a complete hit.

People, already hungry, were willing to try anything, and after one bite of the gloriousness that was potatoes, they were sold. I felt like a drug dealer, offering them a sample of something I knew they’d get hooked on.

Was I sorry?

Nope.

After the last of my cooked goods was gone, I promised Head Chef I’d write out recipes, then went looking for Theon. I had concerns about our potato supply. We had some to plant, but at this rate, people might be digging them up at midnight to eat.

Normally, Theon was in his study in the evening. There was a lot of paperwork involved in running a place of this size, and he was diligent about it. Which was one of the many reasons why I liked him. I really liked my men with a healthy work ethic.

Sure enough, the second I opened his office door, I spotted him. Not behind his desk, though. He was sprawled out on the soft rug in front of the fireplace, rubbing his tummy in gentle circles.

Now, I could have been wrong, but that had food coma written all over it.

“Jake,” he moaned pitifully.

Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh. Just because he looked like a toddler who’d gotten into a cookie jar and now regretted all life decisions, it didn’t mean I could laugh.

I came in closer to stand over him, surveying the scene. He really was a beached whale just then. In fact, I think his stomach was pouching a little. He’d opened up his shirt completely, hair splayed around his head, and it would have looked sexy if not for the pitiful moans and the pouchy stomach.

“Have you changed your mind about potatoes?” I asked him mock-genially.

“Jake.” He groaned again, his eyes intent on mine. “We have to go back. I already ate my allotment, and I need more friiiiies.”

“A man after my own heart. Fries are indeed the answer to many ills. Actually, I came here to talk to you about that. I’m afraid everyone else shares your newfound addiction. I’m not sure if what we set aside to plant will actually make it into the ground.”

Look at that greedy light in his eyes. “So for everyone’s sake, we have to go back in?”

“Have I given you the necessary justification?”

Theon cackled. Outright cackled. “You absolutely have. We need to get more flowers, anyway.”

“Also true. Let’s strike out tomorrow. Get as much as we can and plant it before we leave for the capital.”

“I think that’s a solid plan. In fact, if we leave early?—”

With no warning, I felt a solid push at my back. Not hands, but something more ethereal, with enough heft to it that I went from standing to falling right on top of Theon without any chance to catch my balance. Windmilling, the only thing that saved me were Theon’s reflexes. He snatched me close before my head could hit the ground, arms like steel bands around my waist.

For a moment, I just lay there. It took me a second to get both my wind and my balance back, and in that second, I realized I had a deliciously hot male under me. I’d seen Theon in some wonderfully risqué shirts, I knew the man had muscles, but feeling them? Oh, that was a whole other pleasure.

My libido abruptly reminded me it had been five years since we’d had anyone to rumble with. And damn if I didn’t see its point. Theon smelled fantastic, too, a clean male musk that did things to me.

Me. Don’t drool, don’t whine, and for god’s sake, don’t grind on the man. No matter how tempting all that is. We’d been flirting, sure, but Theon had also been holding back. I didn’t know why, and trying to force something right now might be a mistake. Even though this didn’t feel like a mistake.

Coin had seriously just tried to force me into a fucking cliché, hadn’t it? The whole “oh no, I tripped” that led into a kiss. I was going to fucking wring its neck. This was not on my bingo card!

There was no graceful way to extract myself, so I went for speed. Before I did something that would get me in trouble.

I’d gotten up all of an inch when Theon’s arms flexed, bringing me back down.

Uhhh…huh?

Tilting my head, I got a better look at his face and holy shit. I’d never in my life had a man look at me like that. The naked hunger in his golden eyes gave me a full-body tingle. My breath quickened, anticipation zinging through me. Those eyes of his drew me in like gravity, and I swayed into him without intending to. Yes, kiss me. Touch me. Let me touch you. I’ve had too many moments where I wanted you and held back and I don’t want this to be another moment lost.

His eyes fell to my lips, zeroing there, and Theon’s head angled for a kiss.

I angled my own to meet him halfway, drawn in without thought. Animal instinct urged me to close that gap, to finally learn how those lips might taste.

The first touch of soft lips was delightful. Theon’s kiss was gentle, almost cautious, as if he wasn’t sure how I’d respond.

I drove my lips more forcefully onto his, hand sliding around his neck to get a firm anchor. I had to have more of this man. A gentle kiss wasn’t enough to satisfy this craving I’d developed for him.

Theon groaned as he kissed back, tongue swiping at my mouth for entrance, then tangling with mine in a French kiss that was hot as hell. Two large hands found my ass, squeezing, which triggered a switch I didn’t know I had. Fuck yes, play with my ass, I was all for this.

I ground my hips into his a little—I was only human, sue me—and felt him shudder under me as a result. Oooh, he liked that. I liked that. It felt like every place he touched me came alive, the feelings so intense they came in waves of sensation.

Why the hell were we both wearing pants?

For some strange reason, Theon pulled back from the kiss, pausing us.

Uh, no? No, I was not okay with this. How dare he.

“Wait,” he panted, face flushed, breath coming in quick spurts. “Jake.”

He was serious about this whole pause-in-the-make-out-session thing, wasn’t he? Okay, dammit, be an adult. I’d seduce him back into it in the next thirty seconds. “What?”

“Is this really all right?” Theon’s eyes searched mine.

“Why the hell wouldn’t it be?”

“It’s just—” Theon bit his lip uncertainly before saying in a rush, “You just got divorced, and landed here on another planet, and there’s so much you’re learning and adapting to. I don’t want to throw something else at your head and overwhelm you?—”

Oh. My. God. Could I keep him? I wanted to keep him. I’d never met a man as good as this one, someone who would act in my best interests.

Okay, this called for an actual conversation. I sat up a little, my knees on either side of his hips, straddling him and still wishing for no pants, but alas, that might need to wait for a while.

I looked into Theon’s face, and he really did look worried about me. He was such a sweetie. I’d reward his thoughtfulness. Thoroughly.

“Theon, I see why you’re worried, and you have no idea how much I appreciate you thinking about me. Let me reassure you on a few points. I truly feel nothing for my ex. I’m at the point of indifference with him, as by the end, I had no anger left to even care. I’ve been ready for a real relationship for years, with someone I can entrust my heart to. So put him out of your mind. He has no place in my heart and never did.”

A line of tension disappeared from Theon’s body language.

“I’m really glad to hear that,” Theon murmured, eyes turning warm. “Because you deserve someone who truly cares for you.”

And that’d be Theon, if I had anything to say about it. “As for being overwhelmed…I do feel that way at times. There’s just so much about this world and culture to learn. But I’m not rushing the process. It’ll likely take years to learn everything, and that’s fine. You have been so incredibly supportive and understanding with me, I don’t feel lost.”

“I tried.” Theon relaxed under me, smile dazzling. “I tried to be that safety net to catch you, but you always go full speed ahead. It’s hard to know if you’re pushing yourself, or if you’re fine.”

“Eh. A little of both. But I like a challenge, and things to do. Sitting about being decorative is not my cup of tea.”

“I’m relieved to hear it. Then…” Theon’s hands moved up my thighs in a slow, deliberate caress, the move utterly sensual. His voice fell to a more husky timbre, eyes locked on mine. “Can we court?”

The man wanted to date. Fuck me sideways. I hadn’t expected that, but you know what? After a brief internal debate, I was one hundred percent on board with this plan. Also, fucking HA! I was totally in a romantic-fantasy genre. I’d gotten my genre figured out! Nanananana~ “Absolutely. Uh, do keep in mind I have no idea what courting entails for you.”

“It’ll be my absolute pleasure to teach you,” he purred at me.

Okay, the purring thing? Not cheating fair. That hit me right in the libido and now I really, really needed to get this man’s pants off.

I felt like I was vibrating in place, but I managed to stay responsible enough to ask, “Does courting allow us to sex each other up?”

Theon chuckled, those hungry eyes back. “As much as we’d like.”

Fuck yeah! Loved being on the same page.

From my pocket, a certain pest piped up. “Say ‘thank you,’ first.”

We both paused.

Right. I’d forgotten about the pest.

I creaked my head about to stare suspiciously at the thing lurking in my pants. “You. You’re the one who pushed me. Aren’t you?”

“You didn’t fall?” Theon asked in confusion.

“Nope.”

Coin cackled like a bad witch in a cartoon. “I did. So you need to thank me.”

This conniving little bastard. It just couldn’t keep itself from stirring the pot, could it?

Regardless, I had no intention of carrying on with Theon with an audience in the room. I was actually grateful for the intervention, but I was not about to tell Coin that, as it would encourage bad habits. Nope, better to chuck it so the audience went away.

“Theon, one sec,” I requested as I climbed off him.

“Sure.”

“Wait,” Coin protested, voice turning shrill. “Wait, you’re not going to throw me in the fireplace, are you?”

“Nope, not the fireplace.” I strode straight for the window.

“Nooo, I don’t want to go out the window, either! How can you do this to me?”

The window hinges were well oiled, so they opened without trouble.

“Don’t!”

I channeled my inner baseball player, winding up for a big throw.

“Jake!”

And wheeee, there it went! Look at how shiny it was, spinning in the air, glinting in the sunlight as it sailed out over the garden. Truly, a lovely sight.

“But I did you a favoooooooor~!” Coin wailed as it sailed out of sight.

I closed the window with satisfaction and turned back to Theon, anticipation coming back with a vengeance.

“We,” Theon stated as he stalked toward me, “do not need interruptions.”

“That we do not,” I agreed, coming to meet him partway. “Hopefully the pest stays gone for a while. Either way, you come here. I am not done with you.”

Theon’s hands seized my hips and yanked me into him. The predatory way he looked at me promised that we weren’t going to leave this room any time soon.

Note I was not complaining.