Chapter 31

CHAPTER

THIRTY-ONE

EDMUND

Pouring a glass of wine for myself, I place it and the bottle beside the stove. I click on each of the gas burners I need and move all my ingredients to the counter beside my wine.

“This just won’t do.” I part Harper's knees and step between them. Gripping her thighs, I pull her around my waist as she quickly wraps her arms around my neck when I begin to lift her.

Fuck, I love the feel of her wrapped around me.

Spinning around, I place her on the counter near the stove so I can still see her gorgeous face while I cook.

For her…

The enjoyment and comfort I get from cooking the perfect meal have always been just for me. Never in my life have I cooked a meal for a woman. Not even my own belated mother. My love of cooking is a secret that no one has been privy to—before Harper. Yet here I am, sautéing garlic and tomatoes as I prepare to feed her my favorite meal.

“You continue to surprise me, Edmund Parker.” She smiles over her wine glass.

I continue to surprise myself since meeting you…

Dipping a spoon into the creamy sauce, I blow on it before taking a small taste. After ensuring it’s to my exacting standards, I slip the spoon between Harper’s lips. She moans with delight as her lips wrap around the spoon, gathering every drop into her mouth.

“Oh my God, Eddie. Is there anything you don’t do well?” she exclaims with a hint of sarcasm and flirtatiousness that causes me to smile back at her.

Keeping the women in my life alive.

I keep that thought to myself as I turn the stove burners off. I grab plates from the cabinet above me and serve each of us a helping of the Tuscan Butter Scallops.

Stepping in front of her, I wrap one hand around her waist and the other around her throat. I squeeze lightly and firmly press my lips against hers before pulling back and leaving her wanting more.

Leaving us both wanting more.

My lips still brushing hers, I speak against them as I lift her from the counter, “I was thinking we could eat outside by the pool. First, dinner. Then, you.”

I slide her down my body until her toes touch the floor as a rosy blush creeps over her cheeks. I can’t get enough of the way she reacts to me—to all of me. Even as she finds her balance, I don’t quite want to let her go and my hands linger against her for a moment longer than necessary.

Harper grabs our wine glasses as I grab our plates, and she follows me through the French doors at the back of the house. After setting the plates on the table, I pull out her seat and gesture for her to sit. As I take mine, she lifts a pair of leather cuffs from the table with an inquisitive look on her face.

“Those are for dessert, little rose.” I pull them from her hand and lay them back on the table between us with the other pair.

Harper enjoys bite after bite of the meal I prepared for her, savoring every mouthful as though she were trying it for the first time. The same way she seems to enjoy everything with me.

“You’ve really outdone yourself, Eddie.” She forks another scallop and swipes it through the cream sauce on her plate. “This might be the most amazing thing I’ve ever eaten in my life.”

“I used to be able to say the same,” I finish off the final bit on my plate before continuing, “but that was before I had the pleasure of feasting on your delicious cunt.”

That adorable crimson flushes her cheeks again, comparable in color to the shade I intend to make her ass shortly.

“Finish your wine,” I rise from my seat and grab her plate, “while I run these inside.”

When I return a moment later, she’s standing poolside, sipping on the remainder of the Sauvignon Blanc. Stepping behind her, I snake my arm around her waist as I sweep her hair to the side.

“Are you ready to play, little rose?” I place a trail of rough, wet kisses from the crook of her neck up to her ear. Pressing my lips to the shell of her ear, I whisper, “Because I’ve been thinking of things I plan to do to you all fucking day.”

Reaching her free hand up, she slides it through my hair. When she gets to the back of my neck, she pulls me into her, silently demanding more from me.

More, which I will gladly give her.

Grabbing her wine glass, I hastily toss it into the pool before us, and I pull her tighter to me. I slide my hand up her body and wrap it around her throat. Angling her chin up, I stretch her neck and grant myself unfettered access to her. I continue to kiss and nip before sucking hard. She groans as I leave my first mark of the evening.

“Your sweet sounds are delightful, little rose,” I kiss over the bruising flesh on her neck, “but it’s your pained cries and screams of absolute fucking pleasure that I’m looking forward to most of all.”