“Drake?” I couldn’t help hiding my laugh when I saw my husband cooking with nothing except jeans on and a black kitchen towel hanging around his neck. No sight had ever been this downright sexy. God, even after all these months, seeing him after a long day’s work still managed to give me the butterflies. “Baby …” I huskily greeted him as I slowly approached, my eyes devouring his luxurious display of skin and abs. “I wasn’t all that hungry before, but I suppose I am now.” Was it normal to be this horny? I was to a point where I just wanted to have him go at it with me bent over the kitchen countertop.
“Ah, wife’s finally here,” he greeted, grinning as he took the spatula to scoop a portion of what he was making before bringing it to me. “Try this. Tell me if it’s too spicy or too salty. My taste buds are a little messed up after drinking some wine and nibbling on some chocolates you left on the counter.”
I paused, giving him a skeptical look. “You ate chocolates?” I glanced at the massive Trader Joes brick of chocolate yet only found the wrapper. I had barely eaten two tiny pieces. “But you don’t like chocolates that much.”
He shrugged before taking another go with his wine. “Hell if I know. I only eat chocolate when I want to lick it off your body. Other than that, the last time I ate this much cocoa was when you were pregnant.”
“Huh.” Well, I didn’t think I was, not really. The last time, there was nothing that stood out to me that indicated I was pregnant. Besides, though I had been slack with taking my birth control pills, it had been months without any signs of pregnancy.
He gave me a quizzical look. “If you are, you’d tell me right away, right, babe?”
“Huh?”
“Huh?” he repeated, giving me a stern look. “Don’t tell me you’re going to put me through hell like last time. That wasn’t nice. I swear, I’ll be on my best behavior, even my aggressive potty mouth. I’ll be tame, just play nice with me.” He was trying to bargain after I had shut him out the first time I was pregnant.
“It wasn’t as if I did that on purpose. You were the one accusing me of sleeping with other guys, so in my book, you deserved every torturous minute.” Winking at him, I strode over to the nearby counter to set down my purse and such, taking off my scarf last before going over to the cabinets to pull out some plates.
Typically, Drake was instantly right behind me, hugging me from behind with his chin resting on my shoulder. “You haven’t greeted me with a kiss, wife. That’s not very wifely of you.”
I could smell the musky, manly scent of his skin, invigorating my tired senses. “I knew you’d come anyway, so I was just waiting for you,” I murmured before spinning to face his loveliness. In a heartbeat, I was captivated by his mercurial silver eyes, making the butterflies in my tummy all the more profound.
“How are you feeling? I mean, after today… If anything happens to you again—” He instantly stopped mid-sentence, looking like he was tortured.
“Don’t think like that, okay?” I urged, forcing myself to smile, hoping it would ease the frown settling on his face. “I have Masie with me in there all the time. Besides, I’ll have the Santa Monica police on speed dial. Will that alleviate some of the worry?”
He nodded before holding me close. “For now, I guess it would.”
His uncertainties weren’t baseless, but there was no point in trying to ruin our night with Shannon’s antics. From where I was standing, that wench wasn’t going to get under my skin, not by saying hurtful things, targeting my insecurities like a truly scorned bitch.
After our talk, he and I busied ourselves with prepping for dinner. While he was finishing off grilling the steaks on the nearby stone grill, I cleaned the patio table that overlooked the gorgeous Malibu beach then set out to get the plates I had specifically set aside along with placemats and utensils. After I lit up the candles, only then did I divulge in a glass of chilled white wine, sighing as I took off my shoes before softly strolling towards the canopy, needing some relaxation time. The soles of my feet were achy and swollen. They were so numb I could barely feel the pain along my legs.
“What a day,” I wistfully exclaimed while I watched Drake flip the steaks, admiring his well-honed back and that gorgeous dip before the arch of his ass. “Did you get to see your parents today? I called Patricia earlier and apologized that I couldn’t get away during lunch to come visit her and Hugh. From what she told me, Hugh’s progress is stable. That’s good news, right?”