“Except I don’t use butter.” He sounded way too serious. “And I thought we agreed that I’m easy.”
“Well, maybe I just want to feed you. Do you have a problem with that, Charles?”
I hadn’t wanted to push, but since he asked and wouldn’t be satisfied with the response, there he had it. I liked cooking for him, trying out healthy recipes, seeing if he’d enjoy them.
“Not a problem. Just—you don’t have to.”
And because he still looked so worried like I was going to do something to ruin the affair we had—like confess I’d fallen for him—I smiled to lighten the mood.
“I was bored. It gives me something to do while I’m still trying to find a job.”
His shoulders visibly relaxed at that as I pulled out a chair for him. “Still no luck?”
“No.”
“Maybe I can take a look at your résumé and offer some tips?”
Didn’t he see he was doing the same thing I was? If this was just about an affair, why was he concerned whether or not my résumé was up to standard? I didn’t bother to point out the obvious to him.
The last thing I needed was to have Charles bolt tonight. I had a sexy night planned for us, and when we were done, I was pretty sure he wouldn’t have any complaints about me being a good mistress.
Me, his mistress? I found it amusing.
“Sure, after dinner. I’ll be back.”
I brought out our first course, hoping everything tasted as well as it should. My taste buds were spoiled by bad food.
“I thought we were going to have sex after dinner,” Charles called after me as I hurried back to the kitchen.
“Résumé first. Sex after. Maybe even a walk before sex. You’ll be full.”
I returned to the dining room with the rest of our meal as well as the half-empty bottle of wine my father had discovered earlier today. Charles might not have liked the idea of me going so far with dinner, but he seemed to be over it. He peered in curiosity at the dish.
“Should we have poison control on standby?”
I laughed as I took my chair across from him. “Don’t worry. I’m EMT certified.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. I did courses over the summer. Thought it was a useful skill to have.”
Charles ticked off on his hand. “You actually know business. You can fix stuff. You know more than basic CPR, and you cook too?”
“Am I the perfect catch or what?” I grinned at him.
“Definitely a perfect mistress.”
We kept up the banter all through dinner. I probably enjoyed this side of our affair as much as I enjoyed having sex with him. It was easy for us to talk to each other. I couldn’t say if he noticed, but I did.
It didn’t matter if he showed up at my doorstep less than happy like he had tonight. He always relaxed after a little while in my presence. That he trusted me enough to be this comfortable around me was better than trusting me with his body. Sleeping with someone was easy. Letting them in and sharing moments like these? Not so much.
“So, how was dinner?” I asked Charles when we were finished.
“Do you want my considerate answer or the truth?”
“Hmm, both.”
“Okay, so my considerate answer is that it was pretty good.”
“And the truth?”
“The same. You found the recipe on the Internet?”
“Yes, why? Do you want it?”
Charles’s straight face made me laugh out loud. The look was priceless. I rose to my feet and cleared the table.
“My bad. Do you have room for vegan brownies? They are dairy-and egg-free.”
“You made brownies too?”
“Actually, I bought these at a vegan pastry shop.”
“Boo. You were supposed to cook everything from scratch if you really wanted to impress me.”
I put down the plates on the table before him and leaned over.
“Are you saying I failed?”
He hooked a hand in the loop of my jeans and pulled me toward him. “After you show me the rest of the goodies, I’ll answer that.”
I kissed him. His head was at the right angle for it, so why not? His hand came up to my shoulder, but before we could get into it right there on the table, I untangled our greedy tongues.
“Ah, we were talking brownies,” I reminded him.
“Maybe later after sex.”
“I’ll set the dishwasher, and we go for a walk. How about that?”
He hesitated and checked his watch. A flicker of irritation went through me, and I had to stamp down my initial reaction. Sometimes I hated being treated like his dirty little secret. But of course, that was exactly what I was, and I shouldn’t complain about it because I’d agreed to our affair.
“I doubt anyone in this neighborhood will know who you are, Charles,” I told him. “It’s just a simple walk, and it’s dark.”
“All right. Just let me use the bathroom.”
“Thanks for taking me out for a walk.”
I stared at Charles in surprise as we re-entered the house some forty-five minutes later. We hadn’t walked for long, just by the high school, where we’d stopped a few minutes and watched a football game.
“You’re welcome.”
His heavy sigh also wasn’t what I’d expected. Before he could stride off, I grabbed his hips and pulled him back into my chest. He stiffened briefly, then relaxed against me.
“What’s wrong?” I kissed the side of his neck. At least he was okay with this part. It was everything outside the bedroom he had a problem accepting, but I couldn’t separate the two.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” he said. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about why I hesitated about going out. It’s not you. It’s just that I can’t have people know about us. You understand that, right?”
My throat tightened. I understood, but I didn’t have to like it. He did have a valid point. Dad was usually supportive, but I had no idea how he would react or how this could potentially affect the relationship between him and Declan. I’d hate it if they had a fight because of us.
I bit Charles’s ear lobe, then licked the area with my tongue. “It’s fine. I get it, and I won’t do anything reckless to out us, I promise.”
“You sure this doesn’t bother you?”
“I can’t say it doesn’t, but it would bother me more if this ended. Does that work?”
“For now.”
My hand splayed on his stomach, and he turned his head, seeking out my lips. I evaded him until he groaned, reached back, and grabbed my head, then smashed his lips into mine. My chest tightened at how good we fit together. I could do this. I had months to let him see that what we could have was bigger than the scandal of us.
“I think it’s time for me to do my mistressing,” I said against his lips.
Chapter Five
Auggie
I checked my watch and tapped my foot impatiently. Fifteen minutes left until my appointment with Heath. Still enough time for me to sneak out and cancel, but how much longer could I go without using my impact play toys? Yes, I tried exerting my dominance in different ways with Charles, but it didn’t give me the same high.