Blackbird's Fall - Jenika Snow Page 0,19

wanted him to see her without the dirt smudging her face or the wrinkled tomboy clothing she wore when she worked around the yard.

“I forgot to ask you what kind you wanted and how much, so hopefully this is enough—”

His words stopped when he lifted his head from the basket and stared at her. For a second, they just stood there facing each other, neither speaking nor moving. He moved his gaze up and down her body, and she heard and saw him swallow.

God, him looking at her like that, watching her like how a man watches a woman he wants, had her so wet.

Marius looked at the table next, and she knew by the expression that covered his face that he was surprised. “What’s this?”

She felt herself blush. “I thought we could have an adult meal.” Walking over to the table, she held up the bottle of wine. “Found it in the cellar.”

He smoothed one hand over his torn pants and nodded. “I’m grossly underdressed for this.”

She smiled again and set the bottle on the table. “It’ll be a little while longer for the food to finish cooking, so you can change if you want.” They stood there staring at each other for a moment too long, a second longer than what was comfortable. All she could feel was the pounding of desire in her veins. Maya was aware of the fact that Marius watched her with clear heat, this arousal he tried to fight, that he tried to hide.

“Yeah, okay,” he said with a gravelly voice and ran his hand over his hair. “Let me just put something clean on and wash up.”

And before she could move or say anything, he was walking past her. The scent of masculinity, of all male, filled her head as he walked by her and a breeze moved over her. She closed her eyes, clenched her hands into fists, and told herself she wasn’t some hormonal teenager. She could control herself and how she felt for someone.

This isn’t like how it used to be. This is a desperate world, filled with hate and loss, death, and sorrow.

When she heard him ascend the stairs, she breathed out a lungful of air and braced her hand on the table beside her. She could get through this without acting like she had never been with a man before, that she didn’t know how to control herself and how she felt.

Maya could make this work, because that was the only way they would get through this. Sleeping with him would complicate things, would change things between them.

But it might be for the best. It might be exactly what should happen.

He was back downstairs ten minutes later, a fresh shirt and pair of pants on, and his hands and face cleaned. She’d give him her grandfather’s old clothing. It was outdated, but they’d been about the same size and it worked for him.

“It smells delicious, Maya,” Marius said in a deep voice.

“Thank you. I hope it tastes okay.” This was the first “real” meal she had since all this had gone down, and she knew it was probably the same for Marius. She didn’t have much she could spare, especially not since she was trying to stock up for winter, but she’d gotten some fish out of the pond, had a few canned potatoes in the cupboard, and even opened one of the jars of peaches.

The cellar had been stocked nicely with canned items. Her grandfather, who had been a farmer and a manly man all the way through, also canned fruits and veggies, even some salmon and chicken. The cellar had two large shelves with just those canned goods alone.

“I’m sure it’ll be incredible.” He was looking at the table, and she gestured for him to take a seat. “This will be the first ‘real’ meal I’ve had. I mean, you’ve been taking care of me, but I haven’t had a sit-down meal since before all this happened.”

“Me neither,” she said and took a seat. “Dig in.” Maya started serving some of the veggies and put the peaches on a small plate. She was nervous, because she knew what she’d like to do tonight, knew she’d like to finally give in to her desires, even if she shouldn’t want to.

A lot of things went through her mind, things that said a platonic relationship with Marius might not be realistic but that’s what was smart. Once people slept together, the whole dynamic of things changed, and sometimes