the kitchen counter and take me right there, the popping bacon was a reminder that it couldn’t happen.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
I nodded. “I slept great. It was the best night of sleep I’d had in…years probably.”
He hummed before pouring the eggs into another pan. “Are you okay?”
I leaned against the counter and didn’t speak until he looked at me again. “I’m more than okay. Am I sore? A bit, but even I know that’s to be expected. But I also know that question you asked me has more than one meaning behind it. So no, I don’t have any regrets. If anything, I’m now greedy or more.”
Stellan’s eyebrows shot up at my blunt words, but he recovered quickly as he snatched up the spatula to stir the eggs around. “Well, let’s see what we can do to satisfy your hunger.” I opened my mouth to respond, but he held up a finger to cut me off, “After you fill your belly.”
I pretended to pout, but if I were being honest, I was enjoying this. Jennifer couldn’t cook if her life depended on it, so if I wanted a homecooked meal I had to make it. There were no breakfasts in bed or lazy Sundays getting lost in each other. Usually it was a bowl of cold cereal while standing in the kitchen while I avoided her as much as possible.
“Where’d you go just now?” Stellan asked.
“Nowhere I wanted to be.”
“Well leave and come back to me.”
I looked at his shoulder, and even though it was covered in ink, I couldn’t help but think I’d left my own mark with my teeth. Not being able to help myself, I leaned over and placed my lips against his skin.
“I already did.”
Stellan growled in his throat and shifted away from me. “Behave until you eat. Burnt eggs aren’t the best after-sex food. The coffee’s also ready, and I have a mug on the counter if you’d like to help yourself.”
“Would you like some?” I asked after I poured myself a cup.
“Sure. I don’t know what you like, but there’s some milk and creamer in the fridge. Sugar is in the counter over the sink.”
“How do you take yours?”
“Bare.”
Fuck me.
I nearly dropped the mug I was holding, while Stellan turned back to the stove to flip bacon and turn eggs as if he hadn’t just rocked my world—again. We’d only had sex one freaking time, and yet that one little four-letter word had my mind racing and wondering what it’d be like for him to take me bare.
Dammit, it was all too soon to be entertaining such thoughts, but Stellan had gotten under my skin. In the short time I’d been with him, I was the happiest I’d felt in years, and it was all because of him. I just hoped I could hang on to that happiness for as long as possible, and that he didn’t take my heart with him when it was finally over.
“What time do you have to work today?” I asked when we were seated at his kitchen table while we ate.
It should’ve been odd, considering he was nearly naked except for his skintight boxer briefs while I was fully clothed, but it wasn’t at all. The eggs were cheesy and cooked to fluffy perfection, and the bacon was crisp. I had already devoured one plate and had gone back for seconds when I finally asked him my question. Sitting at his table, eating breakfast with him after spending the night in his arms, was definitely something I could get used to, and that was a thought I definitely needed to put the brakes on. My emotions were full steam ahead, and I was struggling to hold on to them.
“Whenever I feel like going in. Why? Are you in a hurry to leave?”
I shook my head. “No, not at all. I just didn’t want to keep you if you had somewhere you needed to be.”
“I am where I need to be. I have a car waiting for me, but they can’t pick it up until this evening, so there’s no rush.”
“Oh, that’s good. I don’t go in until later tonight.”
“When’s your next day off?”
I swallowed my sip of coffee and set my mug down. “Thursday, actually. Jimmy has some family thing and asked me to trade him. So I’m working for him next Monday.”
“Really? The guys and I are playing at The Tavern over in Littleton. You should come listen to us play.”
“You wouldn’t mind?”
Stellan’s eyes narrowed