Dark Secrets Unveiled (The Children of the Gods #45) - I.T. Lucas Page 0,19

and anticipation that he’d only felt as a young boy with his first crush. Except, he was a man now, and the feelings he had for Stella ran much deeper.

It was a little scary.

She was the woman he wanted to be his everything, his forever, and he wasn’t sure that she felt the same about him. Cautious, reserved, and hiding dark secrets, she wasn’t ready to open up to him. And even if he managed to seduce her today, the road ahead was still full of uncertainty.

Taking a deep breath, he put one of the bags down and was about to knock when Stella opened the door. “Good morning.” Her gaze flicked to the flowers. “Let me take these.” She carefully pulled the bouquet from under his arm. “Thank you. They are lovely.”

He hefted the bags off the doorstep. “Not as lovely as you are.”

As always, Stella looked beautiful. Her wild hair was partially gathered in a loose braid and tied off with a long string. The rest of it fell in long messy waves down her back. Most of it was dark brown, almost black, but she colored the bottom part blonde. It was odd, and yet it matched her bohemian style.

She wore a white blouse that accentuated her tanned skin and a long multi-layered skirt. Richard usually didn’t notice such details, but it was hard to miss that each layer was made from a different fabric. Somehow, though, the different patterns and colors worked perfectly together.

Like the woman herself.

Stella had many layers, and he couldn’t wait to discover them all. Provided that she let him.

She smiled. “You are such a charmer, Richard.” Kicking the door wide open, she motioned for him to come in. “Those bags look heavy.”

“They are.”

“Did you invite Vlad and Wendy to join us for lunch? Because that looks like way too much food for just the two of us.”

She couldn’t be that naive. This wasn’t about entertaining family, it was about moving their relationship to the next step.

“It’s only me and you, babe. You’ll have plenty of leftovers.” He followed her to the kitchen.

Usually, immortals moved with an almost unnatural fluidity, but Stella was tense, and her gait was stiff. What was she so nervous about?

She’d told him that she hadn’t been with anyone in a long time, so maybe anticipating the sex was making her nervous. Then again, as an immortal who had lived for as long as she had, Stella had had a lot of practice. Several weeks or even months of abstinence shouldn’t be a big deal for her.

Nevertheless, he was going to be patient and take his cues from her. After all, this wasn’t about scoring a hookup. This was about a life-long partnership.

“Can I help with something?” She leaned against the counter and watched him pull the supplies out of the bags.

“You can sit over there.” He pointed to a barstool. “And keep me company while I work.”

“I can do that.” She walked over to the stool, sat down, and rearranged her skirt.

“Did you design the outfit you’re wearing?” Richard opened up with a topic that he knew would put her at ease.

Stella loved talking about her designs. Come to think of it, she got the most animated when the subject of conversation was her work, but she clammed up when he tried to get her to talk about her personal life.

“Of course.” She smiled and lifted her leg, flipping the skirt up. “No one makes this kind of layered skirts anymore. They used to be popular in the eighties.”

“I like it.” He rinsed the lettuce and put it on the cutting board. “It makes you look like a gypsy.”

Recalling that he needed to put the chicken in the oven before starting on the salad, Richard pulled out the covered dish with the sliced breasts that had been marinating for the past hour. According to the internet recipe, an hour, no less, no more, was needed to make the chicken ready for baking.

Stella leaned her elbows on the counter. “That’s the idea. I always thought of myself as an honorary gypsy. I don’t like to stay in one place for too long.”

“Do you like to travel?” He started chopping the lettuce into thin strips the way Wendy had shown him.

“I do, but I haven’t done it in a long while.”

“Why not?” He emptied the shredded lettuce into a salad bowl.

“When Vlad was born, I had to stay put. We didn’t always have this communal living arrangement. Before the village