Page 43 of Adrian

“Is this just until you’re sure I’m pregnant, caveman?”

“Nope. I like my come inside you. I’ll trap it in there as often as I want, even after we know you’re carrying my baby.”

She wraps her arms around my middle and presses against my side while I finish cooking. “That smells so good. Once again, let me point out how spoiled I am. I may never cook. Will it help if I point out that my cooking skills are lacking?” She tips her head back and sets her chin against my chest, grinning.

“Baby, you are not going to be able to chase me away with these announcements. I don’t care if you never cook.”

“Good, because you might be disappointed. I never learned to cook growing up. My mother thinks it’s beneath her. She pays people to cook, and she has for my entire life.”

“But you had an apartment before you moved here. You were living alone, right?”

“Yes. And I managed the basics. I figured I would learn to cook when I got here. I wouldn’t have a choice. I was going to live off the land.”

“Just so you know, princess, we don’t even live entirely off the land. For one thing, though Asher enjoys hunting and brings home a deer from time to time, we get most of our meat from the city. We have an amazing garden, but that’s thanks to Rebekah and Hannah. Emma chips in sometimes since she’s a botanist. The rest of us help when needed, but we don’t have enough time to do much. A lot of our food comes from the store.”

“Mmm. I think I was a bit disillusioned before I arrived.”

I give her a squeeze and kiss the top of her head. “You’re going to learn fast.”

“What do I do about the property I bought?”

“Nothing for now. I’ll hire some people to come clean up the debris so that no one stumbles upon the collapsed house and gets injured. Other than that, you can sit on it for a while. Maybe you’ll decide you want to do something with it.”

She sighs as she gives me more of her weight. “You have an answer for everything.”

“Not everything. But I’ll do my best to make your life as fulfilling as you want it to be.” I nod toward her phone that’s sitting on the dock. “Have you checked your messages since yesterday?”

She winces. “No. Did you look?”

“Of course not, princess. I wouldn’t violate your privacy. But I have seen messages come up on the screen a few times this morning. You should probably check it after breakfast, just in case your parents have sent the cavalry. No sense in us getting blindsided.”

“You’re right. I’ll do it after we eat, so nothing ruins my appetite.”

Fifteen

Blair

* * *

I pace the kitchen after reading the dozens of messages and handing the phone to Adrian. He might as well see for himself what’s been said. I won’t keep secrets from him. And he needs to know what to expect since this is his family’s property, and my parents know exactly where I am.

His brow is furrowed when he finally sets the phone on the counter. “Well, all we can do is face them when they arrive, baby.”

“Can you disable the tracking app they put on my phone? I bet there’s one on my computer, too. Do you know how?”

He chuckles. “Princess, Adam and Aaric developed that app.”

I gasp. “Seriously?”

“Yes. It’s what they do. So they can absolutely disable it. They are also capable of checking every single thing you brought with you to see if anything else has a tracker on it. But, let me point out, your parents already know where you are. You can’t undo that.”

“I know. I get it, but I’d rather not feel like they’re constantly checking my location for the rest of my life. It’s none of their business if I go to the diner in town or shopping in the city.”

He nods. “I understand. We’ll take care of it.”

I stop roaming and come to him where he’s leaning a hip against the counter. I’m so unbelievably into this man that I hate it when I’m not touching him, so I once again wrap my arms around his waist and hug him close.

Every time I do so, he pulls me in even tighter and kisses my temple. Being in his arms makes me feel safe. His palms span my entire back. And, of course, his erection is ever-present, pressing against my stomach. He’s never flaccid.