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A wide grin spread across his handsome face. “Yeah. That’s what I want to hear.”
“Why are you so happy about it?” I groaned.
He pulled back, and his mouth collided with mine. His hands cradled the sides of my face as if he wanted to hold me there forever. My fingers moved beneath his hoodie, desperate to feel his skin. His tongue slipped into my mouth, and he turned my face to get better access.
There was a desperation. A need so strong, that before I knew what was happening, his hands moved to my ass, and he lifted me onto the counter as he stood between my thighs. The spoonrattled to the floor, and the plates clanked against one another, but I didn’t care.
We tasted and explored and kissed until my lips ached. He pulled back, eyes wild as they took me in. My chest was rising and falling, and I missed him the minute his lips weren’t on mine.
“You’re fucking beautiful, you know that, right?” he whispered. “I can’t stop thinking about you. Wanting you. Even though I know I shouldn’t.”
My hands were still tracing the muscles on his abdomen. “Why shouldn’t you want me?”
He looked so tortured by the question.
“Like I said, I don’t take things that aren’t mine.”
His stomach rumbled beneath my fingers, and we both laughed. “All right. Let’s leave it right here. That was some kiss. And now I’m going to feed you, and you can tell me all the reasons why we shouldn’t kiss again.”
He grabbed me by the waist and set me on the floor. I laughed when I saw the spoon on the floor and the pasta from one of the plates had spilled all over the stovetop.
He helped me clean up the mess, and we both washed our hands. I loaded him up with salmon and explained the reasons why he needs extra protein right now. We sat at the little table for two in the kitchen, and I placed the fresh salad between us.
He listened intently as I explained the benefits of carbs and protein and fat while he was training. He groaned when he took the first bite of the pasta.
“It’s homemade pesto. You can take a jar home with you. It’s made with fresh basil, garlic, and pine nuts. You can add it to your protein or your grains.”
“Were you always interested in this stuff?” he asked as his eyes widened when he popped a bite of the salmon into his mouth. “Holy shit, this is good.”
I couldn’t stop smiling. “Thank you. I got really into nutrition after Slade had his boating accident. He was in a lot of pain and wouldn’t eat. I was convinced good food could cure him. But I hadn’t been prepared for him to get addicted to opioids, and no amount of nutrition could overcome what he was dealing with.”
He chewed, and his gaze watched me intently as he listened. We talked for hours, and he told me about his father’s battle with drugs and alcohol after we’d cleared the table and moved to the couch.
“It was a lot of responsibility when he was gone during those years, serving time for his third DUI.” He shook his head. “But it was also the reason he finally got sober, and he came home a different man. I’m grateful for the years we had together after that.”
“I love that he got clean and sober. It’s not easy, and my biggest fear is that Slade will never get to the other side of this.”
“Opioids are brutal. He got hooked after the boating accident?” Romeo asked.
“Yeah. It’s not fair, you know? He was in this horrible accident, and the doctor prescribed a medication that was supposed to help him, not derail his whole life.”
His mouth opened, and he looked like he had something to say, but he stopped himself.
“What? You can tell me. Nothing will shock me about my brother at this point.”
“No, it’s nothing. I just didn’t know that he didn’t have a drug problem before the opioids. I thought it started earlier,” he said, his voice low as he ran his fingers up and down my forearm.
“Not that I’m aware of. It all started with his accident. With that medication they gave him.”
He nodded and leaned back against the couch, his eyes heavy with exhaustion.
“I should probably get going. I’ve got to be up early to run. Joey is going to ride an electric bike next to me tomorrow to push my ass even harder.”
“You’re already pushing so hard as it is. You don’t want to run yourself into the ground.”
He reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers. God, I even loved his hands. His fingers were long and lean and engulfed mine.
“You worried about me?”
