“Should we eat?” I ask, not wanting to be rude.
She turns to me, surprised, quickly putting away her phone. Her cheeks turn pink but her expression neutral. “You go ahead. I’m not hungry now; I’ll eat a little later.”
I nod and head straight for the kitchen, grabbing a plate and piling lasagna and chicken onto it. I grab a knife and fork, then return to the living room, sitting in the single chair. I cut a piece of the chicken and almost groan at the taste. “This is fuckin’ amazing,” I tell her, tasting the lasagna next. It was just as good, maybe even better. Even the salad was delicious.
I look up at her and say, “I’m really fuckin’ sorry I threw you into the pool, Shay.”
That brings a wicked smile to her face, laughter escaping her lips. “Enjoy the food, Vinnie, because it’s the one and only meal you’ll ever get from me.”
“Oh, come on, now,” I cajole. “If a certain someone wants to go to the beach and shit tomorrow, I think a hot meal at the end of the day would persuade me.”
“Are you blackmailing me? After you already told me that you’ll take me tomorrow?” she asks, looking half outraged, half impressed.
“You don’t need to use such ugly words,” I say, chewing thoughtfully. “But yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“Fine.” She gives in but doesn’t look happy about it. “But I want to go somewhere every day while you’re here. Who knows if the next guard will take me anywhere.”
I don’t like the fact that a few days from now, another man will be here protecting her. Probably doing a shit job of it too, making her miserable and stuck inside. If I offer to stay longer though, Talon will know something is up. I’d also have to run it by Sin, which would prompt questions. Staying longer isn’t a good idea anyway, considering the fact that we already kissed after only two days. I can just imagine what will happen the longer we stay around each other. An image of her, naked, my head between her legs, flashes through my mind.
“Vinnie?” she interrupts, stealing my attention from my thoughts.
“Yeah?”
“You stopped eating and were just staring straight ahead. It was weird,” she says, wrinkling her nose.
“Just lost in thought,” I say, continuing to eat. “Yes, we can go wherever you want to go, as long as it’s not too crowded.”
“Deal,” she says, eyes on the TV screen once more. Apparently we’re pretending the kiss never happened, and that’s more than fine with me. I finish everything on my plate and then rinse my dish in the sink before putting it in the dishwasher. Grabbing a spoon and the tub of ice cream we bought today, I sit back down in my chair.
“You could just serve it into a bowl,” she grumbles, staring at the tub of cookies and cream.
“You got another flavor, so I just assumed this one was all for me,” I say, shrugging and scooping a spoonful.
“I got two so we could have a little variety. Do you want to eat the same ice cream every night? That reminds me, I have to make the cheesecake.”
I swallow before I reply. “Shay, if you want some, then have it. We’ve already had our mouths on each other, so I don’t think it fuckin’ matters if we eat out of the same tub at this point.”
So much for pretending the kiss never happened, I think, cringing to myself.
“Seriously?” she mumbles, sighing. “I think sharing a kiss is a little different.”
“Pretty sure it’s exactly the same,” I fire back. “We share saliva either way, end of story.”
She throws her hands in the air all dramatically. “You’re impossible, you know that?”
“Are you grumpy because you’re sexually frustrated?” I ask, sucking on the spoon. “Because I can take care of that for you if you want. I’m really good with my mouth.”
She looks at me like she wants to kill me. “I think I’ll survive, thank you.”
“Offer stands,” I say, giving the spoon one long lick. “You’ve been kept prisoner for a while, I’m sure it’s been some time since you got any dick.”
I thought my crude words would put her off, but her expression doesn’t even change, once again surprising me.
“Unless I fuck all my bodyguards,” she fires back, smirking.
My hands clench at the thought, but I don’t believe it for one second. “You’re not the type.”
“Making assumptions again?” she asks, a haughty look on her face. She raises her eyebrow in a way that makes me want to strangle her and kiss her at the same time.
“I’m sure if you were fucking your bodyguards, they’d stick around longer,” I say, smirking. “Poor Mike couldn’t get out of here fast enough.”
She might think her scowl is ferocious, but it’s actually just cute. “You’re such an asshole, do you know that?”
“I get no complaints from the women I’m around,” I reply, closing the lid on the ice cream and setting the tub on the table. “I happen to think I’m an okay guy. Not the best, but sure as hell not the worst.”
“Is one of those women yours?” she asks, tilting her head to the side.
“Wouldn’t have let you kiss me if that were the case,” I say, leaning back in the chair and studying her. “You didn’t know if I was taken and you still kissed me. Not such a good girl after all, huh, Shay?”