His Reverie (Reverie #1)(44)
One step at a time.
“You are the farthest thing from her.” I disentangle my hand from hers and settle it on her leg once more, this time directly on her thigh, my fingers flirting with the hem of her dress. “I’m going to make you dinner tonight.”
“Wait, what? Where?” She sounds excited. Almost as excited as I feel.
Tonight is special. Her parents went out of town for a meeting in regards to their evil empire, AKA The Flock of the Lambs corp. They’ll be gone for three days and two nights and left Evan in charge.
This means Evan bailed the moment their parents’ car pulled out of the driveway. He’d told Reverie straight up, “I don’t care what you do, just don’t get beat up, raped or kidnapped.” Then he left.
He’s just about the worst brother ever, I swear.
So Reverie is all mine. There are no prying eyes around the house. Most of the staff was given the same time off that the Hales are gone. Including me. Including Michael and Heather. Reverie invited me to stay with her at the house for the evening but I’d rather she see where I live.
It’s not much but I know she won’t judge. She’s not like that. She’s pure and accepting and she likes everything that’s a part of me. If I lived in a broken down shack near the ocean, she would’ve smiled and told me she liked it. And she would’ve meant it too.
“I’m taking you to my apartment.” Taking a chance too, because if Krista catches wind of this, she will have no problem coming over and putting on a big show for Reverie’s benefit. Or she’d turn into a jealous wench and attack Reverie. Spill all of our dirty little secrets, making everything we’ve done sound sordid and cheap and totally wrong.
Which it was. I feel bad for what I did with Krista, to Krista. She’s an unhappy, unstable person and I knew this. But I continued to f**k around with her anyway.
Not cool. I gotta make it better between us but how? I have no clue. And right now is not the time to figure that out.
“I can’t wait to see your place,” Reverie says, her sweet voice interrupting my thoughts. “Are we almost there?”
We’ve been driving for almost twenty minutes but traffic is shitty and I live clear across town. Not on the good side, close to the spread out neighborhood the Hales’ summer home is at.
No, my little apartment is located on the more gritty side of town. Where drug deals go down in parking lots in the middle of the day and cars are stolen in the dark of night.
“It’s nothing much,” I say with a shrug. “But it’s home. My mom tried her best to make it nice. She worked hard.”
“She sounds like she was a really great mom.”
“My mom was the best,” I say firmly.
“I think that’s so sweet.” Reverie leans over and plants a kiss right on my cheek, her sticky with gloss lips lingering and making me smile. “You’re sweet,” she whispers in my ear before she moves away from me.
She’s got it all wrong. She’s the sweet one. The one who fills me with light that chases out the darkness. The one who listens to me, who talks to me, who holds my hand and offers comfort when no one else has done that for me in so long.
Reverie has become my everything. And that’s both scary and wonderful, all at the same time.
“And I’m sure I’ll love your place,” she continues as she settles back in her seat. “Especially because you’re making me dinner. What’s on the menu anyway?”
“My specialty of course,” I say, being purposely vague.
“That’s no answer.” She shoves at my shoulder and I laugh.
“You’ll find out.” It’s nothing major. I’m no cook but I learned how to fend for myself from a young age, when Mom had to work late hours. I’ve really had to kick that skill into gear since I lost her, though most of the time I pick up fast food on the way home from work.
She’d hated that. Even Reverie gives me grief about it. Says I need to eat healthier.
“So mysterious.” Her flirtatious tone makes my smile grow. “You’re a man of many talents aren’t you?”
Ha, if she’d let me show her all my many talents, I’m sure I could blow her mind. Not that I want to push. We’re taking it slow, though she’s so responsive it’s difficult for me to remember that. The minute she gets in my arms we’re kissing. Her hands everywhere, mine everywhere…
Yeah. I’ve become reacquainted with my hand and solo performances in the shower again. The girl gives me a serious case of blue balls.
I know though, that she’ll be worth the wait.
“I’m impressed.” I watch Reverie rinse the last of the dishes and stack the plate in the dishwasher before she shuts it.
She turns off the faucet and then dries her hands with a paper towel before she tosses it in the trash. “With what?”
“With you. And that you actually know how to wash a dish.” She sticks her tongue out at me, making me laugh. She hassled me for knowing my way around a kitchen. How could I tell her that most of what I learned I picked up when I was in jail? “Seriously. I didn’t think you knew much about manual labor. But you know your way around a dishwasher.”
“You keep giving me a hard time.” She approaches me, her steps light since she’s barefoot. I glance down, studying her pale pink painted toes, let my gaze wander up her ankles, her calves, her knees. I really love her legs. Every chance I get I’m touching them. The temptation to get my hands beneath the dress and caress her bare skin is near overwhelming. “Do you really think I’m that spoiled?”