Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 163089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 815(@200wpm)___ 652(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 815(@200wpm)___ 652(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Preston makes a noise as he swallows the bite, then stops and glares at me. “You did not make this.”
“I just did, right in front of you. Why? Not to your liking?”
“It’s perfectly crispy and melty and savory.” He frowns. “How the hell are you a good cook on top of everything else?”
A wide grin tilts my lips. “What’s everything else?”
“Shut up,” he says after swallowing another bite. “This is truly amazing. Kane has some tough competition.”
“Kane?”
“He cooks for Jude and me after we annoy him.”
“Huh.” First Jude and now Kane.
I don’t suppose there’s a way to get rid of them without Preston finding out or losing sleep over it?
“Ugh, seriously, this is like food porn.” He swallows one bite after another, nearly cleaning the plate in record time.
“Wrong. Food porn is me fucking you while you eat.” I slide my foot over his shin under the table. “Which can be arranged, by the way. With or without food.”
His Adam’s apple bobs up and down, but he doesn’t pull his leg away. “Why do you assume I’d let you fuck me?”
“You will…eventually.”
“Don’t lose sleep over it.”
“Won’t be necessary. You’ll come around.”
His lips twist to one side, the dimples on display as he chews a bite. “You’ll be waiting for a long time. My brain rejects the very notion of being fucked by a man, even if my body…well, you know.”
“Craves it?”
He lifts his shoulders but says nothing.
“Would you prefer it if you fucked me?” The words leave me before I can think properly.
They take him by surprise, too, because he coughs, and I pass him the glass of water. After he gulps half of it, he swallows hard. “I thought you exclusively top.”
“I do, but I’d try it with you. Probably. I’m not sure.”
“You would?”
“For you, yes, I think I would.”
“Wow. You’re that desperate to have sex with me?”
“Yeah. It’s ridiculous at this point.”
His lips part, glistening with the water. “You…won’t need to.”
“Won’t need to what?”
“Let me fuck you. I…don’t want to.”
“No?”
“No. I tie people up when I fuck them, and I don’t want that with you. I believe I prefer…not thinking or planning during sex.”
“Like a pillow princess?”
He narrows his eyes. “You have a problem with that?”
“Not at all.” I rub his calf with the back of my foot. “I love when you let me touch you however I fucking please. You make the most erotic face when I’m caging you against the nearest surface, you know that?”
His gaze meets mine. He looks down at his food, but not before I catch the slight embarrassment in his eyes.
God, he’s so cute for an asshole.
He takes another bite, chewing slowly as if to savor it. “I’ve never had homemade quesadillas.”
“What about Kane?”
“He’s more into pasta, soups, and some Cantonese cuisine he learned from a hotshot chef. I prefer this type of hearty, savory, spicy stuff.”
“Then you’re at the right place.”
“You’ll cook for me?”
“Anytime.”
He grins up at me, those dimples burrowing deep in his cheeks, and something in my chest shatters, moving so suddenly, I find it hard to breathe.
Fuck, he’s beautiful.
How can he look even more beautiful right now?
It’s his smile, I realize. It’s genuine and sedated, lighting up his face.
“I assume you don’t cook?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “We have cooks.”
“Kane has them, too.”
“Yeah, but he enjoys making food, so he found a way to learn.” He shrugs. “I never learned, I guess. Mom and Dad never cooked either, so no influence there.”
“Mom tries, but she’s okay-ish.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. She’s secretly glad I’m the one who cooks now.”
He laughs, and once again, I’m held hostage by the way his face shines brighter and his eyes look so alive.
For just a moment, he looks so boyish and carefree—a stark difference from earlier.
“You’re just talking shit about your mom since she’s not here.” He playfully kicks my foot that’s resting on top of his with his free one.
“She’d gladly back me up if she were here.”
“Uh-huh.” He takes another bite, then pauses. “How about your dad?”
“What about him?”
“You know, does he come by often?” He stares up at me with a sense of anticipation. “Cook, maybe?”
“Dad? Cook? I can’t even imagine him outside of his suit, let alone in a kitchen.”
“Yeah, my dad, too. He’s too business-oriented to do something so normal. I have a theory that I told Hayes, but he wasn’t impressed.”
“Who’s Hayes?”
“My minion. Dad’s secretary and house manager of sorts. He’s been cleaning up after my messes his entire life, kind of grown white hair because of it, oops. Anyway, I told Hayes that when Dad dies, they’ll find a robot inside him.”
He smiles, but it’s forced.
I pull my leg back, then lean forward and rest my chin on my steepled fingers. “Will he really kill you if he finds out you’re with a guy?”
Preston stares at the nearly empty plate, his gaze lost, and I think he’ll turn into the zombie from the bathroom, but he just whispers, “Maybe. It’s not really up to him. If the others vote for my death, they’ll find a way to kill me one way or another, but you know…death isn’t what scares me.”