“Wow. Um. Food.” Felix rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Yes. We need to cook.” I grinned because it was nice to see Felix as flustered as me. And also because cooking together was almost as fun as kissing, and getting dinner over with got us that much closer to bedtime.
I lined up ingredients while Felix retrieved a pasta pot and a skillet.
“Did you intend to arrange things by size order or was that a happy accident?” he teased as he set the skillet on the stove.
“Sorry. Organization just seems to happen with me.” My neck heated.
“Don’t apologize. I think it’s cute. And a good trait.”
“Thanks. Part of it is always having cramped shared spaces, both on the sub but also growing up and sharing small rooms in base housing. I got good at squeezing my stuff in.”
Felix’s admiring glance went a long way to making me less embarrassed. “I should have you come do our pantry at my house. Or maybe my closet.”
“Is the closet in your bedroom? If so, sign me up.” I leered at him, loving how he laughed. “Seriously though. I enjoy tasks like that. Invite me over sometime.”
“Calder...”
I had a feeling he was about to lecture me about the inadvisability of a continued friendship between us. He was wrong, but before either of us could continue, Charlotte trotted down the stairs.
“I want Calder hot chocolate for dessert,” she announced.
“Calder hot chocolate?” I looked over at Felix, who was filling the pasta pot with water.
“Apparently, you put in two marshmallows.” He shook his head. “We’ve had to hear all week about how you do the best cocoa.”
A soft spot deep in my chest pinched. “Yeah, I can do that again tonight.”
“Good.” Charlotte clapped her hands. “And then I want ten stories.”
“Ten?” I echoed weakly, sensing bedtime slipping further away.
“How about two?” Felix suggested before lowering his voice to me. “I think they had soda at school. Or sugar. Maybe both. She’s rather wired, whatever it is.”
“I know the feeling.” I’d been hyped all day myself. All week if I were honest. And even if it took ten stories and all my patience, I couldn’t wait until Felix was all mine.
Chapter Sixteen
Felix
I hoped I wasn’t too late. The girls had taken forever to settle. Two stories downstairs with Calder, another upstairs in the loft, several complicated questions from Charlotte, and a couple of deep thoughts from Madeline, and finally I was able to slip away. I fiddled with the woodstove and cleaned the kitchen until I was reasonably certain they were asleep and then at last I tapped on the bedroom door.
“Sleeping?” I asked in a low voice.
“As if.” Calder lay on the bed, still fully clothed, reading one of the books I’d rejected as Charlotte’s choice for story time, a compendium of unsolved mysteries. Probably my grandmother’s, judging by the yellowed pages. Even though she’d had no love lost for my father’s side of the family, Grandma would have liked Charlotte. Calder, too, for that matter, a thought that both made me smile and gave me pause.
“Too bad you’re not looking for work,” I teased him as I entered and shut the door. “You’d make a good after-school nanny for us. You and Charlotte could binge true crime shows and eat spaghetti every night.”
“Ha. Navy might have something to say about that career shift. But when she gets older, I’ll introduce her to the best of the horror genre.” Calder laughed and so did I.
I didn’t want to ruin the light mood by pointing out he likely wouldn’t know us then. It was a nice image, even if it wouldn’t come true, Charlotte having someone who shared her appetite for the spooky.
“Now, come over here. Please.” His tone was commanding, but the please was utterly adorable, that hint of uncertainty he seemed to have around physical affection like catnip for me.
Locking the door, I quickly crossed to the bed, where he was patting the spot next to him. I liked how he didn’t only seem to enjoy going slow but also seemed to need it on some level. He made even simple acts feel brand-new again.
Like the humble pleasure of stretching out next to someone, anticipation building, but nearness alone thrilling. And comforting. Lying down next to Calder reminded me how long it had been since I’d had someone to cuddle with. For all he loved sex, Tim was often hurried and goal-oriented, so cuddling had fallen off the agenda even before we split.
With Calder, though, nothing was rushed. His happy sigh as he pulled me closer was mirrored in my soul, a sensation of coming home. I snuggled in, simply soaking in the closeness. He smelled sporty, some trendy aftershave popular with the jock crowd, but on him the crisp scent was endearing. And his big arms were strong and warm around me.
Ripped had never been that much of a turn-on for me, but I couldn’t deny his aesthetic appeal. Stroking his muscled forearms, I wrapped him more securely around me.
“This is nice.” I rested my head on his shoulder.
“It is.” He hummed contentedly, and we hung out like that for several long minutes, like electronic devices recharging their batteries. Utter bliss, absorbing his quiet energy.
“If I get any more relaxed, I’m going to drift off, so apologies if I start snoring.” I faked a giant yawn, but genuine tiredness wasn’t that far off.
“Feel free. I know you have to end up back on the couch, so I set an alarm for you, but I wouldn’t mind holding you exactly like this until it buzzes.”
“Exactly like this?” Tipping my head back, I found his mouth for a clumsy but sweet kiss. Speaking of sweet, he got major bonus points for being thoughtful about the alarm.
“Yep.” He swept a broad hand down my front. “Of course, if you need help getting sleepy, I’m game for that too.”
“Mmm. I like where this is heading.” I preened into his touch.
“Yeah?” He pulled my shirt loose from my jeans. “I like this sweater. It’s soft.”
“Glad you approve.” I sucked in a breath as he worked his hand under both my sweater and T-shirt. “I was half tempted to not change after seeing some patients this morning, let you have your fun with my tie.”
“Darn practicality.” He nipped at my neck. “This is sexy too, you all fuzzy and cuddly.”
His lips and teeth felt so good on my skin that I groaned low, cock already throbbing. “It can be fuzzy on the floor too.”