She looks at me, lips parted.
I look at her, my smirk returning.
“Sound about right?” I mock, lifting my chin.
After staring at me in shock for a few more seconds, she shuts her mouth and flips her hair over her shoulder, which she blow-dried once we got out of my bed. “Fine. You know how I like my avo-toast. But still, I feel like I should repay you for the…” She flaps her hand in the direction of the staircase. “…the orgasm.”
“Ah, but, goddess. I could counter that by saying I was just repaying you for the… orgasm… you gave me in the shower.” I lift a brow, my smirk widening into a full-on grin when her cheeks turn pink.
She huffs. “Is this one of your lessons outside the bedroom, Doc?”
I chuckle at her use of my nickname. “It might be.”
She rolls her pretty blue eyes then uncrosses her arms to point at the cabinet above her. “Then fine. Would you please grab me the Everything but the Bagel Seasoning, red pepper flakes, and sea salt out this god-forsakenly high cabinet for me?”
I spin on the barstool and stand, walking around the island while still keeping my eyes locked with hers, only looking away to find the shakers and grinder she needs before turning to face her. I hold them out, presenting them like a gift. “Here you go, my goddess.”
She can’t help but smile then, taking them from my hands. “Appreciate it, my big, strong, and ridiculously tall Viking,” she replies, and she prances back up to the plates.
My grin softens at the endearment, my heart swelling inside my chest, and it takes everything in me not to bend her over the kitchen island and claim her like the warrior she’s proclaimed me as.
Once she fixes both our plates, she grabs two mineral waters out of the fridge and pushes a set over the counter to my spot, and I go and take my seat. When she reaches for the stool at the end of the island like she always does, ready to sit in her usual spot across the wide expanse, I stop her once again.
“Goddess?”
“Yes, Neil?” She sighs.
“Would you like to sit next to me? I’d really love your company during this fine meal you’ve prepared,” I prompt.
She looks at her plate and water then across to the place next to me, and then she meets my eyes. “You gonna stop me when I sneak Scout some bites?”
I lean up and glance over the bar to where the Aussie sits sentinel on the other side, right next to where she usually puts her stool. I rest back on my stool and sigh. “Not if it means you’ll sit next to me. And not too much avocado. It’s not that great for dogs.”
She pouts. “But Scout boy loves hims some guac,” she says in a baby voice, looking down at the asshole, whose tail wags so hard that it beats against the lower cabinets now that she spoke to him.
“Scout boy will be fine. Now get that sexy ass over here,” I demand, and she grumbles, pushing her plate and water across the island. And like the noble steed he is to her, Scout follows her around and takes up residence between her stool and the island when she takes the seat next to me.
“Good girl,” I murmur, and when she blushes once more, I lean over and kiss her quickly on the lips, just because I can.We spent the rest of the day doing various tasks. I finished up some paperwork for new Club Alias memberships, went online and added Astrid to my gym membership, and answered some texts and emails from a couple of patients. Astrid did a load of laundry, and I peeked into her room to find her reading on her Kindle once I was done with all my stuff.
Now, we sit on the couch, Scout’s ass between us once again, and we’re watching the episode of Indian Matchmaking that she fell asleep during last night. Even though the dog separates our bodies, my arm rests behind her along the back of the couch, and my fingers sift through her blonde hair. She unconsciously twirls Scout’s ear between her fingers, and as she focuses on the TV, I watch as her eyes grow heavy while I play with her hair.
As it turns dark outside and we finish out the first season, she asks if there’s something else I’d like to watch. I tell her to pick again, since her last selection was so good, and she puts on the first episode of The Haunting of Hill House. She says it’s excellent, and when I tell her she doesn’t have to rewatch it just for me, she promises she was already planning to re-binge it because the new season comes out soon and she wants it fresh in her mind.