Page 59 of Stoker's Serenity

“You are. No arguments. I get you aren’t used to compliments, but you’d better get used to hearing them from me… you’re perfect, Orchid. You’re my kind of perfect, no matter how deeply flawed you think you are.”

She bit her bottom lip but it was too late, I’d already seen it tremble. I smiled at her and let her fling herself down onto me, let her wrap her arms around my neck and bury her face in the side of it. Let her laugh, let her cry, and let her feel all her feelings. I gave her the space to just be her and it felt good. It was like I felt and watched her grow in that moment, and the genuine happiness on her face and in her eyes made me feel ten times over like a real man.

“Breakfast?” I asked her after a bit more kissing.

“That sounds wonderful,” she murmured. “I’m starving.”

“I can make pancakes.”

“Ohhhh, that sounds so good!”

“Pancakes it is, then.”

I gave her a slap on the ass and she yipped in surprise before laughing.

I loved that sound.

I loved the way she smiled, and the light in her eyes; I loved the way she swept her hair over her shoulder, her lips swollen with my kiss, exuding that glow. She wore the freshly-fucked look like a crown and she was definitely my queen. She just didn’t know it yet, and I didn’t want to swear fealty here and now and freak her the fuck out. It could wait. Patience.All good things come to those who wait…

“What are you thinking so hard about over there?” she asked, slipping back into her panties, sitting on the side of my bed.

I pulled on a tee with the sleeves cut out, leaving gaping holes from shoulder to hip. I was still feeling overheated, so it worked for me.

“Just how much I like you,” I said, which wasn’t far off the truth.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“What else?” she asked, and I smiled.

“How much I’m looking forward to tonight.”

She nodded and some of the shiny came off. We were supposed to hang with my club, either at the beach orThe Plank, depending on the weather.

“Nervous?” I asked.

“And a little embarrassed,” she confessed.

“About last weekend?” I asked. She nodded silently. “Don’t be.” I shook my head and pulled on a pair of jeans while she slipped back into the same skirt she’d arrived in last night.

“Ugh, I totally freaked out in front of everybody.” She pressed her fingertips deep into her eye sockets, over her closed eyelids, the rest of her hands covering her face as she flamed bright red.

“Listen,” I said, going around the bed and pulling her arms down, putting them around my waist. I flipped her hair over her shoulders to trail down her back, smoothing my thumbs over her jaw on either side as she looked up at me. “All of us have some kind of a fucked-up background or history. Some of us worse than others. It’s not about that with these guys and gals, though. It’s about finding common ground among your chosen brothers and sisters, and the understanding that who we are now is what matters. We all got a past, Orchid. You, me, the next guy down the line… history is in our rearview, baby. Whole road is open in front of us. Question is, what do you want to do?”

“Eat pancakes,” she answered finally, and I threw back my head and laughed.

“A good starting point,” I agreed, and ushered her in the direction of my bedroom door. She went into the bathroom and I went into the kitchen to get breakfast started.

19

Serenity…

For someone professing he wasn’t much of a cook, he certainly knew how to do pancakes real well. Fluffy, flavorful, and an absolute delight, I wanted to know his secret. He wouldn’t tell me, though.

“I tell you somethin’, Orchid. I’ll use whatever I’ve got to keep you coming back for more, so no-can-tell yah.”

I rolled my eyes so hard I swore I caught a glimpse of my own brain matter.

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