Page 51 of The Love Penalty

“Did you eat today?” he asks and I scoff. “Never mind, of course you ate, you’d never stay hungry for this long.” He smiles again and I love how easy this is. How well he knows me. How at ease I am now that he’s here.

“I had a bagel, so I could eat something, if you’re hungry. We can order takeout.”

“Absolutely not. I am making us fajitas,” he says and pulls out a giant red bell pepper, an onion, seasoning, and some pre-marinated chicken from one of the grocery bags.

“When did you even have time to do all this shopping?”

“I was lucky that my flight this morning didn’t have any delays. It gave me plenty of time to woo you.”

“You do know I would have been perfectly wooed if you showed up empty handed, right?” I say, coming behind him at the kitchen counter and giving him a hug. “All I need is you.” My head rests between his shoulder blades and I think once again:I am home.

Robbie turns and puts his arms around my shoulders, fingers combing through my hair. He bends down and gives me a sweet and lingering kiss. “I do know that. And I’m not buying you things to impress you. I just thought, cooking together has kind of become our thing. As for the decorations, we had a lot of fun putting them up at my house, so I thought we could recreate that moment.” His eyes twinkle and he gives me an almost shy smile. “This time, no one will interrupt us under the mistletoe.”

“This time, you don’t need excuses to kiss me. You can do that anytime now that I’m your girlfriend.”

Robbie’s hand trails down from my neck to my collarbone, then follows a path to right above my heart, where he rests his palm. “Mine,” he whispers, so much love showing in his eyes.

I cover his hand with mine. “Yours.”

Robbie was right.Cooking together has become our thing, and for once, I feel like I’m actually getting the hang of it. We work together seamlessly and chop up the vegetables, sear the chicken, then slice it up. I’m even tasked with cutting the avocado, but once Robbie sees how I’m holding it in one hand and trying to cut through it with the other, he immediately stops me. Apparently “avocado hand” is a thing; one he’d rather not take me to the ER for.

After he garnishes our fajitas, we sit down to eat in a comfortable silence. I can tell he’s tired because he gets quieter. He doesn’t seem sad anymore though, and every time I catch his eye he gives me a wide grin.

“We have a few hours, do you want to take a nap before we go over to Grams’ for dinner?”

“Can we decorate first?” Robbie asks hopefully.

“Sure. Let’s do it.” I smile and pull him out of the chair by his hand.

We decorate the living room surprisingly fast, considering we keep taking breaks to kiss and put our hands on each other as much as we can. The small tree has white lights and a variety of small, rose gold ornaments in it. There is mistletoe in the archway between the kitchen and living room, lights in the small tree and in the window, and other small trinkets around thecoffee table. The soft, warm white lights make this place look so much cozier. Robbie was right, I should have done this much sooner.

“Okay, the last thing we have to do is make some bows,” he says, unspooling a roll of rose gold ribbon.

“How do we make them?”

“Well we start by making loops. We want to make a big bow first and put it at the top of the tree.” He cuts the ribbon and eyes it. “Here, give me your hands.”

I put out my hands and he uses them to loop the ribbon around them, pinching it in the middle, then repeating the loops. I am so mesmerized by the movement of his hands, I don’t listen to the rest. I want him to tie the ribbon tighter around my hands, push me up against the wall and kiss me senseless.

“Olive?”

“Hmm,” I say, breaking out of my fantasy. He must see the blush on my face because he’s smirking at me, blue eyes darkening.

“What were you thinking just now?”

Fuck it. “I was thinking you’re doing it all wrong.”

He quirks an eyebrow at me. “Oh, yeah?”

I nod and take a confident step towards him “You’re supposed to tie me up with it, then use your imagination.” I look at him through my lashes and watch his throat bob on a swallow. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just looks at the ribbon he’s pinching between my hands.

Then he lets it all drop, except for the two loops around my wrists. He carefully, slowly pulls on the ribbon until my wrists are pressed together and my fists tighten in anticipation. He looks at me to make sure it’s not too tight and I give him an assuring nod. He then ties a knot underneath, one that I definitely can’t reach and undo myself and moves my hands so they hang around his neck.

I give him a kiss and without breaking it, he picks me up. My legs immediately go around his waist and he walks us to the couch. I can feel his eager hands on my thighs, gripping hard like he’s trying to keep in control. I want him to unleash himself on me, give me everything he’s got. I bite his plump bottom lip and he groans, his erection growing harder against me.

With more gentleness than I expect, he lowers me down on the couch and presses himself into me for a beat before taking my hands from around his neck and moving them up above my head. This feels too good, and I need more of him, so I lift my hips up into him and make him hiss.

“Patience, love,” he whispers against my lips, then kisses me as he trails one hand back down my body, playing with the hem of my hoodie when he reaches it. He strokes his thumb over my skin and my eyes roll back in pleasure. Fuck, he’s barely even touched me and I’m already ready to combust. He notices my reaction and continues his slow exploration. I throw my head back and take a deep breath and Robbie’s mouth finds my neck, his teeth grazing gently, his mouth leaving sweet kisses on me.

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