Page 11 of Kaede
But he seems really perfect.
8
KAEDE
I eat two bowls full of the masterpiece and lean back stretching my arms above my head to make room in my stomach. “Willow, that was amazing. I might have to keep you around.”
She looks back over her shoulder as she cleans up the kitchen. “Hey, I might be your maid, but I’m not your permanent cook.”
I chuckle. “I suppose we should get to bed.”
She stills.
“I mean me on the couch and you in my room, Ms. Steyer.” I round the bar into the kitchen and grab the scrubbing pad from her hand. “I’ll do the dishes in the morning.”
“Nah, I like to do them. I’ll get them done so I can clean the sink out and put everything away.”
“Wow, you’re a clean-freak, aren’t you?”
“I’m not a freak!”
I step away and watch her back tense. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t like people poking fun of how much a clean house means to me. It’s not, it’s a… a…” Her chest rises quickly.
“Willow?”
“I grew up really poor and my mom had a mental illness. I took care of my family…” Her baby blue eyes glisten.
“That had to be hard.”
“It was, but I never stopped taking care of others and started taking care of me.”
We both have trauma. Our pasts are like a deer in the mountains, coming from nowhere and damaging a car and ruining a day when least expected.
I lift her chin. “Hey, I understand.”
I still feel the need to be of service to people, too. It’s ingrained. It’s trained. And it’s a fucking pain.
“It’s so hard to be trapped by some overwhelming need that you just want to say, ‘stop’ to. I was helping a friend to build a chicken coop before the storm gets here, even though I really wanted to be here in the warmth and working on my own work. I can’t say no.” I wrap my arms around her, and she sinks into me.
I lift her chin. I want Willow to not only hear me but see me. “But honey, don’t care if the dishes aren’t done, or there’s dust on the coffee table, or the laundry is as tall as I am. All I care about is taking you to that bedroom, watching you put on that little number you wore earlier, so I can take it off of you again.”
My cock hardens in between us and her eyes widen.
“Wow.”
“All of me thinks you’re pretty damn wow, Willow.”
“Ummmm…” Her forehead wrinkles. “I don’t know.”
That wasn’t exactly the response I thought I would get, but maybe we’re not on the same page.
I linger a soft kiss on her forehead. “It’s okay. I’ll get some pillows and blankets for the couch and you can get set up in the bedroom. I won’t bother you.”
“Ummm. Okay. Thanks.” The short syllables drive a stake into my heart. But what did I expect?
That she’d laugh and pull me to the bedroom?
