Page 58 of A Baby for the Firefighter
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but it doesn’t suit you.”
I sighed and took it off. “Okay then. No apron. No good docile omega. Your loss.”
“My gain,” he disagreed. “You look stunning under that thing.”
I grinned to myself, because yeah, Eli and I had spent some time picking out my outfit. I’d put on all my best clothes to get Dean out of his. “Do I?” I walked in the direction of the kitchen, turning my back to him and making sure to wiggle it just a little in my tight pants.
“You’re devious.”
I laughed, but my hands still shook a bit as I grabbed the pot on the stove. I couldn’t completely calm my nerves. Dean looked great tonight too. More edible than what I’d cooked up, really. I couldn’t wait to move on to the after-dinner activities of this evening, but at the same time, I was also terrified of it. Dean had told me not to worry, but what if I froze up again? I couldn’t keep disappointing him.
“Where’s your mom tonight?” Dean asked.
“At the bed & breakfast,” I told him.
“So she’ll be gone all night?”
I had to give Dean credit for trying to sound casual while asking, even if he didn’t quite manage.
“Yeah,” I said. “We have the house to ourselves. All night.” My lips quirked up, and so did his.
“All night, huh?”
“Yup.” I took his hand. “Now please come have dinner with me. I’ve prepared a table for two in the most exclusive place in town. Only you and me here.”
“I like that guest list.”
“I put it together myself,” I said with a grin as I led him to the table, which I’d decorated with a nice red tablecloth and a single long candle in the middle. It was perfect, or at least I hoped so.
“Looks good,” Dean said, and to my relief, he was still smiling when I brought the food in. He ate it too, without cringing. At some points, he even managed to look like he enjoyed it. That was more than I could say for myself, really. I would have preferred to eatanythingI hadn’t created. The roast wasn’t super bad, but it sure as hell wasn’t praise-worthy either.
Dean tried anyway. “You did a really good job,” he said, while I refilled my wine.
“You don’t even want to know how much time it took me to create something you wouldn’t spit out in disgust.”
He chuckled. “I would never do that.”
“Then you’re a braver man than I.” I sipped my wine, starting to feel a pleasant buzz. I wasn’t going to drink much more, but for now, the liquor was helping me keep my nerves at bay.
“It can’t have been that bad,” he insisted.
“Oh, you have no idea. One day I’ll make you eat something I made as a test of courage. I swear, I fail so hard at being an omega it’s not even funny.” I said it jokingly, but Dean still felt the need to reach across the table and touch my cheek.
“You don’t fail at anything. You’re kind and sweet and funny, and I can’t think of a single omega I’d rather be with tonight. Or any night.”
Heat crept across my cheek, and I couldn’t tell whether it was caused by his touch or his words. Maybe a combination of the two; it didn’t matter. What mattered was that a fire started burning inside of me, slowly but insistently. I had to get up from this table and take Dean into the bedroom with me.
I glanced at his plate. He was nearly done anyway. I grabbed the hand that was touching my cheek and took it in my own. “Want to go upstairs?”
Dean licked his lips in a way that let me know just how much he wanted that. But still, he hesitated. “You know I’d love to, but are you sure you want to do that?”
I took a deep breath, almost wishing he wouldn’t give me time to think about this and let the doubt creep in. I needed to keep this fire burning, stoke the flames. “Yeah,” I said. “I’m sure. I just need to work through this, and you have to promise me that you won’t stop unless I tell you to. I mean, I might tense up or something, but I don’t want you to abort mission because of that again. I’m gonna be nervous, I can’t help that, but I trust you. I want this to happen, okay? Can we just get through with it?” And I was babbling again, of course.
“I don’t want you to just get through it. If we do this, I want you to enjoy it.”
I gave him my best smile and stood from the table. “I’m sure I will.”
“Okay, then.” Dean stood as well. His hand was still in mine, and I kept holding on to it all the way up the stairs and into my bedroom, my heart thundering in my chest.
