Taivon: Book Three of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Forty-One

"Ugh..." Taivon grumbled beside her. "You guh-got frosting down m-m-my shirt."

Alix looked over at him, just laughing. He was sitting cross-legged beside her, eating yet another piece of lasagna. Almost half of the pan had been cleared out by him, the pasta having gone lukewarm quite some time ago. She'd had two pieces, more than enough to fill her up. Compared to the two brownies she'd eaten, he'd had about six.

And now, there was frosting down his shirt.

Leaning over, Alix smoothed her hand down the material, feeling the heat of his chest through the fabric. She wasn't sure if her fingers were actually playing on the right spot, but she tried to smoosh as much of the confectionary treat into his chest as possible.

She must have found the spot because he hissed and grabbed her hand. "Th-Th-This is wuh-why ch-chest hair sucks ass."

Alix gasped. "But I love your chest hair!"

"D-D-Do you love it so m-much yuh-yuh-you're willing t-to lick fuh-frosting outta it?"

She waggled her eyebrows. "I'm willing to lick frosting off something else."

"Oh." His eyes widened. "Oh." Then, "Wuh-Wait. You c-c-can't just..."

Aix covered his mouth with her hand, kissed his nose, and then pulled back. "I can, but maybe you should clean up. How 'bout this: I do the dishes, and you go take a shower. Then we got all night."

She put the dishes away as Taivon went to the bathroom. She heard the start of water running, and for a brief moment considered joining him, but then she saw all their dishes and thought better of it. She wrapped the pan of lasagna in aluminum foil, put the cover over the brownies, and rinsed off the dishes before depositing them in the sink.

She waited in the kitchen. He was taking an awful long shower, but then again, she supposed, she had gotten the frosting stuck in his chest hair. The thought made her smile. He was probably expecting her to join, as well. She was just about to open up the bathroom door when she remembered that goddamn box. She was losing her mind over the damn thing.

One little peek wouldn't hurt, Alix told herself as she went into the bedroom. The room was dark, but she could see just fine. She tiptoed past some clothes. Just as she was about to open up the lid, Alix felt an overwhelming sense of guilt.

She should just ask him. They loved each other. He would tell her anything and everything, if she asked. Would he? She'd told him everything, even about what types of book she wrote.

Just one peek, and then she would ask him, Alix promised herself.

She opened up the lid, feeling her hands tremble. There was a piece of paper at the bottom of the box. On the back, it read Holly 2009. A few older coins rested next to it. She turned the paper open. And almost dropped it. It wasn't just paper.

It was a picture.

Of her.

                                                                                                  ***

Taivon toweled himself off. Getting that frosting untangled from his hair had taken a lot longer than he'd expected. But he was finally clean. He thought Alix would have joined him, and they could continue in the shower what they'd started back in the kitchen, but she hadn't. There had been a lot of dishes, he guessed. And it was a lot easier to just make love to her in a bed.

He smiled to himself, thinking about all the times she'd told him that she loved him. And all the times he'd told her how he felt. And he'd meant it all those time. He couldn't live without her. He couldn't wait to continue their lives. Maybe even start a family.