Taivon: Book Three of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Three

She ran the pads of her fingertips along his beard, a rush of heat crawling up her neck as-

“Goddammit,” Alix muttered, deleting the entry almost as soon as she'd typed it.

Her main male character, Sam, didn't even have any facial hair. It had already been established in her previous books that he was a blond with a clean shaven face – not a brunette with brown-haired beard. Even if that certain beard had rasped against her fingers in such a way that she'd almost started drooling right then and there.

She blamed last night's instant – the one in which Taivon Cantrell had spilled his beer – on why she was now up at eight in the morning, an ungodly time that she always slept past. It had only been a few minutes before when she'd woken up, knowing exactly what to do with A Winter Knight. But here she was, stuck more than ever, only thinking about one man.

“Fuckity fuck fuck,” she grumbled, sleep deprived from the night before. The frustration didn't help, either.

Chief, on the other hand, was full of feline energy. His heavy, furry body landed on her a second later, declawed paws digging at her bare thighs. With a push of his head into her hand, he demanded to be pet, and like always, Alix obeyed her master cat, stroking right in between his ears.

Purrs soon filled the room, and Alix reclined back in the leather chair. It cushioned her sore back and tired neck but did nothing to keep her mind from going back to its obsessed mode. She'd been thinking about Taivon for days, the romance writer in her formulating so many different scenarios that would force them together.

Underneath her hand, Chief squirmed and pushed his head up for some more love. She gave it to him, using the movements as a distraction from that bearded face, muscled body, and adorable stutter. A smile came to her face as she remembered how flustered he'd gotten from just a light touch on his face. It hadn't been like that the past couple of times, though, which was just fine with Alix. As long as he kept coming to the bar, she'd happy.

A knock sounded on her door long moments later, forcing her eyes open and tired body moving. With a groan, she got out of her comfortable leather chair and hauled Chief into her arms. He didn't move an inch as she opened the heavy door.

Her older brother's face appeared a second later, and she was forced to step aside as his large frame came into her apartment. She didn't mind; Leon actually did own the place and was letting her stay for free.

“Mornin',” he said before moving to her drapes and pushing them wide open.

She almost hissed as the harsh light hit her straight in the eyes but managed to repress it by covering her eyes with her arm. All she heard was a chuckle after that right before the bag he carried in his hand landed on her kitchen counter.

Alix followed him into the kitchen, only to see him unravel a box of donuts from the plastic bag covering. Her stomach growled. She didn't even say anything back as she found her favorite one – a vanilla bismarck with raspberry oozing out of the center.

The jelly hit in her mouth on her first bite, and Alix closed her eyes to savor this beautiful moment of true lovers meeting each other. Those lovers happened to be her tongue and the raspberry frosting combo. Nothing better than this for breakfast.

“Coffee?” He handed her a steaming cup before she could reply.

After taking a tentative sip but still managing to scald her tongue, Alix sat down at the kitchen table. The wooden chair wasn't nearly as comfortable as her leather one, but she didn't mind. There were donuts. And coffee. Highlander grog coffee.

“So,” she said, around a sip of the liquid, “what's up?”

He didn't say anything, only leaning against the kitchen counter. His long hands smoothed against the polished counter top just as he rolled his wide shoulders, stomach rolling underneath his plain white t-shirt. His fingertips tapped a rhythm on the surface as he nibbled on his chocolate glazer.