The Raven's Reflection

Chapter 18 - Flashes

Kinsley closed her eyes as the smell of spices and something tomatoey filled the air. Opening her eyes again, she hung her towel on her bedroom door knob and walked slowly down the hallway. There was a glow from the dining area and next to where she normally sat stood her boyfriend, his hand on the back of her chair that waited for her.

"I'm sorry I couldn't take you to Sari's tonight, but hopefully bringing Sari's to you is just as good?"

"They've been closed for hours," she said in disbelief. As she approached the candlelit table, there were two plates of chicken parmigiana that were steaming and fresh.

"I called in a favor this afternoon because I knew we wouldn't make it back in time," he said softly, pushing in her chair as she sat. He poured two glasses of a dark red Merlot before sitting down to join her.

"We shouldn't be drinking, Cer," she chuckled.

"Do you not want any?" he asked, starting to take the glass he poured for her.

"I didn't say that," Kinsley said, snatching it back from him and causing him to grin.

"It's not forbidden for us to have a little bit of wine with dinner," he said.

"No, but we have to start a study crunch tomorrow."

Cerno scoffed. "If this one tiny glass fucks up your whole week, I'd buy the whole lot and give it to Nan. Maybe then I might get real work done back home," he smirked. He knew Kinsley was a lightweight for alcohol, but he knew she could handle this just fine.

Kinsley giggled softly as they dug into dinner.

"I even did the dishes from Friday," he said proudly as he stuck a piece of chicken in his mouth.

Kinsley giggled as he winked at her. Soon after they finished, she helped carry the plates into the kitchen.

As his beautiful court started to turn on the water to wash the new dishes, he stopped her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Nuh uh, I'll take care of these, too," he whispered. "You go relax. I'll be in soon."

"But you're far more tired than I am," she argued. "You haven't slept."

"I don't care," he replied. He leaned just slightly over her shoulder, tilting her face back enough to meet his as he kissed her. "I've got these, it'll take me five minutes. I'll clean up the floor tomorrow," he said after having his fill of her lips.

"Dinner was really wonderful tonight," she said softly. "Thank you."

"Anything for you." He smiled and watched her walk away. He grinned as he turned back to the sink and let thoughts about her ass swaying drift loudly across his mind.

"Hey! I heard that!!" Kinsley exclaimed from the end of the hallway.

Cerno smirked and said nothing, making quick of the dishes so he, too, could get to bed. He yawned as he realized midnight was approaching and he hadn't sleep more than five hours in almost the last 48. With everything being quiet and relaxing at the moment, the exhaustion was quickly setting in. He paused and looked up at the skylight as he heard the rain starting to come down and smiled, always loving the sound. He also knew the sound of the rain on the roof and being next to Kinsley would help him sleep better tonight.

"I was about to send a search party after you," she said as he finally walked into the room. "Sounds like it started to rain. Those clouds today looked pretty dark, I'm surprised we didn't see rain sooner."

The bedroom was on the cooler side since the house was unoccupied during their weekend, but he knew it would warm up overnight since they were home. In the darkness of the room, he stripped down to his boxers and crawled up onto the bed from the bottom, making his way toward Kinsley.