[Excerpt]:
"Does it bother you?" He asked, after an incisive moment of silence.
"Does...what bother me?" I immediately returned, unable to decipher the objective behind the closed-ended question.
"The way I stare. At you." He pondered, as his dark...
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When he didn't answer, I took a big gulp, then finally decided to approach him. I offered him a dimpled smile, yet he simply stared back at me in an inquisitive manner.
"Haha, you're really funny." I answered in a sarcastic tone, but he continued to behave as though he didn't recognize me. "Anyways, I'm feeling a bit under the weather and I was wondering where you kept your medicine?" I probed, lightly brushing my fingers against his shredded arms. It appeared as though he'd come straight from a workout, based on the athletic attire he wore.
Once again, I was met with startling silence. Instead, he swiftly pulled away from me and I was taken aback by the estranged distance. When I took another look at his face, he was peering at me as if I was some sort of delusional spawn.
"Look—" He began, but was cut short when Miranda entered the room. Her eyes widened in surprise, as she took in the seemingly normal situation as if it were a nightmare.
"Good morning, Miss Milton! I—I thought you were still in the master bedroom?" She asked, her gaze flickering between Kendall and I. My eyes followed hers to the coveted man of interest; however, he was already staring pointedly at me. His raven eyes narrowed, while he gently stroked his chin and seemed to be stuck contemplating something.
"Miranda, why don't you be a doll and give me and the lovely lady a moment to ourselves?" He finally chimed in, taking a step closer to me with a heightened gleam in his eyes.
"But, sir I-I don't think—" She began to stutter out, but was interrupted by the far-reaching, authoritative tone of his next words.
"You don't think what, Miranda?" He asked, though I got the sense that he didn't really care for her answer.
"Okay, sir." She huffed defeatedly, then retreated from the kitchen.
"So, Miss Milton. How was your...sleep? Well, that is, if you actually got any?" He offered me a quick smile, his fiery gaze running up my entire body.
"What do you mean?" I asked, not sure what in particular he was alluding to.
"Well, based on the bruises littered all over your body, I suppose we were quite busy last night. I didn't hurt you, did I?" He asked belligerently, his hand trailing along my neck and chest to expose more of my purpling skin. After, his fingers hovered over the newly revealed love bites.
"You're so embarrassing. No, you didn't hurt me." I spoke softly, growing excited from his simple touch.
"Good." He concluded, now walking towards the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. Followed by one for me. "Sit down, and I'll make you something to help you feel better." He added, then handed me a glass of room-temperature water.
"Wow, that's very charming of you. Almost reminds me of when we were kids." I mumbled, sitting down at an aisle chair. However, something about what I'd just said caused Kendall's body to stiffen up, while he brought out an extensive array of ingredients for what seemed to be a fruit smoothie.
"When we were kids...?" He repeated absently, pulling out an industrial blending machine from one of the lower cabinets. His convex bicep muscles clenched uniformly together, and I found myself becoming increasingly turned on by the domestic sight of him cooking for me.
"You know, when one of us got sick. It always helped to drink fruit smoothies in the morning or soup in the evening." I said, a pillowy smile beginning to fragrance my lips.
He didn't say anything in return, but began to cut up the fruits for me. Everything about him was so articulate. From the way he positioned his hands on the fruit to the method he used to produce perfectly-sliced and symmetrically-cut pieces. "Remember, Mrs. Franks would always say, 'you kids are going to burn down the house if you-"
"Keep cooking those darn meals alone." He finished, turning around and glancing at me with a new puzzled emotion I don't think I had ever actually seen appear on his brazen face.
"You-You're, I-I" He began, but stopped when his phone pinged. He took his time to read the message that appeared on the screen, then immediately typed something up in response.
"Unfortunately, it seems our time has been cut short. But, I notified Miranda about your cold and will see to it that she has the best of the kitchen staff prepare you a quality breakfast. I'll also make sure that you are provided with the appropriate medication for your fever." He confirmed with unadulterated assurance, then approached me once more.
He stopped his ascent when he was unbearably close to me and standing just between the opening of my seated legs. I was caught off guard when he lifted me from my chair and pulled me in for a genial hug. My feet lifted automatically from the ground, while my legs wrapped around his muscular torso. He tucked his face into my neck, seeming to breathe me in. When he proceeded to squeeze my back tightly, I leaned into his unyielding embrace.
"What's wrong?" I whispered gently into his ear, my hands raising as much as they could within his vice-like grip to caress his back.
"I missed you." He answered candidly, causing my heart to skip a beat and butterflies to enthrall in my stomach. Something about the way he'd said those three words felt different.
"Well, you should have come to bed." I teased, but he only seemed to lure me in closer. "I missed you too." I eventually indulged, because I actually had missed him. Even though I'd just seen him last night, I couldn't seem to get enough of the alluring man.
He huffed in contentment from my words, then finally released me marginally, so that he could recede his head back just enough to stare into my eyes.
From the way his orbs gleamed intensely at my lips, I could tell that he planned to kiss me. I sucked in my bottom lip nervously, feeling myself caving into his nested appeal. However, at the last minute, I pulled away from him.
I couldn't allow him to kiss me. With the horrible way I was feeling right now, I'd hate to be the cause of someone else's sickness. Especially, someone as important to me as him.
"Woah, Woah—Wait, Kendall I'm sick." I reminded him, pushing his pronounced figure away from my infected form.
"You still haven't changed." He mused, chuckling to himself then shaking his head. Redirecting his lips to my cheek, he planted a soft kiss there, then bid me a final farewell. My cheeks warmed instantly at the chivalry behind his unexplained behavior.
Well, that was fucking strange. Strange, but cute.
~~~
Short chapter. I'm gearing ya'll up for what's in store next. Any ideas on what happened this chapter? Enjoy!
