Lilith
I glance over my laptop at Kael, and I can’t stop myself from smiling.
Over the past week, we have settled into a steady routine.
I sit at the table and type furiously, while Kael looks over my shoulder and tries to read what I am writing.
I shout at him to go away, and he backs away with his hands raised in the air, but with an impossible smile on his face.
He is healing quickly.
His wounds no longer need bandaging, but he still insists that I check them every day.
He pulls off his shirt, and I ignore the way it makes my stomach flip when I stand close to him, and he pretends not to notice.
I pretend not to see the way he holds his breath when I touch his skin, or the way he balls his fists up at his sides to keep from touching me.
This morning, he is in the kitchen, trying a new recipe.
I would have never guessed that he was a talented chef, but here we are.
I watch him, not caring if he notices or not.
Once again, he is shirtless, not that I mind.
My eyes roam over the tattoos on his chest and the one that wraps around his shoulder.
Every inch of the man is mouth-watering.
Kael looks up and smirks.
“I really wish you would let me buy you a new laptop.
That one is geriatric.”
I clutch my computer to my chest like it is a child that I birthed myself.
“Don’t speak that way about Bertha.
She has seen me through tough times.
I could never get rid of her.”
I pet the keyboard and whisper to her not to listen to the bad man.
Kael rolls his eyes and saunters over, trying to look at the screen for the thousandth time, but I slam it shut just in time.
“This is not for your eyes.”
His finger picks at one of the dragon stickers on the front, and I slap his hand away.
“Those are vintage!”
He yanks his hand away, shaking it in the air like I hurt him.
“What are you writing anyway?”
I tuck my laptop under my arm.
“That is also none of your business.”
I slip out of the kitchen and into the living room, while Kael shouts behind me.
“You are going to have to tell me one day.”
Glancing over my shoulder.
“Today is not that day.”
The truth is, I don’t think I will ever tell him the truth about what is inside this laptop.
My father ignored me, and no one in the pack wanted anything to do with me.
I was alone, and I almost let the depression consume me.
Then, one day, I read a romance novel and thought to myself, I can do this.
So, I pulled out the laptop that my mother bought me for my birthday, and I poured my soul into a manuscript and then another.
I found an escape from my reality through my writing, and it turns out I am pretty good at it.
Eventually, an editor picked up my works, and within two years, I became a best-selling author.
It is my best-kept secret.
In order to keep my income and works hidden from my father and stepmother, I write under a pen name.
No one knows my secret except my editor, Yvonne.
She is my boss and my best friend.
I owe her everything.
I laugh as I settle onto the couch and prop my feet up on the coffee table.
My father thought that by taking my mother’s house from me, he was leaving me with nothing, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Actually, most people think that I have nothing.
Even Kael believes that I am homeless, and that almost makes me feel guilty about my little secret.
The truth is, I have a very comfortable income from my books.
It is tucked away in a bank account that my father can never access.
No one will ever know that I am just a few sales away from being a millionaire.
“Hey, Sunshine,” Kael calls from the kitchen.
“Come try this.”
I roll my eyes at the nickname, pretending that I hate it, but I don’t.
Not really.
“I just got comfortable,” I whine, but I shut my laptop anyway.
When I step into the kitchen, Kael is holding out a spoon for me to taste.
“Careful, it is hot.”
Gently, I blow across the spoon before tasting the chili.
A moan escapes my lips, but I don’t care.
“Gods, that is so good.”
His face lights up like it is Christmas. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“Do you really think so?”
I grab the spoon from his hand and make my way to the pot.
I shovel the chili into my mouth, not caring that I don’t look ladylike or that it is burning the roof of my mouth.
Kael leans against the counter and watches me.
“Are you going to save some for me?”
I turn to look at him and playfully growl.
“No.”
Something flickers in his gaze that makes me step away from the stove.
He grabs the spoon from my hand and places it on the counter before stalking toward me.
“Lily,” he whispers my name.
I swallow hard.
“Yes.”
My back hits the cabinets, and I have nowhere to go.
His arms box me in, and he leans in too close.
“I am going to kiss you.”
My heart stutters in my chest, but I refuse to let him see the effect that he has on me.
“Is that so?”
His hand wraps around the back of my neck, and he pulls my face closer to his.
“Yes.”
”This is a bad idea,” I whimper, but Kael isn’t listening.
His lips capture mine, carefully and gently at first.
His tongue runs along the seam of my lips, and I open for him.
He growls as his tongue plunges into my mouth, and my knees go weak.
The kiss turns possessive and hungry.
Our teeth clash together, and our tongues wrestle.
Everything we have been holding back for the past week is wrapped up in this kiss.
Just when I am about to give this man whatever he wants, he breaks away from the kiss and steps away.
His thumb brushes against my bottom lip, and he turns back to his cooking like it never happened, leaving me hot and breathless.
“What was that?” I whisper.
“A preview,” he smirks.
“Just a preview.”