“I haven’t finished dinner yet, but I started it.”

“Do you mind working on it while I grab a shower?”

“Only if you join me in the kitchen afterward in just a towel.”

He tapped her nose with an index finger. “The student becomes the teacher.” She let go of him as he bent to pick up their new fancy daggers. “I’ll put these away as well.”

“For later?”

He grinned, stepping backward. “I’ll be down soon.” Innuendo thickened his voice, his eyes flashing with intent. She would enjoy seeing what he had in mind later.

“Okay.” Caro misted to the kitchen rather than taking the stairs and went about fixing dinner to the best of her ability. Chopping vegetables and grilling chicken breasts she could do. It was the seasoning bit that perplexed her. Hopefully, this combination would taste all right. She boiled some noodles, too, thinking this might be a decent Italian dish.

Sethios joined her with a towel wrapped loosely around his hips, just as she requested, and reviewed the items on the stove. “Hmm.”

“Did I do it wrong?” she asked, concerned.

“Well, normally, I would add a tomato sauce or something creamier to the noodles, not butter. But we’ll make this work.” He retrieved some cheese from the refrigerator and a grater and started shaving pieces onto the noodles. “Stir that in until it melts.”

She did as he requested while he chopped some garlic and basil behind her. Then he tossed that into the dish.

He kissed her shoulder. “Keep stirring.”

Sethios grabbed the plates holding their cooked veggies and chicken from the counter and started doing something on the cutting board. When he returned, the meat was finely diced. He dropped all of it into the noodle pan, as well as some more cheese. More butter came next, followed by cream.

“I’m pretty sure you just added a thousand calories to my dish,” she pointed out with a smile.

“Makeshift Alfredo.” His hips pressed against her as she mixed everything together over low heat. “Your taste buds will thank me for it.”

“Probably.” She gave up denying it a few weeks ago. “I want chocolate for dessert.”

“Sure. You can lick it off me later.”

“I…” Food in the bedroom? Like warm chocolate? “I might enjoy that.”

“On the contrary, darling, you’ll love it.” He drew his teeth along the column of her neck, and she hummed her approval just before his teeth broke the surface of her skin. His arm circled her waist to keep her against him while he indulged in her essence. The urge to return the favor and drink from him struck her hard in the chest, but she ignored the impulse.

Their relationship worked for now.

Eternity would need to be discussed later.

One day at a time.

“I think I’m addicted to you too, Caro,” he whispered after releasing her from his intoxicating bite. It always left her feeling warm and fuzzy rather than in pain and woozy. It was some sort of forbidden magic that she luxuriated in each time he drank from her.