Page 51 of My Crazy Killers
She’s the only peace I’ve ever found in this life.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
WREN
Sly opens the hotel room door and steps inside before nodding and letting me enter.
“Honey, we’re home!” I call, my eyes seeking out Elias. He’s right where we left him on the couch, but when he hears me, he practically drops the laptop on the table and jumps up, rounding the couch as I slip off my boots and jacket.
“Thank God you’re back,” he says, quickly moving straight for me and pulling me in for a firm hug.
“What’s wrong? Has something happened?” I ask in worry as he clutches me tight.
But he quickly shakes his head and reassures me. “No, nothing’s wrong. I just missed you. You were gone too long.”
“It was only a couple of hours,” Pete says as he passes us and heads for the kitchen.
“That was a couple of hours too long,” Elias says quietly enough that only I hear him.
“I missed you, too,” I say, pulling back and angling my head up to him for a kiss. He doesn’t disappoint, and as soonas his lips touch mine, butterflies start fluttering around my stomach. I still can’t believe I get to kiss him like this. And what we did last night. He was my first crush, my only crush before my penpals. If teenage Wren could see me now, she’d be squealing in excitement.
“Wren, what do you want for dinner?” Sly calls, clearly doing his best to cockblock us. On the way back here, I tried my best to convince him I didn’t need any more time to recover, but when he gave me a light tap to my ass, and I let out a small, “Ouch,” he said that was proof I needed another night to heal. So apparently, sexy time was off the table for today.
I’m starting to wonder why I let him be the boss of me, but when my eyes meet his, I instantly remember. Who was I kidding? Sly, the dom, was super hot. Every time he gave me an order, it made me a little wet.
I step back from Elias but grab his hand and pull him along with me to the kitchen area, not willing to let him go yet. He seems to feel the same, as when we stop moving, he moves behind and wraps his arms around me, before kissing the side of my head and resting his chin against me.
“I could make us dinner,” I tell Sly. “What do you guys feel like? Duck à l’Orange, Lobster Thermidor, Coq au vin?”
“I don’t even know what those are,” Pete says with surprise. “But they sound fancy.”
“Fancy and delicious,” Dex adds.
“Wren, you don’t have to make something fancy. You don’t have to make anything. We can cook for you,” Elias tells me, giving me a swift squeeze.
“Uh… Who exactly would be cooking?” I ask nervously. “Actually, it doesn’t matter. Either way, the answer is no.”
“Why don’t you and I cook some pasta together?” Slysuggests. “I used to be able to make an okay spaghetti. I’m sure you can help make it better, and I think we have all the ingredients for it already.”
I smile at him and nod. “Okay, that sounds like fun.”
Elias releases me as Sly reaches for my hand and pulls me into the kitchen. Pete and Dex try to help but quickly get in the way. “Why don’t you guys go relax on the couches while we cook?” I ask as I try to wave them out of the kitchen.
“Aw, don’t kick us out!” Pete pouts.
I try not to smile, loving that they just want to stay close. “Fine,” I concede. “But you have to sit on the bar stools on the other side of the counter so you don’t get in the way.”
Sly explains the basic recipe, which consisted of tomato paste, tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and onions. It doesn’t take us long to get the sauce cooking, and I taste it before deciding to add a few more ingredients to improve the flavor.
“Is that sugar?” Pete asks when I stir in a spoonful of it.
“Yep, it helps balance out the acidity of the tomatoes,” I add a few more ingredients until I’m happy with the taste. I bring everyone their own little spoon to test it, and they unanimously agree it’s the best spaghetti sauce they’ve ever tasted. I think they’re just being nice, but it still makes me feel proud.
I love that cooking has become something I look forward to now. Not having to do it alone makes a big difference. And the questions they all ask as they watch me work makes me think they want to learn how to cook for me, too.
We find some bread, and I whip up some garlic butter so we can make garlic bread. Once that's ready and the noodles are cooked, we move everything to the table and sit down to eat.
Elias spoons out the noodles onto everyone’s plate, andSly adds the sauce, while we help ourselves to the garlic bread. I take a bite and smile, enjoying this moment of us all happily working together. I hope this is a glimpse of what our future could look like together.
