Page 40 of Allured (Love and Burlesque #1)

CHAPTER FORTY

EZEKIEL

Happy endings… not like that, you pervert.

T wo Weeks Later

October has gone by in a whirlwind of experiences and emotions. It all began on the night Alek trusted me to reveal my life to him and to show him the places I had carved out for him. Both figuratively within my heart, and literally as I had constructed a dance studio for him within my home. I fondly remember the storm that passed by that night, illuminating the dance studio as I fucked him against the ballet barre and stared into his bliss—filled eyes through the floor length mirror. The memory of it has me shifting in my seat at quite an inconvenient time.

Alek has been staying at my house more often than not, much to my absolute pleasure. I don’t think I would ever want to experience this house alone again, much less without my Aleksander sharing the space. The man has invaded every nook and cranny in my home, but he usually takes his sanctuary in the kitchen and dance studio. One would think hearing his heavy footing as he practices would pester me. However, I find comfort in the rhythmic steps falling from the ceiling of my study. I equate it to how I love to hear Alek’s heartbeat as we fall asleep together nearly every night. I should ask him to move in with me, though I am not entirely sure he would be ready for such a big step. Having someone move in with you only after two months of dating is not unheard of from what I’ve gathered, but it is still unconventional. A little chuckle leaves me. As if Alek and I have been conventional about anything.

“I assume you still prefer your bourbon neat?” my cousin asks from beside me, pulling me from my reflection. I turn away from the window facing the backyard to see Knight holding two highball glasses at the entrance of the den.

“Are you being driven to drink already?” I ask him, rearranging myself to sit more upright while I offer him a seat in the armchair beside me.

“Harriett has found herself new best friends and they are practically swooning over their celebrity crushes while downing cosmos on the patio,” Knight explains. He steps further into the room and hands me the whisky before he unfastens the button of his suit jacket and sits down.

“The ladies are lively, aren’t they?” I ask, hiding a proud smile behind my glass as I take a sip of the amber liquid.

Emma, Vivian, and Aunt Harriett have somehow formed an alliance in the last hour or so. Upon first entering my home on Knight’s arm, Harriett had immediately zoned in on the gorgeous cocktail in Emma’s hand and loudly asked who she had to seduce to get that drink. Vivian had taken Harriett from Knight’s arm within seconds and announced she had been thoroughly seduced with that ‘banging’ dress. The three women have not been seen since, though we could still certainly hear them from outside.

My heart feels as full as my house is occupied for our first family brunch. Along with Knight and the ladies, Thomas is also roaming within the house. From what I know, I don’t think Alek and Rhett have even left the kitchen since they arrived. The two wanted to dive into the preparations immediately.

“Did you ever think this kind of joy would be possible for you? Given all we’ve been through?” Knight asks, a solemn expression on his face as he swirls the liquid in his glass.

While I know he is referring to our childhood and shared tragedy, I also sense that there is more at play given the severity of his question.

“No. I did not. After my separation, I believed this kind of happiness was reserved for others, not for me. Or it was something only found in fairytales. It took meeting Alek for me to realize this,” I motion in a general direction to all the people who have become so special to me, “was what I needed and what I deserved.”

“It’s what you deserve as well, Knight,” I conclude.

“Tell that to the person I was two divorces ago.” He laughs but there is no humor. My cousin has always had his demons but something seems to be haunting him more as of late.

“Kn–” The heartfelt speech I planned in my head was interrupted by Rhett letting us know food would be ready in fifteen minutes.

“I’ll be taking a walk before we’re seated.” Knight drinks the rest of his bourbon, stands up, and leaves without another word.

“Anyway dude, I still can’t believe I was the other woman just a few weeks ago.” Alek comments to Rhett as he stirs a pot of soup but from the sly smirk on his lips I can tell he saw me enter the kitchen.

“You were never the other woman, Alek. You are my man , an annoying one at that, but mine all the same.” I walk over to the stove and wrap my arms around his waist the second I’m within reach of him. Setting his utensil down onto a spoon rest, Alek twists within my hold to face me. Strong arms loop around my neck and he invades my space so my senses are filled with nothing except him.

“Call me yours again and we'll need to sneak off and make good on that, angel.” his pouty lips murmur, so close they’re nearly pressed against my own.

“Y’all know I can hear you,” Rhett announces, side—eyeing us from his position in front of the cutting board.

Alek’s answering laugh is interrupted as I press my lips against his, stealing a quick, deep kiss. He groans against my lips and pushes himself closer for more.

“No, no sir. Y’all either need to take it upstairs or let me join in ‘cus I’ve been single way too long to be around this shit.”

“Rhett gross, that’s my brother.” Breaking our kiss, Alek and I peer over just in time to see Thomas shoulder—bump Rhett and stand beside him.

“You need help peeling these?” Thomas asks Rhett, already holding up the vegetable peeler and a large carrot. Alek and I stand at the side, watching the interaction unfold.

“Yeah, nice and slow big boy.” A wink from Rhett causes a blush to form on the fair skin of Thomas’ cheekbones.

Without saying a word, Alek tugs me backward and into the alcove of the wet bar. From his expression, I can tell there’s a bit of confusion lingering from the scene we just witnessed but he does not elaborate on it.

“How’s it going out there?” he asks instead.

“It’s manageable chaos,” I reply. “It would appear Emma, Viv, and Aunt Harriett have become best friends.”

“Sounds about right.” Alek leans his hip against the counter and crosses his arms. “What about Knight?” he questions.

“He has been testy this morning.”

“Knight’s being testy? You’re joking,” Alek replies sarcastically.

The response earns him a sharp glare from me.

“Watch your tone, wicked boy.”

“You’re just proving it’s a family trait, Ez.” His grin is wide and his eyes mischievous. Alek knows exactly what he is doing. Our dynamic of give—and—take is one that I will always play into.

Grabbing at his crossed arms, I wedge my hand in the space between his forearms and chest and pull him down to meet my eye level.

“I think you deserve to be put over my knee tonight.” My voice holds a dark promise.

Alek appears unperturbed except for the bobbing of his Adam’s apple. The motion tells me his cock is most likely moving in a similar fashion. I have the impish urge to reach down to check but ingrained propriety prevents me.

Not backing down, Alek purses his lips against the corner of my mouth, both kissing and whispering in one motion.

“I’m looking forward to it, Sir.”

Unable to resist, I kiss him with such ferocity it almost drowns out the loud thump of his body against the wall of the pantry. He kisses me back as if he is starving and the sound of a timer beeping in the kitchen does nothing to break our magnetic pull.

But the sound of a throat clearing nearby is what finally moves us apart.

“Uh, Rhett was saying there’s about ten minutes left on the food if someone could start setting the table.” Thomas stands a few feet away from us, shyly avoiding eye contact with both his brother and me.

“I will take care of it. Thank you, Thomas,” I reply, watching him leave after he gives Alek and me a curt nod.

“You are making an exhibitionist out of me, baby.”

“You can’t be saying shit like that, Ez,” Alek groans and adjusts himself in front of me. I have to begin guiding him back into the kitchen otherwise my previous comment may become a prophecy instead of a joke.

“I will see you at the table, Alek.” I swat at his ass flirtatiously and turn to make my way into the dining room.

As luck would have it, there are three people at the ready to assist in setting the table, I just need to convince them to set their drinks down for a moment.

Deciding to make myself known after a bout of feminine laughter, I approach my aunt, Emma, and Vivian.

“Ladies, may I ask for your assistance with setting the table?”

They all turn to me in an almost eerily synchronized manner.

“I suppose we each have one hand free,” Harriett agrees but makes her reluctance known. She holds out a dainty hand to Vivian.

“Do help me up, girl.”

The three of them make their way to the empty dining table, with me in step behind them.

“And what is the tone of this brunch, Ezekiel? We must know to properly set up.” Harriett walks over to the ornate dining cabinet and begins looking over the options of napkins, plates, and silverware.

“From the state of those in this room, one might think the theme is a bachelorette party,” I comment, pointedly directing my eyes over to where Vivian and Emma are giggling as I attempt to hold back a smirk.

“Hmm. Well perhaps it would be more fitting if the theme were divorce party, would it not?” Harriett asks, her question rhetorical and meant to match my sarcasm. It certainly had to be inherited from somewhere.

“Oh shit, she got you, dude!” Vivian hollers as she clasps my shoulder.

“Touché, Harriett,” I sigh in defeat with a smile still on my lips. My aunt gives me one of her secretly sincere smiles that she doesn’t let anyone but me and Knight see. I approach the cabinet and join in her search for dinnerware.

A few months earlier, a joke like that would have put me in a state of gloom. However, as I search within myself, I find no lingering sorrow. Elizabeth had even sent over a friendly note and basket of pastries for this brunch. The gesture filled my heart just as the pastries had filled Alek’s stomach early this morning.

“An autumnal color scheme will do,” I comment and begin to pull out napkins in shades of brown and sienna.

Alek is sitting beside me. His hand is wrapped around my thigh underneath the table in a possessive way that has a steady undercurrent of heat pumping throughout my body. If his touch wasn’t there to ground me, I have a feeling this gathering would have felt surreal.

Emma sits at my other side, listening to the story Harriett is telling as we all settle in for our brunch. Alek and Rhett have done an amazing job with the menu, highlighting the fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables they shopped for this morning. Fragrant, freshly baked calabaza empanadas, a glistening and colorful salad, and a variety of cheese and fruits run the length of the table with a steaming pumpkin soup sitting at the center of it all. The two had insisted this brunch would be best served family style.

Family . I look around the table at the mismatched group of individuals who have somehow found a sense of belonging with one another. It is beautiful.

Harriett is seated at one head of the eight—person table, while Thomas sits opposite her. In front of me is Knight, wedged between Vivian and Rhett, and of course, he is looking solemn as ever.

My eyes catch on Vivian picking a piece of cheese off of the charcuterie and eating the nibble with an impatient look. Knight sees it as well and I can see him fail to contain a smirk that looks to be part admiration and part incredulous.

“As fabulous as this looks, we are not only here to stare at the food, or am I wrong?” Harriett speaks up, effectively quieting and commanding the room.

“Did you get your pictures, sweetheart?” I take a second to ask Alek before I begin to proceed with inviting everyone to serve themselves. Alek is in the beginning stages of widening his client base for his catering business and needs the pictures for his website.

“Yeah, I got it, Ez.” Alek smiles, and a grateful tilt of his lips accompanies the happy crinkles in his eyes. Nodding in reply, I stand up and shift my stance so that I can see everyone at the table. I hold one of Emma’s apple cider mimosas in my hand.

“Thank you all for joining in this lovely brunch provided by Alek and Rhett.” Looking at the two, I raise my glass in thanks. “And the lovely cocktail provided by Emma.”

“Yes, it does go down quite easily,” Harriett comments, only having just stopped taking a sip from her glass.

“That’s what she—” Rhett snickers, though he is interrupted and mutters an ‘ow’ before he has a chance to finish his statement. I shoot a thankful expression over to Thomas.

“I am sure I am not the first or the only one to think how grateful I am for all of us having found each other. As many of you know, my family has only consisted of myself, Harriett, and Knight for so long, but I am delighted and fortunate to have the Delgados and Delgado—adjacent family members joining us here today.”

Placing my hand on Alek’s shoulder, I stare down into his hazel eyes for a moment before continuing.

“And to think it was all made possible from a botched chemical face peel,” I add, unable to keep myself from a dig at my aunt.

Knight bursts out laughing, nearly tipping his glass over in his hysterics while the rest of the table either looks confused or, if they were present at the replanned gala in early September, they laugh along before explaining the joke to their table mates. Harriett, on the other hand, narrows her eyes at me and I can see her beginning to plot her revenge.

“Without further cause for my aunt to become more angry with me, please everyone, dig in.”

A small cheer from the table echoes against the walls before we all settle in and have our first meal as a family. In a manner incredibly similar to our first meeting, Alek grins as he feeds me a flaky piece of empanada. At least this time I have the decency to not nearly choke to death on the morsel.

Whether it was divine intervention or the simple allure of human nature that first brought us together, I am certain that I will cherish being within Alek’s grace every day for the rest of my life.