Page 101 of Ashes

It was almost ten when Valentina got up. “I have some work to do,” she said, brushing past Kai to set her plate on the counter next to the sink.

“Yeah, I should go, too,” Kai echoed, grabbing another piece of cut cake from the box to take with him.

Once they were both gone, I placed my hands over Jamal’s and turned the stool I was sitting on to face his side.

“How did you know?” I asked, curious since I’d never told him.

He swallowed his previous bite of cake and said, “Know what?” Swiveling his chair, he brought mine closer to him and placed my knees between his now parted legs.

“I never told you about my birthday.”

He just shrugged and placed a kiss on my mouth before saying, “You’re my wife. Why wouldn’t I know?”

CHAPTER 27

JAMAL

I stoodand dropped a soft kiss on top of her head this time.

Our gazes caught and lingered. My mind wandered back to the look on her face when she realized this was all for her.

A pang ricocheted in my chest at the thought that this was the nicest thing someone had ever done for her. She deserved to be celebrated and I couldn’t believe no one had wanted to do that for her before.

I’d been strangely nervous when she opened the envelope to find the Grand Prix tickets inside, but seeing her face light up the way it did was more than worth it.

Falling for her would be my downfall, but I’d take the plunge any day if it meant being with her.

“Need some help?” Sienna offered, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I hadn’t realized that I started cleaning up. I glanced at her. “A birthday girl shouldn’t be on cleanup duty.”

I closed the lid on the cake box and placed it back into the refrigerator along with the orange juice container. I promise it wasn’t my idea. Kai had a strange inclination to combine orange juice with pretty much everything. It was fine on certain occasions, but I would never be able to see the appeal of mixing orange juice and cake.

I grabbed Sienna’s and my dirty dishes and set the plates and cutlery next to Valentina’s. Then I turned and opened the dishwasher. As I loaded everything into it, Sienna came up behind me and wrapped her arms around my middle.

A smile tugged at my lips.

I liked how comfortable she felt now to touch me whenever she wanted. We’d been intimate multiple times over the last two weeks, especially ever since she started sleeping in my bed.

But moments like these were the ones I reveled in the most.

I’d never had this kind of intimacy with anyone and I had the overwhelming sense that this,us, was exactly where I was meant to be. I knew I shouldn’t live comfortably in the idea that this could be it because not only was there still so much I was hiding from her, but I still had a goal to achieve.

What if you let it go,a deep part of my subconscious tried to break free.

Shaking my head to dispel the idea, I finished cleaning out the sink. I’d switched the water to a colder temperature to wash my hands when Sienna’s hand reached forward.

I originally thought she wanted to wash her hands as well, but instead, she grabbed the pull-out sprayer, angled it upward, and pushed the button to switch the setting.

Ice-cold water hit me in the chest, soaking through my long-sleeved white shirt. Nervous laughter spilled from her lips and she immediately released it, stepping away from me.

I dropped my chin down, assessing the damage she’d done.

I was drenched.

I looked up at her and she had her hands resting above her mouth. “I’m sorry, it was too tempting not to do it,” she said in between fits of laughter.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “You think that’s funny?” I grabbed the faucet and aimed it toward her.