Page 40 of Black and White, Twice the Might (Cadenbury Town #8)

“ B oys, dinner!” Sly yells from the kitchen.

I laugh as I set the table and hear my brothers stampeding down the stairs and running to join us.

“It smells amazing in here,” Xander says, sliding to a stop, Enoch sliding with him. They both burst out laughing.

“I won, loser,” Xander says gleefully.

“I’ll win next time,” Enoch says, with a determined nod.

“Sure, you will,” Xander replies, shaking his head.

I laugh at them. “Nutters the both of you. Help put the drinks on the table, thanks.”

They pick up our drinks and put them on the table, by the mats, as I bring the cutlery over and then help bring our plates to the table.

“Sly, this looks lovely,” Enoch says.

“Smells lovely too,” Xander adds.

For the first meal using unfamiliar appliances, the meal looks incredible.

“It’s just chicken casserole and rice,” Sly replies.

“But you didn’t burn anything,” I point out.

Sly laughs. “True,” he picks up his glass. “To our first meal in our new home.”

We all clink our glasses and tuck into our yummy casserole.

Once dinner has been eaten, we gather around my laptop and start ordering the things we need. The boys have fun, clicking what they want and Sly beams when he finds a rug that looks exactly like our destroyed one. I’m not even looking at the amount we spent.

“So, blinds or curtains?” Sly asks.

“Curtains for me,” Enoch says.

“Blinds, I think,” Xander adds.

“What do you fancy?” I ask, looking at Sly.

“Curtains, I think. Especially for downstairs. We need something in keeping with the cottage.”

I nod. “We do. We also need to pop to the hardware store tomorrow, as we need hooks and things,” I say.

“We can do that,” Sly replies.

“We need to find somewhere to put our glass creations,” Xander says.

“They can go on the fireplace in both reception rooms if you want. Then everyone can see them,” I tell them.

They both beam at me.

“Thanks, Ebb,” Xander says.

“All right, you two, off you go,” I tell them.

“We will, thanks for dinner, Sly,” Xander says, jumping up.

“Yep, it was yummy,” Enoch says, standing up and pushing Xander out of the way so he can run and slide down the hall first.

“Hey, that’s cheating, dweeb,” Xander growls out, running after him.

I shake my head at their retreating backs and stand up. “Keep looking for whatever you think we need, and I’ll tidy the dinner things.”

“I can help, or we can call the boys back,” Sly says, standing up.

I walk to his side and rest my hand on his cheek. “Nope, you cooked, I’ll tidy up. The boys can have tonight free, and then they can start helping with chores tomorrow.”

“Okay,” he says, pulling me closer and kissing me.

I sigh into the kiss and wrap my arms around him.

Sly pulls back, but not far. “On second thought, clean up can wait until tomorrow, as can the rest of the Internet shopping.”

“Agreed. Let’s say goodnight to the boys and then take this to bed. Our bed, in our own room.”

“And just think, we don't need to be quiet, as the boys are on the other side of the house,” Sly reminds me.

“Perfect,” I say, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the kitchen and up the stairs. We find the boys in the secret room, sat on the floor playing Mario Kart. “We’re off to bed. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Xander looks at us. “I don’t even want to know. See you both in the morning.”

“Have fun,” Enoch says with a shake of his head.

“We will indeed have fun, lots of fun,” Sly tells them, smiling.

“Gah, go away,” Xander tells us.

Sly and I laugh, and we both leave the room, walking quickly to ours.

Sly pulls me into the room and slams the bedroom door before pushing me up against it and kissing me. I wrap my arms around him and happily kiss him back. He slowly pulls away and starts undoing the buttons on my shirt. “I get to undress you first.”

I laugh at the look on his face, and with a quick ask of my magic, we are both now naked. “You snooze, you lose.”

“But I was undressing you,” he gripes out.

“But you were taking too long, my darling and look, our bed is right there and calling our names. If you take me to bed right now and make love to me, when it’s my turn, I’ll do that licking thing you love so much.”

Sly perks up. “Really?” he takes my hand and pulls me quickly to the bed, spinning me round and pushing me down on the bed.

I shift around and get comfy as Sly follows me, lying over me. “Happy sex in our new home, babe.”

I burst out laughing and lean up and kiss him. After that, there is no more talking.