Page 36 of Recipe for a Curse

Chapter 15

The day passed fast. Rio moved about, keeping busy with random house chores and an occasional trip to help me in the kitchen. I kept a snack plate out for him, so if he got hungry, he could stop in, grab some food and go back to whatever he was working on.

I created a massive batch of sticky buns, and dinner was steak, baked potatoes, and broccoli. Zach had sent me a text to up the protein and red meat over the next few days, which had me scrambling to unthaw things.

As I was searing the steaks Rio wrapped his arms around me from behind, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Hi,” I said.

“That smells amazing.”

“Medium, okay? Zach likes lots of pink in his, so do most of the rest of his staff, and Sean has fish for dinner,” I pointed to the skillet I’d already set aside to keep warm.

“Medium is great. Enough to take the chill off is all I really need.”

I was tempted to launch into a lecture about cooking temps and the destruction of bacteria through heat, but it was one of those moments I decided to keep the science to myself. I set the tongs down and turned in his arms. A few days of eating and he seemed so much healthier. Instead of gaunt and tired, he had filled out, like he’d put on muscle, though I knew that was impossible in such a short time. But he looked healthy and well rested.

“You look good. Better. You feel okay?”

“Hungry, but good,” Rio agreed. He paused and stared out the window at the darkness. Then he said, “I don’t sleep well during the full moon.”

“I’ve heard it can really bother some people. Maybe I can help somehow?”

“Yeah? How would that work?”

“I can make you sleepy time tea,” I offered as I reached up to touch his face, tracing the lines of his cheek and strong jaw. Rio was a very handsome man. “Or wear you out in other ways.”

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “These other ways of yours sound nefarious.”

“They could be, or angelic. I’m flexible,” I said arching up on my tiptoes to reach his lips and kiss him. He accepted, returning the kiss, but breaking it off to point at the stove. I flipped the steak, able to tell by the browning and smell where we were at.

“Might be better to wait a few days,” Rio said sounding a bit sad.

“Wait? For sleep you mean? Or other activities?” Did he think we were moving too fast? I supposed we kind of were, but my relationships had sort of been that way. A quick flare of attraction, though often the other guy got bored with me. I spent too much time cooking or talking about food. At least Rio enjoyed my cooking and didn’t whine about how a pizza would be better. He ate whatever I made.

Rio kissed my cheek. “Patience is good.”

“Can we talk about the curse?” I asked, wondering if he would give me details. The way he, Zach and Sean talked about it, it sounded like a real curse. I thought perhaps it was a medical thing. But in my few breaks during the day, searching on my phone, I couldn’t find anything that seemed to account for what I’d experienced. And nothing that made him this hungry was contagious. “Do you have some kind of tapeworm or something?”

He let out a long sigh. “No.”

I pulled one of the steaks from the pan and added the next. “You can’t talk about it?”

“Just know that you can’t catch what I have. Not unless our blood mingles.”

“I’m not really into blood play,” I said trying to think of the handful of times I’d been a bit kinky in the bedroom. The bite had been on the edge of that line. I wasn’t into pain. Had dated a guy for a few months that had been into spanking, but even that was not my thing. “I’m pretty vanilla,” I said. “Sorry if that’s boring. Food play is about as kinky as I get. Some whipped cream, or caramel sauce, I’d be into that…”

Rio laughed lightly. “Nothing to be sorry for, other than the idea of you covered in caramel just made me hard.”

I grinned up at him. “Then we’re on the same page.”

He sobered again, looking sad. “Sometimes my control sucks.”

“Have you ever hurt anyone?”

“Not on purpose.”

I thought about that for a minute. “A lover?”

“No. It was when I left the military. Right after I was changed…”