Page 12 of Snow’s Charming (Hope Runs Deep #7)

“What’s that?” I asked.

“That I help you cook! Not only am I great at chopping veggies, herbs, and onions, but I also want nothing more than to be near you and witness your happiness in your element. Oh! And I’m so on dish duty. Let me be your sous chef.”

“Sounds fair to me. We will have to stop at the local grocery to get supplies. Pretty sure we don’t have all the ingredients in the fridge at the penthouse.”

“No, we don’t, and I’m very confident in saying that. Before you came, the fridge was stocked with mostly takeout boxes, so let’s head to the store.”

We hopped into the SUV and were at the local TasteTrove Market within minutes. We walked into the store, and the scent of grapefruit instantly hit me. It reminded me of Sylus and his bergamot and citrus cologne.

“Though I’m a big fan of the classic lasagna, your white sauce with mushrooms intrigues me. I’ve never had shiitake mushrooms before. Can we make that tonight?”

“Of course! You are gonna love it. It’s one of my specialties.”

Sylus walked up to the fridge area with all the mushrooms and added a carton of shiitake mushrooms to the cart.

“What else do we need in the produce section?”

“We need fresh parsley, garlic, and shallots.”

He added those to the cart.

“What’s next on the list?”

“Go to the pasta aisle. I promise to make this completely from scratch for you at one point, but I can’t tonight. I’m too hungry already, and making homemade pasta takes all day. ”

“Okay, so—can I ask you a question? This sounds like we should use the ready-bake. Is that a good one?”

“Yup!”

“I need two boxes, unfortunately. Do we have a slightly bigger pan for the dish? One that allows me to use three-layered sheets in the pan?”

“Of course!”

“Good! Because I already know I’m cooking for the house tonight and this lasagna needs to be huge to feed the brigade and you. Also? Do you have nutmeg at the house?”

“Nutmeg?”

“It’s a spice.” He looked at me with quizzical eyes, and I knew we’d have to make a pit stop. “Head to the baking aisle! We need it for this dish.”

Sylus took the cart down there and plopped the nutmeg into the cart.

“Great! Do you have olive oil?”

“It’s a safe bet to say that I don’t. Like I said, we mostly do takeout because I’m usually never home. When I am, I have the chefs prepare something for me instead.” He said as he placed a medium-sized bottle in the cart.

“The next stop is the dairy area. Do you have eggs?”

“No.”

“Okay. We need those. We also need mozzarella, half and half, cream cheese, and ricotta.”

Sylus placed everything we needed into the cart, and we headed for the car once we paid .

Once we pulled up into the driveway, Jerry greeted us.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him as my brows shot up over my forehead.

“Sylus, I know you asked about other intel, but this couldn’t wait.

I need to warn you about Jackie. She wants to kill Sesi!

I overheard her talking in her bedroom to someone tonight.

Strangely, the male voice sounded like your father, Kenneth, Sesi.

But that can’t be since he’s gone. Please keep safe, Sesi!

We love you too much to see anything happen to you. ”

I instantly wanted to tell him about our plan, but Sylus squeezed my hand before he grabbed all the groceries.

“I’ll get these inside. See you in a bit, babe.”

Something in Sylus’s eyes told me not to say anything to Jerry. And the more I thought about it, the more I didn’t want to. What if Jackie compelled Jerry to talk? That wouldn’t be good for him or his wife. Jackie might kill them after finding out our plans.

“Does Jackie know you are here?”

“No.”

“Jerry, be careful with her.”

“Sesi, I know she’s a witch. Sylus warned us about her before she hired us. The wife and I carry a pouch of dill while we’re around her. You don’t have to worry, Sesi.”

I hugged him and headed into the house once he drove off. I almost ran to the kitchen because I wanted to be with Sylus. Once there, I saw him placing the last of the ingredients into the fridge.

“Hey keep some of those out. We need them at room temperature. Leave the cream cheese out.”

“What about the ricotta?”

“Keep that in the fridge.”

“Okay.”

“How was your talk with Jerry?”

I frowned slightly as I chopped the shallots and garlic.

“I’m worried for him and his wife’s safety at that house. We already know that Jackie is trying to kill me, so it’s not much of a stretch to want to kill them, too. Especially if she finds out their loyalty is with me and not her.”

Sylus wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.

“I will keep both him and his wife safe. I promise.”

“Thanks for saying that, but how can you be so sure? I mean, it’s not like we are there 24/7.”

“Jackie wants to install a camera security system at the estate now. And Jerry may have suggested one of the pack members install it.”

“Sylus? What did you do?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I want to know what she’s up to. I told you we can’t be too careful.”

I smiled at him.

“Thanks. It makes me feel good that you have my back.”

“I always will.” He said to me as he kissed my temple. “What do you want me to do next?”

“Can you chop the parsley while I cook the mushrooms?”

“Sure.”

I plopped the mushrooms into the pan with a contented sigh. “This is nice.”

Sylus raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

“I love having someone in the kitchen with me. Cooking is fun, but it’s more fun with you here.”

He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. “I enjoy spending time with you, too.”

We finished the layers of lasagna once I added the mushrooms to my homemade white sauce recipe. I popped it in the oven and set the timer for 30 minutes.

“Let’s grab some wine to go with the lasagna. Do you want red or white?”

“A white sounds good to me,” I said to him as I plucked two goblets from the wine rack that was just above the fridge.

He opened the bottle as I placed the goblets on the counter next to him.

He poured the first glass and handed it to me.

As I took the glass in my hand, his thumb brushed the back of my hand, sending tingles of electric heat throughout my body.

I bit the inside of my lip to squelch a moan bubbling in my throat.

He poured a glass for himself and brought the amber-colored liquid to his mouth, but before taking a sip, he asked, “Did you enjoy shopping today?”

His eyes bore into mine as if he were undressing my very soul for the umpteenth time.

I bit my lip visibly this time as I watched him take a sip and lick his lips.

He was just too damned sexy for his own good.

Stepping closer to me, he placed the glass down on the counter and reached up to tuck some strands of hair behind my ear.

Instinctively, my cheek leaned into his palm.

I breathed in his scent, a mixture of bergamot, cedar, and then citrus this time. It’s a sexy combination.

He cupped my cheek while wrapping his free arm around my waist and pulled me close. Heat shot through my lower belly as his hardness pressed against my inner thigh. I sucked in a breath as his eyes darkened. The heat of his breath tickled my lips as he spoke.

“Would you rather do something else besides talk while we wait for the lasagna to finish cooking, princess?”

My inner diva arched a brow. That wolf was laying the factor fifty on thick, but even if the flirting was all me, it didn’t matter.

I’d wanted his lips on mine since popping that lasagna into the oven.

Who am I kidding? I’ve been wanting to kiss him again since the whole apple incident!

Of course, I didn’t think locking lips with him at the mall was a good idea.

I was too worried about Jackie popping out of every corner.

“Whatever did you have in mind?”

My voice wasn’t recognizable to me, all husky and gravelly. I hated how sexy and full of need it sounded. Before Sylus, I had never been like this with a guy. Dad told me to have them do the chasing, so I’d never really flirted. Yet? Sylus seemed to bring out my wild side naturally.

He pulled me closer, his palm dipping dangerously close to my backside. I mewled at the softness of his touch.

“Can I kiss you, princess?”

I nodded and was nearly breathless as his soft lips met mine.

He started slowly, his lips only pressed lightly against mine until I sucked in a breath.

Then he began sucking on my bottom lip with each of his deliciously slow kisses.

His scent surrounded me as he brought both his palms to my cheeks.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and arched my back to feel as much of him as possible. The friction was amazing.

How was this guy doing this to me? His tongue teased mine, and I couldn’t get enough of his cherries and cola taste. Our tongues swirled together in perfect harmony until he started nibbling at my bottom lip. I let out a moan of pleasure as he sucked away the little hurt.

“God, princess, you’re driving me crazy.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, placing a palm on his chest to put some distance between us.

Embarrassed at how much I wanted to kiss him all night, I figured he wanted to slow things down. It made sense to me since we were in the packhouse and anyone could walk in on us at any minute. He grabbed my hand and placed it on his cheek.

“Don’t push away from me, princess. I need you close to me.”

“But?”

He kissed my palm and took in my scent.

“I assure you I can behave myself. I care too much about you to do anything less.”

He pulled me close and guided my lips to his with his thumb and forefinger clasped around my chin. Once his hot breath hovered within an inch of my lips, the oven timer went off.

“That oven has perfect timing.” He said in a low, gravelly voice over my lips.

He released his hold of me and walked over to the oven.

“Hand me the oven mitts, would you? They are in the top drawer next to your hand on the counter.”

“Sure,” I said, tossing them to him.

He placed the dish on the trivet, and I plated the food. He brought the two dishes to the dining table while I got the bottle of wine. As soon as he placed the plates on the table, he pulled out a chair for me to sit down.

“Look at you being all gentleman-like. Are you trying to impress me or something?”

“Nope. I’d just do anything for you to prove that you are my everything.”