Page 70 of The Billionaire's Bride

"Shh," I touch my finger to her lips, "are you hungry?"

"Hungry?" She blinks.

"Breakfast?" I tilt my head, "I could make you my special?"

"Your special?" She opens and shuts her mouth.

Guess I’ve surprised her with my calm acceptance of the three of us being in the same bed. Hell, if I hadn't surprised myself with my lack of outburst at having woken up last night to find the two of them in my bed. Maybe I'd been too tired, maybe I was just tired of fighting, or maybe they had looked so peaceful sleeping curled around each other in my bed, that I hadn't had the heart to wake either of them. For a moment, my mind had drifted back to when Baron and I were kids, fighting over our favorite toys, learning to take turns, and having sleepovers. Ah, the innocence of youth. I’ll never admit it, but I swear, I think I almost felt like it was supposed to be this way. Like we could have had this easy peace between us, if not for the incident.

So, I had contented myself with wrapping my arm around her and falling asleep. I had woken up to the most gorgeous sight ever. Of her in my bed, her face turned toward me, the sheet poised low on her breasts, barely covering her nipples. I'd give anything to wake up to that sight every day. My heart stutters in my chest, as I hold her gaze, "You do eat eggs don't you?"

She nods.

"Good.” I throw back my end of the covers, swing my legs over and stand; reach for my sweat pants and shrug into them. When I turn, I find her gaze fixed on me. I drag my fingers down my chest and her breath hitches. I slide my hand toward the waistband and she jerks her gaze up to mine.

I smirk.

She scowls. "Jerk," she mouths the word without heat.

"Your jerk," I whisper back.

She opens her mouth, and I raise a finger to my lips. I glance at the slumbering Baron next to her, then jerk my head toward the door. "Come on," I say in a low voice, "let’s not awaken Sleeping Beauty here."

Inch by inch, she slides out from under his arm. Baron stirs in his sleep and we both freeze.

He was a soldier and I'd have expected him to wake up with all this movement around him, but instead, he slumbers on. Maybe he's more tired than usual?

Maybe it's the fact that he slept with her that exhausted him, and sated him? I set my jaw, watch as she scoots all the way over to the end of my bed. Then she swings her legs over the side, glancing around for something to wear. I grab my T-shirt and hand it to her. As she shrugs into it, I walk over to the closet, pull out a pair of my boxer briefs, and return with them. She slips into them and they hang around her hips. The t-shirt dwarfs her. It reaches almost down to her knees and covers the boxers completely, but it’ll have to do for now. I walk out of the bedroom and she follows me. I wait for her to precede me, carefully shut the door behind us, then follow her down to the kitchen. She switches on the coffee maker while I pull out the ingredients needed for making pancakes.

"I do eat milk, butter and cheese, as well; and fish," she ventures. "I guess I am a fake vegetarian."

"When did you give up meat?"

"When I was thirteen, I saw a documentary on how livestock are butchered to provide meat, and that was that." She shudders. "I gave up not only meat, but also fish and all animal products, but it was exhausting." She sighs. "Our society is so geared toward animal products… Sometimes I think there is a larger conspiracy at play. Big corporations want to rule our dining tables and dictate our eating choices. I resisted for as long as I could."

"You did well," I mutter as I crack the eggs and whip up the pancake mixture, "Looking at you, though, I’d have never guessed how ecologically and politically conscious you are."

"Why, because I am a belly dancer?” She frowns. "So, of course, I shouldn’t have a single original thought in my head?"

"Hold on, spitfire," I say lightly, "you know that’s not what I meant."

"Hmm," she purses her lips, "then what did you mean?"

I toss some butter onto the hot skillet, then turn to her, "Just that there’s more to you than meets the eye and I, for one, can’t wait to unpeel all the layers and get to know your deepest, darkest desires."

She draws in a sharp breath. "Edward," she shakes her head, "sometimes you…you…"

"Impress you?"

"Shock me."

"But you still find me irresistible."

"Whatever," she mutters.

"The sassy Eve, at a loss for words?" I smirk. "That’s a first."

"The alphahole, whipping up a meal, in the hopes that he’ll get into my pants?" She sticks out her tongue at me and I fix my gaze on her luscious mouth.