Haven Bound

31. Chelsea

31

Chelsea

As much as I love having Austin in my kitchen, I wasn’t prepared for how cute he would look with one of my aprons tied around his waist as he grates carrots for the carrot bundt cake that his mom requested. His brows are pinched together in concentration. I know he said that he taught himself to cook in college, but baking is something else entirely. The measurements and ingredients all have to be exact, or the recipe won’t turn out right, and for this cake, that means hand grating fresh carrots.

He sets the grater down, bracing his hands against the counter as he releases an exasperated sigh. “Why can’t we just use the already shredded carrots they sell at the grocery store? You know, the ones people buy for salads and stuff?” His tone has me laughing as I set down the knife I was using to chop up the roasted walnuts for the cake.

“Because those are gross and dried out. We need the freshly grated ones to help with the moisture of the cake.” I bump my hip against his to get him to scoot out of the way, grabbing the bowl of carrot shreds and adding them into the large mixing bowl filled with cake batter. “Pour those in here too.” I nod my chin toward the cutting board of chopped walnuts as I grab a rubber spatula and begin carefully folding the batter together .

Austin stands behind me, his arms wrapping around the front of my body as he uses the chopping knife to scrape the walnuts off of the cutting board and into the cake batter. He sets the board down, one of his hands resting on my hip as the other hand brushes my messy ponytail out of the way. His lips trail along the back of my neck. My knees nearly give out from the sensation.

The feeling of his warm breath against my skin sends a surge of heat coursing through me that pools low in my belly. “I can’t focus when you’re doing that,” I whisper, my breath caught in my throat as he continues to press gentle kisses along the nape of my neck. I’ve never been kissed there before, and I wasn’t prepared for the way it would affect me.

“Maybe we should call it quits for the night. I’ve been dying to feel you…” he rasps, his hands moving beneath the fabric of my apron and trailing along the waist of my jeans. “To taste you…” he continues, his fingers teasing along my skin. He pulls my body against him, allowing me to feel just how hard he already is behind the zipper of his jeans. His teeth nip at my earlobe before he presses a kiss to the sensitive area just below it. I find myself pushing back against him, desperate to be closer.

“Austin,” I stifle a groan, doing my best to focus on the task at hand as I pour the batter into the bundt cake pan. He takes it from me, the heat of his body disappearing from my back. Then I hear the oven door slam shut.

“How much time do we have?” He takes out his phone and pulls up the clock app to set a timer.

“Forty minutes,” I murmur, watching his fingers tap across the screen before putting the phone down on the counter. He’s already removed the apron he was wearing and is working to remove mine before I have a chance to protest.

He spins me to face him, the cool edge of the counter pressing into my butt as my hands find the back of his neck. His hands slip beneath the fabric of my shirt, his grip firm against my skin when his lips collide with mine. His tongue flicks at my lower lip as if in question, and I open for him immediately.

The frantic energy between us grows when his tongue brushes against mine and suddenly his hands are everywhere. Gripping my hips, slipping around my waist to grab my ass and pull me against him, and then sliding up my torso beneath my shirt until my breasts are in the palm of his hands.

“Austin, wait.” I press my hands against his chest. I don’t push him away, but he understands and pulls back.

“What’s wrong?” His storming blue eyes search mine in question.

I take a moment to close my eyes, giving myself a chance to calm down before speaking. “I want this. I want you, but I feel like there’s still so much that we haven’t discussed. So much that we don’t know about each other.” Austin tilts his head back and inhales deeply, holding his breath for a few seconds and then releasing it. When he looks back at me, the storm in his eyes has calmed.

“You’re right,” he breathes out. “It’s just so damn easy to get lost in you. I’ve dreamed of the day that you would be back in my arms, and now that I have you, I don’t want to waste a single minute.”

I understand where he’s coming from because I feel the same way. But over the years I’ve slowly built a wall up around my heart. I’m not ready for it to come crashing down just yet. If I’m being honest, there’s still a lingering part of me that’s worried he’ll disappear again, and I know I wouldn’t survive it. Not again.

“I want to know everything.” I smile, jumping up onto the counter with Austin now standing between my legs.

His fingers trail along my legs until they’re resting on my knees, his grip firm. “You’re really testing my self-control here, baby,” he teases.

“Stop it!” I laugh, playfully pushing at his chest. “Get your mind out of the gutter and tell me something that I don’t know about you.” While I wait for him to answer, I reach up and adjust my ponytail, trying not to think about how disheveled I look after an entire day of baking. Being able to take my hair down after a long day almost feels just as amazing as finally being able to take my bra off. I can't wait to get out of here with him so that I can do exactly that.

I can’t help the light groan that escapes me when I feel his fingers massage over my scalp, closing my eyes and quickly biting at my lower lip in an attempt to hide the noise. When I open them again, his focus is locked on my mouth. His tongue slides out to wet his own lips as he reaches up to cup my jaw in his palm, using his thumb to pull my lip from between my teeth.

His lips brush against mine, but this kiss isn’t the same as the one we shared just minutes ago. It’s slow and soft, causing warmth to spread through my chest. I lean into him and wrap my arms around his neck, desperate to be closer to him. We break from the kiss, our foreheads resting together as we each take panting breaths.

“You were the first thing I thought of when I woke up every morning, the last thing I thought of when I went to bed every night, and the only thing I ever dreamed of while I slept,” he murmurs, his soft words catching me off guard. At first, I’m confused by his admission, but then it hits me.

Something I don’t know about him.

“That’s not really what I meant. I meant like… what did you do in your spare time when you weren’t off…” I pause, tilting my head from side to side as I consider how to phrase my next words. “You know… killing the bad guys?”

He shakes his head and pulls back so that our eyes meet. “None of that matters, Chelsea. The only thing I’ve ever wanted, the only thing I’ve been dreaming of and wishing for over the past seven years, is a future with you.”

I want to know everything about him, everything that I’ve missed out on over the years. I have every intention of bothering him for information until he gives in. For now, I let the words settle in my heart and feel the walls surrounding it begin to crumble.