A Legacy of the Damned: Daughter of Astaroth

Chapter 37 - Sunday Interrupted

Jade is already talking cheerfully about something else when I make it downstairs. But to me, the air is still tensed. I don't know if Jade is truly oblivious or if she's purposely ignoring it as she sits at the kitchen island, prattling on about an upcoming wedding of some people named Brittany and William, probably their mutual friends. She has a cup of coffee in her hands.

Her face grows hostile when she sees me padding to the kitchen, bare feet and clad only in my lacy underwear and Sacha's shirt. Pain flashed in her eyes when they hone in on my neck. I have my hair up in a ponytail this morning on purpose- my neck is littered with marks that Sacha made during our lovemaking last night. The marks that I left on him are less visible but if she looked close enough, she'd see them.

I can't see Sacha's face because he's by the stove, cooking with his back to me, but his wide shoulders are taut and the tendons of his arms are tight.

When I lay my hand on his back, the muscles are hard and stiff. They loosen instantly under my palm. "Hey," I say, wrapping my arms around his middle, resting my cheek against his back. His back muscle expands when he takes a breath.

"Hey," he says, turning his face sideways, giving me the view of his profile and I step back. His hair is tousled, his feet are also bare and I can see the tattoo peeking out from under the short sleeve of his t-shirt.

He slides the eggs onto my plate with a buttered toast and I pour us two mugs of coffee. I add nothing to them since we both like our coffee black. I bring the mugs to the breakfast bar and Sacha brings my plate.

I take in Jade's appearance for the first time as I sit as far away from her as possible. The further I am from her, the less damage I could inflict on her since I'm tempted to punch and scratch her face. Thank goodness that the kitchen island is enormous.

She is in a white loose top with pearl buttons tucked into a pair of dark plaid pants that flares at the bottom. She has another pair of Louboutins on her feet. Her hair is straight and shiny and her make-up is perfect.

"Thanks." I tear my gaze away from her as I smile up at Sacha when he places a fork and a napkin next to my plate.

"I'm going to make us some shake," he says. I usually have protein shakes after my morning run or workout and everything else on the days that I don't exercise. Sacha has his shakes every morning and he rarely misses his time at the gym. I bite my smile as I think that today, he totally missed his gym time.

Ever the polite host, he turns to ask Jade, "Would you like some protein shake?"

"No, I'm good, thanks." Her reply is curt. She places her cup on the counter and picks up her purse on the chair beside her. "I think I should get going."

Yes, you should. "Well, it's nice of you to join us this morning, Jade," I say, smiling at her. She must have heard the insincerity in my voice because she scowls. "Let's not do this again," I mutter behind my coffee mug.

I might have not said it too quietly because she huffs indignantly before she looks at Sacha as if waiting for him to say something.

His pearly white teeth sink into his bottom lip and his eyes flicker to mine. I can't read his expression but all that he says to her is, "I'll see you to the door."

Oh, good riddance!

Sacha and I spend the next few hours in bed after she left. After that, we spend almost an hour in the bathtub. We watch some shows on tv and then we're in bed again, lost in each other. Later, with our limbs tangled together, we just talk. We stay in bed until our tummies are growling.

Laughing, we go down to the kitchen and heat up the food that Molly left in the containers in the fridge.

I think today beats all the other days I've ever had in my life. It's even better than the time I spent partying on the yacht in the Bahamas or snowboarding in Whistler or Aspen.