In Between

Part 24 - Serve You Right

"Good morniiiing" you say happily, appearing on Robert's floor with quick footsteps.

"Oh my God" he catches his chest, scared of your sudden interaction.

"Come on, I'm not that scary" you giggle and walk closer to him.

He's in the kitchen and for some reason he's making his own breakfast. So much for having a private cook...

"Normally, no. But when you do that thing where you quietly appear behind me, you scare the life out of me" he shakes his head.

"I promise to stop doing it" you smile.

He's standing in front of the stove and the oven, apparently making some kind of omelette. Unlike the previous food you've seen him have for breakfast, this actuality looks very delicious. You follow the smells until you're right behind him and then you decide to wrap your arms around his waist and lower stomach.

"What are you doing?" he quickly looks at you and tries to get you off of him.

"Relax, my dad isn't here" you explain.

He instantly relaxes and you can feel it with the next deep exhale of his. His chest gets lighter, his face softer and his shoulders looser. He returns to his cooking and you rest your head on his back, still having your arms around him.

"Why don't you go to the table and let me finish this up?" he suggests just after touching your arm that's around his body.

"Yeah" you agree and do as he said.

You take a seat and wait for him to finish his cooking. He looks very relaxed and calm.

"I thought you had a chef" you say.

"We all deserve some days off, Tori. Especially in the summer" he shrugs.

"Such a good boss of you" you smirk, crossing your legs on top of the chair.

"I wouldn't call myself anyone's boss" he says naturally.

"I think the word boss suits you, boss" you smirk.

He shuts his eyes and exhales quietly, but you can see that slight smirk on his lips. Just in time, he finishes his omelette and joins you at the table. Of course, being as thoughtful as he is, he prepared some coffee for yourself as well, making you smile when he served it to you kindly.

"Thank you" you say with almost red cheeks.

He simply nods his head and proceeds with raising his own cup of coffee. He brings it to his beautiful lips and carefully takes a sip after making sure it's not burning. During this time, you gently blow your own cup to make it a bit colder since you hate the burning feeling on your throat.

When it's time for him to take the first bite of his omelette, he positions it in front of himself and takes the fork and knife in his hands. You innocently glaze over at it, acknowledging how delicious it smells and looks like. He notices how your lashes are cutely moving up and down in your attempt to tease him and understands the message you're trying to send over to him.

"Fine" he mutters, pushing his plate all the way towards you instead.

Without even having to say a single word you managed to convince him to let you have this much wanted breakfast. The smile on your face is hopefully enough to heal his hurt feelings over the loss of his omelette.

"That's so kind of you, thank you" you say gently.

"You're welcome" he sighs and stands up again.

He returns to the kitchen and starts the process of cooking a new omelette all over again. His effect on you is so strong that even the sight of him cracking an egg and spreading it on the pan seems attractive to you.

He calmly takes sips of his coffee and chops the needed ingredients to finish his plate. You don't talk much since you're casually eating and he's busy with the cooking but you do exchange a few words. That only changes when he's back on the table with his fresh omelette.

"You're not getting this one, too" he says desperately when he catches you looking at his food again.

"No, don't worry" you laugh.

He seems relieved as he starts diving into his food. You complimented him about how good it tasted and you're sure this wasn't the first time he got a good review about his cooking skills.

"You know, Jeffrey is visiting again in a few days" you announce.

"Really? That's good news" he acts unbothered.

"I know" you smile either way.

He leans back into his chair and crosses his legs casually. God, why does even him drinking his coffee in peace so appealing? It makes it difficult for you to focus and talk to him.

"Would it be okay with you if he stayed here?" you ask him, giving him the ultimate puppy eyes.

"What happened? Did Jeff run out of money for a hotel?" he chuckles.

"No, you as*hole" you roll your eyes.

He instantly clenches his jaw and tightens the grip on his mug. Clearly, that comment didn't go by unnoticed.

"I just love this house and I'd like to share some days with Jeffrey here. Waking up and going to the beach or the pool, having some meals with my dad... you know, feeling more like home than a hotel" you explain.

"I get it, I get it" he says, "Of course he can stay over, I wouldn't stand in the way of that" he continues.

"Thank you" you smile with your whole heart.

"Don't mention it" Robert still acts unbothered.

You know, though, that under the surface he's affected by the news, too. After the last encounter of the three of you it's impossible for him to not care about whether Jeffrey is visiting again or not. The intimacy you shared is stuck in your and Jeffrey's head, there's no way Robert doesn't think about it. And there's absolutely no way that he doesn't want to repeat that.

"Aren't you excited at all that he's visiting again?" you try to earn some emotion out of him.

"Of course, I am. It's always a pleasure reconnecting with old friends" he says but it's still not enough for you.

"Reconnecting how?" you teasingly ask and notice how his eyes glaze at yours quickly.

"Having a drink, a meal, maybe even a night out" he gives you some examples.

"You're really going to pretend that you don't wish for what happened that night to happen again?" you ask with judgment.

"I'm not pretending anything" he leaves his mug on the table, "I think we all loved that night and if it happens again I'm sure we'll enjoy it just as much" he finally admits something that pleases you.

"I'm definitely sure of it" you smirk deviously.

"I had no doubts" he grins.

Since your coffee is done, you stand on your feet and walk slowly behind him. You rest your hands on his shoulders and get a good feel of them before leaning down further. Eventually, your body ends up resting tightly against his and your head is right next to his.

"If my period cramps weren't killing me right now I'd definitely let you bend me over this table" you say with a smirk.

"Let me?" he chuckles ironically.

"Yeah, let you" you bite his earlobe teasingly.

He enjoys it and it's obvious by the sudden twitching of his body and his heavy breathing. Your hands roam around his tough chest and when you're done you attempt to move away from him. Although, he has other plans and grabs your arms strongly, keeping you still.

"You don't have the upper hand in this, are we clear?" he asks through his teeth.

"Sure, boss" you smirk, almost breathing as deeply as him.

"Good girl" he nods in approval and loosens his grip on you.

With a smile on your lips you maintain the eye contact between you for as long as you can as you walk away but as soon as it's gone the only thing that goes through your mind is how aroused he left you with that tight grip around your arms moments earlier.