Page 18 of Hitman's Prize
Despite the time passing since my retirement, I haven’t lost my edge moving. Using the sounds of nature to my advantage, I approach her chair in a matter of seconds.
Standing behind her chair, I look down at her drawing. She’s sketching the birdhouse she insisted I build earlier in the week. From the looks of it, there’s already nesting inside. She’s in themiddle of working on drawing a bird, but without a current reference, there’s a little bit of a struggle going on.
“Looks lovely,” I mumble softly. Going against my own words, I’m delighted when she jumps in surprise.
Sammy twists around to look at me, her lips curving without much. “You think so?”
She looks so pleased with my compliment that I’m already thinking of five more to give her just so she keeps smiling.
Sammy pauses her work and checks the time before groaning. “Tell me you came out here to fetch me for lunch. I am starving.”
“Do you think I’d leave you out here to fend for yourself?” Cocking my head to the side, I fight the urge to lean down and kiss this woman to sate my own hunger. “I could hear your stomach from the kitchen.”
My tease earns me a giggle and the sound adds a year to my life.
Standing up from the chair, she closes up her sketchbook and sets it down. Left to be finished after a meal, she approaches me with flushed cheeks. “We do have two chairs, you know? I’m happy to let you hear my rumbles up close.”
I’d be a distraction, no doubt. Even now, with her hands free of her hobby, I take advantage and kiss her. She tastes sweet like the iced tea I brewed this morning.
“Maybe,” I mutter after pulling away. Though, I know I won’t. I prefer watching her from a distance, taking in the whole picture of this woman rather than any of the small details. I’ve already memorized those a long time ago.
“You always say that.” Scrunching her nose, she lifts up on her toes to give me a chaste kiss before dancing around my body to get past my wall of muscle. “Watching birds really works up the appetite. I’m going to be starving for chicken if I don’t hurry up and get my fill.”
Humming in agreement, I let her grab my hand and drag me in the direction of the cabin with a grin on her lips and a start of one on my own.
