Chapter 17
Houston
Watching him make lasagna naked, except for an old “Kiss the Cook” apron I’d gotten as a gag gift at some point, shouldn’t have been that hot. But we were going to have to get him a new one, because he was definitely staying naked at home as much as I could reasonably justify.
“It’s going to make plenty. You’ll have leftovers for days, I promise.” Reece just shook his head as I watched him, still not sure it was going to be big enough.
“Those freezer ones aren’t big enough. Are you sure?” I’d been relegated to the kitchen table while he’d gotten everything out and started organizing and planning.
He’d let me make breakfast for him, and we’d hung out on the couch watching news and sports highlights for a while, but once it came time for him to make me my lasagna, he wasn’t going to let me touch a thing.
The eggs hadn’t been that bad.
Just slightly rubbery. In my defense, having a naked and hard Reece drinking coffee at the table had been more of a distraction than I’d expected. Reece had eaten his share, along with the sausage and toast I’d made, but he’d decided that a big, late lunch of lasagna sounded better than waiting for dinner.
Evidently,I was going to have to try again to show him I was actually functional in the kitchen.
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” I wasn’t going to let him off the hook for keeping me waiting until I actually had the mountain of lasagna on my plate, and the rest tucked safely away for leftovers.
He just laughed and kept mixing the filling. Before he could respond, more than likely something teasing so he could get another spanking, his phone started ringing from the other room. He frowned and looked toward the door. “I have to check. I’m sorry.”
We both knew who it was going to be.
I followed him out of the kitchen, unwilling to let him leave my sight. I had a feeling if I didn’t stay right beside him, I was going to lose him to Eli’s insanity again. We both sighed when we found his phone in the living room, almost dead, with the name Trouble flashing across the screen.
As Reece swiped a finger across the phone, we were both frowning. “Hello?”
Eli’s screech blasted from the speaker. “That man—”
I finally lost my patience with the whole thing. Snatching it out of Reece’s hand, I mumbled a quick apology to him, then growled at Eli, “If you post something to that website, so help me god, I will come down there and you will be punished. No more drama. I don’t care what he did or even who he is, you are a grown man capable of making better decisions than I have seen. You are going to function and walk away from that goddamned computer. Do you understand me, Eli?”
There was dead silence for about ten seconds, then a hiccupping sigh. “Yes, Sir.”
“Very good. I’m going to give the phone back to Reece. You are going to apologize for only calling him when you’re hysterical, and then you are going to find something else to do. Are we clear?” Playing Mr. Nice Dom hadn’t gotten through to the brat, but I was hoping that a firm hand, or voice in my case, would.
Another dramatic sigh came from Eli, but I could hear the hitch in his breath saying he was still more worked up than he wanted to admit. I didn’t care who it was about, no guy was worth this much drama, and Eli needed to see that.
Whoever the ass was, Eli had to get some space from him. Or we’d never survive the fallout.
Handing the phone to Reece, I gave him a kiss on the forehead and headed back to the kitchen to give him some privacy. He didn’t seem mad, but I was going to owe him an apology for running over him like that. Taking over his life was not my intention, but he needed to set some boundaries with Eli, or we’d never have a quiet weekend together without Hurricane Eli causing chaos.
Pouring myself another cup of coffee, because they were probably going to be a while, I sat down and played with my phone, checking stock reports and reading through emails. By the time Reece came back in, I had my to-do list for Monday well organized.
He gave me a worried look. “I’m sorry.”
That was not how I was picturing the conversation starting. “Did he post something already?”
Reece gave a quick smile but shook his head. “No, you got through to him. Thank you for that. If you hadn’t stepped in, I would probably be rushing back to work. I owe you an apology because I might have said he could come over for lunch.”
I was going to lose my lasagna, I just knew it.
Suddenly, I didn’t feel so bad about taking over the conversation. “It sounds like he needs a friend.”
It was a half-hearted statement, but I was still frustrated. Reece just smiled and came over to stand in front of me. “Thank you for understanding.” He leaned down and gave me a kiss. “However, no matter how insane he makes you, you may not spank Eli. He’d enjoy it too much.”
“Deal. But other punishments are still on the table?” I just wanted to make sure I understood the rules.
Reece laughed. “Yes.”
