A large hand reached out, latching on to her wrist.
Winter gave a bloodcurdling screaming, turning around in terror, her hands reaching out to claw the intruder’s face. She paused, her heart pounding in her ears.
“You idiot! I could have hurt you!” She fell back against the counter in relief.
“How? With whipped cream?” Viper laughed.
“How did you get in here?”
“Beth gave me her key. I thought you’d both be sleeping.”
“You should have called instead of scaring me to death.”
“And have you tell me not to come? I don’t think so.” He lifted her whipped cream-covered hand off his chest, licking the sweet substance off before she could jerk her hand back.
“We were watching a movie. I didn’t see the alarm light go off.” Her aunt had one of the controls to the alarm by her bed so she could check whether or not she had set it before she went to sleep.
“I keyed in the code when I came in the door. You must have been too busy playing with the whipped cream to notice,” he teased, picking up a dishtowel to wipe away the cream on his shirt.
She ignored his teasing, still trying to get her heartbeat back to normal after having the hell scared out of her.
“You missed a spot.” Winter pointed at the side of his jaw.
“Lick it off.” The sensual twist of his lips brought an ache to her pussy, one she was going to ignore.
“Text Sasha and have her come lick it for you.” She turned, picking up the pie plate.
“Tsk, tsk. Is that any way for a wife to talk to her husband?” He reached out, taking the plate and fork from her. He took a huge bite, his eyes practically rolling back into his head.
“That was for my aunt.” She stared in dismay as Viper ate the pie in three bites.
“I’m starving,” he replied. “It was Jewell’s turn to cook.”
“Not a fan of Sunday leftovers?”
“No. I’ve got to hire a new cook as soon as we have those new suppliers dealt with. Hiring one is my top priority. The only leftovers tonight were from Friday’s Hamburger Helper and Saturday’s soup.” He sniffed the air appreciatively. “What did Beth cook?”
“Lasagna, and I made garlic toast.”
“Any left?” His eyes scanned the counters as if they would magically appear. He was being deliberately obtuse to the fact that she was still angry with him.
“Cut another piece of pie for Aunt Shay, and I’ll make you a plate,” she caved, when he looked inside the empty oven.
“Deal.”
Winter pulled out the pie again, handing it to him, before she took out the lasagna.
“You want me to take it to her?” He added a small mountain of whipped cream to the pie.
“Not unless you want to kill my aunt. She would have a heart attack if you walked into her bedroom during that movie. I’ll take it to her when I put your plate in the microwave.”
“What’s she watching?” Viper eyed the pie as if he would demolish it before she could take it to her aunt.
Starting the microwave, she picked up the plate, holding it protectively. “Zombie Doomsday.” Her heart swelled when she heard his laughter as she left the kitchen.
She went to her aunt’s room, seeing she was still engrossed in the film.
“Viper’s here. I’m making him a plate. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Take your time,” Aunt Shay said, not looking away from the massacre taking place on the screen.
Viper was pouring himself a glass of iced tea when she came back into the kitchen.
Opening the microwave when the timer went off, she took out the hot plate and put it down on the kitchen table then went back and brought him a fork.
He dug into the food as if he were starved.
“Didn’t you eat today?”
“I had planned to eat breakfast with you, and you weren’t there. I missed lunch, because I was in a meeting with a buyer from an outdoor chain store who needed to get back to Chicago tomorrow. We finished up at eight, and no one wanted the leftovers that were still there. Most of the Last Riders went to eat at the diner.”
“You should have gone with them.” She shook her head at him. “When you’re done, put the dishes in the sink and let yourself out.”
“How’s Aunt Shay doing?” he asked, ignoring her dismissal. His dark brown eyes traveled from her bare feet to her breasts that were pressed against her tank top.
Self-consciously, Winter crossed her arms over her chest. She’d had the top since she was in college and usually only wore it when they were alone in their bedroom because it was too tight.
“She’s doing much better. I took the remainder of the school year off.”
Viper nodded. “I know. The school board approved Tracy Ross to replace you.”
“Why, so you can get rid of me longer?” Winter responded bitterly, dropping her arms to her sides.