Chapter 176 The Sweetness of the Kitchen
It was already past midnight.
Nora lay in bed and yawned, "After a whole day of work, I'm really exhausted."
Steven leaned over and asked her, "Did anyone bully you today?"
Nora shook her head, "No, actually, I hit Willie with a mop."
Steven couldn't help but laugh, gently squeezing her shoulders, "You're really something."
"That feels so good." Nora thought Steven's technique was quite professional, so she turned over, "Help me with my shoulders, too."
Steven glared at her, "You think I'm a professional masseuse or something?" Though he said this, his hands kept massaging her shoulders with just the right pressure.
Nora lay on the blanket, feeling relaxed, and said lazily, "At first, when I was getting back at Willie for Olivia, it felt pretty satisfying, but when I saw Willie kneel down and Olivia cry, I felt... when a marriage gets to this point, it's actually pretty complicated."
Steven responded softly, "Of course it would be."
Nora was too tired and fell asleep after just a few sentences. With Steven's massage, she slept even more soundly.
Steven called her name twice, "Nora." When she didn't respond, he leaned closer to look and found she was already fast asleep.
His expression showed a bit of dissatisfaction, "Forgot to kiss me again." He gently poked her forehead with his finger.
Nora turned her head to the side, her small face pressed against the blanket, breathing steadily. She looked adorable sleeping. Steven watched for a while, couldn't help but smile, and pulled the blanket over to cover her properly.
The next day was Saturday.
Steven got a call from Alton early in the morning, "Willie's asset list is all sorted out."
Steven sat up, "Send me the documents, I'll forward them to Olivia later."
Alton said with a laugh, "I'm coming to your place for dinner tonight, okay?"
Steven raised an eyebrow. Again?
Nora was in the kitchen making breakfast for Steven. Recently, Steven had done so much for her; she wanted to express her feelings through food, too.
Steven came out of the master bedroom and found Olivia still hadn't gotten up. Only Nora was in the kitchen, wearing a fabric apron, her back view very attractive.
Steven's gaze deepened as he walked over and hugged her from behind, "Up so early?"
His breath surrounded her, her back pressed against his chest, very warm.
Nora responded with a smile, "Yeah, got up to make you breakfast."
"Did you sleep well last night?" Steven said while wrapping his arms around her slim waist.
Nora's eyelashes fluttered, and the hand cutting potatoes nearly slipped, "Stop teasing me!"
She was worried Olivia might come out at any moment.
Steven said softly, "Not doing anything, just hugging you." He tightened his arms around her waist, rested his chin on her shoulder, his lips close to her ear, "What are your plans for today?"
Nora's breathing became a bit irregular from his touch, her body tensing up.
She scrunched her neck, "Steven, don't get so close."
"Just want to hold you."
"Then don't hold so tight." She felt a bit uncomfortable, completely wrapped in his embrace.
And men in the morning were always particularly passionate.
Steven was exactly like that right now.
Nora could feel his mood and tried to move forward a bit.
But Steven held her even tighter, "Don't move." He trapped her in his arms, and the two of them pressed very close together.
Nora's face immediately turned red, reminding him in a small voice, "Olivia's still at home..."
"I'm not doing anything to you." Though he said this, his breath falling on her neck seemed a bit playful.
Nora twisted her body shyly.
Steven's eyes grew intense, "If you keep moving, I really won't be able to hold back."
"Then move away from me." Nora held the knife, "Otherwise, I can't cut the potatoes properly."
"Want to go grocery shopping today?"
"Why would we go grocery shopping?"
"Isn't your friend coming for dinner? And Alton, he said he's coming over for dinner tonight too."
"I already bought everything." Nora had woken up at six in the morning, and with no one home, she pulled a shopping cart to the Farmers' Market herself to buy groceries.
Steven paused, looking at her profile, "You went by yourself?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Steven was a bit unhappy.
"I used to go grocery shopping by myself all the time. When you're not home, I still have to live my life."
Steven frowned, "Buying so many groceries today, how did you carry them back by yourself?"
Although there was a car at home with keys by the door, Nora didn't know how to use it unless Steven let her drive.
"I took the shopping cart, the one they gave me last time when I bought gold. It can hold a lot of stuff."
Steven thought she was very independent, but also felt a bit unhappy. Nora was so thin and delicate. Pulling a shopping cart to the Farmers' Market by herself - just thinking about it seemed tiring.
He gently pinched her waist, his voice low, "From now on, if you're going grocery shopping in the morning, wake me up. If I'm not home, you can only go to the supermarket downstairs."
He didn't want her to work so hard.
"The supermarket vegetables aren't as fresh as the Farmers' Market, and they're more expensive," Nora answered with a smile.
Steven's concern made her feel very warm. Other people thought it was natural for women to buy groceries, but only he cared about whether she was tired.
"I'm willing to take you, and you don't want that?" Steven looked at her clean profile.
Other women would be thrilled to hear him say this, but she always had to act so strong.
"Of course I want that, but you work so hard usually, I don't want you to be too tired. I want you to rest more." She was also very considerate.
Steven was warmed by her words and held her even tighter.
His long legs also pressed against hers.
Nora's breathing became rapid, and she could barely continue cutting the vegetables, saying softly, "If you keep this up, this breakfast won't be ready until next year."
"Then don't make it, let's go out for breakfast later." Steven held her and turned her around so they were face-to-face.
The blush on Nora's face was visible to him, and he loved seeing her shy like this.
Nora was so flustered she didn't dare lift her head, "Stop it, this is the kitchen."
"The kitchen is perfectly suitable." Steven's tone was laden with suggestion.
Nora's face turned even redder as she pushed against him, "Really not okay, Olivia's still at home, she could come out any moment."
Steven didn't care and grabbed her small hand that was on his chest, turning it behind her back.
Nora's body pressed tightly against him.
Steven's kiss came down.
Nora's body trembled as she tried to dodge, but he held her so tightly she couldn't move.
"Steven..." Nora's voice became soft and coquettish, like a kitten's mewling..
Steven's eyes deepened, "Remember what you owed me yesterday?"
"What did I owe you?" She had already forgotten.
Steven's face darkened, "When we talked on the phone in the evening, what did you say in the square?"
Nora thought for a moment before remembering. She had said that if Steven were in front of her, she would kiss him. She didn't expect him to remember all along.
"Now I'm right in front of you." Steven looked at her, his eyes full of affection.
"Let me go, and I'll kiss you." She was a bit afraid of being "devoured" by him and didn't dare take initiative.
"Kiss me now." He brought his face closer.
Nora's eyelashes trembled, "No."
"Hurry up, you said it yourself. If you don't kiss me, I'm going to get angry." Steven deliberately put on a stern face, his eyes growing even more intense.
Nora was still quite afraid of him getting angry, because he was scary when angry.
She hesitated, bit her lip, and shyly leaned in, lightly kissing his lips.
In that instant, the warmth on their lips seemed to ignite, both their breathing becoming rapid.
Steven pulled open her collar and kissed her chest passionately.
Nora's body trembled, her eyes becoming hazy, "Let's go to the bedroom, Steven..." She didn't want to continue in the kitchen.
"But I want to try it in the kitchen," Steven said playfully. Nora was busy making breakfast, but he only wanted to kiss her.
Nora's face was very red. "Let's save it for next time, it's really not convenient now..."
After Olivia moved out, with just the two of them at home, they could do whatever they wanted.
Right now, they could be caught at any moment.
"Alright then." Seeing she was really shy, Steven didn't insist.
He picked her up horizontally - she was very light, like holding a beautiful doll.
The two kissed while walking toward the master bedroom.
Olivia's door suddenly opened.
An awkward scene appeared!
Olivia happened to see them embracing and kissing passionately.
Olivia froze for a moment, then quickly ran back to her room and closed the door. She thought to herself that she should move out soon, otherwise she'd always be interrupting their couple time.
When the guest bedroom door closed, Nora also came to her senses and glared at Steven, "Didn't I just say no!"
Steven was also startled by this, his emotions calming down, his eyes returning to clarity.
"Put me down quickly." With the mood gone, Nora felt very embarrassed, especially having just been caught by Olivia.
She was so mortified she didn't know how to face Olivia.
Steven sighed deeply, "This is the problem with having one more person at home."
"You can't say that. Olivia's going through the hardest time right now. As her sister, I definitely have to help her."
Steven explained, "I was just saying it casually, I didn't mean it that way."
Only then did Nora cheer up, "Put me down quickly, I need to make breakfast. Olivia's already awake. Stop fooling around."
"You haven't kissed me yet."
"Didn't I just kiss you?"
"That doesn't count." Steven was being unreasonable.
Nora refused, her face red as she said, "I don't care, I already kissed you just now, there's no more now."
"If you don't kiss me, I won't put you down." He threatened with a smile.
Nora was so annoyed that her teeth itched with frustration—he was really pushing his luck!
"Are you going to kiss me or not? If not, we're going into the bedroom." Steven lifted his foot to walk toward the room.
Nora quickly grabbed the door frame. "Okay, okay, I'll kiss you."
She looked up, then suddenly thought of something and asked him, "Did you brush your teeth this morning?"
Steven was speechless, "Of course I did."
"That's more like it!" Nora smiled, turned his head, and gently kissed him.