This Woman Will Be Worshipped.

This Woman Will Be Worshipped.
A few minutes after we finished setting the cot and mobile into place, I heard her footsteps on the stairs, light and soft, followed by the quiet clink of a plate. Alina appeared in the doorway, still wearing Kaiden’s shirt, her cheeks a little flushed from the heat of the kitchen. In her hands were a few golden, round, little pancake-looking things stacked on a plate.
She grinned. “Rewards,” she announced proudly.
Kaiden raised an eyebrow. “Rewards?”
“Yep,” she said, holding the plate up like a sacred offering. “For good behaviour.”
I took one, sceptical at first, but the moment it hit my tongue, sweet, creamy, warm, a hint of vanilla and honey, holy hell. My eyes rolled back.
“Okay, yeah,” I said around a mouthful. “This is definitely a reward.”
Kaiden bit into his, made the same sound I did, and Alina laughed, proud as ever.
She wandered further into the room, her eyes taking it all in, the cot, the rug, the mobile, the light coming through the window and spilling gold across everything. Her hand trailed over the cot’s smooth edge and she smiled softly.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, almost to herself. “I can’t believe this is real.”
Kaiden stepped closer, looking as sentimental as I’d ever seen him. “We should take a photo,” he said suddenly.
“What?” she asked, blinking at him.
“For Bean,” he said, already fishing his phone out of his pocket. “Something to show them one day. You know, when they’re older. The room. Us. The start of everything.”
Alina tilted her head, a shy smile tugging at her lips. “Okay… yeah. I like that.”
He held up his phone, and I immediately wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into my side. Kaiden leaned in on the other side, crowding close, and she giggled as we both pressed in tighter until she was squished between us.
“Smile, kitten,” I murmured, and then I tickled her ribs.
The camera clicked just as she laughed, bright and unguarded, the kind of laugh that reached her eyes. Behind us, Bean’s cot sat in the background, sunlight glinting off the stained wood, the dark tones glowing against the soft walls. A perfect snapshot of something we never thought we’d have. Family.
Kaiden looked down at the photo and smiled, turning the screen toward us. “There,” he said quietly. “Bean’s first memory.”

My phone pinged, the sound slicing through the cozy silence. I glanced down, thumb swiping across the screen.
Mason: “We’re about twenty minutes out.”
“Twenty minutes,” I said aloud.
Alina’s head whipped toward me. “What?!”
Before I could even blink, she was swearing under her breath, thrusting the plate of little pancakes into my chest, and darting out of the room like her ass was on fire.
Kaiden and I both turned to watch her disappear down the hallway, bare legs flashing as she yelled, “Don’t let them see me like this!”
I looked down at the plate in my hands, perfect golden discs of heaven and grinned. Kaiden’s hand shot out.
“Don’t,” I warned, pulling the plate tight to my chest like it was a newborn.
He smirked. “Just one.”
“Mine!” I growled, leaning back protectively.
He laughed, the bastard, and before I could react—whack! He kicked me square in the shin.
“Ow!” I grunted, doubling over.
In one smooth, shameless motion, he snatched a pancake and took a massive bite. “Share, you bloody greedy pig,” he mumbled around a mouthful, grinning like a maniac.
I glared up at him, rubbing my shin. “You’re lucky she made these, or I’d choke you with that bite.”
He just laughed harder, licking a smear of syrup off his thumb. “Relax, brother. She’s not gonna run out of food anytime soon. She’s nesting.”
I blinked at him. “You’re actually reading the pregnancy book, aren’t you?”
Kaiden shrugged, unashamed. “Someone has to.”
Down the hall, Alina’s voice echoed, “If they get here before I'm ready, stall them!”
Kaiden grinned at me. “You heard the woman.”
“Yeah,” I said, snatching another pancake before he could. “But if she doesn’t hurry, I’m eating her entire peace offering.”
He kicked my shin again.
“Bloody stop doing that!”
The sound of our laughter filled the hallway, mixing with the clatter of Alina rummaging around.

I was halfway through my last pancake, licking syrup off my thumb like a degenerate, when I heard her voice call from the hallway.
“Okay, I’m ready.”
I turned, casually at first and then my jaw nearly hit the bloody floor. Alina stepped out, and fuck me, I forgot how to breathe. It wasn’t just a dress. It was the dress, long, black, hugging every perfect curve as if it were custom-made for her. It dipped just enough at the front to tease, slit just high enough at the leg to kill, and every move she made had my brain short-circuiting. Kaiden froze too, the half-eaten pancake in his hand forgotten.
“Holy…shit,” I said, because there were no other words left in existence.
She smiled faintly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear like she didn’t just ruin two grown men in three seconds flat. “You can thank Drew’s wife for this one,” she said lightly. “She picked it out.”
I blinked, still not recovering, and then barked out a laugh. “Oh, I’ll thank her, all right. Her husband just earned himself a fucking raise.”
That made her laugh, this soft, warm sound that sent something deep and dangerous through my chest.
Kaiden tilted his head, admiration written all over his face. “You look…” He cleared his throat. “You look perfect, little fighter.”
“Good,” she said, smirking, “because I’m not doing this again if your sister throws a fork at me.”
“Fair,” I murmured, still trying to peel my eyes off her.
She spun once, testing the hem, then gave us a mock glare. “Now stop drooling and help me set the table before your family gets here.”
Kaiden and I scrambled into motion because, honestly, she could’ve told me to jump off the roof at that point, and I probably would’ve. God help anyone who even looked at her wrong tonight. The only way I want that dress getting fucked up is when my brother and I tear it from her body with our god damned teeth. And we will, even if I have to bed down on my fucking knees for Alina to agree to it. Lord, please, allow me to ravish this woman later. I promise I will worship every part of her body from her eyes, right down to her pretty little cunt.