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BONUS

Chapter

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[EVE]

"And whose fault do you think it is that I’m running on no sleep right now?" I said, rubbing my temples and shooting him a pointed look.

Cole raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence, though the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth betrayed him. "I’m sure I don’t know what you mean."

"Of course, you don’t," I muttered under my breath, trying to ignore the way his presence made my irritation waver.

Before I could argue further, Cole brought a tray to the table, and my jaw practically hit the floor.

A full-course breakfast was laid out before me—vegetable salad, soup, rice, eggs, bacon, salmon, hot chocolate, and even a pudding dessert. My stomach growled so loudly, it was a wonder he didn’t comment.

"You made all this?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him skeptically.

He gestured to the dessert. "That, I ordered. The rest, I cooked."

"You can cook?" The words escaped me before I could stop myself.

Cole shot me a sidelong glance, that infuriatingly soft smile still plastered on his face, as if he had all the time in the world to wait for my shock to subside. "That’s right." Explore new worlds at empire

I wanted to roll my eyes, but my hunger overruled my pride. The smell of the food was too inviting to resist. Without a word, I picked up my fork and spoon, and dug in.

As I devoured the meal, my inner voice justified my actions.

No matter how much the brain protests, a growling stomach will always win.

Between bites, I glanced at him and decided to break the awkward silence. "Is there anything you can’t do?"

It was just supposed to be a question, one I didn’t really expect an answer to.

"There is," he replied smoothly, not missing a beat. "Winning your heart."

I choked—literally. A piece of bacon lodged itself in my throat, and I spluttered, spraying crumbs onto his annoyingly perfect face.

Cole didn’t flinch. Instead, he leaned forward with genuine concern, patting my back gently as I struggled to breathe.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his tone soft and steady.

After gulping down water, I glared at him through watery eyes. "Can you

not

say things that could potentially kill me?"

He raised an eyebrow, casually wiping the food off his face with a napkin. Then, as if he weren’t already insufferable enough, he licked a stray crumb off his lips. The movement was so casual yet so utterly maddening that my brain short-circuited again.

"What did I say?" he asked innocently, though the slight curve of his lips told me he knew

exactly

what he’d done. "I was just telling the truth."

I stabbed a piece of bacon with my fork, imagining it was his smug face. "Just . . . stop. And for the record, this doesn’t mean I’m impressed."

He leaned back in his chair, clearly unfazed. "Noted. But I’m still going to cook for you."

As I continued eating, my eyes drifted to the absurd amount of flowers cluttering my unit. The colors, the fragrance—it was overwhelming. "Can we talk about this for a moment?"

Cole tilted his head, looking at me curiously. "What do you want to talk about?"

I gestured around the room with my fork. "This. All of this. The flowers, the food, the (overwhelming feelings) . . .

everything

. What’s going on here?"

He looked around as if noticing the floral explosion for the first time. "What’s wrong with it?"

"What’s

wrong

?" I echoed, incredulous. "It looks like a flower shop exploded in here! I can’t even see my coffee table under all these bouquets!"

Cole shrugged, completely unbothered. "I thought it would brighten the place up. You seemed like you needed some color in your life."

I put my fork down and rubbed my temples again. "Cole, this isn’t color. This is a botanical garden."

"I’ll tone it down next time," he said with a sheepish grin, though I doubted he meant it.

"There shouldn’t be a ’next time,’" I muttered, though my traitorous stomach was too satisfied to fully mean it.

Cole leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand as he watched me eat with an infuriatingly casual air. "You know," he began, his tone soft but undeniably smug, "if you weren’t so stubborn and just accepted my feelings, like you did back in the cave, you’d be sleeping comfortably right now."

I paused mid-bite, narrowing my eyes at him. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked, already regretting it the second the words left my mouth.

He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a mischievous whisper. "It means," he said, his tone teasing, "if you had let me finish what we started in the cave, I’d have spent all night showing you exactly how much you mean to me. By morning, you’d be so blissed out you’d sleep like a baby."

I choked on air. My fork clattered onto my plate as my brain was fried with heat, trying to process what he’d just said.

My mouth fell open, but no words came out. My face burned so hot it could’ve melted the entire bouquet explosion in my living room.

Cole, clearly unbothered, leaned back with a wicked grin. "But I guess for now," he added, tapping his chin thoughtfully, "we’ll have to settle for a few kisses and touches here and there. Such a shame, isn’t it?"

I snapped out of my stupor, glaring daggers at him. "Cole, I swear to everything holy, if you don’t stop—"

"What?" he interrupted, looking entirely too amused with himself. "I’m just being honest. You did ask what I meant."

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "I didn’t ask for

that

kind of words!"

He laughed softly, clearly enjoying my mortification. "Don’t worry," he said with a wink. "I’ll make sure to keep it PG . . . for now."

I grabbed my fork and pointed it at him like a weapon. "One more word, Cole, and this fork is going straight for your smug face."

He held up his hands in mock surrender, but the grin on his lips remained, making me regret every decision that led to this moment.

This man was going to be the death of me!

I groaned, both at his audacity and at the realization that he would never let go of what almost happened between us back in the cave.

He’s impossible!