• It hasn't been long since I got to know you, I'm aware, but damn it feels like a lifetime baby zeybee67 •

It was easy for Althea to rise up early in the morning. Considering how often a good, satisfying sleep seemed to avoid her, it wasn't hard to get up from the bed and turn to the busy workings of her dangerous enterprise.

All things aside, this world she had built around herself was an escape. A poor one at that, but an escape from the past nonetheless.

It wasn't hard to see the convenience in the situation either. She didn't like prodding around her mind, cautious about what she would find if she dug around too deep and her current environment required not having emotions involved... if you wanted to stay alive.

As further back as Althea's memories went, all she did was to avoid acknowledging how she felt about things and evade thinking answers to questions that would only break her. The first of those off-limits questions came when she was very little. Old enough only to organise proper thoughts in her head.

Lying there on the stringy, old and dusty mattress of the worn down orphanage late at night, she wondered the first question that would start her on the path of an unstoppable and unavoidable alienation of herself from the humane world.

Why am I alone?

Thinking back to it, those simple words had simple answers in return.

But when a child turns those simple answers over and over again with no honest result on sight, loneliness can be torturous. She didn't think about that anymore, she was over it. Althea always thought they gave the kids there too much time alone anyways. Too much silence without companionship and endless room to think.

In the end, it was the same loneliness and time to think that would keep her up at night. That's why leaving her room early at sunrise was a relief more than it was a nuisance.

Althea walked over to the door that was only a few paces away from hers. She was clad in black tights and a comfortable long sleeved shirt.

When she reached the door, she thought about knocking. But then decided against it. This was her house. And privacy was overrated.

Quietly opening the door, Althea slid into the room and then closed the door again behind her without making a single noise.

She made her way to the right side of the queen sized bed and looked down at the occupant in it.

With the way his eyes were closed, his thoughts lost in sleep, Zeke's pretty face looked calm and serene. It was easy for Althea to feel envious of such a peaceful moment and want to experience it for herself. Maybe if she were to crawl in to the empty space on the bed next to Zeke's muscular body, Althea could squeeze her way into that little tender moment of peace.

The heat from his bare chest and the scent of delicious foods that no doubt got integrated into his genes from spending too much time in and around kitchens... even after a shower, those different spices that sting your senses along with cinnamon, caramel and vanilla that relax you couldn't be washed out from Zeke's skin.

Althea had noticed that when she had cornered Zeke on his first day with a towel wrapped around his hips.

Remembering how he had reacted to her touch and close proximity brought a small smile to her lips. It was satisfying what she could to the chef lying before her.

Althea could affect almost everyone. Either with intimidation or her good looks. But when it came to affecting Zeke, it was different.

Because no matter how good she was at hiding her reactions compared to Zeke, while Althea was affecting him, he was affecting her too.

For the longest time, all she had allowed herself to do was look after her people, feel royalty and a sense of leadership for them. Nothing beyond that point.

Caring isn't usually something a human can simply turn off when its convenient. But Althea had managed that feat and now it was resurfacing again without her permission to turn on again. Other emotions where coming along in its wake too at the sight of this warm hearted, talented chef and Althea was having a hard time identifying them. It was a cause of a massive headache, trying to acknowledge emotions you hadn't allowed yourself to feel for the longest of times.

Althea reached out a hand to Zeke's face. With a tenderness she didn't know she had it in herself, and brushed the back of her fingers across Zeke's cheekbone.

She didn't know what to do. The feeling of not being in control was enough to send Althea into a fit of hyperventilation; would other things, like memories she tried to suppress rise up again with these forgotten emotions?

Even though there was a category five storm going on inside of her, nothing of the turmoil could be seen from her perfect composure. She had become good at this hiding game. Too good.

She calmed herself in a cold precision that she used to manage her feelings, then assured herself that things could be kept under control.

One thing, amidst all of the thunders and whirlwinds, a grounded fact in the eye of the storm stood firm and unrelenting; She wasn't going to run, she would stay and fight. After all, Althea hadn't come this far to be another casualty in a tornado.

Pushing all of her thoughts away, Althea decided it was time to wake the handsome chef up. She leaned down over Zeke's face and whispered into his ear.

"Pretty face."

A deep throated hum was heard in return.

Althea grinned at Zeke's obvious reluctance at getting up and decided to toy with him a little.

"You don't want to get up?" Althea softly asked as she traced the outer shell of Zeke's ear with her index finger.

Another deep hum left Zeke's chest that sounded very much like a muffled 'no-uh'.

Althea continued her play by placing feather soft kisses along his exposed neck, breathing in his delicious scent.

"Do you want me to join you in bed?" Althea seductively asked.

Zeke groaned and turned on his back a little, his eyes still closed. "Yes Althea." Zeke mumbled.

Althea was full out grinning now at the responses she was getting out of him. Her eyes turned a darker shade as desire rised to the surface with the heat of a thousand suns. She closed the distance between their faces, and gently moved her lips over Zeke's as she spoke.

"Then take me, Zeke."

As soon as those words left Althea's mouth, Zeke moved. It was so unexpected and fast that Althea couldn't manage to get away even with her reflexes.

Zeke had moved Althea from her position of standing beside the bed to lying underneath him in the next second. She was stunned to say the least but didn't do anything to get out from under him.

Zeke had grabbed both of Althea's hands above her head, pressing them to the soft mattress. His toned body was between her open legs, pressing himself to her core, releasing jolts of electricity across her nerves. Althea could feel herself getting more aroused by the second.

Zeke had his head buried in her neck, giving ferocious kisses and leaving a path of fire in his wake. As he moved his body over hers, the sheets that were wrapped around his waist were falling away to reveal his bareness. Even before that, it wasn't hard to feel his long hard erection pressing against her.

Althea moaned as Zeke continued kissing and ravaging her. What was worth noting was that, Zeke was still not fully awake. He was somewhere between dreamland and reality. "I'm going to take you so fucking hard." Zeke growled. The vibrations from his chest causing Althea's nipples to harden and shivers to run down her spine.

Zeke crushed his lips against Althea's in fierce passion. A desire that was so different than what she had ever experienced that rendered Althea speechless. Even her train of thought came to a halting stop. She allowed herself to lose control for the first time in her life and enjoy the kiss. Althea matched every movement, every breath that Zeke was giving her.

Somewhere during that kiss, Zeke came out of his hazy state and suddenly stopped moving. He rose up a little and looked down at Althea with slightly wide eyes that were still slowly getting rid of the remnants of his sleep.

His red plump lips that were flushed from kissing her parted a little. But no words came out. He was looking at her like she was a fragment of his dream and not real.

Althea got hold of the control she had just let go moments before and every chance at being attacked was closed.

She smirked from underneath him. Her hands still tightly held by Zeke's to the mattress and his manhood still pressing her between the legs.

Althea's eyes glinted with playfulness as she said, "If I knew you were a deep sleeper who likes to sleep naked sooner, I would've visited you every night pretty face."

Zeke, finally realising that this was indeed real and not a dream, looked down at himself and saw his exposed, very aroused, parts. He quickly released Althea's hands from the place he had been holding them above her head and sat up right.

He also grabbed the disheveled sheets and wrapped them around his hips to cover his body.

Althea simply dragged her hands down across the pillow and placed them behind her head. She made a disappointed face and said, "Ah don't go shy on me now Cardini. One minute ago you were screaming my name and telling me how fucking hard you were going to take me." Althea couldn't keep the grin from stretching across her mouth.

Making the actual deed was more preferable, obviously, but toying pretty face with it was also fun too.

Althea watched as Zeke ran a hand down his handsome face and groaned. All this was probably too much to take in at this early morning hour. A teensy tiny bit of sympathy sparked in Althea's chest. It was enough to make her stop playing with the chef. She was initially planning on waking Zeke up for an early training session but they could delay it until after his shift today at Sole Mio had ended.

Althea rose from the bed and made her way to the door. Just as she was about to exit his room, she spoke again.

"We'll have to postpone this to another time pretty face. I want you to be fully awake when I take you."

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Yep I can write long chapters too. In case you forgot.

On zeybee67 's request, I wrote the chapter from Althea's POV to give a little bit more insight to her feelings.

The song is called 'Reckless Tongue' by Airways.

Love,
Blake Alexander 💙