The CEO's Rejected Wife And Secret Heir novel Chapter 96

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: The Almost-Kiss

Aria’s POV - The Next Morning

"I know I don’t have to." I dried my hands, positioning myself at the counter. "But watching you butcher the recipes is painful."

I picked up a samosa wrapper, filled it with the meat mixture, and began folding with practiced ease. Triangle, fold, triangle, fold. "See?" I held it up. "Not a crumpled napkin."

"Show-off," Damien muttered, but his eyes were warm.

"Please." I started another one. "This is basic. You’re just incompetent."

"Ouch." But he was smiling.

"Mama’s good at everything!" Noah declared.

"Not everything," I said quietly, finishing the second samosa. "Just the things I had to learn."

Damien moved closer, reaching for a wrapper. Our hands brushed, and I jerked back like I’d been burned.

"Don’t," I said sharply.

"I was just"

"I know what you were doing." My eyes flashed. "Keep your hands to yourself."

Noah looked up, confused. "Why are you mad at Daddy?"

"I’m not mad." But my voice was tight.

"You sound mad," Noah observed with the brutal honesty of a three-year-old.

"Grown-up stuff," I said tersely. "Don’t worry baby."

I focused on the samosas, folding with more force than necessary. Damien hovered nearby, uncertain.

"Can I help?" he asked quietly.

"You can stay on your side of the kitchen."

"Aria"

"I mean it." I didn’t look at him. "Last night was" I glanced at Noah. "We’ll talk about it later, when little ears aren’t listening."

"Fair." He stepped back. "But we are going to talk about it."

"Oh, we’re definitely going to talk about it." My smile was sharp. "You made sure of that."

He had the grace to look guilty. We worked in tense silence, Noah chattering to fill the void. I made samosas as Damien attempted meat pies under YouTube’s guidance, failing spectacularly.

"Why is the dough so sticky?" He held up his hands, covered in the mixture.

"Because you didn’t flour your surface." I gestured at the counter. "And you’re using too much water."

"The video said"

"The video is for people with basic cooking skills." I rinsed my hands. "Which you clearly lack." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"I’m learning."

"You’re making a mess." But I moved in front of him, reaching back to take his hands. "Here, like this."

The moment I pressed back against his front, I felt it. His entire body went rigid, breath catching audibly. I guided his hands forward around me to the dough, and I felt the unmistakable evidence of his arousal against my butt.

He was hard. Already. From just this simple contact. Something wicked sparked in me—a need to even the score from last night. To make him suffer the way he’d made me suffer.

"You need to be gentle," I said, my voice deliberately breathy. I pressed back closer, ostensibly to guide him better. "Fold it, don’t mash it."

"Gentle." His voice came out strangled. "Got it."

I shifted slightly, my butt rubbing against his crotch—innocently as a low groan rumbled in his throat, so quiet only I could hear it.

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