The Bodyguard

Midnight Snack

Walking down those spiraling stairs is a near surreal experience for Emilia, she can feel his eyes on her the entire way, and though she wishes she didn't, she half hopes that he will grab her hand again and kiss her on those stairs like his life depends on it. The worst part is when she feels his fingers brush hers on the banister and she knows he hears her breath hitch in her throat at the moment. She can't help but immediately snatch her hand off the wood and hurry up her pace a little as she continues down the stairs to the bottom. 

Moving quicker than normal she walks into the kitchen, but as soon as she is there, she wishes the walk took so much longer. They were now in a room, entirely alone, and she can feel him at her back, a respectful distance from her, but she can just imagine his breath on the back of her neck as if he is right behind her.

Clearing her throat quickly she moves to the refrigerator and opens it quickly, trying to find something to eat and uncomfortably aware the entire time of his eyes and large frame blocking the only exit. She hadn't been nearly so nervous earlier that day when they had both been in the kitchen, when he had been so close to her, but she had turned her head. If only she had turned her head on the stairs, if only she didn't know how wonderful that kiss would feel, if only she knew how to fucking act around him now.

She tries to breathe some sense into her own limbs as she stares into the cold depths filled with food and can't seem to make sense of anything that is in front of her eyes. Despite her demanding stomach, she can't seem to think of anything to eat at the moment and she has no idea why. She knows she's hungry, but the hunger does not manifest into a craving and that frustrates her.

Finally deciding that if she at least cooks she'll eat it, she pulls out some cheese, butter and milk from the fridge before grabbing the leftover single piece of chicken that had been so deliciously prepared earlier that evening, or rather, the prior evening at this time of night, and grabbing some macaroni noodles that she finds in a cabinet.

Very unfortunately to her discovery, all of the puts are hung from a metal rack over the island, and though she loved the design, she was much too short to reach any of them without climbing onto the counter once more. 

Resignedly, she places her palms on the edge and hoists herself up, getting an entire knee on before a strong pair of hands grabs her hips lightly, lifting her up and off ever so gently but with such strength that she felt like a feather in that grip. Landing back on her two feet she feels his breath beside her ear, yanking her own from her chest as she stares straight ahead wide eyed, his hands lingering on that exposed skin at her midriff.

"Allow me, Emilia." He murmurs, his fingers staying just a moment longer before he steps around and pulls down the perfectly sized pasta pan that she had been planning on using and fills it up quickly at the sink before setting it on the very nice gas stove that is ready for her use.

It isn't until he finishes that she finally manages to find her breath and the words to thank him, swallowing hard as she grabs some spices from the rack on the counter beside it, dumping them into the water with some salt and pepper before turning it to the highest possible level of heat.

She can feel his eyes on her once more as she sucks her stomach in to scoot past him as she tries to find a cutting board to cut the chicken and cheese for her extra little meal. A gentle hand on her back has her jumping nearly out of her skin as she turns to look at Alexander and he is holding a cutting board out for her to use, she can only give him a smile in thanks as she accepts it, his hand brushing hers ever so lightly as she accepts it.

Swallowing hard she turns back to the stove, pulling a knife out of the block that rests on the counter and quickly cutting it into small pieces. No matter how much she loves to cook, she can never get the knife cuts quite right, she had never mastered the way professional chefs did it with those small neat cuts, but she manages to cut the chicken into decent looking slices and some thin ones of the cheese for in with the pasta.