Chapter Thirty Six

Chapter Thirty Six
Zen’s POV
“So, do you know how to cook?” I was glad for Elizabeth trying to distract me from what I had said, but I still couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s not like I meant to say it. It was an accident. I was begging her forgiveness, and it just slipped out.
It was so natural, and not nearly as awkward as I’d expected it would be. That was until I tried to backtrack. Maybe I said it because I was pretending to be her husband a few minutes beforehand. Yea, that could be it. I was just committed to the part, acting like some lovesick newlywed. I parked the car next to the cart return, turning it off and unbuckling my seatbelt.
“Well?” She asked.
“Well, what? Sorry, I didn’t hear you, Princess.” She laughed, shaking her head in amusement.
“Do you know how to cook?” She asked again, her tiny hands unclipping her own seatbelt and then folding on her lap.
“Oh. Yea, of course I do. I didn’t eat out much, so I had to learn how to cook shit for myself. It’s not like an assassin can live off pizza rolls.” I smirked, opening my door so I could retrieve my girl. My girl? I had said it so many times in my head, but it never held as much weight as it did now. Damn it, I was getting distracted. Back to the task at hand. I searched the surrounding parking lot with my eyes before opening Princess’ door. I hated parking lots for security purposes. There were so many places someone could hide among them.
We grabbed a shopping cart and began to fill it with food. I learned quickly to never take Elizabeth food shopping while she’s hungry. She wanted to buy half of the damn store. I managed to fend her off for a while, but by the time I came back from grabbing us some more condoms, she had already added three types of potato chips and a bag of Hershey kisses. She thought I wouldn’t notice, but they stood out quite a bit against all of the fresh produce and meat in the cart. I made her a deal, allowing her to keep one bag of chips and the chocolate if she trained for two hours each day. I did have to clarify that sex would no longer count as training, but she eventually agreed.
Unloading the groceries I was hit with an uncomfortable feeling in my gut, tugging and pulling at my buried emotions. Here I was with the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, going grocery shopping and cooking a meal together like we’d been with one another for years. I watched in reverence from the corner of my eye as she danced around the kitchen, pulling out skillets and sneaking raw pieces of broccoli along the way while I made us some coffee. I set the pot, and then leaned back against the counter with my arms crossed in front of me so I could get a better view.
I loved the way that her blonde hair flowed down to her mid-back, getting caught on the knit of her sweater with every sashay of her perfectly rounded hips. I loved the way her brightly lit eyes shone under the twinkling spot lights in the ceiling. I loved the way her lips mumbled along to some unknown song floating around in her head, not caring a single bit what I would think of it. I loved everything about her. It was weird as fuck for me. For once in my goddamn life, I was admiring a woman’s body in adoration, with no lust involved. That’s when I finally realized it. Our relationship really had been fucking crazy. Tom probably thought that we were damn lunatics the way we clung to each other.
But it didn’t matter, because we really did love each other. It was fast and crazy and reckless, but at that moment, I couldn’t imagine a life without that wonderful saint of a woman. She completed me, made me feel things I had never thought possible, and brought out the darkness inside of me, not to get rid of it, but just so she could hold the real me in all of my fucked up reality. I didn’t know how long I would have her in my life, but I knew for a damn fact that I needed to cherish her while we were together. There would be no more running from my feelings. I needed to man the fuck up and love her, even if I had no idea what I was doing.
The loud popping of the skillet and her unintelligible singing were the only noises in the room. The coffee had finished, and I desperately wanted to hold my girl. I poured us each a cup, carrying them over to the stove where she was mixing the vegetables around the pan. I placed both mugs on the counter, then ran my fingers up her arms, burying my face in the crook of her neck. Once I inhaled a good amount of her scent, I pushed her hair to the side, placing soft feathery kisses against her skin and smiling once I reached the hickey I had given her the day before. She purred in acceptance, placing down her spatula so she could turn to face me.
I took her face in my hands, running my thumbs across her velvety cheeks and trying to fight off the heat rising in my chest. “Zen? Are you okay?” She could tell I was nervous. She ran both of her hands up my abdomen, landing on my lower chest and gripping my shirt in her fists. The touch tickled and calmed me at once and I had to kiss her. Without any hesitation, I captured her sweet lips in mine, smiling when I tasted the hint of chocolate that she must’ve snuck before cooking lunch. Breaking the kiss, I moved my thumbs to trace over her freshly wet lips, licking her taste off my own.
“Elizabeth…” I held her eyes in mine, unwilling to let them go. “I love you.” Her blue eyes widened as her cheeks turned a beautiful crimson color, making me temporarily forget my own embarrassment.
“W-was that an accident?” She asked, tripping over her words. I chuckled in response.
“Nope.” I replied, popping the p and allowing a smirk to take over my face. Her eyes quickly filled with tears, contradicting the beaming smile growing on her lips. She started squealing in excitement while throwing her arms around my neck and latching onto me like a vice. I circled her waist with my arms, pulling her flush against my torso and kissing her hair. I had never felt so much joy before and I wondered if it was contagious.
After a few more seconds, I peeled myself off of her, amused to see her scowl at my actions. “Enough with the sappiness, baby. The food’ll burn.” As if just now remembering the stove, she jumped to pick up the spatula again to stir it. I stayed close by, adoring the fixed lovesick smile she was trying to hide. “You know that we’re fucking crazy, right? Pretty sure a Psychologist would have a fucking field day with us.” She laughed out loud, biting her cheek to keep it at bay.
“We might even end up in the books for it. They’ll call it ‘Princess and Knight Syndrome.’” I shook my head, pulling my lip between my teeth.
“I think they’d be hard pressed to find others who have it. It’s not every day that assassins run away with their hits and fall in love after two days.”
“That’s okay with me. We’re one of a kind.”
“That we are, Princess. That we are.”