Chapter 38

Screw sitting around and watching TV, she was having too much fun ribbing Taker. If they were in the Ministry's presence, this wouldn't be acceptable and she would no doubt be punished for her insolence. However, they were completely alone and Tahlia could get away with a lot more since Taker tolerated her. Following him into the kitchen, Tahlia hopped up on the counter opposite of the one he was using and watched him, wondering where he'd developed such amazing cooking skills.

"Who taught you how to cook?"

"Paul." He answered, really hoping she didn't reveal that she now knew this to the old man because there would then be two of them bagging on him in private. Paul liked to hound him for his 'cooking show' habits when he was alone and fixation on making the perfect cheesecake. Taker scowled, trying not to imagine the future crap he was going to catch. "Let's see… Paul and I've known each other since… well, almost a decade?" He was a poor tracker of time. "And when he seen what I was eating on the road, he taught me how to cook. Figured I'd be able to do those kitchenette hotels, you know? Whip up something healthy every now and again." Not that it had worked out too well; there just wasn't any time it seemed, not since his popularity had exploded.

"Well, I have a secret I'll share with you." Hopping off the counter, Tahlia took a sharp knife along with a carrot stalk, chopped the end off and began dicing it in large chunks, putting it in the bowl. "I can cook too. My Grandma taught me how, so if you want I can make something for us on the road sometime. I know you get sick of fast food and room service. Or we can cook together." Like they were now. "Paul is a great guy, you're lucky to have him by your side. We all are, actually." She would never forget what he did for her when she first started in the Ministry and how comfortable he made her feel prior to first meeting Taker after the abduction. "I'll let you do the rest, unless you want me to do something else?" The vegetables were cut up and ready to be prepared however he wanted.

"You can get the hell out of my kitchen is what you can do."

Taker shooed her off, knowing she needed to be resting. He highly doubted Tahlia even knew what the meaning of the word was. He had revealed he could cook and she offered to cook for him on the road. Better yet, for them to do it together. Considering that, he returned to what he was doing, soon hearing her television show coming on again. Maybe with this time off, they could sort out whatever it was going on between them, starting with a good meal.

Since she wasn't taking painkillers, Tahlia grabbed the bottle of wine her friend left her with the ribbon and uncorked it, grabbing two glasses off of the wine rack. As much as she loved beer, wine called her name and it would give her a slight buzz. It took Taker an hour to make dinner and he brought the plates out to the living room. Tahlia had the place already prepped with TV trays and took the plate Taker handed her. It smelled incredible; this man surprised her every single day she was with him. He was the perfect man…with a sadistic dark personality. They ate in companionable silence, each in their own thoughts and too hungry to make conversation. When she finished, she set her plate on the coffee table and moved the TV tray to the side before reaching down, pulling the recliner to the couch up. She officially loved this couch.

"Just set your plate down when you're done and I'll clean up in a little while." He cooked, the least she could do was clean up the mess.

"You're telling me this place comes with everything but maid service?" He teased, mostly. As if he'd let her clean up! She was supposed to be resting, at least for another day or so. "Won't take much, just got to put away leftovers and finish rinsing off dishes and loading the dishwasher." Taker had been cleaning up his mess as he went along, something else Paul had ingrained in him. Apparently it made things go quicker or something and became just a habit at this point. "Just… be quiet and enjoy the peace." He needed to digest and not fall asleep. Pleasantly full, good company, no one around to bug them, no need to check over their shoulders… He could handle this, at least for a little while.

"You're catering to me…and it's really weird." Tahlia stated bluntly, turning her head to look at him and saw his long legs stretched out. "There's a recliner where you're sitting, just reach down on the side of the couch and pull the lever." She watched him do it and grinned when it held his weight with ease. "There, now you're as comfy as I am." Reaching over, she took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for making dinner and…taking care of me. I'm glad you came home with me."

"Yeah, me too."

He didn't trust McMahon or any of his lackeys. Taker still firmly believed he should've let Sable wind up choking to death via that garrote. It would have sent the message he wasn't letting them screw around with his woman. And then… the downtime, the peace and quiet, was nice as well. Not too many people tended to thank him, but he also didn't generally cook dinner for people.

"You're welcome." He added as an afterthought.

Tahlia moved from her spot and straddled him, making herself comfortable on his lap. Thanking him wasn't enough in her mind. Softly, tenderly she kissed him, stroking his beard and holding onto his shoulder while his arms wrapped around her to pull her closer. What had she been thinking distancing herself from him? All it did was hurt her and she'd been attacked when she left him. Staying by Taker's side was in her best interest, but she also didn't want to bombard him or make him crazy. They both deserved their time to be alone, but honestly Tahlia hated being away from him for more than a couple hours. That just proved how deeply she felt for him and she was done fighting.

"Mmm…" He rumbled, rather enjoying this. Usually, they were in a hotel bed, or against a wall in a shower. When they were both running out of oxygen, he broke the kiss and rolled his forehead along hers. "How's your head feeling?" He asked, not wanting to do anything that was going to make her concussion worse. Taker hadn't forgotten the sight of Tahlia losing her balance and his fingers moved up to ghost over her staples. "Don't you ever do that again." He whispered, green eyes narrowing in on the bruising around the staples. "Don't leave me like that." Taker recalled the fear and panic that had welled up in him after discovering the state of her hotel room, of learning who had her hostage.

"I won't." Tahlia whispered in reply, not trusting her voice at the moment and lowered her eyes from his, trying not to let tears swell in her eyes. "I was stupid for leaving you. I've been stupid about a lot of things lately."

Did it matter if he felt the same way about her as she did him? Yes because just being with him wasn't enough for her, not anymore. She wanted all of him, every piece, and had no idea how to say those words without angering or scaring him off. Hell, he could tell her to go to hell and kick her out of the Ministry for dropping the L bomb.

"My head is fine." Her own fingers ghosted over the stitches in his head and leaned up to replace them with her lips. "You have a head injury too, you know. You should let me take care of you since you've been taking care of me."

"I already told you, woman," His lips curved in just the barest hint of a smile. "You're not mother henning me." She had already dedicated herself to the Ministry, as well as him, as their friend, his lover, first aid worker… No, it was her turn to be taken care of, if only for a little bit. Providing she could sit down long enough for it. "Mine is just a bump." And a cut. Nightstick to the head hadn't been pleasant, but at the end of the night, he hadn't been the one strung up. "Ssshhh, enough arguing." His finger was pressed against her lips. "I may revoke your right to speak freely if you keep it up, Tahlia." His tone suggested he was joking.

"Okay." Tahlia whispered softly, deciding to let him win this round and pulled back enough to caress his upper body and shoulders. "This may be the wine talking, or the concussion, either way I'm putting the blame on one or both issues…" She trailed off, taking a deep breath and could feel the emotions building up inside of her while she continued massaging him. It was the perfect distraction and a way for her to build up the courage to have this overdue conversation with him. "Okay – okay…I need to tell you the truth about why I left you the other night. And it's been something I've been keeping to myself for a while…and I can't keep it from you anymore. It's the reason I've distanced myself from you lately…"

Taker felt like he was having an outer body experience. He was looking down at them, sitting there, her already starting to bare her soul and he was holding her, staring at her intently. "Tahlia…"

Everything was about to change as soon as the next words left her mouth. There would be no turning back and chances were, it would also affect the Ministry, or at least how things were done from here on out. But he wanted to hear it, what she was about to say and held her tightly, just in case she changed her mind and decided to bolt.

She opened her mouth to speak and suddenly lost her nerve, shaking her head. "No, no never mind – no." Tahlia tore a hand through her hair, trembling and turned to grab her wine, draining the rest of her glass. "I'm not a chicken shit. I'm a wrestler and I'm devoted, loyal, subservient…I've done everything I can to enhance my career. I have my own place now and I shouldn't be afraid of anything or anyone. But I am. I need wine, I need a refill." If she was going to get through this conversation, she needed liquid courage and extracted herself from his lap, filling her wine glass. "I shouldn't even be scared. This is ridiculous – I'm being ridiculous. Maybe they rattled my brain a little too much with the blow to my head and I'm not thinking straight. Yeah – that's it." She downed half the glass, pacing around the living room and finally stopped to stare out the window. "And now I'm rambling like an idiot because I can't even tell you what's going on in my brain and what I'm feeling. Because once I do, everything changes. And I don't know if I'm ready for that…"

When she had started rambling, he had been confused, but then as she continued he realized just exactly what Tahlia was trying to get at with her ravings and her refills for liquid courage. "Christ, woman." He growled, pushing himself up into a standing position. Taker caught her by the arms, forcing her to stand still and gripped her chin in one hand, making her look at him. "You love me." He said for her, quite firmly and without a shadow of a doubt. "Yes?"

Why was it so hard to say? Why couldn't she get her mouth to work properly? It felt like her vocal cords chose this exact moment to stop working.

"Yes." Tahlia reiterated, swallowing hard and felt Taker remove her wine glass from her shaking hand before she dropped it. "I didn't want to say anything…because I didn't want anything to change. That's why I distanced myself and got my own room…and that's why I left you the other night after we had sex. I tried to get over it, to move on and keep things the way they used to be between us, but then the attack happened and all I kept thinking about was you…and the fact I hadn't told you how I feel. And I could die before not telling you. And then I was afraid you'd kick me out of the Ministry because I'm crazy and how I feel about you. Because I fucking love you." There, she'd finally said the words and held her breath, hoping she didn't just ruin their relationship or her place in the Ministry.

He had known what she was going to say before she would actually say it and when she did finally work up the balls to say it… Well, he knew. Taker had said it for her, but he was still knocked for a loop. It could have been arrogance on her part a moment ago, it definitely was. He was… glad. And yes, she was crazy, so was he.

"Good." He said without thinking, it was the first thing that came to mind, and it was true. Taker had to stop overthinking it and grabbed Tahlia up to kiss her.

How did he feel about her? Was it the same? Or was she making a complete fool of herself? Those questions flew out of her mind the moment his mouth claimed hers, her arms instantly encircling his neck to pull him closer. Head trauma or not, she wasn't pushing him away or stopping this from happening. His hands slid down her sides to grab her backside, lifting her up to where her legs encircled his waist and Tahlia smiled, pulling back to gaze in his smoldering forest green orbs.

"I love when you do that. Bedroom now." Then she kissed him again while he carted them down the hallway to the king-sized bed for a proper reconciliation.

"Say it again, Tahlia," Taker ordered when they had both came for what felt like the 100th time.

He was laying on top of her, bracing his weight on his elbows. His damp hair was pushed off his forehead, but hung around his face, framing the vivid green eyes that were meeting molten amber. He had heard those words from countless lips before, but none of them had meant it, not really. She knew him. Knew his insanity. His mercurial nature. His sadistic, ruthless side. She also knew the softer sides. The arrogance. The tender. It was different with her.

"Say it."

Her heart felt like it would fly out of her chest at any given moment from climaxing so much. "I…love you…" Tahlia held her hand up in a one second gesture, her chest rising and falling rapidly from heavy breathing. Her eyes locked with his, accepting another kiss from him and smiled, finally finding her regular voice. "I love you, Taker." That sounded a lot better the second, technically third, time around.

She didn't know if he'd ever say it back and was prepared for it. The man was shrouded in mystery, even after the past months she'd been with him and got to know him. There was still so much Tahlia didn't know and eventually would discover.

"You should know, you're the first guy I've ever said that too. So take that for what it's worth."