charcoal wool coat. “So … you start your employees’ cars and clear the snow from their windshields, huh? That’s very nice of you.”
It was very nice of him, but I didn’t make it sound that way.
“Your windshield is cleared too. But I couldn’t find you to get your keys to start it.”
“I can start my own vehicle. Thanks.” I glanced up, feeling the undeniable spark between us, so I turned and meandered around his kitchen, looking at anything but him while increasing the distance between us.
“Can I get you something to eat? I have some leftovers from the lunch I made my team today.”
“Your team?” I leaned in and sniffed fresh herbs in the trays under the grow lamp—rosemary, thyme, basil, and sage.
“My employees. But I call them my team. We’re in it together.”
“How nice of you.”
“It really is.”
So damn cocky.
“Want more peppermint bark? It was just a fun experiment, but everyone loved it, so I’m going to package it and sell it.”
“No. I don’t want more chocolate.” I continued to navigate my way around the big island.
“Well, if you don’t want dinner or chocolate, can I offer you anything else like … me?”
Grunting a laugh, I shifted my attention to him. “We’re not having sex again.”
“No?” He canted his head to the side, hands partially planted into his front pockets.
“No. It wouldn’t be fair to Tillie Cunningham.” I clasped my hands behind my back, gaze unblinking at him.
“Why? Are you having sex with her too?”
“Yes. I’m bisexual.” I rolled my eyes. “I know you’re having dinner with her. And that’s fine. I really don’t care. But she’s in my grief recovery support group, and I’m not going to get in the way of your budding relationship.”
He chuckled. “Budding relationship? It’s dinner. I did some stuff for her, and she invited me to dinner.”
“A date.”
Kael inched his head side to side. “I don’t know about that. Does dinner have to be a date?”
I shrugged. “I think it’s implied.”
His lips corkscrewed as his eyes narrowed in contemplation. “Did we have a date last night?”
“No.” My answer shot out without hesitation. “It was sex.”
Satisfaction crawled up his face. “So we’re on the same page.”
I nodded because I didn’t know what the previous night had been.
Because I was new to the world of casual sex.
Because I’d spent my life raising a family.
Because I was forty-two and in over my head.
“So we agree that dinner can just be dinner. Dates are open to interpretation. And sex doesn’t have to be a date or preceded by a meal.”
In. So. Far. Over. My. Head …
Kael prowled toward me. “Let’s have sex then.”
“Um … no.” My nervous laugh made an appearance.
“Why not?”
“Because my daughter is at home. And I said it was a one and done.”
“Twice.”
“You know what I mean.” I backed away from the island as he closed in on me.
“Come on, Mrs. Smith …” He hooked my waist with his arm before I hit the metal shelving unit with the herbs on it.
“Don’t call me that.” My breathless response added nothing real to my words.
My hands pressed to his chest as he dragged his nose along my neck, from my collarbone to my ear. “You say that, but I think you like the idea that we feel forbidden in your rule-abiding world.”
“My daughter’s home.”
“It’s not a date,” he whispered in my ear. “I’m not taking you home.”
Kael didn’t just wake up my libido that had been asleep for years. He stripped it naked and flicked it with his tongue so hard I couldn’t keep it in check with him in the same room.
My fingers curled into his apron, showing a little strength. I was older. Responsible. Mature.
We weren’t having sex on a whim in a public place of business. “Not happening.”
My body hated my mind’s level of maturity. It was the only part of me that said no to Kael. My nipples, my heavy breaths, my flushed skin, my salivating mouth, and the trickle of arousal between my legs all screamed, “YES!”
He bit my lower lip and tugged it before sucking it into his mouth for a few seconds and releasing it. “Just the tip?”
I didn’t want to grin, but it happened anyway. My head drew to the side as I tucked my chin to hide it. “Stop it …” I choked on a stifled laugh. “It had just …” I wriggled out of his hold on me and distanced us with a good five feet.