before he stepped onto the porch himself. He chose the swing and set it to swaying as Val moved into a rocking chair.
“I suppose I ought to start by thanking you for all the meals,” he said stiffly.
She nodded. “That would be a good place to start.”
“You shouldn’t have, though.”
“Why not?”
“Because—”
“Because you are too stiff-necked to accept help when it’s offered?”
“Now wait a minute,” he protested.
“Because you’re scared I’m going to worm my way into your life?”
“Val—”
“Because you’d rather eat sawdust than something I enjoyed fixing for you?”
He moved quickly, scooping her out of the chair and clamping his mouth over hers before she could wind up and hit him with another accusation. The taste of her exploded inside him. The feel of her in his arms shattered the last of his restraint.
He gulped for air, then went back for more, sure that she was more potent than any female who’d ever crossed his path before. He’d never had a kiss shoot him straight to the moon. He’d never had the soft moan of a willing female fill him with such tenderness.
“Bad idea,” he murmured, stepping away.
“No,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and dragging him back.
With that single word, she dismissed all of his objections, all of his sound, rational thoughts and honorable intentions. With her mouth locked to his, he couldn’t think at all, could barely even stand.
“Sweet heaven,” he murmured, when she finally paused for breath.
“I can’t believe I just did that,” she whispered, her cheeks flaming. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. You’ve made it clear this wasn’t what you wanted, and then you kissed me, and I guess I just went a little nuts. Sorry.”
Smiling, he touched a finger to her lips. “Don’t be. It was a long time coming. It was bound to happen.”
“I thought you swore it would never happen.”
“That was before you started chattering nonsense and I couldn’t think of any other way to shut you up.”
“It was effective, I’ll give you that.” She tilted her head and studied him. “What now?”
“Now we sit down and have a rational discussion about why it is all wrong for you to go on cooking for me.”
She looked as if he’d slapped her. “No,” she said. “That is precisely what we do not do. I will not have that conversation with you. Not tonight.”
“Val—”
“I won’t.”
“We have to talk about it.”
“Not tonight,” she all but shouted.
“Okay,” he soothed. “What do you want to talk about?”
A faint smile touched her lips. “I don’t want to talk at all.”
The subtly sensuous implications rocked him all over again. “Anything else is not an option,” he said, his voice ragged. He took a few steps away from her. He grabbed the porch railing and stared out into the gathering darkness. “Did Annie tell you she intended to move in with you?”
“What?”
He heard the incredulous note in her voice and smiled. “She thinks she’ll starve if I refuse to let you go on cooking for us.”
“Could be she’s right,” Val said. “But I’ll talk to her. I’m sure deep down she knows she can’t live with me.”
He felt her slip up to the railing beside him, standing just close enough to tantalize him with that flowery scent.
“Slade?”
“Yes.”
“Other than your stubborn pride, why is it so wrong for me to help out?”
“It’s not wrong,” he said, raking his hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration. “It’s just...” He couldn’t come up with a better word.
“You’re not taking advantage of me. Laurie’s on vacation. That means I have very little to do. I’m bored. I love to cook. It seems to me it works out well all the way around.”
She sounded so quietly reasonable, so sincere. He felt like a heel for robbing her of a chance to do something she enjoyed. “I’ll pay you, then.”
“Don’t insult me.”
He winced at the sharp tone. “Okay, then, I pay for the groceries, all of them, going back to when this started.”
“That’s fair enough.”
“And you start sharing the meals with us.”
Her head snapped around at that. “Are you serious?”
“Yes,” he said, smiling at her shock.
“Won’t that make you crazy?”
“Yes,” he said. “But not a minute passes that you don’t make me crazy, so I might as well get the pleasure of a good meal and some adult conversation out of it.” He tucked a finger under her chin and forced her to face him. “That’s it, though. Food and conversation.”
A spark of amusement lit her eyes. “Food and