Hooking - Kristine Allen Page 0,41

say if he found out I was banging one of the players. Lord help me.

“Good, I started supper.”

“You cooked? And don’t you mean dinner?” I grinned as I switched lanes.

“No self-respecting Minnesotan calls it dinner unless it’s midday.” He sounded affronted but then snorted out a laugh. “Just get here safe.”

“Yes, sir!” I said in a snarky tone before I giggled.

“See you soon.”

“Yep,” I replied then ended the call. The rest of the drive was a bit of a blur because I was antsy and on the edge of my seat. Rationally, I tried to tell myself it was because this was new. New sex was exciting.

No, it wasn’t.

I’d had plenty of short relationships that involved sex. Wow, that made me sound like I was easy. Okay, maybe not that many relationships. The one thing I could say with certainty was that none of them, and I meant none, left me feeling like Alex did.

When I pulled into his driveway, I didn’t actually need to call. One of the garage doors was open to an empty bay. I pulled in and turned off my car. Then I sat there for a minute trying to get my heart to chill out. The door that went into the house opened, pulling me out of my half-assed meditation.

Too bad my heart wasn’t close to calming down. When I stepped out of the car, everything else was meaningless background. The man standing there as the garage door slowly closed held my complete attention.

Dark, wavy hair brushed his toned shoulders, and an Austin Amurs T-shirt stretched across his perfectly sculpted chest. Worn and slightly tattered jeans were slung low on his narrow hips. The look on his face screamed I want to fuck you. Now. On the hood of your car.

My hooha was answering, For the love of God, yessssss!

“You coming in? Or are you gonna stay out here all night?”

“I’m coming,” I said breathlessly. To which he smirked.

“You sure as hell will be,” he said softly. Oh, sweet Jesus. Inside, I whimpered.

When I reached him, my stomach flipped, and I took a deep breath. That was a mistake too, because the scent of his body wash, cologne, or whatever it was that made him smell so delicious hit me. It nearly made me dizzy with desire.

He didn’t move out of the way at first. The tip of his tongue touched his bottom lip before his beautiful teeth bit it. It was a sexy standoff until he backed up for me to come in.

He was grilling steaks on the indoor grill that was a part of his fancy range. His entire kitchen was a chef’s dream.

“It smells delicious,” I said as I set my purse on the kitchen island and turned to face him. Like the graceful cat that was his mascot, he prowled toward me. Stopping toe to toe, he hooked the back of my neck with his firm hand and pulled me in.

“Thanks. I hope you like your steak medium,” he murmured. “If not, I can pull yours off now, or leave it on longer.”

“Medium is actually perfect.”

By that time, my heart was hammering against my ribs and my stomach was full of butterflies clamoring to escape. Everything about him hit my senses, and the second his lips touched mine, it was like being hit with a million volts. Despite the slow and sensuous way his lips owned mine, it was explosive.

Finally, he broke away, leaving me reeling and dazed.

“Let’s eat before I’m tempted to have my dessert first,” he whispered against my forehead before he gave me a chaste kiss there and stepped away.

“Is there anything I can help with?” I asked, feeling slightly useless. He glanced over his shoulder from where he was plating our food.

“Yes, you can grab whatever bottle of wine you want from the wine chiller,” he said as he motioned to the massive built-in cooler in the corner of the kitchen. As I selected one, the giant cat rubbed against my legs. His purr was a loud rumble.

“You,” I said accusingly to the beast. “I want you to know you scared the absolute shit out of me.”

Alex chuckled from over by the stove. “I should’ve warned you, but I can honestly say I was pretty distracted last night.”

After setting the bottle on the table, I went in search of an opener. He pointed to the proper drawer, and I set it on the table too.

Dinner was amazing.

“Where did you learn to cook like this?” I asked before