What If You & Me (Say Everything #2) - Roni Loren Page 0,57

was chopping. He guided her through dicing an onion, and laughed along with her when she promptly ruined her mascara with onion tears. He taught her that she could ignore when recipes said to pick off individual cilantro leaves, that the stems could be chopped up with the leaves and it all tasted good. Before long, they were squeezing lime into brightly colored pico de gallo. And all the while, he hadn’t stopped touching her. Not aggressively. Not with innuendo. But in a way that made her feel more and more comfortable.

Hill stepped from behind her and grabbed a spoon. He scooped up some of the pico and held it out to her. “Now for the fun part.”

Andi smiled. “I feel like we’ve already been having the fun part.”

His eyes sparked with pleasure at that. “Truth. But go ahead and taste the fruits of your labor.”

She stepped closer and let him feed her a bite. The fresh, tart taste hit her tongue and she groaned. It was so much better than that jarred salsa she bought.

“So?” Hill asked, looking sweetly anticipatory, as if he was afraid she’d hate it.

She swallowed her bite and grinned. “It tastes like summer on a spoon. We’re amazing at cooking.”

He laughed and took a bite. “We definitely are.”

She grabbed a jalapeño that was still on the cutting board. “What about this guy?”

“That guy needs some extra attention, and we have to decide how hot we want the pico to be.”

She eyed the pepper. “Extra attention?”

“Gloves,” he explained. “If you cut a chili pepper without protection, the oils get in your skin and it can burn for hours. And it will make everything you touch burn, too—your eyes, your lips”—he raised a brow—“other things.”

She pressed her lips together to stanch a laugh. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

“You only make that mistake once,” he said with a sage nod.

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. We also need to taste a little because some jalapeños are as mild as bell peppers, and some are really hot. You can’t tell by looking at them.”

He gave her a pair of disposable kitchen gloves and then walked her through the process of stemming, seeding, and mincing the pepper.

When they were done, he took a small piece of the jalapeño and held it up to her. “Now for the test.”

She opened her mouth and let him place it on her tongue. The heat of it hit her almost instantly, warming her tongue and sending an almost fruity taste along her taste buds. She chewed and swallowed, the spice potent but not overbearing.

“Well?” he asked, pulling off his gloves.

“I think it’s the perfect amount of spicy,” she said, picking up another piece and holding it out to him. He let her feed it to him, his gaze locked with hers. Her face was only inches from his.

“Just right,” he said softly.

She should step back now, give them space, but she didn’t move.

“I want to kiss you,” Hill said in warning.

The words were what she needed to hear. He was giving her a chance to opt out. “I’m going to let you.”

He smiled and she peeled off her gloves, tossing them somewhere on the counter without looking, and then her hands were splayed against his chest. Hill wrapped his arms around her and dipped his head down to kiss her. Her eyes fell shut. This time it wasn’t a sweet peck or a gentle press of the lips. His hand squeezed her waist, and when her lips parted, his tongue grazed against hers, spicy heat from the pepper sparking along her taste buds again. She groaned into it, and her arms slid around his neck.

He made a sound of pleasure in the back of his throat and deepened the kiss, tasting her fully and making her legs feel like jelly beneath her. Before she knew it, she was pressed up against the opposite counter, his hand slipping beneath the hem of her shirt and pressed hot against her rib cage, not moving but sending heat straight to the center of her, making things wake with awareness. Her body arched against him.

“Andi,” he said between kisses. Her name sounded like a prayer and plea all at once.

His tongue stroked hers, and her hips rocked against him, seemingly of their own volition. When he pushed close again, hard heat met her belly, sending electricity through her like a shock wave. Hill’s arousal stoked her own, made her want to touch him, explore, make him even hotter, but it also sent