Page 49 of Love Me Reckless

We walk together, following the others. “Why didn’t you let me pay last night?” I ask him.

He gives me a curious look. “It’s bad enough you paid for the hotel.”

“I like buying things for my friends,” I protest.

“Noted,” he says as we pass through the lobby.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re not listening?”

The heat in his gaze turns my legs to jelly. “I’m listening, princess. But that doesn’t mean you always get what you want.”

I cover the flicker of desire sparking to life inside me with a look of mock disdain. “You would deny me?”

He throws his head back and laughs, drawing the attention of the guests milling in the lobby. But when he opens the door for me, and I slip past, he whispers in my ear, “No, but I sure like making you work for it.”

A wave of heat washes through me. “That sounds like torture.”

He arches an eyebrow. “The best kind.”

My pulse throbs lower.

Zach has pulled the car up, and Sofie opens the back door. “Let’s go! We’re hungry!”

“So first off,we want to chop all of our ingredients for the paella,” our cooking coach Ben says after we’ve donned our aprons and split into teams. We’ve turned it into a little bit of a contest—girls vs. guys.

The kitchen is a cozy, modern space with a view out the back door to the garden Ben uses in his farm-to-table restaurant next door, Kiss My Basque.

Ava and Sofie and I get busy chopping. I sneak a glance at Sawyer. His shirt sleeves are rolled up and his tattoo flashes in the lighting as he chops, making his muscles flex.

He must feel me looking because he gives me a sideways glance, grinning.

I laugh and force my attention back to peeling my onion. His not-so-subtle teasing on our way out of the hotel rings through my mind.

That sounds like torture.

The best kind.

My pulse throbs between my thighs, making little tingles dance over my skin. That little sparring has unleashed some very inappropriate thoughts, and I’m having a hard time shutting them down.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I don’t do much cooking, and it’s clear I’m the minority in this group because my friends seem completely at ease with the instructions. Ava even knows how to filet our squid and clean the mussels. By the time we get to the simmering part, Ben has mojitos ready with an olive tapenade appetizer, turning this experience into yet another party.

Sawyer comes up next to me, making my pulse thump a little harder. “Did you happen to notice that cute little sex toy shop on our way in?”

“Why do you think I picked Darby?” I raise an eyebrow.

His cool guy demeanor cracks with a twitch of his lips.

“All right, time to unveil your creations,” Ben says with a flourish.

“The bride gets to judge,” Zach calls out from his side of the kitchen.

“Let’s blindfold her!” Sofie says, snatching up a clean kitchen towel and folding it up.

I meant what I said to Ava earlier—everyone should get the chance to be in the spotlight like this at least once, because it’s wonderful to feel this special.

Sofie fits the towel over my eyes and ties it behind my head.

“Okay,” Ava says. “Here’s the first one.”

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