Page 43 of Puck & Make Up

And I’ve never had someone treat me like this before.

So…I’ve decided to pull on my big girl pants and see this through to the end.

“Either,” he says, smoothing his big hand up and down my back. “Both.”

I dare to reach up and hug him back, to press my front fully to his, to rise on tiptoe and settle my hands on his broad shoulders. “I pay attention too.”

And then he does the most wonderful thing.

He smiles at me, drops his forehead against mine. “Fuck, sugar.”

“What?”

“I knew I liked you,” he whispers. “Right from the beginning, I knew it.”

My pulse pounds through my veins.

“But I didn’t know it would be this easy to love you.”

I inhale, everything cell in my body freezing and then realigning. Unlocking. Opening up to…

Fox.

He bends his head, pressing his mouth to mine, and…

It’severything.

Soft but with the lightest brush of rough from his beard. Confident, his lips parting mine without preamble.Hot—his tongue sweeping in to tangle with mine. His groan vibrates through his chest and then he’s lifting me up, setting me on the counter, stepping between my thighs, and kissing me until my lungs protest, until my heart’s pounding, until I’m basically a melted pile of goo.

“Goddamn, sugar,” he rasps when he pulls his mouth from mine.

“It’s your fault,” I say.

“Yours,” he counters, cupping my jaw. “For giving me this.”

“It’s just a movie and dinner.”

“No.” He presses his lips to mine for a brief but intense kiss. “You’re giving meyou.”

He’s not wrong.

Even if I can’t give voice to that fact yet.

He taps his finger to the tip of my nose. “And I knew you’d taste sweet as sugar.” A wink as he lifts me down then lightly swats my ass. “Now am I parking my ass on a stool and watching you cook my favorite meal? Or are you putting me to work?”

The man can chop some veggies.

And he didn’t get mad when I got distracted watching him and burned the sauce, making him have to run out and get replacement ingredients.

And his face when he saw what I brought for dessert?

I’ll never forget it.

Or the kiss he laid on me afterward.

It’s just chocolate pie from River’s Bend’s bakery and homemade whipped cream.

But we both know it’s more.Somuch more.

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