Page 21 of Provoke You

She let out a bark of a laugh. “For now, over here.” She pointed to her left at a stand mixer. “You’re in charge of the whipped cream.”

Again, my mind filled in the blanks on that, but for once, Ela’s mind wasn’t in the gutter along with mine. She was all business, shaking things into her own stand mixer. This was where she spent her days, in a back room, away from the spotlight.

“You need heavy cream and sugar. There should be some cream in the fridge behind you. Sugar is over here. Top shelf.” She pointed at the stack of shelves on her right before she went back to cutting a block of butter into smaller chunks. “Oh hey, can you get me another cup of flour?” She handed me a plastic container as she poked her right fingers in the mixer, coming so close to the blades.

“Are you always this bossy in the kitchen?” I dug the container in the flour bin and scooped up a cup of it.

“Sometimes you’re the kettle, and sometimes you’re the pan.” She shrugged.

“Fine.” I dumped the cream and sugar in the mixer, turned it on, and stood back. The tool was sturdy and fast. I liked it.

“Whoa, we’re making whip, not butter. You want to go slow.” She flipped the switch on the machine, and her cheeks turned bright red.

“I’ll remember that.” My words were laced with so much meaning I didn’t recognize my own voice.

She met my gaze and swallowed. I’d set boundaries for a reason. Ela affected me in ways I couldn’t explain. She’d stopped her flirting. I should be glad. I should be doing my job. I should be leaving her alone. I let out a breath, and a puff of flour landed smack in the middle of my chest, on my apron, and on my dark suit. Something as innocent as that should not have turned me on.

“You didn’t just throw flour at me.” My words were barely a breath as I cradled her neck and pressed my mouth to hers. Just like last night, her moan unleashed something inside me. This was a bad idea, but her lips were softer than I remembered, and hell if she didn’t know what she was doing.

“Just so we’re clear, you started this.” She wrapped both legs around my waist and slipped her tongue past my lips, blasting a surge of adrenaline through my body.

Ela had a way to make me lose my mind, in a good way. I felt it now, all reason slipping away, until the only thing I cared about was her and how she made the relentless weight in my chest disappear. I gripped her ass, walking her backward toward the fridge. She rocked her hips against me, and I captured her mouth again.

A tiny voice in the back of my mind reminded me that of all the stupid things I’d done, this was the worst. But for the life of me, I couldn’t remember why. Who gave a shit about the LB job? I could make a home somewhere else, find a different job, start over.

I kissed the cord of her neck. Her skin was smooth, and it smelled of Ela’s vanilla perfume mixed in with the taste of wine I now had in my mouth. And that finally brought me to my senses. I couldn’t go down this road again. I couldn’t let myself care about someone who might not be here tomorrow.

Touching my forehead to hers, I unraveled her legs from around me and set her down.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered into her temple.

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