Page 23 of Taken By Storm

Then Levi took the pie from her, carrying it in one hand and her pile of baskets in the other. “Let me put these in the truck, then I’ll come back for the trays.”

“I can get the trays,” she replied, as she locked up the cash box and closed the tablet.

“I’ll get the trays, Kasi,” he repeated, waiting until she focused on him.

She crossed her arms, annoyed. “Fine.”

Levi grinned. It was going to be fun spoiling her, mainly because she was so bad at letting him. It also looked like he was going to have the opportunity to give her that lesson in consequences he’d promised, sooner rather than later.

Jesus. His mother would rip him a new one if she heard him threatening to spank Kasi the way he had. Truth was, he’d never said anything like that to a woman before, never even considered it one of his kinks, but something about Kasi had awakened aprimitive part of him he didn’t even know existed. He’d always considered himself a nice, normal, easygoing guy, but with Kasi, that all went away, leaving behind this crazed, possessive lunatic who wanted nothing more than to lock her in his house and take care of her for the rest of his days.

Levi was overwhelmed by this sudden compulsion to take away her worries and sadness and wrap her in a soft cotton blanket and feed her pie. The problem was, he also wanted to strip her naked, tie her up, spank her sexy ass, and claim every inch, every curve of her body until she begged him for mercy. And then begged him for more.

Once they finished loading the truck and locking the stand, he drove them back to her farmhouse. Now that he was familiar with her routine, they worked quickly to place the baskets in the barn before carrying the trays to the kitchen.

The savory smell of cheese hit him as soon as they walked inside, and his mouth instantly started watering. Kasi was apparently a big fan of the Crock-Pot, which made sense. She didn’t close the stand until six each day, so it made life easier for her if she could come home to an already-prepared meal.

Once he put the trays in the pantry, he turned to her. “Tell me what I can do to help you get supper on the table.”

She nodded to the cabinet where he’d found the bowls last night. “Mind grabbing some plates? I’ll heat some of the green beans I canned from last year’s harvest to eat with the mac and cheese.”

Levi found the plates and started dipping out three servings. Keith’s motorcycle was gone again. “Keith not eating here?”

Kasi shrugged. “He came by the stand on his way out. Just said he’d be back later. If he doesn’t eat in town, he’ll reheat the leftovers.”

Levi picked up the tray he’d used to serve Mr. Mills his meal last night. “Think your father will join us?”

Kasi shook her head. “No.”

“Does he ever eat with you?”

Kasi was slower to respond to that question, and when she did, he couldn’t help but notice it was one of her nonanswers. “He’s just having a couple bad days.”

Levi wanted to ask if something prompted those bad days or if they were all bad, but the tight way Kasi held herself and her closed-off expression told him it wasn’t something she wanted to discuss.

He put the tray together, adding a big scoop of green beans to the plate once they were hot, then picked it up.

“I can—” Kasi started.

“Set the table for us. You have any beer?”

She smiled. “I might have a six pack of Rain or Shine IPA in the fridge.”

He gave her a little hip bump. “Good girl. My favorite. I’ll be right back.”

Levi quickly delivered the food to Mr. Mills. If the man was surprised to discover Levi delivering his dinner for the second night in a row, he didn’t let on. Unlike last night, he was more alert and even said hello before turning his attention back to the television.

When Levi returned to the kitchen, he was pleased to discover Kasi had set the table for the two of them, steam rising from the plates of delicious-looking food, a bottle of beer open for both of them, and she’d even lit a candle as their centerpiece.

Levi decided to take advantage of that, dimming the lights so that the ambience of the kitchen changed from homey to romantic.

Once he sat down, she lifted her bottle, so he followed suit, tapping his against hers before they each took a sip.

“Your brother keep working after I left?”

Kasi nodded. “I think so. I know he fed the animals before he left. He made sure to let me know.”

“Is he still being rude to you?”

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