Page 22 of Wrong Number, Right Lion

He smirked and nodded.

“Do you eat chicken?”

“Sure. I eat a lotta red meat, but I like me some chicken.”

I made a mental note to cook beef for him next time. And despite telling Stephen I wasn’t going to create a pros-and-cons list—and I still wasn’t—I did keep notes on what Kalen liked and his skill set, including his love of the dark and hiking as well as his enhanced eyesight.

“Come on.”

When we got inside, I tied an apron around his hips, making sure to pull it tight as I leaned in close, less than an inch between us.

“Sounds about tight,” he purred as he glanced over his shoulder and planted a soft kiss on my lips.

I washed my hands and Kalen did the same, even though he’d washed his outside. After seasoning the chicken breasts, I boiled water for pasta and turned on the gas burner.

“Chicken or pasta? Which do you want to be responsible for?”

He closed one eye. “Hmmm, I might burn the chicken or cook the pasta too long so it falls apart into a gluggy mess. Decisions, decisions.”

I nudged him. “You do either and you’ll be ordering dinner for both of us.”

He chose the pasta, and asked if he could toss a strand against the kitchen tiles to check if they were done.

“No, maybe taste one instead.” Much as I fancied Kalen, I didn’t want to clean off sticky pasta residue from the tiles.

With the chicken in the pan and the pasta bubbling away, I grabbed a jar of pesto sauce from the pantry. “Store-bought, sorry.”

“Hey, no criticism from me. Modern life is busy and we do what we can to get by.”

I wanted to do more than get by with Kalen. Falling into his arms and waking up beside him was what I dreamed of.

Kalen drained the pasta as I sliced the chicken. He combined the three ingredients while I made a quick salad. After adding basil leaves from the garden to the main dish, we sat down to eat.

“I could get used to this.” He twirled the pasta on his spoon using the fork and stuffed it in his mouth. “So good and yet so quick and easy to make.”

“That’s my motto. Quick and easy.”

“Does that cover everything in life or just food?” He winked and concentrated on stabbing a piece of tomato from the salad.

He was throwing me a curveball, and I wasn’t sure how to react. “There are some things that are better if they’re given some thought and done ever so slowly.”

A strand of pasta dangled from his mouth, and he sucked it while remnants of pesto lined his lips. I slammed my mouth shut to prevent chicken toppling onto the plate. That pesto needed cleaning up, and it was up to me to get the job done.

Picking up a napkin, I dabbed at his mouth. Would I have preferred to lick it off? Oh yeah, but having shared one kiss, we weren’t there yet.

Kalen clamped a hand on mine, and after removing it from his mouth, he flipped it and kissed my palm. Who needed food when his touch filled and nourished me? Though I’d like to be filled in other ways. I’d been lusting after him for weeks, and now I hoped some of my dreams would become reality.

“Delicious.”

He could have been talking about the food or me. Not sure how to respond, I said, “Dessert?”

“Mmmm.” He kissed along my arm, and goosebumps trailed after him. “I thought this was dessert.” My insides were already warm and gooey, but they melted as he spoke.

“Oh no. There’s a lot more on the menu.” He reached my shoulder, and I was trembling, my body running hot and cold.

“I can’t wait!”

12

---