Page 15 of Out of the Shadows

Gavin

You assume correctly.

Xander

She okay? Heard through the grapevine she’s got a shiner and possible concussion.

Gavin

She should be fine after some food and rest.

Xander

Ahhh. Hence the ice cream. Got it. Give me thirty. Forty-five. Tops.

Gavin

Thanks.

Pocketing his phone, Gavin made his way back to the kitchen. He grabbed two plates as he heard her footsteps approaching behind him.

“Holy crap, did you actually cook, boss? Like real food? Because it smells great.”

Scooping rice onto their plates, he asked, “Do you want one piece of chicken or tw?—”

The words died on his lips as he turned toward her. Hell, every damn thought he had evaporated. The only thing his mind could focus on was the woman standing beside him. He’d seen her in her perfectly pressed business attire. He’d seen her in baggy sweats and a T-shirt. But this? Cotton shorts that hit her mid-thigh and an oversized sweatshirt that hung off one shoulder exposing a flesh-colored bra strap?

Holy. Shit.

Seemingly oblivious to his wayward thoughts, she took the plate from his hands and helped herself to the chicken. Thank God, because he wasn’t yet able to form words.

“This looks great. Seriously. My idea of cooking is making ramen on the stovetop instead of in the microwave.” She glanced at him on her way to the kitchen table, and a frown scrunched her forehead. “You okay, boss man?”

Holy fuck, he was so far from okay it wasn’t even funny. “Yeah,” he said, fighting a wince at the strangled sound of that one word. “Just hungry, I guess. How’s the headache?”

“Mostly gone,” she said as she cut her chicken into bite-sized pieces. “I think the catnap and Tylenol helped.” She took a bite of the chicken and rice and moaned. Deep and low. “Ohmygod, this is really good.”

Holy shit. Kill. Me. Now.

Bean making that noise had his mind spiraling straight into the gutter. He didn’t know what the fuck was wrong with him. Because every image that was currently flashing in his mind—images of her making that noise under completely different circumstances—was one thousand percent inappropriate and not okay. He shoveled food into his mouth to buy himself some time to get his head on straight and his thoughts under control.

This wasBean, dammit. One of his closest friends. One of his most trusted colleagues. One of his?—

She moaned again around another bite of food, closing her eyes in apparent bliss.

Fuck.

Bean couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a home-cooked meal. Technically, it wasn’t a fancy dinner, but considering her usual dinners cooked for four and a half minutes on high, the sweet and savory chicken and rice was downright gourmet.

She took another bite and couldn’t help but groan in appreciation. It wasthatgood. Maybe she should learn how to cook one of these days?

Gavin cleared his throat. She brought her attention backto him, and her eyes widened in surprise. She was five bites into her dinner, and he’d already nearly cleared his plate.

After finishing his last bite, he pushed his plate to the side, rested his elbows on the table, and clasped his hands under his chin. “I know it’s still pretty early, but I’d like you to get more rest. Even if your headache is gone by the morning, I’d like you to stay offline tomorrow.” She opened her mouth, but he held up his hand to ward off her protest. “Call MacKay tonight. Esme let him know you’d be going dark for the next twenty-four and had him line up Tiny to take some things off your plate.”

She shoved another bite of food into her mouth to hold off an automatic snarky reply. She knew it was for the best, but damn if she didn’t want to throw a temper tantrum.

“Please, B. You passed out.”

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