Page 42 of The Warlock's Kiss

She made sure to drink some more water before washing her hands and face. Then she went to rummage through Merrick’s pantry. “What to make for dinner…”

After sliding aside several cans of vegetables, she discovered a box of spaghetti with a jar of tomato sauce conveniently close by.Bingo. It’d go perfectly with the homemade bread—which was onlyslightlyburned—she’d made the day before.

Grabbing the pasta and sauce, she stepped out of the panty, nudged the door closed with her foot, and set the items on the counter. She still wasn’t entirely familiar with Merrick’s kitchen, but it didn’t take long to find a couple pots that were the right size. She got the fire going in the wood-burning stove—the sort of large, black thing she would’ve thought was just a decoration people bought in antique shops when she was young—and set a pot of water atop it. She was still learning how to deal with the altered cooking times caused by baking with a wood fire, but boiling some water and heating some sauce would be easy enough to get right.

While she waited for the water to boil, she opened the sauce and dumped it into the other pot, pausing as an idea came to mind. There were plenty of fresh vegetables in the pantry that needed to be used. Hurrying back to the pantry, she grabbed a zucchini, an onion, and a carrot.

Though Adalynn’s head still ached, she pushed through it. She was chopping the vegetables and adding them to the sauce when Danny came flying into the kitchen.

“Is it done yet? What’s that?” Danny moved closer to her and peered into the pot. “No way! Spaghetti?”

Adalynn leaned away from him, wrinkling her nose. “Ugh, you stink. Go take a quick bath.”

Danny stared at her incredulously. “Seriously? You worked outside, too. I’m sure you don’t smell like roses.”

“She doesn’t,” Merrick said as he strode inside, shutting the door behind him. “She smells like lavender.” He walked to the sink, turned on the water, and washed his hands and arms.

Adalynn stared at his forearms, once again transfixed by the play of his muscles. “I do?”

“You do.” He dried his hands on a dish towel and turned to face her.

She snapped her gaze up to meet his, and her cheeks warmed. She’d totally been caught staring.

Danny threw his hands up. “Can you guys at least wait until I’m out of the room? I don’t need to see you hitting on each otherallthe time.”

Before Adalynn could reply, Danny snagged a couple slices of carrot and left the kitchen. She frowned but didn’t bother calling him out on the theft—or on his accusation.

Even if it was true, what did it matter? Shewasa grown woman. She was allowed to flirt and be flirted with, especially when the man who’d caught her attention was tall, well-built, dark-haired, and sexy as hell in that brooding, mysterious, bad boy kind of way.

They’d flirted plenty over the week, though their interactions over the last several days had been tame compared to what had happened in the ballroom. She’d told him after their kiss that she had to think, but she still wasn’t surewhatshe thought about all of it. She knew he’d been right—shedidwant him—but she didn’t know what to do about it. What she wasreadyto do about it.

Could it really be that easy to give in to her desire? Could it really be so simple and uncomplicated?

The answer her heart offered was brutally honest, and it was the one thing preventing her from succumbing to her desire—it wouldabsolutelybe simple and uncomplicated…forAdalynn.

Merrick was the one who’d have to carry on afterward. Merrick was the one who’d have to deal with the hurt, with the loss, unless their relationship was purely for pleasure, purely physical. And she didn’t think that was possible.

But oh, shewantedhim.

“What do you need help with?” Merrick asked, drawing her attention away from the doorway Danny had disappeared through.

“Nothing. I’ve got it all handled.” Her eyes trailed over him, stopping at his feet, which were now bare except for his socks. For some reason, she found that funny, and couldn’t hold back a giggle. It was the first time she’d seen him without shoes.

Merrick tilted his head, leaned his hip against the counter, and folded his arms across his chest. “Is something amusing?”

“No,” she said, turning back to vegetables on the cutting board, but her grin lingered. She peeked at him from the corner of her eye.

“Your lips suggest otherwise, Adalynn.”

“I’ve just never seen you without shoes on. It makes you less…intimidating.”

He arched a brow and glanced down at his black socks. “So it was my footwear making me intimidating all along? I wish I’d known that sooner.”

Adalynn dumped the carrot slices into the sauce, set the knife down, and turned toward him. “Why sooner?”

“It might’ve saved me some trouble in the past. I could’ve simply upgraded my shoes, and people would’ve been too frightened to cause issues.”

Though she knew he was making light of it, Adalynn frowned. “What happened?”

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