Page 35 of Playing with Temptation

“What’s the truth?”

Kendra startled, nearly jumping out of her skin. “Nate, I didn’t hear you come in.”

He grinned. “Obviously. You hungry?”

Kendra nodded. Until he’d mentioned it, she hadn’t realized how hungry she was. She’d checked the fridge earlier, but there was very little edible food left. “I could eat.”

A slow grin stretched his mouth. “Good, because I thought we could cook together like the old days.”

Damn. Now she couldn’t look at the kitchen counter without reminiscing about exactly how those times nearly always ended.

Who knew kitchen sex could be so good?

Kendra shrugged. “Okay.”

She would help Nate cook because she was hungry. Starving, in fact. But no matter what, they most definitely would not go there. No matter how good he looked in that slim gray suit.

CHAPTER 12

One of the many things Nate missed about Kendra was their shared love of food. She’d never subsisted on lettuce or gone from one crazy fad diet to the next.

Kendra appreciated a gourmet meal. Savored every bite. Watching her enjoy a perfectly cooked steak or authentic pasta dish was practically foreplay.

Tonight, he would begin his slow seduction by making her favorite meal. He’d nixed his plans to purchase a premade lasagna prepared by a local gourmet chef. Kendra’s crack about his not being able to cook forced him to step up his game.

He purchased the meal plan that came with the ingredients and the recipe so they could prepare the meal together, like they did when they first started out.

Nate’s pulse quickened as he reminisced over those steamy nights together. There was something almost erotic about the act of cooking together. Filling one basic need led to satisfying another.

He set the bags on the counter and took off his jacket, folding it across the chair. “Can I get you a drink?”

Her hesitant nod, a brief glimpse at the vulnerability she loathed revealing, somehow made her even sexier. “Half a glass of wine would be great.”

Nate dragged his gaze up her body, admiring her toned curves. She wore an oversize white T-shirt with a deep vee over a pair of black leggings that hugged her ample hips and thighs. He cleared his throat, raising his eyes to hers again as he pulled a chilled bottle of her favorite rosé from the bag. He poured her a half glass and watched her sensual mouth as she took a generous sip, her hand unsteady.

“Everything okay?” Nate removed one cuff link, then the other.

“Fine.” Her voice vibrated with false bravado.

He excused himself to change. When he returned in jeans and a T-shirt, Kendra had removed the lasagna ingredients from the bag and lined them up on the counter. A pot of water was boiling on the stove.

“I think you’ve forgotten how this whole ‘cooking together’ thing works.”

Kendra snorted. “All I did was unpack the bag. There’s plenty left to do.”

He washed and dried his hands, then opened the package of pasta noodles, adding them to the salted water. He set the timer, then took out a large skillet and placed it on the burner.

Kendra peeled and sliced an onion while Nate added Italian sausage and ground beef to the pan.

They worked together in comfortable silence. Nate had missed this. He hadn’t realized what a luxury it was to be with someone he was so in tune with that he felt the comfort of her presence without either of them uttering a single word.

Kendra was the only woman with whom he’d felt that kind of warmth and security.

“There.” Kendra added the onions and garlic to the skillet as he browned its contents.

“Thank you.” He forced the words past the thickness in his throat. It was something he wanted to say since that moment at Wade’s when she’d placed her hand on his, calming him when it felt like his world was spinning out of control.

“For helping to make my dinner?” Kendra rummaged through the drawers and retrieved the can opener. He’d upgraded the utensil, but kept it in the same place she’d designated for it when they were together. In fact, the entire kitchen was essentially just as she’d arranged it. Like it was stuck in time. “It’s the least I can do.”

Nate reduced the flame, then turned to face her, taking her soft, warm hand in his. He pulled her closer and she leaned in to him, her eyes meeting his.

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