Page 140 of Season of Seduction

Some of the caution eased from her face. “I have homemade bread, too.”

“Sold.” He pushed up from the sofa and walked to her. He grazed his knuckles across her cheek. “I know you’re confused. I promise I’ll explain it later, if you’ll be patient with me. Can you do that for me, kitten? Will you give me that chance?”

She stared at him for a long while then rubbed her face against his hand. “I’ll try.”

“That’s all I can ask for. I’ll follow you, since I don’t know where you live.”

She gave him the address, scratched Oscar’s ears again, and then they headed out. To his surprise, she didn’t live far from him at all. He’d even passed it on patrol a few times. He’d expected she’d live in a newer development in a fancy house, and maybe she had with her husband. But her home was small and older and, while it was fairly nondescript from the outside, it was warm and cozy and colorful on the inside. It fit her to a T.

He hung his jacket and the pouch carrying his off-duty weapon in the f

ront hallway. She had a rustic wooden bar nailed into the wall with hooks evenly spaced out. There was a bench beneath it and, following her lead, he toed off his shoes when she did, stowing them underneath. That coat rack gave him ideas, wicked, sexy ideas, but he forced himself to focus. If what he liked turned her off, he’d have some serious thinking to do.

He’d never imagined himself in a relationship where kinky sex wasn’t a part. But Becca was special. He knew it and his heart knew it but his body wanted to do things to her to make her scream. He honestly had no idea if he could have a vanilla relationship with her, but he knew he’d have to try if she shut him down. Now that he knew what he’d been missing, he wouldn’t easily give it up. “It’s smells incredible in here.”

She smiled tentatively over her shoulder. “Thanks. I know we just got here, but are you ready to eat?”

He nodded. “I’m starving. What can I do to help?”

In her small kitchen, she pointed him to a cabinet where the doors had been removed. “Bowls are there, and utensils are in the drawer below. What can I get you to drink? I have wine, juice, milk, iced tea, beer.”

“What are you having?”

“Beer. Goes well with this stew.”

“Sounds good.”

She pulled two from the fridge and grabbed mugs, then grabbed napkins. She also took a loaf of bread from a bread machine and sliced it into thick chunks, handing him the plate.

When everything was on the table, he held out her chair for her. She sat and ducked her head, and he swept her hair to the side, kissing her neck and biting lightly over the pulse there. He licked the sting away, and then sat across from her so he could see her face. “Bec?”

She looked up, her eyes dazed again.

Christ, he had no problems imagining her under him, that unfocused, sexy look on her face as he took her to the edge and back until she begged for mercy. Then his stomach growled again, bringing him back to reality. “Eat your dinner, kitten.”

She picked up her fork and dug in.

He did the same, savoring every bite of the best stew he’d ever eaten. “What kind of bread is this? It’s delicious.”

“Challah. A traditional Jewish bread. I decided to see if I could make it in the bread machine. It’s usually braided so it doesn’t have the look, but it does have the flavor.”

“Good stuff.”

“Thanks. I also have matzoh bark for dessert.” He must’ve had a blank look on his face because she explained. “Matzoh is unleavened bread we eat at Passover. They taste like crackers. These are coated in butter and melted chocolate. It’s not really a Hanukkah thing, but I made some for school to give to my fellow teachers, and I had extra.”

His mouth watered. “Sounds bad for you, but tasty.”

“Pretty much.”

They ate in uncomfortable silence for a few moments, and then she set her fork across her bowl and rested her chin in her hand. “I’m ready for your explanation. What don’t I know about you?”

He hesitated with his fork halfway to his mouth, then finished the bite and swallowed, thinking of how best to explain this. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

She cocked her head to the side and just waited.

Yeah, he hadn’t thought she’d go for that. “My relationships are...different.”

She raised a brow but her gaze was level. “I’m a middle school teacher. I can outwait any stall tactic you can come up with.”

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