Page 52 of Whirlwind

He wiped back a piece of my hair from my face. “Did you have fun with your cousin yesterday?”

“We did. One of her friends had a bachelorette party this weekend, so we joined them.” I rolled my eyes.“Put a little booze in a bridezilla and her bridesmaids and damn, they go nuts.”

“Were you on one of those open air double decker buses I’ve been seeing all over Broadway filled with screaming drunk girls?”

“No. But that’s on their menu for today. Blessedly, I’m here with you.”

His tongue stroked his lower lip, and a lightheadedness took over my system, my breath catching, my skin heating. His finger coiled a piece of my hair. “You’re missing out on some wild and crazy fun for me?”

My insides clenched painfully. “You can make it up to me. Somehow.”

He chuckled darkly as he swept his hands through my thick hair. My neck arched back slightly at the warm tingly zings shooting through me. Sinking his face in my throat, he nuzzled the delicate skin there, and my fingers crawled up his plush T-shirt, digging into his taut shoulders. A rush sped through my veins, a race car taking a tight bend on the track at top speed.

I inhaled his scent, a hint of something woodsy and, this time, a dark sweet fruit…was it fig? Cradling my face gently, he brought his mouth to mine, and I opened my lips to him, my tongue meeting his in a slow, heated dance.Yes.My entire being surged at the familiar taste of him that was just as I remembered it…perfection.

Beck’s mouth released mine, and my eyes fluttered open. My teeth dragged along my lower lip as my fingertips gently traced the yellow stain under his eye. “Just a little bruise left.”

“Just a little.” He took my hand in his warm one, his lips brushing my fingers. “Are you hungry?”

“Yes, I’m starving.”

“No worries, my lady. I have provided.” Holding my hand, he led me into the kitchen area.

My eyes widened at the spread of food over the granite island that I’d barely noticed earlier. “Oooh yum.” I took in the platters of smoked salmon, sliced avocado, a pot of cream cheese mixed with scallion and carrot, all kinds of rolls, dark breads, sprouted breads with little ceramic crocks of butter, honey, and jams. Hard boiled eggs, thick slices of Virginia smoked ham, and a mixed baby greens salad, as well as a carrot salad. He’d planned ahead, he done all this for me, for us. My chest swelled. “I love this.”

“I’m glad. I have a bunch of green juices and fruit juices to pick from in the fridge. I got all this from a terrific organic food shop I was told about. The only thing I didn’t do was coffee, because I’m in the presence of a master of the bean, and I was hoping you’d perform your magic for us.”

“Absolutely. Please don’t tell me they only have a Keurig here.”

“Oh no, no, no, no, baby. We’re talking Burr grinder—”

“Are you serious?”

“A selection of beans, including organic. In that corner there’s a fancy drip coffee machine, then this Italian espresso machine, in a cabinet I found a cone-shaped thingy along with these natural paper filters, and also this chemistry lab flask which frankly, I have no idea how to even begin to make a cup of coffee with—”

“A Chemex!” I clapped my hands together.

“It’s a good thing?”

“So good.” I noticed a spouted water kettle on a shelf over the stove. “Let me get busy.”

“Go to town.”

I set the water to boil in the kettle, and as I opened bags, divided, measured, ground, Beck got out a couple of juice bottles from the fridge and poured us small glasses.

“Greens, carrot, ginger, and coconut water.” He slid the filled glass to me.

“I don’t do those things.”

“Come on, try it. Think of it as a palate and body cleanse for all the goodness that’s to come.”

An eyebrow perked on my forehead, and I couldn’t help my grin at his phrasing.Such a dirty mind.

He tilted his head. “Maybe you need me to kiss you first, to sweeten the deal?”

“Hmm…for a taste of the goodness that’s tocome.”

He chuckled darkly as a muscly arm hooked around my middle and he abruptly pulled me in to his firm body, his mouth brushing mine, his tongue swiping inside. My hand dug into his silky wavy hair as my tongue sought out his, and he gave it to me.

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