Page 62 of Ashes of Sin and Stardust

“They do not. They taste like mushrooms, plus whatever you cook them in.”

“Yeah. So, garlicky butterydirt. Second, they’re rubbery.”

“Not if you cook them correctly.”

“It’s like biting into a tire.”

“It is not.”

“Or an ear lobe.”

He dropped the pan in the sink and put his hands on his hips. “An ear lobe?”

“That’s what I said, big guy. You should use your listening ears. Third, mushrooms are mold. I don’t eat mold.”

“Mushrooms aren’t mold. They’re fungus.”

“Fungus is mold.”

“No... mold is mold. Fungus is a fungus, it’s a plant.”

“I have a degree in biology. Fungus is mold. And fourth...” I paused for dramatic effect, but also because I hadn’t thought of a fourth one yet. He stared at me, still mostly expressionless but a little less afraid I was going to call the police on him. “They’re currently in the trash so I’m not eating them now.”

It was all I could come up with on short notice, okay?

His lips twitched and his eyes relaxed some. Crisis averted.

“We could order a pizza,” I offered.

He rinsed the pan, a plume of steam coming up from it. “No,” he said. “I said I was going to make you dinner. I’m making you dinner.”

“Good because I was browsing your Instagram and you look like you actually know what you’re doing.”

He peeked up at me through the corner of his eye. “Was that a compliment, miss Benson?”

“Depends. Are you as good in the kitchen as you are in the dungeon?”

“No. I’m better.”

Reuben opened a bottleof white wine and poured us both a glass while he restarted dinner. At some point he poured a splash of the wine into the pan as well, making the whole kitchen smell sweet and delicious. I had no clue what he was making, but my mouth was watering. I stood by and watched him cook, somehow managing to miss what ingredients he was putting in the pan because I was too distracted watching him move.

Just like I’d seen in the old video demos he’d done, he moved with confidence, grace, and authority in the kitchen, chopping and mixing, tasting things as he went. He looked focused and relaxed. And sexy as hell.

The thing was, Reuben wasn’t conventionally attractive. He had the body of a bear, and his hair was a weird wiry texture that looked rough to the touch. His face was intimidating because of his large forehead, square face, and slightly crooked nose. The skin on his face was a little pockmarked too, which I hadn’t noticed right away. Maybe he had really bad acne as a teenager? It was mostly covered up by the beard he’d recently grown, and his mustache and beard were dark and full, and had some grey in it. And of course, he wore his ever-present button-down shirt and black slacks, even though he was alone in his house. He looked like he ran an underground mob or something.

But it added to his fear factor, and that’s what did it for me, so I was totally okay with it.

I spent most of my time watching his hands. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbows and his hands and forearms were powerful, veiny, and toned. Dark curly brown hair went down just past his wrists. I knew what those hands felt like, and it made it hard to think straight.

Go to horny jail, Alice. For fuck’s sake.

He made some kind of pasta dish with homemade sauce, bacon, and peas. And although I wasn’t a huge fan of peas, because, you know, they were technically a vegetable, they were actually pretty good.

We made small talk over dinner, and he asked what kinds of things I did at the church for Alex. I gave him a rundown of my job there.

“So to be clear. You do all the social media, all the event coordination, all the admin work,andact as a receptionist.”

I slurped my noodles and nodded.

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