Page 40 of Seductive Desires

“It’s not my fault! My parents never taught me anything!”

She was whining but I did feel bad for her. Her parents weren’t interested in parenting, they had her because it was expected, then basically forced her to raise herself. Naturally, she was a walking disaster in the kitchen, and I’ve been told a wild animal when it comes to driving.

“No one is blaming you, Jo. I just don’t want either of you to get hurt. Next time I’ll pick something more simple. Something that doesn’t require hot oil.”

Gabi snickered, stirring the filling. She wasn’t any better than Jo but it didn’t seem to bother her. Apparently Dmitriy is a great chef and she was happy to leave the cooking to him.

“Hey, Mari? Is this almost done?”

I glanced over my shoulder, frowning. “Maybe two more minutes, some of it isn’t the right color yet.”

Jo threw her hands in the air. “You barely looked! How could you possibly know that?”

I grinned. “Practice. I cook a lot. You’ll get there eventually.”

She grumbled so I gave her another task to distract her. “Why don’t you be in charge of the music? It’s too quiet in here. My mother always had music blasting whenever we were in the kitchen. She told me to dance like no one was watching and we would make complete fools of ourselves.” I smiled fondly at the memory. My mother could dance just fine, she usually just chose not to. She liked to let loose without worrying about the little stuff like how goofy she might look.

Jo brightened. “Yeah, alright. Give me your phone.” I handed it to her. She flipped through it, frowning. “You have a lot of music I’ve never heard of. Oh! Found a good one!”

When the song started I couldn’t help laughing. Of course, she chose Despacito. It reminded me of the dance I shared with Mateo. I blushed, remembering what it led to.

Gabi and Jo were shaking their butts and spinning each other. I could only rock to the beat because I was still cooking but I didn’t mind. I didn’t really feel like embarrassing myself today anyway.

“What’s going on in here?”

Jo had turned the music up so loud, it summoned the guys from their office. Dmitriy and Liam had their arms crossed, smirking at their wives. Eventually they made their way over, pulling them into their arms.

Mateo surprised me when his hands slid around my waist, hugging me from behind. “Qué es esto?”

“Empanadas, la receta de mi mamá.”

“Smells good. Do you need help?”

I shook my head. Him being here wasn’t helping me clear my head. If anything, I was feeling more confused than ever. I don’t know how many times I’ve wished I could have someone to do something like this with.

“I remember this song,” he whispered, kissing my neck. I shivered and felt him grin.

“Come on, Mari! Dance! This song is great!”

I shook my head. “I can’t dance.”

Mateo pulled me away from the dough I was rolling. “Yes, you can. Come on, let’s show them how it’s done.”

He spun me so I was facing him, wrapping one strong arm around my waist. He grabbed my hand with the other and pulled me as close to him as possible. Like at the gala, he moved slowly at first, giving me time to relax before he spun and dipped me. I rolled my eyes when he wiggled his eyebrows at me. When he spun me again, dragging me back so my back was to his front, I finally looked up at the other couples in the room. Liam and Jo were dancing like we were, though with a little less flare. Dmitriy had Gabi basically glued to him, rocking back and forth. They were all smiling and laughing. Mateo leaned in close, whispering in my ear.

“You make people happy, mariposa. When you share yourself with others, you brighten the room.”

I turned my head. At this angle, his lips were only inches from mine. I didn’t realize I was staring until his hand cupped my face, pulling me closer. I let my eyes close right as his lips brushed against mine. He kept it light, flirty, sipping my lips and making me smile. His arms were wrapped around me and in that moment, I almost felt like I could forget the job and all the other complications if only to keep having little moments like this. This isn’t what playboys do, this is what boyfriends do.

ChapterNineteen

Of course,nothing good ever lasts. We were drop kicked back into reality when Dmitriy’s phone rang. He frowned, growling something in Russian to whoever was on the phone before locking eyes with Mateo, nodding. Mateo kissed my cheek lightly before following Dmitriy out of the kitchen and out the front door without a word. He didn’t tell me where he was going, if it was safe, or when he’d be back. I felt like the wind was knocked out of me, wrapping my arms around my middle.

“Mariana?”

I blinked. I had forgotten that they were still here. I sucked in a breath, spinning and marching back over to the food. I shouldn’t have let myself get distracted. Now the oil was too hot and I’d need to let it cool a little before I could start my next batch.

“Don’t worry, Mari. I’m sure they’ll be back soon. Sometimes they have to rush out, it doesn’t automatically mean it’s dangerous,” Gabi tried reassuring me.

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