Page 31 of Heaven Leigh’s Little Halloween

“Wow, this is amazing,” he said as he settled down. He’d set the table while she cooked and there was just enough room in the middle for several dishes, each one steaming.

On his own, he rarely bothered with side dishes or anything complicated. He saved all of that for work. When he actually felt like cooking, he would sometimes make Cuban dishes he remembered from his childhood. But most of the time he got by on sandwiches or frozen dinners.

His apartment hadn’t smelled so good the whole time he’d lived there. And she’d made it all look effortless as she’d moved around the kitchen stirring, dicing, seasoning. The baked macaroni and cheese was the star of the show, but the sides looked delicious too.

She shrugged, grinning. “I guess I do okay. Traveling preachers don’t make a lot of money so I learned to do a lot with a little. It’s more fun to cook for other people than yourself though. When I lived alone, I rarely bothered either.

“It just always seems like too much work by the time I’m done for the day. Sometimes I swing by the cafeteria and get a box to go, otherwise I stick with basics. I had no idea you could do this”—he waved his hand at the casserole dish—“with boxed mac and cheese though.”

The compliment made her flush. “You haven’t even tasted it yet,” she teased. “You better eat it before it gets cold.”

So they ate dinner together and everything tasted as good as it looked. Over the meal they chatted but stuck to lighter subjects. He was pleased to see that this time she actually did eat, instead of getting distracted by the conversation.

They took their time over the food. On his side, he was savoring both the food and her company. He hoped it was the same for her because it felt almost like a date.

“So, what do you think? Better than grilled cheese and canned soup?” she said as they were collecting the empty dishes and carrying them into the kitchen.

“A million percent better. Thank you for cooking, Heaven. This was… really nice.” Before he said something he shouldn’t, he quickly changed the conversation to one of teasing. “You think I can get you to cook every time I spank you?”

Her eyebrows went up and her lips twitched at the corners. “What makes you think you’ll have to spank me again?”

“I mean… for food like this I might be tempted to make up reasons.” He couldn’t believe he’d said that and was just on the verge of apologizing when her mouth spread into a wide grin.

“Maybe I’ll be tempted to give you reasons, so you don’t have to make them up,” she retorted. She turned to the sink, but not before he saw the high spots of red on her face. With her skin tone, every bit of embarrassment showed like a beacon.

He should have said something. He wanted to. Let’s make this an official thing, was right on his lips, but it was so soon to suggest something like that. And then the moment passed, and it was too late.

A change of topic was necessary to cover the awkwardness. “You know… I’ve seen how competent you are in the big kitchen, and now I’ve seen you’re a good cook for regular food, but I’ve never seen you do your real work—the cakes.”

She handed him the plate she’d just washed, so he could dry it and put it away. “Well, they generally keep Littles out of the kitchen and now, well, there’s not really room for me to bake. And my cakes do take a lot of time and effort. Between the meals they have to put together all day long, and your work, I’m not sure there’s a place for me.”

Angel frowned as he reached for the next plate. “You do have a point. To be honest, I’ve been struggling for space for a while. I’m hoping it won’t be long before we can sort out a different arrangement. I could do a lot more if I have space for other equipment.”

She nodded. “Maybe if you get a new place, I could do something.”

“Yeah, definitely, whenever that happens. It’s a shame though. I mean you’ve seen my work… I’d sure love to see yours.”

“Someday,” she promised.

At least the conversation had filled the gap and when they were done putting the dishes away, he took her home. The walk back to the Littles’ Wing was nice. The nights were getting cold, but not unbearably so and it wasn’t a long walk.

At the door to the main building, he stopped her, pulling her to face him. “How would you feel if I was to kiss you, Heaven?”

“I… uh. Is this a hypothetical question?”

He chuckled. “No.”

“Then I… I think I’d enjoy it if you—ah!” The rest of her sentence was lost in an exclamation of surprise as he pulled her up tight against his body.

“Good. Because I’ve been thinking about kissing you all night.” His arms slid around her waist, holding her tightly, as he leaned in and captured her mouth with his.

Her response was tentative at first, but then the tension went out of her body, and she seemed to melt into him. He explored her lips, her mouth, her tongue in short bursts of discovery, pausing every few seconds to make sure she was still on board.

His hands slid down to cup her ass, feeling the heat through her jeans as he squeezed with just a bit of roughness. She gasped into his mouth and pushed against him, moaning softly as she matched his energy.

Angel was willing to bet her panties were soaked through, and he was tempted to check and find out for himself. But fumbling in a doorway, groping each other wasn’t how he wanted their first time to be. It needed to be special.

There was a desperate neediness to the way she clung to him, and he knew she had been feeling the same excitement he had. There was definitely more than one kind of chemistry between them.

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