Or maybe it was just that working in the food industry had significantly lowered my expectations of the male form. Sure, there were guys like Wyatt, Killian, and Blaze that took care of themselves. But there were also the other kind of men—the ones that didn’t find time to work out and succumbed to the endless beer and carbs.
Not that I was judging them.
I’d gained like three pounds since taking over Bianca. Between the overworked schedule and stress, my coping mechanism consisted of cheese and red meat. Hence my fresh commitment to spin class.
I wasn’t out of shape. I took care of myself for the most part if you ignored the part about the cheese and red meat. But I had nothing on Vann. He was like a perfect specimen of the male body. And I wanted to get to know him inch by delicious inch.
His gaze warmed and one of his hands moved its way up my body to cradle my face. “Hey.”
It was too easy to get lost in those gray eyes. “Hey.”
“It’s good to see you this morning,” he murmured, his head dipping with intent.
“It’s been a while,” I agreed.
“We should probably do this more often.”
My belly flipped with the way he sounded so into me. I wasn’t used to this. I couldn’t remember a time when someone had been so interested in spending time with me. Like it was the only thing he wanted to do. “Oh yeah?” I laughed.
“Then I might be able to keep my hands to myself,” he explained. “I’m just thinking about you. I’m trying to be nice.”
I pitched forward, bringing our bodies flush against each other. “Maybe I like when your hands are all over me.”
He smiled and it was everything bright and beautiful. Like the sunlight hovering just below his thunderstorm gray eyes. “Then maybe we should compromise. I see you more. And you get to have my hands all over you. Fair?”
I nodded, feeling breathless and totally swept away. “Fair.”
Then we kissed. And kissed. And kissed. I got more of his hands. And more of his mouth. And forget cycling and spandex and nature trails.
This was what I wanted all day and all night.
But he apparently didn’t. Because despite my best efforts at seduction, he pulled away. Our foreheads touched while he stood there trying to catch his breath.
“Woman,” he growled. “You are some kind of magic.”
My heart burst. Just like that. It exploded.
Okay, maybe not literally. But holy hell, there was something about him I just couldn’t resist.
I slumped against him, loving the feel of our frantic hearts beating against each other and the way his silky spandex felt against my exposed skin. But he wouldn’t even let that last forever.
Apparently, he was playing hard to get.
He kissed my forehead and stepped back. “I came all the way up here,” he teased. “I might as well snoop.”
“What?”
He started walking around my apartment, picking up random things from my kitchen counters and inspecting them.
I had a gigantic kitchen. It was why I’d picked this place. And the island was the centerpiece of the entire open space. It arced in a long line of gleaming quartz, set against the backdrop of my navy blue cabinets. My vintage appliances and metal stools made it picture worthy.
The only regret I had was that I didn’t get to spend more time in it.
But now that the schedule at Bianca was about to change… that might change too.
He whistled when he opened my double oven and peered inside. Turning around he took in the inset living room with a wide-open view of downtown Durham. There was a pretty terrace outside the long wall of picture windows, covered in green plants that my housecleaner kept alive for me.
I was suddenly embarrassed of my extravagant pad. I knew Vann was self-employed and I also knew that was hard. Running a small business was one of the hardest things on the planet. Success was only managed with grit and grind and endless amounts of tenacity.
