“Needed to cool down,” she says, sweeping past me and helping herself to another cup, filling it with ice and water. She grabs a piece of paper from one of the flat surfaces, and starts fanning herself, her curly hair fluttering in the breeze that creates.
“You okay over there? Don’t want you fainting on me again.”
She rolls her eyes, walking to the wall and resting her back against it.
I bite down on my lip at the sight of the flush rushing down her exposed chest and across the tops of her breasts that shirt shows off.
She eyes me from across the room. “Then don’t push me, Chef.”
My cock twitches in my pants at her throaty tone, husky and feminine all at once. That word coming out of her mouth does things to me.
Stepping closer to her, those chocolate eyes move up my tall frame to watch my approach, wary of me, but backed up to thepaneled wall with nowhere to go. When I get near enough to see her up close for the first time, I see just how flushed she really is.
“Have you been working outside all day?”
“Helping Nora with the floral displays down at Smoky Stacks. After she saw the ones here, she tried to do her own, but it needed so much more than a quick look like she said. We ended up replanting half of her flowers.” She snaps her mouth shut, like she surprised herself by spilling all of that. Her eyes narrow on me and she asks, “Why do you care?”
Harsh, but I don’t take offense. Takes a lot to offend Wilder Amante, and the claws on this kitty are nothing but cute from where I’m standing.
“You look like you’re overheating again. Does that happen a lot?”
She shakes her head, stepping to the side to get out from in front of me. “It’s never happened before, and it’s none of your concern. I just need AC and cold water.”
“So it’s justmethat gets you all hot and bothered?” I ask her, the grin in my voice unable to be contained. “If it’s only happened the two times we’ve met, maybe it’s my magic touch?”
She spins on her heel, eyes flaming. “You’re so full of yourself,Chef. It’s a hot day. I was gardening all afternoon. Don’t flatter yourself.”
I nod my head at her, faux-serious. “Okay, yeah, sure. I’d buy that if your headlights weren’t on and your face wasn’t redder now than when you came inside a few minutes ago.”
Her hands fly to her chest, fingers confirming what my eyes couldn’t possibly have missed, and her nostrils flare.
I’d bet another month on my sentence that she’s dripping, turned on by this game between us the way I am, but I’m smart enough not to call her out on it here and now.
Placing my hands on her shoulders, I usher her toward the walk-in freezer. “Let’s get you cooled down before we have another fainting spell, sound good?”
Huffing and puffing, it’s a small miracle that she lets me walk her into the freezer, where the temperature is a brisk zero degrees. I take thirty seconds to dash out and whip her up my hydration drink again and grab a handful of extra ice to help her cool down faster.
Returning to the walk-in, I find her pacing, breathing deeply, but still looking just as frustrated.
When I hand her the drink, her cocoa eyes run up and down my large frame. Whether she’s assessing if I poisoned the drink, or checking me out, I’m not sure. Probably a mix of both.
“Go on.” I nudge her arm with it, and she takes it in a huff of exasperation.
She gulps it down, which gives me a chance to open my mouth again.
“This summer’s gonna be hotter than usual, I hear. Gotta stay extra hydrated to survive it.” I wink at her.
Her eyes flash at me over the rim of the plastic deli cup she’s drinking out of. When she finishes the drink, I take the container from her and place it on an empty shelf that’s above her head.
My steps eat the space between us, one foot and then the other, and I smirk as she backs away from me, those eyes running down the length of me dangerously as she does. She stops abruptly when her back hits the silver wall of the freezer, and she jolts with the shock of the cold, a chill breaking through her. My eyes zero in on the way her nipples respond.
“I was just worked up the other day,” she explains, hands coming up like she’s gonna push me away, but she rests them on my abs instead. Interesting.
I flex under her touch, and I feel her fingertips dig into my skin through my chef’s jacket. I don’t even think she realizesshe’s doing it, but I see her eyes burn when she feels what’s there.
Wait until she feels what else I’m working with.
“Yeah?” I ask her, moving one leg forward, pinning her in place against the wall. “You look pretty worked up right now,” I tell her. “We better fix that.”
