“I’m neurotic and paranoid?” Rafael repeated with a look of distaste.
“You freak out if something moves an inch in that fucking kitchen,” I said. “And you just assume I’m fucking your boss with no evidence – sounds like neurotic paranoia to me.”
He tilted his chin up, defiance blazing in his eyes. “I saw you come in here with him and leave with your hair all mussed up,” he said. “I know what you were up to.”
“Oh, so I had mussed hair, so we must have fucked,” I said, rolling my eyes. I reached out, whip-fast, and rubbed a hand through the back of my hair, knowing that it would stick up when I took my hand away. “Oh, look. I guesswefucked this time.”
Something flashed through his eyes and his cheeks colored. “Don’t try to mess with my head,” he warned.
“Thiswould be messing with your head,” I said. I reached up with my other hand and knocked off his chef’s hat, rubbing my hand through his hair quickly and lightly and making it sit out of place as well. “Noweveryone’sgoing to think we fucked! The horror!”
“Knock it off,” he said, shoving at my chest. I didn’t budge.
“You knock it the fuck off,” I replied, staring right into his eyes in challenge.
I wasn’t sure, even looking back later, how it happened.
One second, I was glaring at him.
The next…
Our lips were mashed together, teeth clashing as we moved, as my hand curled into the hair at the back of his head and his hands flattened themselves onto my chest. The heat of our anger was only matched by the heat of the kiss.
A stupid, nonsensical, hot, rough, angry kiss that shouldn’t have happened.
I pushed myself away from him as soon as our lips parted. Now his hair was mussed for real, and his eyes were slightly glazedbehind his glasses. His lips were open, breath panting through them as he fought for oxygen after the bruising, crushing kiss.
I knew I was no better.
For a brief second, I thought about saying fuck it and leaning in to kiss him again. Tearing off his chef’s whites right then and there and fucking him next to the tubs of premade ice cream. Getting his dick in my mouth and making him scream my name so loud everyone would come looking for us, thinking we were killing each other.
But he was right about one thing. This was a professional kitchen.
And I didn’t think I could kiss him again without doing the rest, and besides, we were supposed to be angry with each other.
Iwasangry with him.
I stared at him for a moment later as he stared back, and though I couldn’t see what my face looked like, I had a feeling we were exact mirrors. Horror, anger, and arousal mixed together in a heady cocktail that left us standing there stupidly, mouths open but nothing coming out.
My dick throbbed in my pants. I wanted to bend him over and fuck him right now so bad.
But I couldn’t.
And I couldn’t think of a single thing to say that wouldn’t either reveal my weakness and make it all happen anyway, or tear into him so bad he would never think about kissing me again.
I just growled and reached for the door handle, wrenching it open and stepping out into the hall, stalking away back to the kitchen.
It was only when I got there and skulked to my station, ignoring the pressing stares of both Ainslie and Beau, that I realized the uncomfortable truth.
I had to make it a full shift working alongside Rafael, and we hadn’t managed to resolve a single damn thing.
And now I knew how good his mouth tasted.
Rafael
I stood there for only a moment, the cold air of the walk-in freezing the feeling of his lips into mine, before I shut my mouth and turned to leave.
I couldn’t let him walk away like it was nothing and then let him think it meant more to me.
