“It’s okay, Hellion. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve undressed you with my eyes. I wouldn’t even count us even.”
He took his time slowly looking me up and down before turning back toward the table.
Heavenly Hell, Ronen was flirting with me.
And despite the sweat warming my back, I thought I liked it.
“Wait, so do you make all the truffles?” I asked, realizing he was turning my world upside down with this revelation.
“Not all. But most.”
Ronen made my favorite chocolates.
He was the creator.
He—
I couldn’t wrap my brain around this.
“Prove it.”
He lit up at the challenge, then went to work.
Every step, every action, he carried out similarly to how he fought—with precision and confidence.
He honed in on each task, neatly lining up mini marshmallows on a greased baking sheet, lightly roasting them with a torch, finely chopping chocolate, and heating cream—all with a level of attention that almost made me jealous.
The anxiety I’d felt earlier today hummed so softly I could barely tell it was there.
“This calms you.”
He made a low sound of agreement.
“Why? I’d figure fighting or training would.”
“Training too. Fighting calms my shadows. But this doesn’t let me think about anything except my next step.”
I could feel that.
And as I continued watching him, I sensed something more.
His other emotions seeped into my mind, subtle and still a little muted, but there.
Was he doing it on purpose? Or did he not know?
I couldn’t tell as he invested himself in his work, and I didn’t want to say anything.
I was finally able to map each small movement of his body to an emotion.
I had the opportunity to know him in a way no one else did.
The tiny twitch in his eyebrow reflected his sudden irritation when a marshmallow stuck to his finger.
His narrowed eyes, which almost looked like a glare, might seem like frustration. Or like he was about to murder his morsels.
But I felt his focus, then his pride, as the cooled ganache formed perfectly around the marshmallow. It eased the lines near his eyes, removing the perceived glare.
But my favorite emotion was the tiny flutter of joy as he coated them intemperedchocolate.
