Your Tempting Love (The Bennett Family 5)

"Christopher," she says in a low voice, fisting my T-shirt with both hands. "I like your smell. You smell like a man."

"Oh fuck. You can't say things like that and expect me not to kiss you senseless."

Turning to me, her eyes widen just a fraction, and she licks her lower lip quickly. I barely keep myself from leaning down and sucking that lip in my mouth.

"I've fantasized about lifting you up onto this counter and burying myself inside you since this morning." Just saying it out loud makes me hard.

"Oh." She sucks in her breath, squeezing her thighs together.

"You're the sweetest woman I've met, Victoria," I tell her honestly.

"And you're the most bizarre man I've met."

That one unexpected word breaks the spell. Through a haze, I step back. Victoria immediately crosses her arms over her chest, masking her nipples. They were showing nicely through the fabric of her shirt.

"Bizarre? Please elaborate."

"I didn’t mean it in a bad way."

"I can’t think of a single time I heard the word bizarre to describe something in a positive way."

"You take your time to come here on a Saturday to help Lucas, you guessed my favorite ice cream flavors, and… I just meant you keep surprising me."

No idea why she chose those two particular things, but they probably mean something to her. An honest man would tell her my sister Alice specifically told me about the flavors, but… not being honest seems smart right now.

"I believe the word you're looking for is perfect, not bizarre."

"You forgot to add cocky to my description."

"It runs in my family. You can't hold inherited traits against me."

"Is that so?" She runs her fingers through her hair, shaking her head. A loud alarm makes us both jump, and she turns her attention to the oven. "Second batch of cookies done."

A delicious smell fills the kitchen as she takes them out, placing them on the counter.

"Lucas said you like to experiment."

"Yeah, this time I included a few with pumpkin." She leans over the counter, inspecting her work.

"Interesting. Can I taste?"

She glances at me over her shoulder, a satisfied smile spreading on her face. "Brave, aren't you?"

"I like to live dangerously. And I'm always a fan of spicing things up."

A red hue spreads up her neck as she hands me a cookie. It's still hot, but I'm impatient, so I bite into it almost immediately.

"Hey, this is good," I say, unable to hide my surprise. "So how come you do this every weekend?"

"Lucas also told you that?"

"Yeah."

She remains quiet for a few seconds, busying herself at the counter, her back to me.

"Mom used to bake every Saturday morning. I loved how it made the house smell. All warm… like a home."

She and I have that in common.