He put one bowl in front of me and then grabbed the other and sat down. “Why, then?”
“It doesn’t bother me as much when you do it.” It made no sense, even to me. Or especially to me. What was normally a visceral reaction, simply didn’t happen with him.
“That’s what all women say about me. It doesn’t bother them as much when I touch them.”
He didn’t even try to hide his smile, which made me smile too.
“Somehow, I doubt you have any tro
uble with women.”
Decker reached over and brushed his pinky finger against mine. “It’s because of my soft touch.”
I rolled my eyes, plunged my fork into the chile, and blew on it. “It smells so good I almost can’t wait to take a bite.”
The look on his face changed; heat emanated from his eyes. “I feel the same way.”
My breathing accelerated, and I tried to look away, but he captivated me.
“Take a bite, Mila. I won’t until you do.”
10
Decker
Between the heat of the chilies and that of the woman sitting beside me, I wanted to open the refrigerator and crawl inside. Maybe the freezer would work better. Except I couldn’t move at the moment. If I did, there’d be no hiding the fact that my jeans were growing snug in the crotch.
I’d almost choked on the glass of water I was drinking when she walked into the kitchen a few minutes ago wearing thin, little shorts and a top that looked more like lingerie than something she should be wearing in public—and given she hadn’t known me twenty-four hours, she should consider me public.
I took another forkful of chilies and did my damndest to drown out the sounds she was making with every bite she took. I sneaked a peek, and damn if from this angle, I couldn’t see the swell of her perfect breasts or the way her nipples were puckering in the chill of the air conditioning. Add her mewls of pleasure over the food I cooked, and I found myself needing to adjust my jeans.
As awkward as it was, I slid from the stool with my back to her. I gingerly made my way around the counter, wishing for the first time in my life that I was shorter.
“Are you okay?”
I looked up. “Yeah. Why?”
“You look like you’re in pain.”
“I’m fine,” I answered, doing my best to avert my eyes from the nipples that were now pointing directly at me.
I heard the ringtone of a phone, but it wasn’t one of mine.
“Sorry, it’s Adler,” she said, climbing off the stool to go into the bedroom.
I wished I had monitoring devices set up in the guest room so I could hear what they were talking about. I didn’t want to think too hard about what kind of sleazeball that made me as I walked over to take my seat at the counter. I took another bite of my dinner and was happy to see the door open and Mila come back out. What I didn’t like was the look on her face.
“Everything okay?”
She shook her head and looked up at me. “He wants to come back.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow morning, and before you ask, he wouldn’t tell me why he had a change of heart.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Obviously, I told him not to come.”