Page 24 of Riot

“Kyle!” I yell after him. “You’re not supposed to eat six bars in one sitting!”

When he’s gone, Riot is still standing near the foot of the second bed watching me. “You feed him too?”

“Relax, he’s like a brother to me. I’m kind of like a mother hen, or at least that’s what Star tells me. When I was a kid, I took extra sandwiches to school for the kids who couldn’t afford to buy lunch.” I shrug. “I guess I never really grew out of it. I like cooking for people.”

“What do you like to cook?”

It’s a simple question, but it kinda floors me. Nobody is ever really interested in what I like to cook, even my ex-boyfriends. I don’t think that anyone has ever asked me that question before.

“I bake pretty well. Do you like pie?”

A slow, sexy smile creeps on his face and it’s hard not to feel the flutters in my stomach. “I love pie.”

“What kind is your favorite?”

“Uh, pumpkin, but I’d eat anythin’.”

I roll my lips. I know it’s not meant to sound sexy, but anything Riot says sounds so hot. And now I’m picturing him doing things to me while I try to roll out pastry and put his pie together… Holy shit. I have to get a grip on this stupid little crush of mine before it takes hold.

“I also make apple and blackberry; it’s a crowd pleaser.”

“No shit.”

“The apples around St. Charles Parish are abundant,” I laugh. “In fact, we have huge apple trees near our property. I used to pick them as a child and eat so many I’d get a stomachache.”

He smiles and it reaches his eyes. “I bet you were a cute kid.”

I roll my eyes. “I was a little shit, but not as bad as my brother.”

“Do you get along with him?”

Shit. That was the wrong subject for me to bring up. Antoine and I don’t really see eye to eye on much, and he loves taking my dad’s side where my life choices are concerned. “Right now?Not so much. My family life is… difficult at the moment. That’s why I moved to New Orleans.”

“When did you move here?”

“Four months ago.”

“Do you like it better than Charles?”

I nod. “I like it a lot. The more I see of the city, the more I feel a real affinity there.”

“Good. That means I won’t have to come hunt you down in the Parish anytime soon, then?”

I laugh. Okay, so now he’s making it known he’s into me? I can’t help the shit-eating grin that spreads across my face.

“Nope. But I thought you’d have a ton of girls fawning over you at the club.” Okay, it’s my subtle way of trying to find out if he’s been with anyone lately.

Even though I barely know this man, I can’t stand the thought that he’s been with anyone since I saw him that night at the bar. Even though it’s ridiculous, a surge of jealousy runs through me when I think about another woman touching him. Kissing him. Spreading her legs for him. I don’t like it.

The feeling in me is so strong, I feel it in my chest. A pang. I know I’ve never felt this before and it shocks me a little.

He folds his arms over his chest. “You askin’ if I’m available?”

I copy his movements, folding my arms over my chest. “What if I am?”

“What if I said I only have eyes for you?” His gaze skates down my body and my throat goes dry. His hungry gaze finds mine again and I feel that pull once more in my lower belly.

“I’d say you say that to all the girls.”

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