Page 23 of Wild Love

He pushed the P button. "Let someone help you for once."

I rolled my eyes. "You're not going to let that go, are you?"

He winked at me. "Not while you're staying in my building."

I sighed. "So far, my neighbor is kind of irritating."

Eli's lips twitched. "You like it."

He was right. I didn't feel agitated around him. If anything I felt drawn to him. Like I wanted to spend more time in his presence, not less.

He was devastating in a suit but carrying grocery bags? My insides were quivering.

He lifted the bags. "You cooking tonight?"

"I thought it would be nice to cook for my first night in my new place."

His eyes flashed with satisfaction.

Did he hope I'd stay too? Maybe I said the wrong thing. "I don't have a kitchen when I'm traveling, so I thought I'd try my hand at cooking."

"You've never cooked before?" he asked as the door swished open.

"Nope."

"You want some help?"

I unlocked the door. "I'm sure I can handle it."

Eli dumped my bags on the counter and started pulling out items. "What are we making?"

I closed the door. "I don't recall inviting you to stay for dinner."

He lifted his head to wink at me. "You're living here rent free, remember. It's the least you can do to thank me."

"I thought I owed you adventures." I tried but failed not to smile.

He grinned. "And now dinner."

"I don't know if this arrangement is working for me anymore." But inside, I felt excited. This exchange was fun and light. I was enjoying spending time with him more than I thought. I worried that the sexual tension would be too hard to resist, but this was more than that.

He hit Play on a playlist, and tunes filled the space. Outside, the wind howled but inside, it was warm and cozy. "I'll start a fire while you decide."

While he got the fire crackling in the hearth, I pulled up the recipe on my phone. "It looks easy enough."

"Lime chicken and cilantro rice." He scrolled through the directions. "We can do this. But I'm not a fan of directions."

"How is that possible? You wear suits, and you're buttoned-up all the time. You seem like a rule and recipe follower."

I shouldn't have said that because he shrugged off his suit jacket, draping it over one of the stools at the island, then slowly unbuttoned his cuffs, rolling up the sleeves, revealing forearms corded with muscles.

Suddenly, my mouth was dry, and my heart beat a steady rhythm, seemingly in tune with the beat of his movements.

Next, he unbuttoned his collar, showing more of his strong throat and a hint of hair on his chest.

I swallowed hard. I wasn't going to survive dinner. We were alone in this beautiful condo with music playing, the fire crackling, and I wouldn't be able to resist any advances.

Sweat beaded on my forehead, and my fingers shook as I opened the package of chicken.

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