Page 90 of Firecracker

He sat on a stool at her counter, took a big bite, and chewed. He closed his eyes. “This is so good.”

“Thanks.” She slid onto the stool beside him and picked up her own sandwich. “I like your bathroom, with the gray and white. I think that would be nice. Maybe with some black.”

He nodded. “Gray tiles too?”

“Maybe.” She pursed her lips. “I should look on Pinterest for some ideas.”

“Or come with me to the tile store. You might see something you love there.”

“I guess I could do that.” She grinned. “Especially since Jamie’s paying for it.”

He smiled back at her. “Yeah. Not very often you get to decorate your place for free.”

She wrinkled her nose and looked down at her sandwich. “I feel a little guilty about that.”

“Hey, we talked about this before. He was renovating this apartment anyway, right? And you’ll pay rent when you can.”

“Oh hey, guess what? Jamie offered me a job catering a business meeting for him.”

“No shit?” Tyler cocked his head.

She told him about the plan.

“That’s really cool. And it’s something you enjoy.”

She ducked her chin and looked up at him through her eyelashes. He knew that about her? Warmth filled her chest. “Yes,” she agreed. “I do enjoy it.”

“What are we going to celebrate next?” He picked up a piece of bacon that had fallen from his sandwich and popped it into his mouth. “National Lemon Meringue Pie Day?”

She grinned. “No, that’s in May. I’m not sure what today is.” She picked up her phone and scrolled to the app she had. “National Chili Dog Day.” She lifted her gaze to meet his. “I think we’re going to have to give that one a miss. Unless the place we’re going to tonight has chili dogs.”

His teeth flashed white. “Nope, pretty sure that’s not on the menu at Bistro Noir.”

Their eyes met and held, the warmth of amusement sliding into something hotter…crackling sparks and a low-down kick of lust. His smile faded and she couldn’t help but stare at his mouth, those perfect, sculpted lips that knew how to kiss so well…and do other things so well.

Heat rose up around her and her lungs stopped working. Her own lips parted and the distance between them shortened as they slowly leaned in closer. Her eyelashes fluttered closed and her lips tingled in anticipation of Tyler’s touching them.

When his firm mouth met hers, a jolt of electricity pulsated through her, straight to her core. She leaned in more, and his big hand came up to cup the side of her neck, his thumb rubbing her jaw. A little moan mounted her throat and leaked into his mouth, and he deepened the kiss, tilting his head, opening wider over her.

She set a hand on his thigh, feeling the heat of his skin through the denim of his jeans, the muscle there hard. Her insides lit up, hot and quivering.

He drew back slowly, his tongue lingering on her bottom lip, his eyes dark and hazy. “Wow. Every time I kiss you, it blows my mind.”

She stared at him, her breath coming in jerky pants, her skin burning. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He rubbed his thumb over her wet lip. “Let’s ditch the bathroom remodel and spend the afternoon in bed.”

Her eyes widened. Oh God. That sounded so good. So decadent and hedonistic. “Wow.”

The corners of his mouth lifted. “Kidding.”

Disappointment deflated her. “Oh.”

One thick eyebrow lifted. “You really want to do that?”

She closed her eyes and drew in a long breath. “It sounded very tempting. But not very practical.”

“True. And I’d totally say fuck practical, but…I have plans for later for your bed.”

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