I cover my face with my hands. “Can we not do this? At least not now.”
“Because you have company?” Jake asks, jumping in. Not only has his entrance shocked me, but his sudden joining in of the family tease does as well.
“No, because these two are eating and I don’t want to take anything away from the meal.” Realizing Travis is here and not in New York, I tilt my head to the side. “What are you doing at home, anyway?”
“More contract negotiations,” he says, patting Jake on the back. “We’re close to having this guy back on his old team. Just a few more details to nail down. So, back to the poop…”
“Shut it, Travis.” Rolling my eyes, I turn back to my mother. “Seriously. How is it?”
She nods. “It’s not bad. A little salty for my taste, but it’s okay.”
“Okay?” Beside her, my father is almost done with his main course. “I give it a five out of four stars, it’s that good.”
“You’d give a quarter-pounder with cheese five stars if you could.” Mom laughs.
“But good enough for dinner?” I press.
“Yes, sweetie, it is good enough.” She pushes her plate away, looking back at me expectantly. “Dessert?”
“I did a spin on things,” I say over my shoulder as I head toward the kitchen. “Talk amongst yourselves and I’ll be out in a second with the finale.”
In the kitchen, I go to the cupboard and pull out a platter to arrange the chocolate truffles I’d made that day on, waiting to hear the familiar swoosh of the door closing behind me. Only it doesn’t.
When I turn around, I find Jake standing in the doorway, holding the door open.
“Need help?”
“Nah, I’m okay,” I say, turning my back to him as a tingle of heat travels up my spine. Thinking about my earlier talk with my friends, I close my eyes and take a breath. Maybe asking for help isn’t a bad idea.
“Actually,” I say, turning back around—in time to see he’s about to return to the dining room—I point to the fridge. “I’d love your help. Can you please grab the container of chocolate truffles out of the refrigerator for me?”
Jake grins and throws me a mock salute. “Aye, aye. Is that what I say to a chef?”
Cracking up, I shake my head and turn away to focus. “More like ‘yes, chef,’ but I’ll take aye, aye.”
In a flash, he’s beside me and slides the container over in front of me. I peel back the lid, and we’re hit with a wave of chocolate aroma.
Jake, who is standing close enough that I can smell the shampoo he used this morning, leans in closer and points to one of the round sugar bomb-like white truffles. His head is at an angle so that as he speaks, each word hits the back of my neck like the tiniest whisper of a kiss and it sends a thrill to my very core.
“So, these are regular dessert truffles, right? There’s no mushroomy truffle parts in them?”
Mint. His breath is minty with a touch of coffee on its edge, and it’s like catnip to me. My body naturally leans into his as Iturn my head so we’re in each other's line of sight, side by side, at the counter.
“Exactly. I made a few that are your run-of-the-mill chocolate truffles, like this one,” I say, pointing to them. Reaching down, I grab one, plucking it from the container and holding it out to Jake. “Want to try?”
We’re close enough that I can see the golden flecks dancing in his dark brown eyes. When I inhale, I can taste him on the tip of my tongue, and that’s saying something for proximity. I’m also wanting to check my own breath, thinking back to the bean and onion burrito I horked down on the way over, but never mind.
“Please,” he whispers, opening his mouth but keeping his eyes locked on mine. Swallowing, I realize he wants me to feed him, so I take my cue. Because nothing has ever felt sexier to me than this very moment. I’m caught in some kind of romantic movie scene and don’t want anyone to pull me out.
Lifting the truffle, I slowly and carefully place it on his lips, and he reaches up and wraps his fingers around my wrist as I do, steadying me. My jaw wants to slacken, but I’m fighting it, attempting to keep my cool. But the simplicity of this man staring into my eyes as he eats food from my fingers, food that I made no less, is stirring up a whir of feelings inside me I didn’t know existed.
His lips wrap around the truffle, encasing it as he uses his teeth and gently takes it from my hand. His lips momentarily grazed across my skin and send a heady rush, a sensation of fire raging through my system. And in the next second, his eyes are closed and he leans against me, groaning as he chews.
“What kind of sorcery is this?” he mutters, eyes still closed and mouth full as he shifts his weight and leans against the counter now, using both hands. “It’s melting inside my mouth.”
“Good. That’s what I wanted,” I say, oh so softly while I stare at his lips, again. My new favorite pastime. Beautiful, smoothpink lips that have a fleck of chocolate on the edges. A part of me resists the urge to reach out and brush my lips across his.
Inhaling sharply, I try to calm my breath as I lick my own lips, but Jake’s eyes snap open when I do so. His eyes flick to my lips, then back up so he’s holding my gaze, a tiny smile beginning to ripple.
