Page 14 of The Dating Prohibition
She threw up her hands. “It was already seasoned!”
He chuckled. “You said that then too.” He shook his head. “That will never not be funny. You stood there and waited to seeif he was gonna try again.”
“Well, it was true, and if he had tried it, he would have learned the hard way not to mess with my cooking.” Kendra enteredthe alarm code, and BJ held open the door for her before following her out. She cut her eyes at him and locked the door. “Idon’t mind people being in my kitchen when I am confident they won’t mess anything up.”
“You act like your brother can’t cook when youknowhe can.” BJ hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans, watching her. As strong as his poker face was, there was somethingplayful in his expression. A glint in his dark eyes as his gaze released hers and trailed down to her lips.
Heat crawled up her neck, her heartbeat pounding. She couldn’t help but look at his mouth in return—it was the quickest ofglances, but he must have noticed, because one side of his mouth curved. Kendra crossed her arms over her chest, her insidesbetraying her and surely her face would follow if he kept looking at her like that. “I know he can cook,Ben.” Her eyes narrowed at him. “He just thinks his way is better, so he always comes behind me and tries to ‘fix’ what I’m doing.”She made little air quotes with her fingers mockingly. “Big brothers always think they know better.”
“So you’re saying that you smacked him with a spoon because it was bigger than him trying to season the gravy?” BJ tiltedhis head. “Some sort of get-back for a big brother big brother-ing? That math don’t math, Kenny.”
Why is he making the spoon such a big deal?“Healwaystries to reseason my food. I don’t need him coming behind me.” Kendra straightened her shoulders as they turned to walk towardher car. “I am an entire grown person, you know.”
“I’m well aware,” BJ chuckled. “Sweet little Kenny’s all grown-up.” His gaze zeroed in on hers, burrowing below the surface. Searching.
Kendra blinked before her cheeks began to warm.What the fuck is going on here?She eyed him out of her periphery and he smiled, poking at her with his elbow. “You know, sometimes you’re just as bad asmy brother.”
“Yeah, well, just remember that I’mnotyour brother.” He leaned back against the door of her car. He arched slightly, stretching his back before his posture roundedand he locked eyes with her.
“I know that,” she laughed lightly.Am I flirting? Poorly?With anyone else, Kendra never second-guessed herself, but with BJ, she couldn’t be sure whether her mind was playing trickson her. Something about their exchange sparked lightning bolts through her senses—like a coating had come off her lenses andshe was seeing more clearly than she had in the past.Maybe I’m just hallucinating. Hallucinating and horny—not a great combination.
“Good. Because if you hit me with a spoon, I promise you punishment in kind.”
The warning tone in his voice sent a trail of heat between her legs. Kendra’s mind short-circuited as she stood frozen inplace. Her mouth went dry.Like... a spanking?They stared at each other for a long moment, BJ’s face expressionless. His eyes stared into Kendra’s as if he was daring herto question him, and she remained unmoving, though the synapses of her brain fired rapidly.Maybe he didn’t mean it that way. God, Kendra, get your head out of the gutter!“Well,” she rasped before clearing her throat. “I’d better get home.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Neither of them moved or looked away. Kendra searched his eyes for an explanation for the quicksand she was trappedin, but he said nothing. Her stomach somersaulted, her heart pounding in her ears, as she licked her lips slowly with the tip of her tongue.
BJ’s lips parted as his eyes scanned her mouth, just for a split second. Kendra watched his chest rise and fall, her mindracing.Am I reading this right?She shook her head out of the trance she’d been in.I’m just tired.She smiled at BJ and gestured toward the car door that he was blocking. “I—I should get home. We’ve got another long dayahead of us tomorrow.” She stepped forward shakily, her knees wobbling.
Around them, the trees swayed in a cool breeze, and Kendra shivered as she locked eyes with BJ. “Yeah, you’re right. Hey,you’re cold.” He stepped forward and reached for her, pulling her toward him.
Kendra lifted her arms to embrace his neck as he hugged her tightly. “Just a little,” she laughed, her cheek warming at thecontact. His solid form pressed against her chest and she wondered whether he could feel her heartbeat pounding rapidly. “Wow,you’re warm.”Why does he have to smell so good?She held on longer than intended and hesitated as she stepped back.
His beard grazed her jawline, and before either of them fully released from the embrace, their eyes found each other againlike magnets, an invisible force drawing their faces close together. Kendra’s inner voice was screaming somewhere up aboveher, watching the scene somehow separate from her body, but she couldn’t stop herself. Drunk on the scent of his cologne,her lips parted slightly just inches away from BJ’s full lips. He stepped closer, his arms holding her tighter, and Kendraclosed her eyes, her head tilting slightly.Oh my god oh my god oh my god.
A tickle of his beard touched her face, and he shifted to the side to kiss her on the cheek. “I can’t do that. I’m sorry, Kenny.” BJ’s voice was hoarse as her eyes fluttered open, hermouth dropping open in surprise. He let her go, quickly stepping out of the way so that she could get into her car. “You should get home.”
“But...” she stammered. “I... what just happened?” Her insides screamed with frustration.Did he just dodge me?
“We can’t. I can’t.” He shoved his hands in his pockets as if he didn’t trust himself unless they were somehow restrained.His gaze seemed focused on something at their feet and she wanted to melt into the street.
Kendra’s mouth clamped shut as question after question zipped through her mind.Was it my breath? Do I need a mint? I did have a lot of that garlic aioli on my lamb burger...Part of her wondered whether he was really about to kiss her at all or if she just read the signs incorrectly.Maybe he was going for a kiss on the cheek?The push and pull of her racing thoughts all landed on the same conclusion.But I wanted to kiss him.
She was tempted to protest––to get to the root of whatever hangup he had with their growing attraction, but instead she tooka deep breath and hit a button on her key fob. “You’re probably right. I’m sorry about that. I—” Warmth crawled up her neckto her cheeks, and Kendra silently cursed herself for misreading their interactions.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Kenny,” he said softly. He opened the door for her and she gave him a tight smile as she climbedin. “Can you let me know when you get home?”
“Ben, I live four blocks away. I’ll be fine.” She stared at the dashboard, her mind screaming at her to get the hell out ofthere.What were you thinking?!
“Please?” he implored. “I just want to be sure you’re safe.”
“Sure. You let me know too.” Her throat tightened. She turned on the ignition and glanced at him quickly before putting herhands on the steering wheel and shifting the car into Reverse.He probably thinks I’m a complete idiot.“Good night.”
“Good night, Kenny.” He shut the door and remained where he was standing as she pulled out of her parking spot and raced down the street.
Kendra looked at him in her rearview mirror once she arrived at a stop sign. “What the fuck was that?” she whispered.
