Page 59 of Worth the Heat
Isabella’s two sisters have their arms around one another as they belt out an off-key rendition of a Taylor Swift song, and her three sisters-in-law are throwing marshmallows at each other, attempting to catch them in their mouths. A woman I don’t recognize has removed her shirt, and another seems to be missing pants. That’s when I notice my grandmother is wearing two different shoes.
“My baby!” I hear shouted, and Natalie wobbles over to snatch her son out of Alex’s arms. She leans toward both of us. “I figured you were close by. I’m sorry. Someone pulled out a bottle of Hooch and it went downhill fast.” She hiccups, then giggles as she buries her head in Alex’s chest. He smiles down at her, and I can see how utterly besotted he is with his wife.
“Sebastian? What are you doing here?” Isabella asks, coming out from underneath the stairs. Her hair is in disarray, and the near constant dusting of flour is evident on her cheek. I step around the other women quickly, needing to be next tomywoman.
I want to kiss her. I feel like I have to kiss her.
Fuck it.
Sliding a hand into her hair and one around her waist, I tip her slightly as I capture her lips with my own. I love how she sighs into my mouth every time, like she’s remembering once again how spectacular our kisses are and she’s so thrilled to re-live them. The sugared vanilla scent is more potent tonight, mixed with a subtle hint of cherry. Forcing her lips apart with my tongue, the tanginess of cherry bursts onto my tastebuds, and I break the kiss to ask her what it is.
“Cherry for the candy we made,” she whispers breathlessly, and I finally detect her hands wrapped around my neck, her fingers playing with my hair. Staring into her eyes, I feel like I’m finally experiencing the real Isabella.
Wanting to tease her a bit, I say, “Oh? Can I have some? I’d love to try it. I didn’t know you made candy too.”
The panic-stricken expression that covers her face is comical. “Oh, um, they aren’t ready yet. They have to cool. And we only made enough for everyone to take home a portion.”
“Oh. Then I’ll wait until you bring home your portion.” I raise my eyebrows as I smile innocently at her.
“I don’t bring things home myself,” she stammers. “I eat so many sweets here that I never bring them home.”
I lean in and smile. “Liar.”
Her eyes dart behind me to see Alex, and he throws me under the bus. “He knows you make dick shit for this disaster of a book club.”
Isabella lets out a sound of indignation as she steps back fromme and slaps my arm lightly. “You jerk! How long were you going to let me go before you told me the truth?”
“Probably about the same amount of time until you told me the truth about this book club. I thought it was some boring meeting where you discussed a classical fiction novel. Now I know you’re actually discussing some good old fashioned cliterature. Tell me, baby, did you have a favorite scene from this month’s book that you’d like to recreate at home? I’m all for promoting reading.”
A slow smile spreads across her face as she bites her lower lip. “I may have a favorite scene, but it involves a knife, so I think maybe you won’t be interested. Although I’m more aggravated about the possibility of ruining a mattress than the actual knife.”
I stare at her as she watches me, her eyes sparkling. “I may need some clarification. There’s a sex scene with a knife? Ruining a mattress, I understand. Is there actual stabbing with the knife? Will one of us bleed? I’m pretty partial to all of my limbs.”
“The mattress gets ruined because of the knife, not because of the sex. Does that make sense?”
“No,” I reply slowly. “Who is this author? Are we sure it’s a romance book? This sounds like a thriller.”
“Well, there are some deaths, and the mafia is involved, but yeah, it’s a romance book.”
“Author, Isabella.”
She sighs. “Navessa Allen. The book is calledLightsOut.”
Pulling it up on Amazon, I say, “Oh, there’s an audiobook? I like that even better.”
“The audiobook is phenomenal. And there’s a cat. But I really think you may want to read a different book. This one is … dark.” Isabella looks at me tentatively, and I can read the nerves on her face. I slide my hand around her waist, palming her ass as I pull her toward me.
“I want to read whatyouread, baby. And now I need to know how the mattress gets ruined by a sex knife.”
She bursts out laughing, throwing her head back. I love this side of Isabella, the carefree woman who trusts me enough to show me her real self. “I don’t think I can view that scene the same now, knowing it’s a sex knife.”
“I’ll let you know what I think of it, once I get to the scene,” I murmur, leaning in to peck her lips with a quick kiss. “So how does this shindig end? Do you have to kick everyone out? Anyone we need to drive home?”
“Oh, I assumed I’d get a ride with someone, or get an Uber,” she answers.
I shake my head. “Why do you think I’m here? I’m perfectly capable of taking my woman home, and I can drive anyone else that needs a ride.”
Her lips twitch with a cute smile. “You really are a sweet man underneath this bad boy exterior, aren’t you?”
