Turbulent Intentions

Page 39

Before she was able to clean it up, he leaned more into her and swept the drops of wine away, his rough finger rubbing against her bottom lip for a moment before he lifted his hand and sucked his finger into his mouth. He held her gaze captive, his lips far too close to the edge of her own.

“Mmm, pretty tasty,” he told her with a low growl that instantly had her wet and wanting.

“Yeah . . . it’s pretty good,” she said, her voice husky.

She clenched her thighs together as she finally managed to turn her face forward. His breath heated her neck as he reached for a stick of butter on the counter and then finally walked away.

She didn’t breathe for several moments. When he turned and looked at her from the safety of the other side of the kitchen island, the knowing light in his eyes alerted her that he was very aware of what he was doing to her. Stormy’s eyes narrowed in frustration.

But she couldn’t seem to stop his flirting or the reaction she had to it. He continued moving over to her side of the island, touching her while he finished up, and she was a wreck before she’d had a single bite of his delicious meal.

Cooper brought out the food and placed it on the table, then pulled the chair out for her to sit. Before her was a platter of barbecued steaks, corn on the cob, and mashed potatoes with gravy. Yum. She was so happy he hadn’t made something with snails or fish eggs.

Barely having an appetite now, she took her time folding her napkin on her lap as she waited for him to dish his plate up.

“Dig in before it gets cold,” he said when she didn’t move.

“I thought I’d wait for you,” she said.

“There’s plenty here. You don’t have to worry about me getting enough,” he told her with a laugh.

She began serving herself and the smell of the steak was mouthwatering. Grilling wasn’t one of her strong suits, so she always enjoyed a perfectly cooked steak. If only her stomach would quit turning, she might enjoy the meal.

“What was your day like?” Cooper asked as he dug in to his meal.

“It’s been a good day, very busy,” Stormy replied as she took her first bite. Yep. Delicious.

“Really? What did you do?”

Stormy played with the food more than she ate it as she tried to form words on her seemingly swollen tongue. When his foot touched hers beneath the table, she visibly jumped before locking her feet to the floor. She didn’t look up at him this time, knowing she would see that same confident smirk on his face. She chose not to react to his blatant touches.

“I got a job today,” she said.

“Really? That’s great.” He didn’t seem to be anything less than genuine, which made her continue.

“Yes, at a diner here in town,” she told him. “The Devoted Kiss Café.”

“I’ve eaten there a lot. They serve a great panino,” he told her.

“I will have to try a few of them so I can let the customers know what’s good,” she said. “I know it’s just a waitressing job, but it’s a paycheck,” she added.

“A job’s a job,” he said, already halfway through his steak. She’d only had a few bites of hers.

His foot swept across hers again, this time drifting over her ankle. She looked at her steak like she was expecting it to come alive and begin mooing at any moment. She pushed herself back a little bit so it wouldn’t be so easy for him to keep touching her.

“Well, there are certainly some better than others. I used to want to design jewelry,” she admitted.

He didn’t say anything and she was curious enough to glance across the table at him. The interest in his eyes made her glow inside whether she wanted to or not.

“Really? That’s fantastic,” he said. She was shocked by his reaction.

“Most people I’ve ever said that to sort of roll their eyes,” she said with a laugh, like it didn’t really matter.

“Why? You obviously have talent,” he told her.

“How would you know that?” She didn’t share her designs.

“I’ve seen your sketches in the garbage can,” he said with a wink.

She gasped. “You’ve dug through the garbage?”

“I’ve been trying to figure you out. You’re very secretive.”

“It’s just a dream. A silly one.”

“I think we all start with a dream. It’s those who are brave enough to make their dreams realities who change the world.”

She sat there considering his words, and then she smiled. Wouldn’t it be amazing for her dreams to actually come true? Suddenly embarrassed to be the center of attention, she decided to change it back to him.

“I’m sure flying jets is pretty exciting.”

He paused as if knowing exactly what she was doing. But thankfully, he allowed her to get away with it.

“Yes, I’ve loved to fly since I was young. I’d go with my uncle Sherman a lot and I got the bug. My brothers and I all did.”

“You have brothers who fly, too?” she said. “Dang, you must break quite a few hearts.”

“Nah. We don’t have a lot of time for women, not more than a night. There’s a difference between being in a committed relationship and having a woman for a night. You either choose to fly or you choose a life,” he said.

“There are lots of pilots with families,” she told him.

“Yeah, and there’s a lot of cheating pilots, too,” he said. “I wouldn’t ever want to live that way.”

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