He hadn’t budged a fucking inch.

Glaring at myself in the mirror, I tried to push down my mounting frustration. The woman who stared back at me had tried to fight fire with fire… and lost.

Badly.

Walking out in my underwear and teasing him was meant to dominate the situation. I knew what I wanted, and I knew how to take it if he wasn’t willing to give it. But I made the mistake of forgetting that I wasn’t dealing with just any guy.

Grizz always took control.

My opponent was the man who had every inch of my body memorized. I knew he was more than willing to push the line. Every time I met him, he’d push it harder, no worse for wear.

I walk out in tight panties… he rips off his boxers. I join him in the shower… he starts jacking off.

The rest of the day was even harder. Grizz went on with his business as if nothing even happened, although the smug grin on his face said otherwise.

While he was doing his thing, I needed a distraction – and fast. Given that place was a wreck, I dedicated myself to the complete abolishment of all grime and disarray in our new home.

Besides, taking care of that would make me feel like I’d earned myself some time here, which was really important to me.

There were some cleaning supplies shoved away under the sink, with an ancient vacuum, broom, dustpan and brush in the utility closet. Armed with these tools, I set about scrubbing down every surface that wasn’t a wall or a door – those would come later.

The spare bedroom was crammed full of boxes, so I just shut the door on that and left it as it was.

Grizz seems okay with the couch.

He can deal with this if he wants the room.

The stove had a fresh lease on life after I bleached away the yellowing stains along the white veneer. Leaving drains and sinks to soak in the cleaner’s equivalent of megaton bombs, I emptied the vacuum bag into the huge trash bin outside and gave the few parts with carpet a proper once-over.

As for the hardwood that dominated the floors, I settled for the broom. Windex hit the windows. Disinfectant coated the countertops. Cleansing wipes rubbed the doorknobs and drawer/cabinet handles.

It was nice to have something to do that got my mind off of him… and his hard, naked body pressed against mine…

Goddammit, Kate. Get your shit together. Get it all together and in a backpack, all your shit, so that it’s together…

No matter how I berated myself, or tried to focus entirely on scrubbing surfaces, tossing expired food, deep-cleaning the refrigerator, and organizing cupboards, I just couldn’t keep the bastard off my goddamn mind.

I was going to have to win our little battle of the wills quickly, because the sexual tension was unreal. I’d been keeping up a brave face before, but he’d taken damn good care of himself since leaving my life.

It wasn’t fucking fair.

Men aren’t supposed to be that hot.

Especially not the ones who break you.

By the time he finally came home a few hours later, bags of groceries dangling from his clenched fists, I had pulled the entire place together into far more livable condition.

He paused while unloading groceries onto the kitchen counters, gazing around the room.

“What’s the matter?” I asked, chilling out on the sofa with a beer.

“You cleaned.”

“Yeah, I did. Problem?”

“Not at all,” Grizz replied, glancing over at me with a warm smile. “Was gonna scrub this place down over the next few days. You really saved me a lot of trouble. Looks awesome in here.”

“Yeah,” I replied, taken slightly aback. “Spent the whole time working on it. Glad you noticed.”

“Thank you, Kate.”

I turned away, happy but mildly embarrassed. Sure, Grizz had always been considerate, but had been rare that he ever gushed with praise like that.

“Was thinking steaks for dinner.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

He started loading up the refrigerator while I flipped between the basic channels on the television. I figured it was stolen cable, given Gladys’ approach to everything else involving this house.

“So, what were you out doing all day?” I called out over my shoulder at him, noticing how quickly it had turned dark outside.

“Getting a lay of the land,” he answered. “Took some time to learn Metairie. Drove into New Orleans. Figuring out the lay of the city.”

“Figure out if this place is where you want to bring your club?”

“Not the right time for that yet.”

I smirked. “Seems like nothing’s the right time with you.”

Grizz glanced up, annoyed for a second. I’d gotten under his skin, which I liked. “I can only reach my contact out here on Wednesdays. I have to wait several days before the ball gets rolling. Till then, I’ll be spending most of my time right here.”

Several more days in close proximity to Grizz…

I crossed my legs and turned back around. Desperately, I hoped to hide the way that my core flared up at the thought of being stuck with him.

There wasn’t much further to go after “fucking ourselves together in the shower”…

Grizz focused on cooking, and I focused on thinking about just about anything else than him. Soon, the smells of freshly seared steak started wafting into the room, and I noticed how my mouth watered.

There’s another piece of his meat that my mouth could water for…

I almost slapped myself for that one.

After about forty minutes in the kitchen, Grizz called me over for dinner. I realized that I’d barely eaten all day – just some leftovers for breakfast. My work had built up quite the appetite, so I was pleased that he’d picked up the big steaks at the store.

I sat down at the rickety little dining table at the edge of the kitchen. Grizz had cooked us a steak apiece, along with fully loaded baked potatoes, buttery steamed broccoli, and plenty of garlic bread.

“You were always nuts about garlic bread,” Grizz spoke as I started cutting into the steak. I knew he loved his meat damn near raw, but he cooked mine medium well for me.

He didn’t even complain about “ruining the steak” like he used to.

“You still remember how I like my food,” I blurted out a little more emotionally than I wanted.

Goddammit, Kate, pull yourself together.

“Of course I remember,” Grizz answered. There was tenderness in the way that he looked at me, and I felt my face start to redden under his gaze.

“Yeah, well… it’ll take more than that to get into my pants again,” I smugly retorted. “More than a good meal, no matter how delicious it is.”

“So you do enjoy it?”

I was taken aback. “Of course I do.”

“Good,” he let out a sigh of relief. “Glad that it’s to your liking.”

I nodded, taking another bite.

Silence came over us while we ate.

But tonight, it wasn’t as awkward a silence as the night before. This time, we were comfortable. We didn’t have to fill the air with blurted confessions or small talk.

After we finished our food, I took our paper plates away while Grizz rose to wash the cookware.

“Don’t worry,” I told him. “I’ll get them.”

He glanced over at me. “Are you sure?”

“Well, yeah,” I replied. “After all… I guess I’m kind of just living here with you. It’s the least I can do. Hell, I should have been the one cooking.”

“I like to spoil you,” he said. “Besides, you cleaned the place up for me.”

“Yeah, well…” I pushed him aside. “Go sit down. Pick a decent channel or something. I’ll fix it all up in here and join you.”

Grizz didn’t argue.

He gave me a warm smile, before settling down on the couch with the remote. While he did that, I started setting leftovers aside in the tubberware abandoned to us, then scrubbing the pots and pans.

When I was done, he was stretched out against the arm of the couch, remote still in his hand. The credits to a movie were shrunk down on the screen during a commercial, and it looked like another one was about to start.

I glanced over at the comfy chair, where I’d been sitting earlier. It looked inviting.

But there was lots of space on the couch next to him, and just because I wasn’t fucking him didn’t mean I couldn’t sit with him.

Right?

I plunked myself down next to him on the couch, noticing with a hidden grin that he straightened up slightly.

There were maybe a few inches between his hip and mine. It would take no effort to just brush up against him, or pretend to stretch and close that distance…

But I resisted the urge, and a film started.

Although, I couldn’t help but grow a little tired as the film went on, and I eventually realized that I was curled up against him, his eyes focused on the screen but his arm around my shoulder…

His warmth was only causing me to doze off harder. My eyes finally started blinking shut, and a large smile crossed my lips.

Admitting it to myself was hard, and I hated doing it, but I was the happiest I’d been in a damn long time.

I smiled harder.

Damn you, Grizz Hawkins…