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“What’s with the S-shaped tray? It was murder getting them out and onto the plate.”
I shoot him a side-eye. “Actual death occurred?”
“Well, not exactly.”
“There’s a trick. I was going to do it myself, but I got distracted.” Distracted by not wanting to follow him into the kitchen and lick his neck.
He leans in closer. “What’s the trick?” His words are a caress across my cheek. Goose bumps roll over my skin, and I hope his voice drowns out the sound of my sigh. I glance around to see if any of my siblings notice what I feel sure is my pre-orgasm face, but they’re all busy doing various dinner prep activities.
Blinking myself back to semi-consciousness, I try to recall the answer to his question. “Um, the pan has a flexion to it. You twist, and they spring free.”
“Flexion. Twisting. Got it.” He smirks like I’ve just propositioned him. Maybe to a physicist, I’ve done it without realizing it.
“Anyway, I hope you like the end pieces. That’s the whole point of that pan. My family has kind of a thing for the edges.”
He inhales, eyes locking on mine. “Actually, I’m more of a fan of the soft center.”
It’s not just me, right? Brownies as innuendo?
My skin is so hot that I wish I had on another layer just so I could take it off. While I’m considering that, Colin’s hand slides over my thigh and rests there. I almost jump out of myskin, surprised and turned on at the same time. His hand barely moves, and my skin dissolves beneath the fabric of my dress.
“I…um…”
It’s pointless to try to form words.
“Yes?” The smirk hasn’t left his face. He fully sees how he’s affecting me, and instead of removing his hand, he inches it higher up my thigh.
“Is this…are we doing…this? Here?”
He nods. Slowly.
His hand moves down toward my knee, and every part of me wills him not to remove it. Maybe this is a friendly gesture, except the playful glint in his eyes tells me he knows exactly what he’s doing. Right here. With my four siblings on all sides.
“I’m doingthis.” His hand drifts higher, and my core clenches. “Unless you don’t like it.”
I shake my head. Then I nod. I’m like a bobblehead with no sense of direction.
“I like it,” I whisper, looking around to see if anyone notices how close Colin is sitting. Beatrix and Dash are still in the kitchen, and Fiona is holding court with the other adults, so they’re distracted. Archer glowers at his orange fingernails while he talks on the phone, which keeps him busy for the moment.
Making a mental note to get my niece a dozen new bottles of nail polish, I silently thank her for keeping everyone busy enough so I can have this moment.
That’s all it is, right? A stolen moment. A moment of crazy flirtation. A momentary lapse of reason because Colin can’t possibly be trying to feel me up on the patio of my brother’s house with everyone right here.
Or maybe he can be. And maybe that’s exactly what I want.
“Good,” he says, his head tipped low so I’m the only one who can hear him. “Because I haven’t been able to stop thinkingabout you for days. And I think I’ve done a pretty damn good job of resisting you, but I can’t do it anymore.”
I’ve stopped breathing. I force in a whiff of air just in order to stay alive.
“Okay.” I sound like I’m agreeing to a chess rematch. “So stop resisting.”
Feeling emboldened, I move my hand to his thigh, muscular and hard the way I imagined it would feel. His quad muscle flinches, and he inhales a slow breath as though calibrating his response.
And yet…as much as I desperately want him, I don’t want just a hookup. A week ago, I felt differently, but now that I’ve gotten to know Colin, I want something else from him, something he may not be able to give me. But I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t ask.
“I know this may sound crazy since I’ve been trying to jump you for a week, but I’d really like to take this slow. I don’t just want a hookup,” I tell Colin.
I half-expect him to growl in frustration, but he sighs. Maybe that’s the same thing.
