Page 64 of Shallow Remains

She grinned, watched as he deftly pulled a crispy brown waffle from the hot gridded iron with a fork and waved it back and forth for a few seconds.

“This is the key. You gotta make sure you let them cool down so the steam escapes, or they’ll be soggy.” He set it on a plate. He’d made four of them, already had butter and syrup laid out on the counter beside the plates and cutlery.

He seemed at ease as he worked. That he even owned a waffle iron in the first place probably meant he made them on a regular basis. It wasn’t hard to imagine him making them for him and his wife on a lazy weekend morning.

She’d bet he’d been a good husband, wondered what had happened to his wife. There were no pictures of her anywhere. At least not displayed. It seemed strange, but maybe that was partly to help him move on.

“Normally, I’d serve them with berries, but I don’t have any left,” he said, setting the waffle on a plate.

“It’s okay. They smell amazing.”

“You want eggs with them?”

“No, this is plenty. Thanks.”

He looked over at her. “Eggs and waffles can’t touch?”

“They shouldn’t.”

The corner of his mouth tipped up. “Got it.” He turned off the waffle iron.

Maddy eyed the breadth of his shoulders as he finished readying everything, the way his back tapered down to his waist.

He’d taken her in when she was vulnerable. She had fully expected to lose her virginity when she’d gone to his bed last night.

Instead, he’d given her unbelievable pleasure and taken nothing in return. She couldn’t imagine many men in his position would have done the same, and now he was feeding her, taking care of her at the most basic level.

If this was some strategy to make her want him more, it was working. Big time.

Feeling a little giddy with the power of having the right to touch him, she walked over and slid her arms around him from behind. Lachlan stilled a second, then turned around and took her hips in his big hands while his eyes searched hers.

Unsure what he was looking for, she cupped the side of his face in her palm and lifted up to kiss him.

With a low, hungry sound, he curved an arm around her hips and pulled her flush to him as he deepened the kiss. A powerful wave of arousal swept through her, starting an ache between her legs.

The tip of his tongue touched hers. Retreated. She followed, wanting more.

His hands tightened on her hips. Squeezing in a possessive way that thrilled her. But a second later he made a negative sound and broke the kiss to stare down at her. “I have to be out the door soon, and I’m not doing this until I can take my time with you.”

The heat smoldering in his eyes as he said it was unmistakable.

Maddy stared back, at a loss. He should write a book about how to make a woman want you. It would be an instant bestseller.

He groaned and gave her a quick kiss, then a little push toward the island. “Let’s eat.”

She sat in the same spot as last night and ate a waffle. It was crispy, not too sweet, and delicious. “This is the best waffle I’ve ever had.” She still wanted to peel his clothes off though.

“Ever? You need to get out more.”

He meant it as a joke, but he wasn’t wrong. “You’re not good at taking compliments, are you?”

“Not really, no.”

“Me either.”

“I’ve noticed that. Maybe if I give you enough of them, you’ll start to get used to it.” He made short work of both waffles on his plate, then quickly opened his laptop, which was sitting on the end of the island. It seemed like he was trying to cross-reference something on it and his phone.

She swirled a bite of waffle through a puddle of maple syrup on her plate. “What are you working on?”