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“Yes,” I breathe without conviction. He isn’t playing fair.
“Are you sure?” he asks, nipping the nape of my neck.
“Maybe,” I whisper. God, the things this man does to me.
He spins me around so I’m staring into his cobalt blue eyes. Leaning down, he brushes his lips against mine. “Good,” he murmurs. “Just checking.” With that, he releases me and heads back toward the counter. Closing my eyes, I release the breath I was holding. “Now, back to my lesson.”
“Fine. What do you need me to do?” I ask, resigned.
“Just watch and learn.” Placing a cast iron skillet on the gas range, he turns on the heat. “See that plate over there?” He motions his head toward the counter. I nod. “Coat it with crushed pepper.” Doing as he says, the plate is now covered in pepper. “Okay. Lightly salt the steaks, then place them, one at a time, in the pepper until they are coated, then flip and repeat.” Taking the tongs Chase hands me, I flip the steaks on at a time. “Bring them over here, please.”
I walk the plate over to where Chase has the hot skillet waiting and place the two steaks in the pan one at a time. “So, now what?”
“How do you like your steak cooked?”
“Medium rare. You?”
“Medium, but depends on the steak,” he answers, his eyes twinkling. “For a medium rare steak, they need to be cooked four minutes on each side.”
Once finished, he places them on a plate, which he then tents with foil. “What’s next?” I ask.
“Now, we make the sauce,” he says, reaching behind him for what looks like miniature onions. He minces them and tosses them around in the pan, coating them with the fats from the steak.
“What were those?” I ask.
“Shallots,” he answers. Placing a pat of butter, he stirs the pan. “Hand me that bottle of brandy, please?” he asks, pointing behind me. I hand Chase the bottle and he pours it into the hot pan before pulling out a match and lighting the brandy on fire. I jump back, ready for the kitchen to go up in flames. Turning to me, he bursts out laughing, but I don’t see the humor in the situation. His pan is on fire. “Scared you, did I?” he asks, a huge smile still on his face as he turns off the heat.
“What the hell was that?”
“You’ve never seen anyone do that?”
“No,” I mutter. He’s still chuckling. “It’s called ‘deglazing the pan’. Also, by setting fire to the brandy, you are cooking off the alcohol, but leaving the flavor.” Now I feel stupid. Turning to the refrigerator, he pulls out a container of heavy cream and pours it into the pan. “I’m going to turn the heat back on now, it’s called ‘reducing’,” he says in his teacher voice.
After the sauce starts to thicken, Chase splashes more brandy into the pan and dips his finger in to taste. Nodding his head, he’s satisfied. “Wait, that’s it?”
“Yup, easy right?” Wow. I thought for sure it would be way more complicated.
Chase pulls two dishes out of the warming drawer, one filled with mashed potatoes and another with broccoli. Scooping the sides onto dinner plates, he takes the steaks from out of the foil and positions them over the potatoes before drizzling some au Poivre sauce over the steak.
“Mmm, it smells amazing.”
“Take a seat at the island, I’ll get some silverware.” Placing the plates on the counter, he reaches over to get us silverware as I pour us each a glass of Syrah from the decanter on the table. Chase takes a seat next to me, handing me my eating utensils.
“So, do you think you could make this again?” he asks.
“Yes, seems pretty straight forward,” I say, smiling. Cutting into my steak, it is cooked perfectly. It tastes as good as it looks, and the Syrah goes perfectly with the meal.
“Good. As much as I love going to dinner, I love intimate meals at home so much more.” His words are soft and seductive. Yes, this is much better than being crammed into a busy restaurant.
“Me, too. I’m honestly looking forward to more lessons.” That makes Chase smile.
“I am happy to oblige.”
After dinner, we both relax on the couch, too stuffed to move. I snuggle into Chase’s side, his arm around my back. Besides the amazing sex, this is the part of our relationship I love; that feeling of being comfortable, just relaxing in each other’s company and not being compelled to say a single word. Picking up the remote, we settle in to watching one of my favorite shows.
As soon as I get home from work Friday evening, Chase is already waiting for me. I jump in the shower and change quickly. Once I’ve made myself pr
esentable, he leads me out the door toward his building. Tonight, I meet his mother.
