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“So I’ll cook, you work. Then we can celebrate your progress by getting naked and dirty.”
“Don’t turn that offer down, honey.” Destiny strolled past, a take-out smoothie in one crimson-tipped hand.
“She won’t,” Jake assured her with a wink.
“Good to know the rose quartz is working so well.” Destiny’s eyes twinkled. “I won’t bother trying to convince you of the benefits of red jasper, though if you’d like to give it a try, I can hook you up.”
“We’ll keep that in mind, thanks,” Callie said.
“Should I ask what red jasper is for?” Jake asked, as they started toward their cars.
“It’s a crystal intended to prolong sexual excitement and ‘energize the sacral chakra,’ to use Destiny’s words. It also increases male virility.” She nudged him in the side. “Clearly you don’t need that, stud.”
Jake wasn’t above looking rather pleased with himself over that compliment.
They both got into their cars and returned to Callie’s house. After leaving her purse on the front table, she changed into comfortable clothes and got to work on her proposal. Jake disappeared into the kitchen, and the sounds of running water and clinking pots and pans drifted into the bedroom.
It was nice. Cozy. The kind of change she could get used to very quickly.
The kind of change she couldn’t expect.
She focused on her work and made good progress before Jake called her in for a dinner of roasted chicken, still sizzling and popping, and rice pilaf. Meals with Jake were another welcome change from Callie’s usual evenings alone with a kale salad. She tried not to think that she might very well be back to that scenario after he left town again.
“Where did you learn how to cook so well?” She ate another piece of the juicy chicken.
Jake shrugged. “When I’m not working, I tend to stay home so I guess I just picked it up over the years. I like food.”
“I like your food.”
“I like watching you eat my food.”
“I like the way your hair falls over your forehead.” Reaching across the table, she brushed his thick hair back.
“I like your ass.” He lifted his eyebrows.
She chuckled. “I like full moons. Wait a minute. Why did a remark about my ass make me think of a full moon?”
“Because both are perfect.” Jake winked at her. “I like bonfires.”
“I like plot twists.”
“I like Christmas decorations.”
“I like the Beatles.”
“I like us.”
“So do I.” She likedthembest of all.
After dinner, Jake sent her back to work on her proposal while he cleaned the kitchen and caught up on some reading. He came into the bedroom a couple of hours later and kissed the back of her neck as she sat at the computer.
Callie stood with welcome relief and stepped into his open arms. He enclosed her in a warm, strong embrace that felt as if it had been made just for her.
Being in Jake’s arms was like coming home after a long day and putting your feet up. It was like putting in the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle or feeling the sun warm your chilled skin. It was like waking at dawn and watching the world come to life.
She lifted her face at the exact moment he lowered his head. Their lips touched lightly, retreated, and touched again before settling into a kiss that grew in intensity. She opened her mouth to let him in, her arousal increasing with every tease of his tongue.
With their lips locked together, she worked the buttons on his shirt and spread her palm over the sculpted perfection of his chest. Hot anticipation swelled inside her. She let her other hand drift down to the fly of his jeans and gave the buttons a few ineffectual tugs.
