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Breck shifted on his stool. “You, ah, need any help?”
“Nope. But thanks for asking.” Kai opened the fridge and started pulling things out. Chopped-up vegetables. Precooked rice. Several bottles of sauce. A couple of eggs. Butter. And last but not least, the various proteins he’d purchased earlier that day. He looked at Breck. “You good with seafood?”
Breck smiled. “Absolutely.”
Kai nodded and emptied the rice onto one side of the teppan. On the other, he dumped his pre-chopped veggies.
Breck’s grin spread wider, his golden eyes glinting as he watched him. “Feels like I’m at a Japanese steakhouse. Got one of those poofy, white chef hats by chance?”
Kai smirked and grabbed a stainless-steel spatula. “Why? Into roleplay?”
Breck blinked, then coughed another laugh. “Uh…” He sat up straighter and rubbed his thighs. “Not exactly where I was going with that.”
Kai grabbed an egg. “Butareyou?”
Breck’s next laugh sounded strangled. “No idea. I’ve never tried it.”
“Hmm. I wouldn’t say that’s true. Didn’t you and I do a bit of roleplaying last time you were here?”
Breck stilled. Did his cheeks just flush?Clearing his throat, he fought back a smile. “Yeah, I guess we did.”
Kai slid him a grin and bounced his egg atop his spatula, then turned said spatula sideways and let its edge slice the egg in half. Its contents fell cleanly onto the cooktop.
Breck’s brows rose. “Damn. Check you out. I’m a little impressed.”
Kai smiled roguishly. “What a pity. I was going for a littleturned on.”
“Ah,” Breck chuckled. “Well, see, nowthatwill depend.”
Kai lifted a brow. “On?”
“How well you pull off the onion volcano.”
Kai laughed and cracked a second egg, scrambled and chopped both up, then scooted them off to the side. Salt and pepper on the veggies and rice. Then he grabbed out a grilling fork. “Prepare,” he murmured, “to be aroused.”
Breck grinned, looking entirely entertained. Kai’s heart thumped.God, that genuine smile. It was damn near devastating. He forced himself to focus and turned back to his work. Not that his awareness wasn’t still fixed on Breck. Because it was. And no doubt, it’d remain that way until Breck walked out the door.
Taking the onion slice he had waiting in the wings, Kai separated its rings with his fork and spatula, then stacked them atop each other, biggest to smallest. Breck watched his every move intently. Kai savored the weight of his steadfast stare. Grabbing some oil, he filled his onion volcano. It sizzled and popped. He dug out a lighter, then a bottle of vodka from a nearby cabinet. Pouring it atop the oil, he positioned the lighter. Met Breck’s gaze.
Breck’s lips curved, eyes flashing. “Do it.”
Kai grinned and flicked the flint, which ignited the vodka, which ignited the oil. Mini flames erupted, bursting out of the top.
Breck laughed with another of those heart-stopping smiles.
Jesus. The sound of his joy. The sight of his cheer.
Kai’s heart thumped faster, his whole body tightening.
Breck was far too gorgeous for his own good—not to mention Kai’s.
Tamping the urge to stalk around the island and tug him close, Kai forced himself to concentrate on the task at hand. “How’d I do?” he drawled, quartering the smoking onion. “Was I successful in turning you on?”
Breck shifted on his stool again, his grin turning boyish. “I may have been somewhat affected.”
Kai chuckled and slid the onion aside. This energy between them… It felt really good.
Twisting around, he turned off the heat to his kettle, then oiled up the remainder of the cooking surface. On to seafood. Two slabs of salmon and a pound of shrimp. Letting them cook, he jazzed up the rice and then tossed in the eggs, rice popping and dancing atop the surface as metal clanged.
