AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Really? Anything?”
It was instinctive to turn my gaze away from her as embarrassment swarmed my chest. The daggers on the bookshelf caught my attention, winking artificial light from the floor lamps around the room.
I nodded toward them. “What about those?”
“I mean, theoretically, you could eat daggers, but…”
“No,” I choked out while setting down my rib. Laughter exploded from me as I plucked a napkin from the desk and dabbed my lips. “I don’t want to eat them. I want to know if you can throw down.”
She chuckled while shaking her head. “I have a busy night.”
“Did I ask if you wanted to do it right now?”
“No, but youimpliedit.”
My eyebrows furrowed curiously while I held her gaze with a dashing smirk, daring her to look away. The way she sized me up and stood her ground when she hardly stood at a whopping height of five feet made my heart flutter. She was a talented chef, too, her playful retorts as sharp as her knives.
What else was she talented at?
I cleared my throat. “Alright, how about later?”
“You have research to do, don’t you?”
“Yeah, that means I have to stay late,” I reasoned. “Which means we can catch each other when everyone goes home, right?”
That adorable smile on her lips inspired me to chuckle. I liked seeing her entertained—and I wasn’t quite sure why yet. Maybe I was just itching to get laid or something.
“I suppose that’s logical,” she stated. “What about Henry?”
“He’s around here somewhere.”
She looked surprised. “You trust him to wander around alone after what happened at the farmer’s market?”
“We’re protected here, right?”
“Yes, of course.” Her expression shifted from amused to serious. “Always. We would never allow harm to come to anyone here.”
I saluted her with a rib bone and said, “Then, I trust him to wander around alone.”
“Does he have a phone? An anklet?” She grinned. “A tracking device?”
“Is that what you think parents do to their children?”
She shrugged as she drifted toward the door. “Hell, I have no idea.”
“Well, I can tell you more about it later.”
“You sure can,” she said with a playful smile. “As soon as you finish your ribs like a big boy, meet me in the basement. I’d give you the code for the door, but I’m not sure I trust you yet.”
She left before I could respond.
That condescending tone should have sent me into an enraged spiral. The moment the words left her lips, my alarms went off, the same ones that signaled the beast breaking out of his cage. But it wasn’t the same fury that would lead to a shift and a fight. It was the sort to inspire an unending lust and a desire to put her in her place—right underneath me.
As soon as she was gone, I turned my ravenous fury to the plate of ribs in front of me. Finishing them off took no time at all, my stomach happy to accommodate more meat. She was right—this was fuel. And I needed plenty of it if I was going to be digging through documents all damn night.
God, she can really cook, I thought while licking my fingers.And she knows how much I want to eat. Most women underestimate my appetite.
My upper back tingled with awareness, inspiring me to turn around and look into the kitchen. Everyone was busy working on this dish or that led by Charlotte, either too absorbed by their work or assured by her that I wasn’t a threat. As nice as it was to be in a place where protection was guaranteed, it made me wonder why they ran their inn this way.
