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“What are you doing?” Sam asked.
“Just come with me.”
He got out of the bed, pulling his pants back on. It occurred to her that he didn’t remove his shirt again. That was strange, but she decided not to make a big deal about it.
Instead, she grabbed her duffle bag and led the way back to her apartment with him following close behind. Sam hesitated at the entrance of her apartment, but she waved at him to come inside.
It felt good to be back in her own apartment. She felt tension bleed out of her at the sense of security that came from being here. Had it really only been two days?
Going into the kitchen, she started pulling ingredients out of the refrigerator to throw together a simple dish for them. Pasta, tomatoes, garlic, and parmesan cheese. It wasn’t going to be fancy, but she could make this fast, so it would do.
“You can sit,” she told Sam, who was still standing in the living room. He seemed more uncertain than she’d ever seen him. “I’m starving, so I’m going to whip something up and youdoneed to have a home-cooked meal.
“Are you offering to cook for me?”
She smirked. “Maybe.”
Sam sat down and she started to grate the parmesan cheese. “I can’t say that I expected this,” he said.
“Well, if we’re going to talk about surprising each other, I’m pretty sure that you’ll win.”
“It’s good to see that you can laugh about it.”
Lexi rolled her eyes. “Don’t get too far ahead of yourself. All is not forgiven.”
“But you’ll give me a chance to make it up to you?”
“I’ll consider it.”
She turned to grab a bowl from the cabinet, but it was on the top shelf. She reached above her head and popped up on her tiptoes, but the thing was just out of reach. Then, she felt the warmth of Sam’s presence directly behind her. He moved in close to grab the bowl for her, and she turned around, her pulse racing at their closeness.
She licked her lips, and his eyes tracked the movement as he looked down at her. She leaned forward, but before he could kiss her, the sizzling sound of water boiling over onto the hot stovetop distracted them. Sam stepped away and she rushed over to take care of the pot of water.
As she finished the sauce, she dipped a spoon into it and held it out for Sam as he sat back at the island. “Here. Try this.”
He blew on it without taking it from her hand. He looked at her as he tasted the sauce, letting out a satisfied moan. “Delicious.”
It was shocking how similar the look on his face was to the one that she saw when he raised his head from between her legs earlier. Liquid heat ran through her veins, and she was tempted to take him to her bedroom for another round between the sheets, but the hunger in her stomach needed to be taken care of first. She focused on finishing the meal, adding the pasta to the sauce and stirring it all together. She added the parmesan to the top once the pasta was divided onto two plates.
They didn’t talk much as they ate, and it was a relief to no longer fight with him. He devoured the food with a ferocious appetite that brought pride to life in her chest. She loved to see people enjoying her food.
When they were both done eating, he gifted her with a grin. “That was delicious. I might have to come to the restaurant sometime.”
He stood and came around the island where she stood to eat. His hand cupped her cheek, and this time, his lips connected with hers. It was a softer kiss than they’d shared before, sweeter. She melted into it, pushing aside everything that had happened over the last few days, just for a moment. She meant what she said before. He would have to find a way to make this all up to her, but right now, she just wanted to enjoy this moment with him.
When he pulled away, he pressed his forehead to hers. “I’ll see you around, neighbor.”
He walked out the door, and she let out a long exhale.
Wow.This had been a hell of a couple of days, and not at all the way she imagined spending her time off work.
Loading up the dishwasher, she went to the purse to check her phone. She had a few unanswered texts from her best friends in Misso City, Isabelle and Kay, but it was nothing urgent. She winced when she saw that she also had missed calls and texts from Travis. Her big brother’s messages went from casual to concerned over the course of the last two days, and by the time she read the last one he sent, there was an unmistakable note of panic.
She wasted no time sending him a quick text, letting him know that she was fine and that she’d call him tomorrow. He would surely demand an explanation for her being unreachable for so long, so she’d have to come up with something, anything but the truth. If she told him that Sam kept her locked up for two days, she had no doubt that her brother would come here to kill him.
She didn’t want that. She loved her brother and she had feelings for Sam. Pitting them against each other could be devastating.
It was tempting to do something to celebrate her freedom from that small bedroom, but she was too tired for that. Changing her clothes, she crawled into her own bed, wondering where things were going to go between her and Sam now that she wasn’t his captive.
