Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Hart
W hile Sadie gripped her dirty martini between both hands—hands I miraculously hadn’t touched since she’d come over because there was no way I was losing this bet—I returned to the bar and poured myself another scotch. With a tumbler that was several fingers full, I walked back over to her. I knew I was standing too close. My fingers normally had a mind of their own, and there was a chance, without me thinking and unable to stop them, that they’d reach across the short distance between us and graze a part of her.
But I just needed to be in her space. I needed to be close enough that I could smell her with every breath. I needed my lips on hers. Would the martini taste better on her mouth or in a glass? I was fucking desperate for that answer.
Goddamn it, this bet was bullshit.
But there was a prize—a hell of a good one too—and I was going to earn it .
I held my drink in front of hers. “To getting to do whatever I want tonight.”
She laughed. “You mean, to hoping that comes true. We’re not there yet.” She grinned. “Truthfully, we’re not even close to there. But I’ll still cheers to it.”
“You don’t have to remind me of the timeline. It’s going to be the most painful couple of hours of my life.” I swallowed a small amount of the liquor and nodded toward the kitchen. “Go. I need you away from these couches.”
“You’re telling me the counters are safer?”
Her smile was so beautiful; I wanted to eat it off her.
“No.” I dragged my hand through the top of my hair, disregarding the gel that was in there. I just needed to fucking pull something. “So, I’m going to hold this glass and stand on the other side of the island and pretend I’m not stripping that jacket off your body.”
“But you’re mentally stripping it off.”
I moved to the side farthest from her, set the drink on the stone, and flattened my hands on both sides of it. “Mentally, my tongue is on your clit, and there’re two fingers in your pussy, and the only thing I can hear is your screams.” I shook my head. “But we’re not going to talk about that. We’re going to talk about everything but that.”
“Fair.”
With her light-pink nails, I watched her lift the drink to her mouth, her lips surround the edge of the glass, and her throat bob as she swallowed. I didn’t know what it was, but there was something so familiar about it all. Like I’d seen her do the same move before. Which I had, when I had sat in the dining room and she was in the bar of the sushi restaurant.
But was that what I was remembering?
I didn’t know.
She returned the glass to the stone and chewed the corner of her lip. “For the record, I want that mouth. I want that tongue. And I want those fingers.”
My head dropped, and I hissed out all the air I had been holding. “You’re fucking killing me.”
“I know.” She pulled out one of the stools and took a seat. “Let’s shift gears before your hard-on becomes so intolerable that you pounce over the island.” Her tongue tapped her top lip, taunting me. “Something that will kill your hard-on, like … your sister.” She winked. “Tell me about her. Are you guys close?”
“Perfect gear to shift into.” I laughed and adjusted my dick, already feeling my erection start to soften. “Eden’s her name, and, yes, we’re super close. But I’m just as close to my three brothers. Eden’s the youngest—my parents weren’t stopping until they got their girl.”
“Wait.” She leaned forward. “You have four siblings?”
“I do.”
“Holy crap. What’s that like?”
I shrugged. “Exactly what you’d expect. A house full of chaos when we were growing up, kids everywhere, never a quiet moment. We’re probably an even tighter family now than we were back then. I’d say that’s because we’re not under the same roof anymore. Space is a good thing when you have a family that large and you didn’t have enough bedrooms for everyone to sleep in, and there was endless sharing when it came to food, clothes—everything.” I gazed up at the ceiling and across the living room. “We didn’t grow up like this. Or anything that even remotely looked like this.”
She nodded. “I get it.”
I pointed at the glass that framed the view outside even though it was almost too dark to see what I was aiming at. “My brother’s house is straight across the canyon, and another brother’s place is off to the right—both visible from here. Eden and Colson live right around the corner. And what’s funny is that not only are our houses in the same area, but we work together too. I see most of them every day.”
“It’s just my sister, Cat—spelled like the animal—and me and our small family of four. I’m trying to imagine having three other Cats while growing up”—her hands went to the top of her head—“and I can’t. Chaos would be an understatement.” Her eyes were wide and stayed that way. “Where do you fall in the age lineup?”
“Directly in the middle.” I swiped my thumb over the side of my scruff. “Is that what you would have guessed?”
“I haven’t guessed anything. I’m still in shock that your poor mother was pregnant five times and four of those were boys.”
“And each of us was born about two years apart.”
She took a deep breath. “That’s so many months of being pregnant and feeding and changing diapers and—just whoa. I mean, I love it, but it’s still a lot.”
“All the power to the people who want a team of children. I wouldn’t change the way I grew up for anything, but it’s not something I want when I get married. Two is the perfect number, in my opinion.”
“So, you want kids …” Her teeth were back, this time grinding across her bottom lip.
“I do. You?”
“Very much so.” She linked her hands together. “Growing up, I wanted to be married by twenty-five and pregnant soon after so I had my kids young. Not that thirty is old—I’m not saying that at all. I’m also not saying I’m ready to have kids now. I’m just saying life didn’t play out according to my plan.” She glanced down at her fingers. “But I’m honestly so happy with the way things unfolded. It’s just ironic how you have this vision and the path you think you’re on and things never seem to go that way.”
“In my experience, things tend to go better.”
She rubbed the top of the glass with her thumb, and I couldn’t stop watching her fingers, something about them keeping my gaze locked.
“I thought I’d go to the University of Southern California and ended up at Arizona State University—the best decision,” she said. “I thought I’d live in Scottsdale after graduating, and I came back to LA instead—another decision that worked out incredibly well for me.” She smiled. “So, yes, Lockhart, I agree, things tend to go better.”
“You’re a Sun Devil, huh?”
“And proud to be one.” She laughed. “Are any of your siblings married?”
“None of them are.”
“Stop. You’re kidding?”
“No, we’re all single.” I crossed my arms. “Some because of choice, some because they’re married to work, and some, just like me, who prefer playing the field. Or the old me, that is—until I met you and you changed my opinion.” I pushed up the sleeves of my shirt.
“Instead of a one-night-stand kinda man, you’re a two-nighter.” Her expression told me she was challenging me.
“Excuse me, this is night three.” I stretched out my fingers, fucking dying to put them on her, and placed them back on the counter. “And I’m hoping there are many more after tonight.”
She slowly dipped her head in agreement. “How about kids? Does anyone in your family have them?”
“Colson, the second oldest, has a little girl, Ellie.”
“I bet you go wild for her, don’t you?”
My thumbs tapped the stone beneath them. “We all do. There isn’t anything that little one can’t get from us. I’d buy her a car if she asked me to.”
“A car? Hold on. How old is she?”
I chuckled. “Four—and I know it’s extreme, but that’s how much she owns me. There’s no limit when it comes to her. We spoil the shit out of her.”
Her brows pushed together. “Didn’t you say you guys all work together?”
I nodded. “We do.”
“What do you do?—”
The sound of an alarm came through the kitchen, which cut her off and sent me to the oven, nearing where she was sitting.
“Dinner’s done.” I put on the mitts and opened the door.
“I know I haven’t mentioned anything about the scent, but I’ve been breathing it in since I arrived. Whatever you made smells delicious.”
“It’s something I’ve never made before.” I pulled out the large, round cast iron pan and set it on top of the range, removing the foil from the top. I turned a little to the side to show her the masterpiece. “Greek-style meatballs with Parmesan orzo.”
The meatballs were spaced around the pan, the orzo filling the open gaps with slices of lemon resting on top.
“As for the lemon hater, I’m good if it’s a garnish or a hint of a flavor or worked into my cocktail. But for dessert, fuck no.” I laughed as I reached into the oven again and pulled out the foil-wrapped rectangle, placing it beside the cast iron. “A fresh baguette that I even baked myself.”
“It looks amazing, especially for someone who’s never made it before. And freshly baked bread? All right, Chef. I’m impressed.” She raised her hands in the air .
“I came across the recipe a few weeks ago, saving it for the perfect moment. That just happened to be tonight.”
“I’m always hunting for recipes too. Where do you get yours?”
I slipped off a mitt and reached into the drawer next to me and took out a fork, slicing into the side of a meatball to make sure it was the color I was after. Pleased with what I saw, I took that chunk and some of the pasta and held it not far from her mouth.
“I got this one from Dear Foodie.”
She stopped halfway to the tines, her eyes locked with mine. “You did?”
“This isn’t the first recipe I’ve made of hers, and every one has turned out great. Shit, I made her stuffed manicotti a couple of weeks ago for my whole family, and they were blown away.”
Since she still hadn’t moved, I brought the fork even closer to her. She stared at it for a moment before blowing on the meat and parting her lips wider to take it in, immediately covering her mouth after.
“It’s excellent,” she said softly.
“Do you follow her?”
“Who?” She coughed as she swallowed and reached for her drink.
“Dear Foodie.”
“Oh.” She ran her tongue over her teeth and set her glass back down. “Yeah.”
I took the rest of the meatball and popped it into my mouth, the burning worth it—it tasted so good. “That lady knows food. How to make it. Where to eat it. She’s got quite the influence on the food scene around here, wouldn’t you say?” I paused as I reached for two plates. “It’s fucking crazy to me that she’s been able to keep her identity a secret all this time. Everyone wants to know who she is, and no one can figure it out. Genius, if you ask me.”
I set the fork in the sink, and just as I was turning toward her, her hand cuffed my wrist.
Since I’d pushed up my sleeves, the feel of her hot hand made quite the impression. It also forced me to smile.
“Are you sure that’s allowed, boss? I thought this was a no-touching zone?”
She stayed silent as she stared at me.
“Someone broke before me. It’s a fucking miracle.” I laughed.
“I changed my mind.”
“About what?”
Now standing, she pulled at the tie that was knotted at her waist until it was loose, the sides of her jacket then falling open.
“Fuck,” I moaned, taking in her breathtaking body, covered in a red lace bra and matching panties. “That set looks gorgeous on you.”
“I guess I’m the one who can’t wait until after dessert.”
My gaze rose to hers. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying you can do anything you want to me, Lockhart. Starting right now.”