Crista McHugh - The Sweetest Seduction

He narrowed the space between them as though they were two opposite poles of a magnet, the force too strong for him to resist. “I think I might have an idea of what you’re talking about.”

She licked her lips, a seductive move he’d seen dozens of women practice in his presence, but with Lia it seemed to be unconscious. “Oh?”

God help me, does she have any idea what she’s doing? He was close enough now to catch the faint scent of peaches that rose from her skin. His cock throbbed. He hadn’t been this worked up about a girl since high school. He dug his fingers into his palms to keep from acting like a complete Neanderthal and kissing her right there.

A loud burst of laughter came from the dining as though his brothers could see his predicament through the wooden door. His desire doused, he took a step back, painfully aware of the confused set of her mouth as she watched him. “Let me help you carry the next course out.”

She blinked several times before she murmured a choked “Thank you,” and grabbed three of the plates.

He took the other two and followed her into the dining room, setting one in front of his mother before putting the other in front of his chair. His mind felt fuzzy, like he’d had too much to drink even though he hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol. Sweat pricked the back of his neck. As long as Lia was in the kitchen, he needed to stay out.

“You okay, Adam?” Dan asked from across the table, one brow raised.

“Yeah,” he replied, flicking out his napkin and placing it on his lap. “Just peachy.”

Lia pressed her palms to her cheeks to cool them. What the hell had just happened? One minute Adam seemed to be coming on to her, and then—BAM!—he was backing off like he’d just learned she carried the plague.

She pulled the chicken breasts she’d prepped out of the fridge and pounded them with a mallet. It didn’t matter that she’d already flattened them out to the half-inch thickness she needed for the recipe—it just felt good to hit something.

Even more frustrating was her reaction to him. Normally she would’ve considered a guy getting that close to her an invasion of her personal space. Instead, she had to fight the urge to wrap her arms around his neck and reel his lips toward hers.

“It’s just because he’s a good-looking man and I’ve been celibate for longer than I care to admit,” she whispered as she coated the chicken breasts in breadcrumbs and laid them in the sizzling pan. “I don’t have time to get mixed up with anyone, much less him.”

Of course, if he scratched her itch and got it out of her system…

Don’t even go there. Adam Kelly fell into the damn sexy category with those piercing blue eyes and dark hair, but experience had taught her men like him were incapable of staying true to one woman, and she had no desire to be the other woman. She was better off focusing on dinner and not allowing herself to be distracted by him.

Fifteen minutes later, she’d plated the next course and was ready to deliver it to the Kellys. Once that was done, she only had to prepare the dolce and pack her things up. Over. Done. Far away from Adam Kelly and back home where she could dream up tomorrow’s special for La Arietta.

Her resolve crumbled the moment she felt his eyes on her. He followed her every movement as she placed the secondo in front of his brothers and removed their prima plates. When she finally got to him, her stomach was tied in knots.

“This looks delicious,” he said, but he wasn’t looking at the food.

Her skin burned. “It is,” she managed to say before her hands started shaking.

“I’ll take that.” He reached up and took the plate from her, his hands brushing against hers and doubling the intensity of the throbbing heat in her lower stomach.

She bit back her yelp, releasing the plate as though she’d been zapped by a jolt of electricity.

“Don’t let Adam scare you,” Caleb said from across the table. “He always gets what he wants and isn’t afraid to grab it.”

Always got what he wanted, huh? Would he follow her into the kitchen again and grab her? He continued to watch her, perhaps hoping to catch some sort of invitation from her. If she gave it to him....

Nope, not going there. Not even going to indulge in the fantasy of it. She would be professional and treat this as though the Kelly family were guests in her restaurant.

She wiped her hands on her apron as though she could remove the memory of his touch. “I hope you enjoy it. Be sure to leave room for dessert, though.”

“I definitely will.”

Oh, dear Lord, the way he said the words almost had her wanting to offer herself for dessert. Would he continue to have that low rumble in his voice as he tasted her skin?

She couldn’t escape to the kitchen quickly enough.

* * *

Guilt tightened Adam’s chest as Lia bolted for the kitchen. He hadn’t meant to scare her away. Perhaps he’d read her wrong earlier. Maybe she was some sort of reclusive spinster who freaked out when a man touched her. The idea still barely tempered the strong pull she had on him every time she entered the room.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into Lia tonight,” her mother was saying. “She’s normally so friendly, always ready to join a conversation.”

“It probably didn’t help that Adam yanked his dinner out of her hands,” Caleb replied. “Nice manners, bro.”

“I was only trying to help. It looked like her hands were full.” And she was about to spill everything on me.

“Perhaps you should apologize to her.” His mother said the words with a sweet smile, but the tone was the same one she used when she would suggest he go to his room and think about whatever naughty thing he’d done as a child.

He eyed the door to kitchen as though it were a gateway to hell, a place of never-ending torment. “I’ll give her a few minutes to settle down. Besides, I want to enjoy the food while it’s still hot.”

Once again, Lia’s dish surprised him. It was a thin, breaded chicken breast, but she’d topped it with arugula, cherry tomatoes, and some sort of cool lemony mustard sauce. The combination of flavors and textures produced the same balanced harmony he’d come to expect from her cooking. He devoured it, sopping up the last drops of sauce with the warm bread that had been sitting on the table.

“I’m sure Lia would love to hear how much you enjoyed the meal,” his mother said before he’d finished chewing. In other words his time had run out, and unless he came up with another excuse, he was bound for the kitchen.

“Yes, Mom.” He stood and stretched, doing everything he could to delay the inevitable torture that awaited him on the other side of the door. He could be an adult and ignore the inner hunger that plagued him. As long as he didn’t look at her, didn’t allow thoughts of how wonderful her curves felt, didn’t wonder how her lips would taste, he’d be fine. After all, she was just one of his mother’s friends.

He opened the door and peeked into the kitchen. Lia stood in front of the island, drizzling a bright pink sauce over little bowls of pale orange gelato. When she finished, she squirted some of the sauce onto her finger, the tip of her tongue darting out to lick it off.

Damn, didn’t she know never to do that in front of a man? “Can’t resist your own cooking?”

She jumped, her eyes wide, the sauce smearing along the side of that luscious mouth. “I just wanted to make sure the flavors had had time to meld.”

“Uh-huh.” He approached her slowly, each step a measured act of control. “And have they?”

She back away until she hit the opposite counter. “Have they what?”

“Melded together?” He was right in front of her now, desperately fighting the urge to taste the sauce lingering on her lips for himself.

Her tongue flicked out again, removing some of it. “I think so.”

Before he knew what was happening, his thumb was on her cheek, cleaning away the sauce she’d missed. Her breath hitched when it traced the edge of her bottom lip. It was so soft, so full. Practically begging to be caught between his teeth as he kissed her.

Instead, he withdrew his hand and tasted what was on his thumb. Raspberry, with a hint of rum and mint. “I agree.”

The tension eased from her shoulders. “I’ve paired it with cantaloupe gelato.”

That’s right—focus on the food, not her. “Interesting combination, but then, I’d expect nothing less from you.” The compliment came easily. His gut unclenched. There. He could have a conversation with her without being ambushed by sexual thoughts every three seconds.

“I hope your family will like it, too.”

“I’m sure they will.” Despite his reassurance, she still squirmed against the countertop, reminding him why he’d come back into the kitchen in the first place. “I wanted to apologize if I’ve done anything to make you uncomfortable tonight.”

“I suppose it’s like your brother said—you’re used to getting what you want.” A hint of a challenge edged into her voice. “But then, I should’ve expected that from someone like you.”

“Someone like me?” He crossed his arms, refusing to give an inch until he got to the bottom of this. “And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“Just that. You’re rich, handsome.” His ego preened until she added, “I bet you thought I’d fall all over myself to get your attention.”

“Excuse me?”

She brushed past him and placed sprigs of mint in the bowls. “Let’s face it, Adam. We’ve both been tricked here because our mothers think they know what’s best for us when clearly we’re two very different people.”

Her dismissal stung, leaving him scrambling to defend his pride. “Perhaps, but you of all people know that sometimes two very different things work well together.” He picked up three of the bowls and held them out to her to prove his point.

She met him dead on with a bluntness he wished he’d gotten earlier. “Are you saying you find me attractive?”

“I think that’s pretty obvious.” And if it wasn’t, he’d gladly give her proof.

A rich shade of pink stole into her cheeks. “You certainly have an odd way of showing it.”

“It’s kind of hard when you have my mother, my brothers, and Jasper all interrupting.”

That earned him a laugh. Her eyes flickered to him, then looked away. She tucked a curl behind her ear. “I don’t suppose there’s a place we could go where we wouldn’t have to worry about interruptions?”

His cock jumped to attention, and his mouth went dry. Was this the invitation he’d been waiting for? He racked his mind for some place they could go before settling on the boat. “Care to meet me on the dock in a couple of minutes for a sunset cruise?”

“Sure, so long as my mother isn’t in a hurry to get back to Chicago.”

“Doubt it—she and my mom have been talking bridge strategies all night.” He carried dessert into the dining room with a new spring in his step. By the end of the evening, he’d finally get to the bottom of his strange reaction to Lia and perhaps satisfy his curiosity about how her lips would feel under his.

“Everything all right, dear?” his mother asked.

“Just fine, Mom. I offered to take Lia on a quick spin around this part of the lake.” He turned to his brothers and silently added, Alone.

Dan nodded. “Good idea. I’ll have to leave soon anyway. Call and all that.” He held up his pager as if to prove his point, but more likely, he wanted to get back to whatever nurse held his fancy.

“And I need to call Kourtney,” Caleb said, earning an almost imperceptible frown from their mother.

Adam definitely needed to find out what had happened in Florida before his brother left for Afghanistan, but that could wait.

Right now, the closest thing to a date he’d had in the last six months was waiting for him by the boat.

* * *

Lia tiptoed toward the dock, scared one loud sound would have Jasper after her again. But as she got closer to the boat, a whisper of doubt echoed through her mind. What the hell am I doing here? I’m going out there, alone, with a sexy man who will probably have me wanting to toss my panties overboard in a matter of seconds.

In his defense, though, Adam had been a gentleman...so far. Perhaps all he wanted to do was chat.

So why did that leave her disappointed?

The sun sat low on the horizon, painting the clouds pink and orange and turning the water into fire. If Adam wanted to take her on a sunset cruise, it would be brief one. Night would be here soon, meaning she’d have to dodge deer on that gravel road in pitch-black darkness on the way home.