It was the second time he’d reached for Kate and neither of those times she’d returned the gesture. Another person would have reached out, caressed his skin in some way, mistakenly thinking contact was his love language. But it wasn’t. And there was nothing worse for overwhelming his senses.
Kate had offered to help him when she didn’t have to; sending his clothes to the dry cleaners and giving him time to compose his thoughts were the things he valued. That was why he was now tucking her hair behind her ear—he didn’t crave touch, but she did.
“Are you hungry?”
“Si.”
“I’m sure I have fixings for vegetarian pasta or we can order in.”
“I love vegetarian pasta!” She sat up, dislodging her hair from his fingers.
Spencer chuckled, sure there was nothing about eating vegetarian that she loved.
“Wow, my mom would drool over this kitchen.”
A few minutes later, the pasta was cooking. Everything they needed for a butter garlic sauce was on the counter.
“I found shrimp,” he said, dropping the frozen pouch into the sink of warm running water.
“How old is that shrimp?”
“Not that old.” Suddenly he wasn’t so sure. He used a service to restock his pantry when it looked empty, but most of his meals were catered from a local restaurant where he knew the head chef.
“If I die, I fully expect you to resuscitate me,” she said, grating fresh garlic into the simmering butter.
Nutty aroma filled the kitchen as the garlic cooked. Herbs and a squeeze of lemon juice were added to the mixture. Placing the defrosted shrimp into a strainer, he rinsed them before tossing them into the butter garlic sauce.
“No one is dying, but I will hire a chief tomorrow if you’d like.”
She looked at him with wrinkled brows. “You would hire a chief to save me from eating expired shrimp?”
“It’s not expired,” he growled. “And yes.” He’d hire a full kitchen staff if that meant she’d eat with him.
She whistled. “You sure know how to sweep a girl off her feet.”
“Are you swept off your feet, Kate?”
The oxygen left the room. He was acutely aware of the hollow pit in his stomach and the clenching and unclenching at the base of his spine. It was a presumptive question. A dangerous question. Somewhere between leaving his office and cooking dinner, Spencer gave her the power to reject him. He had no idea what he had hoped to accomplish, but he hadn’t expected vulnerability.
She moved close enough to share body heat. Face tilted upwards, eyes locked on his. “Papi, I’ve been swept off my feet since I first laid eyes on you.”
His dick hardened.
“Kiss me,” she begged.
Halfway to bliss, he asked, “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she breathed.
The initial sample of her mouth shouldn’t be quick, it should be savored.The first brush of lips was soft as he teased hers with his.
“Ay papi, kiss me.”
Those words were his undoing.
CHAPTERSIX
Kate