Grill Me, Baby (37 page)
Authors: Sophia Knightly
“Hey.” He frowned. “You don’t have to justify yourself to me. You’re over eighteen, right?”
She stared at him blankly.
“Merle, please tell me you’re over eighteen.”
She laughed. “I’m twenty-five, but thank you for the compliment.”
“And you’re single?”
“Yes.”
“So am I—so we don’t have to explain ourselves to anyone. What two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own…tent is nobody else’s business.”
She smiled. “You have a great attitude to life.”
“It’s got me into trouble a few times.”
“I can imagine.” She looked at her hands. “It’s just…I don’t want you to think I do this all the time. I’m not a hussy.”
He grinned. “You think I’m insulted at your forwardness? Merle, you’re young, you’re beautiful, you’re feeling horny and you chose me to help you out? Hey, I’m stoked!”
Merle couldn’t help but laugh. Bree had been right—he
was
nice as well as hot.
She met his warm gaze and her heart thudded. What should she do now? Did he want her to take her clothes off? She was too nervous, plus she wasn’t sure she had enough room to remove them.
He reached up and leaned over her, and for a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. But he rummaged around in a bag at the end of the tent, and when she looked, she realised it was a small cooler. He extracted two plastic cups and a bottle of wine and held them up, raising his eyebrows. “Fancy a glass?”
She grinned. “I thought you were on duty tomorrow.”
“Oh, I’ll only have a splash. It’s more to set the mood than anything.”
He wanted to set the mood? She felt strangely touched. He wasn’t just going to jump on her then. She took the cup he offered and held it up as he opened the bottle. There was so little room they had to manoeuvre around each other, making them both laugh.
“Cheers,” he said once they’d tipped an inch into the two cups.
“
Skål!
That’s Swedish.”
“
Skål!
” They clunked cups and drank.
He looked at her, smiling. Her heart—which had been beating pretty rapidly all evening, increased in pace. His hair was ruffled and he had a scattering of sand on his arms. He was
gorgeous
. And he was looking at her as if she were covered in maple syrup and he wanted to lick it off. She couldn’t believe her luck.
“Are we really going to have sex?” she said before she could stop herself.
He laughed and fixed her with a hot gaze. “Absolutely.” He pointed to the tent zip. “I’m not letting you out of there until I’ve seen you naked.” His eyes twinkled. “As endearing as those pyjamas are.”
She poked her tongue out at him. “I may have to leave them on, anyway. I have no idea how I can possibly get undressed in here.”
“I’m getting you out of those if I have to cut them off.” He finished his wine and threw the cup in the cooler. “Okay that’s it, I’m getting too hot.” He grasped the back of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head. With no room to move his arms, however, he got stuck halfway and she had to help him out with the final pull.
Laughing, he ran a hand through his hair and then pulled her tight against him. He lowered his lips to hers, and electricity zapped through her from the base of her spine to the top of her head as she inhaled. It was nothing like the kiss on the beach. That had been slow, tentative and exploratory. Now she felt the full heat of his passion, the kiss searing her lips, his tongue hot and insistent, sweeping hers firmly.
Exhale, exhale
,
you can’t breathe in continually or you’ll hyperventilate
. But it was hard to catch her breath. She’d never been kissed like this in her life. How could she compare this to the fumbling advances of Simon, or the wet, selfish kisses of Phil? That would be like trying to compare a four-course gourmet meal with school dinners.
Remembering something, she pulled back, placing a hand on his chest. “I forgot.” She slipped her fingers in the pyjama pocket on her breast and pulled out a condom. “I thought we might need this. I stole it from Bree’s purse.”
He stuck his hand in his shorts pocket and pulled out another. “Hey, snap! I stole this from Jake.” He winked at her. “Now we can do it twice!”
Grill Me, Baby
Sophia Knightly
The heat is on…
Raised among women who taught him to cook at his family’s Buenos Aires restaurant, master chef Paolo Santos deftly works his culinary wiles—and his gypsy charm—on posh Flamingo Island’s female clientele.
The tastiest tidbit on the island, though, is cool, elegant Michaela Willoughby. The redhead’s slender curves are as enticing as her rabbit-food menus are maddening. And she’s his main competition for the chance of a lifetime.
Michaela overcame her own weight issues to become Flamingo Island’s premiere spa chef. Now she has a chance to share her innovative recipes for healthy living on a new cooking show—if she can somehow outshine Paolo. His sizzling, Latin-lover looks are more heart stopping than his decadent cooking. And she’d love nothing better than to stick a fork in his outsized ego.
When the stage lights ignite, so does the competition…and a sexual chemistry no one—least of all Paolo and Michaela—saw coming. Suddenly, separating business from pleasure is as impossible as separating a scrambled egg. And the big question isn’t whose knife cuts fastest…it’s whose heart can take the most heat.
Warning: Contains two hot chefs duking it out in a lively showdown of sexy rivalry. Mix in family drama, luscious recipes and spicy mischief, and there’s more than just steam rising out of the kitchen. May cause lusty cravings for midnight indulgences.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Grill Me, Baby
Copyright © 2012 by Sophia Knightly
ISBN: 978-1-60928-754-2
Edited by Tera Kleinfelter
Cover by Scott Carpenter
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: June 2012
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