The shirt slipped off her shoulder again. She tugged it up with a half laugh and a mild oath and dumped a cup of flour into the bowl. She felt him move to stand behind her. She kept her head down, concentrating on the batter. His breath fanned across her neck and tickled her ear bringing a rash of goose bumps out on her skin. She continued to whisk the contents of the bowl.
His hand brushed her shoulder. More goose bumps appeared. He slipped two fingers under her bra strap. Her breath caught. Blood rushed to inappropriate parts of her treacherous body. Get a grip! she chastised herself. She tightened her grip on the whisk.
"It's purple." His voice sounded like it had been roughened with sand paper.
"What's purple?"
"Your bra..." His fingers slid back and forth in a tiny caress between the satin of the bra and her skin. He shifted so that there was nothing but sparks separating them. "I wouldn't have pegged you for purple."
'Ah... um," Peyton swallowed hard and put the bowl and whisk on the counter in front of her. This man was turning her into a blithering fool, she thought. "I, uh, like all colors. I even have a fuzzy leopard one."
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that he would let the comment pass.
"Fuzzy leopard, huh? You are just full of surprises."
The minuscule distance between them closed and her back was pressed against his chest. His hips and thighs pressed against hers. She shuddered as his lips grazed her neck. He brushed a feather light trail down her neck and back up again. He nibbled along the shell of her ear until he captured her earlobe between his teeth. He sucked gently before releasing it.
Then he stepped back. The delightful pressure of his body, the warmth of his breath was gone. She shivered once before whirling around to face him, fully intending to rip into him for playing games with her. The biting comment stuck in her throat when she looked at his face.
He had backed up to lean on the opposite counter. His hand was unsteady as he scooped dark hair off his brow. It was his eyes, however, that made her pause. Emotion, hot and bright, filled them and darkened the silver of his iris to something closer to melted metal. As his eyes held hers, her breath quickened and her blood resumed its rushing.
"Why are you over there?" she asked in a voice that sounded all husky and low.
"I promised to be on my best behavior. I didn't want to push my luck." His eyes never left hers. The heat in them made her mouth water.
"What if I -," her voice faltered. She swallowed and summoned her courage. "What if I want you to push it?"
"I would say that you have to be sure that you can push back." The flame in his eyes kicked up a notch.
They studied each other, neither of them moving or speaking. Peyton reached around to release the apron strings at her back. She slipped the strap over her head and tossed the cloth onto the counter. He clutched the counter at his side with white knuckles, but didn't move.
With her chin raised, she crossed to him. She slid her hands up his chest, reveling in the solid heat beneath her palms. She linked her fingers behind his neck and moved forward until her stomach was pressed against his. She matched her thighs to his. He still gripped the counter.
Sending up a silent prayer that she wouldn't make a fool of herself, she nuzzled his neck. His scent, spicy and masculine, swamped her. She kissed her way up and down his throat in the same way he had done to hers. His breath caught, but he still didn't touch her. She nipped at the underside of his jaw. A low rumble started deep in his chest. She pulled back to meet his sterling eyes.
"Consider this my push," she closed her eyes and met his lips with hers. He let her control the kiss, opened to allow her questing tongue full access to him. She slid her fingers into the cool, silky mass of his hair and wiggled her hips against him.
He groaned. And then his hands were on her- one fisted in the shirt at the small of her back, the other at the base of her neck. Now she was the one to relinquish control. She went limp against him as he plundered.