Free A Needful Heart by J.M. Madden Page A

erection from hell
was interfering with the work he had to do. His brain just wouldn’t
shut off, let alone his body.
    Matt could count on two fingers the number of
women he had ever kissed, and neither experience had ever left him
craving more. It seemed too personal. Off-putting. He’d rather
screw and not deal with all that coddling, girly stuff.
    Gina’s kiss hadn’t had the same effect on him
others had. The touch of her lips had ignited a need he’d never
felt before, and he had thrown himself into it. Hell, he’d have
spread her legs right there on the stairs and blown his nut within
seconds if she’d have continued to kiss him that way. He kept
replaying the scene in his head, going over her every word and
movement.
    It took a long time for the boner to retreat
and for work to continue. His ears were targeted on Gina as she
puttered through the house. She had been gone the better part of an
hour when a mouth-watering smell began to filter through the air.
Other than fast-food, he hadn’t really been around a lot of
cooking, so he wasn’t sure what it was until she brought out a
small plate covered with chocolate chip cookies, and a huge glass
of milk. His gas station breakfast had been hours ago, and he eyed
the cookies hungrily.
    “Thought you might like a snack,” Gina said,
holding the plate out to him. The glass of milk was set on the
hallway entry table, then she turned and left.
    The cookies were still hot from the oven.
Matt broke one open, and the molten chocolate looped down over his
thumb. Raising it to his mouth, he licked it off his nail and
groaned in pleasure. Half the cookie was shoved into his mouth, and
the second half quickly followed. Damn, they were good. Reaching,
he grabbed the glass of milk and chugged some down, then shoved
another cookie into his mouth, whole. This one he savored and
chewed thoroughly before swallowing. The third took a little
longer, and he finally decided he had died and gone to heaven. The
dough of the cookie was fluffy and not too sweet, the chocolate
decidedly on the bitter side. Walnuts added a dimension that was
phenomenal. He’d never tasted anything better.
    The fourth cookie he took even longer time
with, because he knew it was the last. Damn, that was tasty. Unable
to help himself, he headed down the hallway to the kitchen.
    Gina was bent over the open oven door,
pulling out a tray of cookies. There was a row of paper towels
lining her counter, with a few cookies already cooling. She glanced
at him, then down at the empty plate, and smiled. “Liked those, did
you?”
    Matt set the plate in the sink. “I did. Very
much. I think I want to hire you to bake me cookies from now
on.”
    Gina laughed out loud, and it made his gut
tighten with awareness. She began to remove the cookies from the
pan with a bright blue spatula. “I don’t know,” she hedged, setting
the pan on the smooth top. “I have a lot of requests for my
cookies.”
    “I’ll change the oil in your car. Renovate
your house. Replace your roof. Something.”
    Gina laughed and turned to face him, leaning
back against the sink.
    Matt felt his own lips tip up slightly. “You
don’t believe me?”
    “I believe you. I don’t think you have to do
all that, though. I mean, they’re just cookies.”
    Matt abruptly sobered. They were just
cookies, but he was trying to attach a sentimentality to them that
wasn’t there. Nobody had ever made him cookies before. Looking at
her now, he realized she may not have even made them for him.
Ridiculous hurt poured through him as he realized he was acting
like an idiot.
    Gina reached out and rested her left hand on
his crossed arms.
    “Matt, I’ll make you cookies anytime. But you
certainly don’t have to pay me for them. Or roof my house.” A
thoughtful look came over her face, and her eyes twinkled. “I may
let you change my oil, though. I think I’m a few hundred over.”
    A rusty chuckle burst from him, surprising
them both. Gina laughed with