Free Loving the White Liar by Kate Stewart Page B

help?” I poked as he looked at me in all seriousness.
    “I’m particular about a lot of things.”
    “I can see that,” I said with amusement as he poured us each a glass of wine.
    I busied myself slicing vegetables for the skewers as he prepped the filet for the fondue pot. I caught him looking over my shoulder a couple of times and looked at him in puzzlement when he lingered over me a little longer than necessary.
    “Something I can help you with, Jayden?”
    “Like this,” he said, scooping up a mushroom and pulling the stem off. I looked at the pile of mushrooms I’d already cleaned then back at him.
    “Sorry,” he said, rushing off into the living room with his wine, clearly embarrassed his OCD was showing.
    Shaking my head, I laughed and resumed my prep, doing it his way. When I emerged from the kitchen, I damn near dropped my tray of veggies. Several candles had been lit all over his living room while The Beatles serenaded us softly. He dimmed the lights a bit and walked over to refill my wine before taking the tray out of my hand.
    “This is...awesome,” I noted as I took in the feast before us. He smiled, seeming pleased with himself as I sat down on a large pillow he’d laid out for seating next to the large coffee table. He built a few skewers of meat, putting them into the pot along with a few of the vegetables. I watched in awe as he sat back, sipping his wine, watching his handiwork boil in the hot oil and bouillon mix.
    “Why are you single?” I hadn’t meant for the question to come out. He seemed taken aback by it ,and I tried to recover with another question. “I mean, when was your last relationship?”
    “It’s been a long time,” was all he gave. He pulled a piece of cheese and fruit from one of our trays and popped it into his mouth then leaned over and offered me the same. I leaned in after chewing and swallowing and pressed my lips to the side of his mouth gently.
    “Her loss.” Jayden looked at me then, his eyes growing warmer as we clinked glasses and drank on our silent toast.
    “I could ask the same about you,” he said in a low whisper.
    “I decided not to settle a long time ago. I’m still single as a result of it.” It was a good answer, short and to the point. I wasn’t worried about how he would interpret it. He had his list; I had mine.
    “Three years ago,” he confessed as he pulled a skewer from the boiling fondue pot. “How do you like your steak?”
    “Medium rare. A year.”
    He grinned. “Me too.” I was suddenly confused with our overlapping conversations. We were sitting close, but in that moment I had to have more. The wine, the music, the candles, just the...man. I wanted him and I needed him to know it. Setting my glass down, I carefully shifted to straddle his lap.
    “Hil—”
    I cut him off with my mouth as I swooped in, lips wet, imagination on fire, and clear need in my kiss. His hesitation vanished as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me tighter to him as he kissed me back, full force. Our tongues tangled in a hungry conversation as our bodies aligned perfectly. I pulled back on a plea. “Jayden.”
    “God, me too,” he conceded as he pushed me down beneath him, only pausing to take out the vegetables that were cooking and replace them with new skewers. I chuckled up at him as he grinned down at me.
    “Multitasking?” I cooed as his eyes turned hot on me.
    “Didn’t know I was capable until this moment,” he said as his lips descended, covering mine. A soft moan escaped me as his hands traveled and explored underneath my t-shirt. I writhed beneath him as my lips whispered a confession to his that I wanted this with him and I never wanted it to stop.
    He continued kissing me as I slipped my hands under his shirt to let my fingers explore his impressive chest. My gasps became more frequent as he lifted my shirt, pulling down my bra. Soft lips and tongue covered every inch of my chest as his hand slid beneath my jeans and