Summer Heat (Wyoming Fever Book 2) by Elizabeth Lennox (books for new readers TXT) 📕

leading the way as she realized that there was a wonderful smell coming from the kitchen.  Had Jade come over early?

But she stopped in the doorway when she spotted Arik.  He was freshly showered and almost naked!  Okay, not naked, but he’d only pulled on his jeans, leaving the rest of his magnificent body bare. She drank in the rippling muscles along his back and his arms as he puttered at the stove.  Her eyes moved lower, her mouth watering at his tight butt, long legs, and…bare feet.  Goodness, he had sexy feet!

Sexy feet?  Mentally, Sage chided herself.  The guy didn’t have a shirt on and his feet were what she thought was sexy?  The reality was that the whole freaking package was sexy!

“Have a seat,” he called over his shoulder.

Sage jerked her gaze away from his…uh, feet…and looked up at him.  His back was still to her at the moment, so how had he known she was here?

“Breakfast is almost ready.  I raided your fridge.  I hope you didn’t have plans for any of the ingredients.  If so, I’ll hit the grocery store and replace everything.”

He turned slightly, sliding an enormous omelet onto a plate.  He nodded towards her sun-drenched dining area.  “Sit down.  I’ll bring this to you.”

Suddenly shy, she padded over to the table, realizing that she hadn’t thought to put shoes on either.

“This smells incredible,” she gushed, looking down at the plate that Arik set down in front of her.

“Good.  Eat.  You look hungry.”  He took the napkin and spread it out over his lap, then looked up at her.  She was too busy staring at his bare chest.  Okay, so her eyes weren’t drinking in the chest as much as the muscles and the light coating of hair on his chest and…hmm…all of him!  He was even better mostly naked than when he had those shirts on that pulled tight over his shoulders.

“You don’t like omelets?” he asked, his fork paused over his own plate.

Startled, she ripped her eyes away from his chest.  “I love them!” she replied, grabbing her napkin and draping it over her own lap.  “I just…” she shook her head.  “I can’t remember the last time anyone but Jade made me breakfast.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Mind?” she laughed.  “Of course I don’t mind!”  How ridiculous!  “Finding a gorgeous, nearly naked man in my kitchen making me break…” she stopped, horrified at what she’s been about to say.  She noticed the sparkle of interest in his eyes and quickly snapped her mouth shut.  After a painful moment when she felt her cheeks threaten to burst into flame, she continued.  “I mean…well, thank you for cooking.  I’m learning, but…”

“I’ll teach you, if you’d like.”

Sage glanced up at him, trying to gauge if he was serious.  He’d teach her to cook?  He’d spend time…teaching her?  “Why would you do that?”

His fork froze halfway to his mouth, the bite of omelet oozing with melted cheese.  “Why wouldn’t I?”

Sage shrugged, stunned and…to be honest…touched, by his offer.  “Because you have better things to do with your time?” she offered as an answer.  “Because I’m hopeless in the kitchen and it’s pointless for me to even try?  Because I should just give up and order takeout or hire someone to cook for me?”

He stared at her for a long moment, then chuckled.  “You have some very odd ideas, Sage.”

Sage swallowed past the lump in her throat.  Her ideas weren’t that odd, she mentally replied.  And they weren’t her ideas.  Those were words that had been spoken to her on several occasions.

“Well, I guess…I just…” she couldn’t finish, her shoulders tightening as the horrible memories washed through her mind.

She could almost feel his mind working, sifting through the clues.  She lowered her eyes, trying to hide the truth from him.  But Arik was too perceptive.  His next words proved that!

“Someone said that you couldn’t learn how to cook, am I right?” he asked, nodding towards her food.  “You’re not an idiot, Sage.”

A warm glow filled her chest with his words.  She looked down at her plate, but she didn’t see the perfectly cooked omelet. Instead, she imagined herself cooking something wonderful!  She imagined having people over for dinner, her kitchen suffused with laughter and excellent food that she’d prepared!

“Are you going to eat that?” Arik gently asked, interrupting her fantasy.

“What?”

“Your breakfast?  Are you going to eat it?”

She blinked at him, still bubbling with excitement at the idea of truly learning to cook.  Then his words broke through the happy fantasy and she jerked to attention.  “Oh!” She looked down at her rapidly cooling breakfast and nodded. “Yes!  Of course!”

She took a bite, then closed her eyes.  “Oh, this is good!”

“Glad that you like it,” he replied with a grin.  “Now, could you explain why you have so many spare toothbrushes in your bathroom?”

Sage looked at him again, startled by his comment.  “Um…well, uh…” she stopped, then giggled.  “You’re picturing me bringing dozens of men back here for raucous sex, aren’t you?”

He glared at her.  “Just answer the question.”

She giggled again, then shrugged.  “Well, I have this thing about my teeth.  I just…I like brushing my teeth.  And I love tooth brushes.  I’m always finding different kinds.”

He lifted a dark eyebrow.  “The one that I used was just a plain, normal toothbrush.”

She shook her head. “I doubt it.  The ones that I love the most are the kind that have a sort of plastic circle in the middle of the other bristles.”  She took another bite.  “I love brushing my teeth with those!  They rub along my gums and make my teeth feel so fresh and clean!”  Sage sighed, just thinking about how much she loved that brand of toothbrush.  “Then there are the natural bristles.  I got one of those last month, but then I started