Kate laughed. “I bet.”
Rowan took Kate by the hand and led her into the kitchen.
“Are you ready for your cooking lesson?”
“You know,” Kate said, trying to think of a way to get out of showing Rowan just how helpless she was in the kitchen, “I think the burger and skewers were enough for me. Why don’t we save the cooking lesson for another day?”
The amused expression told her Rowan saw right through her excuse.
Rowan stepped forward until she was just a breath away. “I promise, I’ll make your time in the kitchen enjoyable.” Her voice, low and husky, sent a shiver up Kate’s spine.
Kate swallowed. Hard. Able only to nod.
Rowan smiled in victory and started pulling ingredients out of the fridge and cupboards.
“What is it we’re making?” Kate asked, apprehensive about this whole endeavor. She was certain Rowan would say some fancy French dessert she wouldn’t even be able to pronounce, let alone make.
She was surprised when Rowan answered, “How do chocolate cookies sound?”
Kate tried to hide her relief. Cookies sounded entirely manageable. “You had me at chocolate.”
Rowan laughed. “Yeah, I figured I couldn’t go wrong with chocolate.”
Rowan pulled out a pot, which she handed to Kate. “You can fill this with about two inches of water.”
Kate took the pot, already confused. “I’m fairly sure I’ve never made cookies in a pot of water before.”
“You’re going to have to trust me.” Rowan’s eyes shone.
Kate did as instructed, and Rowan pulled a large metal bowl out from one of her cupboards.
Kate watched as Rowan turned on the stove, set the pot of water on it, and then set the metal bowl on top of the pot.
“This is our double boiler,” Rowan said. “We’re going to melt the chocolate in here. The double boiler helps keep the chocolate from seizing so we can melt it smoothly.”
Kate heard a lot of words she did not fully understand, but melted chocolate sounded good to her.
Rowan passed her a spatula and opened a pack of bittersweet chocolate, which she broke into chunks and added to the bowl.
“Your job is to stir the chocolate occasionally as it melts,” Rowan said.
She nodded. That seemed easy enough. Nevertheless, she held the spatula tight in her hand and stared at the bowl with an intense focus.
Rowan added a splash of coffee liqueur. “For flavor.”
Kate stirred the chocolate as it melted, carefully scraping it from the sides of the bowl, to ensure it all melted at the same time. As she stirred, Rowan stepped behind her, pulling her close and lightly kissing her neck. She let her head fall to the side, and Rowan kissed up her neck to her jaw before lightly biting her earlobe.
She closed her eyes while Rowan’s tongue brushed over her ear. She was hyper aware of Rowan’s hands as they slid into her pockets, resting against her thighs, which burned beneath the fabric. Rowan’s hot breath against her ear sent a shiver of pleasure through her.
“Don’t forget to stir,” Rowan whispered before stepping back and releasing her.
She groaned. “You’re evil, Rowan Barnes.”
She bit down on her lower lip as she stirred the chocolate that was starting to melt more rapidly in the bowl.
“You told me you hated cooking. I’m just trying to make the whole experience more enjoyable for you.”
She turned to Rowan, who was feigning total innocence. “Uh huh, that’s all.”
Rowan nodded earnestly.
Kate rolled her eyes and tried to focus on stirring the nearly melted chocolate and not on the attraction that coursed through her body.
Once the chocolate was fully melted and smooth Rowan pulled it off of the heat and turned the stove off. She pulled the spatula from the bowl and let a drop of the chocolate hit her finger, which she popped into her mouth, nodding in approval.
Focus, Kate told herself. She took the spatula and did the same thing, surprised at how the coffee liqueur, even such a small amount, shone through.
“God, that’s good,” Kate said.
“Of course it is,” Rowan answered. “Can you ever really go wrong with melted chocolate?”
She pretended to think for a moment. “I guess not.”
Next Rowan got out her stand mixer, and added eggs and sugar, setting the mixer to whisk the two together.
“We’ll just let that whisk for a few minutes before we add the chocolate,” Rowan explained. “We want it to get really light and airy. In the meantime, you can help me add the dry ingredients to the food processor, to combine all of those.”
Rowan got out measuring cups and spoons and told her how much of each ingredient to add. Then she turned on the food processor, blending all of the ingredients into a fine powder.
“Are you ready for the secret ingredient?” Rowan asked.
“You’re going to let me in on the secret ingredient?”
“I am,” Rowan nodded with a very serious expression on her face. “But I’m trusting you to keep it a secret.”
Kate placed a hand over her heart in vow and said, “I swear, I will protect this secret ingredient with my life.”
Rowan laughed and pulled down a small glass bottle of chili powder.
“Okay,” Kate said, “now you’ve lost me. Chili powder in a cookie?”
“Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.”
Kate was skeptical, but said nothing, helping Rowan measure the chili powder into the food processor, and watching as Rowan blended it all together.
“Some of the best combinations are discovered by people mixing two things that shouldn’t go together, but somehow perfectly do.”
Kate looked at Rowan, the city girl from Portland, who was somehow her perfect match, and she couldn’t argue.
Rowan had her scrape the melted chocolate from the bowl into the stand mixer, and once that was all mixed together she added the dry ingredients.
She watched as it all came together. Rowan turned off the stand mixer and used the spatula to scrape the edges and bottom of the bowl, making sure everything was mixed together.
Rowan showed her how to roll the cookies into balls and set them on the baking sheet. Then, once all of the dough was rolled into balls, Rowan slid the tray into the oven and set the timer.
“And now we wait,” Rowan said.
“That wasn’t so bad,” Kate admitted.
“Just wait until you try them,” Rowan said. “You won’t be able to tell people you can’t cook anymore.”
“Well, technically this is baking, isn’t it?”
Rowan rolled her eyes. “And you say I’m the stubborn one. Next time, we will cook a proper meal and not eat hamburgers and skewers beforehand.”
Kate laughed, fully aware that her cheekiness had earned her a second cooking lesson. “I should have stopped while I was ahead.”
“That’s generally good advice,” Rowan said with a smirk.
She stepped closer to Rowan. All of the reasons they shouldn’t be together seemed so distant to her now. The fears that Rowan was going to go back to Portland were muted. All that was left was the desire.
She traced her fingertips up Rowan’s arms. She watched Rowan’s gaze drop to her mouth. The air between them buzzed with anticipation.
She tilted Rowan’s chin up with one hand, brushing her thumb over Rowan’s lips before capturing those lips with her own. Her hand slid to the back of Rowan’s head, her fingers tangling in Rowan’s short hair.
Rowan responded by opening her mouth to Kate, letting out a soft groan as Kate claimed her with her tongue.
Kate allowed herself a moment to get lost in the sensation of kissing Rowan and then pulled back just a breath.
“Should I stop now while I’m ahead?” she asked in a whisper.
“Don’t stop.” Rowan’s breath hitched.
The words emboldened Kate, and she leaned down and kissed Rowan’s neck, taking her
time to trace her tongue across Rowan’s skin. She had no intention of stopping this time. She moved slowly. As slowly as she could stand, eager to repay the torture Rowan had inflicted while they were melting the chocolate.
She pressed Rowan against the counter, placing a hand on the counter on either side of her, while she slowly kissed Rowan’s throat, pushing aside the collar of her shirt for more skin. It was still not enough. She wanted more.
She eased Rowan’s shirt up, and Rowan helped shrug it off.
She took a moment to allow her gaze to trail down the soft expanse of Rowan’s chest before leaning down and kissing her collarbone. Rowan’s skin was even softer than she had imagined it would be, and her quiet sighs only heightened Kate’s need. Slowly, she worked her way down, her lips brushing over the tops of Rowan’s breasts.
She gasped as Rowan’s hands slipped under her shirt, and danced up her spine, sending a shiver down her back that settled between her legs. She tried to maintain control, but Rowan’s hands teased along the bottom of her bra, and before she knew it Rowan was backing her against the counter and pushing her shirt up, gently biting her nipple through her bra.
She groaned and arched her back, only distantly aware of a beeping sound in the background and Rowan pulling away.
She reached for Rowan, wanting Rowan’s mouth back on her.
“Cookies are ready.” Rowan laughed, giving Kate a quick kiss and pulling an oven mitt out of the drawer.
Kate ran her hands through her hair, trying to steady her breathing and return to the present. Cookies. There were cookies to focus on.
Cookies were about the furthest thing from her mind.
❊ ❊ ❊
Rowan would have been content to let the cookies burn. Pulling away from Kate to take them out of the oven had taken all of her willpower. As she set the tray of cookies on top of the stove to cool, Kate slipped her arms around Rowan, hugging her from behind.
“They smell amazing,” Kate said with a sultry timbre in her voice and warm breath that hit Rowan’s neck and settled low in her body.
“They need to cool before we can eat them.” Rowan turned in Kate’s arms, so they were face to face a breath apart. A breath too far.
Kate stuck her lower lip out, and Rowan fought the urge to capture it between her own.
“What will we do while we wait?” Kate asked, the question heavy, spoken low.
Rowan ran a hand down Kate’s side. “I can think of a few things.”
“Is that so?” Kate arched an eyebrow and quirked one corner of her mouth upward. The anticipation, the hope, the desire Rowan saw in that gaze knocked the air out of her chest.
God, she wanted Kate. The air between them buzzed with electricity. She had wanted Kate since the day they met, but even once she had learned Kate was gay, even once they’d started dating, she’d known not to push things until she could prove she wasn’t going to leave the next morning. Kate wasn’t the girl you slept with and never called back. If Rowan was going to make love with her, it had to mean something, and if it was going to mean something, then Rowan needed to be ready.
Standing in the kitchen and meeting Kate’s summer-green eyes, which shone beneath the overhead kitchen light, she knew she was ready for it to mean something.
Kate’s eyes sobered with understanding as Rowan held her gaze.
“Please,” Kate breathed.
Rowan felt the word, as sensuous as any touch. She swallowed hard and took Kate’s hand to pull her to the bedroom.
Kate moved to the bed and sat on the edge while Rowan went around the side to turn on the little lamp on her nightstand, illuminating the room in a soft, warm glow. The light caressed Kate, highlighting every curve and angle. She took a moment to memorize the image before she went to Kate, sitting next to her. So close that she could feel the heat of Kate’s body, while not yet touching.
Slowly, almost reverently, she tucked a loose strand of Kate’s rust-red hair behind her ear. She grazed her fingertips over Kate’s jawline before tracing down her shoulder and arm, resting on her thigh. She wanted to touch all of Kate, to explore every dip and hollow.
The want expanded from Rowan’s chest, compressing her lungs. She needed Kate like air.
Kate gazed at her, green eyes dark with desire, and that was all she could take. She leaned in and brushed her lips across Kate’s, feather light but enough for the spark between them to ignite, burning up any remaining hesitation. Simultaneously they moved into one another, deepening the kiss, lips and hands and bodies fighting for control.
She grabbed Kate’s hips, as though she could anchor herself, but Kate arched her body into Rowan, and she felt the room tumbling away.
When Kate took Rowan’s lower lip between her teeth, she inhaled sharply before reclaiming control and deepening the kiss. She could hear their ragged breathing, could feel her heart boxing in her chest. Someone let out a guttural moan, but Rowan wasn’t sure who it had come from.
Kate dug her fingers into Rowan’s bare back, sending heat down her spine to her center. She needed more, needed Kate closer, needed to feel Kate’s skin against her.
She caught the hem of Kate’s tank top in her fingers and tugged upward.
Kate broke the kiss to shrug off her tank top, and Rowan took in her perfect, smooth skin in the soft light. Kate’s body was toned, muscles visible from the heavy labor the ranch required.
Rowan grazed her nails across Kate’s stomach and marveled at the ripple of muscle in response.
“Rowan,” Kate moaned softly. “I need you.”
Rowan couldn’t have denied Kate anything had she wanted to. She pushed Kate back onto the bed and settled her weight over Kate who clutched at her, bringing their bodies together.
She breathed in Kate’s soft scent of strawberry. She felt dizzy with desire as Kate moved beneath her.
She pressed her hips into Kate’s, groaning in frustration at the denim barrier still between them. Too many clothes. She needed them gone. She needed to feel Kate— all of her.
With an urgency she was unaccustomed to, she reached between them, searching for the button to Kate’s jeans while Kate traced her lips and tongue in distracting trails across her neck.
“Naked,” she managed before reaching for the button of her own jeans.
Kate bit her lip and nodded in response before removing her bra and underwear. Rowan removed her own clothes, but hesitated as Kate pulled off her bra, watching as her breasts fell free.
Rowan allowed a moment for her gaze to travel over the length of Kate’s body. “You are so incredibly beautiful.”
Even in the dim light, she could see the soft flush that rose to Kate’s cheeks in response.
Rowan wasn’t convinced the moment was, in fact, real. Kate was so much more than she could have ever imagined. She half feared that if she touched her, she’d wake up. And yet at the same time she needed to touch Kate, to taste her, to feel their bodies move together.
The need won. She leaned down to kiss Kate’s neck, throat, and chest, moving down slowly, taking her time and not wanting to miss even an inch. Kate’s fingers knotted in her hair as Rowan’s mouth moved over the swell of her breasts, but even Kate’s urging couldn’t hurry her.
The sharp intake of breath from Kate when Rowan finally took one hard nipple in her mouth told her how badly Kate wanted her there. Kate’s fingers tightened on Rowan’s hair.
The way Kate moved beneath her, the soft sounds she made with each flick of Rowan’s tongue . . . she could drown in Kate, never wanting to resurface. The rest of the world disappeared. There was no Oregon or Texas, just Kate. In that moment, Rowan was home.
“Come here,” Kate said, her voice husky. She tugged Rowan up so that they were face to face once more. Kate trailed her fingers over Rowan’s jaw, and their eyes locked.
Rowan wanted to live in the endless summers of Kate’s eyes forever.
“You’re . . . everything,” Kate whispered, her gaze dropping to Rowan’s lips.
Kate’s hands traveled over Rowan’s body, clutching at her, fingertips into her shoulders, traveling down her back. Kate’s touch was fire burning a trail down Rowan’s body.
When Kate slipped her fingers between Rowan’s legs, her whole body was hit with a shock of arousal. Her eyes squeezed tightly shut, and she gasped hard and fast against Kate’s mouth.
She had been the one setting the pace, the one in control, but that control dissolved as Kate began working slow circles with her fingers.
She dropped her head against Kate’s shoulder, trying to anchor herself, reminding herself to breathe. She was undone with the strength of her own need. She’d never felt so desperate before.
Kate’s fingers continued to guide her closer to the edge, but she needed to touch Kate more than she needed her own release. She shifted just enough to slip her own hand between their bodies, moving through Kate’s wetness, finding the spot where Kate needed her most.
She focused on her own breathing as she matched Kate’s pace, trying to delay her own orgasm, but Kate’s fingers continued to dance over her, bringing her closer and closer to the edge. Despite her efforts, her breathing grew ragged, and her hips rolled faster against Kate’s fingers.
When Kate slid one finger inside of her that was all it took to send her tumbling over the edge. She cried out as her body shook with release, so strong she almost didn’t hear Kate’s cry as her own orgasm overtook her.
When she came down, the aftershocks still coursing through her, she let her weight settle over Kate, grounding herself with the sound of Kate’s heart beating a quick drum.
It was a long moment before Rowan’s breathing steadied and she felt like she could move again. When she felt she had returned to herself, she slid off of Kate, wrapping herself around Kate’s side and pulling a sheet up over the two of them.
“I knew it would be good between us,” she said, still breathing heavier than normal. “I had no idea it would be that good. I didn’t know we’d be magic.”
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