Lily shook off her umbrella and placed it outside the door before she set down the cooler bag. She pulled Aiden’s note off the door where he’d taped it, just as she’d instructed him to. He was letting her know which meals he liked best, what to repeat and what to avoid for future orders. She scanned the note and smiled as she tucked it into her bag. So far, he’d loved just about everything, just like his friends. She’d expanded her business enough to add another day of rental at the commercial kitchen space she used for her cooking and prep, making it that much easier to get everything done.
She made her way to the kitchen and unzipped the cooler bag, then started to settle all of Aiden’s meals onto the shelves of his refrigerator. For some reason, coming into Aiden’s space always seemed more intimate than going into her other clients’ homes. She had keys and alarm codes for most of them, since her clients tended to be busy professionals. She always came and went quickly, setting everything up, grabbing the empty containers, and going on her way.
But, with Aiden’s home, it just always seemed ... different. As though she could feel him there. And, it felt strange being there without him. As if she were invading his private space. She’d been purposefully coming when she knew he wouldn’t be home, though. Because after their last interaction, she’d decided avoiding him was a good idea. A necessary idea.
He wasn’t dating material, and Lily was a dater. She didn’t do flings. She didn’t do one-night stands, or even one-weekend stands or however long he’d want her before moving on to the next woman in line. And, she had no doubt there were plenty of women waiting for him. With his money, his fame, his looks, that body—good grief that body! With all of that, there was no doubt a line of women ready and willing to do his bidding for however long he’d have them.
And, she wouldn’t be one of them.
She bent low to move his stash of fresh fruit over to make more room on the bottom shelf for the stack of containers with his snack packs in them. She’d packed him a snack to take to the field with him each day, along with his pregame lunches and then his after game snacks. Since they went to the field in the early afternoon and didn’t leave it until late at night after their games ended, her baseball players had a little different meal schedule than her other clients.
Aiden watched the delicate sway of Lily’s hips and sweet, insanity-inducing backside as she wrestled with something at the bottom of his refrigerator. He wasn't normally here when she dropped off his meals, and he’d been torn over whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. He’d wanted to see her again, especially now that he saw her backside making itself at home in his kitchen, but he’d also known he wouldn’t be very good at keeping his hands off her if he kept running into her.
She bent further, reaching way to the back of the fridge, and her pants tightened even further. As he watched, it was possible he might have groaned. Okay, it’s actually quite probable that he groaned, because she shrieked and tried to stand up without actually backing out of the fridge, slamming her head into the shelf above her in the process. At that, she let out another yelp and backed out of there, rubbing the back of her head and glaring at him when she spun around.
Aiden stepped forward, reaching for her, but she backed up.
“I’m sorry, Lily. I didn't mean to scare you,” he said as he stepped around her and opened the freezer. He took out a bag of peas, handing it to her and gesturing to her head. “The peas will help.”
She continued to shoot daggers at him with the most gorgeous velvety brown eyes he thought he’d ever seen, her face flushing adorably as she put the peas to the bump on her head.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, or rather, accused. “You’re supposed to be at the field right now.”
He raised a brow. “You really don’t watch baseball at all, do you?”
She shook her head then winced. “No. Sorry.”
He laughed. “It’s not a requirement, Lil.” He nodded toward the windows where a major storm had been hitting the area all day and clearly wasn’t going to let up anytime soon.
“Rescheduled. Rain. We got sent home an hour ago.”
“Oh, yeah.” She bit her lip, as she looked out at the rain. “I didn’t really think about that.”
He watched her, trying to think of a reason to walk away. Nothing. He had nothing.
She pulled the bag of peas away from her head and laughed again. Why did he like that sound so much?
“Peas?”
He nodded and grinned. “The perfect ice pack for my shoulders at night.”
He didn’t miss the way her eyes flew to his shoulders, or the sadness in them at what he guessed was the thought that he hurt when he finished playing. Oh, hell no. He didn’t want pity. Time to shift the conversation.
“What’d you bring for dinner?” he asked and opened the fridge.
“Beef enchiladas, tofu lettuce wraps, or chicken manicotti.”
He groaned again. Everything she made was fantastic, but he loved that manicotti.
He knew he was paying her, but he kind of liked feeling so taken care of. Like she put thought into each dish she made for him and really cared about whether he liked it or not.
“I brought you a new snack to try,” she said, looking over his shoulder as he bent into the fridge, and pointing to a container on the right side of the bottom shelf. “They’re a banana nut pancake with agave. I’ve been snacking on them all week and thought I’d let you try them this week.”
He pulled out the pancakes, grinding his teeth together to ignore her closeness and the tortuous scent of cinnamon and sugar that followed her everywhere. She took the container from him and popped it open, removing the smaller container of agave from inside.
“Just heat them for thirty seconds,” she said and popped it in the microwave.
When she handed him the hot pancakes with a fork, and then drizzled the agave over them, he had to fight the urge to grab her and drizzle it on her stomach, her breasts, her ... other places.
She licked a drop of the sweet syrup off her thumb and he froze.
Christ, he had to get out of here.
She gestured impatiently to the pancakes. “Go ahead.”
He tore his eyes from her mouth and cut a piece of the pancake with the side of his fork, then tasted it.
Another groan. Yup. They were heaven.
“These are amazing. How are these good for me?” he asked.
She grinned. “They have oat flour in them for protein, and the pecans give them a little more protein that balances out the carbs.”
“Did you give these to all the guys?”
“I just gave them to select clients this week. Figured I’d see how they liked them before I gave them to everyone.”
He felt a grin tug at his face. “I’m select?”
She laughed but rolled her eyes at him. “You’re nice. If you don’t like them, you’ll just tell me.”
“What do people who aren't nice do?” He put the now empty pancake container down on the counter as he scowled.
“Nothing really,” she said, shaking her head at him. “It’s just that other people can sometimes be rude about it. You’re gentle. I mean your notes. When you tell me what you like and don’t like, you’re gentle about it.”
He took two steps closer, all but pinning her to the counter.
“You think I’m gentle?” he asked, incredulous. What was wrong with him? Why did he have the urge to throw her to the floor and show her just how ungentle he could be?
Her breath caught, and there was no mistaking the heat in her eyes as she lifted her head to meet his gaze.
“Yes?” she said. It was a question, not an answer.
He shook his head and lowered it, capturing her mouth, taking it gruffly, and ignoring the screaming in his head that said this was a bad idea.
Her hands fisted his shirt but she leaned into him, arching her back and pressing against him with those gorgeous breasts that had been peeking at him through her thin t-shirt. It had been slightly damp from the rain, and the show she’d been unintentionally giving had apparently redirected all decision making to his dick instead of his head.
She moaned softly and he turned his head, drawing her against him, arms banded tightly around her, deepening the kiss. She released his shirt only to run her hands up his chest onto his shoulders, and the feel of those hands did nothing to stop the fire burning through him. His own hands had taken over and he let them roam down her back, to the small of her waist and lower. He cupped her tantalizing bottom, the thing that had started this all, and pulled her against him, eliciting another mind numbing moan from her mouth.
A clap of thunder sounded outside and Lily jumped. Then looked at him, stunned as if the sound had pulled her out of a trance and she only now realized what she was doing. Eyes wide, she pulled away and began shoving all the empty containers he’d piled on his counter into her cooler bag.
“I have to ... that was … we shouldn’t … ”
He knew just how she felt. They shouldn’t. And, yet.
He took a big step back and cleared his throat. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Lily.”
She didn’t seem to be listening as she zipped the bag, her eyes anywhere but on him, bottom lip caught between her teeth.
And, then she was gone. And there he was with a raging hard on and the taste of her, the feel of her, etched in his memory. He groaned and headed off to the shower for yet another self-service orgasm. Hell. It had been hard enough when he had only imagined what being with her would feel like. Now, he had a sampling of the real thing in his head.
This was bad. This was very, very bad.