Page 143 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

When he approached, she slid over and made room for him at the workstation. He dipped his hands into the large bowl of what would be dough soon and every so often her hand would graze his. Just a simple touch from her swelled his chest and put illicit thoughts in his head. He enjoyed working with her, seeing her make decisions, putting great thought into what she was doing. “I hope this is gonna be blueberry pie.”

“Nope, not even close.”

“You’re not making pie?”

“We’renot making pie. Sorry to disappoint you, but this is an experiment. I’m attempting to make a meatless pot pie using veggies and tofu.”

Tofu? Jared blinked, trying to think of a tactful response. “Good Lord, why?” was all he could come up with. “I mean, hasn’t someone already invented it?”

“Yes, but I’m trying to make it better.”

Jared shook his head, cautious not to hurt her feelings. “Uh, that explains it.” He stood close enough to see her long lashes flutter, her expression becoming thoughtful while their hands brushed against each other in the mixing bowl.

A chuckle rumbled out of her mouth. “You hate the idea.”

“Not hate.”

“And you’re trying to spare my feelings.”

“I have simple tastes, Bella. But you’ve already impressed the hell out of me. With your cooking,” he added. And with a whole lot more.

“Really?”

“Really,” he said emphatically.

Her shoulders slumped and she sighed. “You’re right. I wasn’t exactly inspired, and you have to be when you’re developing recipes. This is one adventure we won’t go on together.”

“Bella,” he said quietly, “I’d go on any adventure with you.” He laced their dough-covered fingers together and brought their hands out of the bowl. Her soft green eyes lifted to his.

“I’ll make you blueberry pie, Jared,” she whispered.

“Suddenly I have an appetite for something sweeter.” His gaze dipped to her mouth as her lips parted and he wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to kiss her. He’d been consumed with it since the very first time they’d kissed.

He touched her lips again, taken by her softness, by the tantalizing taste of her. She gasped—a swift inhalation of breath. He hoped he was reading her correctly. Stuck between deep desire and hopeless honor, he couldn’t go on without knowing one thing. “Bella,” he whispered over her mouth. “I can’t seem to stay away from you. Tell me to stop. Tell me and I’ll leave you alone. Your job will never be in jeopardy, I promise.”

“I know that,” she whispered back, relieving his innermost fear. “You’re not harassing me, Jared. Just the opposite. When I’m with you, some of the sadness goes away.” She cupped his face in her hands and gave him a sweet kiss on the mouth. “I don’t know any more than that.”

It was enough. Hell, it was everything he’d needed to hear.

She smiled at him. “You’ve got flour on your face.”

“Thanks to you,” he said.

“Let me just wipe it away,” she said, rising on tiptoes and using her mouth to brush it away with tiny, moist kisses.

The woman was killing him in small doses, but he wasn’t complaining. His heart was fuller than he could ever remember. “I like the way you clean.”

“Do you?” Her head tilted coyly, all her lush black hair falling out of its clip.

Jared swallowed hard, loving the sight of her in her apron smudged with flour, her hair freely flowing.

He dipped his hand into the flour and touched her face, marking her, and then began sprinkling flour along her neck and throat and onto the luscious hollow between her breasts. “Looks like you could use a little cleanup, too.”

Bella looked down at herself and giggled. The sweet sound brought a grin to his face and he reached for her, his hands circling her waist. He bent her backward in his arms and started his cleanup, licking the deep valley between her breasts. His heart beat like a sensual drum, deeper, harder, and as he kissed her soft, smooth skin over and over, the drumbeat slid lower, pulsing at his groin.

He touched her breasts through the material of her apron and groaned, making his way up her throat, kissing her chin and finally finding promise at her lips.

The little noises erupting from her throat relayed her pleasure and suddenly that was all Jared wanted to do—to give her pleasure. He kissed her again and again until the flour smudges on her body were good and gone and the noises she made became gasps and moans.