Page 146 of Burning Ember

“Do I want to know what you did for that hour and a half?”

He laughs and studies my face. “Probably not.” He rubs his index finger over his mouth. “You’re a pretty deep sleeper though, huh? I mean even at the clubhouse, it took me a while to get you up, but I thought if I . . .” His smile is wicked.

“Oh, God. What did you do?”

His laugh is deep and rich as he pushes away from the counter and comes toward me. He cups my elbows. “Tried to kiss you awake.” By the way he’s looking at me, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t mean he was kissing my lips.

“So that dream I had this morning where you were . . . uh-mmm . . . down there.” I look away as fire crawls up my neck and heat rushes between my legs.

Mav pinches my chin and lifts it. “We can pretend it was a dream if you want.”

My nipples harden and start to ache.

If I don’t sidetrack us soon, he’ll have me bent over this counter in a matter of seconds. Totally dismissing the kindling of lust bouncing between us, I say, “Well, if we’re going to do this, I’m going to need to throw this stuff out and scrub the pans.”

He chuckles as I turn the water on to fill up the sink and add some dish soap.

“You wash and I’ll dry,” Mav says as he grabs the kitchen towel off the floor that he dropped earlier.

“You do know how to dry, right?”

He smiles and narrows his eyes on me. Then winds the towel up and whips me in the butt with it. “Such a smart ass little mouth, Doll.” As I glare at him, I rub my backside.

Mav dumps the burned food. I watch and can’t help but think what a waste it is. There was a time not too long ago when I would have been thankful for every morsel of that burnt food. I think of the shelter and all the people in it. I think of Ivy and wonder where she is right now.

I get lost in thought as I load the pans into the sink. But after a few minutes, I force myself to think of something less depressing. Like the things about Mav I’ve been dying to know.

“Griz said you went to college . . .”

Mav peaks over at me. “Yeah. They like to rub that in like it’s a rap on my record or somethin’.”

“It could be because they’re jealous . . . or maybe they’re just proud of you.”

He gives me an odd look that turns thoughtful. “Hmmm. If they are, they’d never let me think that.”

“What college did you go?”

“Cornell.”

As I scrub the pan in the sink I ask, “I’ve heard of it, but I have no idea where it is.”

“It’s in New York. At first, I wanted to get farther from home, but then I got a partial scholarship there. I couldn’t really pass it up since it was also one of the best schools for studying architecture.”

“So you’re from New York?” I murmur under my breath, “Well, that explains it.”

He nudges my hip and takes the pans from my hands. His accent gets heavier as his eyes scan down my body as he says, “How you doin’?”

Chills rush over my arms. Laughing, I say, “Oh, my God, you sound just like him.” He even gives me the same lustful look Joey gives.

He says something else. But honestly, I can’t make out the words. It sounds likeforgettaboutit.

The smile he’s wearing hits me all the way to my bones. My stomach quivers, and I’m suddenly all hot and bothered.

Trying to recover somewhat, I say, “Have you always been good at art?”

“I don’t know if I was always good at it, but I was pretty good in junior high and high school. Good enough to get a lot of extra attention from my teachers. I won a couple of contests. And one day, one of my teachers sat me down and talked to me about what I could do with it career wise. I love drawing, so it made sense to me to pick a career where I could continue to do that and make money. With designing homes and buildings, I get to see my ideas come to life.”

“It must be nice knowing what you want to do for the rest of your life.” I lean down to use a little muscle on a particular spot. “I’ve never had a job I felt that way about, and I’ve had many.”