Bachelor at Her Bidding (Bachelor Auction Book 2) by Kate Hardy Read Free Book Online Page A

way.”
    “It’s good to have family support,” he agreed, remembering how Phyllis had stood up for him when he’d wanted to do something a little different from the rest of the boys in his school.
    “Thank you. Dinner was perfect,” she said when she laid her knife and fork down on her empty plate. “Just perfect.”
    “It’s not over yet.” He cleared their plates away, then plated up the desserts: a scoop of rich, decadent coffee ice cream, over which he grated a little dark chocolate; a ramekin of crème brûlée; and a couple of the tiny vanilla and chocolate macarons artfully arranged beside them.
    He sprinkled brown sugar over the crème brûlée, then sprinkled a tiny bit of brandy over the sugar. “Are you ready for this?” he asked.
    “For what?” Rachel looked confused.
    “A little bit of showing off.” This was one of his favorite tricks. He dimmed the lights again and brought out a tiny cook’s blowtorch, then put the trio of puddings in front of Rachel and set light to the brandy. Blue and yellow flames danced on top of the ramekin.
    “Oh, my God – that’s so pretty!”
    Just as he’d hoped, she was totally wowed by it. He smiled. “When the flames have died down, the sugar will be perfectly caramelized.” It was something he’d done many times before in the restaurant in Bozeman, but Rachel’s delight in it made it seem fresh and new to him.
    She tried a taste from each dessert, and he watched her. Would she like this part of the meal – the bit he loved cooking the most?
    She was silent. He watched her take another mouthful, and another.
    And then she closed her eyes, as if she was letting herself concentrate on the contrasting tastes and textures: the darkness of the coffee and chocolate, the crunch of the sugar topping and the meringues with the softness of the set custard and the ganache.
    Rachel Cassidy was definitely a hedonist.
    And she liked his food.
    He suppressed the memory of the way she’d smeared chocolate over his lower lip. The way she’d kissed him back, matching him hunger for hunger.
    No, no and no. He’d drown out the temptations in dessert. Or at least try to.
    He damped down the flickers of desire and ate his own dessert. Maybe the sugar hit would be enough to knock his libido out, at least until he was safely away from here.
    She leaned back in her chair with a sigh when she’d finished. “Lily was right.”
    “About what?”
    “What she said at the auction about your food. It’s better than sex.”
    As soon as the words were out, she blushed. Deep, rich color bloomed through her cheeks.
    So she’d been thinking about it, too – about what it would be like between them? She felt that same irresistible pull?
    Oh, man. They were really going to have to be careful. It would be oh, so easy to give in to that attraction and make life way too complicated – for both of them.
    He thought he’d gotten himself under control – and then she did the one thing to make Ryan’s control snap. She bit her lip. What could he do other than lean across the table and soothe the sting by kissing it better?

Chapter Four
    ‡
    I t turned out there was a better combination than man and chocolate, Rachel discovered.
    Man, chocolate and champagne.
    The champagne had definitely gone to her head. It felt as if the bubbles were running through her veins instead of blood, and Ryan’s mouth was sweet and tempting and coaxing, making the bubbles fizz faster.
    How could she resist?
    Even though Rachel knew this was a bad idea – neither of them was looking for a relationship – she couldn’t help kissing him back. Matching him kiss for kiss, touch for touch.
    *
    This really shouldn’t be happening, Ryan thought. But he couldn’t stop kissing Rachel. He was drowning in the lushness of her mouth. And the warmth of her body against his was way too much temptation for him. He couldn’t resist her. He simply picked her up and carried her out of the kitchen through to the