Lethal Affair by Noelle Hart Read Free Book Online

the
butcher block surface alongside a trio of knives. With a sweep of
his hand he indicated that she should cut them up.
    Having donned the apron and hair net,
Jolene blinked up at him. “Are we doing this with sign language?
Because if we are, you're going to have to teach me that
too.”
    “ I want you to dice these
vegetables. Although technically tomatoes are fruits. Which knife
is the right one for the job?” he quizzed.
    She decided to yank his chain and
chose the largest of the three. “This one?”
    “ Wrong. Try
again.”
    Tongue in cheek, she chose the
smallest and raised her eyebrows at him.
    “ Wrong again. This one.” He
picked up the middle knife. “It has a long, thin blade that's
perfect for picking out stems as well as dicing. You know what that
means, right?”
    Jolene took the knife from him with a
frown. “I'm not an idiot, Lyle. Dicing means you want little cubes.
I've sliced and diced my way through many a meal in my mother's
kitchen. I may not know what the names of these knives are but if
you tell me exactly how you want these veges cut, I'll deliver. I
can angle cut, peel, julienne, and finely chop just about any
vegetable you can throw at me. Want this tomato diced? Watch
me.”
    Deftly she diced the tomato, then
switched knives and picked up the onion and got to work. As the
fumes rose, tears pricked her eyes and began to stream down her
cheeks.
    Lyle stopped her in mid chop. “We
normally use a food processor but in a crunch I need to know you
can do things by hand.” Taking her hands he moved her to the sink
where he placed her fingers under a stream of cold water. The
stinging in her eyes gradually abated.
    Wiping her hands on a towel, Jolene
beamed at him. “My first real lesson. Thanks.”
    Lyle barely heard her. Soft and
nimble, her fingers had felt supple under his and now he couldn't
move, couldn't push away from her as she grinned up at him.
Surprising himself, he stepped in close and watched her grin shrink
as wary anticipation took over.
    The air rippled, vibrant and hot.
Jolene's body snapped to attention even as her mind muddled.
Thoughts vanished, sensations tripped into the vacancy. Her heart
did a quick tattoo against her rib cage as Lyle's considerable
height and girth took up her entire line of vision.
    With surprising grace he gathered her
in and crushed her lips with his own, the kiss too hard and too
quick before he released her. He began to step back was wasn't
quick enough. Jolene rose on her tip-toes and pressed her lips to
his with gentle persuasion.
    It was like stepping into a fuzzy
dream. Pliable and sweet, her lips played over his, her tongue
luring his out as she kissed him deeply. Arms circled around his
neck, she pressed her entire length against him.
    It felt like more.
    He didn't know what he'd been
expecting but this was definitely heating up too fast. Already both
were panting, ready to claw at one another. Stronger willed than
her and knowing it, he eased her away to her moan of
protest.
    All business now, even if his legs
felt like water, “Okay, all over. Now we move on.”
    “ What?” Jolene sputtered.
“Just like that? Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that.”
    “ I enjoyed it alright, I
won't lie about that. But it was highly inappropriate of me. So
let's forget it happened and get busy here.”
    This wasn't happening! She felt
herself flush and stared at him in frustration.
    Lyle was intensely annoyed with
himself. For initiating the kiss. For feeling so damned alive. For
being such a boar and handling things so selfishly. He knew she had
a thing for him; hell, it was more than obvious. Especially in the
way she'd reacted, as though she expected this to go some place.
And it couldn't. Not even as far a bedroom.
    His response was brisk. “Sorry. My
fault entirely.” He raked his sandy mop of hair. “Co-workers
shouldn't take up together; it's a recipe for disaster. So let's
toss it out and start a new one, alright?”
    Frustrated, Jolene