Stolen Desire (The Lust List: Kaidan Stone #3) by Nova Raines, Mira Bailee Read Free Book Online Page A

but then I remember my problems. I would love to just run away from them all, but I'm going to have to solve them instead. I force myself to push my worries away and stay in the moment.
    Kaidan teaches me how to sauté the vegetables, then spears a piece of zucchini and hands me the fork. “I want you to know what perfection tastes like.”
    My cheeks heat up at that, and I very nearly say “I already know.” I did, after all, taste him in his penthouse the other night. But I play along and take a bite off the fork instead. “Yum.” He does know his stuff. The zucchini is tender in just the right way.
    “And this…” He holds up the sauce I whisked together. His eyes are shining. “Wait'll you see how the flavors of the vegetables brighten when we add this.”
    I grin at his excitement. I'm usually not that excited about cooking or food in general, but now I can't wait to taste our food, experience what he experiences.
    As he's plating our meal, there's a light knock at the entryway door.
    Charles is standing there. “Everything's here, sir.”
    “Thank you, Charles. Please move it to the guest room next to mine.”
    Charles nods and disappears. Is my car here? I want to ask what that was all about, but Kaidan doesn't offer any explanation, so I keep my mouth shut and help set the table for our meal. Kaidan's got a whole set of dishware and chopsticks he got while visiting Japan, and he pulls them out to set the table. I love how passionate he is about this. I wish I was this passionate about something.
    As Kaidan pours us some sake, I take a bite of the meal. “Wow. This is really, really good. Really good.”
    Kaidan doesn't hide how pleased he is by my compliment. He clinks glasses with me. “To a fun night. And us. I'm glad I met you, Hayley.”
    My stomach goes fluttery at his words. “To a fun night. I'm glad I met you, too.”
    We dig into our food, every bite delicious and perfect. Just like Kaidan right now.
    “So now you know my secret talent. What's yours?” he asks, when we're half-done and starting to slow down.
    “I…” I shift in my seat, embarrassed because I always just did what other people told me to do. I went to school. I got decent grades. I dated boys and smoked pot and shoplifted from boutiques to pass the time. How do I answer this?
    “I think my parents kept all the talent for themselves,” I say lightly, like it's a joke.
    He tilts his head to the side. “I don't think so. What are you passionate about?”
    Right now? You. I stuff more food in my mouth so I have time to think of a better answer. Every day I live in LA, every time I stupidly read internet troll comments, I'm reminded that I really don't have any talents. I just got “lucky” being born to parents with talent and money.
    “I'm not that good at anything,” I admit. “Maybe it sounds strange, but… here? The people I know… They're the best in their industry. The best . I could never compete with that…” I can't believe I just admitted I'm 100% untalented. Why would he want to be with a boring girl with no talents or passion for anything?
    “So… you're saying you don't want to try anything because you don't think you can be the best?”
    I shrug and focus on my food. When he says it like that, it sounds pretty dumb.
    Kaidan sips his sake. “I think everyone has a talent for something. And the only thing that separates successful people from the rest is practice and perseverance. A person could have more raw talent than anyone else in the world, but someone with less talent who practices daily and treats it like a job will always win out.”
    “I don't know. It seems like… you either have it or you don't,” I say lamely.
    “I've been around to see hundreds of wannabe stars nearly get record deals, or get them and then lose their careers because they didn't want to do the work. Practice and hard work separate the wannabes from the professionals.”
    I think about Levi and the way he's always looking