While Trey unpacked the bags of takeout, Samantha grabbed a bottle of beer for him and poured herself a glass of wine. By the time she walked back into the living room, her big, hunky cop had all the cardboard boxes out of the bags and spread around the coffee table. As she’d expected, there was way more food than necessary. That made her smile.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked to eat, so I got a little bit of everything,” he said.
Trey’s idea of a little bit of everything included four different entrées—chicken tikka masala, pork vindaloo, lamb rogan josh, and a vegetarian saag paneer—plus a family-size box of naan bread.
“I’m pretty sure your definition of a little bit is somewhat different than mine,” she said with a laugh. “There’s enough food here for five or six people with leftovers.”
She thought it possible that Trey actually blushed a little at that, and Samantha wondered if he could hear the thud when her heart hit the floor all over again. A guy as big and tough as Trey getting embarrassed over buying too much takeout? Could there be a better man on the planet? That prehistoric wolf DNA was looking less and less important by the minute.
They sat there together on the couch, her bare feet tucked under her as they passed the takeout containers back and forth, oohing and aahing over the food as they talked about their respective days. Samantha definitely liked the masala, but the vindaloo, while delicious, was way too spicy for her taste. The soul-warming rogan josh was so tender it fell apart on her fork, so she used the naan flatbread to scoop it up. Since she didn’t want to eat too much, she only ate the cheese out of the saag paneer, figuring she’d be nice and leave the spinach for Trey. That was her story and she was sticking to it.
He didn’t complain, letting her have first pick of everything. But even with ridiculous amount of food Trey inhaled, Samantha knew she was going to have leftovers for days. Then again, maybe she’d invite him over tomorrow night to eat the rest. The idea of that made her damn near giddy. And she definitely wasn’t normally the giddy type.
In addition to talking about work, they also talked about family, friends, and things they enjoyed doing. When Trey asked her about the property her grandparents had left her up in Homer, Samantha ended up spending the next hour describing everything about the place.
“Being up there must make you feel close to your grandparents,” he said softly.
With those few words, she realized Trey got her better than the entire rest of her family. Most of them assumed the property was nothing more than a long-term investment. Samantha almost started tearing up when she told him about the old chair in the living room she would spend hours sitting in every time she went up there. It was a silly thing to talk about, but with Trey, it didn’t seem to matter. It was easy to talk about anything with him.
Then why was it so difficult to bring up the topic of his wolf DNA?
They ate in comfortable silence for a little while before Trey got a pensive look on his face. Suddenly worried she’d gotten too mushy too fast, Samantha quickly stood and began to collect the scattered food containers.
“Sit and finish your beer,” she said when Trey started to stand to help. “It’ll only take me a second to get this stuff put away in the fridge.”
He ignored her of course, grabbing the rest of the takeout boxes and following her into the kitchen, chuckling as Sam stood on her tiptoes to try to reach into the back of one of her upper cabinets for the plastic containers.
“Good thing I came in here to help,” Trey said, moving closer to reach over her head, his warm, firm body pressing against hers in the most delicious way. “How would you have ever gotten these out?”
“I’m sure I would have figured it out,” Samantha murmured, nudging her butt back playfully against his crotch, smiling to herself when she felt the bulge in his jeans. “How hard could it be?”
Trey snorted as he took down a few of the plastic containers and spread them out on the counter. “Seems pretty hard from where I’m standing. But I’m sure you already knew that.”
Samantha bit her lip to keep from laughing, enjoying how easy it was for them to flirt with each other. As they stood side by side putting away the leftovers, their arms and hips touching occasionally, she could almost forget all the secrets they were keeping from each other.
“You up for dessert?” She turned to face him after finding a place in her crowded fridge for the containers. “I always keep some cookies around in case of emergency.”
Grinning, Trey reached out to snag the waist of her shorts and tug her closer. “If we’re talking about dessert, I can think of something I’d like even more than cookies.”
Samantha opened her mouth to tell him that had to be the cheesiest line she’d ever heard, but then Trey was pulling her into his arms and kissing her, and suddenly she had a difficult time thinking about anything other than his lips on hers.
One moment, Trey’s big hands were resting casually on her hips, his fingers sliding under her T-shirt to tease the sensitive skin above the top of her shorts; the next second, he was picking her up and setting her butt down on the counter. She automatically spread her knees to make room for him to slip between them, then wrapped her legs around his waist like it was the most natural thing in the world.
He slid one hand into her hair, tugging just the way she liked, while his other slipped down to her bare thigh, fingers tracing up and down her skin, electric tingles chasing his touch.
“Maybe we should do this somewhere else?” he murmured against her mouth. “The last time we tried to make out in here, you attacked me with a coffee mug.”
Samantha laughed, refusing to think about the fact that she couldn’t even see the scar on his hand now. “I promise to stay away from coffee mugs from now on, but if you want to take this somewhere else, like my bedroom, let’s say, I’m not going to complain.”
Trey pulled back and stared down into her eyes, his gaze intense. “I wasn’t implying we have to rush anything if you aren’t ready for that.”
Samantha caught her breath, pretty sure her heart had never beaten this hard in her life. “And if I am ready?”
Gaze never leaving hers, Trey slipped his hands under her butt, picking her up easily. She instinctively locked her ankles together behind his back, wrapping her arms tightly around his broad shoulders and holding on like a koala bear even though she knew in her heart that he’d never let her fall.
Samantha expected Trey to make a beeline straight down the hallway to her bedroom, but it turned out he was in no hurry, slowing when he was halfway across the living room to gently set her butt on the back of the couch. She kept her legs wrapped around him as he kissed her again, his tongue teasing hers, the taste of him enough to nearly drive her crazy. When she felt his jean-covered hard-on pressing against the sensitive area between her thighs, her hips started rolling as if they had a mind of their own.