Page 29 of Take the Bait

“And the final touch,” he said, grabbing the onion straws he’d purchased. “Want to sprinkle these on top?”

His mouth was starting to water—not just at the food the stunning woman in front of him had made, but at the dessert he’d been promised.

And he wasn’t talking about the cookies.

She grabbed the onion straws from him, then reaching her hand in the bag, she grabbed them and sprinkled them on top of each taco. As she set the bag back on the island, she walked toward the sink to wash her hand of the onion straw seasoning.

Before he could process what he was doing, he grabbed her wrist and tugged her hand to his lips, pulling her thumb into his mouth. Her eyes were half-lidded, and she squirmed, bringing her knees together, as he licked each finger on her hand.

It was erotic as hell, and he was ready for this damn meal to be over so he could lick the rest of her.

“Mmm. Just like I said. Fucking delicious.” Licking her last finger, he grinned. “Ready to eat?”

Silently, she nodded, grabbing both of their plates and heading for the kitchen table, which she’d set before he came over. He brought a couple of drinks over to the table and sat next to her, grabbing a taco.

“Moment of truth,” he said as she grabbed a taco. “You ready?”

She nodded, closing her eyes and taking a bite. She opened her eyes, wide with surprise, and grinned as she swallowed.

“It’s… good.” She took another bite then, with her mouth full, added, “Like, really good. Have I been a good cook this whole time?”

He laughed, finishing off his first taco. “Knew you could do it. You nailed it, shortcake.”

She beamed, and he’d never seen a site so beautiful. “Thank you. For teaching me. Most people give up when they find out I don’t have any pots and pans.”

“I’m not most people,” Tucker responded, shoving the next taco into his mouth.

“I’m just glad the lack of cooking supplies didn’t scare you away.”

“Takes a lot more than that to scare me away.”

She stilled, eyes wide. Then, as if shaking herself out of a stupor, she released a breath, then kept eating.

Something told Tucker there was a lot more to Hanna than met the eye—and if he wasn’t careful, she might scare easily.

9

Hanna had cooked.

Food.

Real food.

Real food that tasted good.

She was so pleased with herself, she barely had room to stew over his comment from earlier.

Takes a lot more than that to scare me away.

It seemed like whatever she threw at him, he took with ease. More than took it, actually. He seemed to…likethe things that usually put other people off. It was unnerving. As a former homeschooled kid, she’d grown accustomed to being the odd one out.

Where she grew up, there was a certain amount of stigma tied to being homeschooled. Assumptions were made—that she was awkward and weird, that she didn’t know how to talk to people, that her family was just straight-up strange. She’d grown up in a small town, but somehow that made the gossip worse.

So she’d moved to another small town—a bigger small town—thinking that would make it better.

News Flash to her former self: That’s not how life works.

She’d bookmarked a few apartments and was planning to look at them when she went home for Christmas, but Tucker’s undivided attention and utter captivation with her were making her waver.