Faithless Angel by Kimberly Raye

just a man, and you’re just having an attack of hormones
. She’d neglected everything in her life for the past two weeks, including her sex life.
    Of course, she’d also neglected it for the past five years, as well, which spoke volumes for her social life, or lack of one. With Faith’s House to oversee, she’d never had time for a real relationship, and she’d never been into one-night stands.
    She turned and stared up at him. Then again, a girl could always change her mind. Jesse Savage was certainly a convincing argument, especially standing so close to her.
    So warm and real.
    “You look like you’re feeling better.” His fingertips skimmed her cheek and she resisted the urge to turn into his palm. “No more dark circles.” The pad of his finger traced the sensitive area beneath one eye and she trembled. “That’s good, Faith. Really good.”
    “It feels good.” She took another breath. Bad move. His scent—that undeniable musky maleness coupled with a hint of mystery—filled her head, pulsed through her senses. “I—about last night,” she started, only to have the words stall in her throat. She swallowed. “I—I owe you an apology for running out of the hospital the way I did.”
    “Forget it. It’s good to lose control once in a while. Sometimes we have to let off a little steam.” He grabbed her hand, his fingertips caressing her bruised knuckles. A grin tugged at his lips. “Or a lot of steam.”
    “I was pretty fired up, wasn’t I?”
    She was referring to her outburst of anger. But when Jesse’s gaze darkened, she knew her words had broached an altogether different subject.
    Unconsciously, she licked her lips. He followed the motion with his eyes and her mouth went dry. It was going to happen again, and oddly enough, she wanted it to.
    She wanted him. She wanted to feel the warmth he stirred inside her, to soak up the delicious heat, to chase away the cold grief that had taken up residence after Jane’s death.
    His breath touched her mouth, made it tingle, and her lips parted. Yes, she wanted to kiss him again—
    “Cupcakes,” he said, reaching behind her to pull the package off the pantry shelf. Wonder filled his voice. “You’ve got cupcakes.”
    So much for kissing. She forced her heartbeat back to normal. Not easy considering he was still standing so close. “Help yourself,” she managed.
    He leaned back, putting a few safe inches between them as he opened the package. He took a bite, and pleasure eased the lines of his face. “Damn, I forgot how good these were,” he said in between bites.
    “Forgot?”
    “I haven’t had them in a while.”
    “Why?”
    He seemed at a loss. His jaws stopped working at the cake for a full second, his expression guarded, careful, as if he were hiding something. Finally, he swallowed. “A diet,” he muttered. He took another bite of the cupcake. “No sweets. Have to keep the old bod in shape.” He patted his flat stomach, finished off the cupcake, and busied himself pulling another out of the package. “You know what they say,” he told her with a sheepish grin. “Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder.”
    “I thought it was absence.”
    “That, too.” He bit into his second cupcake. Pleasure glittered hot and bright in his eyes. She’d neverseen someone enjoy something quite so much.
    “My kid sister used to bake a lot,” he said, as if he read the question in her eyes. “She started off with an Easy Bake oven when she was about nine. By the time she hit thirteen, she’d graduated to the real thing.” He turned to finish unloading the grocery sack on the table. “She didn’t make cupcakes, but she made lots of real cakes—all chocolate. She loved anything chocolate, especially brownies. She could whip up the best fudge brownies in the entire world.”
    “You miss her a lot, don’t you?” Faith scooted past Jesse to put a loaf of bread in the bread box. Anything to keep from watching his mouth work at the chocolate