Kissing Her Crush by Ophelia London Page B

stupid pile of teenage hormones?
    “Fine, I’ll stop.” But he couldn’t help staring at her mouth, thinking about her mouth. She couldn’t stop his thoughts, could she? He took a full step back and watched while she finished blending the liquid mixture with the Amazonian cocoa. The way she adjusted her gloves and pushed up her goggles should not have been so alluring.
    “Those are the molds there,” she said, snapping him awake. “Could you put them on this counter?”
    Luke obeyed, happy she was letting him help, even in this small way.
    “Grab two of those measuring spoons over there. The tablespoon size. Fill the molds on your pan with a full scoop. Make sure it’s level.”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    She rolled her eyes.
    “What? It’s candy making.”
    “It’s chemistry . And it’s extremely precise.”
    “Okay, okay.” He handed her a measuring spoon. “I’ll watch you do one first so I won’t screw up.”
    Natalie mumbled something under her breath, and Luke could’ve sworn he heard the word smartass preceded by a highly impressive curse. He was dying to kiss that dirty mouth now.
    By the time he’d finished with his pan, Natalie had filled the other five. Man, she was fast. And while he’d made a huge mess, her chocolate had made it into the molds and not a single drop anywhere else. Well, he was a newbie while she’d been doing this for years.
    They lined up the pans.
    “So, if I understand correctly,” Luke said, “we wait three hours for them to set.” He peeled off his gloves. “You know what they say about how a watched pot never boils. We should grab dinner while we can.”
    “It’s after ten, the only thing open this late is McDonalds, and I know you’re against that.”
    He laughed. “True.”
    She rubbed a hand over her stomach, unknowingly drawing Luke’s attention to more of those sexy curves. “I am hungry, but I don’t have much at home.”
    “We’ll go to my place,” he offered. “I’ll whip up something both nutritious and full of healthful calories to keep us energized.”
    “That’d be great. I didn’t consider going without food all night when I adjusted the schedule.”
    She began unbuttoning her lab coat. It wasn’t exactly a striptease, but to Luke’s eyes, that coat had been as impeding as lead to Superman’s x-ray vision. Underneath, she wore a long-sleeved T-shirt, the front tucked into a pair of jeans that were created solely to mold to her body.
    “You can’t think of everything all the time, right?” he sputtered. “Let’s go. It’s kind of a drive up the hill.”
    Natalie stopped in her tracks. “When you said your place, you meant…”
    “Sorry, yes, my parents’ house.”
    She remained frozen in front of the laundry chute. Did she look…nervous?
    “I’ve never been to that house. It’s a mansion, though, right? I mean, technically because of the size.”
    “Um.” He rubbed the back of his neck. This was why he used to resent being a part of the Elliott legacy. His name and that stupid house were intimidating by reputation alone. He thought after moving away he’d never have to deal with that again. But here was Natalie, clearly daunted.
    “I suppose it’s one of the bigger houses in Derry Township, but I don’t think of it that way. It’s where I grew up. Nothing special.”
    This was a major stretch, but the thought of Natalie not coming home with him made him severely unhappy.
    “I’m sure everyone is asleep by now,” he added. “We’ll hang in the kitchen. I make a mean omelet.”
    “Well.” She shifted her stance. “I guess that’s okay.”
    The second she agreed, a weight lifted off Luke’s shoulders that he hadn’t known he’d been carrying.

Chapter Seven
    T his was a bad idea. It was hard enough for Natalie to be alone with him in the lab, what with his gorgeous face not being hidden in a paper bag like he’d promised. She’d never sparred so much with a guy before. She was at her sassiest with Luke, and