Arouse by Nina Lane

Author:Nina Lane [Lane, Nina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, love, Contemporary Romance, sex, lust, Romance Fiction, Nina Lane, erotic fiction, Arouse, A Spiral of Bliss
Publisher: Snow Queen Publishing
Published: 2012-12-23T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

October 9

ock the blade, Liv.” Tyler Wilkes pauses beside my station.

“Sounds like the name of a chef’s concert series.” I shoot him a grin. “Rock the Blade, fronted by Chef Tyler Wilkes on the sauté pan.”

“Funny. Now pay attention to what you’re doing.”

I turn back to chopping chives. The voices of my fellow students and their occasional laughter rises around me and Tyler. Oil sizzles in pans, blades thwack against cutting boards, oven doors open and close.

It’s all become pleasant and very welcome over the past weeks, a familiar cadence that soothes all my tangled, barbed-wire thoughts.

“Careful.” Tyler steps closer. “Move it backward to get ready for the next stroke.”

He puts his hand over mine on the knife handle, then takes my other hand and places it against the top of the blade. He’s done this often since that first time when I kind of freaked out. Now I’m used to his hands-on guidance, and I appreciate it because he shows me exactly how to do it right.

“This stabilizes the cutting board,” he explains. “Now rock the blade up and down without moving the tip. Keep it in the same position, and let the knife do the work.”

He guides my hands into the rhythm. It’s easy and satisfying to feel the sharp blade chopping the chives into uniform pieces.

Tyler steps back to watch me. “Good. Got all your mise en place?”

“Yes, Chef.”

“Remember the chicken breast won’t take long to cook. Give it a good sear, then finish it in the oven.”

“Got it.”

He watches me chopping herbs for a couple more minutes before he nods with approval. “Nice work, Liv. Told you I’d make a chef out of you yet.”

He winks and smiles, which makes a pleasant warmth glow through me. Even at almost thirty years of age, I apparently still have the urge to earn the teacher’s approval.

At the end of class, we sample our own dishes and everyone else’s. My chicken turned out dry and, according to Tyler, under-seasoned, but overall it’s not a bad dish. At least it’s edible.

“How do you feel?” Tyler stops by my station again when we’re cleaning up and getting ready to leave.

“How do I feel?” I have no idea what he’s talking about.

“Yeah. About your cooking skills. You were pretty shaky about your abilities at first. Since it’s been a few weeks now, I was wondering how you feel. Are you enjoying yourself?”

Hmm.

“I don’t know if enjoy is the right word,” I admit. “I mean, it’s frustrating when I can’t even crack an egg properly. But that soufflé did taste good, right? And I’m learning a lot.”

“Are you practicing at home?”

“Sometimes,” I say, then add, “though honestly, it’s so much easier to pick up a roasted chicken on the way home.”

“Not nearly as good, though,” Tyler says, “for your tastebuds or your soul.”

“I don’t think cooking is the best thing for my soul right now.” I’m surprised that I admitted such a thing, but Tyler only tilts his head and looks at me consideringly.

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