KAIDA REED POV

I choked on the chocolate, then coughed, the warm liquid flying out of my mouth and spraying both of us.

He didn't so much as flinch.

I opened my mouth to say sorry, then gasped, my eyes widening as he grabbed the side of my stool and jerked it toward him.

"Whoa—" My breath hitched as my knees slid between his, the sudden closeness stealing the air from my lungs far more effectively than the chocolate had.

Heat rushed to my face.

He reached for a napkin with maddening calm, then tilted my chin up with two fingers.

"Stay still," he murmured.

My pulse thudded in my...