Page 13 of A Billionaire for Christmas
‘Go on.’ Levi shuffled a little closer to her, his eyes wide with interest.
Whenever she was in the company of a food enthusiast, she became a completely different person. The shyness seemed to fade without her even trying. ‘So, even though the ingredients on their own wouldn’t increase a person’s sexual appetite, putting them together in such a way that all of your senses, your sight, taste, touch and smell, are stimulated at the same time does often produce the desired effect.’
‘So this is an actual aphrodisiac?’ Levi turned it this way and that.
‘Only if you roll it gently on your tongue. Release the flavours against the roof of your mouth. Really take your time to experience it fully. As though it was a sexual act.’ Molly cringed at how unnecessarily erotic she was making the simple art of eating sound.
‘Okay. I’ll roll it on my tongue.’ He devoured the delicious bite-sized treat more carefully this time, his face changing as the flavours burst onto his tongue. His eyes lit up. ‘You’re right. That’s amazing. There have to be at least twenty different aromas in there.’
Molly beamed with relief. Perhaps she was in with a chance to get this rodeo back on track. ‘Obviously, some of it has to do with the placebo effect. If people think they’re eating an aphrodisiac, the psychology of their sexual desire is so multifaceted that they’ll naturally experience an impact.’
Molly felt she was overusing the wordssexualanddesireto an unnecessary degree and wished that she’d stop. However, it appeared contagious.
Levi regarded her with glee. ‘When should I be experiencing an increase in sexual desire? How many of these things would it take?’
‘That depends. Are youhopingfor an increase in sexual desire?’ Molly gulped anxiously. There really was no scientific basis to her culinary creations. They were essentially an edible metaphor for desire. At that moment, she couldn’t even be sure if this whole conversation had been reduced to a mere metaphor, such was the verbal foreplay going on between them.
Levi removed gold and diamond cufflinks. The movement captivated her. His hands were tanned and manly, deftly rolling up his sleeves to reveal strong forearms. He undid his bow-tie, sliding it slowly from his neck. Molly felt her heart racing and tried to shift her focus to the glass in her hand. Levi dropped the bow-tie onto the coffee table in front of them and shifted his weight to face her dead on. ‘Sex sells. You only have to see how much the tickets cost for the party upstairs. All on nothing but a promise. It’s basically Tinder for the super elite.’
‘Exactly.’ Molly had no idea what extortionate price people would pay to attend a Burlesque Night at the Cigar Lounge, but she had heard rumours that the tickets were so prohibitively expensive, only the super-rich could afford them. This was so far from her world. ‘Who wouldn’t want to dress up like this every year for a date?’
It was an unintentional invitation to check her out, and Levi took it. As his appreciative gaze roamed across her body, it sent her temperature soaring.
Her mind flew to the bucket list and the pressing need to get it completed before close of play on Christmas Eve. ‘Mind-blowingly expensive tickets demand mind-blowingly good food.’
‘Exactly. What’s next?’ Levi asked as he topped up their glasses.
The champagne was doing a brilliant job of relaxing her.Me, I’m next, she thought, eyeing his impossibly toned shoulders and biceps as he placed the bottle back in the ice bucket. They were magnificent.
Unused to flirting, she had had very little practice and had never tried to do it while drinking champagne or while hiding an ulterior motive. But if she couldn’t succeed at it now, dressed in the sexiest costume she’d ever worn, then when could she? She made a big deal of crossing her legs, making sure her stockings were centre stage. She mirrored his movements, propping her elbow on the back of the sofa, twirling her hair suggestively.
Molly dragged her teeth slowly over her lower lip. She needed to get him on the same page and hoped he couldn’t read the turmoil going on in her mind. She inspected the tray with a forensic eye and slowly picked up one of the more delicate pieces. A spectacularly ornate creation made with cured salmon gelatine in the shape of a diamond, rolled in bright green wasabi dust, topped with a watermelon purée and a pensée flower. Feeling brave, she leaned across and fed it to him. The gesture was intimate enough to create instant tension.
Levi opened his mouth to accept the offering and chewed slowly, not taking his eyes from hers.
She leaned a little closer to him. Still, he held her gaze. She licked her lips. It reminded her of those poor women in romantic novels, constantly licking their lips every five minutes to get a man’s attention. Levi instinctively dropped his eyes to her mouth. This had to be the most sensual experience of her entire life. She was now but inches from his face.
She lowered her voice a full two octaves. ‘The techniques that go into it are very specific. Like, spherification… and, erm, the one that you are currently taking forever to eat… has been emulsified.’
‘Fascinating,’ he said, a hint of delight in his voice while he rolled the food around his mouth.
Chew. Chew. Chew.
Pursing her lips, she waited for him to stop chewing and start kissing her. She couldn’t make it any more obvious, but as the seconds ticked by, Levi kept chewing.
Her lips hovered millimetres from his. It was intrusive at best. She had crossed a professional line. The poor man was hungry for food and culinary advice, not her. She eased back into her seat and guzzled her champagne.
Levi, with a final swallow, observed her silently as though he was toying with her, while she felt borderline manic, consumed with a need to seduce him.
Infuriating.
What would tempt him? She would need to try harder. This situation called for romancing at the highest possible levels. She tore her eyes from his and glanced down to see her breasts rising above the corset. She caught Levi following her gaze. She was comforted to see he had a lustful glint in his eye, for all he was trying to restrain himself. It would have to do. Emboldened by the scandalously expensive bubbly, Molly parted her lips and thrust out her chest. She hadn’t read a thousand Mills & Boon novels over the years without learning a thing or two. Perhaps she could wear him down with sheer determination. She swept her hair seductively to the side in her most alluring manner. ‘I’m just trying to, you know…’
Silence.
Oh, for God’s sake.
Molly let out an exasperated sigh.
