Page 116 of An Inconvenient Marriage
She stared at me, eyes big and bright. It took me far too long to realize she was on the verge of crying.
“Natalie—”
“You said when not if.”
It was my turn to gawk because I wasn’t following. She must have noticed. She quickly tapped the pads of her fingers beneath her eyes. When she was done, she took a breath and stole mine when her lips curved into the most gorgeous smile.
“When you spoke about the internship, you saidwhenlike it was a given I’d get it.” The tip of her tongue darted out and slid over her bottom lip. “Besides Everlee, no one has ever believed in me like this.”
I didn’t have time to respond when the chef suddenly made her appearance. “As requested, a tasting spread oftagliatelle alla Bolognese, ziti alla Norma, pasta al pesto…”
As the chef listed the rest of the dishes, I couldn’t stop staring at the woman sitting across from me. Her expression, the way her eyes widened, how her teeth dug into that plump bottom lip and rolled over it again and again.
Everything Natalie did drew me in deeper than I’d ever imagined. There was a small voice in the back of my head warning me of how screwed I was. Of how I’d be a fool to let a magnificent creature like this just walk out of my life.
But as I always did, I told it to fuck off.
“Buon appetito!”
The chef’s parting words pulled me out of my head and back to the present. It didn’t even surprise me to find Natalie staring at me.
I shrugged. “I wasn’t sure what your favorite was, so I had them make every pasta dish on the menu.”
“I can’t believe you.”
Pulling the first plate closer, I grabbed a fork and trained my gaze on her. “Eyes closed, mouth open.”
Heat flared in those blue irises, and I knew she remembered exactly what had happened the last time I’d fed her. Of course, that had my own damn body stirring, too.
“I won’t say it again.”
Biting her lip, she shifted in her seat. Was she pressing her thighs together? Was she wet and craving my touch? Shit. I had to reel in my thoughts… at least until we’d had dessert.
With my gaze still locked on hers, I cleared my throat and raised a brow. Natalie squirmed some more. Holy hell, she was making it hard—pun intended—to not just skip dinner altogether.
And then, as if she knew she’d pushed me to the edge, she licked her lips, closed her eyes, and opened her pretty little mouth.
What a damn gorgeous picture she made. So ready and waiting.
As difficult as it was, I ignored the ache of my erection straining against my zipper and snatched up the mouthwatering plate ofAlfredo. Inhaling deeply, I twisted the fork in the fettucine and held the bite against her mouth.
Her red-stained lips closed over the fork, and my hard-on twitched.
“Mmm,” she moaned. “So good.”
I took a bite, too, and she wasn’t wrong, it was delicious.
“Ready for the next one?”
Eyes still closed, she nodded. “Yes, please.”
When she said it so sweetly, my blood turned to lava, and my mind provided me with ten different scenarios where she said those same words wearing significantly less clothing.
But since I couldn’t screw her just yet, I grabbed the next plate, then the next and the next. And by the time we’d sampled all the dishes, I was ready to tear her dress off and take her right there on the table.
I probably would have done it if the hostess didn’t show up at that exact moment.
“Excuse my intrusion, but I thought I’d let you know they’re finishing up in the kitchen and we should all be gone within the next fifteen minutes or so.”
