“I have an idea. Are you game for anything?”
Licking my lips, I avert my gaze from his mouth to a spot on his shirt. “Yeah. What do you have in mind?”
The bastard kisses me. The second his mouth covers mine, everything around us fades. Aligning his body with mine, he pushes me against the counter, lighting a match inside me, setting free all my pent-up desire. His lips are rough, scorching everything in their path. He kisses me like a man possessed, exploring my mouth, tasting and probing and demanding.
Somewhere at the back of my mind lurks the thought that this is all for show, but it sure as hell feels real. I become aware of all the points of contact between our bodies, of the slight tremor in his chest, as if he’s fighting hard to control himself. My hands move along his chest of their own accord, shamelessly touching him. I start with the taut swell of his skin over his broad, strong shoulders, then lower my fingers to the defined squares of his abs. A smart woman with more self-restraint than me would stop there, but a haze of lust has befuddled my neurons. As such, I lower my hand even more until I reach the dent of his obliques. A groan reverberates from deep inside him. My fantasy supplies a terribly detailed mental image of the V formed by said oblique muscles. I imagine there is a dusting of hair starting under his navel and leading into his boxers.
Nate intensifies the kiss, his tongue inviting mine to dance in a maddening rhythm. One of his hands cups the side of my jaw, protective and possessive in equal measure. The other hand explores me. Feeling the slightly callused pads of his fingers trail along my exposed forearm is pure torture, lighting up all my nerve endings. When he reaches my shoulder, his thumb moves in small circles down to my clavicle, resting at the base of my neck. I legitimately fear I might spontaneously combust.
Desperately needing a mouthful of fresh air, I pull back. Nate rests his lips at the corner of my mouth. His hot breath caresses the skin on my cheeks, and the sharp rhythm of his inhales and exhales betrays how deeply this kiss affected him. I swear the air between us crackles. He steps back and I instantly move to the right, desperately needing to put some distance between us. Glancing toward the entrance, I notice Colin’s gone. That’s when it hits me how rude this was to Colin. I’d just told him I’m not interested in dating. It was also unprofessional. Granted, my servers are on their break, but someone could have still walked in.
“What was I thinking? Putting on a show?” I mutter on a groan.
Nate doesn’t miss a beat. “I didn’t give you a chance to think. As you can see, it worked out great.” A satisfied grin spreads on his features as he steps in my direction.
I almost jump back, pointing a menacing finger at him. “Stay where you are. I haven’t been kissed this good in a long while. My hormones can’t be trusted.”
And lo and behold, my legendary no-filter answers finally decided to make an appearance—at the most inappropriate of times, of course. Nate bursts out laughing, ignoring my warning and closing the distance between us.
“Always happy to be at your service.” His voice is low and husky. With every word, a warm breath lands on my cheek. It feels like velvet against my skin. I want to wrap it around myself and sleep cocooned in that velvety warmth.
Breathing in and out, I try to gather my wits. It’s a difficult task, given how everything about Nate is overwhelming. The mere memory of our kiss is enough to turn me on and, most dangerously, have me wanting a repeat.
“The news you mentioned?”
“Right. The Delicious Dining team wants to move forward. They want to include all your restaurants in the feature.”
“Wow. I can’t believe this. Thank you so much.”
“As a next step, they’d like to meet with you in about two weeks.”
“Blake too?”
“Their focus is on restaurants, so they specifically asked to see you.”
“Got it. What do you want for a snack?”
“It’s safest if I go now. Otherwise, I might do something crazy.” He smiles at me, and I warm all over again. Oh my. I can still taste him on my lips and tell the exact places where he touched my waist and the back of my head.
“Okay.” I won’t lie; I was hoping he’d stick around a while longer, although for what purpose exactly, I’m not sure. Well, we could find plenty of purposes like kissing, ripping each other’s clothes off. Damn, I can’t follow this line of thought. It’s dangerous.
I walk him to the restaurant entrance in silence, mulling over how one kiss can affect me so much. In my defense, it was a scorching-hot kiss. As he bids me goodbye in the doorway, he leans in.
“Alice?”
“Yeah?”
“That was one hell of a kiss.”
Chapter Seven
Alice
My mind is reeling for the rest of the day, and more than once, I catch myself smiling for no reason. Well, that’s not true. There is a reason. He’s about six feet tall, candy on a stick, and his name is Nate. A small part of me still fears I might have imagined the kiss, or dreamed it. I want to call and ask him more details about the meeting with the Delicious Dining team, but I need a breather first.
I throw myself into work until late at night, and then reason it’s too late to call him, so instead I do it first thing the next morning. Sitting cross-legged in my bed, still wearing pajamas, I dial his number. He answers right away.
“Took you an awfully long time to get those hormones back in check.”