“I didn’t have to.”
“You are certain?”
She nodded.
“Are you ready to hear about the second condition?”
“How many conditions are there?” It was a lame attempt at joking, but Angelo laughed anyway, and her heart tripped over itself when she heard the sound of his laughter.
It reminded Lane of that first day, reminded her why he was so special to her.
Angelo Valencia was her fallen angel.
Just like Laura was.
When she thought about it that way, there was really no need to worry about anything.
This, whatever it was between them, deserved a chance.
“Tesoro?”
She blinked. “Sorry, I was just, umm, preparing myself for your next condition.”
“Just one last,” he said solemnly, “and I’m all yours.”
She turned red. “Angelo!” Gosh. How did he always know what to say to make her blush?
Angelo was asking one of the staff for an extra straw, and she frowned. Did he want some of her milkshake but didn’t want to take a sip using her straw? She hadn’t thought he was the fussy type.
Angelo faced her again when he had his extra straw in hand. “Our second condition,” he told her as he reached for her milkshake, placing it between them.
He put his straw in. “Shall we share?”
“Oh.” She was bemused. “That’s the second condition?”
“Partly,” Angelo murmured, his smile revealing nothing.
Okaaaay.
She nervously took hold of her straw and almost choked on her milkshake when Angelo did the same, which brought his face inordinately close—-
Too close actually, she thought, and she sipped on her straw so fast that her brain froze.
She immediately pulled back with a groan, her eyes squeezing shut at the pain.
“Brain freeze?” Angelo murmured sympathetically.
“Yes.” Gosh, her brain. She opened her eyes when the pain finally receded, saying awkwardly, “Sorry about that.”
“It’s nothing. You looked very cute while in pain,” Angelo said charmingly.
“Umm...” If it had been anyone else, she would have probably thought she was dealing with a psycho. But since this was her sadistic future lover, she could only smile weakly at him.
And that was when she noticed the milk marks around his mouth.
“You, umm—-”
“What is it?” Angelo asked innocently even knowing full well what it was.
She pointed to his mouth.
He blinked. “What?”
“Umm, you’ve got milk there.” She circled her mouth to let him know where the marks were.
“Where?”
Perplexed, she pointed to his mouth. “There.” Where else would it be but around his mouth?
“Here?” He pointed to his cheek.
“Umm...” Could milkshake turn geniuses into idiots? She took a napkin from the holder and handed it to him. “Here.”
“Thank you.” He took the napkin and placed it on the table.
Oh. Maybe milkshakes could dumb certain people down.
She looked at Angelo and was even more confused when she saw he was laughing at her with his eyes.
And then Angelo leaned forward. “Can you help me?”
Become smarter? she wondered.
But out loud, all she said was, “Sure.”
“Can you lick it off, tesoro?”
She stared at him.
He stared back at her.
Did he just say-—
Her jaw dropped open, but when he only gazed at her steadily, she finally found her voice, stuttering, “I couldn’t possibly...”
Angelo raised a brow, and his voice was sly when he asked, “Even if this is the second condition?”
Oh.
Her jaw snapped shut.
What. A. Sadist.
“If you want to stay with me,” she heard her fallen angel murmur, “then you should be ready to play these games with me.” His tone was light, but his gaze was serious.
“If you can do this...” His tone lowered, and the way he was gazing at her made Lane’s heart beat so loud she was terrified the entire diner might hear it.
“I can promise you we’ll play games like this...”
Her toes curled hard, and oh, she could feel her entire body starting to ache in a strange, painfully beautiful way.
“Every day.”
Oooooooh.
Gosh.
He was seducing her.
And she was being seduced.
She couldn’t say anything, could only swallow convulsively before she started to lean forward.
Angelo remained still, his gaze watchful and challenging.
Oh gosh, she was so close to him again, so darn close that the ache in her body grew, demanding for something that she didn’t know how to explain—-
“But if you can’t do it...”
She watched in horror as his thin, beautiful lips parted, as if he was prepared to lick the milk marks off on his own—-
Nooooo!
Her tongue was suddenly touching the corner of his lip, and she heard Angelo suck his breath in.
She was shocked, too, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. She didn’t know how it happened, knew only that it had, and now there was no turning back.
Trembling with a mixture of fear and growing excitement, Lane slowly licked a circle around his mouth. She found herself gripping the edge of the table as she licked him, feeling like she needed to hold on to something to keep her upright.
Was she really doing this?
With so many people around?
And to Angelo Valencia?
There was only one answer to it.