Seth pushed out his lower lip and shrugged his shoulders. “Buggered if I know.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
He burst out laughing. “Build a bridge and get over it.”
“You Aussies have any more crazy-ass words that are totally wrong?”
“No doubt we’ll find out.” Seth reached over and cupped the back of her head. “Come ‘ere, you.” Tugging her forward, he kissed her. She caught the biting taste of Parmesan on his lips. He teased her mouth open with his tongue, and held back until she leaned closer, chasing more.
Right on cue, he ended the kiss.
Totally leaving her hanging.
She watched as Seth picked up his fork and twisted the last strands of pasta before he shoved it in his mouth. Once finished, he wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Great meal, sweetness.”
Harper narrowed her gaze. She moved forward in her chair and rested her forearms on the table. “You like to keep a girl on her toes, don’t you?”
“I’d like you many ways, Harper.” He held her gaze as he brushed the back of a finger from her shoulder down to her elbow, leaving a trail of tingles in its wake. “On your toes.” Next, he skimmed her forearm. Her pulse quickened, but still, she couldn’t look away from his stare. “On your belly.” Higher now, the rough pad of his finger traced the skin under her ear. She swallowed. “On your back.” Gently, he pressed the pad of his thumb against her lower lip. “And on your knees.”
Oh, hellfire. She opened her mouth, unresisting, wanting. He slid his thumb over the edge of her teeth. Just the tip. Her lips closed around him, wanting to taste him, to take him inside her. She licked the edge of his thumb with her tongue, loving the way his gaze heated at her touch.
His jaw muscle ticked. The big alpha was just as susceptible to her touch as she to his. Harper grazed her teeth over the pad of his thumb, drawing to the very tip and nipping the skin, just enough to leave a tiny sting.
Oh, yeah. Two could play that teasing game.
His fingers firmed under her chin. A silent warning? The thrill of poking the beast and counting on the filthy, hot reprisal goaded her into reckless territory. She met his stare head on.
Go for it, handsome.
* * *
Seth felt himself harden. He wanted to fuck her right there on the table. Correction, first he wanted to spank her arse and see how gorgeous her bottom was in a nice shade of pink, and then he wanted to take her. The image was hot as fuck, but not how he wanted to start things tonight. For that, he had an entirely different scenario in mind.
And the little coffee girl wasn’t going to dictate how the night progressed.
They, no, he needed a distraction.
He slid his thumb from her mouth, catching the shine of triumph in her gaze.
“I have an idea.” His hunger, not helped from an afternoon of watching her bent over with her sweet arse in those jeans, roughened his voice. “Do you have cookies and milk?”
Harper’s mouth hung open. It took a few seconds for her reply. “Yes.” She shook her head. “I mean, I have milk, and there’s cookie dough in the fridge. It won’t take more than a few minutes to bake some fresh.
“Excellent. You do that, and I’ll clean up from dinner. Afterward, we can move to the living room.”
He gathered the used dishes and her wineglass. Harper followed and cast him a glance before she opened the fridge. Seth rinsed and stacked the dishes and utensils in the dishwasher and placed the leftover pasta in a bowl. When he asked for the cling wrap, Adam’s words played over in his head. “Stick to her tighter than cling wrap on Thanksgiving leftovers.”
He planned to. In a far more carnal way than his brother intended.
Fifteen minutes later, with the kitchen tidy and a plate of warm cookies in Harper’s hand, Seth followed her out to the living area, carrying two tall glasses of chilled milk.
Harper set the plate on a low chest-like coffee table that featured drawers on two sides. “I’ve got Netflix. Anything in particular you want to watch?” She grabbed two coasters from the pile on the table and set them next to the plate for Seth.
Seth placed the glasses on the coasters. The lady took care of her belongings. He respected that. “You choose.”
He surveyed their seating options. A three-seater, brown leather sofa, two matching armchairs and a huge, green corduroy beanbag filled the cozy room. Easy choice.
Kicking the beanbag to in front of the sofa, he lowered himself onto the giant green puffball. With a grin, he reached up and pulled Harper down between his legs.