“I definitely want to compliment the chef.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
His eyes, crinkled at the corner with humor, dared her to follow his example.
So she dipped her spoon and delicately slurped the contents into her mouth, smiling conspiratorially at Wang.
Next came a cylindrical wooden box that, when uncovered, revealed an assortment of dumplings.
“You should dip those in the soy sauce or the chili sauce and eat them. They are like pies, filled with meat, pork, shrimp or vegetables,” Wang instructed.
She tried to lift one dumpling using the chopsticks, but she couldn’t achieve a good grip. The process was trickier than she expected and highly frustrating. Instead of gaining proficiency, her fingers tired of the unusual exercise, and she became clumsier with each attempt. She feared that if she had to feed herself with chopsticks, she would go hungry today.
“Drat!” she exclaimed after the dumpling had fallen from her weak grip for the third time.
“Here.” A dumpling appeared in front of her mouth, dripping with sauce and held expertly between Wang’s chopsticks.
Her eyes widened. “Oh, you would feed it to me?”
His gaze was steady as it pinned her with an indecipherable emotion.
“Yes. Take the dumpling, my lady.”
Mesmerized by his gaze, she closed her mouth around the dumpling and had the satisfaction of seeing him dip his gaze to her lips and swallow hard as his nostrils flared.
There was something between them. An undeniable awareness. Was it merely the result of their close interactions? Perhaps that gave it the opportunity to flourish, but her attraction to him was all because of his own personal magnetism.
“Hmm,” she hummed as the flavorful filling exploded in her mouth. She swallowed and licked her lips before declaring. “That was delicious. But I’m afraid I am in a predicament now.”
Wang raised an eyebrow. “What predicament?”
“I want more, but I’m reliant on you to provide it, for I am useless with the chopsticks.”
One corner of his mouth hitched in a slow smile. “It will be my pleasure to put my chopsticks at your service, my lady.”
Good God, were they flirting? She didn’t flirt. She was too timid for that. And yet, it had come so naturally when talking to him.
Time seemed to still. She couldn’t force her lungs to draw breath. His words ensnared her in a sensual web.Pleasure. Your service.They had her feeling wicked and daring, qualities she had never possessed. But this man seemed to draw forth a different version of herself. Made her feel things she had never felt before. There was something in his warm brown eyes that told her he wasn’t indifferent to her, either. That he would like to make her feel a lot more if only she had the courage to reach for it.
Did she? With anyone else, the answer would be no. She had never possessed the boldness that some women had to engage in a dalliance. And she had not felt desirable in a very long time. But she felt comfortable with him. And now she realized why. He never judged, demeaned, or made her feel inadequate.
With him, she was at her most vulnerable, all her infirmity on display. If anyone knew the weaknesses of her body, it was him. And he still touched her as if she were something precious, with the utmost reverence. She didn’t have to pretend with him.
“How are you so patient and understanding?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he transferred his attention to the basket of dumplings and deliberately removed the top piece from the cylindrical basket, revealing another layer of dumplings underneath. Making it look deceptively easy, he grabbed another dumpling with his chopsticks, dipped it in one of the sauces that came with the dish, and offered it to her.
“Try this one now. I believe this one is filled with meat.”
She captured the dumpling, much as she had done with the first one. Savoring the way he fed her even more than the tasty morsel.
She thought he wouldn’t answer, but he finally did.
“I wasn’t always. At one point, I was angry and bitter. Life has shown me the error of my ways, I suppose. I wouldn’t say I’m wise, but I’ve learned from my mistakes.”
“Is that related to the reason you left your country?”
“You could say that.”
