Not an easy feat.
“Nice place.” He casually slid an arm around my shoulder as we entered the reception area of Theo’s, a restaurant my cousin Penn opened a few years ago in honor of his best friend. Theo sadly died in a car accident before they could start this venture together. Since it had opened, it had gone from strength to strength and just recently achieved its second Michelin star.
I shouldn’t have encouraged Joz, especially as I hadn’t made up my mind about us… yet, but I liked having his arm around me. Although to say ‘us’ seemed almost laughable. There was no ‘us’. There was the offer of a fling if I felt like having an itch scratched. A mutually beneficial romp in the sack until the fire burned out.
“Yeah, Penn has worked hard on it.” I gave my name to the greeter, whose eyes briefly flared when she laid eyes on Joz before she resumed her professional pose. Many celebrities visited Theo’s, but Joz was definitely in the megastar category. It was unsurprising she’d let the veneer slip for a second.
“Right this way, Ms. Kingcaid.” After gathering two leather-bound menus from behind the desk, she glided into therestaurant, seating us in a secluded booth where we wouldn’t be overlooked. “Your server will be over shortly to take your drinks order.”
She backed away, but not before giving Joz a lingering look. To his credit, he didn’t react at all. In fact, I wasn’t sure if he even noticed her considering his eyes were fixed on me. Reaching across the table, palm up, he beckoned to me.
“Give me your hand.”
“Why? Are you planning to do a palm reading?”
He grinned. “Just give me your hand.”
“Okay.” I did as he asked.
He closed his fingers around mine and just… sat there, studying me as though I was the most fascinating creature he’d ever met.
“What are you doing?”
“Savoring you.”
Oh, fuck.
“I’m not on the menu.”
“Not yet, no. But whatever I choose to eat tonight, I already know it won’t be anywhere near as tasty or as sweet as you.”
I rolled my eyes, but inside my stomach turned over and over. It was a line, and a cheesy one at that, but there was something in his eyes as he spoke that lent a sincerity I would have brushed aside from anyone else.
“You’re not planning to make this easy, are you?”
“No.”
“I appreciate your honesty, at least.”
“What’s the point in lying? I want you. You want me. Although I admit you took a while longer to warm up than I did. If I’d had my way, I’d have taken you back to my place the first day we met and fucked you until you forgot every man who’d been lucky to capture your attention, even for a moment. I’d have fucked you until the only fingers and mouth and tongueand dick you could remember belonged to me. I’d have fucked you until my cock and your cunt were raw, then I’d have eaten you out until you begged me to stop.”
My jaw literally dropped, but as I flapped around for a suitable response, someone off to my right cleared their throat. When I dragged my gaze from Joz’s intense stare, I found the server standing beside our table, her face hot enough to fry an egg on her cheeks. I tried to tug my hand from Joz’s, but he held on tighter.
“I’ll have still water, plenty of ice,” he said without taking his eyes off me. “Aspen?”
“Um, the same.” I could have murdered a vodka and tonic, but two things stopped me. One, I needed a clear head to stand a chance of resisting Joz, and there wasn’t a hope in hell he’d compete on a level playing field. Two, it didn’t feel right to drink in front of him when he’d told me he was a recovering addict. Yes, I’d drunk brandy that first day in London in that dive bar, but I hadn’t known his circumstances then. Besides, he’d been the one to buy it for me. But now that I knew, I wanted to support him in this small way.
The young woman backed away, relief palpable on her face.
“Oh, my God.” When I tugged this time, he let me go. “She heard every word you said.”
“So?” Joz shrugged. “I meant every word I said.”
“You have no shame, do you?”
“If by shame you’re asking whether I give a toss what people think of me, then no, I have no shame.”
“I have a reputation to uphold, and so do you.”
