Her breath stalled in her throat as she stared at his mouth, which was less than a foot away from hers, where he’d leaned closer to speak to her. His dark beard was thick and looked incredibly soft. She raised her eyes to his and felt her mouth fall open at the intense way he was watching her. She knew he was referring to the menu, hehadto be referring to the menu. Telling her to choose whatever she wantedto eat…
Val lowered her eyes to his mouth again, licking her lips, as she whispered huskily, “Anything I want?”
CHAPTER 6
“Anything I want?” she whispered, and the sound wound around his middle and straight to his dick.
Fuck.
Sometime in the last hour Valentina Compton had ceased to be the daughter of his parent’s friends. The daughter of the man that had entrusted him to watch over his girls after his death. The pain in the ass kid that had trailed after him as a young teenager. The girl that had always been more like a little sister to him than a friend.
No, sometime in the last hour Val had become the single most intoxicating woman he’d ever met. She was stunning in that black dress, her hair pinned up, the red lipstick. Sometime in the last hour, she had become the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.
The way that she was staring at his mouth now,fucking hellit was taking all of his very impressive willpower not to close the distance between them and crash his mouth onto hers. Her red painted lips looked velvety soft, and he was dying to know if they felt as soft as they looked. A vision of those lips closed around his dick, the red lipstick leaving stains as she—
He reached out and tapped the menu withhis index finger, his elbow grazing the inside of her arm, dangerously close to the curve of her breast, and he nearly blacked out before rasping, “Whatever you want, Val. Off the menu. Nothing is off the table.”
Fuck. That didn’t make it any better. Now all he could think about was shoving everything off the table and spreading her out on top of it, making a meal of her while those thick thighs squeezed around his shoulders—
She lowered her eyes, her lips still parted slightly, and he watched as her hand shook as she reached for her water glass. The ice clinked lightly as she brought it to her lips. A flushed rosiness had stained her cheeks, though he rather hoped it was from the heat of the fireplace they were seated next to instead of any sort of reaction to his unintentionally provocative words.
He shifted back into his seat, leaning away from her. The scent of her perfume on her skin was making his head spin. He wanted to bury his face in her neck, inhale her deeply, taste her skin, feel the frantic fluttering of her heart at the base of her throat on his tongue…
“I think the filet mignon with the lobster tail sounds delicious,” she finally said, letting her eyes drift down the menu. Raising her eyes to his, she murmured, “If that’s alright?”
Glaring at her balefully, he muttered, “I already told you; whatever you want, Val. If you want three of everything, it’s yours.”
“Well in that case,” she teased, sitting up straighter in her seat and smirking over at him. His cock twitched behind the fly of his jeans at the sight of her mouth quirking into that grin. He hated himself for it, but he wanted to watch those lips wrap around his cock. He shifted in his seat, painfully aware of how hard he was.
When the waiter returned, he gestured to Val to order, and she said softly, “I would like the filet and lobster tail, please. Medium-rare on the filet, and whatever it comes with for sides is perfect. I’d also love a glass of pinot noir, please.”
He requested the bleu cheese encrusted porterhouse, alongwith a side of balsamic drizzled brussels sprouts and the duchess potatoes. As the waiter stepped away, Val smiled over at him, reaching out her hand to squeeze his where it rested on the top of the table. “Thank you, Beau. For this. For tonight.”
Beau raised his eyes from their hands, clasped lightly on the starched white linen, to hers. His heart was thudding painfully in his chest, and he wondered briefly if she could feel it in his wrist where hers rested on top.
A tall, barrel-chested man with dark hair and a thick beard stepped over to their table before he could respond, drawing Val’s gaze from his. He raised his eyes as well, smiling when he recognized the bear of a man that had stepped toward them. He stood, pushing his chair out, at the same time extending his hand toward the man.
“Grant,” Beau said, and they shook hands. “Thank you for the table.” He motioned to Val. “Val, this is Grant Price, owner ofThe Wine Garden. Grant, this is Valentina Compton.”
Grant extended his hand toward Val, who placed her much smaller hand in his large one. Grant shook it gently, his dark eyes twinkling as he glanced between the two. Beau’s jaw tightened at the glowing appreciation on his friend’s face as he stared down at Val.Yeah, buddy, she’s fucking gorgeous. Keep your damn eyeballs in your skull.“Val, it is our pleasure to have you and Beau here this evening. I hope everything is to your liking so far?”
“Everything is wonderful,” Val murmured softly, dropping her hands back into her lap when Grant released it. Beau shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans to keep himself from reaching out and holding Val’s hand, just to replace the feel of Grant’s against her skin. “Thank you so much for letting us sneak in, especially on such a busy night for you.”
Grant slapped Beau on the back and the two chuckled. “What are friends for? Please, enjoy your evening.”
Beau sank back into his seat as Grant walked away, stopping to greet another couple at a nearby table. The waiter showed up amoment later with Val’s wine and their appetizer, setting the delicious smelling crostini between them.
The waiter withdrew and Beau reached out to serve Val one of the strawberry topped crostini, but instead of leaning back into his chair, he leaned closer. She smelled so good it made his dick twitch behind the fly of his jeans again.
“Every single man in this restaurant has had their eyes on you since we walked in that door, Val,” he whispered low, his voice coming out nearly a growl. Her mouth dropped open as she raised her eyes to his. Fuck was she gorgeous. “And I guarantee every single one of them is wishing they were the one sitting here with you. Tonight, you’remyValentine.”
CHAPTER 7
Holy shit.
Val could feel the rush of her breathing between her still parted lips. Beau finally leaned back in his seat, giving her much needed space, but their eyes remained locked on each other’s.He really is just so handsome,she thought dazedly.Unfairly, ungodly handsome.
Taking a sip of her wine, she felt a blush stain her cheeks and her hand trembled.
