Annnnd Ethan is speechless. From the sexual way Dane devoured the spoon that my boyfriend just had in his mouth or from the actual dessert, I’m not sure. But I’m here for it.
I’ve been drowning in the tension growing between us, lost in our own little world, but the chatter I hear coming from the table next to us feels like getting dunked in a cold plunge.
“What do you think that’s from? It looks so bad.” Whispered words grab my attention.
I look down and freeze, shifting just my eyes to the table on my left to see two women sitting across from each other. I can see in my periphery that one is leaning forward with her hand over her neck and the other looks in the direction of our table.
“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t wear what she’s wearing, especially at dinner. Talk about losing your appetite.” Her tone is both disgusted and humorous, like she was delivering a punchline.
“Those guys are hot, too. I mean she’s kinda pretty, Iguess,” one girl says.
Then the other adds, “But that scar,” a long hiss leaves her lips, “her date needed to bring his wingman to get him through this one.” They giggle.
Do they actually think they’re whispering?
Dane’s eyes blink over my shoulder as the pinch in his brow gets deeper.
Reaching out, I place my hand over his, because I can tell he wants to say something and I don’t need to create any more negative attention. That always makes everything worse.
He shifts his gaze to our connected hands, up to Ethan, then back to mine and the fury that was there a few minutes ago is replaced with something different now. It’s still dark but full of lust, need, and some sort of delighted curiosity.
I know this is all new to him, but not to me. I’m used to people staring, used to their eyes unavoidably appraising my scar then quickly turning away. Some go as far as whispering to whoever they are with, but most often there’s just a quick look of disgust or pity, before covering it up and attempting to ignore the fact that it’s there.
If I were just with Ethan, it would be easy to disregard their lingering looks and whispered comments. But now with Dane here, it’s staggering my usual confidence.
I tilt up my chin and sit a little taller, going through all the steps I do to build myself up when I’m feeling emotionally compromised and decide, fuck it.
I shift my gaze over to Ethan.
“Trust me?”
He squints, granting me a curious look, then signs back, as we usually do when our conversations are private.
“Always.”
I slide one hand over Ethan’s forearm, while my other hand slips over the top of Dane’s hand, connecting the three of us.Keeping my eyes on my gorgeous boyfriend—who might want to kill me after this—I lean in, bringing my lips to his. It’s soft and sensual as our tongues collide and he moans in pleasure. I can feel Dane’s gaze searing into us, his hand tightening in my grasp.
I pull away slowly and lean over toward Dane.
Dane visibly sits taller, peering between the two of us, uncertain of my next move. But I know exactly what I’m doing.
I turn my gaze directly at the girls, smile, give them a wink, then turn back to Dane. That’s all it takes for him to read me like a book and before I can even begin to fall into him, he cups his hand around the nape of my neck and pulls me in for a passionate kiss.
It’s soft at first, curious. Like he’s testing the flavors.
His hand disappears from under mine and I’m suddenly pulled closer to him. The legs of my chair screech along the floor, before he cups both of his hands over my cheeks and kisses me deeper.
My heart races. My pulse goes crazy and a groan from somewhere in the back of my throat makes a rare appearance.
I pull back, feeling overwhelmed by sensory overload but Dane holds me close, pressing his forehead to mine.
“Oh yeah, I love that sound,” he admits again, like it’s a new life goal to do things to pull that small moan from me.
“Now, give these girls no doubt how badly we both want you and go kiss your boyfriend again. Let him taste me on you.”
12
DANE
