“I should go after the driver and make them slow down. You could have been hit.” He sounded really angry and worried about her, touching her lightly to ensure she was okay.
She placed her hand on his arm to keep him from doing just that. “I’m fine. You saved me. I promise I’m normally not this much trouble.”
He gave her a devilish smile, his anger evaporating easily. “You can save me next time.”
“Deal.”
“What’s a gazebo?” he asked as they continued down the walkway.
“It’s a platform with an open railing circling around it, and a roof. Usually there’s built-in seating as well. I went to that park a few weeks ago when it opened, and the gazebos had tables inside too. One of them overlooks a small pond and is shaded by trees on the other sides. It’s my favorite spot.”
“We shall get that one then,” he told her.
“Hopefully it won’t be taken already. If it is, we’ll find another place for our picnic.”
About five minutes later they arrived at the park. It was a large area, with small grassy hills and tall trees with wide trunks. Under the trees were picnic tables. Then there were gazebos, about five of them.
“The one I like is over that hill.” She led the way, but as soon as she reached the top of the hill she stopped and frowned. “Oh no, it’s already taken.”
There were three warriors sitting inside the gazebo laughing and eating their own meal.
“Wait here,” he told her, handing her the picnic basket.
She watched curiously as CristOF walked down the small hill heading toward the gazebo. He went inside and spoke with the men, who looked from him to her then back to CristOF. Soon the men packed up their meal, patted CristOF on the shoulder, and left the gazebo. One of them looked her way and winked at her. She looked back at CristOF, who waved for her to come forward.
“What did you tell them?” she asked once she reached the gazebo.
CristOF took the basket from her and placed it on the table. “I told them that I needed a little privacy for me and my female; I wanted to impress you so that I could convince you to give me a kiss later. They were more than happy to help a fellow warrior out.”
She couldn’t help but smile at him as she sat down across from him. “Exactly how do you plan to impress me?” Tera didn’t mention the kiss. Just thinking about his lips on hers sent more tingles through her body.
“First, I will feed you delicious food,” he told her as he opened the top of the basket.
The aroma of the plates he took out from the basket made her stomach growl. “That’s a good start.”
“Then we’ll have conversation. I confess I’ve never been good at that, but last night, I found talking to you both easy and titillating.”
Titillating? No one had ever said that about her. “I enjoyed talking to you too. So, you plan to impress me with food and conversation. Anything else?”
His eyes darkened, boring into hers and heating her up. “I hope that with your body satisfied with food and your mind at ease from our conversation, I will be able to convince you to kiss me.”
Her eyes immediately glanced at his lips. They were full and sexy. Oh...yeah. She was very curious to see what would happen if he kissed her. Her body already responded to his voice and simple touch. Would she explode from a kiss? Her stare was broken when he handed her a plate.
“Eat first.”
“Right.” She took the plate and uncovered it. “Is that...fried chicken?”
“Lizzie told me that human picnics often featured a type of bird, one we don’t have on Kiljor. However, she recommended substituting afixel; she said when fried it tastes very similar. She gave me directions on how to cook the food for you.”
“You cooked this yourself?”
“Of course. I’m a hunter, and I always clean and cook my fresh meat. Why do you seem so surprised?”
“I’ve never had a man cook for me.”
“Really?” He sounded pleased that he had done something for her that no one else had.
“I mean, on Earth men and women shared household chores, but my mother always did the cooking. She taught me to cook. My father taught me how to fish, and he did clean them and cook them on the grill outside. I guess he was the only man who did cook for me, besides you.”
