“We were also discussing the incredible things I can do with my tongue…”
“Oh Jesus, Gabriel.” Elijah slaps his napkin onto the table with a heavy sigh. “Noah, please excuse his filthy mouth. It’s not his best quality.”
“Now that, I’d have to disagree with.” Gabriel snickers. “My tongue is definitely one of my better attributes… isn’t that right, beautiful?”
“Oh… well, um…” Noah stammers, cheeks deepening in color. “I have to agree with Elijah. Your mouth is pretty… filthy.”
A wicked grin curls across Gabriel’s handsome face. “Of course it is, sweetheart. Especially after I’ve?—”
“Dessert, anyone?”
I spring to my feet, chair shrieking across the floor as it scrapes back hard—loud enough to kill the moment. It nearly slams into the wall behind me.
Elijah moves quickly to pick it up.
“I’ll put on some coffee,” he huffs out, trying to play it cool, smoothing the edges of the moment. “Noah, love. This chocolate pie looks delicious. I can’t wait to try a slice.”
“It’s my mother’s recipe,” Noah replies, a bit bashful. “I hope it’s as good as hers.”
His cheeks match the cherry-red of his lips.He’s absolutely adorable—and the worst part is, I can’t stop noticing.
I gather up the dinner plates and retreat to the kitchen, dragging my feet just enough to steal a few extra moments of solitude. When I return with dessert plates, the energy has shifted—but hasn’t settled.
“Does your mother live in the city too?” I ask, trying to gain more insight into his family—into him.
I set the plates down in the center of the table, alongside the coffee mugs Elijah just brought in.
“Oh, uh… she’s in France,” he answers, a slight hitch to his voice—just enough hesitation to clock. Then he offers the first slice of pie to Gabriel.
“Mmm… I think I’ll have two slices,” Gabriel purrs, smoothing his tongue over that devious grin.
“You know what they say about chocolate, sí, Alex?”
His eyes lock with mine.
“It makes you horny.”
“I believe that comes naturally for you,” Elijah says dryly, not missing a beat.
“And I believe you are right.” Gabriel beams proudly.
10
ALEX
I might be drunk.
Four empty bottles of wine remain on the table beside a carafe of coffee. I stopped counting after my fourth glass. Pretty sure I contributed to draining each of those bottles though.
Noah sighs contentedly, leaning against Gabriel’s shoulder as he sips his coffee. He looks relaxed—unlike me. Just his presence alone is making me jittery, even after four-plus glasses of wine.
I hate to admit it, but they actually look good together.
Noah, with those striking blue eyes and soft, almost feminine features. He’s a beautiful man, for sure.
And Gabriel, all masculine swagger, with that chiseled jawline and storm-gray gaze. He’s extremely handsome. I swear, he won the lottery in the Spanish gene pool.
I’d never tell him that though.
