His eyes gleamed, but he made no comment, sucking an ice cube out of his glass, then chewing. She fought the urge to call him out for it. That habit was bad; it could cause craze lines on dental enamel and even lead to a cracked tooth. It was a shame because he really did have gorgeous teeth, but she also knew that ice chewing increased the blood flow to the brain and stimulated the parasympathetic nervous system, resulting in a calming effect.
He was using it as a coping mechanism, Jannie realized. Her heart squeezed; the Nick she’d known was still in there somewhere—another thing they had in common. Jannie had never managed to completely rid herself of the insecurities of her youth.
She listened to him crunch, suppressing a wince. “What about you?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed with his swallow. Jannie envisioned running her hands over his throat and shifted in her seat.
Nick held her gaze, his eyes intense and dark. “Me?”
She nodded. Waited.
His smile was slow and beautiful and oh, so very sexy. “I don’t have much of a personal life, either.”
She found that hard to believe. Jannie opened her mouth to say so but had to close it as a server approached with a tray loaded with sinfully delicious-looking desserts.
She noted with amusement that Nick sat up straighter, his eyes shining.
He smiled hugely, making her heart kick into a faster rhythm. “Ah, here we are. The best part of any meal.”
The server carefully placed the plates of intricately decorated desserts that looked like edible art.
Jannie eyed the beautiful confections. “These are almost too pretty to eat.”
“Pretty things are the most satisfying to eat,” Nick smoothly replied in a low voice.
More wicked innuendo? Her gaze snapped to his face, and sure enough, a suggestive little half-smirk curved a corner of his mouth as he reached for a spoon.
Evoking a vision of his head between her legs and her hands pulling his hair.
Dear God.
Jannie blinked a few times, but still, the erotic image lingered.
She didn’t understand these thoughts of him in explicit situations. This had never happened to her, not even with Blake. Her ex had always been the initiator, and she the willing participant, but right now, all Jannie could think of was getting Nick alone, ripping off his clothes, and going feral on him.
It was primal.
It was visceral.
It was …
“Like sex,” he murmured.
“What?”
“The surge of dopamine from eating a good dessert. It’s a close second.” His spoon hovered above the platter of sweet delights as he regarded her questioningly. “Which one should we try first, do you think?”
Jannie wasn’t used to this much consideration; Blake always reached for what he wanted and dug right in. She forced herself to look back at the desserts. In truth, she preferred to look at Nick’s large hands and long fingers. Damn, the man made holding a teaspoon sexy.
“I vote for the one with cherries.” She picked up her own spoon. “It’s the blandest, so we should eat that first.”
He smiled. “My thought exactly. Let’s go for it.”
They dipped their spoons into the decadent pile of cream topped with shiny red cherries. Underneath, Jannie discovered, was an incredibly light sponge cake. The moment the spoonful landed on her tongue, the combined flavors spread in a burst of sweet and tart delight.
“Oh, my God,” she murmured. “You weren’t wrong about this pastry chef.”
He nodded. “Talented, isn’t she?”
