Page 32 of Viper

He hiked up a brow. “You sure? You downed that one pretty quickly,” he said, laughing.

She stuck out her tongue. “I was hot and thirsty.” She huffed out a breath and snagged one of his french fries.

He swatted her hand away, but she’d already popped it into her mouth with a satisfied smirk. “You’re too slow.”

“See if I let you order salad again. You ate more of my fries than I did.”

“You got a double order, so that’s allowed. Besides, this is our date, right? You’re supposed to wine and dine me.”

He reached across the table and picked up her hand, lacing their fingers together. “You’re already wined and took half my dine, so now can we go home and finish what you wanted to start before breakfast?”

“You’re the one who wanted a date first. I would’ve finished right in the kitchen.”

A red tint darkened his cheeks. “You have no fucking idea what you do to me, Paige.”

She leaned forward and pulled her fingers from his grasp to trail them up his arm all the way to his elbow. Heat blazed from his eyes, the desire there so hot it electrified her nervous system.

He grasped her hand again and kissed her knuckles. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” His voice was thick and husky.

Her folds throbbed and wetness pooled between her legs.

He signaled to a server and the guy swooped up to their table.

“How can I help, sir?”

“Can we get the bill?”

The man smiled. “I’ll print it off and be right over.” He headed for the till.

“Well, I’m going to pee—” Her eyes rounded. God, that wasn’t something you said on a first date. Her cheeks tingled with embarrassment. “I mean . . .”

Troy laughed. “It’s fine. I had a pretty good idea that’s what you do in there.”

She swatted his arm as she moved past him toward the restroom, wobbling slightly on the smooth tile. The tingling in her cheeks lingered, and a wave of heat rose to her scalp.

Just before she reached the bathroom, she stumbled. Gasping, she caught her footing before she went down. Her legs shook as she straightened—thank god she was in sandals and not heels—and pushed open the bathroom door.

A gust of air conditioning hit her as she entered, cooling her scalding face. She pressed her hand against the wall to steady herself. Good lord. It’d been a while since she’d had more than one drink, but she’d had only a third of the second. No way she should feel it this hard.

Dizziness hit her, and a hazy cloud swept in front of her vision. Fear kicked her heart into high gear.

Something’s not right.

A low hum sounded in her ears. She turned to go back out the door. She needed to get to Troy. The hazy cloud became a thick white curtain.

I can’t see!

Her knees shook. “H-Help!” But the cry came out as a weak croak.

A squeak answered. The door. Someone had entered. Her breath came out in rapid pants. “Please. Get help. I’m going to f-faint.” The words came out a garbled mess. The sound of them didn’t match the plea in her head.

Firm hands grabbed her shoulders. Moist lips touched the outside of her ear. “You thought you could get away from me. But you’re mine, little starfish.”

Panic shot through her, rattling whatever senses she had left. A cry escaped her lips as her legs turned to mush. The rough hands secured her in place. The white curtain turned black, and the only thing she was aware of just before she passed out was Troy’s name on her lips.

“Thank you,” Troy said, as the server made off with the card machine.

Troy stood and tucked his wallet in his back pocket. Urgency warmed his veins. Christ, he’d never been so turned on during a first date.