I couldn't help but moan with pleasure as the unctuous buttery flavor hit my palate.
"Banon de Chalais," he said as he fixed a bit for himself. "From Provence. It's wrapped in brandy soaked chestnut leaves. Delicious, isn't it?"
Before I could agree he held another bite out for me to devour. This time, he stroked my lips with the tip of finger, tracing circles around the sensitive edges. I swallowed the bite of cheese and bread and broke the grip of his eyes on mine. I turned toward the table and took a sip of my drink as he did the same.
"This is not exactly the right beverage to have with this cheese…far too overpowering for something so delicate…"
He reached for my chin and pulled me back into his gaze. My lips parted with an unspoken 'oh' and he teased the tip of my tongue with his finger. He rubbed the moisture across my bottom lip. "You're lips are so perfect…" He hummed a little 'mmmm' of appreciation.
He looked into my eyes and I could see the glaze of animal passion swirling there. His desire for me was dizzying. The way he owned me with his eyes, his hands and even the sounds he made simply possessed me.
His kiss scalded my mouth. The lips that I had imagined, the mouth I had watched for so many nights was hot and wet against my own. I tasted lime and liquor as his tongue found mine. The faint remnants of his cologne left room for my senses to find the smell of his skin. His scent was all male, a spicy, salty, woodsy kind of odor that I wanted to bottle and keep.
My body reacted predictably to Kason's smooth, practiced seduction. I felt his kiss roll all the way down my body. Being one of many suddenly mattered a lot less. He kissed my neck and nuzzled into my collar bone gently nipping at my flesh before returning to bruise my mouth with ever more insistent kisses.
The desire was incredible. I had watched him and mentally devoured his body as he paced across the stage. Since I had met him I had indulged in countless fantasies in which he took the leading role. Lust enveloped me like a curtain of heavy fog and I felt my better judgment blanketed in mist. Maybe there was nothing wrong with being used; no harm in just giving in to a powerfully attractive man who was divinely sexy. ,Maybe I'd just use him .
He pulled me across his lap and ran his hand down the curve of my side. "So feminine," he purred at me like a big powerful cat. The husky depth of his voice reverberated into my very core. "So soft you are. Delicious in every way."
His touch ignited me.
And the phone froze me. I hadn't paid much attention to it when he took it out of his pocket and put it on the coffee table. Plenty of people do that. I guess I just hadn't expected it to ring. Or, for him to answer.
Four
By the time I got back to the duplex, the whole evening really began to sting.
He had given me a sheepish look, grabbed the phone and walked to the far end of the patio with it. I could see him wipe the back of his hand across his mouth and I suddenly felt unclean. I straightened my shirt and smoothed out my hair. The moment had clearly passed.
The only words I could make out on his end of the conversation were expletives. It was obvious that something on the other end was going poorly for Kason. He shoved the phone into his pocket so hard it's a wonder he didn't rip the bottom out. He didn't make eye contact with me right away, but went over and pressed a button on the kitchen counter.
"Look, something's come up," he told me. "It's Hong Kong."
I guess that was supposed to be a sufficient explanation because he didn't offer any more details. Taishi appeared out of the darkness.
"Taishi will drive you back to your car at the theater. I'm afraid I have to get back on the phone." Kason looked like an impending storm, all blackness and fury. He turned toward the house and left me standing on the patio with Taishi. I don't know what I expected—a kiss goodnight, an 'I'm sorry' or 'I'll give you a call.'—but what I got