Page 6 of Hale Damage
I nod. “My grandmother’s father made them as a gift for her, so he would have been my great-grandfather. It was her very first set and what made her start collecting them. He even engraved her initials on the bottom, J.E.” I pick up my drink and take a sip. “I have all of her collection, which I inherited when she died. I was ten, and since then, I’ve added more.”
He strokes his jaw. “Besides the cabbages, what is your favorite set?”
I laugh. “It’s completely ridiculous.”
Joe’s fingertips toy with a strand of my hair. “Maybe I like ridiculous.”
Shaking my head, I say, “I found some cheap ones shaped like a dog and a fire hydrant. The dog has his leg lifted.”
Joe bursts out laughing, and I join him. “That is ridiculous.”
“I think I like them because they make me smile every time I look at them.”
“You have a wonderful smile,” he says, his voice dropping lower. It’s much quieter back here, some of the noise buffered by a half-wall, so I can clearly hear the rasp around his words.
Then Joe’s hand is on the back of my neck, thumb on one side and fingers on the other. It’s a dominant move, and I don’t mind it one iota. He squeezes and pulls me forward, meeting me halfway for another searing kiss. His other hand rests on my bare shoulder, softly kneading as he ignites some connection between my mouth and my clit.
The way this man kisses conjures images of sweaty bodies, tangledsheets, and bad decisions. Or good decisions, depending on your perspective.
“Hi, did—” a cheery female voice says before stopping abruptly. “Oh, um…”
Ignoring the interruption, Joe continues to stroke my tongue with his, languid and covetous. I feel his hand leave my shoulder, and I peep one eye open to see him holding his finger up as if to say, “Hold please.”
When he finally decides he’s done seducing the absolute fuck out of my mouth, he pulls back and licks his lips before turning to the waitress standing beside the table.
“Sorry, but when a man is kissing a woman this beautiful, there’s no way he can stop until he’s had his fill,” he offers with an apologetic smile that’s not really all that apologetic. His arm is fully around my shoulders now, his hand possessive on my upper arm.
He’s so damn arrogant, and it makes me wonder if he’d be the same way in bed… demanding and audacious. I think I’d like to find out.
The poor woman picks her jaw up off the floor and visibly swoons.Yeah, join the club, sister.
“I totally understand, sir. Your girlfriend is gorgeous.” Her eyes flick to me, a mixture of admiration and jealousy. “I just wanted to see if you needed anything else.”
I’m not sure where this attentive side of her was before. Maybe my lack of broad shoulders and a penis have something to do with it.
Joe glances down at our glasses. “Bring us another round next time you pass by,” he tells her before focusing his attention on me. “Another cosmo, baby? Or something different?”
The image of him doubles as my eyes cross briefly at his use ofbaby. Never really been a fan of that particular term of endearment, to be honest, but when Joe says it in that deep baritone, it gives me tingles between my legs.
“Another cosmo is fine,” I eke out.
When she departs, Joe scrapes his teeth over his bottom lip. “You know, I fibbed a little to that waitress.”
My high spirits take a nosedive. “Oh?”
His mouth crooks up on one side. “Yeah, I’m not sure I’ll ever get my fill of your lips.”
Dammit. In the words of that guy from the old Eddie Murphy movie,Coming to America, “That boy good.” A little too good, but I can’t help but be charmed by him.
By the time the server comes back with our order, we’ve finished our current drinks. “So, Joe,” I say, “I told you something about me…” I let the statement hang in the air without asking the question.
He takes a long, slow sip of his scotch, his eyes hung onto mine. “I guess I should reciprocate,” he assumes before licking his lips. “Hmmm, I don’t have any cool collections or anything like you.”
My heart warms a little because he called my collectioncool. I had a roommate in culinary school who called themjunk.
“It doesn’t have to be a collection.” I ruminate for a second. “What’s something you’d really like to do that you haven’t told anyone else?”
Joe chuckles. “Ah, the lady wants to know my secrets.” He lowers his eyes, watching his hand turn the short glass on the wooden tabletop before exhaling. “I want to go to Disney World.”
