Page 77 of The Last Goodbye

She was enjoying this.

Guess what, Magpie. Two can play that game.

eighteen

​. . .​

Briar

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had this much fun.

I also wasn’t offended at all that the man was clearly as attracted to me as I was to him.

Even if we both knew that it would be ridiculous to act on it, I was having a really good time.

He glared at me and tossed his napkin to the side, as if to say he didn’t give a shit that his jeans were currently tented. He reached for the bottle of wine and refilled both of our glasses.

“Listen, I have no shame in my game. It’s been a while for me, and you’re an attractive woman, so there you go.”

“‘So there you go’? You don’t need to make light of it. This is obviously a thing for you.” I chewed on my lip because it was a challenge not to laugh.

“What’s a thing for me?” he asked. He dipped some lobster in the bowl of melted butter and scooched closer to me. He held his hand beneath the fork and brought it to my lips. “Try it the correct way.”

His heated gaze met mine. I let my lips fall open, and he placed it in my mouth. The act was so intimate that I squeezed my thighs together in response as I slowly chewed the most tender, delicious bite of lobster I’d ever had.

I swallowed down the moan this time, because he was still sitting so close to me, and the smell of oak and sandalwood, mixed with the food, not to mention the wine, had me very relaxed.

He set the fork on the coffee table, and the strap of my dress fell down my shoulder. “Let me get that for you.”

His fingers grazed along my upper arm as he pulled the strap up over my shoulder and then dragged his fingers along my collarbone.

My breaths were coming hard and fast now, and I was certain he was going to kiss me. His lips were parted, eyes heated—he was so close.

Painfully close.

If he didn’t kiss me, I might actually combust.

And then his eyes moved down, blatantly. Making no attempt to hide the way they perused my face, my neck…stopping at my—breasts.

And then a wicked grin spread across his handsome face. “Looks like the big guy isn’t the only one to crash the party, Magpie. It appears the twins are out for the evening as well.”

I glanced down to see my nipples clearly pebbled and pressing against my dress. I didn’t have a whole lot to work with, and I’d opted for pasties instead of a strapless bra, but clearly my pasties were not doing their job.

The girls were most definitely showing my hand.

I fell forward in hysterical laughter, making no attempt to deny it.

And he just sat there with a goofy grin on his face, watching me.

“Fine. It’s been a while for me as well, if you must know.”

“Oh, I must know.” He smirked, motioning for me to keep eating.

Once a chef, always a chef.

“What do you want to know?” I ate some more steak and then moved back to the lobster, because I didn’t even know which I liked better. “We’re friends, right? I’m an open book.”

“Really?” he asked, as if he was going to enjoy this.