Page 14 of Tricky Puck

Either way, she scurries off, leaving me to stare at Link and hold myself back from fanning my face because I feel all kinds of hot. It’s his stare—a sultry one, the kind whose intentions are unmistakable.

The food we were both dying for sits between us on steaming plates, but neither of us makes a move to eat. He clears his throat, and I watch his manly Adam’s apple move up and down like it’s the most sexy thing I’ve ever seen. Heaving a breath, I squirm in my seat and hope to hell he can’t read my mind even though I feel like I’m transparent as glass to him—or anyone with eyes—right now.

“The food,” he says, licking his lips, “smells good but…” He looks around like he’s looking for the nearest exit, and I hope he’s planning to make his escape with me—not that I’d let him get away without a chase at this point.

I remain mute, and he clears his throat again and swipes a hand through his lush hair. God, I’d love to run my hands through that hair while he’s busy⁠—

“Are you still hungry?” his voice is a low rumble that sends vibrations zinging through me straight to my core.

“No.” My voice is a croak, and I lean forward again without even realizing it until I see his gaze drift down.

He leans close, returning his gaze to my eyes, and speaks in a low, penetrating voice. “You should button that blouse.”

Five

LINK

The mouthwatering scent of our food wafts up from the dish the server placed in front of me, and entices me, but only for a split second. The effect of the food disappears in a blink—as soon as Delaney leans forward, dipping low to show off her gift of gleaming plump breasts, squeezed together in hypnotizing cleavage, lighting up every nerve I have in blinding, lusty pleasure.

If her drunken charm warms me, then her breasts on display hurl me straight into the fires of hell. The imprint of desire burns on my soul and turns me into the devil himself. Maybe she’s right about my resemblance to a pirate. Tearing my gaze from her, I look for the server and frown because the last thing I want to do is call her back after her animosity toward Delaney.

It felt right to banish the girl at the time. I did what any self-respecting pirate would do—banish the enemy.

Now, with the server gone and the food nowhere in my zone of interest—which is unheard of, though I don’t care to examine the reason for that anomaly right now—there’s only one thing on my radar, one urgent thing I need. I need to taste Delaney’s mouth, to feel her body up close and personal to—fuck.

We need to get out of here. Except the urgency I feel won’t wait. I need someone to bring me the check and pack up our meal. Looking around for anyone besides our overzealous server to take care of us, I spot the host and beckon the man over. He hustles toward our booth.

“What’s going on?” Delaney says.

“No way are we staying to eat. And no way do I want that server coming back to this table again.”

Delaney smiles her charming half-drunken smile. “Now you’re my protector from evil, jealous serving wenches.” The dreamy softness of her expression takes the sarcastic bite out of her words, and I smile, nodding.

“That’s why the pirate always gets the girl.”

“Dare I ask what you’re going to do with the girl now that you have her?”

We stare, communicating through the heat of our sizzling gazes like we have an electric current arcing between us, holding us in place, connecting us.

The host coughs. “Is there something I can⁠—”

“We need to leave. Pack up our meals and bring over the bill.” I stand, pull a few large bills from my wallet, and hand them to the man. Then I turn my attention to Delaney because I can’t help myself. I’ve never felt desperate before, so I’m not sure, but this must be it. At least my diamond-cutter dick is damned desperate.

“How about if I escort you to the ladies’ room before we go.” It’s not a question, and I pull the table away from her so she can get out of the booth.

“Now you’re moving the table?”

I lean in to whisper in her ear as she stands, gripping her hand.

“We need to escape so that I can ravage you. But I don’t want to wait.”

Six

DELANEY

I’m not sure what that means about not wanting to wait—until he tugs on my hand and leads me to the corridor lined with private unisex restrooms, and we walk to the end.

“You’ve been to this place before, haven’t you?” I don’t know why I say such an inane thing, except it bubbles up with my nerves from nowhere. Because now I know exactly what he meant by not wanting to wait.