Monroe, Marla - Hot and Bothered (Siren Publishing Classic) (9 page)

She shook her head and turned her attention to the menu. The prices were fairly reasonable if the food was as good as the place suggested. Still, how did someone who worked like Dustin did afford a place like this with any regularity? Even she wouldn’t eat here more than once or twice a month at most.

“See anything you like?”

“Lots, actually. I’m not sure what to choose.”

He smiled. “Try something new for a change. Be adventurous.”

“I would think I’m already being that,” she said, looking pointedly at him.

“Maybe you are,” he said, laughing.

“I think I’ll try the veal. I’ve never eaten any before.”

“Good choice. It will go good with the goat cheese dish I’m going to order for you to try. It’s Greek.”

“What are you going to get?” she asked.

“Lasagna, of course.”

“Now who isn’t being adventurous?”

“I’ve had everything on this menu at least once,” he said. “You’re going to love the veal.”

The waiter interrupted them to take their order. Dustin ordered for her and ordered a bottle of red wine, as well.

“I hope you like wine. It will go great with your meal.”

“I love it. Thanks.” Savanna smiled across the table at him. “So, did you work behind a desk this week?”

“Yep, for the most part.”

“Which do you prefer? Driving a truck or working in an office?” she asked.

“Actually, I like doing both. That’s why I go back and forth between the two. I don’t want to have to settle for one thing. I like to change things up some.”

Savanna decided that was code for “don’t expect to be dating me long.” He got bored easily. Funny, so did she. Maybe that was why the spa worked so well for her. There were so many different parts to it and different kinds of people who came to it. She never knew what to expect from one day to the next. It kept her interested in handling the day-to-day aspects of it. Yet, if she wanted to, she could turn all of that over to one of her managers and take an extended vacation somewhere. If she wanted to. She never had.

“How are your friends? Karen and Ben, right?”

His question caught her off guard, and she had to stop and think for a second what to say.

“They are…” she began, then stopped. Should she say they weren’t a couple anymore or just lie and say they were doing fine.

“Actually, they’re having some problems.”

“Oh, that’s bad. I’m sorry. I thought they really cared for each other.” He seemed genuinely sorry about it.

“Yeah, I thought they did, too. I’m not sure what happened.” She began worrying about Karen all over again.

“Sometimes two people just don’t look for the same things in a relationship and they have to go their own ways.”

“You seem to know a lot about relationships.” Savanna cocked her head.

“Every time you get into one, you learn something new about them.”

“That’s true.”

The waiter returned with the wine, and after Dustin approved the bottle, he poured them each a glass and left them alone again. Savanna wasn’t sure what to make of Dustin. He seemed to know a little bit about a lot of things. He worked when he wanted to at what he wanted to do. He was a god in bed, and he had good taste in wine and food. Did it really matter that much? She was just having a fling with him, right? He wasn’t relationship material in her book.

“So what has you looking all serious all of a sudden?” he asked.

“Um, I guess I was just thinking about my friend. Wondering what is going on with her right now.”

“I take it she isn’t talking about it.”

“Well, we really did talk about it, and I know what happened, but something else is going on with her, and it has me worried.”

“Anything you want to talk about?” Dustin asked.

“Thanks, but no. I think it involves her job.”

“So, tell me about managing a spa. I would think it would be fun.”

“Actually, it’s a day spa, so everyone goes home at the end of the day. I like that part.” Savanna grinned across the table at him. “I really enjoy it. There is always something different to deal with, so it keeps me interested.”

“Never gets boring then.”

“Nope. I get frustrated sometimes. But you get that way with any job you have, even if it is a dream job.”

Dustin started to say something, but the waiter’s return with their food interrupted him. The veal smelled delicious, and the odd-looking goat cheese dish smelled odd, as well. She dutifully tasted it and found she really liked it. Dustin laughed at her when she admitted she liked it.

“Thought you weren’t going to, didn’t you?” he said, waving a fork in her direction.

“Well, it looks and smells kind of funny. I wasn’t expecting it to taste so good.”

He scooped up a forkful of lasagna and held it out to her. “Here, you need to taste it. It is the best lasagna you will ever have a chance to eat.”

Savanna opened her mouth and let him feed the lasagna to her. He was right, it was the best she had ever eaten. She nodded and swallowed.

“Delicious.” She cut a piece of veal and forked it up to pass to Dustin.

“I’ve already had it. I know how good it is.”

“But you haven’t had it off my plate. It tastes much better from my fork.” She bit her lips, trying not to laugh at the face he pulled.

“Okay,” he said and took the fork from her to spear the veal into his mouth. “You’re right. It does taste better off your fork.” He winked at her.

They finished up their meal and split a dessert. The tiramisu was delicious and even better because he fed it to her. She couldn’t remember ever having such a good time simply eating dinner. She hadn’t expected to enjoy being with Dustin. She wasn’t looking for it. Instead, she expected the sex to be wonderful and the rest just okay. She would have to keep reminding herself that he wasn’t relationship material. Maybe they just didn’t need to go out. How to approach that, though?

“You ready to go?” he asked.

“Yes. That was wonderful. I’m stuffed.”

He laughed and took care of the check using a credit card. Then he guided her back to the front, where the maître d’ wished them a good night and to return soon. Outside, he helped her on with her jacket. It was cooler than when they had gone inside earlier that night. Dustin unlocked the saddlebag and handed her the helmet to put on. After he fixed his, he snapped hers for her and mounted the bike. Savanna got on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. It felt good to rest her cheek against his back. They headed back towards the city and, more than likely, her apartment.

Savanna was looking forward to the after dinner part of the date. She hoped he was, too. She smiled and raked her nails down the inside seams of his jeans.

Chapter Five

Dustin nearly wrecked the bike when her nails ran down his jeans. Then she lightly scratched over his cock. It roared to life, fighting against the restrictive material. Fuck! He was going to die before he got her home. He heard her muffled laughter behind him. She knew what she had done to him. The witch had done it on purpose. He would make her pay later, though.

As soon as they reached her apartment and she had got off the bike, he stood up and dismounted, relieved to be able to ease the tight cloth over his cock. He adjusted himself so he could walk and shook his head when he caught her laughing at him.

“Sorry?”

But she didn’t sound sorry one bit. Dustin put his arm around her and pulled her close. He kissed her, and then, when she settled in to the kiss, he bit her bottom lip.

“Ow! What was that for?” she demanded, running her tongue along her lip.

“For laughing at me.”

She huffed out a breath and walked to her apartment door. He walked right behind her. When she unlocked the door and turned toward him, he smiled and raised his eyebrows.

“Do I get to come in for some coffee tonight?”

“I shouldn’t let you.”

“No, you shouldn’t, but you will, won’t you?”

In answer, Savanna stepped back from the door and let him walk in. She closed the door behind them and locked it. Dustin backed her down the hall toward the bedroom.

“I thought you wanted coffee?” she said.

“I do. In the morning.”

“Pretty damn sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

Dustin smiled and caught her around the waist. “If I run my hand inside your jeans right now, would you be wet?”

“As wet as you are hard,” she countered.

“Then you’re soaked. Why pretend.”

She might have said something, but Dustin pulled her hard into his arms and kissed her. It took her by surprise with her mouth open, and he didn’t waste an opportunity. He slanted his mouth against hers. His mouth ate at hers, sucking in her tongue and tickling along the roof of her mouth. She moaned. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth and teased it with his tongue. She tried to wrest control of the kiss from him, but he wasn’t going to allow it. Instead, he ran his hands under her sweater up her back to her bra. He unhooked it all in one movement.

She gasped and attempted to pull away. He refused to let go of her. He ran one hand around the edge of the bra and cupped her breast with it. He mounded it and then tugged on the nipple until she relaxed into his arms. He chuckled and drew the sweater over her head. The bra slid off her shoulders without his help. She stood before him in nothing but her jeans and shoes and socks. He smiled at her heavy lids. He loved seeing her lose herself in the feel of his hands on her body.

He held her at her waist and bent down to lick at her nipples. He drew first one, then the other, into his mouth and sucked. She moaned and wrapped her hands around his neck. When he nipped at them, she tugged on his hair. It made him smile. Then he remembered his initial plan to not have sex after their dinner date. It wasn’t going to happen. He couldn’t resist her. There was just something about her that made it impossible for him to walk away. He didn’t even want to walk away. No, he wasn’t going to stop everything now and go back home to his empty condo and even emptier bed. She might not have the nice bathroom and shower he did, but she was here, not at his place. One day he would have her at his place, though. One day soon, he hoped.

“What are you thinking so hard about?” she demanded, pulling his hair to get his attention.

“Thinking about how beautiful you are.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right.”

“Really. I was thinking the only thing better than being here with you right now is being in you right now.”

Savanna rolled her eyes and pulled him down to her for a kiss. He deepened it, and soon they were back to mutual groping. She ran her hands up under his shirt and played with his nipples. He did the same with hers. She made a whimpering sound and tried to pull his shirt over his head, but she was too short. He bent over to give her better access. She managed to pull the shirt off without falling. They stopped and looked at each other and laughed. They each began taking off their shoes and pants. Since he didn’t have on underwear, it took her longer to undress than it did him.

“No fair, I have more clothes to take off than you do.”

“I didn’t realize we were racing to get undressed.”