Consumed by a Stranger (Craved Series #4) (5 page)

As
I rode to the top of the Space Needle with Jack, I was having an out of body
experience. I don't know if it was the way he looked in his crisp white button
up shirt or the fact that I knew what was underneath it, but my heart was like
a butterfly in my chest and it was hard to keep from smiling at him like an
idiot.

Especially
since he kept smiling at me, too, making my insides clench with enthusiasm over
and over. 

The
last guy I sort of went out with was Emmett, and he never took me to dinner. We
only ever went to lunch at cafe's, usually with coworkers. We did stop for
Chinese to go cartons on the way home from an office party once, but I was
pretty sure I treated. 

And
the guy before him took me to dinner a few times, but never anywhere fancier
than standard American family style restaurants, the kind of places where they
spoiled you by letting you fill up on stale chips. 

And
now I was going to one of the fanciest restaurants in town with the most
amazing guy ever. 

Meanwhile,
Jack was acting super casual, like he hadn't just crossed an ocean to feed and
fuck me. 

I
couldn't decide if I was the luckiest girl in the world or if I should start
preparing myself for the hurt I was going to feel when this fairy tale was all
over. 

"Two
for Quinn," Jack said to the maitre'd when we stepped off the
elevator. 

"Right
this way Mr. and Mrs. Quinn," the man in black said with a smile as he
turned on his heels. 

I
tried not to let my flinch show on the outside since it was an honest mistake,
but Audrey Quinn did have a nice ring to it. 

Maybe
Jack and I didn't seem so ridiculous together after all. I mean, we obviously
passed as a believable couple.

Jack
gestured for me to follow the host first, putting a hand on my lower back so
gently I wanted to lean into it, to curl towards him as if we were dancing,
look him in the eye, and ask him what the hell he was doing to me and did he
know my heart couldn't take this?!

Instead,
I stepped forward, weaving my way to a table for two by the window along the perimeter
of the restaurant.

The
host pulled my chair out for me, and while I’m fairly certain I thanked him, it
was a long time before I took my eyes off the view. 

"Looks
like I'm spoiled for choice," Jack said. 

I
turned to look at him where he was sitting across from me, the floor shifting imperceptibly
under our feet. "What do you mean?"

"Between
the sight of you and the city below us, I don’t know which lovely view to feast
my eyes on."

I
swallowed. I wanted to tell him not to try so hard, not to say things he was
never going to be able to keep saying, things I would never tire of hearing. 

"And
if the food is as good as I'm hoping it is, I'll really be torn for what to
focus on."

"This
is a real treat, Jack. Not just the restaurant and the view, but seeing you
again. Here."

"Thanks,"
he said, opening his menu without taking his eyes off me. 

"I'm
really glad you came."

"Me,
too."

"And
that you didn't hire a private detective to track me down."

A
twinkle of mischief flashed across his eye. "You've been talking to
Megan?"

"Of
course," I said. "And you’re very lucky. She's terrible at keeping
secrets- other people's at least. The fact that she didn't let it spill that
you were coming is a miracle."

"Well,
I'm very grateful for her cooperation. I'm sure she was much more pleasant to
deal with than the PI's I looked up."

"You
were really that keen to track me down, huh?" I asked, tilting my
head. 

He
let his eyes drop to his open menu for a second. "I was."

"Because
you like the thrill of the chase or-?"

He
lifted his head to look at me again. "Because I like you, Audrey. A lot. And
because I can't stand the thought of you being with someone else."

I
pursed my lips. 

"Especially
when I don't believe there's anyone who will go to the lengths I will to make you
happy."

I
didn't know what to say. 

He
lifted his eyebrows. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yes,"
I said, wishing I didn’t find it so hard to believe what he was saying.

"Good,"
he said. "Then look at the menu because I'm starving, and I need to eat if
I'm going to have enough energy to have my way with you later."

My
stomach did a little cartwheel as I let my eyes drop to the appetizers. 

"Can
I get you something to drink?" a young woman asked, appearing beside our
table in a cummerbund. 

I
looked at Jack who was scanning the drinks menu.

"Do
you like red wine?" he asked me. 

I
nodded. 

He
turned to the server. "Can we have a bottle of the
Carménère
, please?"

"Certainly,"
she said, nodding and backing away from the table. 

"I've
never heard of that," I said. 

"You'll
like it. It's just like you."

"Oh
really?" I asked. "And how's that?"

"Nice
and light but incredibly full bodied."

I
rolled my eyes. He obviously meant full bodied as a compliment, and I was delighted
to oblige his outrageous flattery. "I can't wait to try it."

“By
try it, I hope you mean drink most of it because I’ve got to get us home
safely."

"Of
course," I said. 

"But
we'll go up to the observation deck after we eat for some fresh air before we
go so there’s no rush."

"Sounds
good," I said, looking down at the mains. I'd had trouble narrowing down
the starters so I figured imagining my meal as a whole might help. "So how
long are you staying?" 

"I'm
not quite sure," he said. "However long it takes to convince you that
I’m serious about you."

I
lifted my eyes to his. "Is that it?" I asked. "You don't have
anyone else you need to see or anything else you have to do?" It was hard
for me to imagine what life must be like for someone who didn’t need to work
anymore. 

"Like
who?"

I
shrugged. "I don't know. Patients? Family?"

"I
haven't thought that far ahead," he said. "You're my main priority."

I
nodded. 

"Though
I do have some commitments back in Thailand that I can't ignore forever."

"I
see." I decided not to ask about the commitments he had so far away since
they were depressing, especially since at least one of them was his Dad's
situation. "And you don't think the fact that you live there is going to
be an obstacle to the future of… whatever this is?"

"Not
at all."

"How
can you be so sure?" I asked. 

"Because,”
he said. "Finding you was the hard part. Keeping you happy, I can
do."

She
shook her head. "Your confidence is really something."

"I'm
glad you said confidence instead of cockiness."

"Was
I wrong to?"

"I
don't think so," I said. "I'm just used to getting what I want, and
I've never wanted anything as much as I want you."

The
waitress arrived with the wine, my last comment lingering between us while
Audrey watched me like a hesitant fawn, like she couldn't decide whether she
wanted to bolt or lick me. 

"Are
you ready to order?" the waitress asked, looking between us. 

"I'll
have the duck please," Audrey said, smiling at the waitress who probably
would've been decent looking in her own right if she hadn’t been standing so
close to Audrey. 

"The
New York Strip for me," I said. 

"Would
you like any appetizers?" the waitress asked hopefully. 

"Sure,"
I said. "The crab cakes and the flat bread sound nice."

The
waitress nodded, collected our menus, and left.

"Are
you happy with those starters?" I asked. "You weren't eyeing the
buratta were you?"

"It
did sound nice," she said. "But I thought the flat bread looked like
the pick of the bunch."

"Anything
with blue cheese and bacon, right?" 

She
rolled her shoulders back and laid her napkin across her lap. "You
said it."

"I
was surprised you went with the duck."

She
shrugged. "I can't say the same for what you ordered."

I
furrowed my brow. "What do you mean?"

"The
New York Strip? I mean, c'mon. You're more obsessed with stripping than any guy
I've ever met."

I
felt the corner of my mouth curl up. "I don't think I've always
been," I said. "I think it's just an interest you’ve brought out in
me."

She
rolled her eyes. 

"I'd
like to propose a toast," I said, lifting the stem of my glass. 

She
followed my lead. "What are we toasting to?"

"Let's
toast to Megan and Matteo because without their help, I wouldn't have found you
so quickly."

"Sounds
good to me," she said, clinking her glass against mine. She took a sip of
her wine and licked her wet lips, filling my mind with filth. "Mmmm. That
is nice," she said, taking another drink.

"I'm
glad you like it," I said. "I'd hate for you to think my excellent
taste was limited to women."

She
shook her head. "I wouldn't dare suggest such a thing."

"Good,"
I said. "Speaking of taste, what is it you're looking for?"

She
placed a hand over her chest. "What am I looking for?"

"Yeah,"
I said. "In a man."

"Wow.
You get right to the point, don't you?"

"Well,
time is of the essence here."

"I
suppose." 

"So
I’m in a hurry to figure you out."

"To
figure me out?" she asked. "I'm not sure I've got me figured out yet,
but I guess you're welcome to try."

"Figure
you out wasn't the right use of words," I said. "I just want to get
to know you."

She
nodded. 

"And
I don't need to know you better than you know yourself," I said.
"Just better than anyone else."

"Why?"

"Because
you're the most interesting subject I don't know anything about."

Her
eyes glanced down and then back up at me. "Jack, I don't want you to be
disappointed when you find out I'm just a regular girl."

"There's
no such thing as a regular girl, and even if there was, you're not it. You're
exceptional."

"The
only thing exceptional about me is how blown away I am by your resolve right
now."

"We
don't have time for that kind of blasphemy," I said. "Is it that you
don't know what you want? Is that why you can't just answer the question?"

"Well,
I don't have a list of requirements or anything."

"Shoot
from the hip then."

She
took a deep breath. "I like men who are smart and I admire ambition, but I
suppose a good sense of humor is the most important thing."

"What
else?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. 

"I
don't think men have to be assholes to be sexy," she said. "I mean,
nobody wants a doormat, but I like men who are considerate of other people,
especially people they don't have to be nice to… if that makes sense."

"Sure,"
I said. "What else?" 

"I
want someone with a high energy level, someone who can keep me from getting too
set in my ways."

I
laughed. "Set in your ways?"

She
sighed. "I have a tendency to hide myself away with books and box sets. Sometimes
I forget to be social."

"That's
hard to imagine."

"Megan's
great for dragging me out, but it would be nice to find someone who could share
the load."

"Maybe
I'm not the guy for you then."

"Why
do you say that?"

"Cause
if you were mine, I'd be delighted if you wanted to stay in bed all day and not
go out."

"Yeah,
but if you were in the bed, too, then it wouldn't be antisocial."

"Good
point," I said. "And I could make a special effort to make sure our
time together was particularly high energy."

"It
might be worth a try."

"Then
again, if you were mine, I'd want to show you off, too. So I’d probably constantly
be thinking of places to take you where other people could see how good you
looked on my arm."

"There
you go. Maybe it wouldn't be such a disaster after all," she said. "What
else would we do if I were yours?"

"Anything
you wanted. The better question to ask would be what couldn't we do?"

"Okay,
then. What couldn't we do?"

"Be
apart for too long," I said. "Cause I'd go mental. The last two weeks
really tore me up."

"I
don't buy it," she said. "Someone as adventurous as you pining away
for someone like me?"

"You
don't have to buy it, but it's the truth." I took a sip of my wine and set
the glass down, relishing the taste of wine that hadn't been cooking on the
shelves of 7/11 for six months. "And for the record, my pining isn’t a
reflection on my ability to be independent."

"No?"

"Not
at all," I said. "Because I don't need you, Audrey. I want you.
There's a big difference."

"And
what's that?" 

I
leaned back in my chair. "I can live without you. I just don't want
to."

"I
see."

"And
there's another big difference, too," I said, fixing my eyes on her.  

"Oh?”
She cocked her head. “And what might that be?”

"I
don't always get what I need.”