I licked my fingers clean before answering him, kind of liking the way his nostrils flared as I sucked one finger clean. What can I say? The ribs were messy. Can’t have good ribs without getting your hands sticky. After I was done, I smiled at him and he growled as I said, “Italian blood on my dad’s side. My mom’s first-generation American. Her folks came from Denmark. That’s where the blonde and blue come from.”
“But you got your height from your dad’s side.”
“Right ... wait. How did you know that?”
For a moment he froze, then he shrugged. “I’ve been watching you for a bit. I pick up on things.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, giving him my best mean face. “So you’ve been stalking me?”
Instead of looking scared, or even slightly ashamed, he grinned at me. “You could call it that.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why have you been watching me and for how long?”
“Long enough to know that I like what I see.”
“Uh, what?” Heat burned my cheeks as I realized I probably sounded like an idiot. “I mean, that doesn’t answer my question. And another thing, did you steal my bananas?”
Laughter burst out of him, and I tried to keep the smile off my face as glared at him. “It was you, wasn’t it? Thief.”
Still chuckling, he leaned back and gave me a warm, dare I say affectionate smile. “Baby, you kill me. So sassy and fearless.”
Okay, I’m pretty sure that was a compliment, and I didn’t know how to handle it, so of course I started to blather.
“Whatever. I’ll have you know I was growing paranoid about buying bananas. For a while there I thought my house was haunted. Little things would be just slightly misplaced, like my book being on the kitchen table instead of the living room where I swore I’d left it. How long have you had a key to my house?”
All the blood in my body rushed to my forehead as I considered something about him being in my home that I hadn’t thought about before this point.
Like the fact that I kept sex toys in a drawer in my living room and my bedroom.
Oh, crap.
Fucking hell crap.
“Did you ... were you going through my things ... my personal things?”
“You mean, do I like the fact that you only use little bullet vibrators? That you keep your pussy nice and tight? I do. But no one else does. I’m the only one that has ever been in your home alone. I’m also the only one with a key and codes to your system, which sucks by the way.”
“Smoke ...” I tried for a scolding tone, but it came out hurt instead as I noticed people watching us. What can I say? I wasn’t used to having someone talk about sex—loudly—in public like this. Or let the whole fucking restaurant know my preferences in sex toys. “Please don’t talk about me like that in public. I don’t like it. It ... it embarrasses me and hurts my feelings.”
An instant change came over him, and in less than a heartbeat, he was sitting next to me on my side of the booth. I gaped at him, nervously glancing around to see if anyone was watching us—and they were—before looking back at Smoke. He met my gaze and let out a low breath, distress tightening his full lips.
“I’m sorry, baby. I would never disrespect you on purpose and it won’t happen again. Sometimes I forget how innocent you are. I mean you have some big fucking brass balls for such a pretty little girl. You’ve been through shit without a tear that I’m pretty sure was terrifying, yet here you sit, hurt because of me running my mouth. I’m sorry babe, really I am.” He sighed and stroked my cheek. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?” I said in a thick voice, refusing to admit how much his words had affected me.
“Your eyes are all big and wounded, making me feel like a complete asshole.” He shook his head and gave me a sad smile. “Gonna have to kiss you and make it better now.”
Before I could ask him what he was talking about he laid a seriously sensual kiss on me that had my toes curling and my arms going around his neck as he bent me over the side of the booth and proceeded to blow my mind. The whistles and cheers around us from the other patrons barely reached me, I was deep in orbit around Smoke, drowning in the taste of him. He stroked my lower lip with his tongue and groaned softly. With a final gentle press of his lips to mine he pulled back, his gaze hot and demanding.
“If I didn’t think you were something special I’d take you to the bathroom and fuck you on the sink right now,” he said in a low voice. “But you’re better than that.”
“I am?” I whispered back, utterly spellbound by the image he’d painted in my mind. I didn’t doubt that I would love every second of it, grungy bathroom at a rib joint or not. God, I know he was ripped and as my mind wandered I imagined his naked body and big, fat cock.