She touched his face, delighting in the slight roughness of a five o’clock shadow on his cheek. “Tonight is special,” she whispered. “You made it special for me.”
He smiled, his dimples cutting deep into his cheeks. “I did?”
“Mmm hmm.” Her body recognized his close proximity and instantly awakened, craving his touch. “Kiss me.”
“Our dinner’s getting cold,” he murmured just before he claimed her mouth in a searing kiss.
The coat dropped from her shoulders as she wrapped her arms around his neck and got lost in him. His large, strong hands dug into her back, drawing her closer—closer—as if he wanted to meld their flesh. That wouldn’t be happening while they were fully clothed, sitting mostly side by side, and with an audience.
Jessica tore her mouth from Sed’s, breathing hard as she attempted to regain her wits. No good. Her brain was never fully functional in his presence, and it refused to start functioning again until her body found release. Sometimes several releases.
“God, I want you,” she said with a groan.
“You’ll have me after dinner.”
A shiver of delight tingled at the nape of her neck. She wanted him behind her, his hands holding her breasts, teeth nibbling that spot under her hairline, cock buried deep.
“But I want you now,” she insisted.
“But you have to wait,” he said, his mocking grin making an appearance. “Are you cold, love?” he asked.
If she was, she hadn’t noticed on account of the heat burning through her sex.
“Your nipples are hard.” He cupped one breast and massaged the stiff point with his thumb.
“Not cold,” she said, shuddering with delight. “Hot. For you.”
She reached for his cock, but he caught her hand.
“After dinner,” he said with an air of authority she couldn’t argue against. Well, perhaps she could have argued, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to be done with dinner.
She shifted, forcing her body from the place it most wanted to be—against her big, hunky husband—and moved to rise so she could return to her seat and finish the dinner that was getting in the way of more carnal delights. Sed’s arm went around her back, and he grabbed her hip, tugging her securely against his side.
“You’re not going anywhere, Mrs. Lionheart,” he said. “I want you right here beside me.”
Now that her body was burning for him, she didn’t have the mental capacity to assert her independence. She snuggled into his side and sighed in contentment. He reached across the table and pulled her plate before her. There really wasn’t enough room for two people to dine comfortably on one side of the small table, but comfort was far from her mind as she reached for her fork.
He took it from her. “I’ll feed you.”
The fire in her body died down as the fire in her heart flared back to life. “Oh you will, will you?” she asked, her tone hard with temper.
“What would you like first?” he asked reasonably.
She let a breath out slowly, reminding herself that he was just trying to be romantic and that if she got all defensive now, it would hurt his feelings. And then he’d pretend like he was angry instead of hurt and their whole evening would explode into another argument and then they’d fuck each other until they were raw and spent and too delirious with pleasure to be angry anymore. She was fine with that last part. It was the rest she wanted to avoid.
“Salad,” she said.
He speared several leaves of romaine with her fork and carefully placed them in her open mouth. While she chewed and tried to conjure up romantic feelings about being fed, Sed took several bites of his tortellini.
“Would you like to try the tortellini? It’s really good.”
“Okay.”
He fed her a bite of tortellini, and she murmured in bliss as the Italian spices, cheeses, and tomato sauce delighted her taste buds.
“That is good.”
“Do you want some of this squash?” he asked, indicating the large mound on his plate. The mound she’d placed there to prove a point.
He fed her a lot more squash than she really wanted, but as the reminder of her lesson shrank in size, she relaxed more and more. She started to notice the scenery outside the balloon’s basket as they sailed almost silently over vineyards and foothills. She also noticed how much care Sed put into feeding her—asking her what she’d like, selecting prime bites, gently placing them in her mouth, patiently waiting while she chewed. It made her feel cherished, not dominated. Weird.
When their plates were clean and their bellies full, Sed took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and kissed her gently.
Staring deeply into her eyes, he asked, “How was that?”
“Romantic,” she said dreamily. She leaned toward him, a sappy grin on her face.
“You keep looking at me like that and romance will be the last thing on my mind.”
This time when he kissed her, it was a bit raw. A bit rough. Jessica clung to his huge biceps as she opened her mouth to him and let him devour her.
He drew away, nipping her lip playfully before reaching for the bottle that was chilling in the blue plastic ice bucket. “Let’s go watch the scenery,” he said.
She opened her mouth to agree, and he said, “I mean, would you like to watch the scenery, Jessica?”
“I would,” she said. “If you promise to keep me warm.”
He slid his free hand down her back. “Will you settle for hot?”
“I suppose hot will do.” Feeling positively giddy, she giggled.