Page 57 of Mr. Wicked

Laura hadn’t encouraged physical contact. She’d said nothing about it, in fact. I just thought it would be a nice touch if there happened to be any eyes on us.

Once I put my hand there, her back straightened, and the muscles beneath my fingers tightened.

But that wasn’t the only thing that happened.

I was shocked at how comfortable the placement felt.

At how badly I wanted to pull her against me and lock our mouths together.

I would give anything to know what she tasted like at this moment.

She turned her face toward my chest, and I hoped she was going to close the distance between us, but instead, she quietly said, “I’m warning you now, if you’re not nice to me over dinner, you can forget that first kiss that’s supposed to go down tonight.”

It would defeat the purpose if she gave me one now. The kiss needed to be inside the restaurant, in front of the servers and dining patrons. Still, I was disappointed it didn’t happen, which shocked my system again.

Since I came here regularly for sushi, most of the staff knew who I was and greeted me by name, and I hoped that rumors would start when they shared that they saw me with a chick.

A hot one, at that.

And that my hands and mouth were all over her—something I never did in public, so they were definitely going to take note.

I walked her into the hotel, the restaurant located along the left side of the small, intimate lobby, and whispered, “I know you’re not threatening me.”

“That’s not a threat. It’s a promise. I’m doing this for you and Hooked, remember?”

“I’m paying off your student loans and for your parents’ new apartment, remember?”

She gazed up at me and smirked. “This is going to be the longest year of my life.”

“And mine.” I drove my teeth into my bottom lip, glaring at her beautiful face, and opened the door to the restaurant.

As soon as the hostess spotted me, she said, “Mr. Tanner, good evening. I see you have a reservation for two.” She eyed up Jovana. “Let me bring you to your table.”

The hostess, a student at Boston University, had been working here for the last six months. In that time, she’d done everything in her power to fuck me.

This was the best sushi restaurant in Boston, so I didn’t want to make things awkward as hell when I came in once a week to eat alone at the bar. In addition, the chef and I were great friends.

So, there were actually times when I knew enough to keep my dick in my pants. This was one of those rare occasions.

“Yes, for two,” I repeated, emphasizing the number while I stood at Jovana’s side, gazing down her profile. I strengthened my grip on her back before I stepped behind her. The new position had her hair grazing the top of my chest, her locks giving off the lavender scent.

Even in a room full of food, I could still smell her.

And that smell increased the longing.

Fuck me.

“Follow me,” the hostess replied.

There were two dining rooms, both small. I hoped she chose the larger, which would give us an audience of five or six more tables, and the potential of having all those extra eyes on us. Fortunately, when she turned to her right, I realized that was exactly where she was bringing us, and the table was in the center.

Perfectly placed. The hostess even earned herself a smile.

“Enjoy,” she said, returning the grin while she placed a menu in front of me.

Once we were alone, I asked Jovana, “Have you eaten here before?”

She folded her hands on top of her menu. “I think the real question is, How long has it been since you’ve slept with the hostess?” Her eyes narrowed while she waited for a response.

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