Page 10 of Dangerously Tempting

5

Amelia

Playlist: "Save Me," Jem

I dive into the food without hesitation, inhaling about half of the plate before I look up to find Jameson watching me with a sly smile on his face. I finish chewing what’s in my mouth and swallow before asking, “What?”

“Nothing, just noticing that you weren’t lying about being hungry, and enjoying that you actually eat.”

“Of course I eat. Are there people that don’t?”

“Women are strange creatures. I’ve watched them eat like birds, making a salad with nothing substantial on it into a four course meal. Then they act like they aren’t absolutely starving afterwards. I’m guessing they think the male species doesn’t realize they need nourishment. Those same women probably also don’t realize we know they poop.”

I cough, nearly choking on a bite of pancake, and sputter out a laugh. It feels like we’ve gone full circle to our earlier conversation, and I know it’s purposeful when he gives me a wink. I can tell the whole thing blows his mind, and I think it’s absolutely adorable that a man who looks like that can’t understand a woman’s need to keep her belly flat and her pants from digging in while eating a meal with him.

That thought alone has me lowering my fork to the plate, and his brows furrow as he watches. “We definitely know that you know we poop,” I say to pull attention from my actions. “Just like you know that we know you touch your dick multiple times a day.”

I expect him to laugh, but he just flicks his eyes down to my plate before they rise to my face again, far too perceptive for his own damn good. “Are you going to tell me what that was all about, or are you going to make me guess?”

I sit up straighter, my defense mode kicked into full throttle even though his tone isn’t patronizing or angry, but completely genuine. He really wants to know why I reacted the way I did to his words. I go from laughing to no appetite very quickly. I roll my lower lip between my teeth, biting down on it for a moment as I draw in a breath and try to get my hackles to go down instead of snapping at him.

“They eat like birds around you because they’re trying to stay skinny and beautiful, and in your gaze.” He tilts his head, clearly confused, so I continue. “You’re fucking flawless, Jameson… do you not have a mirror? Most men that look like you would spend most of the day staring into it.”

“The way they feel about the genes I was dealt is not what I’m asking about. I want to know why you suddenly shut down, like you haven’t been the sole focus of my attention all night.”

I grimace. “We’re all susceptible to moments of low self-esteem. The reminder of why other women act like that around you was just the catalyst of mine.”

Before I realize what he’s doing, he’s yanking my chair over to his, and I squeal, gripping his arm to keep from falling from my seat as he shifts me closer to him. His hand goes to my neck again, a place I’m realizing is his favorite to gain my attention, and he shifts my chin up until my eyes meet his. “I’m only going to say this once, so I need you to really listen, understand?”

I try to nod, but his grip keeps me from doing so. I know he can feel the motion, but he still raises his eyebrow expectantly. “I’m listening,” I mutter.

“I don’t care if your belly swells with food. I don’t care if you’ve got a bird’s nest for hair. I wouldn’t even care if you were a one-eyed, one-horned, flying, purple people eater.” I can’t help but crack a smile, and he returns it, pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth before he continues. “It’s your personality that drew me in. Your energy. The rest is just a bonus, Amelia, and god damn if it isn’t a bonus. You’re fucking gorgeous. Stop doubting that.”

“Okay,” I agree softly, my chest tight, and he squeezes my neck gently before pressing a kiss to the other side of my mouth and letting me go.

“Good. Now eat the rest of your food so we can climb into that bed and either get some rest or skip it entirely.”

Playlist: "Domino," Jessie J

I wake up with a jolt, slapping at the bedside table in search of my phone as my alarm screams into the otherwise silence of the room. I somehow manage to catch the damned thing before it goes spinning off the edge and quickly silence it just before the last bit of juice it has diminishes, and it turns itself off. I can’t decide if that’s a blessing or a curse. I groan, throwing myself back against the pillow, barely biting back a scream when my hand hits another body in the bed with me.

Last night quickly slams back into me as Jameson grabs the hand that hit him and uses it to pull me closer. Once my hip is within his reach he uses that to pull me back against him, his chest to my back, and his morning wood nestles tightly against my ass.

“Not yet,” he mumbles before pressing a kiss to the back of my neck that makes my heart clamor in my chest. He squeezes me tighter and I relax back into his hold.

I’m not normally one for cuddling, but we exhausted each other last night and fell asleep in a heap of limbs. I wouldn’t have cared if my face was in his armpit. I slept so soundly pressed against the warmth of him. It was probably the best sleep I’ve had in ages. Was it him, or that he’d exhausted me into oblivion?

I run my fingers back and forth along his arm, trying to commit the feel of him to memory. He won’t just be spank bank material, though he did give me a heaping quantity of that. I want to remember the way he makes me feel. Safe. Unrestricted. Beautiful. Myself.

I don’t think that a single man before him made me feel any of those things and I find myself sad that we’ll be going our separate ways. I won’t say the words out loud, or outwardly express my hesitation to walk away from this man that is surely too good to be true, but I allow myself to acknowledge the feeling before I tuck it away.

He pulls me a fraction closer, nuzzling into my hair, before he lets out a content sigh. “Morning.” The deep timber of his morning voice has every ounce of me focused on him and him alone.

I can’t help the smile that pulls at my lips, even though he can’t see it. “Good morning.”

“Very good,“ he mumbles before nipping lightly at the back of my neck, sending chills across my skin and warmth between my legs. “Care to make it even better?”

I pinch my lips together to keep from laughing, and hum like I’m considering my options. “I don’t know. I think it’s pretty great already.”

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