Page 50 of Chasing Lynda

Again, I’m about to ask why she doesn’t call them or message them if she misses them but then I remember that Zane and Carter mentioned a bad breakup and decide to give her time to open up about it.

Our food arrives in that moment and the mood at the table definitely improves.

“Oh my God.” Lynda moans, closing her eyes and chewing the chicken slider she’s just bitten into. “This is one of the most delicious things I’ve ever put in my mouth!”

What can I say? I know it’s inappropriate, but my mind goes straight into the gutter; and judging by the look on my brothers’ faces and the rapt fascination they’re staring at Lynda’s luscious lips, I know I’m not alone.

“Dodge,” she gushes, taking another bite, “You were right. I could eat fifty of these!”

Dodge looks more pleased than I’ve seen him in months. “I’m glad you like them and you can have as many as you want. Even though,” he says winking at her with a chuckle, “I’d love to see you try to eat fifty.”

Carter looks at the slider in his hand and comes up with an actual good idea. “How about an eating contest for the Fourth of July weekend? That would be family friendly enough ...”

We all agree that it would be fun and the guys start debating if the contestants should eat pie or hot dogs.

Lynda continues to eat while she watches the guys with amusement.

“Hmm.” She considers after finishing her second slider. “Do I want another chicken or another beef one? They’re both delicious and I can’t decide. I don’t think I can eat one of each,” she adds when I open my mouth to suggest just that.

“Why don’t you try some of my mac and cheese?” I offer. “I ordered it without lobster just for you.”

Her eyes widen. “Aww, Bennett! That’s so sweet of you!”

It’s hard to explain why her praise makes me feel so happy and I just chalk it up to the thrill of the competition.

“Tell me what you think,” I say, offering her a big forkful of cheese pasta and smiling at the jealous look Zane throws my way.

Now, when you see people feeding other people in the movies, they always make it look romantic or sexy, right?

In real life?

Not quite the same thing, believe me.

I completely miss her mouth with my first attempt, smearing cheese sauce all over the corner of her mouth.

“Shit!” I apologize, lowering the fork back onto my plate. “Let me help you clean that.”

I grab a paper tissue, leaning closer to her and dabbing as gently as I can to clean her up.

I’m so close to her, that I can feel her soft breath on my face and my lips touch her skin without me even realizing it.

“Hmm,” I murmur, moving my lips over her mouth with a couple of feather light kisses, “that’s better.”

She doesn’t move away and that’s all the permission I need to deepen the kiss.

She opens up to my increased pressure and my fingers find her delicate jaw, tilting her head so that I can seal my mouth to hers. Her lips are soft and she isn’t as timid as I expected; when my tongue touches hers, she doesn’t retreat, meeting my sensual assault stroke for stroke.

I almost forget that we’re at a table with the others. Almost. Because one of those dumb-asses chuckles, probably jealous that he isn’t the one kissing Lynda.

I nip at her bottom lip to signal that while I might be breaking the kiss, I’m not even close to being done with her.

“Dance with me?” I plead, taking her hand and helping her off her stool.

She follows me to the dance floor and I guess the DJ is in a romantic mood tonight, because he’s been playing an awful lot of slow songs. I don’t mind at all, thinking that even if the song had been something faster, it wouldn’t have made a difference. I still would’ve made sure that the distance between our bodies was as little as humanly possible with clothes on. I take Lynda into my arms and for one moment, I just enjoy the feel of her head on my shoulder. She feels perfect against me and I immediately imagine how her skin will feel against mine.

“Thank you for helping me,” she murmurs, lifting her head but staying close, so close that our noses are touching.

“Helping you?” I ask, confused. “With the cheese sauce? That was just a lame excuse to kiss you.”

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