Page 15 of Bearly Breathing

“Like the princess?”

“Yeah, sort of,” she laughed even though she’d heard that one a time or two in her life.

“Your folks George Lucas fans?”

“Yes, well, my dad really, but my mother insisted the spelling be different. It’s L-e-y-a.”

“Beautiful,” he said, and again her knees turned to jelly.

“Thanks. It’s a cool name I guess.”

“I don’t mean your name, though that’s lovely too.”

“Oh.”

The fingers on her waist became caressing, leaving little flames of excitement wherever he touched. She could feel the heat coming off of him through the thin layers of her dress as he swayed closer to her.

This was new, she thought, different and magical. She didn’t have much experience with giant good-looking men, but she was definitely game to try.

The sound of the waves crashing drowned out the band from the bar. Or was that the sound of her blood pounding inside of her head? Leya didn’t know, she only knew she felt hot and swollen all over.

Leya wanted, oh yes, she wanted alright. Him. She wanted him. She never did have much luck when it came to men, but for some reason, this man, here and now, felt so right to her.

She licked her lips and watched his eyes follow the movement. He seemed to tense. The rumbling sound from his chest increased. She watched as he closed his eyes and exhaled before pinning her with his gaze.

“Have dinner with me?”

“Yes,” she said immediately.

She knew it was fast, fast and crazy, but it felt right. He took her hand in his large, callused one and together they walked towards the hotel.

“Do you like seafood?”

“Yes,” suddenly she was reduced to one-word answers. You dope, talk to him!

“Great,” he smiled at her.

It was one of those thousand-watt smiles she’d only ever read about, sexy and sinful. Full of secrets and promises. She felt her heart turn over in her chest. No one had ever looked at her like that.

He had straight, white teeth and a small dimple on the right corner of his mouth. His hair was a deep, dark brown and fell in rakishly handsome waves to his shoulders.

His eyes were darker by a shade and reminded her of the expensive Blue Mountain coffee she infrequently indulged in. The expensive drink was rich and sweet, lacking the bitterness of cheaper blends.

I wonder if he tastes like that. Smooth and rich. She felt her cheeks warm and realized she must be blushing furiously. He didn’t seem to notice, thank goodness, as he approached the hotel manager.

He squeezed her hand, and ten minutes later they were seated in the hotel’s most exclusive restaurant. She smiled in appreciation.

“Uh, what do you like?”

“Oh, well, obviously I like everything,” she felt her cheeks heat up again and looked down at the table.

“Why ‘obviously’?” he looked genuinely confused, and Leya could have kicked herself for her stupidity.

Now, wasn’t the time to bring up her weight problem, though he could see for himself that she had one. Best just say it.

“Oh, well, I mean, you know, I’m not, I mean,” she took a breath and looked directly at him, “It’s obvious I enjoy food.” Leya frowned when he sat there quietly as if waiting for her to continue. What more needed to be said?

“I’m not thin, you know,” still nothing, “Fine, I’m fat! Okay?” she hissed at him. Damn the man for making her spell it out! And she had such high hopes too…

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