Page 100 of Naughty Nelle

Without warning, all the emotions I had bottled up broke loose. Remorse. Fear. Hopelessness. Grief. I don’t know what caused it. The wine. The Manhattan. The cherry. Or a combination of all three. Tears that had been welling up in my eyes on and off all day streamed down my cheeks.

Before I could apologize for my emotional outburst, Ari leaned into me and brushed them away with his thumbs. With a tenderness that surprised me.

“I’m sorry,” I sniffed.

“Don’t be.” His voice embodied genuine compassion. “I lost my father to cancer several years ago.”

So we did have something in common. Or close enough. Fingers crossed, my mother would be cured and go into remission.

“What kind?” I asked hesitantly.

“Lung.” Sadness filled his voice. “He was a smoker.”

“My mother has lung cancer too, but she never smoked a day in her life.”

Anger from this unfair fate rose fast and furious inside me. Just in time, the Caesar salads arrived. I picked at mine, my appetite suddenly gone. Ari dug into his, sheepishly gazing up at me with each forkful.

“Saarah, cheer up!” It was almost a command. “Here comes the lobster.”

My eyes grew wide at the sight of the humongous red-shelled creature that our waiter set down in the middle of our table. Alongside the platter, he added a couple of nutcrackers and pickers as well as a side of melted butter. Tying ample plastic bibs around our necks, he bid us, “Bon appétit.”

My anxious eyes darted back and forth between the lobster and Ari’s lit up face. I had never eaten lobster before and truly had no clue where or how to begin. Thank goodness, my gorgeous companion was a god. And a mind reader.

“Watch. Use the nutcracker and start with the tail. The most succulent part.” Squeezing the utensil, he skillfully cracked the creature’s tail and then plunged one of the slim two-pronged forks into the meat. “Taste,” he ordered after dipping the snowy meat into the butter.

I opened my mouth and let him feed me the buttery piece. Oh, God, it was good. Rich, melt-in-your-mouth good. I instantly wanted more.

“Your turn.” A wry smile lit up his face. “But I want you to crack a claw. The next best piece of meat.”

Taking the nutcracker, I wrapped it around one of the lobster’s large claws. I squeezed it hard, but the shell wouldn’t crack.

“It’s hard,” I lamented.

He chortled. “You have no idea.”

Suddenly, under the table, I felt Ari grab at a naked calf. He yanked off my shoe and moved my foot to the crotch of his expensive jeans. The sole of my foot sat directly on the warm bulge between his muscular thighs. Oh, God, it was hard! Very hard! Gripping my ankle, he rubbed my foot up and down. Slowly. Then faster. The mound expanded while my foot caught fire.

I fumbled with the nutcracker. I still couldn’t crack open the damn claw. I was totally distracted.

“I’m hungry,” grumbled Ari, rubbing my bare foot faster and harder against his arousal.

Holy cow! The rigid rod beneath his jeans tensed further. Absent-mindedly still working on the claw, I gazed at the man sitting across from me; his eyes were closed, his lush lips parted, and his back slightly arched. His huge erection thrusted deep against the sole of my foot and then gave way to a spasm that made my toes curl. An orgasm!

And at that very moment, the claw cracked opened, the tender white meat inside exploding through the shell. I plunked the two-pronged fork into a chunk and slid it into Ari’s parted lips.

“Mmmm,” he moaned as hot tingles coursed through my body. I delighted in the pleasure I could give this gorgeous man.

He savored the meat in his mouth and then opened his eyes. I watched him swallow.

“My princess, that was delicious.”

I flushed at his compliment. And he called me his princess!

We continued to feed each other lobster until we had devoured it and all that was left was a heap of shells.

“What did you think?” asked Ari as he discarded the last shell.

“Oh my God! It was amazing!” Oh was it!

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