Page 18 of Silent Cravings

Was she playing with me?

It wouldn’t be the first time but so much water had run under the bridge since then. She had never come close to flirting since I walked out on us.

Again.

“Are you going to join me, or would you rather watch me lick up every drop?” She dragged her fork through the sauce, then flicked her tongue over the tines while her gaze never wavered. She was watching me, daring me to react.

I wasn’t making it up. She was doing this on purpose, knowing damn well she was driving me wild and testing every ounce of self-control. Valentina hadn’t changed, not really. She was still the girl I fell for way back when.

I needed a sip of water to help my dry mouth once she licked the fork clean. “I’ve always liked watching a woman enjoy herself,” I replied, adding a smile, though my boxer briefs were starting to constrict at a painful level.

Her lips twitched like she was trying to suppress a smile. “You don’t look like you’re enjoying yourself too much.”

She was getting off on this, seeing how far she could go before I had to admit defeat. There was only so much a man could stand.

“It’s enough that you’re having fun.”You evil vixen.I wasn’t allowed to fuck around, flirt with her, acknowledge the tension between us. But she could practically have an orgasm over gnocchi, and it was fine.

“That’s nice of you.”

What was the game? Why the hell did she insist on keeping me on my toes like this? One minute, we were supposed to forget what happened. The next, she was doing everything short of flashing her tits to get me hard.

I couldn’t pretend the exhilaration wasn’t appealing, almost addictive. I didn’t like feeling I wasn’t in on the joke, was all. That was the problem. Having no clue what was going on in that gorgeous head of hers.

“Excuse me. I need to freshen up.” She pushed back from the table and stood, leaving me fighting for my life at the sight of the light, sexy sundress she wore. What was it about a sundress that was so damn irresistible? The way it skimmed her legs, the way it hinted at what was underneath. It looked innocent on the surface but could stir up all kinds of thoughts that were anything but.

I pointed her in the direction of the alcove where the restrooms were located, waiting until she disappeared around the corner to lean back in my chair and blow out a deep breath. She hadn’t changed her ways, still wild under that worldly veneer. I always assumed she had grown out of it, that she had matured beyond the thrill of getting a guy hard in public.

Like the night we were first together. Half a lifetime ago,during Colton’s high school graduation dinner. I had known her for years by then, the two of us being in the same class, but there had never been anything remotely sexual between us. She was gorgeous and fun to be around, but she might as well have been my sister. Colton was that protective of her and her twin.

Something was different. The air shifted somehow when we sat next to each other at the long table in the back room of an Italian restaurant reserved for this special night. Electricity crackled between us. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t figure out where it came from or how it started. All I knew was she looked hotter than I had ever seen her, and she kept brushing against me as she reached for the platters of food served family-style.

“Oh, sorry,” she murmured, leaning over and rubbing her tits against my arm. No way that was an accident. Still, even though I had nothing to do with it, I looked around, almost paralyzed by guilt. I wasn’t part of the family and was honored they would invite me out like this. I didn’t want to insult anybody.

“What are you so tense about?” She smelled like vanilla and sugar, sunshine and sunscreen after we had spent the day on the beach behind the Black family’s Hampton house. “Come on. Did you think I didn’t notice you today?”

“What do you mean?” Right away, my pulse tripled since I knew what she was talking about. I didn’t know I was so obvious. But that white bikini she wore barely covered her ass and had me holding my breath the whole day, waiting for the bounce that would send her tits spilling out from the skimpy top.

“You were staring at me the whole afternoon,” she whispered, her lips so close to my ear they tickled the lobe. “Don’t worry. I didn’t mind. It sort of got me wet.”

Holy fuck. I looked around again, caught between horror and an instant erection. “Did you sneak something out of the liquor cabinet back at the house?” I asked softly.

She shook her head slowly, a smile playing over her lips. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, not to mention wild, hot, and exciting. “Meet me in back of the restaurant,” she whispered. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

I would be the world’s biggest asshole if I turned down an offer like that, but how much was I risking by following orders? Everybody was having a great time, laughing, drinking, and eating. Nobody had been paying us any attention.

What did she have in mind? Was this all a joke?

I only knew one thing. I’d hate myself forever if I didn’t at least meet her outside. We didn’t have to do anything. I only wanted to know the game she was playing. The humid air hit me like a brick wall when I opened the door and ducked out, pretending I was going to the bathroom. It was dark, a single bulb over the door giving me barely enough light to see. There wasn’t much to admire besides a pair of dumpsters.

If this was all a prank to lock me out of the restaurant or some dumb shit like that…

“Over here.” Valentina leaned out from the other side of the dumpsters, beckoning me with a hand. “I won’t bite.”

My legs were shaking, and my dick was ready to tear through my khaki pants, but I followed orders, meeting her in the darkness. “What the fuck is going on?” I whispered, slapping at a mosquito on my arm. This needed to be worth it.

She didn’t answer in words. The hand gripping the back of my neck and pulling me down for a deep kiss said everything.

The memory was enough to get out of my chair. We weren’t kids anymore, and I wasn’t going to wait around for her to decide game time was over. I marched across the dining room, quiet in the late morning before customers came in for lunch, and stepped into the alcove hidden from the rest of the room only a moment before she opened the bathroom door to find me waiting.

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