Page 14 of Controller's Obsession

Using the arm that remained on the back of Peni’s seat to give his blissful one a gentle squeeze of his shoulder, Merihem went back to looking at the menu. “Let’s start with a tomato salad, followed by a mushroom risotto, and then we can see if we have room for dessert.”

Merihem, once Peni nodded, albeit reluctantly, waited for the server who was coming with their drinks and ordered the meal.

Are you sure you made the right choices?

It’s all vegetarian.Merihem started to doubt himself as the server walked off. “You do like those things, don’t you?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Peni asked, the frown back. “I’m sure they’ll be delicious.” His cute button nose wrinkled. “The smells coming from inside are wonderful.”

See, he was killing this dating thing. And if Merihem wanted meatballs, well, he’d make the sacrifice until he knew if eating meat would offend his blissful one.

Soft music filled the silence between them. Merihem ignored the traffic noise. Peni looked around, taking an interest in everything nearby.

Merihem’s attention was all on the tiny man next to him. “When did Mrs. Danials get you to start doing her work for her?”

Peni, who’d reached for his glass of orange juice, jerked, and it splashed him and the table.

Why did you do that? Help him.

Merihem resisted—just—shrinking under the reprimand, feeling like a tool for blurting it out like that. He grabbed the serviettesand helped Peni wipe up the spillage. “Sorry, I burst out that out like that.”

“I… you… oh, dear…”

Merihem took the soggy serviettes and plonked them at the edge of the table, hating Peni’s forlorn look. “It’s okay,” he reassured. When that didn’t remove the look, his demon started fussing.

Before the demon could decide to take matters into its own hands, Merihem plucked Peni off the seat. He weighed nothing. That was how it seemed to Merihem. He carefully arranged the gawping man on his lap, patting his back.

Be careful. You might hurt him.

How? I’m being gentle.

He was, wasn’t he? Doing his best to use none of his strength, he stopped patting and opted for stroking just in case. That wouldn’t hurt, would it?

He didn’t want to hurt Peni. “I’m not hurting you, am I?” he asked like a complete ass, but Peni was still staring with those enormous eyes at him.

He wasn’t moving, that couldn’t be good.

“I…” he scratched at his head. “No one…” More scratching. “I’ve never sat on someone's lap before.” He seemed so pleasedto have gotten all his words out based on the smile he gave Merihem.

Only Merihem was too busy bristling at thoughts of Peni sitting on anyone but him.He said he’s never sat on someone. Give over, talk to him.

“Do you like it?” Merihem asked, because he was stupid and hadn’t allowed his brain to catch up with his stupid self.

“Well…” Peni gave him a thoughtful look, his cheeks were getting back to the adorable pink from before. “Yes… it’s nice. You’re comfortable.”

Comfortable?

What the ever-loving fuck does that mean?Comfortable!

The server came and didn’t bat an eye at them as he placed the salads down on the table. Merihem inhaled the scent of fresh herbs and balsamic vinegar.

“That looks yummy.” Peni glanced from Merihem to his seat. “Wouldn’t it be easier if I sat on that seat?”

The idea of letting go didn’t sit well with Merihem, who was back to feeling… threatened. “We’ll manage,” he murmured, looking about surreptitiously, trying to figure out what was giving him the tingling bad vibes. He couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but something was decidedly off.

He moved Peni so his legs dangled over Merihem’s thighs and tucked him closer to his body to free up his arms. His next inhalation was a mix of the herbs and Peni’s scent which was a little fruity. Desire tightened his groin, and he did his best to ignore it.

It was going to be a long lunch…

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