Page 22 of The Fate of Us

I smile at her as she takes me in. But I can see the hesitation still there. Her hand goes to her neck, reaching for the necklace she threw in the ocean last night.

The waiter interrupts us and her hand goes back to her side. We order a bottle of wine and a plate of oysters.

“I can’t believe you are going to make me eat those,” she says.

“You spent so many summers here and you never had oysters?”

“Once. And trust me, that was enough.”

I smirk at her. “You know they are an aphrodisiac?”

She bites her lip before she smiles back at me. “Do you really think I need an aphrodisiac with you?”

I reach my hand across the table, grabbing hers. “Oh I know you don’t.”

“Then why the oysters?”

“I love them. Trust me. If you try them my way, you’ll like them too.”

She raises a brow at me. “Doubtful.”

“You know your taste buds change.”

She sips her wine. “My taste for men might change too.”

I move my hand to her thigh, higher than some would deem appropriate. “Doubtful.”

Her cheeks flame to my favorite shade of pink just as the waiter brings out the oysters.

“So, how am I supposed to eat this?”

I show her the best way to eat raw oysters. A little bit of lemon and a little bit of horseradish. I swallow one down and I watch her as she watches it slide down my throat.

“You swallow it whole?” she shrieks.

“Yeah.”

She shudders as she prepares one in front of her. “The last time I had one I chewed it and it was so gross.”

“Don’t chew. Swallow.” I lean into her ear and whisper, “I know you’re good at that. It’s one of my favorite things about you.”

Her cheeks turn pink again and I press a kiss to one. “Just try one.”

She loosens the oyster from the shell before she tosses her head back, swallowing it down.

“What do you think?”

She shrugs and then grabs another off the plate causing me to chuckle. “You’re right, they aren’t terrible if I swallow. I’ll remember that later.”

I throw my head back in laughter. I love spending time with this woman. She makes me feel carefree and it’s a feeling I could get used to.

We spend the rest of dinner laughing and joking. The mood light and refreshing.

When we get back to the house, I want nothing more than to rip her dress off and show her how much I need her. But she has other plans.

As we step onto the porch, she twirls, her skirt raising giving me a glimpse of green lace panties. I try to wrap my arms around her but she dodges me.

“Not yet, mister.” She points toward the west side of the house. “The sun is about to set and I love the changing colors of the sky. It’s when I find the most inspiration.”

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