Page 5 of Only If You Dare

Julian and Lawrence chuckled. He fixed our plates, poured glasses of wine, then saw himself out.

“I don’t know if I should be drinking in the middle of the day,” I said. I was being modest. I favored white wine, probably more than I should have.

“You’re more than welcome to have something else. Water, lemonade, sweet tea?”

“No it’s fine, I’m beginning to feel bossy.”

“It would be my pleasure to serve you, Desiree.”

A spark of heat crawled up the middle of my back and spread over my shoulders. If the hungry gaze in his eyes was an indication that Julian wanted me and not the food, I wasn’t sure how long being able to hold out would work. Then I had a thought. Why was I holding out? I hadn’t had sex in years; since that last mistake I dated. But deep inside, I knew what it was. I didn’t want to seem easy with him. For whatever reason, I wanted to make a good impression on Julian. I was still trying to figure out why I cared.

“I’ll take sweet tea,” I said.

He made his way to the connecting kitchen giving me an extensive look at his broad back. I picked up my wine glass and took a sip anyway, but quickly put it down when the sweet alcohol raced down my throat causing more heat to stream inside me. Wrong move, I thought pushing the glass to the side. The last thing I needed was heat.

When Julian returned, he noticed the purple lip stain on the glass and smirked but did not comment.

“You know what, on second thought…” I lifted the glass and took a bigger sip then chased my lips. “Tell me, Julian, why’d you want to know if I’m dating anyone?”

He sat down getting comfortable at the table in front of me.

“Because Desiree,” he said. “I have plans for you.”

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