Page 20 of Phoenix Falling
I jerked my attention up to the waitress. “Excuse me?”
She blinked as if she hadn’t meant to say that. “Pardon me. Your food?” She set a full plate in front of me, then proceeded to silently load Sun’s side of the table with everything he’d ordered. My eyes met his across the Formica expanse, and I had to cover my mouth to keep from bursting into laughter until our server hurried away.
“Seriously, how often do you deal with that?” I asked, my voice shaky with amusement as I nodded toward the bouffant weaving through the crowd of tables across the room.
“You’d probably be surprised, but not that often.”
“I don’t think I believe that.”
Sun’s expression went serious. “I’m not usually as friendly with people as I am with you.”
I did believethat.I’d witnessed it, after all. “So why are you different with me?” I dared to ask.
He set down a pancake-laden fork and took his turn this time, seeming to really study me. “I don’t know why. I just know that I am.”
Heat rose in my cheeks. I lifted my burger to hide the lower half of my face. “Well, I appreciate it.”
“I do too.”
As if the honesty opened something up in both of us, conversation flowed more easily for the rest of the meal. And yes, Sun ate every bite. Just the thought of working off all that food made me sweat, but then I considered howSunmight work it off and started to get warm for a whole different reason. Just being in his vicinity made me think about sex; I couldn’t help it. I really wasn’t any better than the women surrounding us who couldn’t stop looking his way. He fascinated me, tempted me, and God, the longer we were together, made me pray for the night to never end.
Unfortunately reality said otherwise. No matter how much Sun had ordered, there was ultimately one last bite. And one last visit from Blondie, who brought our check. Sun refused to let me pay my half. Watching him pull a fifty out of an actual wallet and lay it on the table was surreal. It was something so…human. Would I ever get used to that?
I really didn’t think so.
Walking out into the night, I felt loneliness creep in. The night was over, and who knew if it would ever be repeated. I certainly didn’t.
How would it end?
Instinctively I headed back the way we had come, and Sun followed. It wasn’t until we reached the shadows of the alley that I felt his hand on my arm, drawing me to a halt.
I turned to face him. The look in his eyes made me swallow hard.
“You know I’m going to kiss you, right?”
“Are you?” I croaked.
He smiled, white teeth gleaming in the dark. “I am.”
“Okay.”
The next thing I knew, I was in his arms. Like, fully in his arms. He lifted me from the ground, pulled my body hard against his, and walked forward until my back hit the side of the building. The feeling of being trapped against him was so delicious I moaned.
“Sun.”
His name on my lips was barely a whisper. Sun didn’t say anything, but I felt his broad hands settle beneath my ass, forcing my legs to part around his hips as he brought my core firmly against his pelvis, against a part of him that seemed far harder than the wall. I tilted instinctively, seeking an even closer fit.
He snarled deep in his throat. The sound brought my head up, my gaze to his.
His mouth met mine. If he hadn’t been holding me up, I would’ve melted at his feet. The taste of him, hot and sweet in my mouth, firm against my lips. The feel of his body holding mine captive, forcing me close. Even his scent spicy with a hint of the maple syrup from his pancakes, was intoxicating. I couldn’t get enough, could never get close enough. If only we weren’t separated by two sets of clothes—
Shit. My palms found Sun’s chest, and I pushed. “Sun…”
His breath gusted against my cheeks. “Yeah?”
I swear if I hadn’t been so overwhelmed, I’d have probably laughed. Typical man, reduced to one-word responses by his penis. Of course, that same penis had reduced me to one-word responses too.
“Sun, I can’t—”
