Page 95 of High Stakes and Soulmates
“I was going to put on that maid outfit I got Julian, but I was afraid of what… stains might be on it,” Ezio informs me.
My face scrunches up. “Ew… let’s not ruin the mood.”
“I’m positive they got some use out of that present,if you know what I mean.”
“I wish I didn’t.”
“But… if you want me dressed as a maid, all you have to do is ask.”
“How did our date come to this?” I ask. “Where did this idea that I’d rather you be dressed like a maid come from?Isthis a job a maid would do?”
“Depends on whether you paid them enough. I want to impress you, and for some reason, impressing you just went right to me being naked. Like if my words won’t work, surely my physique will… hopefully, I think… have you seen me naked? I can show you to make sure you’re impressed.”
“You could show me that steak and then sit next to me like a normal date,” I suggest while Gustov jumps up onto the bed to stare at me. “I mean… I haven’t been on many dates, but I’m positive asking the person if they want you to deliver them steak in a maid outfit generally isn’t the first thing people do.”
“You’re right, you’re right,” he says as he brings the tray over with a plate on top. He sets the tray over my lap and then climbs onto the bed with me. But instead of sitting next to me, he’s sitting at my feet and staring at me.
“This is… oddly sexy,” I assure him. “My favorite part is how the dog and my date are sitting in the exact same position.”
“It’s not my fault the dog stole my pose.”
“Strangely enough, you stole the dog’s pose. He was there first.” I pat the bed next to me. “Sit up here so you don’t look like a dog begging for a bite.”
“I’d like a bite of you,” Ezio purrs.
“You’re not eating me,” I say as I pick up my fork, but before I can even reach for the knife, he quickly grabs it.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think about your shoulder. You can’t just be sawing at a steak.”
“I hope it’s not so tough I have to saw it hard enough that I’m going to hurt my shoulder.”
“No, don’t put pressure on it,” he says, looking far too concerned as he cuts off a piece of the steak, and then when I assume he’s handing me the fork, he instead heads toward my mouth with it.
“I can feed—” And the steak goes in midsentence. It’s delicious enough that I forgive him for treating me like I’m made of glass.
“Do you want mushroom with the next bite?” he asks as he rapidly cuts off another piece and stabs a mushroom along with it.
“Once it’s cut, I can definitely feed myself. I know one arm got mauled, but the other is doing pretty fine. Look,” I say as I lift both hands to show how they work. I even slide one behind the other before revealing my middle finger. “Weirdly, this finger is the only one that works well, but that’s all I need to feed myself.”
Ezio laughs. “Clearly, it’s quite broken, then.”
“Is it? Because I think it looks like a very nice finger.”
“It is a very nice finger,” he says as he pushes it down to try to feed me some more.
“Didn’t I just show you how well it worked?”
“Well, it doesn’t.” He happily puts more food in my mouth. “Good, yeah?”
“It’s delicious,” I say. “Cut up the rest and I’ll eat it with my fancy hands.”
“Here comes the next bite.”
Evidently, my words are meaningless to his ears. “Look. Fingers definitely work. Want me to prove it to you?” I ask before I make a circle with one hand and stick my finger through the hole with the other. “If that doesn’t prove it to you, I don’t know what will.”
He’s eyeing my fingers with renewed interest. “I missed that. Can I see it again?”
“No, it was a one-time thing,” I say as I try to pry the fork out of his hand. To make sure I avoidgettingthe fork, he ends up bending it like a taco shell.
