Page 56 of Midnights
“Alright, how about this—” I lean closer. “You try this coffee or one bite of something I choose.”
She scoffs, but I catch the heat in her eyes.
“Pass.” Her voice is unimpressed, but the smile she’s fighting back betrays her.
The tension between us tightens and I canfeelher resistance, but it only makes me more amused.
She wants to push back, to win whatever silent war she thinks she’s fighting. But she’s so easy to read. She’s already lost, she just doesn’t realize it yet.
She exhales through her nose, then crosses her arms. “You promise it’s not disgusting?”
I lift a brow. “Do I look like I would lie to you?”
“Without hesitation.”
I bark out a laugh. “Alright, fair. But I don’t break my promises, Princess.” I let the last word roll off my tongue slowly, watching the way her jaw tenses.
She likes it.
She shifts in her seat, clearly trying to act unaffected. “What if I say no?”
I lean forward, closing the space between us just enough for her to feel the shift in the air, to make her aware of how close I am. “Then I’ll just have to find another way to make you say yes.”
She blinks, inhaling a little too sharply before covering it with a scoff. “You really think you can just charm me into eating something weird?”
I drag my tongue along my bottom lip, letting my smile turn downright dangerous. “I think we both know I could charm you to do a lot more than that.”
Her breath hitches, and I feel the way her body tenses at the challenge. Her fingers tighten around the edge of the table, and for a split second, I think she’s going to tell me to go to hell.
Instead, she tilts her chin up, “You sure think highly of yourself.”
“Observant, as always.”
She lets out a huff, rolling her eyes, but I don’t miss the way her breath falters. She’s close to giving in, closer than she wants to admit.
Then, just when I think she might throw her napkin at me and call it a night, she leans in slightly, her expression shifting into something darker. “Deal. But if it'sgross, I’m never trusting you again.” Then, with that wicked little smile, she adds, “And you couldn't, by the way.”
There she is.
Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea.
The second the words leave her mouth, heat rolls through me, and my body reacts in ways I really don’t need right now. My mind is fully in the gutter and my self-control is hanging by a thread.
It’s a good thing I’ve mastered the art of looking unaffected because if she glanced down, she’d figure out exactly where my thoughts just went.
The waitress returns and Cam orders for both himself and Rachel, because as she put it, she wanted him to surprise her. Raven orders her salad. Predictable.
When it’s my turn, I give the waitress my order, barely getting the words out before I feel Raven's gaze drilling into me. A sharp smack lands on my arm. I blink, looking at her and she’s glaring daggers.
“Youwould.”
Her tone is dripping with accusation.Violent little thing.It’s honestly adorable how she’s ready to fight at the drop of a hat. And fuck if I don’t enjoy every second of it.
“Something wrong, Princess?” Like I don’t already know.
Her eyes narrow. “You did that on purpose.”
I lean back, crossing my arms over my chest. “Did what?”
