Page 43 of Moon Blind Hearts
“Okay, but why?” I ask again. “We’re supposed to be taking photos, not snacking.”
The corner of his lip quirks up. “We have all day to take photos, beautiful.” He picks up a cube of cheese. “And do I need a reason to prepare a date for us?”
This time, I freeze entirely, my eyes on him. “A date?”
Now I’m sounding like a broken record, repeating his words every time he says them. But come on? Literally a few days ago, it was all “this is business” and now I’m being asked on a date by the second guy? Granted, it wasn’t Sawyer who told me that, but still.
Sawyer grins. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t formerly ask you. Jules, would you come on a date with me where we sit in the milkhouse, eat cheese, and drink wine?”
I open my mouth, but no words come out.
“Don’t overthink it,” Sawyer says, holding out his hand for me. “Like you said. It’s just snacking.”
I mean, he has a point. What’s the harm in eating some cheese with a man? It’s not a big deal.
“You’re right,” I breathe, before taking the hand he offers. “It’s just snacking.”
He immediately leads me around the table and settles me on the stool beside him. Then he reaches for the wine glasses and the bottle he’d already opened before he starts to pour.
“Since most of my favorite cheeses are brie, I paired a Pinot Noir with it,” he says as he hands me the glass. “I hope that’s okay.”
I nod and take it. “I love Pinot Noir.” My eyes dance over to the charcuterie board. “But I love cheese more.”
“A woman after my own heart,” he teases, taking a sip of his own wine. “Allow me to wow you with the variety of cheeses we make.”
He reaches for a cube and when I lift my hand to take it, he shakes his head. “Open.”
I blink. “I can feed myself.”
“I didn’t say you couldn’t.” He leans closer. “But I would very much like to feed you, beautiful.”
If any other man would have told me something like that, it would be a red flag. Feed me? No thank you. But the way he’s taking me in, the way his eyes trace my shape despite lacking the details, the way he holds his breath while he waits for my answer, it all makes me want to do whatever it is he wants.
Business be damned.
“How can I argue with that?” I say before opening my mouth.
He smiles as he brings the cheese to my lips. His fingers brush against them as he places it on my tongue, and when I close my mouth, my lips trace his fingers as he pulls back. His breath stutters as he leans away.
“What do you think?” he asks as the flavors explode on my tongue. “It’s our caramelized pear brie.”
“What do I think?” I repeat, shaking my head. “Are you expecting me to say any of these are bad?”
“No,” he laughs. “But we did away with the spicy brie we tried. It was too much.”
He reaches for another cheese, but I stop him. “Don’t I get to feed you?”
He tilts his head toward me. “Would you like to?”
“I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.” I lean over the board and select a cheese that looks like it’s filled with herbs and spices. I stand to move closer to him, standing over him so that he has to tilt his head up. I wrap my other hand around his chin and prod his lips open. His attention is wholly on me as I slip the cube into his mouth. Before I can pull my hand free, his lips clamp down on my fingers, sucking. “You’re playing games,” I whisper as he sucks them clean and releases me.
His eyes crinkle. “Is it obvious?” he asks, his hands coming up to hold my hips. “Can you tell I’d like nothing more than to fuck you right now?”
“There are no cameras here,” I point out.
“I know.”
His words linger in the air between us, a challenge and also somehow deeper. A request? A promise? A warning?
