Page 50 of The Air You Breathe

“I might have gone a little overboard with food.” I hung it up and walked to the kitchen. “What's in the bag?”

“I brought dessert.”

“Oh! What did you bring?” I asked, as he put the bag on my counter and got out a round dish with a cover.

“I made tiramisu.” He unlatched the cover, showing a small round cake covered in powdered cocoa.

“Holy shit Dev, this looks amazing.” He was surprising me more and more each time we hung out. I was loving all these unpredictable layers of Dev.

His cheeks turned pink from my praise, and I was ready to hop on the counter and let him have his way with me.

“I can’t take credit for it all, Ava helped me. She also told me to be on my best behavior because she likes you and no one knows how to make coffee like you and scones like Mary,” he said, looking embarrassed as I chuckled.

“I think I might prefer you not to be on your best behavior,” I said, skimming the edge of the cake and licking the frosting off my finger as I stared at him. He grabbed my finger licking it too, reminding me what that tongue could really do.

“I think we better start dinner before my behavior gets really bad.” He let go of me.

I nodded, feeling like my brain was mush and I couldn’t speak. I plated our food and brought it to the dining room.

“Beer or wine?” I asked.

Dev looked at his steak. “I’ll have a beer this time.”

I came back with his beer, setting it down before I sat down, and we dug in. Everything came out perfectly by the way Dev was voraciously eating; it made me happy. He nodded his head a few times throughout the meal. When he finally finished, he leaned back in his chair.

“Damn, Darcy I should have let you cook out at the cabin. That was delicious,” he said, wiping his mouth on a napkin.

“I’m glad you liked it.” I preened at his praise. “I had no clue what to make and I figured steak and potatoes would be the safe way to go.”

“I’d probably be happy with anything you made as long as I was eating with you,” he said, with a small smile. “You could have made me a bowl of cereal and I would have been content.”

I blushed at his comment. “Are you ready for dessert? I can put a pot of coffee on too.”

“I’m definitely ready for dessert but no coffee for me,” he said, looking at me like I was the dessert.

“Ok, I’m going to go get it,” I said, feeling my nerves get the better of me. The last time I had a date with a man was about a year ago and it was a disaster. He was an out of towner here for the ski season. Our dinner was ok, the conversation felt forced, the sex was mediocre, but the kissing was atrocious. He made me feel like he was trying to drown with too much tongue and too much saliva. I shivered from the memory as I grabbed the tiramisu.

Dev was different though, it felt like this was supposed to happen, like I was going in the right direction, but I kept thinking about Evan. When we were together it felt just as right. A part of me was sad, like I was missing a piece of me, and I had been feeling guilty that I had ghosted him after we had sex. I shook off thoughts of Evan; tonight, it was about Dev and me.

I walked into the dining room with plates and the tiramisu, setting them down in between us.

“Big or little piece,” I asked.

“Little, I don’t want to have too much sugar,” he said, his electric gaze looking downright lustful at me.

“A little sugar never hurt nobody.” I cut him a big piece just to prove my point.

I set it in front of him and cut myself a piece too, giving each of us a fork. Right before I sat down, Dev pulled me towards him guiding me to straddle his lap. I raised a brow at him.

“I think I want my dessert right here,” he said, cutting a piece of cake and feeding it to me. I took a bite, looking at him as I slowly pulled my mouth away. He gave me another piece, but it fell on my chin and chest, most likely on purpose.

Dev wasted no time in leaning forward, getting the piece on the top of my breast, kissing his way up to my chin. His stubble was a rough contrast to his smooth lips and tongue that gave me chills, making my nipples harden.

When he kissed the spot on my chin, he went back for another forkful bringing it to my lips. I took my bite, then he kissed me. He opened my mouth, sharing the piece he just fed me, making our kiss that much sweeter. I felt Dev move as we kissed. He pulled away holding another piece in his hand up to my mouth but smeared it on my lips trailing it down my neck and chest.

“It tastes better on you, Darcy.” His voice made me clench my thighs. I grabbed his hand licking it clean before we clashed together in a passionate kiss that made my heart race and my body singing with desire.

“I need you Dev,” I said, as he kissed down my neck, cleaning up the mess he made, as I rolled my hips against his growing erection.

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