Page 26 of Serenity
Her face splintered into a smile, relaxing the unsteady shaking of her leg. The crescendo of her chest was noted as a breath was liberated. She swallowed, blinked, and deepened her smile. A nigga took comfort in the conviction that my presence held such power.
“Eating lunch,” I announced just as my Cubano and a carafe of water alongside an empty glass were brought to the table.
“Do you all need anything else?” The waitress asked, interrupting an intense…whatever the fuck was happening between us.
Without delay, my attention returned to the brown-sugared beauty beside me. “Do we need anything else, gorgeous?”
Repugnant, my attraction, my attention, and my submission to her comfort was. Her ease was paramount, as was her satisfaction. It came freely. That desire to ensure her well-being. Already, I knew she’d be a fucking problem.
“I think I have everything I need,” she confessed, biting back a smile.
A response that swelled my ego.
“How have you been?” I asked, piercing into my sandwich and chewing as I waited for an answer.
Serenity closed her laptop fully and slid it aside. Her eyes followed as lettuce fell from my lips to my beard.
“You—”
She reached out to dust away the food lingering in the curls of my goatee.
An opportunist.
The slight movement was far from innocent, granting her a reason to touch my face. Not minding the least, I paused. She paused. My gaze fell to her lips, eyes, and lips again before retraining them on her face. I wanted those juicy motherfuckers in my mouth and around my dick. Hastily, she withdrew her hand.
“Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. Your beard is impeccable. The sight of food messing it up bothered me.”
My face darkened with her words, speaking volumes in contrast to my honey-toned skin. She could mess up my beard. Anytime and place. We could bother each other.
“You should.”
“I should?”
“Help yourself. I’m not opposed to your touch,” I flirted, taking the last bite of the sandwich. The rest would be packed away. My appetite had since shifted, hungering for the exquisite soul before me.
With an arm propped up on the table, Serenity held her head and blushed. Deep mahogany skin flushed beneath light makeup. Tinted lip gloss was fenced by brown lip liner. A devil for details she was, and I craved to fuck it all up.
“You didn’t answer me.”
“What were you asking?” Slightly, her head tilted in my direction. Her legs shifted toward me. Body linguistics snitched of a soul’s intent. Always snitched.
“How has your week been?” I asked, recalling the way her leg still anxiously rocked.
She sighed. “It’s been busy. All work and no play.”
“—Makes Serenity a dull girl?”
“Yesss, it’s been a hell of a week between prepping for an art show I’m co-curating, the charity auction in a few months, and…”
“Busy with your expansion project?”
“Yeah,” she sighed.
It explained why her honeyed voice hadn’t crossed my device since meeting her. I was a patient man waiting for the day she decided to use my digits, though if I truly wanted, I could have had her number and called by now.
“I took your advice, too.”
“Advice?”