Page 40 of Covert Mission
He chuckled as he seated her at their table. Before returning to his seat, Seth bent and kissed the side of her neck. Another shiver from his lady.
As soon as he sat down, Charlie came to the table with four desserts resting on her tray. “These are the best desserts we have at The Ranch.” She placed two large slices of chocolate cake surrounded by vanilla ice cream in front of the women, then set two big slices of apple pie with ice cream on top in front of Seth and Noah. “I thought y’all might enjoy apple pie better thanchocolate cake. If you prefer something different, I’ll be glad to bring it to you.”
“This looks great,” Noah said.
“Sorry, Charlie, but you’re not getting any of these desserts back.” Teagan smiled. “Although I’ll have to run an extra mile tomorrow, it will be worth every bite.”
Charlie beamed and hurried off to another table.
Teagan and Violet dipped their spoons into the desserts and moaned. “Man, this is amazing. No wonder this treat is so popular,” Violet said.
Teagan picked up Seth’s spoon. “Want to try a bite?”
His breath stalled in his lungs. Did she notice how much he’d longed to feed her bites of food during lunch, like his partner had been doing for Violet? “Sure.”
She dug her spoon into the cake and ice cream before leaning close to slip the spoon into his mouth. The whole time he chewed, Teagan’s gaze remained locked with his. “That’s fantastic. Want to try the apple pie?”
When she nodded, Seth scooped a bite of apple pie and ice cream onto her fork and slipped the sweet treat into her mouth. Man, he wanted to kiss Teagan so much he had to force himself not to steal a kiss right there at the table. He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop with just one kiss. “Which dessert is your favorite?”
A gorgeous smile curved her mouth. “Chocolate for the win every time.” She winked. “Unless….”
“Unless what?”
“Unless your kisses are on the menu.”
Holy smoke. “And if they are?”
“No contest. You win every round.”
Oh, yeah. He needed to kiss Teagan Paloni more than he needed his next breath. “Teagan, you’re killing me, babe.”
“But what a way to go,” Noah muttered as he fed Violet another bite of her dessert, then leaned close and stole a light kiss.
As they walked toward the front door a few minutes later, Seth casually scanned the room, noting several men keeping tabs on their progress. Those same men also watched Teagan and Violet with speculation and envy in their eyes.
He wrapped his arm around Teagan’s waist, silently staking his claim. Yeah, it made him a Neanderthal, but that was tough. He didn’t mind warning off the competition. Teagan was his unless she kicked him to the curb. Even then, he wouldn’t give up without doing his best to win her heart. Early days yet, but he was crazy about this woman.
Noah escorted Violet out the front door, his hand resting on her lower back.
Seth stopped and spoke quietly to Stephano. “Do me another favor?”
“Anything.”
“Make sure Charlie never waits on Blankenship’s table again. She’s worried.”
“Already made a note of that for future reservations, but I appreciate you looking out for her welfare.”
“Thanks, man.” Seth slipped him a hundred dollar bill for his trouble and urged Teagan out the front door.
“Generous tip,” she murmured once they were outside and out of earshot.
“Generous enough that he’ll remember to assign Blankenship and his buddies to another server’s section.” He squeezed her hand as they lagged behind Noah and Violet. “Did you notice the tables of men near the front door?”
“Twelve men total, four at each table, each man wearing slacks and jackets of various shades of black, gray, or blue. While they were playing the roles of rich playboys, only two actually fitthe part. They were the leaders of the group of men. The men seemed quite interested in you and your partner.”
Seth chuckled. “Baby, they weren’t watching me.”
She glanced at him. “What?”