Janelle Denison: Into The Night

Finished with the cheese fondue, she set her fork on her plate. “You’re an only child?”

“No, I have three older sisters.” He set his fork aside, too. “And let me tell you, it was hell growing up in an all-female environment. Though I did learn at a young age to cater to their whims to get what I wanted.”

Despite his complaint, his voice was infused with a wealth of affection for his siblings. “So that’s how you became such a charmer, hmmm?”

“What can I say?” His tone was playfully unapologetic, as was his grin. “It was great training when it comes to dealing with women. I learned all kinds of secrets from my sisters.” He winked at her.

She laughed, and liked him even more than when they’d originally sat down at the table. He was open and honest and genuine, and those were qualities the men she’d dated in the past had lacked. It was true everyone who signed up for the speed-dating event had to undergo a criminal check and background screening for safety, but there was something about Nathan that made her feel safe and comfortable-whether it was his military and previous law enforcement credentials, or the fact that he clearly adored his mother and sisters.

Their dinner dishes were cleared away, their glasses of wine refilled, and a few minutes later dessert arrived in the form of a small pot of milk-chocolate-and-caramel fondue, with an array of fruit, tiny cakes, and other sweet treats for dipping.

Five minutes ago she would have sworn she was stuffed and couldn’t eat another bite, but resisting anything drenched in chocolate was impossible. She didn’t hesitate to skewer a bright red strawberry and dive into the decadent dessert.

“So, enough about me,” Nathan said, as if he’d just realized how she’d deliberately kept most of the questions about him, rather than focus on her. “Are you native to Vegas?”

Okay, that she could handle. Nothing too deep or intimate. “No. I’m a small-town girl, born and bred. Prattville, Iowa, population three hundred sixty-seven.” She grinned.

He swirled a chunk of pineapple into the rich, sweet sauce, his gaze curious as he glanced at her. “What brought you to the city?”

Again, nothing too revealing there, either. “I’m a journalist, a graduate of Columbia University. I didn’t care for living in New York City, and there’s not a whole lot to report on in Prattville, so I chose Las Vegas because it seemed like an exciting place to live.” She speared a fluffy white marshmallow and drenched it in the caramel chocolate.

“Do you like your job?” he asked.

“At the moment I’m a little frustrated,” she admitted, playing it cool and casual. “I mean, come on, it doesn’t take a genius to write an article on speed dating.”

He chuckled, and before he could keep up his line of inquiry, she spun the spotlight back on him. “Speaking of which, what were some of the more amusing questions you were asked tonight?”

“Let me think.” He turned thoughtful as he considered his night of dating more than a dozen women. “One woman asked me, ‘If aliens landed on earth and selected you to visit their home planet, would you go with them?’”

She burst out laughing. “Oh, that’s just plain scary,” she said, then shared one of her own. “After a few minutes in one of my sessions, I had a guy ask if he was cute enough for me, or did I need more to drink? Talk about a cheesy pickup line.”

Nathan groaned. “It’s guys like him that give us all a bad reputation when it comes to dating women.”

“Just so you know, you passed our speed-dating round with flying colors.”

After submerging a small cheesecake square into the melted sauce, she popped the tidbit into her mouth and moaned at the rich, sweet flavors sliding across her taste buds. The delicious combination melted on her tongue, and she closed her eyes and groaned again, certain she’d died and gone to dessert heaven. This creation was by far her favorite.

“That good, huh?” Nathan asked, interrupting her near-orgasmic experience.

Her lashes fluttered open as she swallowed the last of the treat, immediately noticing that his eyes had grown dark from watching her. “Oh, yeah,” she murmured in a low purr of sheer satisfaction. She speared another cube of cheesecake and drenched it in the fondue. “Here, try it for yourself.”

Just as she lifted the cheesecake toward him, dripping with the scrumptious sauce, it slid off the end of the fork and fell to her plate. Without really thinking her actions through, she picked up the morsel and hand-fed it to him.

And that’s when everything changed, from light and fun, to a mood that unleashed the underlying desire simmering between them from the beginning. Undoubtedly, it was a sensual experience just slipping the soft, gooey cheesecake past his lips, and it was more than enough to give her pulse a nice little jolt of awareness. But then he did the unexpected, and when she would have pulled her hand back, he grasped her wrist and held it captive.

“Hold on a sec,” he said in a deep and sexy tone. “I’m feeling cheated. All the good stuff is still on your fingers.”

The challenge in his heated gaze was undeniable. The wicked grin on his lips was just as daring. Would she or wouldn’t she let him lick all that caramel chocolate off her?

She wasn’t in a position to say no. And didn’t want to. He brought her hand back to his lips and flicked his tongue across the tips of her fingers, wringing a groan from deep inside her. He licked and sucked and nibbled the chocolate sauce off her skin, and took his sweet time doing so, setting off a whole different kind of hunger between them and sending a wave of lustful heat rushing through her veins. It was all she could do to keep from straddling his lap and kissing him senseless.

“Mmmm, good,” he said huskily, and gave her index finger one last slow lick she felt all the way down between her thighs.

Completely aroused, she squirmed on the leather seat beside him, and knew she was breathing harder and faster than normal.

Done turning her inside out with wanting him, he dipped a clean linen napkin into his water glass and used the damp cloth to clean the rest of the stickiness from her hand and fingers. All the while she couldn’t stop thinking about pressing her lips to his and tasting all that male heat-deeply, thoroughly.

All alone in their private booth, the aching need grew, until it could no longer be ignored and the bold and brazen words were tumbling from her lips before she could stop them. “Nathan… I want to kiss you. Can I?”

A slow smile spread across his gorgeous face. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

He rested his arm along the back of the seat and remained where he was, waiting for her to make the first move and doing nothing to meet her halfway. Yes, she’d been the one to ask for the kiss, and he was definitely going to make her work for it. A delightful, exciting surprise, considering most guys would have been all over her by now.

The truth was, she liked being the one setting the pace and calling the shots when it came to anything sexual. It was a control thing for her, a way of keeping physical pleasure separated from any emotional involvement-an arrangement that worked well for her.

Placing her hand on his chest, she leaned in closer, tipped her head to the side, and settled her lips against his with a sensual sigh. His mouth was soft and warm and oh-so-inviting, and-unable to resist the temptation-she slipped her tongue past the seam of his lips and was greeted with the heady taste of chocolate, caramel, and the kind of pure male heat that could threaten to consume her if she let it.

While he had allowed her to initiate the kiss, once she delved deeper, turning the chaste caress of lips to more provocative play, Nathan didn’t hesitate to join in, exploring with equal leisure. His tongue stroked inside her mouth, so seductive, so coaxing, and her entire body hummed with intense pleasure.