Vicki Thompson - Truly, Madly, Deeply

Sliding back to the middle of her seat, she gave Henry a broad smile as she glanced up at him. “Dessert sounds wonderful.”

“Terrific.” Henry clasped his hands in front of him. “We have mud pie, an unbelievable hot-fudge sundae, a raspberry cheesecake that’s out of this world, and pecan pie to die for. Why don’t I bring all of them and let you sample to your heart’s content?”

“Sounds like a great idea.” Erica looked over at Dustin and somehow managed to keep her face straight. “Are you up for that?”

He coughed. “Um, sure.”

“May I clear your plates?” Henry asked.

“You can take mine,” Erica said. “And it was delicious, Henry. Even the barbecue, and you know I’m not much of a carnivore.”

“I thought I’d tempt you with that sauce,” Henry said. “Be sure and mention the sauce in the review. We’re known for that.”

“I’ll be sure and mention the sauce.” Erica reached over to Dustin’s plate, swiped up a bit with her finger and licked it off, totally on purpose. She’d never been this motivated to sexually taunt a guy. “A taste that yummy should be illegal.”

Henry beamed. “My mom’s secret recipe.” He turned toward Dustin. “Sir, do you want to keep your plate?”

“No, that’s okay.” Dustin’s voice sounded gravelly. “You can take it.” He cleared his throat again. “It was very good, though.”

“A positive review in Dateline: Dallas guarantees increased traffic.” He picked up Dustin’s plate. “I’ve been trying to get Erica in here for months.” He glanced at her. “And the review will be out Saturday, right?”

“Absolutely. I’ll write it this afternoon.”

“Cool. I’ve scheduled everybody to work Saturday night, to handle the crowd. More beer for either of you?”

“One beer’s all I can handle if I’m going to make my deadline,” Erica said, “but iced tea would be nice.”

Henry looked at Dustin. “And what can I get for you?”

“The same, thanks.”

“Good deal. Be right back.”

After he left, Erica gazed at Dustin in silence, waiting to see if he’d say anything more about her outrageous suggestion.

“You weren’t serious about it, were you?” he asked at last.

“What makes you think I wasn’t serious?”

“Well, for one thing, Henry keeps wandering back here.”

She’d honestly forgotten about Henry, but that didn’t matter, because Dustin wouldn’t take her up on her offer. “The possibility of discovery increases the excitement,” she said, continuing to have fun with him. “I did one issue on restaurants where it would be possible to fool around. I keep getting requests for reprints of that issue.”

“Did you test out the restaurants personally?”

“I’ll take the Fifth on that.” Sadly enough, the guy she’d been dating at the time hadn’t had an adventurous bone in his body. When she’d tried to fondle him under the table, he’d insisted they leave the restaurant.

“I’ll bet you did it. Which is exactly what I’d expect of you. You’re one gutsy woman.”

She was pleased with that assessment. Maybe Dustin would go back to Midland and think about her for another ten years. This time she’d be able to visualize him pining away, and that would be sweet, indeed.

“Here we are—decadence personified.” Henry appeared and unloaded three dessert plates, a tall hot-fudge sundae and two iced teas.

“Positively sinful.” Erica winked at Dustin.

“Use that in the review,” Henry said. “Just say my sauce oughta be illegal and my desserts are positively sinful. I’ll have a line clear down the street Saturday night.”

“I hope you do.” Erica surveyed the banquet of sweets and decided to put a little more pressure on Dustin. “Thanks, Henry. You know what else I like about this place?”

“The charming owner?”

She smiled at him. Henry was gay, so she knew he wasn’t even remotely hitting on her. “Definitely. And also the fact that the service is discreet. You don’t hover over us while we eat. You leave us alone to enjoy our food.”

Henry flushed with obvious pleasure. “I try to treat people the way I’d like to be treated. I make sure they don’t need anything, but once I’m sure they’re all set, I disappear. Most people like a little privacy to enjoy their meal.”

“You’re smart to realize that,” Erica said.

“That said, I’ll leave you two to your desserts.” Henry bowed slightly. “Bon appétit.”

Once he was gone, Erica trained her gaze on Dustin. “Take whatever appeals to you.”

His chest rose and fell rapidly. “Did you do that on purpose?”

She played dumb. “Order dessert?”

“Let Henry know that we wanted to be left alone.”

She pulled the hot-fudge sundae toward her and dipped a spoon into the whipped cream. “You seemed worried about Henry running back here all the time, so I decided to remove that obstacle for you.” She licked the whipped cream from the edge of the spoon. Then she waved it over the table full of goodies. “Have some dessert.”

Dustin pulled the cheesecake plate in front of him. “I’ll bet if I came over there you’d freak.”

“Try me.” She picked the cherry up by its stem and dangled it above her mouth before plopping it inside. She was giddy with power. Dustin was squirming in his seat and wondering if she was as wild as she seemed to be. Sweet.

He grabbed a fork and ate the cheesecake automatically, shoveling it in like a robot unaware of what he was doing. “I should call your bluff.”

Pulling the cherry with her teeth, she twirled the stem between her fingers as she chewed and swallowed. Her heart hammered, but she kept her tone casual. “Assuming I’m bluffing.” This was the most fun she’d ever had in her entire life. All this teasing was giving her quite a buzz.

“You’re bluffing. You might have done something in a dark restaurant at night, but this is the middle of the day.” He finished the cheesecake and started on the mud pie. “No way would you go through with it.”

“Whatever you say.” Digging out some hot fudge, she left the spoon poised over the dish so the warm chocolate dribbled over the whipped cream. “You’re the one who said we couldn’t be friends if you didn’t give me an orgasm. I’m only trying to accommodate you.”

He paused, his fork in midair, and watched the hot fudge ooze from the tip of her spoon. In what looked like an unconscious gesture, he ran his tongue over his lips. “Tell me again when you’ll be finished with the newsletter?”

“I have to put it to bed, as we say, by noon tomorrow. I got behind this week so I’ll probably pull an all-nighter to get it done.” She turned the spoon upside down and slid it into her mouth as she held his gaze.

“Will you be free after that?”

She sucked the hot fudge from the spoon and slid it back out of her mouth. “I’ll have to check my calendar. I might have a date tomorrow night.” She didn’t. She’d broken up with Brian two months ago, and nobody promising had appeared on the horizon since then. But she had to protect herself, or she was liable to end up in Dustin’s hotel room tomorrow night.

Although she’d been an easy conquest once upon a time, she wouldn’t make that mistake again. No matter what he might say to the contrary, this could be all about the chase. Once she gave him what he wanted, he could easily drop her again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

His voice was husky with leashed tension. “You’re torturing me on purpose, aren’t you?”

She gestured with her spoon as she leaned toward him. “I’m trying to show you that this is an impossible situation you’re trying to set up. You can’t ride into my life after ten years and expect me to fall into bed with you so that you can have a perfect record with the ladies.”