Page 33

I couldn’t take a girl who was used to having Georgio’s weekly to Applebees and expect her to be comfortable.

I wouldn’t even expect her to sit through an appetizer.

Shit didn’t work like that. The food, atmosphere, people she encountered, and drinks she consumed simply weren’t part of the carefully paved path that had been set for her.

“It’s the standard.”

My head was still lifting and falling. I understood everything coming from her mouth.

“The standard,” I repeated slowly. “I like that.”

“Do you?”

She was magnetic. Her need for clarity reeled me right in. My eyes were still locked on her. The hidden chambers of my heart were unlocking for her.

“Yes. It lets me know that not many men around these parts can have what I’ve gotten ahold of because they simply aren’t the standard. Can’t manage the standard. Can’t maintain the standard. Can’t even make the fucking standard.”

“I’m not interested in men, Sac.”

She informed me. Though it was music to my ears, I couldn’t help but want to know why. Slowly, she placed her new purse back into the box and put it away.

“I’ll save the others for later.”

I agreed with her decision. The gifts could wait until she got home. I’d seen enough to know I needed to open my wallet wider and give her whatever her heart desired.

“Mellow.”

“Yes?” She asked, focusing on me, again.

“Have you sworn them off because one has broken your heart?”

Quietly, she stared, openly admiring me. I folded under her gaze. I felt my heart pump a mile a minute. I lowered my head with a smile.

This fucking girl, man. This fucking girl .

“I’ve dreamt of you for years. Having you sit across the table from me feels surreal. I wish I could say the dreams were better, but I’d be lying. They don’t compare.”

She paused.

“You’re awfully handsome when amused. And when you’re utterly smitten.

Like now. The way your face tightens when you smile, I really enjoy that.

And, that. Right there. Holding a finger over your mouth to suppress the chuckle waiting to emerge.

I enjoy that, too. You’ve said it to me, so now I’m saying it to you, Saint. You’re perfect .”

My dick stood three feet in the air underneath the table.

She was hardening it even more with every word she spoke.

Making this moment about me was never the intention.

It was all about Rome. However, she was generous with her compliments and honesty.

She couldn’t keep them inside. I’d noticed it as she encountered Olla just minutes ago.

“Naturally, your skin is flawless. Your eyebrows are so thick. Your eyelashes are so long and curled upward.”

She was describing my dick and had no idea. I was intrigued by her description. So much so that it attempted to split my pants to thank her.

“Your nose is wide. Your lips are full. Your eyes are lusty. Lively. Low, yet wide with interest. You’re intrigued by me.

You’re enamored. And, I like that. In fact, I love it.

I love it for me and I love it for you. Because, admittedly, there’s no one in this world that can make you feel the way I will.

Not just today, but every day. Not only because I said so, but because I’ve experienced it. In every lifetime.”

Finally, she took a deep breath.

“To answer your question… No one has broken my heart. No one has had the chance to.”

Confusion wrapped me up completely. I didn’t quite understand how that was possible. She was beautiful. Talented. Flawless.

“How old are you, Rome?”

“Twenty-four,” she responded swiftly.

Twenty four and has never had her heart broken. She was rare in every sense of the word.

“I’ve been waiting for someone special, Sac. No one has done me dirty.”

“No one has–”

“Taken me on a date. Pissed me off. Cheated.”

She sighed, shaking her head.

“Courted me. Ghosted me. Lied to me. Strung me along. Played with my head. Embarrassed me. Betrayed me.”

“Loved you?”

She shook her head.

“Chased you?”

She shook her head.

“Kissed you?”

She shook her head.

“Entered you?”

She changed. Visibly. The air tried leaving her body. Her breath hiked in her chest. Her eyes grew tired. They sagged with desire. Passion. Lust. Desperation. Salacity. Still, she shook her head.

“No.”

She wasn’t as quiet. As calm. Yet, her eyes still hung low. The desire was still present. So was the lust. And desperation.

Her pussy was slippery. I could smell it from across the table. It was beckoning for me. For my tongue. For my lips. For my time. For my attention.

“Tasted you?”

She shook her head. Rapid, yet slow blinks followed. I’d bet my last dollar she’d ruined the thong she wore. There was no way it would survive the night still clinging to the crack of her ass. I wouldn’t stand for it. That place belonged to my tongue.

“No.”

I peered at her, unblinkingly. She was honest with her answers. I didn’t detect a lie and I doubted she’d tell one, either.

She is my final destination.

I lifted my right hand to my face, unable to comprehend the blessing I’d been sent straight from the Man, himself. My hand slid down my face, trying to wrap my head around the new information she’d shared. I couldn’t continue in this fashion. I wouldn’t continue in this fashion.

“I’m sorry, Rome–”

The defeat on her face made my stomach turn.

While she assumed I was about to break her heart, I was trying my hardest to focus on not breaking her in half.

She’d awaken the beast, and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to contain him on water and food alone.

He wanted something more potent. More promising. He wanted her .

“Sac–”

“I’m sorry you’ve never felt the pleasure you are long overdue for. I’m sorry you haven’t reached that paramount place of womanhood without the help of something battery operated or– self . And, most of all, I’m sorry that I can’t fathom having food without having you.

“You’re the only thing I care to eat at this moment. Maybe I’ll be able to digest food after I’ve digested you. Penetration won’t be the pinnacle of our night. Your pussy– in my mouth, on my chin, on my nose will be.

“When you’re ready, I’ll have you. But, tonight, I’m going to taste you. And, you’re gonna cum– on this very night. On my face. On my fingers. Wherever you’d like. I just need you to tell me one thing, Rome–”

Batting her lashes, she swallowed hard before asking, “Yes?”

“How hungry are you?”

“Famished,” she breathed out, referring to her desire for intimacy.

“For food, Rome. How hungry are you? I’d hate to be irresponsible and not feed you before I take your body to heights it’s never reached. So, tell me, how hungry are you?”

“I’m not. I ate before I came.”

I figured. It was something many women did before dates so they could spend their time questioning a man rather than eating. And, just in case things went astray, they wanted to make sure their bellies were satisfied regardless.

The instant her sentence came to a halt, I was up from my seat and snapping my fingers.

I circled it once and whistled to get the staff’s attention from across the room.

Within the next few seconds, feet were scurrying across the floor and the echoing emptiness of the place was almost as loud as the heartbeat between Rome’s legs.

I should take her here . I considered.

“As a matter of fact Rome–” I paused, “There has been a change of plans.”

“Mm hm,” she all but moaned.

Her hands were shaking. Her bottom lip was tucked into her mouth. Her hips were grinding into the seat. She was famished.

“I won’t be able to make it out of this establishment without having a taste of you.”

I snatched the napkin from underneath my silverware. They fell onto the table, crashing loudly. The sound of them colliding startled her.

“Do you understand me, Rome?” I asked, stuffing the napkin in my shirt.

She was a lost girl, peering around the restaurant as if she’d lost someone. She would, eventually. She’d lose the woman she was when she walked in. She wouldn’t walk out the same person. Her life would be changed forever tonight. There was no doubt in my mind.

“Do you understand, Rome?”

She nodded.

“Good, then. I just need your permission. Your consent. Before you touch the drinks I’ve ordered ahead of this night– so I know this isn’t influenced by anything but nature. Yours as a woman. And mine as a man who seeks to please himself by pleasing you.”

She inhaled deeply and released the breath slowly.

“Do I have your permission, Rome?”

There were no words. Just slow blinks.

Once.

Twice .

She pushed a lump of air down her throat.

Once.

Twice .

She blinked again. Swallowed again. Tried breathing again.

I was hardly getting anywhere with her. The words weren’t there but the signs were. However, I needed to hear it from her mouth that she was prepared to go on the ride I was prepared to take her on.

I closed the gap between us, kneeling beside her. She was fragrant, smelling like pussy and power. Because, though I hadn’t tasted or felt it yet, that pussy had powers over me.

Summoning me.

Teasing me.

Calling me.

Discussing me with those lips I wanted to kiss on.

Suck on.

Spit on.

Respectfully.

I rested my hands on her skin. She was trembling.

“Sa–”

“I need your permission– Do I have it, Rome?”

I caressed the side of her leg, extracting water from her well. She nodded.

“Words.”

“Yessss–”

Not a single word left my mouth as I stood on my feet.

She was still in my line of vision. Everything about me blurred.

She was the only concern of mine. One snap of the linen sent the dishes crashing to the ground.

Rome’s spine straightened. Her eyes shifted, but were right back on me. Not even a full second passed us by.

Still, I gave her time to understand exactly what was happening. Though she’d voiced her comprehension, I wanted to be sure she was sure.