I’d have to keep that in mind. Maybe Eros had a similar thing that drove him wild.
When Kasey and Aarav walked back over, Kasey was grinning ear to ear and Aarav looked a bit less… high. “We’re going to join your date tonight. Mycah, do you want to come?”
“You are?” I asked, a sudden relief washing over me. “Why?”
“To help you out,” she said.
“It can be intimidating when you’re dating a—” Aarav started.
“A guy like Eros,” Kasey finished.
And it definitely was.
Eros knocked on my front door, and I glanced in the mirror one last time to make sure everything was perfect. Kasey told me to wear something that accentuated my features, but not too much. Give him something to stare at but leave something to his imagination.
I wasn’t sure if this black wrap-dress fit that description, but it was too late to turn back now. I hurried to the front door and took a deep breath. Remember the tricks, Dani.
Eye contact. Tease him. Be direct.
When I opened the door, Eros was leaning against the doorframe, dressed in a navy-blue suit jacket. One hand was stuffed into his pocket. The other was playing with the ring on his finger.
He whistled lowly as his eyes roamed down my body and lingered on my hips. They were intense, dark, and confident.
Keep eye contact, Dani.
“You look… amazing,” he said.
I refused to succumb to the urge to look away and stepped toward him, fingers grazing against his abdomen. “Are you ready?”
He smiled, held out his hand, and led me to the car. “Always.”
During the entire ride to downtown, I repeated the three steps to myself so I wouldn’t forget. Eye contact, tease, be direct. Eye contact, tease, be direct. Reiterating it like a hymn.
Once we parked, Eros grabbed my hand and wrapped an arm around my waist to shield me from the biting cold. The walk to Crimson’s Nouveau would be short, but I didn’t mind the extra body heat.
His jacket hung, unzipped, off his shoulders. I slipped my hand under it, fingers grazing against his chest—making him tense—while we walked.
This was my chance.
I moved my fingers down his torso, slowly tracing his abs, and dipped it down his hip bone until I reached the waistband of his pants. They lingered for a few moments, then I pulled them away.
“What was that?” he asked.
I gulped, trying to think of something sexy to say. “I just wanted to know what I’ll be enjoying after dinner.”
His gaze flickered to my lips, eyes darkening. “You’ll be enjoying more than just that if you keep that up.”
“Oh, yeah?” I asked. “Like what?”
“There you are!” Kasey shouted. She, Mycah, and Aarav were huddled next to the entrance of the restaurant on the other side of the street. Mycah waved to me, a big smile on her face.
Eros hurried with me across the street, a look of ambush on his face. “What are you doing here?” he said.
Kasey looked at me. “You didn’t tell him?”
My eyes widened. I didn’t have any time to tell him anything. The whole day I was focusing on one thing, and that was preparing to seduce Eros.
Kasey pouted her red lips. “We’re joining you.”
“You can’t just invite yourself to a date,” Eros said.
“Dani invited us.”
“Uh—yeah.” Sure, I did.
Mycah bounced up and down on her toes. “Okay, can we take this arguing inside? It’s freezing!”
Eros clenched his jaw, fingers curling tighter around my waist. We walked into Crimson’s Nouveau, and my night of seducing Eros began.
CHAPTER 22
Dani
“And here are your Fervor Crisps to-go.” The waitress placed two brown bags with a black heart-shaped logo on our table. I gently closed my eyes, breathing in the sweet—almost sinful—aroma.
From across the table, Kasey smiled at me with her freshly painted lips. “Have you ever tried Fervor Crisps?” When I shook my head, she slapped Eros on the shoulder and furrowed her brows at him. “You haven’t made her any?”
Eros clenched his jaw for the hundredth time tonight. “Kase-” he started. My fingers lightly dug into his thigh, hoping that it’d calm him down. It was as far as I had gotten flirting with him. He and Kasey had been bickering the whole night.
Kasey took my hand. “Eros makes the most delicious ones that you’ll ever taste.”
I raised a brow at him. “You bake?” He gave Kasey one more hard look, then smiled sheepishly at me. My eyes widened. “That’s so cute!”
All I could picture was Eros in a tiny white apron with flour in his hair, rolling dough—if that’s even what they were made of.
His cheeks tinted pink, and he took my hand from Kasey. I drew my finger over his ring, feeling its warmth from within it. Eros held my hand to his chest, and I gazed at him. The dim light from above accentuated his sharp features, yet they looked inviting somehow. “I’ll make them for you sometime,” he said softly.
Kasey pointed a manicured finger at him. “And take her to The Lounge. They have some good Fervor Crisps too.”
“What’s The Lounge?”
Eros narrowed his eyes at Kasey and pulled me out of the booth. “It’s a bar,” he said slowly. “We’ll be going now.” After snatching one bag, he tugged me through the crowded restaurant, leaving Kasey, Aarav, and Mycah all smirking wickedly at me from the table.
Alone time—finally.
As soon as we reached the car, Eros gazed at me from the driver’s seat. The moon gleamed through the windshield, lightening his dark eyes. He placed a hand on the back of my black leather seat, leaned forward, and said, “I’ve been waiting all night for this,” with that husky voice of his.
My heart thumped against my chest. Here goes nothing. I crossed one leg over the other, my black dress riding up my leg. I turned toward him and fingered the collar on his shirt. “For what?” I asked, holding eye contact.
He drew his nose against mine and smirked. “For this.” He leaned in, snatched the warm bag of Fervor Crisps from my lap, tore it open, and pulled out two pastries, grinning like a maniac.
Heat crawled up my cheeks, and I shifted awkwardly in my seat when he handed me one. Great, Dani, you try to act sexy when all he wanted was some damn Fervor Crisps.
In one bite, Eros stuffed one into his mouth and groaned. “Mmmmm, it’s so good.”
Doughy like an éclair with a thin layer of sugar and powder coating the outside, the Fervor Crisps were only about a finger length long, but they looked delicious.
He relaxed against the back of his seat in pure delight, eyes shutting softly. There was a bit of white powder on his bottom lip. I wanted to wipe it off, but he looked too peaceful. I just wanted to savor the moment.
Once he swallowed, he nudged my Fervor Crisp closer to me. “Go on,” he said. “You’ll like it.”
When I bit into mine, my mouth filled with intense creamy goodness and thick rich dough. Sweet with a pinch of salt. I moaned softly. “How haven’t I eaten one of these before?”
Eros grabbed another one and broke it apart, letting the milky cream ooze from the middle. “They’re not popular around here.”