Afternoon Delight - By Mia Zachary Page 0,21

should he say? Something about the previous evening? Something about being unable to forget her? Something about being glad she called? Something about wanting her so badly it hurt? Whatever he said, it had to be smooth.

“So…How are you?”

There was a brief hesitation before he heard her take a breath. “Last night you said that what we’d shared was just an appetizer. Well, tonight I’m hungry, Chris. Very hungry.”

5

HE GOT A speeding ticket. He didn’t care.

Chris had turned the truck around and made it from one end of the city to the other in just under twenty minutes. Chris careened into the parking garage of the Fieldcrest Hotel, tossed his keys to the valet, jogged toward the elevator then turned back for his parking stub, before taking the stairs two at a time to reach the lobby.

Once there, he took a minute to catch his breath. Jeez, you’d think he’d never been on a date before. He wanted Jade under him, over him, any and every way he could have her. But she didn’t have to know all that the second they met again. Chris walked across the marble tiled lobby to the Hearthstone Pub. His gaze immediately picked her out of the crowd.

She sat at the bar, her hair upswept and her ankles crossed. But there was nothing prim about the way she looked. Metallic threads in the gold sweater she wore caught the low light. The deep cut neckline teased him with a hint of cleavage and her black silk pants flowed along her legs like water.

Amid the noise and hum of voices, Jade seemed utterly prepossessed, sitting patiently on the bar stool and ignoring everyone around her. Chris walked up and brushed a hand along her shoulder, both in greeting and for the pure pleasure of touching her. She didn’t even startle, as if it never occurred to her that anyone else might touch her.

Jade looked up at him and smiled. “Hi, again.”

“Hello yourself. Can I buy you a drink?”

She considered it for a second then nodded. “Sure.”

Chris looked at the bartender. “A draft beer for me and the lady will have…?”

“Maybe a shot of tequila, I think.”

He chuckled at the contradiction of her decisive tone and uncertain words. “Really? I would have guessed you were a white wine drinker.”

Jade gave him an enigmatic smile. “I’m trying new things.”

“All right. Then go for the best. Two shots of Cuervo 1800 Gold, please, and a glass of ice water.”

They sat in a surprisingly comfortable silence, not touching and yet hyper-aware of each other. Chris was perceptive to the heat from her body, the scent of her skin and the hint of uncertainty in her eyes even though she kept them averted. She glanced at her hands then around the bar, looking everywhere except at him. Jade seemed less confident than she’d been at their first encounter and he wondered what had happened.

Practicing what he preached to his clients, Chris set out to put her at ease. “I’m glad you called. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”

She finally looked up and the heat of her gaze seared him. “You’ve been on my mind as well. Last night was…hard to forget.”

He laughed, having noticed where her eyes had focused.

The bartender set two small glasses, a shallow dish of salt and a bowl of limes in front of them. Chris paid the tab then stopped Jade from reaching for a lime wedge. “This is premium quality tequila, aged to be much smoother. So we don’t need the taste killers.”

“If you say so.” She tipped her head, lifted her glass and touched the rim to his.

Watching her with veiled amusement, he knocked back the shot and began silently counting. One, two…He didn’t wait long. Jade’s eyes widened then started to tear as she dropped her shot glass on the bar top and gasped for breath. He handed over the ice water and grinned.

After several sips, the bright color in her cheeks receded and she was able to talk. “Smooth, huh?”

“I spent a wild drinking weekend in Tijuana back in college. Trust me, this is smooth.” Chris shook his head when the bartender gestured for another round, thinking she’d probably opt for a different drink next time. “Do you still want to try something new?”

Jade dropped her gaze again, a slight frown between her brows, and didn’t answer. She toyed with her shot glass, rotating it between her palms one way and then the other. Her expression fascinated him. Despite