To Love Someone (Baytown Boys #14) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,50

bike. He secured their helmets, and with his hand resting on her lower back, guided her toward the door.

“I’ve only been here a couple of times,” she admitted.

“The food is good, but it can get crowded on the weekends. They’ve got a deck at the back. Is it okay if we eat out there?”

“Sure.”

She smiled up at him as they walked toward the hostess counter. Without thinking, his hand slid from her back to grasp her fingers as they followed the hostess through the restaurant toward the back deck. As soon as their fingers touched, he felt a jolt and almost dropped her hand, both in surprise and uncertainty, but she held fast. She was looking straight ahead, but he watched her lips curve as their fingers linked together.

A tall, two-seater table at the end of the deck gave them a perfect view of the Baytown Harbor. Making sure she was settled first, he scooted his seat closer before sitting. It didn’t take long for their beer to arrive, shortly followed by the appetizer selection. He dove into the onion rings while she scooped cheesy crab dip onto her pita chip. His chewing came to a halt at the sound of her moan of delight. Her eyes were closed, and her face appeared orgasmically pleased as she chewed and swallowed.

“Oh, that was amazing,” she groaned, her eyes popping open.

The sound coming from her had shot straight through him, ending up at his cock. Glad that his hard-on was hidden, he nonetheless made sure his napkin was on his lap. Swallowing his own bite, he grunted, “Yeah.”

She narrowed her eyes and pretend-glared. “No way are you going to revert back to single word answers, Joseph Hernandez. When we first met, I wasn’t sure you could speak in a complete sentence.”

Chuckling, he shrugged. “Never been much of a talker. At least, not until recently.”

“And what’s happened recently?” She was munching on another chip but held his gaze and leaned closer, her eyes pinned on him. And if he wasn’t mistaken, a hopeful gleam showed in her gaze.

“I figure you can guess, Samantha. I’m not much of a talker if I don’t have anything to say or anyone to say it to. With you around, it’s different.”

His answer appeared to satisfy her, and she smiled before snagging one of the onion rings. Groaning again, she said, “Oh, I’ve got the perfect combination!”

He watched in fascination as she scooped up cheesy crab dip with the onion ring before popping it into her mouth. Before he had a chance to respond, she repeated her actions, only this time holding the tasty morsel to his lips. Without hesitation, he opened his mouth and took the bite from her fingers, gliding his tongue over the tips. Her eyes widened, and she laughed.

“Well, I was just going to give you something to nibble on, but it seems like my fingers may have done the trick.”

He chuckled before chewing. “Damn, that’s good!”

“Told you it was!”

His attention was riveted on her and wasn’t shaken when she held his gaze and leaned closer.

“Tell me something about yourself, Joseph.”

He generally avoided situations where personal questions would be asked but knew when he asked her to dinner that he was opening himself up to them getting to know each other better. He shifted, uncertain what to say or what she expected. His gaze dropped as she placed her hand on his arm, squeezing gently.

“It doesn’t have to be deep or dark or secret… I just like hearing you talk.”

Surprised, he stared but found nothing but sincerity looking back at him. He couldn’t remember the last time somebody just wanted him to talk for the sake of talking. In fact, he felt sure that had never happened. But when Samantha offered him the freedom to say anything, the awkwardness fell away.

“I’m from California originally.”

“Ooh, Northern California? I can see you riding along the coastline and going through the vast forests. Or maybe you were a surfer teen in Southern California?”

Chuckling, he shook his head. “No, Silicon Valley.” He watched as her brow lowered, seeing her surprise so clearly written on her face. He shrugged, uncertain what to say, but the tug to talk to her was strong. “My grandfather worked for IBM in the post-WWII days. Money was there to be made for people who were smart and driven. My dad stayed in the area after graduating from Stanford and got on with one of the gaming start-ups. He worked for them for a