“So, what are these deep, dark secrets you’re so desperate to share with me?” I asked.
Madison pushed her knife and fork together and dabbed the corner of her mouth with her napkin. “When I have a deep, dark secret to share, you’ll be the first to know. What about you? I estimate we only have about twenty minutes until the speeches start, so you may have to resort to bullet points.”
I had to swallow down a chuckle. I wasn’t used to having so much fun at weddings. “Oh, you’d be sorely disappointed. I really have nothing to hide. After all, I’ve already told you that I want to take you to bed.”
Her eyes widened slightly and a blush brushed her cheeks, but she covered her fluster well. “I don’t go to bed with men I don’t know.”
“What do you need to know?” I asked. “I’ll answer any question you ask.”
We were interrupted by the servers clearing our plates. They replaced our chicken with some kind of chocolate thing. “You going to eat yours?” I asked, taking a mouthful and hoping she would say no so I could have it.
“Err, yes. It’s chocolate, so of course I am. Only a monster would say no to chocolate.” She took a forkful of pie or pudding or whatever it was and left a trace on the corner of her mouth.
“Madison,” I said as she took another mouthful. “Are you leaving me some?” I tapped the corner of my mouth. She wiped the wrong side of her mouth with her fingertip.
“No,” I said, shifting around so I had a better angle. “Here.” I leaned toward her, cupped her face with one hand, and pressed my lips against the chocolate, kissing it away.
I held her for a split second longer than I needed to, wanting to savor her warmth and breathe in the scent of orange blossom lingering on her skin before releasing her and sitting back to face my pudding. “You taste delicious.” My voice growled lower and quieter than before. “I knew you would.”
The blush that had started on her cheeks crept across her chest. Still, she stayed quiet while she took another bite—this time without leaving anything for me to taste. “You kissed me,” she said finally.
“No,” I replied. “I licked you.”
She stayed focused on the chocolate in front of her. “You’re insane,” she whispered to her spoon and shaking her head. “You can’t go around licking perfect strangers.”
“Did you like it?” I asked, shooting her a sideways glance.
“Nathan Cove, you’re incorrigible.”
Four
Madison
Nathan Cove was a lot.
I couldn’t believe the man actually licked me. Just like that. In a roomful of people. And while I wasn’t quite ready to admit as much, I had enjoyed it. His huge hand on my face, his stubble against my skin. His tongue, hot and firm. Just thinking about it had my breaths coming faster, like I was in the Jane Austen adaptation he’d accused me of being in.
I wasn’t used to men being so . . . forward. Intense. Single-minded about . . . me. It was bewildering.
The speeches began and Nathan shifted his chair so his leg brushed against mine. I glanced at him just as he leaned forward, and before I realized what he was doing, my entire chair was moving toward him.
“There,” he whispered. “That’s better.”
We were still an inch or two apart, but the added proximity lit something up in me. At one point, his leg grazed mine and although he barely touched me, it was as if he’d stripped me naked, laid me across the table, and was licking me from head to toe. My skin buzzed, and I sucked in a breath, trying to contain the swirl in my stomach, the clutch of my chest. It was that same feeling I had when I went sailing one summer in Scotland—the thrill of the wind pulling up my hair, the roar of the wind and rushing water blocking out every other sound. It was exhilarating but a little scary, and perhaps that combination was what made it so enticing. The memory had never left me, and I had a feeling this moment, too, wouldn’t fade for a long time.
I knew what I would face in an evening with Nathan Cove. Fire. Water. Something to cling to and something to run from. It wouldn’t be boring, that was for sure.
I scanned the other people at the table but everyone’s attention was fixed on the speeches. No one was looking at Nathan and me.
The first speech was a blur, and when Noah got up to give his, I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus with Nathan touching me. I placed my hand over his and whispered in his ear, “You’re going to have to give me a time-out while Noah and Truly give their speeches.”