An American Cinderella

“It’s a family tradition,” he explained, scraping the last noodles from his container. “I served for three years in the Paradisa Army. I was in Afghanistan for two tours.”

I leaned back in my chair and imagined him in a uniform. The idea was incredibly hot. He would look damn fine in a uniform.

“Any other secrets?”

He stilled and then scraped his empty container again. “I can’t give them all away in one night.”

He looked up at me, his blue eyes hinting at hundreds more secrets and I wanted to know them all. I wanted to know every secret and every inch of him.

“You want to head to the couch?” I asked. It was an obvious ploy, but I wanted to kiss him again and I couldn’t do it easily at the table. Now that my physical hunger was satiated, a different one had come to replace it. “It’s more comfortable.”

The slow grin on his face told me that Henry knew exactly what I was doing and was very okay with it.

“Do you want help with dishes?” he asked.

I stood up and collected the empty containers. We’d both eaten all our pad Thai as well as the spring rolls. All that was left were crumbs and forks.

It took me two seconds to throw the forks in the sink and everything else in the trash. “There. Dishes done.”

“I now see the appeal of no plates,” Henry replied. The slow, easy grin was back. It made my stomach do excited flip flops. I wanted to kiss that grin.

He sauntered casually to the couch, settling down in a smooth motion. There was plenty of space to his left, so I made sure to sit on his right. That meant I had to snuggle up next to him. He smiled a little wider and put his arm over my shoulder.

“I’m glad you liked my restaurant,” I said softly. I wanted to kiss him, but I wasn’t sure how to start. I didn’t want to push the moment. I wanted to let us slide into it like last time so that it would be perfect again.

“I did,” he replied, his face close to mine. He traced my cheek with a fingertip, sending shivers down my spine and goosebumps up my arms. “I’m glad you liked the game.”

“I did,” I said, repeating his words back. “I really liked it.”

I opened my mouth to say more, but I couldn’t find the words. Not when I was looking into those blue eyes that held depths I could only dream of.

His fingers left my cheek to come under my chin, tipping my face up to him. That slow, sexy, confident grin filled his face as he leaned forward and kissed me.

And good lord could he kiss.

I opened my mouth to his, tasting and feeling his every movement. His mouth was sure and confident as he found all the right spots to touch me. I moaned softly and his arms wrapped around me.

I picked up my knee and straddled his waist, giving us a far better position to keep kissing. I loved the low growl of approval at my new orientation and the way his hands went to my waist and back, pulling me into him.

His mouth left mine to trace the curve of my throat. My hands tangled in his beautiful hair as my own head tipped back. He ran his tongue along my skin, tasting me and kissing me at the same time. My pulse throbbed against his kisses as he worked his way to my shoulder.

He pushed the shirt from my shoulder and nibbled on the bare skin, making me whimper with desire. We both had far too many clothes on. I looked down at him, our eyes meeting as we both realized we were thinking the same thing.

He slid his hands under my shirt, his fingers hot and wanted along the bare skin of my stomach. With a practiced motion, he lifted my shirt up and over my head, tossing it to the floor behind me.

He leaned back, his pupils dilating as he looked me over.

“Wow,” he whispered, taking in my body with just my jeans and bra. The compliment made me flush. I didn’t feel like a wow, but when he said it, I thought it might possibly be true.

He kissed my shoulder, sliding the strap of my bra off. My heart pounded in my chest, wanting to slow down and speed up at the same time. We were all alone and had all the time in the world, yet I didn’t want to wait. I wanted him all right there on my couch.

I reached down to his waist and tugged up on his shirt. He pulled back his head from the skin of my shoulder just long enough for me to pull the fabric up and over his head. The shirt caught right at his eye level, his arms tangled and sticking straight up.