“Not to worry.” David grinned. “I’ll feed you.” He picked up a piece of white meat and tore it into strips. “Open up,” he directed, tantalizing her with the delectable piece of chicken.
She did.
David popped a strip of chicken into her mouth. He realized his error when Tessa’s tongue touched the tips of his fingers. He groaned, shifting his position on the quilt to hide his sudden arousal. He took a swallow of the white wine. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”
Tessa frowned, disappointed. “I think it’s a lovely way to eat supper.” She smiled up at David. “I’ve never been on a picnic before.”
David drained his glass. “Then we should do it more often.” He wanted to see her smile again. He wanted to taste her again, to drink the wine from her lips. He raised his wineglass, but she hadn’t touched hers. “Don’t you like the wine?”
“I’ve never had wine before.” She sniffed her glass and wrinkled her nose.
David chuckled. “Don’t smell it. Taste it.”
Tessa took a hesitant sip. She liked the tart sensation on her tongue. She smiled. “It’s good.”
He drained his glass, then refilled it.
Horace Greeley finished his meal then moved over to David’s lap.
Tessa laughed as the greedy cat butted at David’s hand trying to intercept the food.
“This is not for you, fella.” He tore another piece of chicken off the bone and held it out to her. “This is for the lady.”
She took the food in her fingers and nibbled at it. Greeley hurried over to investigate. David grabbed him.
“Watch it, boy, or you’ll be back on the streets fending for yourself,” he warned the tom.
“Is that where you got him?” Tessa studied the motion of David’s hand as he fingered the cat’s tom ear and massaged the thick orange fur.
“Yep. I found him when he was a kitten.”
‘Tell me,” Tessa urged. She loved the sound of David’s voice, loved the way it rumbled in his chest, not unlike the purring of the cat. “Tell me how you found him and how he got his name.” She reached for her plate. David passed it to her. “You talk. I’ll feed myself. I’m hungry.”
“I found him in Washington, at the train station,” David remembered. “A group of nasty little boys had sicced their dog on him.” He scratched Greeley’s chin. The cat purred enthusiastically. He stretched out next to David’s body, closing his green eyes until they were mere slits. “He was so tiny and helpless. Just a patch of spitting orange fur hiding beneath the steps of the platform.”
“What did you do?”
“I ran the boys and the dog off, then crawled under the platform to rescue him. I was afraid he’d dart out onto the tracks if I left him there.” David fingered the damaged ear. “The boys had hurt him. Ripped his ear. It was bleeding. I didn’t really think I could save him.” David wanted her to understand. “But I had to try.”
“Do you do that often?” Tessa wanted to know. “Do you make a habit of rescuing creatures in distress?”
“No.”
“Really? I wonder.”
She spoke so softly David looked up to see if he’d heard correctly. She gazed at him, her blue-eyed gaze penetrating his defenses. It was as if she’d looked into his soul. “I’ll bet when you were a little boy you always brought home wounded animals and baby birds.”
“How did you know that?” David challenged.
“It’s obvious,” Tessa pointed out. “First you rescued Greeley. Then me.” Her smile was smug, knowing.
“No,” he said. “Greeley was second.” He inhaled a deep breath. “You were third.”
“Who was first?”
He’d known she would ask. She couldn’t help but ask. But once he’d mentioned it, David had second thoughts about telling her the story.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Tessa told him. She pushed her plate to the side.