Deacon took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. The flavors were excellent. Her feeding him wasn’t bad, either, but he would much prefer to feed her. “That’s good. Do you like lamb?”
She nodded. He took the opportunity to stab a small cube of lamb and feed it to her. She closed her eyes again as she chewed, thoroughly enjoying the food in a way he hadn’t expected. She’d become quite the foodie since the last time they were together. He suddenly lost interest in trying the food himself, and wanted only to feed Cecelia.
He picked up one of the small stuffed peppers with his fingers and held it up to her. She leaned in, looking into his eyes as she took a bite. Her lips softly brushed his fingertips, sending a shiver through his whole body. When she finished, she took the second bite from his fingers. He tried to pull his hand away but she grabbed his wrist and held it steady.
“Don’t you dare waste that sauce,” she said. Without hesitation she drew his thumb into her mouth and sucked the spicy cream sauce from his skin.
Deacon almost came up out of his seat. The suction on this thumb combined with the swirl of her tongue against his skin made every muscle in his body tense up and his blood rush to his groin. She seemed unaffected. Cecelia pulled away with a sly smile, releasing his wrist. As though she hadn’t just given him oral pleasure, albeit to his hand, she turned back to the selection on the table and chose one of the scallops.
She was just messing with him now. And he liked it.
* * *
The plates just kept coming out of the kitchen, and Cecelia found herself in food heaven. Her roommate in college had been the daughter of a famous Manhattan chef, and she’d exposed Cecelia to cuisines she hadn’t tried back home in Texas. She’d developed a brave palate and high expectations by the time she’d graduated. The little diner in Royal had been fine before she left, but when she returned, she found herself trekking to Houston for cuisine with more flair and spice.
Now she’d have access to world-class dining right here in Royal. At that moment, Eduardo and his waiter brought out fried chorizo wrapped in thin slices of potato, a selection of imported jamón ibérico and Spanish cheeses, marinated and grilled vegetables in a Romanesco sauce, garlic shrimp and salmon tartare in salmon roe cones. By the time they got to the dessert selections, Cecelia wasn’t sure she could eat much more. She loved her sweets, but she was far more interested in the tall, handsome dish across from her at the moment.
Cecelia would be lying if she said that she hadn’t been thinking about Deacon since they shared that kiss Monday night. Part of her wondered if that had been his plan all along—to kiss her, send her home and leave her wanting more.
Cecelia did want more. There was no question of it. She just wasn’t sure if indulging her desires was the best idea. There was certainly plenty of sexual attraction flowing between them, and their night of passion would be one she would never forget. But could she risk giving herself to Deacon when she knew she might fall for him again?
It happened so quickly the first time, Cecelia had hardly known what hit her. For a while after they’d broken up, she had thought that perhaps falling in love was easy to do. The years that followed would prove otherwise. No one, not even her ex-fiancé, had captured her heart the way Deacon had. She feared he still had that power over her.
The hotel opened in a little more than two weeks. Deacon had told her that once things were up and running, he would return to Cannes. She couldn’t risk his taking her heart with him when he left. A few weeks didn’t seem like much time to be together, but Deacon was a well-known commodity to Cecelia. She knew the kind soul she once loved was still there, so even that short time was enough for her to fall miserably in love with him again, just to have him disappear from her life like before.
Cecelia wouldn’t let herself believe that this was a second chance to put things right between them. They could make peace, and already had, really, but a relationship between them seemed impossible. Even if he weren’t returning to the French Riviera in a few weeks, they both knew she was in no position to start something promising with anyone. Not with Maverick’s threat hanging overhead.
She wouldn’t blame him for indulging while he was here and not getting attached. Hell, if he broke her heart this time, it would be some sort of karmic retribution somehow. She deserved it.
Maybe she was just a masochist, but she couldn’t walk away from him. Not twice in a lifetime.
“I’ve got to sample dessert,” Deacon said, oblivious to her train of thought. “I might explode or spend this afternoon napping in my office, but I told Shane that I would try everything.” He eyed the selection of desserts on the table with dismay.
“I think you’ve still got room,” she said. She reached out and picked up a berry tartlet, bringing it up to his lips. “Take a bite.”
He didn’t resist. Deacon bit down into the sweet treat, taking half of it into his mouth. Chewing, he watched as she brought the rest of it up to her mouth and finished it off with a satisfied sound.
“Yummy,” she said and picked up another treat. This one was a small brownie with whipped cream and a dusting of what looked like chili powder. That would be interesting.
As they made their way through the rest of the desserts, Cecelia could feel them building toward something more. If it wasn’t the middle of the afternoon, she was certain he would take her home and make love to her. As it was, she wouldn’t be surprised if he escorted her into his office and locked the door. The entire meal had been the tastiest foreplay she’d ever had. It made her want to spend the weekend in bed with him, and she would if it wasn’t for that pesky engagement party she had to go to tomorrow night.
It occurred to her that there might be one way to get through the evening after all. “Deacon, can I ask you for a favor?”
He leaned in, causing the most delicious tingles as he smoothed his palm down her arm. “Anything.”
“Would you go with me to Wes and Isabelle’s engagement party at the club?” She had no doubt that the gossip would be flying about her breakup with Chip, and it would be so much easier if she had Deacon there with her to soften the blow.
Deacon narrowed his gaze at her. “The club? The Texas Cattleman’s Club? Are you serious?”
Cecelia frowned. “Of course I’m serious. Why wouldn’t I be serious? I’m a member. Everyone in town practically is a member now. What’s the big deal?”
With a sigh, Deacon sat back against the leather of the booth. “The big deal is that I’m not a member. They would never let me be a member. I don’t exactly relish hanging out someplace where I’m not wanted.”
Sometimes Cecelia forgot how hard it was for Deacon to live in Royal back when they were kids. He had never fit in with the others driving the BMWs they got for their sweet sixteenth and going home to their mansions at night. She never really thought about it, because none of it ever mattered to her. He had simply been the most wonderful boy she’d ever known. The fact that he’d driven a beat-up pickup truck and lived in a small, unimpressive house on the edge of town hadn’t been important.
But it had been important to him both then and now, gauging by his reaction. Even though he was successful, even though he could buy and sell half the people in this town, he still had a chip on his shoulder.
“You’re not seventeen and broke anymore, Deacon. Stop worrying about all those other people and what they might or might not think. Actually, most of them are so self-centered that they won’t be nearly as concerned with your being at the club as they will be about a million other things.”
She leaned into him and took his hand. The touch of his skin against hers made her long for the night they’d spent together with his hands gliding over her naked body. Cecelia really did want him to go to the party with her, and not just as a buffer from the ire of the town. She wanted to go