Dangerously Yours (Titans of Chicago #3)

LULU

I was literally shaking in my Jimmy Choo pumps as I stared across the table at the plate he set down in front of me. Noah Capshaw was a star football player, but as I had come to see in recent weeks, he was so much more than that. My first impression of him and his type had been completely wrong. One thing I had been right about, however, was how fucking hot he was. Even in nothing more than a division championship T-shirt and a low-slung pair of faded jeans, he was still delicious. Maybe, even more so than the food he was preparing for us both.

Noah was dressed like you would expect any other guy in his twenties to be, yet he stood out in more ways than one. I had first hand evidence of what that thin material covered, and since seeing his bare chest before the Waters’ party, I had thought of little else outside of dragging my tongue over those abs and through those grooves, including the well defined vee that had disappeared into his gym shorts that day.

I gently rubbed my thighs together. Dinner with this man was a mistake I should’ve realized ahead of time, but I hadn’t, and now I would have to sit across from him and try to not embarrass myself. It was funny that I felt this way now. The nervousness had been something I hadn’t experienced since I was much younger. The flustered anxiety and frayed nerves were things I hadn’t felt in quite a while. I had been married almost two decades, but there had been no butterflies the last decade or so for anyone, including the man who had betrayed me every chance he had gotten. I wasn’t young anymore, and Cade’s choice of women only confirmed that it was why we didn’t last.

Cade wanted to be what Noah was, but time had passed, and now he was the rich Titan with a dad bod who chased after younger women as if he was going through a mid-life crisis. Only, it wasn’t just now. I had uncovered evidence that my husband had cheated on me throughout the entire course of our marriage, even when my breasts still sat high upon my chest without requiring medical intervention, and my stomach wasn’t marked with stretch marks from the children of his that I had brought into this world.

“Is something wrong?” I looked up at Noah who was watching me with concern.

“No, I’m fine,” I tried to assure him, even forcing myself to smile. I could tell by his skeptical expression that it didn’t quite reach my eyes, though.

He smiled back though, and damn if it didn’t wet my panties. It wasn’t the polite type that others on the street or at the society parties gave me, but rather one that appeared to be laced with wicked intentions. Only, it couldn’t be.

What does someone like him want with someone like me?

From the time we had gotten closer, he had been completely chivalrous. For all I knew, I likely reminded him of his mother. That thought caused bile to rise in my throat, which I quickly swallowed down. I wasn’t that old, even if I felt it at times. There was about a thirteen year age difference between us, but I ignored that as my oldest child was fourteen.

“Are you sure because you look like you’re feeling ill.”

I continued to smile. “No, I was just thinking about something, but it has nothing to do with this meal. By the way, it looks delicious.”

“I’m glad to hear that...” he said, pausing to study me. “What were you thinking about?”

I paled visibly, especially because I couldn’t reveal I was thinking about him. Realizing the only thing I could realistically sell to him was Cade, I let my smile drop. “It’s been a while since I have had dinner with a man outside of?—”

“Outside of Cade. Damn. I hope this isn’t too much for you.”

“No, no,” I quickly responded in assurance, even reaching over the table to touch the top of his hand. “Things between us are over. We’re never getting back together.”

“I’m glad to hear that, too.”

I arched a brow at him. “You are?”

Noah grinned, and this time it was even more devilish than before. Damn, this man could have any woman in the world as his dinner companion, but somehow he wanted me. Well, to eat dinner with. Surely, it was nothing more. Still, his expression gave me pause, and it also aroused me more than it should have.

“Absolutely,” he finally said, cutting through the awkward silence. “For the last few weeks, I’ve wanted to wine and dine you, Lulu.”

“You have?”

I knew I sounded like some na?ve fool, but this man made my head spin in the best of ways. When at functions in public, everything else was a distraction, but not now when it was just the two of us. Being alone with him had impure thoughts entering my mind, and I suspected that it had something similar running through his, especially as his brown eyes darkened nearly to the color of charcoal.

“Usually someone wines and dines someone if they’re hoping to?—”

“And I am,” he said, cutting off my words. I gasped. “There’s no need to beat around the bush. I’m attracted to you, and I suspect the feeling is mutual. Is it not?”

“Well, I...” Noah was right. We were far too old to play coy. He was obviously a virile male, and with my age, I should’ve had more experience. The problem was that I didn’t. I met Cade early on in college, and he had been my first lover. To this day, he had been my only one, too. “I’m very attracted to you, too.”

There. I said it, and now my cheeks heated as the color rose in them. My breath hitched in my throat, especially when he trapped my hand between his. There was a certain electricity in his touch, and I closed my eyes. It wasn’t in shame, but rather in arousal as I imagined being in bed with him. So many weeks had passed and the most action I’d seen had been of the battery operated kind. I only had to say one word to have tonight end differently. All the things I had been picturing when fantasizing about this very man could all become reality. It was likely a mistake, but everyone deserved to make a few of them in their lifetime.

“It’s been so long,” I murmured, my voice laced with embarrassment.

He ran his thumb over my knuckles before raising my hand to his mouth and placing a chaste kiss atop it. “Even more reason to eat dinner with me tonight. If it leads to more, then great, but if it doesn’t...”

“If it doesn’t?” I asked him after he stopped mid-sentence.

Noah smirked. “I up my game, and try harder next time.”

Hearing him allude to sex with me in the same sentence that he mentioned talking game should’ve had me ready to eat and end this evening, but I wondered how different flirting had gotten over the years. When I had first gotten with Cade, we were both on equal footing, and a few drinks at a frat party had led to us going to bed with one another for the first time. I was athletic at the time, and there were no regrets about my body, but there would be now. I wasn’t nearly as toned as I once had been, nor did I have the same flawless skin, either. Not to mention the stamina. Noah was a world-class athlete, and could likely go all night. I bit my lip to hold back my moan. The very thought of him fucking me to the edge and keeping me there made me even more aroused.

“You’ve gotten a raw deal with Cade. While I can’t promise to make all the pain go away, I can fuck you so hard that you think of only me for the next few days.”

I opened my mouth to respond and actually choked on air. “I don’t want it to go away.”

And I didn’t. I needed to remember Cade for the two-timing lothario that he was, so I wouldn’t experience any moments of weakness and try to reconcile with him. He had hurt me so badly our relationship could never be repaired. The sting of his betrayal was like a lifeline, and when I looked at Noah, there was no question he understood why I had said that.

“A woman like you deserves to be cherished, and if you’ll eat, we can revisit this conversation over dessert.”

I nodded, then verbally responded. “Okay.”

I slipped my hand out from between his and grabbed my fork. Turning my attention away from him, I looked down at the plate which would rival what one would find at any of the fine dining restaurants I used to frequent with Cade back when things were good between us. Those expensive dinners, the multitude of flowers, and abundance of jewelry hadn’t been a token of his love, but rather his guilt. There were no such ulterior motives when it came to Noah.

“Everything really does look delicious,” I told him when I finally raised my gaze back to his.

He stared at my lips, especially when I used my tongue to moisten my bottom one. His eyes then dropped down to my cleavage-baring dress. As he leisurely stared, my nipples hardened to stiff peaks, and my core tightened in anticipation of having his warm mouth on them. I stopped focusing on what he was doing, and I used my fork to push the lobster tail off of the piece of steak.

“I never knew you could cook,” I said. Usually things like this got out in high society. His culinary skills would only make him even more appealing to the masses.

“I have a lot of hidden talents,” he responded, then winked before turning his attention to his own plate.

“I’m sure you do,” I said, then grew quiet as the two of us started to eat.

A half hour later, I had eaten most of the lobster, but only a small portion of the steak. He still seemed hungry so by the time I pushed my plate away, I offered him the rest of the filet mignon, as well as the practically untouched baked potato. As he finished them off, I got up to start clearing the table. I had managed to load the dishwasher right as he joined me in the kitchen.

“Did you pick up the items I asked for from the store?” He asked me as he came up behind me.

“Yes,” I responded, then remembered the various items he had asked for. At the time, the list seemed innocent enough, but now the air between us crackled with something unexplainable, and it made me shiver. “Is that what you’re making for dessert?” I finally asked to break the tension, even though in hindsight, it was a stupid question.

“It is what I had planned,” he told me, and I arched my brow.

“I can’t believe you can bake, too.” The way he put ‘plan’ in the past tense made me think he now had another idea in mind, and it only made my pulse quicken more.

“I can bake a few things, but don’t be too impressed. My baking repertoire isn’t quite as extensive as my cooking one.”

“Well, I still have everything in the refrigerator,” I told him, then opened the door to retrieve the items.

Noah followed me, and his erection against my ass nearly made me moan out loud. I knew where this night was headed, and a foreign type of excitement filled me. I had never known a lover outside of Cade, but tonight, I would be the student and the younger lover would be my teacher. It was all very erotic, and a bit disorientating as well.

I raised back up, then handed him the bag. He took it, then moved over to the island. “Will you get me a plate?”

I nodded, then retrieved one of the smaller serving platters. Noah soon had the strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries laid out. My mouth was now salivating for more reasons than one.

He looked at the fruit, then me, before picking a strawberry up. He brought it to my mouth. “Have a taste.”

I opened my mouth, and it wasn’t lost on me that this was the first time a man had ever fed me anything other than Cade stuffing a piece of our wedding cake into my mouth years earlier. Noah slid the piece of fruit between my lips, but didn’t immediately move his fingers causing me to close my mouth down on them. It was such a subtle thing, but I became more daring. I would later blame it on the wine we drank with our meal, so before he could pull them away, I sucked them farther into my mouth.