Chapter Nine – Mixing Business with Pleasure #2
“Why don’t we save that bit for another day? Does that work for you?”
“Why save it?” I asked. “Don’t you want me to be informed, or are you trying to pull the wool over my eyes?”
“You will have all the information you require before you have to do anything for me. And trust me, I will help you even if we get to that point and you decide not to go through with it. I don’t want your mind to be clouded now, because there is more to do before we get to that.”
Before I could push back, the light above the door lit up, and Likosa mimed zipping her lips.
The servers entered with plates of food we hadn’t ordered, and just by looking at it, I could tell she got the prix fixe menu.
I appreciated it, because it removed the task of choice and allowed me to focus on what was important.
“Now,” Likosa said as the servers left and the door clicked shut behind them, “I know you prefer to cover business first, but I’ve been looking forward to this meal for quite some time. Can we put a pause on the heavy discussion to eat?”
“Yes, of course.” I wanted to be agreeable, but also, my stomach was about to eat through my back! The nerves of the day were too much for me to think about eating prior to coming.
I turned to my plate in front of me and inhaled the aroma. The savory smell had my mouth watering immediately. I looked at Likosa, who had already put a spoonful of the soup in her mouth.
As I dug into my food, each bite felt more exhilarating than the last. The flavors rolled over my tongue and down my throat, and I swear, I felt the heat of the food fuse with my body.
That was when I realized what was happening.
The food was working like an aphrodisiac.
Each bite I took sent me closer to the edge until it felt like I would lose myself to the arousal.
We ate in silence, our eyes catching for moments before returning to our food, heat building within us and the tension growing in the room.
The light above the door flickered on, and moments later, breaking the tension, the server returned to place our desserts down.
I hadn’t even realized I’d finished my food when the plate was removed from in front of me.
How long had I been sitting there, gripping the fork and looking into those deep brown eyes?
“How many desserts are they going to bring?” I looked at the layout in front of us. “I usually have a pretty healthy appetite, but this is too much.”
“That would be my doing.” Likosa smiled. “I didn’t know if you liked chocolate, so I ordered a few different options.”
“Well, just so you know, I love chocolate.” I looked at her dark skin, eyes passing slowly over the curve of her neck. I licked my lips as I returned to meet her gaze. “It’s my favorite, actually.”
“Good to know.” Likosa reached over to the plate with the slice of chocolate cake. She pushed back in her seat and stood before turning my seat to face her, exposing my lap, where she took a seat. “You should have the first bite then.”
She cut into the cake with her fork and held it to my lips, but I hesitated. Upset by my refusal, she put the plate down and then grabbed my jaw. Her finger traveled the length of my jaw up to my earlobe, and then her fingers ran through my hair.
Every moment she touched me felt like hours. I wished time could slow down, stop entirely, so I could continue to experience her.
Likosa leaned in, and for a moment, I thought she would kiss me, but she didn’t. Her gaze held mine until she spoke, eyes shifting from deep brown to a very dark pink as she spoke.
“Shontae, if we’re going to work together, you’re going to have to be okay with mixing business with pleasure.
” She moved until her lips were a hair away.
When she spoke again, her lips brushed mine, and I fought the urge to lick them.
“I will not pretend I don’t want to do…interesting things to you. ”
I opened my mouth. Because what the hell else was I supposed to do with a magical seductress sitting in my lap, offering to feed me my favorite dessert?
She fed me the cake, and I savored the sweetness. I realized her magic felt very similar to that of nymphs, sirens, and succubi. Hers was a sexual magic—and she was working her magic on me, big time.
I thought about the food, the drinks, the desserts, and wondered if she infused her own magic into them. That would explain why drinking average water had me ready to climb up a wall.
“What kind of things? Describe them to me.” Despite realizing what she was doing, I leaned into it. I looked up into those eyes that no longer held a trace of the brown that masked them before. They were bright pink, glowing when I asked my question.
A soft chuckle passed through her slightly parted lips. “Is that really something you would like to know?”
“Yes, it is.” I nodded. “I like to be prepared. You want to mix business with pleasure. How far are you trying to go?”
What are you saying? This isn’t something you do! This woman is messing with your mind, you know that. But you like it, don’t you? You freak!
Likosa said nothing. She shifted her weight in my lap, and I instinctively grabbed the small of her back to make sure she was steady as she leaned in and kissed me.
At first, it was overwhelming. I felt like I might lose myself in her.
But then, something inside me sparked like electricity, and my energy shot out around us.
For a moment, I pushed past that barrier of pink that usually protected her from me, and I felt it: deep and utter sorrow.
Likosa, aware of what had happened, pulled away from me.
Before I could say anything, she stood, picked up her glass and the bottle of wine left by the servers, and vanished. Energy pulsed around her form, like fighting a vacuum, and then poof, no more Likosa.
“What the fuck?” I looked around, searching for her like she’d done a parlor trick and would be standing behind me, but she was gone. “Where…?”
My phone buzzed on the table where I’d laid it face down. I picked it up to see the message.
Jenna: If you’re free tonight, want to meet up for drinks? In town for one night only.
Despite my better judgment, after our unexpected reunion, I’d texted Jenna and told her I would be open to meeting up whenever she was in town again.
I just hadn’t realized the day would come so soon.
But there it was. She was in town and wanted to meet up, and I was buzzing off the effects of another woman.
That was exactly why I should have told her I would catch her the next time. Instead, I asked her for the address and called a ride.