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234 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 28, 2017

“What?” I prompt, when I catch him staring at me.And the rest, as they say, is history.
“You are very...different. I guess that I’m not used to women who are as sweet as you, who treat others with such kindness. There is something about you…the way that you put others at ease. I admire that…a lot.”
I feel my cheeks heat up.
“Wow…um…what kind of women do you usually date?” I say half-jokingly while the other half of me would really like to know.
Mika reaches across the table and takes my hand in his before lifting it to his lips. He gently presses a kiss on the back before he answers.
“I don’t date,” he states simply.
A snort escapes my lips, causing Mika to raise his brow.
“This is somehow funny to you?” he asks.
“Yeah, well, excuse me if I am having a hard time picturing you as a monk.”
He looks at me, face laced with amusement.
“I hardly think I said anything like that, sweet pea. I am pretty sure I said that I don’t date, not that I have lived my life as a monk.”
Of course he doesn’t, I tell myself. I can’t say that I’m not thrown off a little by his reply. I mean, what are we doing here then? This is not a date? I kind of feel like an idiot for even thinking this was a date in the first place. A man like Mika Kingsley wouldn’t be interested like that in a girl like me. I’m so embarrassed that I can’t bring myself to look at him. I really don’t know how to react to this, so I simply say, “Oh.”
I feel his grip tighten around my hand.
“I just never felt inclined to spend time with a woman outside of…bedroom activities.”
I still cannot find the courage to look at him.
“Until now, that is.”
Now my eyes snap up to meet his. Did he just say what I think he said? I can’t keep track. This man is confusing me. I want him to elaborate on his statement but before he can—if he was even going to—we are interrupted by the return of Trevor with my new glass and our appetizers. Mika did not oversell the food. We start off with a mouthwatering beef carpaccio, followed by a delicious boneless lamb with mushroom crust and leek puree with miniature fingerling potatoes. To top it all off, we have the most incredible crème brulee I’ve ever tasted. We spend the meal talking about pretty much everything under the sun—except the one thing I really want to talk about—and I find that I really enjoy his company. I tell him about growing up in a small town with just my mom, my sister Serena, and my younger brother River. He tells me about the mischief he used to cause with Mikaela. It feels effortless. We joke and laugh like old friends and, despite the very obvious sexual tension between us, I feel very much at ease with him.
“I’m so stuffed. I don’t think that I can move,” I groan.
Mika chuckles at my statement.
“I love the way you attacked your food with gusto,” he teases.
“What? I like to eat, so what?” I say, not able to stop myself from grinning.
“As tiny as you are, I wouldn’t have believed it were it not for what I witnessed tonight. Dear lord sweet pea, that was downright scary,” he exclaims, looking at me in mock horror.
I roll my eyes and stick my tongue out at him.
“You better put that thing away because I won’t be held responsible for my actions if you don’t,” Mika says darkly. “Unless you want me to throw you on this table and have my way with you.”
Whoa…what? My mouth falls open. He wouldn’t. Would he? I should be put off by his words but instead I am very turned on. Mika lifts himself out of his seat and prowls toward me.
“Maybe I want you to,” I say so quietly it sounds like a whisper.
But there is no doubt that he heard every letter. Mika stops in his tracks for a moment, just as surprised by my words as I am, and then another one of those wicked grins spreads across his face, and I know that I’m in trouble—the good kind of trouble. He swiftly has me lifted out of my seat by my waist and facing him. He traces my bottom lip with his thumb.
“You better be careful what you wish for, sweet pea,” he mutters.
Oh my.
“Kiss me, Raeva,” he demands.