Mister Moneybags(15)

“Whittling.”

“I didn’t realize it was that dangerous.”

“Yeah. It’s serious business.”

I tried again, scooping up some of the wot into the bread and then rolling it. When I placed it into her mouth, I let my fingers linger over her lower lip as she chewed.

“Mmm,” she said. “This is so good, right?”

“So, so good,” I muttered, watching the movement of her lips and yearning to lick the remnants of sauce off of them. “What other cultures don’t use forks?”

“I don’t know of any offhand. Why?”

“Because I’m thinking this could be like our thing.”

“Yeah? We already have a thing? So soon?”

“Why not?”

The next time I fed her, I did a sloppy job. Some of the food spilled onto her chin.

“This may not be your forte, Jay Reed.”

I couldn’t help myself when I said, “Cleaning it up is.” I leaned in and licked it slowly off her chin. When she closed her eyes and let out a little sigh, I took that as a sign that she wanted more.

Fuck the goat.

I realized that it wasn’t supposed to happen this way. I was supposed to wait to get my whittling prize, but I just couldn’t help it. Placing my mouth over hers, I full-on kissed her.

My hand was wrapped around the back of her neck as she moaned into my mouth while I devoured her harder, flicking my tongue around the inside of her mouth, desperate to taste nothing anymore but her.

When a waiter came by to pour water into our glasses, she pulled back. Her face was flush, and she seemed embarrassed. I, on the other hand, couldn’t have given a shit who’d witnessed our PDA.

Rock hard and totally f*cked, I was in no way prepared to lose this girl anytime soon. One thing was undeniable: the sexual chemistry between Jay and Bianca was off the charts. And I wasn’t ready to let Dex ruin it just yet until I had a better feel for what her reaction might be if and when I told her the truth. This time spent with her was possibly all I would ever have. Jay needed to exist just a little while longer.

She cleared her throat and said, “Well, I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Neither was I, but you’re making me a little crazy, Bianca.”

It dawned on me that I hadn’t been making much of an effort to get to know her better tonight, hadn’t asked any personal questions throughout dinner. That was partly because I was ill-prepared to talk about myself as Jay. Dex had spent so much time getting to know her intimately that Jay apparently felt he knew everything he needed to.

It would have seemed like I was uninterested if I didn’t pry into her personal life at least a little bit. So, I spent the next several minutes asking her about her childhood, her last relationship, her career—things I already knew.

I did my best to answer the questions she threw at me, but the more we talked, the more I was feeling extremely guilty for letting this charade go on.

Bianca had a hungry look in her eyes. She was most definitely attracted to me, and I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be needing many wooden sculptures to get into her pants. That was messed up. Dex was pissed at Jay for even thinking about f*cking her. And Jay was annoyed at Dex for judging him for thoughts that came naturally. Perhaps, Dex and Jay should have both called ahead to secure some space at the insane asylum.

From the food to the kissing, dinner was phenomenal.

Once we returned to the Jeep, she turned to me and smiled. “It’s time. I want my present now.”

“I guess I did things a little ass backwards tonight, huh?” Reaching into the glove compartment, I actually felt nervous about it. Handing the wooden figurine to her, I said, “This…is for you.”

Bianca covered her mouth. “Oh, my God! Is this a goat?”

“Yep, a billy goat.”

She marveled at it. “Look at all of the detail. I can’t believe you did this.”

Neither could I.

“Look at the horns!” She laughed.

“Well, I’m a horny kind of guy.”

She rolled her eyes.

I winked. “You like it?”

“Yes! I would really love to see you in action at some point. Watch you whittle.”

Ugh.

“Yeah. Maybe. It’s something I kind of do by myself to relieve stress. I’ve never done it in front of an audience before. I’ll have to work up to that.”

“Well, clearly, based on the state of your fingers, it’s not easy.”

“Yes. Harder than you think.”

“That makes what you carved for me even more special. Thank you.”

Guilt was suddenly consuming me. “You’re welcome, Bianca.”

I stared out the window for a bit, trying to snap myself out of the shitty feeling. “Where would you like to go next?”

“I have to be home by ten forty-five, actually.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I have some work I have to do.”

“Work?”

“It’s actually my ongoing interview with Dexter Truitt. It’s via online chat.”

I sucked in my jaw. “Mister Moneybags?”

“Yeah. Rather than one sit-down interview, he’s scheduled me in during the evenings. Eleven each night, Monday through Friday. I guess that time works best for him.”