Shannon scooped up the sauce bottle and napkins, setting them in front of him on the counter while she started assembling the sandwich, layering more bacon on his bread than her own.
“Tuck in.” She slid the plate toward him with a flutter of her eyelashes.
“Thanks, love.” He grabbed the chunky bread with his long fingers and sank his teeth into it, chewing with a contented hum.
Half-dressed, perched on a barstool, he looked effortlessly attractive. The way he chewed the bread made the muscles in his jaw flex in a way that was... distracting.
“So, it must be frustrating not owning her?” he asked after a moment, before taking another bite.
“Kind of,” Shannon replied, shrugging. “But that’s what us poor people have to do when we want something. We have to wait and work hard for it.”
“You’re good at patience.” He winked.
She giggled, grabbing a scrunched-up napkin and tossing it at him.
Jamie dodged the tissue with an exaggerated duck, pretending it was a missile.
“Watch it, love, or I’ll have to throw you over my knee,” he warned, his eyes flashing.
Shannon bit into her sandwich, a satisfiedgrunt of appreciation escaping her. Jamie’s eyes flicked up from his own meal, watching her chew.
Wiping the corners of his mouth with her used napkin, he paused, a grin spreading across his face.
“That sound drives me fucking crazy. We need to have more meals together. Next time, I’m recording those sounds you make so I can play them back when you’re not around.” He smirked. “Like audio porn.”
Shannon froze for a moment, her tongue darting out to catch a smudge of sauce at the corner of her lips. The quick act had Jamie’s chest visibly rising, as if he were taking a deep, controlled breath.
“I’m just enjoying my lunch,” she said, playing it cool, even though the heat of his gaze made her pulse spike.
His eyes lingered on her mouth, his voice dropping to a husky tone. “There’s something else you can enjoy when you’re finished.”
“Oh, yeah?” she teased, her lips curling at the corner as she took another big bite. “You got something else to add to the menu?”
“I’ve got something else you can put in that pretty little mouth,” he said, the words laced with a challenge.
Her insides lurched, her heart racing. Jamie wanted her again. He wasn’t bolting out the door like some one-and-done guy.
No, he was staying. And that thought made her stomach flip in the best possible way.
“I’ll have to see if I have room after this,” she said, popping a finger into her mouth to suck off the sauce, her eyes daring him torespond.
“Finish your lunch,” he commanded.
As he took the last bite of his sandwich, he dusted his hands, stood and sauntered over to the couch.
He sank into it, leaning back with his head tilted toward the ceiling, his hands resting on his thighs.
As she sat there, finishing her lunch, she watched the way his broad chest rose and fell with each breath, making her insides quiver in anticipation.
With only a few bites left, she carried the rest with her and padded across the room, standing before him.
Rooting herself between the television and the couch, Shannon continued to chew, her tongue tracing the edge of the bread as she flashed her best come-hither look.
The deliberate lick of gloopy red sauce from the edge of the bread drew a low rumble from deep in Jamie’s chest. His muscles tensed as he leaned forward, eyes narrowed, desire lighting up his gaze.
“What are you doing, Shannon?” he growled, his voice rough with restraint.
“Ah, ah, mister,” she teased, waving a finger at him. “I have to finish my lunch before I get dessert.”
