Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 43856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
"Ms. Harris?"
I turned to the right and spotted a tall, slim man in a perfectly tailored velvet tuxedo. He was Asian, with delicate features that sharpened at the edges. His jet-black hair was slicked back.
On each of his fingers sat a gleaming red diamond ring.
I gathered myself. "Yes. I’m Ms. Harris."
He smiled. "Ahh. You have arrived. Excellent. My name is Cosmo. And yes"—he chuckled—"my parents actually named me that."
I smirked. "I like the name."
"My grandparents didn’t." He gave an exaggerated shrug. "But what can you do? Anyway, we will begin in a few minutes."
"Awesome."
"Can I take your coat?"
"Oh, yes." I slowly slid it off.
The luxurious fur slipped away, and soon I was handing it to him.
Cosmo widened his eyes. "This is a lovely fur. Russian sable?"
"Yes."
"Breathtaking.” He sighed like he was looking at a lover. “I’ll do my best not to drool over it."
I laughed softly. "A little drool won’t hurt it."
Grinning, he headed away, pressed at the bud in his ear, and murmured something into it.
I scanned the space again, noting how most of the couples were lost in quiet, intimate conversations.
Only a few people had noticed me.
But one pair of eyes hadn’t left me.
I turned again.
He was still watching me like a man who had no plans to eat anything at Alchemy but me.
Alright. I am not imagining anything.
A breath lodged in my throat.
Then, a soft, melodic chime rang through the room.
I put my view in that direction.
Cosmo stood at the front with a crystal bell in his hand. He lifted it in the air and rang it again.
The soft, melodic chime sounded.
Cosmo took us all in. "Good evening, Alchemists."
Excitement flared in my chest.
"We will now begin our experience where magic meets food in the most alluring ways." Cosmo lowered the bell to his side. "There will be some small travel and moments before you are actually seated."
A woman giggled, clearly giddy with the possibilities of tonight, and I felt the same energy rush through me.
Cosmo’s grin widened. "But, before we enter the first course, does anyone have any questions?"
To my surprise, a hand lifted.
I turned and saw it was the man who’d been watching me.
Aww. He wants us to wait on his sexy date to get out of the bathroom. I bet $100 that’s the case.
He parted his lovely, full lips, and before a single word left them, I knew—I just knew—that whatever sound came out of that mouth would do unspeakable things to me.
And then, he spoke.
Dark.
Deep.
A voice made for sin.
No.
It wasn’t just a voice.
It was a caress.
A slow drag of seductive fingertips down my back.
A dirty, lustful murmur in the dark.
The kind of sound that belonged in low-lit hotel rooms.
And my poor, starved pussy?
She fucking JUMPED like a puppy at the door when its owner comes home.
Like she had her own set of ears and had been waiting—ten years—to hear a voice like that again.
At this point, my pussy was basically feral.
A neglected houseplant desperately reaching for sunlight.
A parched desert praying for rain.
A dry-ass biscuit begging for honey and butter.
Alright. Calm down.
I clenched my thighs before she embarrassed me further.
Because this man?
This six-foot-something, foreign, green-eyed temptation?
He sounded like he could make a woman forget her own damn name.
“Cosmo,” he said. “I have one question, before we begin.”
There was this accent to each word, something smooth, deliberate, and just a little indulgent, like the way melted chocolate draped over a spoon before it slipped onto your tongue.
Is he. . .French or at least, French-adjacent?
It wasn’t the thick, cartoonish accent that actors fake in bad romance movies, but the real thing. It was subtle, refined, rolling through his syllables like each one had been carefully selected for seduction.
There was rhythm to it.
Oh, I know this man isn’t actually French, because if he is. . .
Just like that, I saw myself rushing out to get rope and duct tape to actually kidnap him. Of course I would need to send Laila a large sum of money so she could eventually bail me out of jail for the crime I was destined to commit.
I smirked.
Cosmo raised his eyebrows. "Yes, Mr. Lyon [Lee-yon]. What is your question?"
And to my utter shock, Mr. Lyon—the man with the unholy green eyes gestured toward me. "Will we be waiting on her guest?"
What?!
I parted my lips.
Heat crawled up my neck.
Heads turned.
Suddenly, I felt the collective weight of everyone’s attention shift to me.
What the hell?
Cosmo, to my horror, smiled wickedly. "Thank you, Mr. Lyon, for your. . .concern, but like you. . .Ms. Harris is dining solo."
Oh, fuck.
I blinked.
He’s alone too?
I barely had time to react before Mr. Lyon turned those sinful green eyes back on me.
And he wore that look again.
That I want to ruin you look.
Cosmo’s soft chuckle broke the moment. "Perhaps. . .love is in the air."
A few couples snickered.
I widened my eyes, and even more heat flashed across my cheeks.