Autumn slipped a piece of burrata into her mouth, and her eyes shut. A look I could only describe as orgasmic came over her face. My eyes were glued to her lips. Damn. I’m jealous of a piece of cheese. I also started to harden under the table. This woman made me feel like a teenager. We were supposed to be taking things slow, and watching her eat got me worked up? Unfortunately, I sensed a lot of whacking off in my future.

She opened her eyes, and I cleared my throat, still staring at her beautiful lips. “Burrata. I’m extremely grateful for burrata.”

Autumn looked amused, yet truly innocent. “You’re a big fan of burrata?”

“I’m a tremendous fan of the face you make while you eat it.”

“What face do I make?”

I leaned forward. “The same one you made when I went down on you.”

She covered her mouth and blushed. “Oh my God, really?”

I nodded. “Really.”

Luckily the waitress came to check on us and see if we were ready to order dinner. Another minute of this conversation, and the white napkin over my lap would look more like I was trying to wave a flag to surrender.

This time, when we were alone again, I moved the conversation to something way safer.

“So how’s Storm doing?”

“He’s doing great. Though he keeps asking me when he can go work at Bud’s house. He really wants to earn that bicycle Bud promised him. But I wasn’t sure if Bud would feel up to it yet.”

“I stopped over there this morning, and he was rototilling part of the garden with one hand. He’s definitely feeling better.”

She smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. He’s the type of man you worry about if he sits around watching TV for too long.”

“Absolutely.”

“Well, if you think he’s really up for it, I could probably take him over there Sunday.”

“I’ll run it by him when I check in again, but I’m sure it will be fine.”

The rest of the night went by too fast, even though I stalled and dragged out dessert for so long that the waitress was giving us the evil eye. I just wasn’t ready for our first date to be over, and I was certain going slow didn’t include spending the night.

When we got to Autumn’s apartment, I parked.

“Would you want to go for a walk?” I asked. It was a nice enough night.

She pointed down to her shoes. “I normally would, but these aren’t really walking shoes.”

I’d parked under a streetlight so the inside of the car was pretty well lit. I followed her sexy legs down to the strappy, high-heeled sandals she had on.

“I forgot to mention how grateful I am for your shoes earlier.” My eyes trailed their way back up her legs and over the thin material of her dress. “And for that dress. I’m really damn thankful for that dress.”

She giggled. “What about my bra and underwear? Aren’t you grateful for them?”

“I don’t know. Let me see, so I can decide.”

Autumn leaned closer to me and took my hand. The beaming smile on her face made my heart swell in my chest.

“I had a really nice time tonight,” she said.

“Me, too.”

She bit down on her bottom lip. “You could…come up for a little while, if you want.”

Of course there was nothing I wanted more, but I wasn’t sure that was a good idea. As I inwardly debated her invitation, my eyes dropped down, and that’s when I noticed her nipples were hard—sticking out from her dress like the beautiful horns of a devil. There was no way I could go inside and keep my distance. And I couldn’t screw up going slow on our first official night. So I cleared my throat and drew on every ounce of willpower I had in me.

“It’s probably better if I don’t.”

Autumn looked a little disappointed, but she nodded. “You’re right. Thank you.”

We were both quiet as I walked her to the door. Inside the lobby, neither one of us pushed the elevator button. Autumn looked down for a minute before meeting my eyes.

“I think I should clarify that just because I want to take things slow, it doesn’t mean the desire to move faster, especially physically, isn’t there. Because it is…very much so.”

I could seriously get lost in the green of her eyes. I knew when she got worked up they turned almost pale gray, and that’s what they were now.

I cupped her cheeks. “I’ve wanted you since the day we met, even during those months I didn’t know if I’d see you again. What I desire is more than just being inside you, I want to consume you.”

Her eyes jumped between mine for a few seconds before she caught me completely off guard and launched herself at me. Our lips crashed, and I stumbled back a few steps, fighting to keep my balance. When I steadied myself, I wrapped my arms around her and lifted until her feet came off the ground. Autumn threaded her fingers into my hair and tugged, pulling me closer, even though it was physically impossible to find a fraction of an inch of space between us. I wound my hand into the back of her hair and yanked to gain access to her neck. Then sucked down to her collarbone and back up to her ear.

“You’re killing me,” I groaned. “I’m going to get us arrested for indecent exposure in a minute.”

Autumn mumbled through our joined lips. “I know a good lawyer. Don’t worry about it.”

I have no damn idea how long we stayed that way—maybe fifteen or twenty minutes. But when we broke for air, Autumn’s lips were swollen, her hair had that sexy, just fucked look, and both of us were panting.

I used my thumb to wipe away the lipstick smeared beneath her lip. “I’m so hard, I’m not sure I can walk.”

She giggled.

God, I love that sound.

“My lady parts are swollen and tingly.”

I groaned and shut my eyes. “You’re killing me, Red.”

We stood in the lobby for a few more minutes. Eventually, it was me who pushed the elevator button. When it came, I brushed my lips with hers one last time.

“I’ll text you tomorrow? Is that okay?”

She nodded with a smile. “Definitely.”

Autumn stepped into the elevator and said goodnight. As the doors began to slide closed, she put her arm out, causing them to bounce open again.

“Hang on a second…”

She dipped one hand under the hem of her skirt, reached up to her waist, somehow managing not to expose herself, and the next thing I knew she was shimmying panties down her legs.

Fuck me. A black lace thong.

The scrap of material reached the floor, and she stepped out before leaning forward and shoving them in my pocket.

“You said you weren’t sure if you were grateful for my panties since you hadn’t seen them.” Autumn stepped back into the elevator and wiggled her fingers. She had the biggest devilish grin on her face. “Goodnight, Donovan.”

I stood speechless as the doors slid closed, then shook my head.

I was wrong. Her smile wasn’t devilish—she was the devil.

Pulling the lacy thong from my pocket, I looked at it for a minute before closing it into my fist and bolting for the door. Suddenly, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. The minute I got home, I’d be wearing this thing—around my cock while my hand had a field day.