Lover Eternal: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J. R. Ward Page B

of ribs. Abruptly she pushed the thing away. "You keep staring at me."
     
"Males do that" When they find a female they want , he added to himself.
    "Yeah, well, not to me they don't. I can imagine how seriously underwhelmed you are, but I don't need you focusing on the particulars, know what I mean? And I'm really not interested in enduring an hour of you taking one for the team."
God, that voice. She was doing it to him again, his skin flaring with shivers and then settling down, loosening. He took a deep breath, trying to catch some of her natural, lemony scent.
     
As silence cropped up between them, he nudged her menu back at her. "Decide what you're going to order, unless you just want to sit there while I eat."
     
"I can leave anytime I want."
     
"True. But you won't."
     
"Oh, and why's that?" Her eyes flashed, and his body lit up like a football stadium.
     
"You're not going to bail because you like Bella too much to embarrass her by walking out on me. And unlike you, I will tell her you ditched me."
     
Mary frowned. "Blackmail?"
     
"Persuasion."
     
She slowly opened the menu and glanced at it. "You're still staring at me."
     
"I know."
     
"Would you mind looking somewhere else? The menu, that brunette across the aisle. There's a blonde two booths back, in case you haven't noticed."
     
"You don't ever wear perfume, do you?"
     
Her eyes flipped up to his. "No, I don't."
     
"May I?" He nodded to one of her hands.
     
"Excuse me?"
    He couldn't very well tell her he wanted to smell her skin up close. "Considering we're having dinner and all, seems only civil to shake hands, doesn't it? And even though you shut me down the first time I tried to be polite, I'm willing to give it another shot."
When she didn't answer, he reached across the table and took her hand into his. Before she could react, he pulled her arm forward, bent down, and pressed his lips to her knuckles. He breathed in deeply.
     
His body's response to her scent was immediate. His erection punched at the fly of his leathers, straining, pushing. He shifted around to make some more room in his pants.
     
God, he couldn't wait to get her home alone.
Chapter Twelve
Mary stopped breathing as Hal released her hand. Maybe she was dreaming. Yeah, that had to be it. Because he was too gorgeous. Too sexy. And way too focused on her to be real.
    The waitress came back, getting as close to Hal as she could without actually being in his lap. And wouldn't you know it, the woman had freshened her lip gloss. That mouth of hers looked like it had had an oil change with something called Fresh Pink. Or Curious Coral. Or something equally ridiculous.
Mary shook her head, surprised she was being so bitchy.
     
"What can I get you?" the waitress asked Hal.
     
He glanced across the table and lifted an eyebrow. Mary shook her head and started flipping through the menu.
    "Okay, whadda we got here," he said, opening his own. "Let's have the Chicken Alfredo. The NY strip, rare. And a cheeseburger, also rare. Double on the fries. And some nachos. Yeah, I want the nachos with everything on them. Double that, too, will you?"
Mary could only stare as he closed the menu and waited.
     
The waitress looked a little awkward. "Is all that for both you and your sister?"
     
As if family obligation was the only reason a man like him would be out with a woman like her. Oh, man ...
     
"No, that's for me. And she's my date, not my sister. Mary?"
     
"I… ah, I'll just have a Caesar salad, whenever his"— feeding trough ?—"dinner comes."
     
The waitress took the menus and left.
     
"So, Mary, tell me a little about yourself."
     
"Why don't we just make it about you?"
     
"Because then I won't hear you talk."
     
Mary stiffened, something bubbling below the surface of her consciousness.
     
Talk. I want to hear your voice.
Say nothing. Over and over and over again. Do it.
     
She could have sworn this man had said those things to her, but she'd never met him before. God knew,