Within the Shadows by Brandon Massey

get to discover it later.”
    “You’re bold, you know that? I’ve never met anyone as bold as you.”
    “And you never will, darling. But answer me this: have you thought about making love to me, too?”
    He stammered, unsure how to answer.
    She flashed a smile. “Of course not. You must be in love to make love.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Am I someone you could fall in love with, Andrew?”
    He faltered again. “The potential is there. Time will tell, I guess.”
    “That question caught you off guard.”
    He chuckled. “Sure did.”
    She leaned back in the booth. Sipped her wine. Watched him with a soft smile.
    He felt as if she were measuring him, weighing a decision.
    The server, a young man, visited the table to see if they wanted dessert. Andrew ordered a slice of chocolate cake that Mika agreed to share with him.
    “I need to make a trip to the ladies’ room,” Mika said, grabbing her purse and sliding out of the booth.
    He watched her stroll down the aisle. Swinging her lovely hips.
    He used the napkin to wipe sweat away from his forehead.
    Before she turned the corner, she checked over her shoulder and caught him staring. She blew him a kiss.
    He blushed. She had him. She knew it, and he knew it, too.
    When she’d asked him if she was someone he could fall in love with, he might as well have answered yes .
     
     
    When Mika returned, she sat on his side of the booth. She pressed against him.
    “Am I too close for comfort?” she asked.
    “Nope,” he said in a weak voice.
    She snaked her leg on top of one of his. Lifting his hand, she placed it on her smooth, bare thigh.
    She was so shamelessly bold. He felt as though he were dreaming.
    But the closeness of her body caused a predictable reaction. His erection came back harder than ever.
    She slithered her hand between them and touched him in his slacks.
    “Okay, now,” he said.
    “What is it?” she asked, innocently. “My hand seems to have a mind of its own.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    The server brought the chocolate cake. He noted how closely together Andrew and Mika were sitting, favored them with a secretive smile.
    Andrew reached for a fork. She swatted his hand.
    “Let me feed you.” She guided a forkful of cake to his mouth. “There.”
    “Delicious,” he said.
    “I know something that tastes better,” she said.
    “What would that be?”
    She moved his hand from her thigh to the warm cleft between her legs.
    He drew in a quick breath.
    “I’m not always such a bad girl,” she said. “Please don’t get the wrong idea about me, Andrew.”
    “Do you hear me complaining?”
    She fed him another piece of cake.
    “I go after what I want,” she said. “That’s my nature.”
    “I like an assertive woman.”
    “So, then, you like me?”
    “Yes. A lot.”
    She gave him another forkful of cake.
    “I’m glad,” she said. “I want you to like me.”
    “You’re passing with flying colors.”
    She set down the fork. She moved her hand to his belt buckle, loosened it. Grasped the zipper of his slacks. Pulled it down with a whisper.
    What was she going to do? He wasn’t going to stop her, whatever she had planned for him. He sat there like a wax dummy. With a throbbing hard-on.
    No one was around to stop them. They had the corner of the dining room to themselves. But to Andrew, it seemed that they were the only people in the entire restaurant. Mika’s presence captured his single-minded attention.
    Her fingers crept into his boxer shorts, discovered his rigid manhood. Encircled the sensitive tip.
    A moan slipped out of him.
    She turned. Their faces were almost nose-to-nose.
    “I want to be the only woman you like,” she said. “No competition, Andrew.”
    She squeezed him firmly, eased the pressure, squeezed again.
    He gripped the edge of the table.
    “You’ve got no competition,” he said.
    She stroked him.
    He gripped the table so tightly it was a miracle he didn’t break it in half.
    “Am I the only woman you like?” she