Anticipation kept the butterflies in her stomach swarming, now at war with the best-tasting food she’d probably ever had. She’d always wanted to go to this restaurant, but dining alone wasn’t her favorite thing to do, and she didn’t have any friends who could afford it. Or friends at all. And now here she was, sitting in the owner’s private room, in jeans, trying menu items that weren’t available to the public yet. It was a dream come true, and she hadn’t even realized it was a dream in the first place.

“So good,” she said as she finished the fifth and final course, a lamb dish. “I don’t even like lamb, and I was totally into that dish.”

“Maybe you just don’t like badly cooked lamb.”

“It’s starting to look that way, yes.”

“I agree. So good.” Ethan leaned back and dabbed his mouth with a napkin. “And that is why, with such critical praise and excellent descriptive words, we are the tasters off the street.”

She laughed and entwined her hands in her lap, staring into those beautiful green eyes, sparkling with intelligence and humor. “About that. Did you get the taster gig because you know Owen?”

“That and the timing. He’s eaten at almost every restaurant in Sacramento. I called to ask him for a recommendation for a place to wow you. He suggested this. Obviously I jumped on it.”

“Have you been in here before?”

“Oh sure. As a special guest. But it’s usually planned weeks in advance. I didn’t think a last-minute situation would be possible.”

“And yet here we are.”

He reached across the table with his palm up. She filled his hand with her own. Their gazes locked, and the warm, gooey feeling she was beginning to expect while around him flooded her. “Here we are.”

“Happy birthday…” Owen, Adam, and a couple waitresses filed into the room, singing to her. A chocolate-drizzled cream puff was put in front of her with one candle burning. Other dessert dishes, five in all, were spread out across the table.

When the song ended, everyone clapped and wandered away, except for Owen. He pointed at something that looked like a slice of chocolate torte. “This is the item to be tasted.” She then learned that it was, indeed, a chocolate torte. “But per Ethan’s request, we prepared everything on the menu. You’ll have to let me know which ones are your favorites.”

“Thank you, Owen, for everything,” Kaylee said, gushing. “You are exceptionally talented.”

“Thank you.” He beamed at her. “I’m glad you’re having a great birthday so far.”

“Uh oh. No.” Ethan knocked on the table. “Don’t jinx us.”

“I said so far. That covers up until this moment only.” Owen edged out of the door. “And with that, I’ll make my way out.”

“Thanks, brother,” Ethan said, smiling after him.

“So, aside from the very first dish, Owen created everything else?” Kaylee bit into her cream puff, then moaned and closed her eyes. Colton’s had been good, but this one was in a league of its own. “That’s why he introduced all the other courses, right?”

“Yes, but I’m sure he took suggestions and whatnot from the other chefs. His name is on them, though. So if they fail, it’s his ass.”

“Except for the first one.”

“Well, Owen signed off on that one, so it’s still his ass. That’s the nature of the job.”

“Right. That makes sense.” Kaylee reached her fork out to cut off a bite of the torte. “I’m stuffed, but I’m going to try every one of these desserts.”

“Excellent.” Ethan took a sip of his red wine before he tried the crème brûlée. “The wine has been fabulous as well. Not that I’m a good judge.”

“It has. Very good.” And probably very pricy. Kaylee bit her lip. She knew how much this restaurant cost. She wasn’t comfortable with Ethan spending that kind of money on her right out of the gate. If they were sharing money, that would be different, but she didn’t like him footing a bill so large it had an undertow.

She smiled, remembering that Undertow was his nickname.

“What’s up, Kick-Ass Lady?” he asked softly.

“Nothing. Listen—”

Adam bustled in with a black leather check thing. He set it next to Ethan. “There are comment cards in there that Chef French hopes you’ll fill out. Please be as honest as possible. It helps him with the final result. Thank you so much for coming in, and I hope you enjoyed the experience.”

“We really did, Adam, thank you,” Kaylee said, glancing at the check.

He gave them a little bow and made his way out.

“Listen, Ethan, I realize that—”

He held up his hand to stop her and flipped open the small leather folder…thing. She had no idea what they were called. “You’re a self-made woman. I get it. But you’re not paying for this…” He pulled out the little cards, each with a picture of one of the dishes they’d tried. Finally, he pulled out a note. “And neither am I. He’s not charging us, the jerk.”

He sounded as put out as she’d just felt, and she laughed at the irony of it.

His eyes glimmered and a smile crept up his handsome face. She’d liked him with scruff, but it turned out she liked him just as much clean-shaven. “How am I supposed to wine and dine you, not to mention wow you, if I bargain-hunt and couch-surf for your birthday?”

“We’re going to couch-surf?”

“Maybe, who knows? All bets are off at this point.” He shook his head and pulled out a wallet. As he opened it and leafed through its contents, he said in an offhanded way, “By the by, I told Theo that you don’t want to live with me because you can’t stand not paying your own way.” He took out a hundred and put it in the check…thing, before flipping it closed. It was obviously a tip for all who had helped them, and just as obviously showed how generous Ethan was. “Whenever you get over that, you can move on in.”

“Oh sure, I’ll just…” The smile had melted off his face, and his expression was open and utterly sincere. He was giving her a green light to move in. To his house. After a week. They hadn’t even slept together. “Are you crazy?”

It was all she could think to say.

The smile was back. He took some time in silence to fill out the comment cards before standing. “Yes. Hurry up; we have places to be.”

“You’re rushing me on my birthday.” She shook her head and stood. A strange feeling thrummed through her body—excitement, fear, disbelief, and that warmth she’d come to associate with Ethan had all mixed together into one giant cocktail. She couldn’t take her eyes off him as he sauntered toward her side of the table, so relaxed and confident. The night had been surreal, and the things he was saying were in la-la land. Yet here she was, eager to go along with it, curious as to see where it took them.

As they headed toward the exit, taking the same path by which they’d entered, Ethan suddenly stopped and faced the kitchen. “My compliments to the chefs,” he yelled, before kissing his hand, putting it into the air, and bowing low.

A cheer went up and fisted hands raised into the air. Owen, who was at the pass in the front, turned toward them and smiled.

“Oh my God,” Kaylee said in a fit of giggles, putting her head down and hurrying ahead of him. She felt like a teenager again. An embarrassed teenager.

“Okay, what do we think?” He led her around the building and to the valet. “Do you mind if we swing by my house and drop off my car, then get a cab to the next place from there?”

“Are you sure?”

“No. Are you a serial killer?”

“Maybe… You never know what kind of girls hire guys.”

He handed over his ticket. “I know exactly what kind of girls. And you’re not like any of them. Then again, neither was Madison.”

“And Janie?”

“Definitely is. Thank God she didn’t have the money. She would’ve had Dave doing some very strange things, I have no doubt. Their first real date was to the library. I didn’t want to ask why.”

“The library?” she asked, incredulous.

“Like I said, I didn’t want to ask.”

“How is that possible? I’d have to ask.”

“That’s because you don’t know Janie very well.” When the car pulled up, they got in and were on their way. “This is going to sound weird, but you can’t go into my house when we get there.”

“So you do think I’m a serial killer.

He smiled. “You can go in later, just not now. I should’ve done a cab from place to place, since there will probably be more drinking. It’ll push me over the limit. I hadn’t thought that through.”

A while later they showed up in a cute little neighborhood in Elk Grove with well-kept yards and decent to nice cars. The houses weren’t as big as hers or Colton’s, but there was plenty of room for one guy. It was clear he neither lived frugally nor extravagantly.

“I should feel bad for the size of my house,” she mumbled as they turned into the drive of a blue house with white trimming and a picket fence around the grass. “A picket fence, huh?”

“It came with the house. It’ll be great for resale value.”

“Do you always think of resale value?”

“Yes. I can’t help it.” He clicked a button to open the garage door before pulling in. When the car stopped, he jumped out and came around, giving her a hand out. The dim light of the garage cast shadows over his face as he stared down into her eyes.

Everything slowed down. Except for her heart, which sped up to an alarming rate.

He brought his hand up and softly ran his thumb across her chin. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she said in a breathy whisper, running her hands up his hard chest. She leaned back against the car, smiling languidly when he stepped forward, his body up against hers. “Kiss me, Ethan.”

“As she commands.” He bent his legs before leaning toward her, pushing his hips forward as his lips ran across hers. His hardness pressed into her, right where she needed it, but behind too much fabric.

She opened her mouth to him as she wrapped one hand around his neck, bringing him closer, and caressed his back with the other. His tongue probed immediately, teasing her. Her hand reached his butt and she squeezed a hard cheek.

“Hmm,” he said as his hand found the bottom of her tank top and slipped inside. “You’ve got me very wound up, baby.” His voice vibrated down into her and settled low in her body.

“Me too,” she said, forcing her hand between them and stroking his large erection. The door was open, but at least the garage light had clicked off. Darkness was good enough.

“We have to stop.” His kiss deepened. He pulled down her bra and ran his thumb over her nipple. “We really do.” He jerked back suddenly, but instead of running away like he had in the past, he grabbed the hem of her tank top and pushed it up her chest. “But let’s just get this out of the way first, shall we?”

His hot mouth fastened on her budded nipple. Not able to reach his cock anymore, she simply leaned back and enjoyed it. She felt pressure on the button on her jeans. It popped open, and he pulled down her zipper.

“I want you inside me, Ethan,” she said, not caring that technically this was their first real date, and all the rule books said that if you liked the guy, you had to make him wait.

Screw that. The rule books had obviously been written by people who’d never been on a date with a god. She needed this now. It was long past due.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said in a husky voice, pulling her jeans down in jerky movements. “Sexy underwear.” They were jerked down too, and her legs were awkwardly spread despite the jeans now at her ankles. His hot tongue licked up her center.

“Oh yes,” she said, trying to rip a leg free from the jeans. She gyrated her hips at the same time, pushing into and away from his mouth, desperate for more, but also wanting her danged leg freed. He rolled with her strange movements, his fingers dipping into her body and quickly setting a fast pace. “Oh holy… Yes, Ethan. Oh…God!” She pumped her legs up, one of them still stuck at a weird angle, as all her focus was pulled into his efforts.

Her body wound up immediately, so ready for this. Needing him so badly. “Inside…of me…Ethan,” she begged, the sensations dragging her under. She gripped his hair and moved against his mouth, delighting in his ministrations. Lost in the feel of his mouth. His talented fingers. “Oh shit. Oh God. Oh shit, oh God.”

Her body blasted apart as an orgasm consumed her. She moaned with the release, shuddering.

Her leg was freed from her jeans and boot. Another zipper sounded in the quiet garage, competing with her aftershock-induced moan and Ethan’s labored breathing. As she took a moment to exalt in the fire and pleasure coursing through her, the sound of crinkling foil added a shock of adrenaline to the mix.

His body was against hers a moment later, his huge cock rubbing against her wetness. “I love your passion, baby,” he said as he rubbed his thumbs across her exposed nipples. Renewed pleasure coursed through her body at the contact, his hardness rubbing against her clit in just the right spot. “The way you let go.”

His mouth covered hers, and he angled and plunged. Color seemed to light her up from the inside out. His girth stretched her. All the thoughts raced from her head. Like a rubber band, her focus stretched and snapped back; she only felt him inside of her, his mouth on hers, his hands.

She moaned and gyrated her hips up, taking him deeper into her body.

“You feel better than I imagined,” he said as he ran his lips up her neck. He pulled out slowly, dragging a moan from her lips, before thrusting back in, hard. The air pushed from her lungs. What was left of the world dropped away.

She swung her other leg up onto his hip, making him take her weight. His tongue delved into her mouth and he pumped faster. Her butt slid across the window of his car. One of his hands slammed against the roof to keep them from falling. She clutched his shoulders, delighting in the play of muscle.

“Yes, baby,” he said, slamming into her.

She panted as her body revved up again. Pleasure throbbed with each powerful thrust of his hips. Her core tightened exquisitely. Everything in her condensed into a white-hot point as the sensations increased. Became too big. Too much.

“Oh Ethan…” She clenched her jaw, holding her breath. Right on the edge. Loving each ram of his hard cock into her wet depths.

With a blast of pleasure more intense than she’d ever experienced, an orgasm ripped through her. Her scream of glory probably scared the neighbors. He shuddered against her, groaning with much more decorum. His hot body, and the feeling of him still inside of her, made her clutch his shoulders.

“That was not in the plans,” he said, his weight pushing her against the car. “I’d meant to make the first time perfect.”

“That was perfect. Spontaneous and crazy and perfectly fitting for this whole nutso ride.”

He kissed her, slowly and deeply, before backing off to nibble her lips. “If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

“I’m happy.”

“Well, then. I guess we know where we stand.” He ran his lips down her neck. “Good gracious, Kaylee, you’re so damn sexy I want to explode. Again. We better leave before I drag you into the house and give lying down a go.”

“Let’s do it. Bring me inside.”

“No.” But she could feel his hesitation before he pulled back and out of her. His movements spoke of regret, which made her smile. Getting his rocks off hadn’t dampened his passion. “I have this all planned out.”

Kaylee hit a wet patch as he lowered her down. She slipped sideways and he was barely in time to snatch her up before she shoulder-planted.

“Shit.” He stared down at his semi-hard manhood.

She followed his gaze and her stomach dropped out of her body. The condom had broken.