Longed-For Hunger by Marisa Chenery

“I can’t. I already have a lunch date.”
    “With a man?” her mom asked expectantly.
    “Yes, with a man.” Nyx then had to quickly pull the phone away from her ear when her mother let out a loud whoop. “Thanks, Mom. I think I lost the hearing in one ear.”
    “Sorry, but it’s about time you got back into the dating world. So what’s he like?
    Am I going to get to meet him soon? Why don’t you bring him over for dinner next Sunday?”
    “Whoa, slow down there. I just started seeing Denger. I don’t think I’m ready to do the whole meet-the-family kind of thing with him yet.”
    “Denger. That’s a different name.”
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    “I guess it’s Egyptian since that’s where he immigrated from.”
    “Have you slept with him yet?”
    Nyx’s face heated as she blushed. “I don’t think I have to answer that question.”
    “I’m going to take it that you have.”
    “Mom!”
    “What? If you have, there is nothing wrong with that. You’re a healthy, young woman who should have an active sex life. Maybe now that you have a real man in your life again you can stop making do with the ones in those romance novels.”
    Her face felt even redder. Even though her mother could be counted on to sometimes say the most outrageous things, she still could catch Nyx unawares when she least expected it. “Okay, I’m so not going to walk into that one.” Just then, the sound of her buzzer filled her apartment. Denger had arrived. Nyx walked over to the intercom and buzzed him into the building.
    “Is that your date?”
    “Yes, it is. So I’m going to hang up now. Tell Dad I said hi.”
    “All right. I guess I’ve tortured you enough. I’ll call you sometime during the week. Love you.”
    “I love you too, Mom.”
    Nyx disconnected the call just as Denger knocked on her door. Putting the phone on the small hall table, she undid the locks and pulled it open. He took her breath away. Instead of a t-shirt, Denger wore a black button-down shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans.
    She smiled and stepped back into the apartment for him to come inside. “I guess I picked the right outfit.”
    His gaze ran up and down the length of her body. “And you seem to be a bit taller as well.”
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    Nyx lifted a foot off the ground and wiggled her bare toes at him. “Given how tall you are, I figured every little bit helps.”
    “You look beautiful, Nyx.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and brushed her lips with his. “The heels are sexy. I think I’ll enjoy removing them when we come back here.”
    Hearing the sexy timbre of Denger’s voice, and seeing the way he looked at her as if he wanted to gobble her up, Nyx found herself short of breath. “Or we could just skip lunch and you can take them off now.”
    Denger released her and moved away so there was quite a bit of space between them. “Nope. I’m taking you out to eat first. And no trying to change my mind, because it won’t work.”
    “In that case, let’s hurry up and go. I’ll just grab my purse and keys.”
    Snatching those two items off the coffee table, Nyx hurried back to Denger. After they stepped out into the hallway and she had locked the door, he took her hand and linked their fingers together as they headed down the stairs. Out on the sidewalk, he led her to a flashy black Mustang. It was exactly the type of car Nyx figured Denger would drive. The muscle car suited him to a T. He opened the passenger door and helped her get seated before getting in. The engine roared to life and they were off.
    “So where are you taking me?” she asked as they headed for the downtown core.
    “There’s a nice Italian restaurant I’ve been told is really good.”
    “You’ve never been there?”
    “No. I don’t eat out at a lot of restaurants. Desiree, my other friend’s wife, told me about it. To quote her, the food is to die for.”
    Nyx let out a little laugh. “It seems as if you have two women giving you a lot of