Stranded by Noelle Stevens Page A

why, I realize that these last twenty-four hours have felt like an interlude between college and real life, and it turns out I’m not as eager to start real life as I’d thought. “Yeah,” I say, and pick up the burger to take another bite.
    Drake smiles at me. “Make sure to save room for dessert.”
    The burger stops an inch from my mouth. “You have dessert?”
    He laughs, then looks at me sternly. “You have to eat your dinner first though.”
    I smile. “Okay, daddy.”
    His lids lower. “Oh, honey. I am so not your daddy.”
    At the look on his face I feel a burst of heat between my legs, and quickly take a bite of hamburger so I won’t have to say anything. He watches me as I chew, and as much as I want to look away, I don’t want him to know the impact he’s having on me—although I’m pretty sure he does anyway. After only a moment I break eye contact, using the excuse of lifting my water glass.
    “Well, I’ve had enough,” he says. “How about you, Ashley? Do you want anymore?”
    I shake my head. “No, thanks.” I can’t even finish the one burger I had. I set it on my plate and look at him with a smile. “I’m done.”
    “Eager for dessert, are we?”
    The gleam in his eye makes me wonder what he has planned, but I smile and nod. “I have a bit of a sweet tooth.”
    “Do you now?” He stacks our plates and carries the dishes to the counter, then he takes some things out of the freezer and refrigerator. His back is to me, so I can’t see what he’s doing, but after a he’s been working for a couple of minutes I hear the tell-tale sound of whipped cream being dispensed. 
    A moment later he carries two glass dishes to the table and sets one in front of me.
    “I hope you like ice cream,” he says as he sits in his chair.
    I look at the dish in front of me and see a banana sliced lengthwise with two scoops of ice cream on top—one vanilla and the other chocolate. Whipped cream is piled on that, with a cherry on top. Smiling, I look up to see him watching me. “This looks delicious.” Then, knowing his eyes are on me, I use my thumb and pointer finger to grab the stem of the cherry, lift it to my mouth, then use my tongue to slowly pull it into my mouth. I pull the stem off of the cherry, and moan in pleasure.
    My eyes go to his face, and I see his eyes glittering with undisguised desire.
    His mouth turns up into a lazy smile. “Do you want another?”
    I shake my head. “No. I’m good.”
    His eyes drift downward, grazing my blouse, and I feel my nipples harden through the thin fabric. “Yes you are,” he murmurs, then his gaze meets mine.
    Pleasant sensations gather at the apex of my thighs, and I wonder what I’m doing. Am I trying to seduce him? Why? I thought I’d decided I wasn’t going there with him. Or with any man, for that matter. Annoyed with myself for sending him mixed signals, I focus on the bowl in front of me, and ignoring the whipped cream, I dig my spoon into the chocolate ice cream.

Chapter Twenty
    “Don’t you like whipped cream?” he asks as I continue avoiding the fluffy white sweetness atop the ice cream.
    Maybe I’m just making things worse by so obviously avoiding what I know he’s trying to imply.
    “Or,” he says, smiling. “Maybe you’re saving it for last.”
    Just to defy his expectations, I jam my spoon into the whipped cream, then put a big spoonful into my mouth. I meet his gaze. “I just didn’t feel like eating it yet.”
    “Okay.” He works on his dessert, and doesn’t say anything else. It doesn’t take long for us to finish, and when he’s done he sets his spoon in the dish. “I’m going to stoke the fire while you clean up.”
    I watch him walk away from the table and toward the living room, feeling like I’ve made him angry for some reason. Was it because I didn’t jump into his lap when he so obviously wanted me to? Mentally shaking off thoughts of Drake and what might be bothering him, I focus on loading the