A Lick and a Promise. Jo Leigh

was an invitation in her eyes that had nothing to do with dinner.

      Which was good, because he doubted he could eat.

      She put the pitcher on the table, leaned over with her hand on his shoulder, and whispered, “I’ll be right back.”

      What the hell was happening to him? This was nuts. Completely. He got near Margot and his brain turned to mush. The lower part of his body had the opposite problem. Jeez, he was hard. Sitting on this incredibly uncomfortable pillow, with his left foot falling asleep, something poking into the small of his back, he was unmistakably erect. Thank goodness he was hidden under the table, because his pants weren’t up to the task of disguising the issue.

      And he could probably take his hands away from the bowl now.

      Okay, he was blushing. He felt the blood in his cheeks, and it made him almost as uncomfortable as the stupidity of his dick. He sighed as he pulled the napkin from the ring and dried off.

      He should have stuck with the plan. Gotten his jacket and left. But she’d done something to him, spiked the air, hypnotized him.

      He’d never reacted this way before. Not that he hadn’t been attracted to women, but no one had ever turned him into a blabbering idiot like this. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t stop staring at her, he clearly couldn’t control his body. It was…

      “This is bstilla,” she said.

      He jumped again, completely surprised that she was standing at his side. “What?

      “Bstilla,” she repeated, putting a plate down on the table. “And these are lamb kabobs.”

      He looked at the second platter. That one he sort of recognized, although he’d always seen kabobs on skewers. These were bits of lamb on small beds of green. But the first dish was a mystery. It looked like very thinly rolled pastry with some kind of filling. All bite-size.

      “It’s a traditional Moroccan first course,” she said as she gracefully lowered herself to the cushion across from him, “although I’m serving them as an amuse bouche.”

      “Amuse…?”

      “Little bites that delight the mouth. After this, we’ll have tajine, batinjaan, couscous and khubz. For dessert, there’s fruit and pastry with mint tea. We eat everything with our fingers.” She demonstrated by taking one of the bstilla between her finger and thumb and popping it in her mouth. Her eyes closed as she chewed. Her low moan made him think of something completely inappropriate. Finally, she looked at him again. “Go on.”

      He took one, still hot from the oven. He ate it whole and his mouth filled with spice and chicken. He swallowed hard as his eyes filled with tears. He made a sound, hoping she wouldn’t be insulted when he died.

      In an instant, she was on her feet. She disappeared while he was trying to wave the flames shooting out of his mouth. But then she was back, handing him a glass of milk.

      He drank, the cool liquid putting out the fire like magic. “Thank you.”

      “Little too spicy there, Daniel?”

      “A bit.”

      “I tend to go a little nuts. I have a really high tolerance for heat. I’m sorry. I should have warned you.”

      “It was good,” he said, his voice only cracking a little.

      Her right eyebrow rose.

      “No, really. There was some definite flavor in there. Right before the incredible pain.”

      When she laughed, her face became a work of art. She was beautiful anyway, but the laughter made everything shine. He couldn’t resist joining her, and then when calmed, she sipped some wine, and he did that with her, too.

      “Nothing else is that spicy,” she said. “The tajine isn’t bland, but it’s not too bad. Try a little first.”

      He nodded and reached for the kebab. The meat smelled great. He took a tentative bite, but this was pure pleasure, no agony at all. He realized how hungry he was as he lifted another morsel from the plate.

      She ate another b-thingy and seemed to enjoy it tremendously. Her gaze was on his, never wavering, and it was weird, because it wasn’t awkward at all. He watched her, she watched him, and they enjoyed the food and the scents and the push and pull that wafted over the table. His fingers got messy, but it felt right, and then when he dipped them in the water, he wondered why there weren’t finger bowls with every meal.

      “How did it go?” she asked him.