Starstruck Read Online Free PDF Page A

figure eight
marathon inside her stomach each time he looked at her and, to top it off, she
was starving .
    Jesse gulped down the last of his water and set the glass to
his right, keeping his eyes riveted to her. “Okay, to answer your questions,
I’ve ordered appetizers that are kind of like tasty cheese puffs. If you are
going to eat like the French, each dish needs to be accompanied with a
complementary wine or Port. Roquefort cheese should be tasted with a sweet
wine. I prefer the Muscat. Wait until you try it, you’ll see what I mean.”
    He straightened his arms out on the table and clasped his
hands.
    “I see. Please…continue.” She mimicked him, placing her elbows
and hands on the table. She was intrigued.
    “For the main course, I’ve ordered lemon chicken with thyme
and honey. It’s a classic French dish and goes well with a glass of
Beaujolais.”
    She nodded. With each sentence he spoke his hands inched
closer to hers.
    “As for dessert, you can’t beat their honey and saffron ice
cream with poached peaches. And for that, a small glass of Port is needed.”
    As he ended his detailed speech, his calloused fingertips
brushed her hands. He slowly explored her palms with his thumbs, and then made
tiny circles near her wrists.
    She raised her eyebrows. “Sounds delicious. You sure you
don’t work here?” His knowledge of the cuisine was impressive though it wasn’t
what she’d expected from this publicly renowned bad boy.
    A flutter raced straight to her pussy as he locked his gaze
to hers, stroking her hands. His was such a simple light touch, but it sent her
heart racing nonetheless. It may have been considered quite innocent to an
onlooker, but the lust in his eyes and that cheeky smirk of his told a
different story.
    “What can I say? I love my food. My dad’s a chef and he and
my mom have an authentic Italian restaurant in New York. Whenever I’m home,
you’ll usually find me there around dinner time. I’m the guinea pig of the
kitchen.” He paused for a few moments and released her hands as the waiter
returned to their table with the first course.
    The stout man placed a white china plate of hors d’ oeuvres
between them and another waiter followed behind with their wine. He reached for
one of the clean wineglasses, but froze when Jesse raised a hand to stop him.
“Thank you, I’ll take it from here.”
    Jesse filled Sam’s glass halfway with Muscat, and then
proceeded to do the same for his own.
    “Now take a bite of this and tell me what you think.” He
selected an encrusted puff off the plate and brought it to her lips.
    She was hesitant to eat from his fingers. He was practically
a stranger, really. They’d only met an hour ago and already he was trying to
hand-feed her. Even during her fifteen-year relationship with Tom, she’d never
had a man place morsels of food to her lips. Tom would have disapproved. He
didn’t like to show much affection, especially in public.
    She refocused on Jesse’s face as he coaxed her to take a
bite, gently brushing the hors d’oeuvre over her bottom lip.
    What the hell. It can’t hurt.
    She parted her lips and bit the appetizer in half. He smiled
and popped what remained into his own mouth. He seemed to enjoy watching her
eat, his eyes sparkling with liveliness as he fixated on her lips.
    “They’re really nice. You did good.” She reached for
another.
    He slapped her hand away. “Hold your horses, darlin’. Take a
sip of wine before you taste it again.”
    She decided to humor him and did as he asked, but instead of
just a sip she drank a large gulp. As she brought her glass away, he held
another cheese puff to her lips. “Take a bite while the wine is still on your
tongue.”
    She nipped at his fingers and he dropped the whole thing
into her mouth to avoid her teeth. They burst into laughter. Jesse licked the
tips of his fingers then splayed and fanned them back and forth near his
shoulder, pretending they’d been bitten.
    “Think