“Step one: eye contact,” she said. She gazed into Aarav’s eyes. “Direct and confident.”

Okay, not too bad. I could handle staring into those piercing green eyes. Maybe not confidently because his stare was intense, but I could at least try.

Aarav gazed into Kasey’s eyes, a slight smirk on his face.

“Step two: tease him.” Her hand moved down Aarav’s torso, barely grazing against his abdomen. She moved closer, her lips hovering over his. She mumbled something inaudible, and Aarav took a deep breath. “A light touch of your fingers, your lips—anything will drive him crazy.”

I gazed back and forth between Kasey and Aarav. The tension between them was undeniable, and I sat there watching with my heart racing—wondering what was coming next.

“And when he’s into it,” Kasey said, mumbling against Aarav’s lips. “Pull away.” When she pulled away from him, he looked like he was high—eyes foggy and distant, lips parted ever so slightly.

I gulped, unsure if I could pull something like that off so well.

“Step three: be direct.” She grabbed Aarav’s hand. “Knowing what you want and how you want it, not only will help Eros pleasure you but it’ll turn him on. He wants to please you.”

I gulped. I could barely speak coherently in front of him sometimes, and she wanted me to tell him exactly what I wanted. I was bound to screw that one up.

She turned to me, a smile on her face. “So, how are you feeling about it?”

“Okay…” I said. She cocked a brow, and I sighed. “It’s so hard with him. He’s so good at this. It’s like it comes naturally to him.”

Aarav chuckled. “It does.”

Kasey elbowed him and snatched his wrist. “We’ll be right back.” She pulled him toward the kitchen.

Mycah placed a hand on my shoulder. “I get your struggle. Sometimes Kasey and Aarav flirt and I just feel so lost, you know?” She pursed her plump brown lips. “But from what I’ve heard Kasey say, it seems like he’s really into you. You could definitely break him.”

“You think so?”

She nodded, her tight curls bouncing around her face. “Definitely! You just have to find something that he likes. Kasey and Aarav—they both love it when I run my hands through their hair. It drives them crazy.”

I’d have to keep that in mind. Maybe Eros had a similar thing that drove him wild.

When Kasey and Aarav walked back over, Kasey was grinning ear to ear and Aarav looked a bit less… high. “We’re going to join your date tonight. Mycah, do you want to come?”

“You are?” I asked, a sudden relief washing over me. “Why?”

“To help you out,” she said.

“It can be intimidating when you’re dating a—” Aarav started.

“A guy like Eros,” Kasey finished.

And it definitely was.

Eros knocked on my front door, and I glanced in the mirror one last time to make sure everything was perfect. Kasey told me to wear something that accentuated my features, but not too much. Give him something to stare at but leave something to his imagination.

I wasn’t sure if this black wrap-dress fit that description, but it was too late to turn back now. I hurried to the front door and took a deep breath. Remember the tricks, Dani.

Eye contact. Tease him. Be direct.

When I opened the door, Eros was leaning against the doorframe, dressed in a navy-blue suit jacket. One hand was stuffed into his pocket. The other was playing with the ring on his finger.

He whistled lowly as his eyes roamed down my body and lingered on my hips. They were intense, dark, and confident.

Keep eye contact, Dani.

“You look… amazing,” he said.

I refused to succumb to the urge to look away and stepped toward him, fingers grazing against his abdomen. “Are you ready?”

He smiled, held out his hand, and led me to the car. “Always.”

During the entire ride to downtown, I repeated the three steps to myself so I wouldn’t forget. Eye contact, tease, be direct. Eye contact, tease, be direct. Reiterating it like a hymn.

Once we parked, Eros grabbed my hand and wrapped an arm around my waist to shield me from the biting cold. The walk to Crimson’s Nouveau would be short, but I didn’t mind the extra body heat.

His jacket hung, unzipped, off his shoulders. I slipped my hand under it, fingers grazing against his chest—making him tense—while we walked.

This was my chance.

I moved my fingers down his torso, slowly tracing his abs, and dipped it down his hip bone until I reached the waistband of his pants. They lingered for a few moments, then I pulled them away.

“What was that?” he asked.

I gulped, trying to think of something sexy to say. “I just wanted to know what I’ll be enjoying after dinner.”

His gaze flickered to my lips, eyes darkening. “You’ll be enjoying more than just that if you keep that up.”

“Oh, yeah?” I asked. “Like what?”

“There you are!” Kasey shouted. She, Mycah, and Aarav were huddled next to the entrance of the restaurant on the other side of the street. Mycah waved to me, a big smile on her face.

Eros hurried with me across the street, a look of ambush on his face. “What are you doing here?” he said.

Kasey looked at me. “You didn’t tell him?”

My eyes widened. I didn’t have any time to tell him anything. The whole day I was focusing on one thing, and that was preparing to seduce Eros.

Kasey pouted her red lips. “We’re joining you.”

“You can’t just invite yourself to a date,” Eros said.

“Dani invited us.”

“Uh—yeah.” Sure, I did.

Mycah bounced up and down on her toes. “Okay, can we take this arguing inside? It’s freezing!”

Eros clenched his jaw, fingers curling tighter around my waist. We walked into Crimson’s Nouveau, and my night of seducing Eros began.

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 22

OceanofPDF.com

Dani

“And here are your Fervor Crisps to-go.” The waitress placed two brown bags with a black heart-shaped logo on our table. I gently closed my eyes, breathing in the sweet—almost sinful—aroma.

From across the table, Kasey smiled at me with her freshly painted lips. “Have you ever tried Fervor Crisps?” When I shook my head, she slapped Eros on the shoulder and furrowed her brows at him. “You haven’t made her any?”

Eros clenched his jaw for the hundredth time tonight. “Kase-” he started. My fingers lightly dug into his thigh, hoping that it’d calm him down. It was as far as I had gotten flirting with him. He and Kasey had been bickering the whole night.

Kasey took my hand. “Eros makes the most delicious ones that you’ll ever taste.”

I raised a brow at him. “You bake?” He gave Kasey one more hard look, then smiled sheepishly at me. My eyes widened. “That’s so cute!”

All I could picture was Eros in a tiny white apron with flour in his hair, rolling dough—if that’s even what they were made of.

His cheeks tinted pink, and he took my hand from Kasey. I drew my finger over his ring, feeling its warmth from within it. Eros held my hand to his chest, and I gazed at him. The dim light from above accentuated his sharp features, yet they looked inviting somehow. “I’ll make them for you sometime,” he said softly.

Kasey pointed a manicured finger at him. “And take her to The Lounge. They have some good Fervor Crisps too.”

“What’s The Lounge?”

Eros narrowed his eyes at Kasey and pulled me out of the booth. “It’s a bar,” he said slowly. “We’ll be going now.” After snatching one bag, he tugged me through the crowded restaurant, leaving Kasey, Aarav, and Mycah all smirking wickedly at me from the table.

Alone time—finally.