Free Of Royal Descent by Ember Shane Page B

night.  But in the next second, the moment was gone and I tore into the burger.  Never had a sandwich tasted so good, almost wickedly delicious.  Two giant bites later, I remembered I was not alone and glanced up at Addy.
    She looked amused, staring at me, with her lips slightly parted.  I could see the edge of her tongue pushed up against the back of her teeth , and a wave of carnal lust came crashing over me.  It was all I could do to remain seated instead of leaping the table to get to her.  The feeling was so intense that I dropped my sandwich so I could grip the underside of the bench I was sitting on.  I held fast to it, hoping the sensation would pass. 
    Briefly, I wondered what facial expression I wore, as I saw hers change in response.  Her eyes grew darker, and all traces of amusement were now gone. 
    "I should be going; I have to get to work."  Her voice was low, and her eyes trailed to the door.
    " Where do you work?" I managed to squeak out.
    She looked up at me again, her warm chocolate eyes doing strange things to my insides.  I gripped the bench harder.
    "I'm a night shift nurse at a rehabilitation center nearby.  I should really be going."  She began to stand.
    Propriety told me to stand as well so that I could properly thank her and wish her well, but I warred with my body.  I was afraid that if I released my death hold on the bottom of the bench, I would not b e able to keep my hands off of her. 
    She now stood beside the table, close enough to me that I began to sweat.  All I could think of was her navel being at my eye level. 
    "Doyle?  Are you going to be alright?" she asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
    I forced myself to meet her gaze and nodded my head.  "Yeah, absolutely.  Thanks for your help."
    She smiled.
    "Hey," I began awkwardly.  "Can I see you tomorrow?"  The words were out of my mouth as soon as it dawned on me that unless I made it happen, I would probably never see her again.  The thought was unacceptable.  On that, my mind and body both agreed.  
    She hesitated before answering , and I braced myself for the worst.  If she turned me down, I had no idea what I'd do.  But it would be ridiculously inappropriate to the situation, I was sure.  I barely knew her, so it made no sense that she should hold such an overwhelming abundance of power over my emotions.
    "Well, I am off tomorrow night... and you are really cute," she teased.
    OH.  DEAR.  GOD.  She was flirting with me.  My palms cut into the bench.  I don't know what my expression was, but she gave a girly laugh, and my nether regions screamed at me to release my hold. 
    "Okay, tomorrow then.  Eight o'clock?"  She asked.
    "Where?"
    "I'll meet you here, outside, at eight."
    "I look forward to it," I said, trying to give her my best I'm-not-really-a-sociopath vibe.
    "See you tomorrow, Doyle."  She picked up her coffee and poised to turn.
    "See you tomorrow, Addy." 
    We made eye contact one last time before she turned and headed for the door.  I watched her leave and let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.  I released my grip on the bench and winced.  Gingerly, I raised my hands to survey the damage.  Blood ran down both palms where the wood had cut into flesh.  I fished napkins out of the bag and pressed one into each palm to staunch the flow of blood. 
    My stomach growled again, demanding my attention.  A couple of flesh wounds were not enough to deter me from my dinner.  It took me all of thirty seconds to suck down my burgers and Coke before rising and heading for the door.
    Ch uck would surely be back by now … and I wanted to tell him... about... what?  Well, there was the dream of my mother.  But I didn't feel like sharing that, at least not yet.  It was too personal. 
    I guess I would have to tell him about Addy, because my date with her the next night meant Chuck would also have to spend another night in Ohio.  But I didn't feel like giving many details about