Free Starved For Love by Annie Nicholas Page B

pressed through the thin silk.
    “Wow.” He cleared his throat and stared some more.
    “Can I come in?” Like any warm-blooded woman, I loved it when a man made me feel beautiful, but Val looked starved and I was the only meal on the menu. I twirled a loose curl around my finger, not sure what to do with my hands since the dress lacked pockets.
    “Please.” He gestured for me to follow and led me into the kitchen. “It’s taken me a little longer to cook than I’d thought. I hope you don’t mind the wait.” He stirred a cream sauce in a pan. “I promise it will taste superb.”
    He cooked?
    I leaned against the counter and tried to glimpse what was for dinner. None of my suitors had ever made me food. Hell, we’d never even shared a meal. Post-sex snacking didn’t count. “Can I help?”
    “I’ve got it.” He tossed shrimp in the pan, then hurried to drain the pasta.
    “I didn’t expect a meal.” I’d stuffed myself with cookies after the party since I’d been unable to eat under the weight of all the stares from our guests. To be honest, I’d been treating tonight as if I were visiting a suitor, not as a date, even though everyone kept using that word. I’d thought I be naked in his bed by now. What was I supposed to do?
    “Don’t get used to it.” He laughed. “I only know how to make five things but I make them very well. I’m sure you’ll tire of eating them over and over again.”
    I doubted it. Not if he cared enough to make it for me. I tried to smile but I ached inside. A broken heart was hard to mend. I’d placed a lot of bandages on mine but the wound still bled when poked the wrong way. “Do you cook for your wives?”
    His grin turned sad for a moment, so fast I wasn’t sure I’d seen it. “When they had time for me.” He placed the food on a large plate and carried it to a table on the patio. Candles flickered in the soft breeze and he’d set a single rose at my seat.
    I stared at it, my heart flip-flopping like a school girl’s. I had to get a grip. It was just a flower. Val wanted an alliance with my father. He wanted access to the city and the easiest way was through me. Or was it? He could easily have married one of my sisters. My head spun.
    He pulled out my chair and helped me sit, then poured us some red wine before settling next to me, not across the table like most people would have.
    I stared at the single plate he placed between us. Guess he wanted to share. “It smells wonderful.” My stomach decided to roar its agreement at that moment. I laughed and pressed my hand against it. “Um, I don’t have a fork.”
    Grinning, he held one up in his hand then pulled it away as I reached for it.
    “Tease.”
    He twirled the fork in the pasta, blew on it and then offered it to me. “I want to feed you.”
    “What?” I leaned away from the food and reconsidered the incubus next to me. The candlelight played over his black hair and brought out blue highlights. They complemented his eyes, which regarded me with amusement.
    “I’m old-fashioned. When I was a younger male, an incubus had to prove to the succubus he wanted to mate that he’d take care of her.” He brought the fork closer. “Let me take care of you.”
    It was so corny, I loved it. The gesture was simple yet I could understand how a succubus would fall for it. We were taken for granted by most males—a quick fuck, a one-night stand. Valerio Hunan was a dangerous predator and tonight, I wore prey’s shoes.
    I opened my mouth and let him place the forkful inside. The taste of buttery heaven coated my tongue. I closed my eyes. He really could cook this dish well. “What else can you make?”
    He chuckled. “You’ll find out.” And he offered me another bite. “I want to apologize for feeding from you.”
    With a mouthful, I shook my head, unable to express myself. I didn’t appreciate him sucking my energy from my body but his touch had been well received.
    “An incubus can live off vials but