Free Tessa's Escape to Athena's Ground by Brianna Salera

come in?”
    Tessa swung the door all the way open and Jason stepped in. He looked her up and down and his eyes twinkled with amusement.
    “The natural look, I see. If anyone can pull it off, it’s you.”
    Tessa glanced at the mirror outside of the bathroom door. Her hair had dried while she slept; it looked a little like the ‘before’ Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality . She’d also fallen asleep with her face on the sleeve of her chenille bathrobe and it left a red crease mark from the top of her cheekbone to the cleft of her chin. Charming.
    “I look terrible. I am so sorry. Give me a few minutes and I’ll pull myself together.”
    Tessa turned to head into the bathroom but Jason grabbed her hand. “Hold on a minute. I think you look adorable.”
    Tessa looked into his eyes for sarcasm. There was none.
    “I need to comb my hair. At least,” she said.
    Jason let go of her hand. “Do whatever will make you feel good. But, Tessa, seriously, the bathrobe is fine.”
    Tessa was alone in the bathroom, brushing out her hair, when the possible meaning of Jason’s comment hit her like an eighteen-wheeler doing ninety. She blushed. She was deciding whether to stay in her robe or change into a dress when Room Service knocked on the door. Tessa let Jason handle it while she considered her options. Dress, and experience the undressing that she was sure would come sometime after dinner, or, be comfy in her robe and make the undressing less dramatic.
    Tessa emerged from the bathroom in her robe.
    “I hope you like what I ordered,” Jason said, lifting metal plate covers and arranging the plates of food. “Part of the pleasure of food is its appearance, yes?”
    Tessa smiled. There were half a dozen plates of exotic food.
    “Ladies first,” Jason said, with a wave of his hand. Tessa allowed Jason to pull the desk chair out and seated her in front of the food. “Have you eaten oysters on the half shell before?”
    Tessa shook her head. “The texture is a bit…slimy…for my taste.”
    “We’ll see,” Jason said, his green eyes twinkling. “Sometimes slimy is very, very pleasurable.”
    Once again, Tessa felt a flash of heat on her face. “That looks good!” She pointed to a plate of pasta, maybe because she was suddenly famished and maybe because it smelled heavenly.
    “It’s a specialty, a little something the chef agrees to make for us.”
    “Desert?” Tessa said, pointing to a plate with fine, dark chocolate.
    “Yes. Do you like asparagus?”
    Tessa nodded. “And avocado.” She nodded toward a plate with finely sliced wedges arranged around a center of what looked like salsa.
    Jason lifted an empty wine glass and filled it with dark, red wine. “Australian. So you know it’s the best,” he said, handing it to Tessa.
    “I bet the vintners in Napa Valley would have something to say about that.” She raised the glass, in salute.
    Jason pulled up a chair and settled in. “Let’s begin with the oysters, shall we?” He picked one up, brought it to his lips and said, “When texture is a problem, the trick is to take it in all at once and simply swallow.” He slid the oyster meat into his mouth and swallowed.
    Tessa wondered if he was talking about oysters or ‘something else.’ She hadn’t sipped enough of her wine to ask.
    “These are expertly prepared. May I?” Jason lifted an oyster and leaned next to Tessa. “All you have to do is open your mouth and swallow.”
    Tessa hesitated. The gray things were slimy. They reminded her of…
    Jason smiled.
    Could he read minds , Tessa wondered.
    “This was something you told Carmen you wanted to work up to. I’m just priming the pump here.”
    Before she could back out, Tessa closed her eyes and opened her mouth. The moment she felt the oozy mollusk on her tongue, she swallowed. Jason handed Tessa her glass of wine, and she chased the oyster down with a large gulp of wine.
    Tessa quickly recognized that each plate had a purpose. Though she didn’t