Chapter Thirty-Four: Favorite Dish
Lincoln
It only takes three hours for Sienna to break.
I just woke up from a nap, and when I go to get a bottle of water from the fridge in the kitchenette of my suite, I hear my phone go off. I spoke to my mother before I got on the plane here, and Jett certainly wouldn't be contacting me, so there's only one other potential person aside from Margo, who avoids texting like it's the plague.
What's the wifi password?
I hold back a laugh as I text out my reply. I don't know, come ask me in person.
Linc, come on. No one at the front desk is answering. and I seriously don't want to go all the way down to the lobby.
So walk the two steps over to my hotel room and I'll give it to you.
I wait by the counter wearing nothing but my gray sweatpants when I hear knocks on the door. I open it and see Sienna with that obnoxiously cute pout on her face, arms crossed over her chest. "What is it?" she snaps.
Despite her best effort, her eyes drag along my body, practically groaning at the sight. She lingers on the snake tattoo, my favorite of hers I've determined before she meets my eyes again.
"I was actually about to head out and get something to eat," I tell her. "Care to join?"
Sienna glances over her shoulder as if Margo, Rachel, or Reed will pop around the corner at any given second. "We can't," she replies.
"We can't get dinner as colleagues? You know this area much better than I do. I'm looking for a good place to eat."
Her mouth does that twitching thing where she's trying not to smile as she contemplates my question, and then she arches a brow and says, "I'll go to dinner with you if you give me the wifi password." Always trying to make something a competition. Always making sure she's in control. The more I realize this, the more I love her.
I walk over to the nightstand and grab the complimentary pen and pad, scribbling down the password before I pass it over to her. "Is thirty minutes enough time for you to get ready?"
She rolls her eyes. "An hour."
***
I knock on Sienna's hotel room door exactly an hour past, and when she opens it up, I think I feel my mouth dry out. Her hair is wavy and curled to perfection, her makeup heavy with a red lip. The same red that makes me crave her mouth right on my cock. I try hard not to adjust myself in my pants right then and there, but it's difficult as hell. A trench coat is wrapped around her body tied at the waist, and I'm still speechless as I stand to the side and extend my hand out for her to go ahead of me to the elevator.
On the ride down, I clear my throat and say, "You look stunning."
"I don't think that's something a colleague is supposed to say but thank you."
I glance sideways at her, seeing a delighted smile on her face. A smile that leads me to believe she's up to something. "What?" I ask.
"Oh, nothing..." The elevator doors open, but she puts her hand out to stop the doors from shutting and whispers, "Since you wanted to make me a deal instead of just out right giving me the wifi passcode, this is your payback."
I look around me expecting a bucket of water to splash me over the head, or for some stranger to run into the elevator and smash a pie in my face, but instead, with her back facing the elevator doors, she unties the coat with one hand and flashes me a glimpse of absolutely nothing underneath that trench coat. She's naked and bare, and I almost choke on my own spit at the sight, my cock hard as a rock.
My dirty fucking girl.
"I'm sure you'll have lots to think about during dinner, Mr. Nash," she muses. "Now tell me, what are you in the mood for? Italian or Mexican?"
***
I'm not hungry at all anymore. Not for food at least. Knowing she's completely naked underneath that coat sitting right across from me, knowing how easy it would be to take her literally anywhere. The alley, the bathroom, and the elevator drive me crazy. I've been thinking of all the different places I'd fuck her senseless in as we enter an upscale Italian restaurant.
A waiter that looks like he's still in high school escorts us to a table draped in white linen, with two chairs on either side of it. Candles are lit in the middle, and a bottle of wine is already placed with glasses beside it. I know it's not a date, and technically we're supposed to be colleagues tonight, but I hold her chair out anyways, making sure to brush my fingers along her arms as I do it. She shivers underneath my touch.
"Seems pretty romantic for colleagues," I say as I glance around the room. Piano music, red walls, and dim lights surround us, twinkling fairy lights strung across the ceiling. Since it's almost eight-thirty, not many people are left in here. It's just her and I aside from an older couple in the corner sharing pasta like Lady and the Tramp.
She shrugs and orders bruschetta and crostinis with goat cheese for an appetizer. The waiter nods and scurries off, leaving us remotely alone. The tension is too much. My foot grazes hers underneath the table, and she visibly bites her lip from the sensation. I continue doing this, brushing my foot up and down her ankle because some sort of touch with her is better than none.
"Sienna?" An older woman bursts from the kitchen wearing a chef's apron, wiping her hands on it with tears in her eyes. She's short and plump with bright green eyes and a gray bob. "Jeff said you were coming, but I just didn't believe it."
Sienna smiles widely like she's a little kid again, and I find myself smiling at her smiling. "Mrs. Stanton, It's so good to see you. Thanks for fitting me in."
She places a hand on her shoulder and gives it a squeeze. "Jeff made my whole day yesterday when he said you called." Then she focuses on me, smiling even wider. "I also couldn't wait to meet the plus one."
Sienna had planned a date this entire time? Then again, this is Sienna I'm talking about. Of course, she planned everything we'd be doing down to the time and place. She's always in control. Planning keeps her organized. Safe. Protected.
I'm grinning like an idiot as I stick my hand out to shake hers, but the woman tugs me up from my chair and gives me a hug. Whoever she is, she must be close to Sienna, and my chest is all fucking warm and fuzzy that she wanted me to meet someone that's close to her.
"Lincoln Nash," I say. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"This is Colleen," Sienna says with pride. "She used to go to my church."
The church.
The church where she was raped.
I do my best not to cringe. I try not to show how much that sentence bothers me because I don't know how much this woman knows about her past. I don't know who all Sienna has told about this.
"I'll admit, you're awfully cute together." She wiggles her eyebrows as Sienna's cheeks turn beat red. "I take it you're taking good care of her?" Her eyes lock with mine, and they're hidden with burning questions. Maybe even a warning. She knows. She definitely knows.
"I hope so," I say.
Sienna nods eagerly, that warm and fuzzy feeling coming at me again at full force. "He is. No need to worry."
Colleen reaches over to open up the wine bottle, pouring us both filled-to-the-rim glasses. "Everything tonight is on the house, alright? And I expect this bottle of wine to be gone before you leave. It's vintage. Don't waste it."
"You know I'll never come here without paying," Sienna replies, "but thank you."
I nod. "Yes. Thank you."
"I've gotta get back to the kitchen but let me know if you need anything. I'm so happy to see you, honey. You have no idea how grateful I am that you came back." She squeezes her shoulder again and disappears behind the swinging doors, the clattering of pots and pans quickly being replaced by the piano music.
Sienna can tell that I'm confused and want to know more, but I'd never ask her to open up about her past unless she wants to. Thankfully, she clears her throat and says, "My family used to come to eat here after church every Sunday. Colleen was the only one to notice that something was off with me here at the restaurant and at service. She was my youth group pastor."
I swirl the wine in my glass and arch a brow. "Does she know?"
"Yes. I broke down after one of her sermons and told her everything that had been happening. I used to wonder if I'd go to hell. I was taught to save myself for marriage, you know? And I know now that how I was feeling was absurd. I didn't choose to do that, it was taken from me, but I was young and thought I was a sinner."
"I'm assuming she didn't agree?"
Sienna smiles wider now, blinking away tears. "The very next day, she announced at church that she was hosting a bible study group directly after the youth group because that's when he would..." She shakes her head. "Anyways, it didn't stop it, but she tried to help, and that's all that really mattered to me. She was the first person to contribute to my moving away fund, too. Gave me five hundred and told me to take the first bus out I could find. She might just be the most important person to me."
And Sienna made plans to introduce me to her. I gulp loudly and lean over to grab her hand across the table. I don't care that we're supposed to be colleagues tonight, all I care about is this moment with her. "I don't think you understand how much it means to me that you introduced me to her. I know how difficult that part of your life is, and I'm honored that you shared this place and Colleen with me, Sienna. Thank you."
Her ankle rubs against mine again even though we're already holding hands. No amount of touching with her feels like enough. I want to be inside of her, kissing her, cherishing her, worshiping her and for the first time I... I don't think I want to fuck.
I think I want more.
The bruschetta interrupts our private moment, so we pull back, embarrassed by how expressive we're both being with our feelings. "I took you here because I want you to know that I'm serious about this," she says. "I meant it when I said I want to try, and that means opening up the most vulnerable parts of my life to you."
We both lift our wine glasses up at the same time, so I lean over to clink my glass against hers. "To parts no one else has seen," I say.
She smiles and takes a sip, eyes darkening at me over the rim, and for a second, I forgot she isn't wearing anything under that coat of hers. I forgot she's completely naked, and suddenly, there's no room in my pants. My cock is straining against the zipper, begging for release.
"Any idea what you want to eat?" She glances down at the menu briefly, hiding her smile.
"I know exactly what I want to eat, Sienna."
Eyes still on the menu, she tugs at her bottom lip. "What is it?"
"I think you already know. It's my favorite dish, after all."
She raises a brow. "Sweet and sour chicken?"
"Not even close. Try again."
My ankle brushes against hers underneath the table for the fourth time tonight, and she runs her fucking heel up my pant leg, grazing the skin on her way up. I'm hot all over, the wine is starting to kick in, and all I want to do is lunge across this table and tug her on my lap, whip my cock out, and have her ride me right in this restaurant.
"I give up. Tell me," she says and takes a bite of her crostini. Goat cheese gets on her finger, so she slowly sucks it off, keeping eye contact with me at the same time.
"Don't tempt me, Sienna," I warn. "You know as well as I do that I will have no problem pulling you right into that bathroom. You're lucky I don't want to disrespect Colleen, otherwise, it would have already happened."
"And what would you do to me in that bathroom, Linc?"
My cock twitches in my pants. I'm hard as fuck, panting heavily, feeling that fucking heel of hers drag up and down my leg. "I'd tease that little cunt of yours until you'd beg for it. Your legs would be shaking, wetness would drip down your thighs, and then I'd leave you hanging from ever tempting me in the first place. Now let's order our food before we disgrace this place you treasure so much."
She smirks, pleased by my response. "Yes, sir," she whispers seductively, and if it weren't for the waiter approaching right at that very moment, I would have taken her right on the fucking table.