"Food," she answered, lashes lifting and eyes widening just so over a wicked crescent of a smile. She might not know what she looked like to him in that moment, but she saw--oh yes, she saw--the effect she'd had on him.

There was a danger point, hovering out there, where she tipped from playfully predatory to cruelly so, and this was new for them, so she'd have to trust him to let her know if he felt objectified in an uncomfortable manner. Right now, it seemed held at bay by her own awareness that she adored him. That she loved him beyond breathing. That whenever he lifted his gaze to hers, it filled her with such thronging flutters that she felt overfull to bursting, like a perfectly ripened juicy plum.

"We can work up an appetite for dessert."