Chocolate Smiles by Stella Mira
A Ravenous Appetite
Sunset Miko's Once a Week Challenge Prompt: Spell
"You may order anything you like, Kagome-san. My children have certainly enjoyed the chocolate treats you prepare each day, so allow me to repay the favor. Tonight is my treat," Sesshoumaru offered with a low chuckle after they were seated at a table on the rooftop of the elegant Italian restaurant. The night sky was blanketed in incandescent starlight, engulfing the dining people softly.
"I am sure my sweets can't be compared to the succulent desserts this place has to offer, Sesshoumaru-san. At least let me pay for my meal," Kagome argued with a healthy flush under his intense perusal. The look of admiration he had gifted her with upon their meeting had not subsided in the least, yet after they had been seated by the maitre, his obsidian gaze had not strayed from her eyes. Those captivating, coal pools had been drinking her in as he lounged in his chair with a seductive grin curving the corners of his lips.
"That is correct. Your desserts cannot be compared with the ones displayed on this menu. Only your baked sweets can bring such radiant smiles on my children's faces. For that I am forever grateful. Make your choosing and worry not for payment," Sesshoumaru returned sincerely in a smooth timbre, his voice a tangible shade painting her skin.
"Alright then. I'm warning you though, you might regret your decision after you hear my order," she laughed mischievously in an attempt to distract her mind from forming hazy visages of those lips, murmuring seductive whispers against her skin.
"By all means. I do love a woman with a ravenous appetite," he teased her in a rich, provocative baritone as he leaned forward to capture her delicate hand in his larger one. He raised her hand to his lips with purpose, turning it to place a slow kiss on the inside of her wrist, his smoky gaze locked with her wide chestnut eyes. Her pulse accelerated at the seemingly innocent contact, yet she could not mistake the lustful promise in those dark pools. The heat of his soft lips branded her skin where they touched, turning her racing blood to liquid fire. She bit her lower lip to trap a needy moan, threatening to spill forth at the pleasurable assault, when she felt a phantom lick on her sensitive flesh before he released her hand to look at his menu.
'Did I imagine this just now? I swear I could feel something wet stroking my skin. No…it couldn't be…' her mind raged, trying to come up with any plausible explanation other than the obvious one while she buried her face in the menu. Her heart beat frantically against her ribcage, drowning all other sounds around her.
"Are you ready to order?" a husky, feminine voice broke her out of the spell bound trance he had woven around her abruptly.
"Ladies first," Sesshoumaru prompted her to order ahead of him with a satisfied smirk at her disoriented state.
"I will have the Salmone with tagliatelle," Kagome ordered a little breathless, her wrist still tingling with a sweet, burning sensation.
"I will have the Arrabbiata with rigatoni. For appetizers we will have the Bruschetta Mozzarella and Funghi Misto al Olio," Sesshoumaru added his order, delighting in the pleased smile Kagome graced him with after his choice.
"Would you like me to recommend some wines to accompany your dinner?" the waitress asked with an enticing smile, directed towards Sesshoumaru, after she wrote down their orders.
"That will not be necessary. Bring us the Brunello di Montalcino of 2005. That is all," he returned regally, subsequently erasing the wistful expression in the woman's eyes as his molten gaze never strayed from Kagome's for a minute during the order.
"I hope you are pleased with my choices. It did not occur to me to ask if you drink wine. I will only have a glass since I am driving," he commented with a sensual nuance in his low voice after the waitress left them alone.
"I rarely drink alcohol, but I do prefer a glass of wine with my dinner occasionally. You made a lovely choice, Sesshoumaru-san," Kagome complimented with a genuine smile before they were interrupted again by a male waiter bringing their wine.
"It is exquisite!" she remarked with satisfaction when she took a small sip, closing her eyes to savor the warm, harmonic taste of the garnet wine.
"Indeed. I do find the taste of this particular wine to be very intoxicating," he confessed in a husky voice, the sinful timbre washing over her senses and making her lift her heavy eyelids to peruse him with curiosity. His liquid stare was tracing the contours of her painted lips, so much alike the ruby shade of the wine, with rapture. Her lips parted imperceptibly as she took a sharp inhale of breath, unable to break free of his entrapping attention.
The appetizers came first, followed after their main dishes as they chatted the night away regarding various matters. Art, literature, music, movies; the conversation topics were endless. She lost count of how many times she was awarded with the pleasure of listening to his deep laughter and he marveled each time her chocolate eyes sparkled with joy as she commented on authors and artists passionately.
"Can I tempt you with dessert?" Sesshoumaru asked after they had finished their meal, his tone dripping in sensuality unlike his earlier leisure attitude.
"Why not? What do you have in mind?" Kagome accepted with light laughter, thinking he was determined to make her explode from over-eating or sexual anticipation tonight.
"Tiramissu. Chocolate is very appealing, but I am certain you must be craving for a different flavor once in a while," he returned suggestively, melting her with a flaming gaze full of heated promise.
"I don't think they serve Tiramissu here…" she commented in a breathless whisper, not recalling seeing that specific sweet in the menu earlier.
"They do not," he confirmed her astute observation, the iridescent moonshine reflected in his black orbs alluringly.