Read Love Starved for Free Online

had been a part of that mental picture—the giving, the getting, choosing the perfect combination, reading the meaning of a bouquet someone chose for him. Even simply enjoying their beauty and the gesture.
    Brian didn’t care about flowers—he’d looked almost offended when Micah had brought him a little bunch of daisies once—so he assumed no other man did, either. Even after Brian had learned that was not the case with Micah, he never used that knowledge. “The fun of dating other guys is not having to worry about things like flowers, compliments, all that,” he’d claimed. The one time he had brought flowers—sad, half-wilted red roses in a too-tight cellophane wrapping—it was only because he had something to apologize for.
    So now, this perfect, vibrantly colorful bouquet in Micah’s hands was like a callback to the first date he’d imagined but never had, the one he’d dreamed of.
    “Hey,” Angel said, standing in the doorway, and Micah almost dropped the vase. “I would like to establish one simple rule for tonight, before we leave.”
    Micah put the vase in the sink and turned on the water. “Okay?” he said cautiously.
    “Tonight is for you. I said that already, but I want it to really sink in. This is supposed to be all you ever wanted, and I need you to be honest and open about what that is. I am here to fulfill your fantasy, every little bit of it, and I want you to be selfish, to be greedy, to take what you need.”
    “Oh,” Micah said, pausing with the vase in his hands. He frowned and set it on the table, put the flowers in. “What about you, though?”
    “I’m not important here. To put it bluntly, I’m a tool for your satisfaction. I have a few scenarios prepared, but if anything I propose or do doesn’t suit you one hundred percent, I need you to tell me. That’s all I ask, other than that your job is just to enjoy yourself.”
    “Okay.” Some of the nerves made a comeback, worming their way through Micah’s stomach. Expectations, even as simple as this, always felt like pressure. “I can promise to try.”
    “Thank you.” Angel smiled brightly. “So, Italian trattoria or a fancy French restaurant?”
    “Definitely Italian,” Micah answered immediately. This one was easy. “Am I dressed okay?”
    “Absolutely. You look fantastic.” The earnestness in Angel’s voice made warmth spread through Micah’s body. Either he truly thought Micah looked fantastic, or he was a really good actor. The fact that Micah couldn’t tell which filled him with a thrill of happy anticipation.
    “Thank you.” He smiled over the bouquet he just finished arranging. “I think we’re good to go then.”
    A red Mini Cooper convertible was waiting in the parking lot, its roof down. Angel opened the passenger door for Micah, waiting until he settled and fastened his seat belt before closing it and moving to his side of the car.
    “I hope you don’t mind a bit of wind?” he asked before he started the engine.
    “On a beautiful evening like this? Definitely not.”
    Soon, they were pulling out of the parking lot and into the evening traffic, and before long, the busy streets gave way to a picturesque road along the lake. The wind in their hair was nothing more than a gentle caress, but it was nice to breathe the warm air, suffused with the heady scent of lilac bushes that blossomed in gorgeous spreads of white and purple. The sun was slowly sinking over the lake. Micah took the opportunity to discreetly watch Angel’s profile.
    His fears about porn star looks seemed laughable now. Angel was certainly handsome, but in a natural, surfer-boy kind of way. His smile was sweet and boyish on his lightly sun-kissed face, and his body, as much as Micah could see in the lightweight linen suit, bore no evidence of obsessive bodybuilding. Even his hands were beautiful, with long fingers and neatly manicured nails. A braided leather bracelet with some kind of silver charm circled his right wrist.
    Angel