Read Mating Fever for Free Online Page B

there. It accentuated your cheekbone very well.”
    I threw a red pepper at him. “You’re in for it.”
    Keaton took the pepper from his shirt and popped it into his mouth. “I can only imagine what I’m in for.”
    My body became flushed, thinking about what had been on my face. I gazed down at the rest of my food. I didn’t speak to him until I finished eating. My mind was straight. Parts of me kept oscillating back and forth about seeing him naked and tasting all of him or just saying screw it and run away from him. I still wanted to believe that monsters didn’t exist and nothing else lurked in the dark. I tried to push that out of my head, and think about the gooey cheese and the vegetables that were melting in my mouth.
    Keaton paid the check. A band came onto the small stage and began to play. I leaned back in the chair and listened to the soothing music. The waiter came by with a piece of chocolate cake that I hadn’t ordered, and Keaton smiled, took a fork, and cut a chunk off and brought it to my lips. The intoxicating scent of the chocolate filled my nose. The dark tang of the cocoa made my mouth water.
    “I can always eat it myself.” He began to guide the fork to his mouth.
    I growled and grabbed his wrist. “I’ll eat it, but slowly.”
    I took the fork between my lips and caught the crumbling bits of chocolate with my tongue. The cake was moist and the frosting was rich. It enflamed the need for more and it also stirred my passion for him. He carved into another piece and fed it to me.
    Little creases formed around his eyes as he smiled. His eyes widened and lit up as I ate the cake. The music slowed even more, and I took another bite. Finally, I pushed the cake away and watched Keaton eat the last few crumbs. He wiped his finger in the last bit of frosting and held it out to me. I leaned over the table and swept the tip of my tongue over his finger to get the last bit of icing. Keaton broke out into rich laughter.
    “You have no idea how you and I are alike.”
    “How do you mean?”
    “You have passion inside of you. Simmering underneath that controlled exterior of yours. I sampled some of that the other night when you were caught in the mating fever.”
    I felt the blood drain from my face. “You mean that doesn’t happen to everyone that experiences the fever?”
    “No. It affects everyone differently. The pain is customary. It normally drives others to insanity if not acted upon. Some develop certain appetites for blood, food; some go on a killing spree. The mate connects on a subconscious level to the other and they channel the hunger into their own form of addiction, let’s say. For you it seems to be sex. Not that I mind. I’ve always found it fascinating to watch other mated pairs come together.”
    I crossed my arms over my chest and scowled. “I am not a sex addict. I enjoy it when I can, but I don’t sleep with every man I’ve gone out with. It’s...” The breath caught in my throat as I recalled the images of my past relationships. The pain of losing the ones I had cared for flashed through my mind. The horrible way they had died, getting hit by the bus, falling on the third rail in the subway station.
    Losing my fiancé had been the worst. Mark and his crazy gifts. How he presented me with my engagement ring ran through my mind. The loving times we’d spent together in bed. I shook my head and tried to wrench my thoughts away before they pulled me under. The dose of the reality dampened my spirits. Suddenly, the world was a darker place, and I was thrust back into it again.
    “Madi, what did I say?” He took my hands and leaned across the table.
    The darkness of the world crept in around me. How could I tell him what had happened? I couldn’t. I was cursed. The hunger that had awakened inside of me was the darkness that hung over my life. Maybe it was because there was already a monster inside of me, and now it was loose.
    “Nothing. It’s nothing.” I got up