“I know you're not,” Nas says as he lifts his palms off the counter and stands up straight. “You’re a grown woman who has never met a man strong enough to bring you to your knees in the bedroom—a man strong enough to make you want to fall to your knees for him.”

Nas takes a step toward me and sends my heartbeat through the roof.

“Right,” I mutter as I stare at him with eyes so wide I’m sure he’s terrified, but Nas keeps coming and doesn’t stop until he's directly in front of me, his face only inches from mine.

I feel his breath breezing lightly against my lips every time he exhales. The scent of mint filling my nostrils as my own breathing becomes erratic and I don't know what to say. My heart pounds and my mind races as I think he’s going to kiss me. I want him to, even though we’re supposed to be getting ready for dinner. It’s all so sudden I can’t grasp a thought of how to proceed. But, I know what I want. The darkness within me yearns to be uncaged. I feel it pressing against the bars in my mind, screaming to be let out and played with. It has been kept inside for so long, but now it knows a similar darkness is near, and it refuses to back away this time.

Nas looks down at my lips and licks his before meeting my gaze again. It’s like I can hear his thoughts through his facial expression and I know he wants me. He won’t leave me hanging today, and I’d rather die than let him walk out of here. The scent of the food evaporates. My hunger disappears. There’s only us standing in the kitchen now, our hearts pounding like drums, and an untamed fire raging inside me.

“There it is,” Nas says, looking at my lips again like he’s hungry for them.

“There what is?” I ask.

“There’s the need I was waiting for,” he replies, but he doesn't smile. His expression stays hard and focused—a man accepting a challenge with pure determination in his gaze.

“Wh … what about dinner?” I ask, my voice trembling as I realize what’s about to happen—my guard coming down as I accept it, my darkness slowly spilling out of my pores.

“Fuck dinner,” he answers. “You're the only thing I’m hungry for. You're all I want to eat … and I’m gonna devour you.”

My eyes widen and my breath catches in my chest as I lose control. “Holy shit.”

“Stick out your tongue,” Nas says in a calm, commanding voice. The darkness in him coaxes mine, pulling it out of me slowly, deliberately.

“What?” I say in a breathy whisper.