by Sabrina York
The dichotomy was stark.
“Do you take cream?”
“Huh?” God. He was talking.
“Cream?”
“No.” She shook her head, a slight twitch. She needed it black. She needed her caffeine undiluted. She needed her sanity.
He chuckled and headed back to the frying pan, where the bacon was starting to spit angrily. “Don’t tell me you’re not a morning person.” He held up a rasher on a fork. “You do you eat breakfast, don’t you?”
“I love breakfast. But Justin…I have to go.”
He glanced up at her, a hint of unease in his eyes. “Go?” He crunched on a slice of bacon and her mouth watered. She loved crunchy bacon.
“I have to work.”
He buttered a slice of toast and dropped it onto a plate then added a couple rashers of bacon. He carried two plates to the table. The smell of bacon, eggs and buttered toast made her stomach growl. “Work?”
“Yeah.” She hungrily eyed the plates.
He took his seat, spread a napkin over his lap then fixed her with a steady look. “It’s Saturday, Jessica.”
“It is?” Holy moly. She’d completely forgotten.
“Have some breakfast. And then we’ll talk.”
Her stomach growled again and she couldn’t resist, realized it was stupid to even try. Even though in her heart of hearts she was scared to death—panicked by these feelings for him, these crazy, incomprehensible feelings for a man she’d known two days—she was famished. And they did need to talk.
And it was Saturday.
She settled into the chair opposite him and picked up her fork. His eggs were perfect. Fluffy and exquisitely seasoned and buttery and… Oh. And the bacon. Divine. She crunched into a piece of toast and moaned.
Nothing on earth tasted better than buttered toast. And he had toasted it. Really toasted it. It was brown and crunchy and perfect. The butter dribbled on her tongue. Some people just warmed bread and called it toast, all limp and pallid and pasty. Those people should be locked up. That’s what should happen to those people—
She froze as she realized her plate was empty. Heavens. She must have wolfed it down. She glanced up at Justin to see him watching her with a bemused expression.
“Hungry, were you?” He took a sip of his coffee. His plate, she noticed, was half full.
“I-I yes.” She cleared her throat. “It was very good.”
“I’m glad you liked it. But Jessica, we have to talk.”
She made a face and put a hand on her belly. “I think I ate too fast.”
He nibbled on his lower lip. As though he was trying very hard not to laugh. “Yeah. I think you ate too fast too. But we need to talk.”
She glanced at his plate. “Aren’t you going to finish that?”
“Why?” He quirked a brow. “Did you want my breakfast as well?”
The humor in his tone made her snort a laugh, made her relax. A little. She sipped her coffee. Warmth cascaded through her. “So… What would you like to talk about?”
“I think you know.”
She nodded. Stared at the dark swirls in her mug. “Us.”
“Yes.” He blew out a sigh. “Us.”
“We’ve only just met.”
“I know.”
“It’s crazy to—”
“I know. But Jess…” He mangled his napkin. “I can’t stand the thought of anyone else touching you.”
Her heart hiccupped then leaped. “What?”
“I know. It’s nuts. But when I think about you dating anyone else, I just want to do damage.”
“But we only just met.” A whisper. It was all she could manage. Her pulse pounded at a dizzying pace.
“I know!” He raked his fingers through his hair and glared at his eggs. “I know.”
“Well, maybe we should…explore this.”
He stilled. Looked up. “Maybe we should.”
“I don’t like the idea of anyone touching you either.”
His lips twitched into a small smile. Then a big one. “You don’t?”
“No. And I’m not fond of bitch-slapping some poaching tramp but I’ll do it if I have to.”
“So are you saying you would like to be…exclusive?”
Her breath hitched. Some hot lava found its way into her bloodstream and warmed her to the core. That word from his lips… “Okay. We’ll be exclusive. While we explore this.”
“While we explore this.” His expression changed then, from one of profound satisfaction and relief to something dark and erotic. “There’s something else we can explore.”
Her pulse thrummed in anticipation. “What?”
“There’s some hot fudge left in the fridge.” He glanced down at his lap and waggled his eyebrows.
Jessica wrinkled her nose. “Oh, I couldn’t eat another thing.”
But somehow she managed.
Epilogue
The party was in full swing, and at the Rowdy Cowboy that meant a lot of laughter, great music and plenty of alcohol. Penny wound her way through the crowd, juggling three beers and nodding to her friends.
She knew why Justin had picked this spot for Jessica’s birthday bash. This was where they’d met. And he had plans.
She rounded the corner and stopped short at the sight before her.
Justin on his knees, proffering a ring box. Judging from the look on Jessica’s face, she was delighted. Beyond delighted. As Penny watched, her friend swiped at a tear, nodded and held out her left hand. It shook visibly as Justin slipped the ring on her finger.
Damn him. He’d jumped the gun.
He was supposed to wait until Penny dragged Jessica up on the stage so everyone could witness the proposal.
Penny blew out a breath as Justin pulled Jessica into his arms and kissed her. And kissed her. And—damn—kissed her.
She glanced at her beers and shrugged. Clearly she’d have to drink them all herself. But that was okay. She was in the mood to celebrate. Justin and Jessica were a perfect couple. Absolutely adorable together. And she’d been the one to bring them together. She’d introduced them less than six months ago and now they were engaged.
She couldn’t be happier.
Her gaze drifted over to Stephanie, who stood in the corner staring at the happy couple with a patently fake delighted expression pinned to her face. An undeniable sadness, however, lurked in her eyes.
Stephanie was adorable too. Penny mentally flicked through a list of her cousins.
And a smile curled her lips.
About Sabrina York
Her Royal Hotness, Sabrina York, writes naked erotic fiction for fans who like it hot, hard and balls-to-the-wall, and erotic romance and fantasy for readers who prefer a slow burn to passion. An award-winning author in multiple genres, Sabrina loves writing hot, humorous stories in all kinds of settings.
Sabrina York welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
Tell Us What You Think
We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You can email the author directly or you can email us at [email protected] (when contacting Customer Service, be sure to state the book title and author).
Also by Sabrina York
Adam’s Obsession
Dark Fancy
Extreme Couponing
Folly
Pushing Her Buttons
Rising Green
Training Tess
Trickery
Tristan’s Temptation
Print books by Sabrina York
Adam’s Obsession
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
www.ellorascave.com
Man Hungry
ISBN 9781419944222
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Man Hungry Copyright © 2013 Sabrina York
Edited by Carrie Jackson
Cover design by Syneca
Photo: Vishstudios/Shutterstock.com
Electronic book publication
March 2013
The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.
With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
The publisher and author(s) acknowledge the trademark status and trademark ownership of all trademarks, service marks and word marks mentioned in this book.
The publisher does not have any control over, and does not assume any responsibility for, author or third-party websites or their content.
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com to find erotic reading experiences that will leave you breathless. You can also find our books at all the major e-tailers (Barnes & Noble, Amazon Kindle, Sony, Kobo, Google, Apple iBookstore, All Romance eBooks, and others).
www.ellorascave.com
Table of Contents
ManHungry_1
ManHungry_2
ManHungry_3
ManHungry_4
ManHungry_5
ManHungry_6
ManHungry_7
ManHungry_8
ManHungry_9
ManHungry_10
