Feed Me

** Harper **

To Harper's great relief, Eli wasn't too insistent on prying — at least not yet — and that saved her the embarrassment of recounting all those drunken questions her coworkers had posed about the personal relationship between the two of them. They popped the rosé, and the conversation slowly changed direction, flowing back to the table in front of them as they toasted and started sampling the treats.

"This turned out nicely," Harper commented with relieved contentment after a few digs into the charcuterie board. "I got these from a tapas restaurant downtown. Took some work to convince them to let me do a takeout order, since it's supposed to be fine-dining and all that, but it's totally worth the effort."

"I would've loved to see how you won them over with your charm." Eli winked, not missing a single opportunity to slip in a teasing compliment. "Though I now feel frighteningly flattered that you went such an extra mile to 'thank me'. Especially when it's really supposed to be my job, to invite you to a fine dinner to celebrate your promotion."

"You already invited me to a fine dinner last week," Harper pointed out.

"That was for the web novel. Different cause." He raised his wine glass to her. "Isn't it amazing to think that we always have something to celebrate every weekend? Your life is so full of exciting news. Congratulations again."

They clinked their glasses. The bubbling rose pink glowed crisply against the candlelight, and Harper thought that she'd be quite happy if this series of celebrations could keep going. Not because she enjoyed bathing in success and glory … but because she liked having an excuse to hang out in Eli's company, to have dinners like this with him every weekend.

"Speaking of the web novel," Eli continued, "how is that going? You've been so busy with work that I barely hear you talk about the book anymore."

"Oh, did I forget to tell you?" Her thoughts snapped back to the book, which had indeed been left in an unfortunate state of semi-neglect in the past week. "I'm getting back on it, and I even took your advice to add a chapter at the amusement park. The latest update apparently gathered quite a few … thought-provoking comments. You should see them and have a good laugh."

There was a flash of confusion across Eli's face. "You posted a new chapter?" The question was barely out before he groaned, and he ran a hand down his face in a facepalm that looked … incredibly handsome. "Crap. I snoozed your update notification a few times last week. At some point my finger must've slipped and dismissed it altogether. I can't believe this. How many chapters did I miss?"

The fact that he looked almost devastated by such a small mishap made Harper's heart feel full. He must've genuinely cared about her story. "I only added a couple this week, though hopefully it'll be back to normal from now on. It's not a big deal, I'll just show you the comments." She picked up her phone. "Also, I update at random hours, so maybe it's a good idea to leave the notifications off anyway, if you don't want it to distract you at work."

"That's … not the reason why I snoozed it," Eli said. His voice sounded a tiny bit strained.

Harper didn't think too much into it. "Here." She found the comments she wanted to show him. "These are for the scene on the roller coaster."

Eli leaned over to peek at her screen.

[ Aww, can I self-commission some fanart for this? I can't stop imagining how cute they must look screaming together and now I really want to share it! ]

"You should've posted our on-ride pictures," Eli suggested.

"And photoshopped you to scream with me?" Harper considered the thought with amusement. "I would love to see it. Vice President of Sterling Trust screaming on a roller coaster. People would auction to buy that picture."

They both giggled at the absurd mental image, and she scrolled down to the next comment.

[ Ohhh can we plz have a kiss scene right here? Let them do it mid-scream! Upside down! Sideways! Passionate makeouts in all body positions! ]

"Ohhh, I love the way your readers think." Eli whistled. "We should consider—"

"No," Harper cut him off with a gasp. "If you're suggesting that we test it to see if the physics is actually feasible, the answer is no."

"I thought you wanted to auction those pictures. Vice President of Sterling Trust testing the physics of kissing on a roller coaster …"

"No."

Eli gave her a defeated look, though she could tell he was trying hard not to laugh. "Fine. Any other awesome ideas from your lovely fans that are less risky to try?" He reached over and scrolled down some more.

[ Girl, don't just eat that ice cream yourself! Tempt him with it! Feed it to him!! ]

"Ha, ice cream scene too?" Something flickered in his eyes.

"That one is a bit silly though," Harper mumbled. "Feeding is what you do for kids."

"No it's not." There was suddenly a different edge to Eli's voice now, as if he was thinking up some wicked way to prove her wrong. He nodded toward the fruit tray. "That's an easy one to test out. Feed me that grape."

… Well, odd as it was, at least this seemed a better thing to try than the roller coaster kiss, so Harper didn't protest. She picked one of the largest grapes from the vine and, with only a second of slightly awkward pause, held it up to his lips.

He opened his mouth … and closed his lips around her fingers.

Harper gasped, instinctively pulling away, but Eli was prepared. He snatched her hand, holding it there as he grazed his teeth over the tip of her fingers, smoothly plucking the grape from her. Then she felt the warmth of his tongue on her skin, and a sensual, slow stroke ran down the pad of her fingertip, licking the juice clean.

Such a simple gesture shouldn't have felt so … erotic. But it did, and at that precise moment, Harper remembered their "massage" session from last Saturday, when he had put his finger into his mouth and licked everything off of its length. The way his eyes darkened and burned into her … just like they did right now.

A sudden wave of heat swamped her body, pooling somewhere low.

Eli took his time with her fingers before releasing them at last with a soft "pop". "Delicious," he said, and she knew he wasn't talking about the grape. There was a different type of appetite and hunger lurking in that husky voice. "See, your readers know the best way to enjoy a decadent dessert …" — his eyes darkened some more — "and speaking of dessert, are we ready for the next course?"

.

.

-------------------

** Author's Note **

Readers are the best <3< em>

A couple of important announcements: His Naughty Lessons is going premium starting tomorrow. As you might have already noticed, the emotional slow-burn is beginning to ramp up, so the forecast for the future will contain increasingly sugary fluff and higher heat advisory :p Not a spoiler: their practice sessions will also be much longer … Take a peek at the next five chapters and you'll see!

Additionally, the cover change that I promised a while back will also be coming in a couple of days. Fingers crossed that it won't cause you any trouble finding the book! The style is a bit different, but I think the couple on this new cover matches my mental image of Harper and Eli much more closely :) Once it's uploaded, do let me know if you agree!

I hope you'll all continue to enjoy the upcoming chapters as well as the new cover. Thank you again for supporting this story, and I can't wait to share the rest of the journey with you <3< em>