Page 44 of Buck & Mari

A soft mew of sound startled her out of her stupor.

Mari moved her hand and the bite of food touched his bottom lip.

He leaned in and closed his lips over the piece of cucumber, touching the wooden chopsticks.

Her bottom lip pulled into her mouth and her teeth pressed into the softer flesh.

She tried to drag her gaze away from him, but she couldn’t make it happen.

Mari lowered her hand and stopped when she felt the edge of the food plate against the side of her hand.

She saw the muscles in his jaw work and waited for his verdict.

He smiled and nodded his head. “That’s good. Really good.”

Mari nodded and felt a little breathless.

Happy? Sure. She loved the food from Kim Chee. She was glad he did, too.

But she was also relieved. If he’d hated it… then she might have ruined a chance to see him again.

“Mari?”

She lifted her gaze to his. “Hmm?”

“What’s next on the tasting menu?”

His smile had turned into a grin, and she thought she could see a look of anticipation in his eyes.

This, she told herself, is another step in the right direction.

With a new lightness in her chest, she looked down at the plate and the selection of sides that were near overflowing in the takeout container. “How about… some choy sum?”

She used the tips of the chopstick to pick up another bite of the blanched and seasoned greens and lifted it to his mouth.

This time, he didn’t pause. He leaned in and she released the bite to him.

He chewed happily and she waited for him to tell her what he thought.

A soft huff of sound drew her gaze down.

Ebi was on her side, her body still across his lap. The cat’s eyes narrowed and as Mari watched, the orange ball of fluff gracefully pushed against his leg and landed on the floor.

Swishing her tail she walked over to the plate that Mari had left for her and laid down on the floor with her face millimeters away from her food.

With an all too human roll of her eyes, she began to eat.

“Looks like she wanted something more than that treat.”

Mari looked at the squeezable packet in his hand. “More like she devoured the treat and wanted more.”

Heath looked down at the packet in his hand.

It was very, very empty and Mari could see a few fang impressions in the wrapper.

She looked down into the takeout container, she picked up a bite of sweet potato noodles. She really enjoyed the umami flavor of it, mixed in with thinly sliced veggies. She held it up and when he turned to look at her, she was ready. “This is japchae.”

He paused then and she saw him lift his own chopsticks.