At that moment, Marge appeared with their order. “There you go, sugar. You eat up.” She looked at Mariana with a critical eye. “Need to feed that little one and build yourself up. You got a long road ahead of you, sweetie.” She winked at Thorn. “Good thing you got a man here that can see you through it.”
“He’s not my man,” Mariana said, the joyful smile fading from her face.
Marge just laughed. “Oh, sweetie. That’s rich.” The feisty waitress patted Thorn on the shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at her. She only winked, as if it were all an inside joke only the two of them were a party to.
Mariana eyed her burger, then glanced up at him. He met her gaze steadily, not backing down. So help him, he wasn’t letting her leave here until she’d eaten that fucking burger. The girl needed it. The greasy meat might not be high quality nutrition-wise, but it was high in calories, and she looked like she desperately needed energy.
Finally, with a halfhearted sigh, she picked up the burger and took a bite. As she chewed, her eyes seemed to glaze over and she chewed faster. Again, those moans of pleasure came as she took one bite after another. The mixture of arousal and amusement in Thorn was a heady combination. When the girl finally dropped her inhibitions, she had the burger in one hand, the shake in the other and was eyeing his burger as she took another bite.
Thorn picked up the squeeze bottle of ketchup and squirted a generous dollop onto her plate next to the crinkle-cut fries. It was the only encouragement she needed. Reluctantly, she let go of the shake and snagged a fry, dragging it through the ketchup before popping it into her mouth. The bliss on her face was mesmerizing. When she let out a little burp, Thorn had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. He had the feeling she wouldn’t appreciate it, and he’d happily cut off his right arm if she’d just keep eating.
When her fries were nearly gone, he waited until she got distracted by a noise. The second she glanced away, he put a handful of his own fries in her plate. Girl didn’t miss a beat, continuing to eat until everything on her plate was gone. Not long after, the malt was gone as well.
She set the glass down and picked up her napkin, eyes scanning the plate. Probably to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. Then, as if coming out of a trance, she blinked. Her eyes went wide before she glanced up at him. Thorn was pretty sure he didn’t manage to wipe the grin off his face before she saw him.
“Oh, God,” she whispered.
“Nope. Not God,” he said, taking a bite of his own burger. “That’s all Tito. Well, the shake is Marge, but you get the idea.”
Almost in a panic, she grabbed her napkin and frantically wiped her face, letting out a little sigh of relief when it came back with only a small dab of mustard from the corner of her lips. Thank God, too, because Thorn had been giving considerable thought to cleaning it for her. With his tongue.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I must look like a maniac.”
“You look like a pregnant woman craving a good, hot meal and a delicious milkshake. Happens to most pregnant women. Nothing to be sorry ’bout.” Marge appeared again, a huge smile on her face. “Good! Bet you feel better now, doncha, sugar?”