Kristin’s eyebrows flew up. “They showed up together?”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “No, two separate occasions.”
“Okay, so the guy has a healthy libido. You can’t judge how he acts as a single man and assume he’d be just as much of a manwhore while in a relationship. What does he do when these chicks call and show up like that?”
Sophie bit her lip. “I don’t know what he does when I’m not around, but when I am, he declines the calls and then blocks the numbers. And with both visitors, he came up and put his arm around me, informed them he was happily married, and wished them all the best before closing the door.”
Kristin grabbed her napkin and fanned herself as she sat back in her chair. “Sophie, if you don’t start having sex with that man, I’ll breakup with you and quit the bakery.”
“Ha ha.”
“I’m not kidding. It’s for your own good, little girl. That man is a goddamn unicorn and you know it. If you don’t grab him by that big, beautiful horn, then someone else will. Grab it, Soph. Grab it and hold on tight, because I guarantee he’ll give you one hell of a ride. And who knows,” she said, a wicked grin curling her lips, “in five months we might just be planning a wedding we’ll all remember.”
Sophie stood up at the sound of the door jingle announcing another customer. “Now you’re talking crazy. There is no way that will ever happen.”
She popped her sucker back in her mouth and turned to go take up her post behind the counter, but promptly ran into a hard wall of muscles. Raising her eyes, her stomach dropped. Xander smiled wide. “What won’t ever happen?”
Sophie made a desperate squeak in the back of her throat, and someone hit pause on her brain because she couldn’t think of a coherent thing to say for the life of her.
Kristin came up behind her and gave her shoulders a quick squeeze. “Oh, we were just talking about how poor Sophie never gets to have any fun. It’s always work, work, work.”
“What?” She gave Kristin a questioning glance. “No we—”
“I’ve noticed that as well,” Xander said. “In fact, my reason for stopping over was to see if you might get the afternoon off to go have some fun with me.”
“Fun?” Damn it, why did she keep sounding like a squeaky mouse? Sophie cleared her throat. “I’m not sure that our ideas of fun match up.”
“I’m willing to bet they do.” He held a hand out, palm up. “What do you say? You up for a little adventure, Soph?” The words “or are you too chicken” didn’t follow, but the twinkle in his eye and smirk on his lips basically said it for him.
Maybe KP was right. She should let go and see what happened between them. It would be nice to indulge in Xander while she had him. Lord knew she’d never have such a fine specimen at her disposal ever again. Everything about him—the way he moved with utter confidence, the way he could pin her with nothing more than a look, the way he made her wet when he got too close for more than a second—screamed sexual pleasure. And there was no mistaking he still wanted her.
Fuck it.
She placed her hand in his and said, “You know what? I think a little adventure is exactly what I need.”
…
Xander couldn’t be more pleased that Sophie had agreed to come with him, especially when he refused to tell her where. She’d hesitated for a long while, though, as if she’d been working something over in her mind. When a resolve settled over her features and she placed her slim hand in his much larger one, he wanted to grab her up and spin her around, but he’d managed—just barely—to keep his cool. It felt like something had shifted between them, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what yet.
“Holy shit!” Sophie sat forward in her seat, bracing her hands on the dashboard as she got her first glimpse of the carnival up ahead. “It’s the Cinco de Mayo carnival!”
He glanced at her with a raise of his eyebrow. “Yeah. Reid told me about it. Said he and Lucie checked it out yesterday. You’ve been before?”
“Once as a kid—probably nine or so—and then a bunch of times from the time I was a sophomore in high school until a few years ago when I took over the bakery and all my free time ceased to exist.”
“Fantastic,” he said, pulling into a parking space. “Then I’ll expect you to know how to beat all these silly games and win me a gigantic teddy bear.”
“Tell you what.” She turned in her seat and gave him a smile that promised mischief and a whole lot of fun. “We can both play the games, and whoever wins more or wins said gigantic teddy bear first, wins.”
He rubbed his jawline thoughtfully and contemplated her ulterior motive. “Wins what, exactly?”
She blinked her eyes rapidly, feigning innocence. “Isn’t it enough to know you’ve won the challenge?”
“Competing is more fun when each party has something on the line. Makes things more exciting and gets the heart pumping. I like knowing I’ll be rewarded if I win. And, Sophie…” Resting his forearm on the center console, Xander leaned over until he invaded her space. Not completely, but enough to set her on edge. Right where he liked her. “I always win.”
The perfect arch of her brow over steady eyes conveyed that he didn’t worry her in the least. He had to admit, she was damn good at masking her true feelings when it suited her. But Xander had been doing little else than study her every minute they spent within sight of each other. Wasn’t much different than studying an opponent’s fights to learn his habits, tells, strengths, and weaknesses. And Sophie wasn’t as confident as she appeared.
Sophie crossed her arms to support her attempt at bravado. “Considering I have the advantage in this particular competition, I think you might be a tad too sure of yourself.”
“Then there’s no harm in adding some stakes to make it more interesting.”
“Okay, fine. You want interesting? Then let’s keep the stakes a secret until the end.” She reached into her purse sitting between her feet and rummaged around until she found pens and a small notebook. “We’ll each write down what we get if we win. Then we’ll fold them up and keep them in our pockets. Afterward, the loser will read the winner’s note that will reveal what they’ve won.”
“What are the limits?”
She shrugged. “Use common sense. It’s a friendly competition, not a championship fight. To make it simple let’s say it has to be something that can be done in our three places: apartment, gym, bakery.”
He narrowed his eyes. He needed to see where her limits were. “What if I want a full-body rub down after a hard day of training?” Her back straightened like someone slid a metal pole up the length of her spine. She was teetering on the fence. He needed her to fall over to his side. “Not that I have much of a chance at winning, as you pointed out, but I’m just curious.”
Ripping out a piece of paper, she handed it to him along with a pen. “That’s fair.”
She bent her head and poised her pen above the notebook. He waited for her to start writing then asked, “What if I want you to cook me dinner?”
Glancing up, she chuckled. “It’s your funeral,” she said, returning to her paper.
“Wearing only knickers and an apron?”
He bit down hard on the inside of his lower lip so the pain eclipsed the urge to laugh. It took her a good ten seconds before she slowly raised her head to meet his challenging gaze.
Shallow breaths and a quickened pulse were obvious signs of her arousal. But she also did this thing where she absently stroked the hollow of her throat, and it took every ounce of his control to hold her gaze and not watch her fingernails lightly score her clavicle.
“I think you’re counting your chicks before they hatch, Mr. James, but go ahead. I’ll give free rein because I’m not worried about losing.”
Everything he’d imagined over the last few months fired behind his eyes like a dirty strobe show. Ignoring the discomfort of his zipper imprinting itself on his cock, Xander leaned the rest of the way in and spoke against the shell of her ear. “Care
ful now, Sophie. I can think of a lot of things I want when it comes to you. Things that require you to wear a lot less than my cooking fantasy.” He grazed his nose along her smooth jawline as he pulled back, indulging in her sweet scent that made his mouth water and his balls ache.
She could pretend he didn’t affect her all day long, but she couldn’t prevent the way her pupils grew with desire or how hard her nipples pebbled beneath her shirt. Her body’s response to him wreaked bloody havoc on his ever-depleting control. “You still sure about that free rein?”
“I think you should be more concerned with what I’m going to write down.” Using only her forefinger, she pushed on his chest until he sat back and gave her some space. “I have a ton of laundry and no desire to do it.”
Xander finally unleashed the wolfish grin he’d been holding back. “Let the games begin.”
For the next three hours they alternated between games and rides. Sophie was more than a bit of a thrill seeker, dragging him onto every blooming thing that spun, swerved, dipped, and dropped. Since he wasn’t on the best terms with heights, he generally held on to whatever miserably crafted contraption held him in while the wild child next to him stretched her arms overhead and scream-laughed with absolute glee. The fact that he probably wouldn’t be able to hold food down for at least a week was totally worth seeing her like that.
After riding the Zipper, Octopus, Kamikaze (seriously, who names those things?), and a few others, Xander was certain carnival rides were created for the devil’s amusement. One of them had broken down while he and Sophie were suspended in the air. She’d beamed a reassuring smile at him while swinging her dangling legs. When a couple men of questionable hygiene, whom Sophie called “carnies,” started banging on the engine with a gigantic monkey wrench, Xander actually felt all the blood drain from his face.
Her smile fell and her brows drew together. “Are you feeling okay? You look a little pale.”
Telling himself to get it together, he dragged his hands over his face and took a deep breath before answering. “Sure, why wouldn’t I be? We’re only at the top of a gigantic death trap made up of bolted metal pieces and more electrical wires than I have hairs on my balls and is put together and taken apart dozens of times every year by people who aren’t likely to have finished primary school much less get paid enough to care whether we live or die.” He barely contained his wince with a clenched jaw when more pounding vibrated through the metal guts of the ride and traveled through their seat. “Yep, perfectly fine.”
Sophie drew in a shocked gasp. “Oh my God, this whole time… You’re afraid of heights, aren’t you?” It was a rhetorical question; she’d already ferreted out the problem. “Aw, baaabe.”
“Babe, is it?” She’d drawn out the endearment with sincere sympathy and like she’d called him that at least a thousand times. “I rather like the sound of that coming from you.”
A slight flush rose in her cheeks and she glanced down between them as if embarrassed by her slip. But it only lasted a moment and then her tough-girl mask slid back into place. “Don’t get excited. I call everyone ‘babe.’” She placed a gentle hand on his that had the bar in front of them in a white-knuckle grip. It went a long way in easing his nerves. Unfortunately, there were still several “long ways” of nerves still left. “Why didn’t you tell me you’re afraid of heights?”
“I’m not afraid of them.” Way to sound like a cranky five-year-old, mate. “I simply don’t like them. It’s completely different.”
“Oh I see,” she said, nodding and biting her lip, probably to keep from laughing.
Jesus Christ, this was perfect. The last thing that would help him turn this woman on was to show any sort of weakness. She needed someone just as strong and capable as her. Hell, she deserved a man like that. Anything less and she’d chew them up and spit them out. He should have worked it so they stuck to the games and junk food, but he hadn’t thought he’d react so poorly. And he hadn’t until the bloody ride broke down.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Xander whipped his head over the side where the man with the wrench stood directly below him. “Oi! That’s obviously not working, is it, mate? Maybe you should try getting someone who knows what the fuck they’re doing!”
The man answered with a combo middle-finger salute and ball grab. Classy. Since the anger seemed to divert some of his nervous energy away from his stomach, Xander was prepared to go all five verbal rounds with the wanker when he heard Sophie call his name with insistence.
“Xander.”
“What, Soph?”
His tone held irritation that had been meant for the asshole on the ground. He intended to apologize and explain, but apparently she didn’t need either, because as soon as he turned his head, she grabbed his face and kissed him like she owned his arse.
It only took a millisecond to recover from shock. He’d been primed and ready to kiss this gorgeous mouth for weeks and hell would freeze over before he let the opportunity slip through his fingers.
Groaning deep in his chest, he thrust his right hand into the heavy fall of her jade-green hair and held her to him as his left palmed her hip to pull her in flush.
He licked the underside of her top lip and she opened without further provocation. But his Sophie was no meek little mouse. She didn’t wait for him to sweep in and lead the dance. Rather, her studded tongue met his in a clash of silky heat.
God, had any woman ever tasted so good, felt so perfect, so soft and strong and absofuckinglutely amazing? No way. At least none that he’d had. Sophie Caldwell left them so far in her dust that new rating systems would have to be invented. One through ten was a joke.
She nipped at his lip and the sharp sting sent pleasure zipping straight to his balls. His hand slid down her neck, over her collar bone, and palmed her right breast—
CLANG!
A metallic whine followed by a jarring shake broke their kiss. He peered over the side to determine whether they would fall to their deaths in the next few seconds. The ride started to inch forward a little at a time until finally it picked up a normal speed. People clapped and cheered, but Xander stuck with releasing a controlled breath and mentally vowing never to board anything that left the surface of the earth ever again.
Now that he knew his teammates wouldn’t be scraping his boneless body off the ground, he returned his focus to where he left off with Sophie, but she just smiled at him as she removed his hand from her breast and placed it back on the bar.
“When we get off this thing let’s grab something to eat and drink. I’m craving blue raspberry cotton candy and fresh-squeezed lemonade.”
From passionate snogging to casual conversation in the blink of an eye. Was he missing something?
Mr. Fix-It released them from their caged seat with a scowl. One Xander gladly returned as he rose to his full height. Seeing he was grossly outmanned, the carnie dropped his gaze and moved on to the next car.
“Come on, He-Man. You’ve got Skeletor shaking in his boots, so now it’s time to hit a food truck.” Sophie intertwined her fingers with his and pulled him off the platform. “The Princess of Power—that would be me—needs to indulge her sweet tooth, and it is your job to indulge me.”
He choked back a groan from the images that flashed through his mind of him indulging her in ways that had nothing to do with her sweet tooth and everything to do with his. Allowing her to lead him through the grounds, he shut down his body’s reaction and focused on studying her, hoping to get some sort of clue as to what was going on in that pretty head of hers. Then again, sometimes it was easier just to suck it up and ask. “Soph.” She looked over with a questioning glance. “What were you about up there?”
With a shrug and a grin, she said, “You looked like you could use a distraction.”
A distraction? Oh, right, from his fear—his extreme dislike—of heights. “I’ll be damned,” he said. He couldn’t hide his smile or stop the laughter if he’d wanted to. Just when he expected a right ho
ok, she threw him a left uppercut. Completely unpredictable, his Sophie was, and damn if he didn’t love that about her. “Let’s get you some cotton candy and lemonade. Then after that, we’re heading to the ring toss bench to break this bloody tie.”
“Eager to get as far away from carnival rides as possible?” she quipped as they took their place in line at a food vendor.
Xander thought about what he’d written on his piece of paper. He could almost feel it burning through his back pocket, the words branding him as sure as her body would if they came to pass. “Not at all.” He waited until she looked up at him, then held her gaze as he raised their joined hands and placed an openmouthed kiss to the sensitive skin on the underside of her wrist. “I’m eager to claim my victory…and my prize.”
…
Sophie pulled another blue tuft out of the plastic bag and placed it in her mouth. The spun sugar hit her tongue and dissolved, the sweet flavor rushing over her taste buds.
A muttered curse came from the other side of the picnic table they’d found under some shade on the outskirts of the carnival. “That stuff should be illegal for any girl out of primary school to eat in public.”
“Why is that?” Closing her lips around her finger, she sucked the sticky crystals off as she dragged it back out to repeat the process on her thumb.
His narrowed his eyes. “You know exactly why, you vixen.”
She shrugged innocently. If the way she ate cotton candy was perceived as slightly sexual in nature by her faux husband, she couldn’t be blamed. It was the only way to eat the stuff. Mostly.
Xander smiled and shook his head, then lifted a bottle of water to his lips. Time slowed as he drank the ice-cold liquid, his Adam’s apple bobbing with each swallow.
Once he’d completely drained the bottle, he crushed it in his hand, twisted the cap back on, and set it on the table. Then he cracked open a second bottle, took a healthy drink, and capped it again.
Sweet Victory (Fighting for Love) Page 10
