Patreece Warren hadn’t been in Grand Isle for a week, and already he couldn’t get her off his mind. That first night he’d taken her when she lay soaking wet underneath him had been the hottest sex he’d ever had. At least it had been up until last night when he ravished her in the kitchen. As intense as that turned out to be, he couldn’t imagine it getting any better, but he was wrong. Just like the time before, it had gotten better. Later that night after their dinner, she had led him to the bedroom. It wasn’t that he didn’t know where it was. It had been the needy look in her eyes that had him following behind her as if he was a virgin who was finally going to get to fuck for the first time.
Damn, but he wanted her. Every time he had her, all he could do was wonder how long it would be before it happened again. The slightest touch or kiss from her sent his cock to fully loaded and ready. She was responsive, beautiful, and almost everything he could ever ask for in a woman. Almost…
It still troubled him that she hid pieces of herself. He knew their relationship was new, but he couldn’t help but want to know all the sides to her, regardless of what they showed him. She had a laugh and a smile that brought him such satisfaction, he found himself trying to come up with new ways to make it happen. He’d lain awake last night with her in his arms, wondering what that meant. It would be foolish to deny that he had fallen for her or was in the process of falling. Hell if he knew. He’d never felt this way before. Not about anyone. He’d liked a lot of women, but not one of them ever consumed his daily thoughts the way Patreece did.
Twice today, he’d had to fight the memory of her naked body. The way she would buck and writhe underneath him was enough to drive even the strongest man to a state of weakness. He couldn’t help but be in awe of the way she behaved once she passed the point of no return. He could see it in her eyes when it would happen, that moment when she’d go from impassioned to wanton in a flash. It was magnificent to watch. Her exquisite amber eyes sparkled and gleamed as they stared up at him.
And her screams. Damn, but her screams were addicting. They ripped through him each and every time he heard them. When she came, her body would shake and tremble as her hot juice coated his cock. It was literally the most powerful experience he’d ever had with a woman. In his thirty-four years, he’d seen many amazing things. He’d watched the birth of his goddaughter, Rachael. He’d witnessed the pain and torture of Chuck losing Kim. He’d even been through the joy of being around while their little angel had grown these last several years.
With all the blessings and experiences he’d had in life, none of them struck him quite the way Patreece did. He felt a part of himself opening up to her, as if there was a side to himself as well that he hadn’t even realized he kept hidden. Whatever it was, she was getting in. She was reaching inside him and touching his heart. It scared the ever-loving hell out of him to think it, but he wondered if maybe, just maybe, he was falling in love.
He heard the honk of a horn off in the distance. The timing was been impeccable and saved him from any more thoughts. The feelings he was beginning to have were foreign to him and he wasn’t yet sure how he was going to handle them. He walked around the side of the house and saw Chuck pulling up with Rachael. The little munchkin ran from the truck, dragging her favorite rag doll behind her before her dad even had a chance to step out of the vehicle. She raced up to Kade and jumped into his arms.
“Whoa. Hey there, little one. What are you in such a hurry about?” He kissed the top of her head and turned to Chuck, who looked horrible. “Geez, man. What the hell happened to you?”
“Wish I knew. Woke up this morning feeling as if I were that crud that gets stuck to the bottom of your shoe. Then after I drank a cup of coffee and spewed all over the kitchen, I realized that there’s that crud, fifty feet of crap, and then me.”
“Eww. That bad, huh?”
“Yeah, that bad. I can’t even think about going out on the water. So I was wondering if my very best friend in the whole wide world wouldn’t mind doing me a favor?”
Kade chuckled. “Sucking up, huh? Wow, you must be sick.”
“I really am, man. Can you take Rachael off my hands for the afternoon? I need to lie down and the last thing I wanna do is give this to her, too. If she doesn’t already have it.”
“No problem, brother. Just go get some rest. We’ll check on you at the end of the day. Sound good?”
“Sounds great! Thank you.” Chuck blew a kiss to Rachael. “Bye-bye, princess. You be good for Kade, okay?”
“I will Daddy. I hope you feel better.”
“Thanks, sweetheart.”
They waved good-bye as Chuck drove away.
“Well, little one. Looks as if it’s me and you today.”
“Can I help?”
“You wanna help, huh? What kind of skills do you have?”
She pursed her lips to the side. “What are skills?”
He laughed. “What are skills? Well, they’re things you do well. Like coloring pictures. You’re good at that, right?”
“Yeah…maybe. I guess so. I don’t do it as well as some of the other girls in my class. Sometimes I mess up and get outside the lines. Daddy says that’s okay because he wasn’t a very at coloring, either.”
“Well, your daddy is right. You do a lot of things really well. And besides, I have it on good authority that you happen to be the prettiest little girl in all the world.”
“Uncle Kade, stop!” She giggled.
“It’s true.”
“Pretty just like Mommy?”
“Yeah, little one. Just like your mommy.”
“Daddy still misses her. I hear him at night sometimes, crying. He thinks I’m asleep, but I can hear him. It makes me sad.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Kade hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head. “We all miss your mama. But she and your dad…they had a special kind of love. Those kinds of feelings don’t just go away because the person isn’t here anymore.”
“Daddy says she’s still here. He says if I close my eyes, I will be able to see her. He says that when I’m happy, it’s because she’s hugging me.”
“Well, kiddo. Your daddy is one smart man.”
“I know. And last week…when it was really windy, remember when all the trash cans blew in the street? Well, he said that was Mommy’s way of letting him know she didn’t like the way he braided my hair.” She snickered. “Daddy’s so silly sometimes.”
“Yeah, your daddy’s not very good at doing hair, is he?” He shrugged. “I probably shouldn’t talk. If your mom saw me do your hair, we’d likely have a hurricane.”
“Don’t be sad, Uncle Kade. You have skills, too.”
He quirked his eyebrow up at her questioningly. “I do, huh? And what kind of skills do you think I have?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged, playing with the bow on her doll. “I mean, you’re kinda cute. For a boy, anyway.”
“You think so, huh? Well, coming from someone who doesn’t like boys too much, I think I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It’s not just me.”
“What’s not just you?”
“I’m not the only one who thinks you’re cute.”
“Oh yeah? Don’t tell me your doll here has a crush on me? Because my heart already belongs to you.”
“No, not me. Dollies can’t have crushes on people. They’re not real.” She rolled her eyes, laughing. “I meant that lady, Patreece. She thinks you’re cute.”
“Hmm…she does? How would you know this? You and she becoming good friends?” Kade asked her curiously.
“I don’t know. I mean, she sat and watched fireworks with Daddy and me. She’s real nice.”
“Yes, she is.” He lifted her chin. “But you said she thinks I’m cute. So, are you going to tell me what you know? Or am I going to have to tickle it out of you?”
“No! Not the tickle monster.” She screeched and laughed but did little to stop him.
Kade turned on his tickle monster voice.
“You tell me what you know or the tickle monster will eat you up.”
“Okay, okay.” She giggled. “When we were watching the fireworks, she kept looking over at you. When I asked her if she liked you, Daddy told me I wasn’t being polite. But she acted funny anyway. I think she likes you.”
She whispered the last words to him as if they were scandalous. The girl was nothing if not adorable.
“You do, huh? Well, if you promise not to go running and telling your daddy, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I like her, too,” he whispered in return.
Chapter Seventeen
Patreece pulled the apple pie from the oven and set it out on the stove to cool and rest. Her entire kitchen was covered with anything and everything to do with baking. Mixing bowls piled up in her sink and her brand-new apron was covered in flour and swipes of vanilla extract. She’d done so much baking that the time had gotten away from her.
Baking did that to her. It brought her into her element. She felt at home when she was baking up something sweet and sinful. It took her back to happier times in her life when she would spend hours in the kitchen with her mother. Even her dad would get involved sometimes and help them frost cookies or cupcakes. She smiled at the memory of those simpler times when happiness could be found in something as easy as placing a few key ingredients together to make something that would be a treat for the taste buds.
That was how cooking used to make her feel, too. Carl ruined that for her, though. Along with so many other things that once brought her happiness, he had squashed them, just as he had her hopes and dreams.
Maybe that was beginning to change, she pondered. The way she felt when she was with Kade offered a sense of happiness much more powerful than what she ever had with Carl. It had been fun and even somewhat exciting with Carl in the beginning. That type of superficial, on-the-surface type of love never really lasted. It was a realization she learned the hard way and unfortunately way too late.
It had been years since she’d been able to cook a meal. In the beginning, she was a dutiful housewife who enjoyed doing such things for her husband, just as many other wives did. Many other wives were not married to Carl Jameson, though. They didn’t have to contend with the daily fear of knowing that every step they made was the wrong one.
If she broiled some fish, she should have grilled chicken. If she roasted some beef, it should have been slow-roasted, barbeque pork. It seemed nothing was the right thing. No matter how she tried to please him, he was never satisfied. She even went so far as to make up a chart with meal plans and options. All he had to do was tell her what he wanted and when, and she was prepared to make it happen. Her ingenious idea had proved to be fruitless in the end. All it had gotten her was a rash of demeaning and belittling comments while he beat and degraded her for the hundredth time. A good wife wouldn’t have to ask, he’d say. She would know how to please a man, he’d tell her. So she wasn’t a good wife. At least that’s what he had her rationalizing in her screwed-up mind. It took years before she learned that it wasn’t her who was the bad one.
To this day, she didn’t cook. When she tried, her hands would tremble and her heart would race. The few times she attempted to make even the simplest of dishes since her divorce, they each ended with her needing to take Xanax and go lie down. Maybe someday she would cook again, but she didn’t hold out hope that it would be anytime soon. Those scars may be emotional and not visible by the naked eye, but that didn’t make them any less real. To her, they were as substantial as the bruises he used to give her and the blood she used to spill.
She turned her attention to the small batch of peanut butter cookies she had made. They had been cooling on the rack for a half an hour and were safe to move without fear of them breaking. She pulled one of her shiny new white dishes from the drying rack and began placing them in a circle pattern. She might not be Martha Stewart but she had tons of fun doing these types of things. The cookies were meant to be a small consolation gift to Kade. She wasn’t much of a betting woman, but she did have a sneaking suspicion he would object to finding a kitchen full of sweets and being told he couldn’t eat a single one.
Luckily, the red velvet cupcakes were safely tucked away in the refrigerator inside the new plastic container she’d purchased. They were iced to perfection and sprinkled with just a dusting of powdered sugar. On the sweetness scale, the cupcakes certainly didn’t need the added kick. But she knew how good they tasted with that little extra and unexpected surprise. It was a risk, but she was willing to take it.
This opportunity with Marta and Catherine probably wouldn’t make her rich. It was something she enjoyed doing. And what could be better than making a living, even if it was a small one, doing something that made her happy?
She heard the sound of a truck pulling up out front. Glancing at the clock on the stove, she realized just how much time had passed. It was way past the time for her to stop her baking extravaganza and get cleaned up. As a matter of fact, it was over an hour past then, and she’d promised she was going to pick them up some dinner.
“Oh, no. Don’t be Kade. Don’t be Kade.” She ran to the bathroom, repeating the wish over and over in hopes fate would work with her and make it come true.
She was hanging her apron on the back of the bathroom door when she heard him come inside. A quick check in the mirror didn’t leave a lot to be desired in in the primping department. She looked a mess and wished she’d stopped to pick up some makeup while she was out earlier.
“Hi there, gorgeous. Wow. The place smells great. You been baking all day?”
She ducked behind the door and tried to close it on him.
“Hey, what’s the matter?”
“You don’t see me. I’m not here.”
He held the door open. “Um…I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I can see you. If you were trying to work on an invisibility potion, it failed.”
“Kade, please.” She tried to push him outside. “I’m a mess right now. Let me get cleaned up.”
“Seriously? You’re serious? You won’t let me see you because your hair is a little messed up?”
“A little?” She opened the door all the way and showed him her disheveled self. “Does this look like a little to you?”
He burst into laughter. “Whoa. What’s up with the hair, Buckwheat? Get your finger stuck in a light socket or something?”
She lunged forward and shoved him from the room. “Kade Riley! I do not look that bad!”
“Okay, okay.” He masked his laughter but barely. “I’m sorry. You’re right. You don’t look that bad. But shouldn’t you have waited for me before you started playing with electricity? I mean, you might have gotten hurt or…messed up your hair or something.”
She crossed her arms and gave him a bemused look. “You think you’re pretty cute, don’t you?”
“Well, as a matter of fact, I have been told that I’m pretty cute for a boy. In fact, Rachael told me she thinks you like me.”
He leaned in for a kiss, but she quickly stopped him with a “talk to the hand” motion. She was only teasing, but it was fun to razz him just as he was her. And if sweet little Rachael had indeed told him that, it was obvious the girl was psychic. Turning away from him, she pulled her hair from the ponytail holder that really wasn’t holding much anyway. She picked up her brush and tried to tame the wild mane that was sprinkled with touches of flour and sugar.
“Come on. No kiss?” He offered a pouty face.
“Uh-uh. You were mean to me.” She stuck out her tongue at him.
“Whoa. If you’re gonna stick that thing out, you better be prepared to use it.” He came up behind her and trailed his tongue along the column of her neck.
“Kade…” His name came out in barely a whisper.
“Jesus, you taste like sugar.”
“Maybe I’m just that sweet.”
“Mmm…I never doubted that.” He closed his mouth over her earlobe and gently nibbled it.
Already, she could feel
her body reacting to him. “If you keep doing that, I’ll never be able to fix my hair.”
“Just as well. I’ll probably end up messing it up all over again.”
“Is that a threat? Or a promise?”
“Take it any way you want. It’s a foregone conclusion. I don’t know what in the hell you’re doing to me, but I swear you’re driving me crazy.”
There was sincerity in his voice. A sincerity she felt went deeper than just the physical. His eyes swirled with pools of liquid chocolate. She wondered what it might be like to get lost in them. Completely and totally drown in them. They looked so deep and inviting, it was taking all she had not to melt in his arms, however tempting it may be.
“How long am I going to have to wait before you offer me some of the goodies I smell?” He grinned.
“Don’t even think about it. I have had quite the opportunity laid at my feet today and I am not going to let your sweet tooth ruin it for me.”
“What? I don’t get anything?”
“Oh, don’t you worry, I’ll give you something, all right.” She smirked and placed her hands around his neck. “But first I have to tell you my news. You’re not going to believe it.”
Chapter Eighteen
Patreece had waited in the corner booth while Marta and Catherine talked privately after tasting her treats. She hadn’t been able to sleep a wink last night. Her anticipation for today’s meeting hung over her like a cloud, teasing her with the possibility of sunshine, but with a chance of thunderstorms.
Kade had done his best to comfort and reassure her in more ways than one. Even his best efforts weren’t enough to keep her anxiety under control. It wasn’t until she began baking and truly getting into all the recipes that she realized just how much she wanted this. For the past eight years, she had been living out of fear. It finally felt as if it was her time to shine, so she wanted everything to go perfectly.
Risqué Renovation [Blue Collar 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 12
