by Vivian Lux
Finn sidled up again and nudged her with his shoulder. "I hear tell there's a waterfall too," he said with a grin.
Bee laughed. "Sometimes I hear it when I come out to my car at night and no one else is around. But I haven't seen it yet." She turned to me eagerly. "We should go up there! All three of us!" Her eyes were so delighted, and I still hadn't recovered my powers of speech, so the only way I could respond was by leaning over and kissing her.
Her sweet lips parted, allowing my tongue to sweep across hers in a slow, delicious dance. I heard the sound of Finn's lips on her neck and the way she sighed into my mouth made me wish this moment would last forever.
She pulled back and slowly smiled at me, and I felt just like I was falling. I'd never felt this tender, not with any one. Not even with Mercy. I wanted to keep feeling it. To stretch it out forever. "How about we go up there right now?" I urged her, tugging on her hand.
"Rain check," Finn growled. He sighed heavily and gestured up the street. I looked where he was pointing and saw it.
The winery truck was leaving, pulling out of our back lot.
That meant that Kyle had already checked the shipment in. My heart started to hammer. Bee looked between both of us, "What?"
The perfect moment was broken. I sighed heavily and tried to drag my mind back down from the clouds. "Hopefully nothing, baby girl," I said, trying to convince myself that it was all going to work out. "Hopefully nothing."
We walked hand-in-hand back up to the restaurant and I wanted so badly to just keep walking. Away from the stress and the suspicion. Away from the pressure and worry.
But Finn and I were a team and he needed me here.
He opened the door to Indigo, letting Bee through first. "After you," he joked with a small, sweeping bow.
"Now who's the asshole?" I joked.
He looked grim. "We're about to find out."
Then he raised his voice. "Hey Kyle, you around?" he called out. "I just saw the winery truck leave."
Kyle appeared in the front, his wide, puppy dog eyes somehow even wider.
Did he look scared or was it my imagination? "Yeah boss," he said with a faint tinge of irritation in his voice. "The list is on your desk."
"Showtime," I muttered, pulling my own handwritten list from my pocket.
At the winery, Mike had let us on the truck. We'd seen every single bottle in this shipment and taken pictures of the loaded truck.
Now it was time to see what had made it here.
Finn went over to his office and grabbed the inventory slip that Kyle had filled out. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Kyle in the kitchen, pretending to be busy while keeping watch on us.
I unfolded our list and held it out to Finn. His eyes darted from one paper to other. Then his shoulders sagged.
Keeping his voice very low, he nodded to me. "Call the police."
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Bee
Jackson whirled around, and pushed his way out the front door, his phone already in his ear. My heart thudded as I looked to Finn for an explanation.
He pressed his lips together and shook his head. "Keep it down, baby girl," he murmured, brushing a kiss across my cheek. His lips wandered past my ear lobe. "I need you to just act normal.
I swallowed and turned my head against his stubbled cheek. "Can I help?" I asked.
I felt his smile against my skin. "Can you make sure Kyle doesn't leave?" he asked.
I nodded without understanding. "Yeah, I can do that."
Finn nodded grimly and went to follow Jackson.
I took a deep breath. I had no idea what was going on but my guys needed my help.
So I sidled over to where Kyle was reading receipts and entering them into his computer. "Busy, huh?" I chirped in my best happy-little-hostess voice.
He turned and smiled nervously. "Yep," he said. I could tell he was trying to avoid conversation, but I planted myself right on his desk, crossing my legs and leaning forward. "You guys are opening so soon! That's so exciting!" I chirped. I widened my eyes as big as I could get them. "Is this your first restaurant job?" I asked breathlessly.
He sat back, looking vaguely annoyed. "Not really," he said with a tight smile.
I cocked my head and smiled back at him, watching him closely.
There was something off about his face. His eyes were wide and innocent, bright and shining like he was going to start crying at any moment. But his mouth was cold. His smile didn't reach his eyes. There was no other word for it, it looked fake.
I smiled even wider, and leaned back against the desk, propping myself up with my hand so that my back arched.
His eyes dropped right to my tits then back up to my face. I shimmied a little, as if trying to get comfortable and his eyes dropped right back to my tits again.
So that's how it is, I said to myself. A few weeks ago I wouldn't have even noticed. Or if I had, I would have gotten so embarrassed at being stared at that I'd have run out of the room. But now?
"How old are you?" I ventured with a smile, reaching out to touch his arm.
His eyes took on hungry look, but they were still wary. He glanced behind me, and I looked where he was looking and saw that Finn was standing on the sidewalk outside of the window, talking to Jackson who was repeating whatever he was saying back into his phone. At that moment, both of my guys glanced inside at us.
Kyle swallowed, and stood up. "I need to check something around back," he announced, his voice cracking.
"Oh yeah, can I come?" I asked quickly. "After all, I should go over to my shop soon, you know?" I babbled, keeping myself glued to his side. "I can't believe I haven't had you over to my shop yet! Duh, I am such an idiot." I clapped my hands against my forehead.
"Maybe someday, yeah, sure," Kyle said nervously, trying to edge his way around me.
But I stood deliberately in his path, feigning obliviousness. "We are neighbors after all," I reminded him, blocking the door. I drew my fingers down the front of my shirt, giving it a little tug so that neckline dipped lower.
Kyle stopped trying to sidestep me and stood stock still.
Keep him here, Bee, Finn's voice echoed in my head.
"You really need to try my honey buns, Kyle," I heard myself say. I lifted my chin and licked my lips. "I swear, they're the sweetest buns in the whole wide world." I took a deep breath and lifted my chest so that my tits jutted out.
He openly stared, all attempts at escape fleeing his brain. I smiled at him, licking my lips again and wondered just how far I was going to have to take this.
"How sweet?" he asked.
I took a deep breath, letting my breasts rise and fall while he stared at me hungrily. I wracked my brain trying to come up with something that would keep his interest long enough to keep him here, but that wouldn't get me in any more trouble than I already seemed to have gotten myself into.
"You'll have to taste them to find out," I said with a wicked little grin.
This time his smile did reach his eyes, and it was toothy and sharklike. He stepped forward, his hands reaching out for me. I took a deep breath and pasted the smile on my face, closing my eyes...
At that moment the police burst through the door.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Finn
I think the thing that pissed me off most — even more than the fact that I'd fallen for his wide-eyed, aw-shucks-boss routine and hired a goddamned thief in the first place — was that Kyle was still acting like his normal, weaselly self. Still wide-eyed. Still calling me boss, even as he was getting the handcuffs slapped on his skinny wrists. Like the fact that he'd stolen thousands of dollars from us was just a silly misunderstanding between friends and he'd be back at work in the morning.
Small towns are weird sometimes.
But at least they didn't have that much crime, because it seemed like every single cop in Reckless Falls showed up for the bust. Even if he had acted guilty and made a run for it, Kyle would have been surrounded on all sides. So may
be it was good that he was still smiling while they cuffed him.
Jackson stood on the sidewalk, giving his statement to Officer Abbott, who couldn't seem to stop chuckling about the whole thing. "You three sure have had an eventful few weeks," he observed.
Jackson rubbed the back of his neck. "You don't even know the half of it." He smirked.
At that I craned my neck, searching through the crowd. I spotted Kyle sitting dejectedly on the curb, his hands cuffed behind his back, looking like maybe he was just starting to realize how badly he'd screwed up. He turned to me with big, wounded, puppy dog eyes.
I turned away angrily and searched some more, but Bee was nowhere to be seen. And I really needed to kiss her. Bad.
Her little seduction act had kept Kyle interested, and distracted enough to keep him from running when he knew we suspected him. I owed her a kiss... and a lot more.
"Now," Officer Abbott was saying. He looked around and lowered his voice. "You should know something here. Kyle Foster's brother is on the force."
I turned back to him, sputtering angrily. "Are you kidding?" I barked. "We caught him red-handed. There's no way he's not guilty."
Office Abbott held up his hands. "Now I'm not saying justice won't be served. I'm just trying to let you know that we've got a situation here."
Hot blood boiled up to my face and I opened my mouth to let him know just what I thought of his situation. When all at once, the front door of the bakery burst open and out came Bee.
She hip-checked the door open wider, and swung in a tight pirouette, her arms laden down with trays of goodies. "Hi there!" she trilled. "You all looked so hungry standing out here, so I thought you might need some fortification!"
I watched openmouthed as she started passing out cupcakes and pastries to the assembled police officers. "Thank you so much for you help!" she sang out with a smile. "We're so grateful."
"Damn," one of the cops remarked as he stuffed a honey bun in his mouth. "That's good."
"Have another!" Bee said encouragingly. "You can't work on an empty stomach, and we sure want you doing a good job!"
"What are you doing?" I asked, baffled, when she drew closer to me, her arms still laden with half empty trays.
"Helping you," she hissed through her smile. "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar." Her eyes flashed and she laughed a little. "My mom always said that and you know what? She's right." She grimaced. "That's about the only thing she's right about. That and nothing else."
"You're amazing," I told her fervently. Then I grabbed a tray and joined her in passing out the baked goods.
"Does this count as bribery?" Jackson whispered to me as he took a tray out of my arms to pass out himself.
I shrugged. "Officer Abbott sure looks like he's taking it more seriously," I hissed back. I glanced behind my shoulder to see Bee chatting him up while he wiped the crumbs off the front of his uniform. He was nodding with a very serious expression on his face.
I shook my head with a smile. "I was about to start ripping him a new one. Bee saved the day."
Jackson looked over at her with undisguised awe on his face. "She's a keeper," he remarked.
"You got that right."
By the time they'd hauled Kyle away, I felt like I'd run a marathon. The delivery slips I'd supplied to the detective were the main evidence against him. Kyle had been forging them almost since the day we'd hired him. He'd funneled thousands of dollars worth of wine from our store. To where and for what reason I still didn't know. That was for the detectives to find out. I was too goddamn tired to worry about it anymore.
"Hey!" one of the cops called as he climbed back into his cruiser. "My wife wants me to take her to a fancy restaurant for our anniversary. When are you guys opening up?"
I lifted my chin and gave him a confident smile. "Less than two weeks!"
He nodded and climbed in. Then I let out my breath in a panicky rush. "Well," I observed drily as the police car sped away with Kyle in the back. "I'm opening a restaurant in less than two weeks, and my general manager just got hauled away in handcuffs." I pressed two fingers to the bridge of my nose. "Where the hell am I going to find someone on such short notice?"
Bee came dancing over to my side and nudged me with her shoulder, grinned widely. "I have an idea."
"You're going to find me a new general manager?"
She nodded. "I was trying to ask you about this before, when we were down by the lake, but then," she waved her hands around to indicate the whole arrest of my GM.
I turned and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Are you serious?"
She nodded with a grin. "I've got the perfect person."
"Don't you ever get tired of being amazing?" Jackson murmured.
"What?" she asked petulantly, letting her lush lower lip quiver a little. "I'm helping."
"Yes you are," I promised her. "And we're grateful."
Jackson nodded. "Mmm hmm. So grateful."
"In fact," I told her, reaching out to brush her hair back from her shoulder. "Let us show you just how grateful we are."
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Jackson
I slid my hand down to rest it just above the rise of her ass, and guided Bee up the steps.
"If I'd known what it got me in return, I'd have come over with cupcakes on that very first night I met you," she said with a sly grin. "You know. Instead of a bag of garbage."
I chuckled and shook my head. "You have no idea how adorable you looked. All red-faced and pissed off, yelling at me with a sack of stinking garbage at your feet." I leaned in and kissed her nose. "I fell head over heels for you right then and there."
It was her turn to laugh. "Chefs are so weird."
"You don't have to tell me that," Finn growled from behind us. He stepped around us and pulled the door shut and very deliberately locked it behind us.
Her store was a disaster. It was clear she'd been baking like crazy this morning, whipping up all the treats for the cops in record time. Sticky spoons were stuck fast to her countertop and the surface was strewn with mixing bowls still half full of icing and glaze. My inner perfectionist shuddered a little.
Until I had an idea.
Bee watched with widening eyes as I turned the sign from Open, to Closed.
"You guys are a good team," she murmured.
"Yeah," Finn drawled. "We're really good at sharing."
I smirked and went to her. "You're just the sweetest thing," I told her, bending my lips to her neck and inhaling her fragrance. Then I pulled away with a grin. "But I think you could be sweeter."
Finn raised his eyebrows at that, but when he saw where I was looking, he swore under his breath. Then he reached for one of the mixing bowls and dipped his fingers inside.
"This one," he told me, holding it out.
Bee's eyes widened further as I reached over and dipped my finger into the icing inside. I touched it to my lips before I pressed the sugary syrup to her skin, dragging my finger down the hollow of her throat to the space between her breasts, leaving a sweet, sticky trail.
"Mmm," I breathed as I kissed her neck.
Then slowly I started licking the sweetness from her skin.
She let out a breathy gasp that trailed off into a low moan as I sucked and kissed my way along that sugary path. I knew Finn was watching her face because I could hear his breath coming faster. Finn," I growled. "You need to try this."
"You telling me what to do with her?" he rumbled, stepping in front of me. "You think I don't know?" But he bent his lips and licked where I told him, dipping his finger again to draw a line across the top of her breasts.
Her moan came out in a shuddery whisper that raised my dick and the goosebumps on my arms. She slid back from Finn's embrace, her eyes already deliciously half-lidded. "No one needs to tell me," she purred. "I know exactly what I want to do." She licked her lips and my cock twitched, wanting to leap inside that hot little mouth. "To both of you," she murmured, stepping forward and reaching down with her hand
s.
I grunted and then groaned as her fingers closed around my length. I growled, sagging into her hand, driven mad by the fabric barrier that stood between us. She must have read my mind, because her hand slid down inside my waistband. "So hard," she gasped as she freed my cock.
"For you," I promised her. "Only for you."
"Jesus," Finn hissed as her hand moved faster. "Stop teasing us, beautiful."
"Since when did you become such a sadist?" I groaned. Her fast moving hand was quickly pushing me to the brink. "Bee...fuck..."
She pulled away again and with a saucy little grin, she turned and opened her refrigerator. "I don't believe in using the canned stuff," she said. "But I kept it around anyway, just in case I found a use for it."
"Whipped cream?" Finn gasped.
"Holy hell, girl," I groaned.
She smiled a wicked, teasing smile and then squirted some onto her finger before brushing it onto the head of my cock.
The cream was cold, but the touch of her tongue was red hot.
The way she knelt down and greedily started sucking us both had my head spinning even before her tight lips slid all the way down to my base. She sucked me first, then slid up and moved to Finn, and there was nothing sexier than the sound of her wild noises and greedy little slurping sounds. Her hums of pleasure radiated up my spine driving all thought from my brain except how incredible she was, how much I wanted her and how much I needed her and...
"Fuck, Bee," I shouted as her lips found their mark again. "Fuck girl, I fucking love you."
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Bee
When I heard Jackson's words, I pulled back, startled.
But there was no time to process what he'd said because Finn was already hauling me to my feet. Jackson's greedy hands tore at my clothes, and I gasped when I heard a seam pop. My breasts spilled free and Finn caught and cupped one in his hand, and shook the can of whipped cream. "You gave me an idea," he growled with an impish smile.
