Bear in a Bakery

by Liz Paffel

  “I’ve an order to place. Two hundred, at full price. And lots of maple sticky buns. We’ll figure out how many.”

  He whipped out a checkbook and put it on the counter directly in front of the woman, who was now gaped-mouth to the extent the powder on her face cracked into little lines around her lips.

  “What on earth would you need with lemon lavender cupcakes, young man?”

  Dax snorted, then grinned when the woman made a disgusted face. “Lemon lavender? No thanks. I was thinking... you know, dark chocolate...with...”

  “Bacon.” Allie said, crossing her arms. “You want chocolate stout cupcakes, filled with salted caramel cream, and topped with dark chocolate and bacon-dotted frosting.”

  Hell yeah, he did.

  He looked at Allie. Hunger rolled through him, deep and insistent, but not for food. “Can I have one right now? Make it two. Three.” He’d take a bite in between luscious nibbles and kisses over her delicate skin.

  The corner of her mouth twitched and her eyes lit up like stars. “Sorry, big guy.”

  “You said bacon, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is it like smoked bacon, or thick cut, or Applewood, or—?“

  She grinned and his heart jumped to see it.

  “It’s just bacon.’

  ‘It’s never just bacon.”

  She grinned. “Whatever you want.”

  Was it just his imagination, or did her eyes darken when she said that? If only she knew what he wanted. “Sold.” Dax leaned in a little closer and caught a whiff of coconut and flowers. “Let’s make a test batch. We’ll have a private tasting later.”

  If he had his way, he’d be tasting her over every inch of her curvy body.

  Allie’s lips moved as if she was going to reply, but a loud crack coming from the other side of the counter made them both look. The crazy lady had stomped her foot and was giving them both a death glare while she drummed those fucking nails like she was trying to break the glass.

  “Allie are you going to take my order or not?”

  Naw, forget this. Dax leaned on his elbows over the counter and gently put a hand over MB’s and pressed down until her fingers splayed out like candy-tipped spider legs and flattened beneath his palm. Her mouth made a perfect ‘O’ but she didn’t pull back.

  “Lady, it depends if you’re paying full price or not. She doesn’t have time to make two batches, one for half the price.”

  The woman tipped her chin up and straightened her spine. Her breasts pushed out against the expensive-looking fabric of her pink button down. She was attractive for her age, Dax had to give her that. Considering how nicely she was groomed and the stylish clothes, she was used to being impeccable and, in her youth, probably drew a lot of male attention. She was also spoiled and used to getting her way.

  “Fine,” she ground out. “But I expect mine to be made first, Allie. Am I clear? Oh, and I’ll need you to dress nicely and help serve at the event.”

  Dax smirked and pulled his hand away. She tipped her head in impatience, which only got worse when Allie didn’t respond. Allie was staring unabashedly at him. Her beautiful eyes were wide and soft, her lips parted just enough that he could see a distinct line between them. Pink flushed her cheeks and if he didn’t know better, he’d think she was hung up on him right then.

  “Yes,” Allie finally said without looking away. Dax couldn’t stop searching her eyes. His brow fell as he tried to sort the myriad of emotions going across her face. The door jingled open and shut and he was aware someone had either come in or left, but he didn’t care which.

  His breathing hitched, his hands itching to grasp her face between them and pull her up for his kiss. Allie launched at him, stepping into his arms as she reached up, looped her hands around his neck and pulled him down, her lips crushing to his.

  Mind whirling, he pushed his tongue between her lips and groaned as she parted for him. Her face angled so their mouths meshed together, her kiss consuming him with her sweet, intoxicating taste. The bear inside him roared to life. It wanted more.

  It wanted its mate.

  Chapter Five

  “Well I never!”

  Marybeth’s harsh voice sliced through the joy and pure lust clouding Allie’s brain. With a start, she pulled back, confused over what she was doing. She’d had no control of that kiss, as if her body had taken over and was doing whatever the hell it wanted.

  Every inch of her longed to be pressed against Dax, her lips on his, her hands wandering his spectacular body. “What are you doing to me?”

  He looked every bit as confused as she felt. A pang of regret went through her as she stepped out of his arms and wiped her palms on her skirt to try and steady herself. Afraid to look at Marybeth or Dax, she quickly picked up the paper order book on the counter and cleared her throat.

  She’d never felt this muddled in her life.

  “Now, what... what exactly did you decide to order, Marybeth?”

  A gentle touch on her wrist drew her attention. Her father sidled up next to her and took the order book, with a hushed, “I’ve got this,” and a wink. Mortified that her father might have witnessed her wanton display—Becks’ too—Allie’s cheeks went hot.

  Wordlessly, she slipped into the back. She’d left a saucepan of boiled caramel frosting on the butcherblock to cool. Picking it up, she began to stir it, completely lost in what had just happened. Dax was attractive, yes. He was a woman’s dream; yes. But she’d never acted so boldly, especially in front of a customer! His mouth had tasted so good, so familiar and satisfying as if she’d been waiting to experience him while already knowing how satisfying it would be.

  The ache between her legs doubled in tenacity. Pressing her thighs together, Allie took a deep breath. What was wrong with her?

  “You know, animals are purely attracted to each other by scent.”

  Dax stood at the end of the butcherblock counter, having arrived as silently as before. Allie didn’t acknowledge him, kept stirring. She wanted to throw her arms around him again, but she steeled herself to her spot. And he damn well better stay put, too.

  “The bear inside me is very attracted to how sweet you smell.”

  Her skin warmed under his gaze, the needy ache getting worse. Dax took a step closer, then another. Allie side-eyed him and stirred faster. She tried to measure her breathing, not too fast, not too slow.

  “Sugar, cinnamon, chocolate... and my favorite, honey. It’s like a perfume.” His voice grew thick and low. “But you know which scent I love the most?”

  Allie looked at him, holding the spoon in the air because she’d forgotten what she was doing. She didn’t want to answer him, didn’t want to encourage whatever this crazy thing was between them. But her lips moved anyway.

  “What?”

  His fingers graced along her forearm. Allie jumped, her eyes closing against the electric sensations drawing over her skin. Lightly raking his nails along her arm, Dax stepped into her, tipping her chin up with his other hand so she met his eyes.

  “The scent of your arousal. I know you want me, Allie. It’s driving me and my bear wild.”

  How dare he imply... oh heck, he wasn’t implying. It was fact. She did want him. Against better judgement and even with the likelihood this would turn into another heartbreak, or worse, she wanted him. Her mind was already cloudy again, as if this was happening by compulsion and not her own rational intentions.

  Dax ran a hand around her ribs to her lower back and pulled her into him. She reached up, forgetting about the spoon in her hand. It stuck to the side of his neck, a big dollop of frosting coating his skin. It clung for a second, then ran in a slow, sensual glide over his neck where it settled in the crevice of his collarbone.

  His eyebrows rose, his mouth pulling into a surprised grin. Allie gasped in apology but didn’t move away to grab a rag. A better idea popped into her mind. She rose on her tiptoes until her lips almost touched his neck. Dax’s chest swelled and stilled as her bre
ath touched his skin.

  “Now you’re a sticky sweet bear.” Allie touched the tip of her tongue to the frosting. Dax groaned, his fingers digging into her lower back. A surge of power and satisfaction rose in her chest. Moving closer, Allie slowly licked the side of his neck. The dual flavors of hot male skin and brown sugar was intoxicating. Her body was thrumming inside with need that was going to quickly get out of control.

  She had to slow this down. Leaning back a bit, she traced the divot in his chin with her finger. “See what I did there? Sticky Sweet, like the bakery...”

  “Lick it off.”

  The dominance in his voice made her knees weak. His palm cupped the back of her head and directed her back to his neck. Allie leaned back in, stroking her tongue against his delicious skin with short and long strokes until she was trembling from head to toe. She sucked along the length of his neck and smoothed each pucker with a caress of her tongue.

  Dax’s breathing came hard and fast, a deeper sound of pleasure escaping from his lips. In one swift move, he grabbed her hips and spun her. He hitched her butt up onto the butcherblock and nudged her knees apart so he could fit between them. Dax slid the kerchief off her head and fisted the back of her hair, pulling her head back. Allie gasped and put her arms out behind her to steady herself on the counter as he forced her upper body to arch. Afraid she was going to fall, she squeezed her thighs around his hips to anchor herself.

  Dax’s pelvis pressed into the cradle of her thighs. The bulge of his erection pressed into her upper thigh as he leaned over her, his hand tightening in her hair. Almost giddy with excitement and tension, Allie whimpered with need. Her guess was right; his cock felt thick and long. If it was that yummy through his jeans, what would it be like free and bare in her hand?

  His lips cruised over her jaw and down her neck. Allie moaned softly as his chest hovered over hers so his muscles brushed the hard tips of her breasts. Moving lower, Dax nibbled and kissed his way along her collar bone. She was aware that her father or Becks could walk back here at any moment. She was more aware that she was making uncontrollable moans that sounded way too loud in her ears.

  Dax ground his hips against her, bringing the length of his bulge against her pussy. Allie cried out and pushed into him, seeking the contact. Needing it like air. His big hands grabbed her hips and pulled her down so her butt was on the edge of the countertop.

  “What are you doing to me woman?” He growled the words before taking her mouth in a crushing kiss. Allie opened, taking his tongue and pressing her lips as deeply as she could against his. Dax thrust his hips, rubbing all that hardness where she needed it the most. He pulled up her skirt with one hand and bunched it around her upper thighs. His eyes fell to the slip of her pink panties, the center soaked with her arousal.

  “Fuck, you’re wet.” He pressed his cock against her again, expertly rubbing against her clit with a slow series of up and down thrusts. She tried to pull his shirt free from his jeans with one shaking hand, but lost the strength. Captured in the pleasure pumping through her, she leaned back, her hair hanging down. Dax’s warmth and scent and the pressure of his dominant hands on her body consumed her.

  This was obscene, and sooooo improper and wrong.

  But Jesus, the sweet pressure was already swelling between her legs, the erotic ride up, up, up to the peak of orgasm ushering her along. Trying to hush her moans, Allie knew she should plead with him to stop. But she didn’t want to.

  Desire darkened his expression and turned it wild and primal. Seeing how much he wanted her drove her that much closer to the edge. Pleasure thrummed around her clit. A familiar pressure stared deep inside her pussy. The intensity of it left her breathless. She never came this fast! She was so overdue for an orgasm as it was, and this—this promised to be a doozy.

  “Spread wider,” he growled. Dax stroked her pussy lips with two long fingers, teasing her slit until she was desperate for him to go deeper. Allie let her thighs fall completely apart and he slipped between her lips. Electric pleasure sparked in every direction. She cried out, immediately aware of how loud she’d been and covered her mouth with her hand.

  “No, no, don’t be quiet. Let me hear how much you want me to make you cum.”

  The pressure deep within her pussy became demanding and powerful. She hadn’t felt it in too long, this deep, deep ache that rolled into a demanding pulse she couldn’t control or ignore. If Dax kept stroking her clit, she was going to explode in more ways than one.

  “Wait!” She moaned and grabbed his wrist to stop his movements. Dax kissed her neck and kept fingering her clit. “I mean it, please.”

  He stalled. “Why?”

  “B—because, I can’t come. Not here. We’re in the kitchen!”

  Dax drew back to look down at her. “Honey, your clit is so hard and swollen. You need to come.”

  She nodded even as an embarrassed flush heated her face. “Yes, God yes. But grab a towel or something.”

  His eyes narrowed before a decadent and wicked smile curved his mouth. His nostrils flared and for a second, Allie thought he might throw her over his shoulder and carry her off. Looking behind him, he spied a stack of folded kitchen towels and grabbed them. In a few seconds, he had them between her and the countertop.

  Dax’s fingers resumed a slow, torturous stroking. He slipped two fingers inside her and pressed gently upward against her pelvic bone. A bolt of blazing sensation raced through her. She tensed but quickly stopped trying to fight it. She was vaguely aware of sounds coming from the store, but she couldn’t focus. The pleasure was off the charts amazing.

  His lips grazed against her ear as his fingers began a gentle rocking motion while he kept pressure on that spot. That delicious, make-her-come-apart spot. Her entire body tensed as a huge pulse of pleasure rolled through her from the deepest place inside her pussy all the way to her clit. Allie grabbed his shoulders and came up off the counter.

  “I’m going to cum!” The hurried words got lost in the moan she tried to silence. The orgasm hit her hard, yet she tensed her inner muscles to hold back. The pleasure refused to be denied and skyrocketed in sensation. She squirmed on the counter, gripping Dax as she thrust her hips into his hand, seeking every ounce of pleasure from his fingers. His fingers kept gently rocking until he’d milked her dry. Gasping, Allie slipped an arm around his neck to steady herself as the sensations began to fade like dying embers. Seconds passed with her heart racing and slamming in her chest. Dax gathered her into his arms as he leaned over her, holding her until their breathing slowed.

  Reality came back in by degrees, her mind suddenly clearing with crystal clarity what she’d just done.

  In her bakery.

  With a man she barely knew.

  A quick glance at the clock revealed that he’d gotten her off in five minutes. Five fucking minutes!

  “Oh, God,” Allie burst. She wiggled against him until he stood back. He had a wadded up white towel in his hands and a very, very satisfied look on his face. She slipped off the counter and smoothed her skirt. Looking around, she was sure she’d find her dad standing there. But it was just her and Dax and the amazing ache of satiated lust, and the towel he’d used to remind her she’d let herself completely go in his arms.

  He was looking at her with a heated want that she’d never seen on a man’s face before. So much for taking it slow. She had to get this back on track before it turned into a complete disaster.

  “You need to leave before someone sees us back here.” She swallowed hard and crossed her arms over her breasts. Dax’s gaze trailed to her chest. She couldn’t help a glance at his erection still begging for release from his jeans. A pang went through her that she wouldn’t get to feel that huge cock inside her right now or get him off. Poor guy. But they had to get back to boundaries... as if they’d had any to start with.

  “Did you hear me? Slip out the back door so my dad thinks you already left.”

  He was still staring at her breasts. “Next time, those a
re going in my mouth.”

  Allie huffed a laugh and pushed him back another step so she could move to the side. “There isn’t going to be a next time.”

  “Don’t be so quick to say that.”

  She shook her head. “I won’t rush into anything. I mean, I say that after we just... I know it makes me a hypocrite, but I can’t rush again. I just can’t.

  “Allie, this isn’t what you think it is.” His forehead crinkled as if he’d just confused himself. Good, they could be confused together.

  “Do I want to know what you mean by that?”

  He ran a hand through his hair but looked as cocky as ever. Like he’d just learned a juicy secret.

  “I want it all, Allie. I want you under me, on top of me, on your knees for me.”

  She opened her mouth to remind him there wouldn’t be a next time, but he shushed her with a finger to her lips. She had the strongest urge to pull that finger into her mouth and give it a good suck.

  “It feels like I have no control over this crazy attraction between us. It’s like wanting you is the most natural thing.”

  So, he felt it, too. She searched his eyes and slowly nodded. Dax took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  “If you feel it too, it can only mean one thing.”

  Allie put her hands up. “I don’t want to hear it. I can’t do this right now, okay? I’ve already been with a shifter and it didn’t end well. It was a bad, scary relationship and I don’t want this right now, ok? I don’t want it.”

  Why was panic fluttering like a caged bird inside her? The room seemed small, suffocating. She couldn’t do this, not now. Not again so soon. He was a shifter, just like Blake. Not all men were the same; she knew that deep down. On the surface, she was still scared from what Blake was capable of. He’d said things, done things she’d never told anyone about. Besides, she knew nothing about Dax except that she had some crazy strong attraction to him.

  And it was confusing as hell. Relationships didn’t happen this fast. It was supposed to take time before she had any important feelings for a man. And though she couldn’t name exactly what she was feeling, it was something... important.