Rosa
After Peyton left, I moved at half speed, trying to get myself as presentable as possible before opening the shop. I was very grateful that I had a good stock of frozen baked goods that would take a third of the time to put out. Normally, I would never serve frozen products, but I liked to keep a stash back just in case of emergencies. Granted, a night of wild, passionate, dirty sex wasn’t an emergency, but it would still work.
I rushed through the city, thankful most of it wasn’t yet awake. When I unlocked the back door, I immediately started coffee and preheated the oven. As the tantalizing scent of coffee filled the store, I resisted the urge to drop everything and pour myself a cup. It wasn’t until the muffins were done and in the display case that I finally succumbed to the coffee.
My mind was still hazy, but when the lights flickered to life and I unlocked the door, I felt slightly more human. Every step I took was a reminder of the night before. My body ached in the most wonderful way. Even as I ran my fingers through my slightly damp hair, my scalp seemed to scream at the memory of Peyton tugging on it as a handle as he rode me from behind. I smiled and my heart started to flutter. The door opened.
“I was starting to worry about you,” said Margarete, looking me up and down.
“Why?” I wondered.
“Well, dear, I always come by here on my way to get the morning paper. Normally, you are in back and the smell of muffins fills the street. You weren’t here this morning.”
Her eyes questioned me but I just smiled. She was older and very much a believer in good morals. Telling her I was late because of wild sex wasn’t a good idea. Our town was small and Margarete was the head gossip. Instead, I pulled a still-warm muffin from the display case and carefully wrapped it for her.
“Thank you for your worry. It’s on the house today,” I said with a smile.
“Well, now, you don’t have to do that. I was just worried about you, honey. Jenny said you and a young man were seen leaving here late last night.”
I tried to offer her the muffin again. “I do have a life outside the bakery, you know.”
“Oh, yes, dear. I understand. You know, I have a nephew who lives in Glouster. He would be just perfect for you. I believe he’s a preacher.”
I pursed my lips, trying not to laugh at the idea of my dating a man of faith after everything that I had seen. I knew that she had good intentions, but I was happy with the only man I was dating.
“Thank you, but I’m actually seeing someone now.”
Her eyebrow raised. “That troubled looking man from last night? Do you know what the bible says about tattoos? I don’t like the looks of him. You are such a sweet young lady.”
Thankfully, the door opened again and another customer came it. Taking the opportunity, I shoved the boxed muffin into Margarete’s hand as she was distracted and slipped to the other side of the counter to take the customer’s order. I intentionally chatted with the pregnant woman for some time, faking interest in all the details of her life until Margarete finally stormed away, her muffin still clutched in her hands. Letting out a sigh, I let my hostage go and slipped once again into the back room to sip my tepid coffee.
Was she right, though? Was I courting trouble with Peyton? He was a little rough around the edges, but otherwise, he seemed like a respectable man. I had been wrong before, though. So very wrong. Collins once again popped into my mind as I shuddered. He had been a monster. He was the reason I was on the run. A man with no soul and no remorse, he’d violated me. When he didn’t get his own way, he’d taken what he wanted, not just from me but also from my best friend at the time.
A member of the Irish underground, Collins was a monster but a charming one. When I’d first met him as a teen, he’d seemed so charming and caring. It wasn’t until it was too late that I’d discovered the truth about him. He had an anger buried deep inside him that took control once the high powers of the mafia had given him his own territory. It was good for a while, but once it turned, the slippery slope all but consumed him.
Cornered, raped, and alone, I’d found a way to escape and fled from his clutches right into the arms of the FBI. Before I left, though, there had been a catch, one that might have cost me my life if I wasn’t careful about whom I spent time with. I had to testify against Collins. It had been one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. I shuddered as I thought about that rainy spring day.
His eyes were frozen on me as I sat on the witness stand. My testimony had been damning, reliving the rape and kidnapping. I answered every question to the best of my ability and held my own when cross-examined. The elders of the organization sitting behind Collins in the pews shook their heads as I spoke. As murderous as they were, even they couldn’t condone his actions against me. Shannon was still missing. I could only assume the worst about her fate.
“You may step down now, my dear,” said the female judge, her eyes filled with pity after hearing me speak.
I slipped down, carefully avoiding everyone’s gaze. When I heard his voice, I knew it was him, and I looked up out of habit. It was like I was a dog, reacting to the call of my owner.
“You bitch,” he hissed.
“Order! Counsel, control your client or I will,” the judge hissed.
“You will pay for this,” he continued, ignoring her threat. “I don’t know when and I don’t know where, but I promise you, I will hunt you down.”
“Counsel!” she yelled.
I shook and took my seat, but not before he made one final threat. “If you think it was bad before, just wait until my men find you. There is nowhere you can run, Brandi. Nowhere.”
I shuddered again, trying to forget the memory of that afternoon. His threat still sent fear coursing through my body. I didn’t know much about Peyton, but he didn’t seem like the mafia type. He didn’t seem like the killers that Collins had brought into his inner circle. He was rough around the edges but otherwise kind. Still, I’d known men in the past who seemed sweet enough, only to discover they were monsters with no souls.
I needed to find out more about him tonight. No matter what, I had to be sure that he wasn’t part of Collins’s crew before we went any further. In my heart, I prayed that he wasn’t. I didn’t want to run again. I didn’t want to start over. Worse, I didn’t want Peyton to be one of them. I wanted him to be a wonderful man because I desperately wanted him in my life. In one night, he’d stolen my heart.
The door chimed and I peeked at the camera. Two men had come in, both of them looking rough. My heart started to race at the sight of them. Even through the poor quality of my black and white camera, I could see their strong Irish features. Swallowing my fear and puffing out my chest, I stood up. I refused to live a life of fear. That wasn’t who I was anymore. I wasn’t the docile and complacent Brandi anymore.
I was Rosa, a strong and independent business owner. “Hi there. Can I help you two with something?”
“Just passing through. You sell coffee?” one of them asked.
“I sure do,” I said as I started to pour. “Anything else for you?”
They both shook their heads. “Nope.”
They paid and headed back out the door without another word. I let out a sigh of relief to still be standing, but I made a decision as my heart started to settle back down. I needed to talk to Peyton and find out who he really was besides the amazing lover I’d known from the night before. If he cared about me, he would answer the questions, and if not, then there would be no future for us. Hopefully, I would still be here with him come tomorrow morning.
Sweet From The Waist Down
Peyton
I arrived at the bakery just as Rosa was turning off the neon Open sign in the window. One last customer went out the door as she saw me and ushered me inside. My plan had been to call Collins and give him an update, but as soon as I returned to my apartment, I passed out and didn’t wake up again until an hour before I was supposed to be with Rosa again. She seemed tired but happy as she locked the doo
r behind me.
“Ready to get some grub?” I asked as I pulled her into my arms.
“Actually,” she said, looking around, “I have a ton of extra food here. I normally take it down to the shelter, but they aren’t open on weekends and I don’t want to save them. Do you just want to hang out here?”
“Sure,” I offered. “I love any kind of baked goods.”
“Great! It will give us a chance to talk. We didn’t do a whole lot of that last night,” she said sweetly.
Immediately, my heart started to race. “That sounds wonderful.”
“So tell me about yourself. I feel like I don’t know anything about you,” she said as we sat down in the kitchen.
“There isn’t much to tell,” I said weakly.
She was sitting in an office chair that had wheels on it. I could tell from the way that she shifted around that my answer wasn’t doing me any favors. I quickly reached forward and slid her closer to me, kissing her tenderly on the lips before sliding my hand up the loose sundress that she was wearing. I loved that she wore dresses all the time. It made it very easy for me to peel back her thin cotton underwear.
“Peyton,” she whispered. “I thought we were going to talk and get to know each other?”
“How can you expect me to talk when you look so damn good?” I asked as I looked around. “Plus, we have all of these treats to play with. We can talk anytime, but how often do we have that?”
“What?” she asked as I stood up.
I went over to the counter where a bottle of chocolate sauce was sitting. I picked it up and shook it, grinning back at her. Her mouth fell open, making her look like an innocent doe and driving me mad. I went to her as she stood up and carefully lifted her off the ground, laying her on the metal prep table and tugging off her dress. She wore no bra, and the innocence of her white underwear made my cock jerk. Even as she spread herself apart for me, I was getting lost in the beauty of her form.
“You are so wild,” she whispered to me.
“Only for you,” I said softly.
As I tugged down her underwear, I forced the realization that I was using sex as a diversion out of my mind. She spread her legs apart for me and I gazed down on the delicious dessert that was waiting for me. My cock throbbed to feel her warm core again, but I needed to be patient. I wanted to taste her sweetness for myself.
“You know, I like my woman sweet, and not just from the waist up,” I told her as I drizzled chocolate over her clit.
She grabbed onto the table, moaning with pleasure. I climbed between her legs and gently pushed the short tip of the bottle into her body, squirting a little of the chocolate into her already sweet pussy. When I was done, I tossed it aside and lowered my head. I licked the chocolate from her thighs, enjoying the sight of it dripping from her body. My tongue flicked her clit, and Rosa gasped just as I drove my tongue into her waiting opening.
I worked her body like a fine instrument, prodding her and licking away every last morsel of her delicious nectar. I felt her body contract around my fingers as she rode out an orgasm. My shuddering manhood couldn’t take the sweet torture any longer as I stripped off my pants and climbed onto the table. She was dripping wet and ready for me when I positioned myself above her.
“What are you waiting for?” she hissed.
I grinned and rammed my cock into her tight body. She screamed out, driving me over the edge. I couldn’t last long, not with the way she wiggled and danced with my shaft inside her. I pounded into her, unmerciful as she screamed out my name. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew she would tell me if I went too far. Instead, she just bit her lip and grinned at me. My load shot inside her, pushing back on my cock even more.
Unable to hold myself up any longer, I stumbled off the table and collapsed in the chair, my chest heaving. To my surprise, Rosa rose from the table and didn’t immediately get dressed. Instead, she carefully dropped down to the ground in front of me and took my soft cock into her mouth. At once, I became hard again as she sucked on it, licking every trace of chocolate and seed from it before rising and sitting back in her chair, a triumphant smile on her perfect face.
“You are one amazing lady,” I stammered.
“Thanks,” she said as she picked up her dress from the floor. “You aren’t too bad yourself.”
“Still wanna talk?”
She shook her head. “To be honest, the only thing I want to do right now is go to sleep.”
“Fair enough,” I replied, hiding my relief. “Do you want me to drive you home?”
Rosa shook her head. “I have my car here. Can I see you again?”
I grinned at her. “You can see me any time you want. I would come home with you now if you asked.”
Laughing and shaking her head, she said, “I don’t think so. I need sleep, and with you lying next to me, I won’t get any at all. Tomorrow?”
“It’s a date,” I told her softly.
She leaned over and kissed me. After I pulled myself away, I headed out the back door to my car. The last thing I wanted to do was leave her, but I knew it was for the best. I needed time to clear my head. Rosa. Brandi. Whoever she was, she was sucking me into her picture-perfect world. I’d already stayed in one place too long. I needed to find out the truth and move on if the girl I was looking for wasn’t here.
Collins would want an update soon, and I needed to figure out what I was going to tell him. He would question why I hadn’t moved on yet to the next sleepy town on the map. After all, I was hunting Brandi for Collins as much as I was for myself. Brandi had abandoned her best friend, my sister, Shannon. The rage built up inside me as I tightened my grip on the wheel. Brandi needed to pay for what she had done. My foot pushed down harder on the gas pedal as I flew out of town.
Brandi had been Shannon’s best friend and the one who had sucked her into the Irish mafia. It was there that she was raped and probably murdered by one of Collins’s men. Brandi had done nothing to stop her pain. Instead, she’d fled like a child. I’d already been in prison when it all transpired on a bullshit theft charge, but the second Collins was locked up with me, we’d become close allies. In the world of the Irish mafia, you could never have too many friends.
My phone lit up and I quickly answered it. “How’s it going, Tommy?”
“Better here if we had an update to give Collins. Anything yet? You’ve been eyeballing that girl in town for some time.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “This girl took a little longer than the others. I don’t think it’s her though. Tell Collins I’ll call him personally with a report tomorrow or Monday. Just want to be sure before I move on.”
“Sure, I’ll let him know,” he replied. “I gotta tell you though—he’s getting ready to send out another team. He doesn’t like waiting around. Man’s been in jail for years. He wants to get the bitch who put him there.”
“And you think that I don’t?” I shot back at him. “Just tell Collins to hold off on the new team. I’m on it.”
I hung up without waiting for a reply. If I was angry before, I was fuming now. What was holding me back from finding out whether Rosa was really Brandi? I needed to stop procrastinating and deal with her, one way or the other. I had a job to do.
Spontaneous
Rosa
“I don’t believe it!” whispered Mary. “You want to go out with a guy? And you want us to actually meet him? I’ve known you for years now, and I’ve never met a single man you’ve dated!”
I rolled my eyes at her. “It’s not like I’m a nun. I’m just very selective about whom I date is all. I really like Peyton. I think that you will too.”
“I don’t doubt that,” she muttered. “Anyone who can get you out past eight is a good guy in my book.”
“Flair for the dramatics at all?” I asked her playfully.
Mary was one of the few people whom I really spent time with in town outside of work. We’d met just days after I moved to town, and like a stray dog, she’d latched onto me. Her wil
d personality reminded me so much of myself as a younger woman that I couldn’t help but love her. She was flamboyant and outspoken. Introducing her to Peyton would be the next step in our relationship even though I still felt like I barely knew anything about him.
“I’m hoping you can get him to come out of his shell a little bit,” I admitted.
She cocked her head. “All right. What have you two been doing for the last two weeks if you haven’t been getting to know each other?”
I felt the blush in my cheeks as I looked away from her. She knew in an instant just what Peyton and I had been doing with all of our time. I wasn’t ashamed of it. Peyton unlocked a part of me that was new and wild. I didn’t want to let it go for anything, but I still felt like I was dating a stranger. Anytime we had the chance to talk, things seemed to turn to sex. Not that I was complaining—it was amazing. Still, I wanted to know more about him.
“Well, Eddie and I will meet you at Pablo’s at eight. We will figure him out together, okay?”
“Sounds great. Tell Eddie I said hi.”
She kissed me on the cheek before skipping back from behind the counter and heading out the bakery’s door. If Mary was my favorite person in town, Eddie was a close second. He was as quiet as she was outspoken in so many ways. When he did speak, though, his words were thoughtful and well-said. At twenty and twenty-one, Eddie and Mary were just a few years younger than me, but I felt closer to them than I did my own departed family. When they were alive, they were vicious and cruel people. I’d made a life in my sleepy little town, and it was thanks to Mary and Eddie that I had someone to spend the holidays with.
Time seemed to move at a glacial pace as customers filed in and out until we closed. I rushed home to shower and change. Peyton knocked on the door just as I was pulling up the zipper on my new dress. This one was ruby red, another purchase inspired by Peyton and the way his eyes traveled over me each time we saw each other. It was thrilling. As I opened the door and smiled, he licked his lips before pulling me into a tender embrace.
Dangerous Indulgence Page 3
