God save him from women on the prowl.
He got out of line. He didn’t really want a cupcake anyway, not when he wanted the cupcake baker instead.
If she was still speaking to him.
He slipped behind her table, watching her work the crowd. She was personable with the right amount of professionalism so that you knew each one of her cupcakes had her personal stamp of approval on them. Having tasted them, he could attest to her mastery of her craft.
Having tasted her, he could attest to her mastery of him.
“If you want a flavor we don’t have,” she said to two women who had brochures in their hands, “I’ll be more than happy to look into providing it for you.”
He wasn’t going to comment on her flavor. That, he wanted to keep for his knowledge alone.
Lara handed the last of the sea-turtle themed cupcakes to one of the guests. Gage knew she kept more beneath the table in the wheeled insulated box he’d helped unload earlier, so he hiked up his shorts, hunkered down beside her, grabbed a box, and passed it up to her.
“Thanks,” she said with that tenuous smile that socked him in the solar plexus.
They needed to talk.
“What else can I do for you?” He meant it in every sense of the words.
She swallowed, a tiny movement, but a revealing one. Yes, he definitely needed to get her alone to clear the air.
“Are there any more sea horses? I didn’t make many because, typically, kids are the ones to go for the peppermint stick flavor, not adults. But everyone seems to have worked up an appetite for something sweet.”
He had an appetite for something sweet all right. And her name was Lara Cavallo.
He dug through the boxes, but the sea horses were nowhere to be found. “Looks like you’re out.”
Lara didn’t miss a beat; she recommended one of the conch shell cupcakes to the guest instead. Said cotton candy was just as sweet and delicious as peppermint stick.
All he could think of was licking something. Preferably her legs. He was sitting right next to them and it wasn’t possible for him to not be aware of them. Smooth and tanned and bare… He just wanted a nibble.
He adjusted his shorts. He’d never have thought cupcakes could be a turn on, but with Lara, they definitely were.
She moved to the other end of the table at that point, so Gage threw himself into making himself useful over here, where he wouldn’t be tempted—
Scratch that. He’d always be tempted around her.
What was it about her that got to him? Gina was right; he’d never been with someone like Lara. Forget her looks—not that he could—but it was that real thing he was focused on. She’d been so sexy that night in the club. Her dark, sultry looks had captured his attention in a sea of fake blondes with too much silicone and spray tans, society’s strange perception of a supposed ideal.
Then she’d had a little too much to drink and he’d had the chance to meet the real Lara. In vino veritas had never been more true. She was adorable. So proud of her bakery, so up for partying and dancing and being with him. She’d even wanted to make out on the dance floor. He’d been the one with the restraint then, wanting to keep that moment private, both because of the ribbing he’d take from the guys and because he’d wanted to savor it. Savor her.
He still did.
Gina walked up while Gage was pulling out the last two boxes of cupcakes, did her schmoozing thing on the mic, then cut the cake. The entire party descended on the table then, and Gage had zero chance of talking to Lara, as they were too busy with handing out desserts for any personal time.
But he’d make time for it once this was finished.
Chapter 18
Gage helped Lara break down her set up and pack everything onto the gurney for the walk back to her van. He’d offered to push it for her, but she’d been adamant that she could handle it, and having two sisters, he’d learned that when a woman says she can handle it, she can handle it, and he’d better leave her the hell alone to do so.
“Lara, about what happened with the show tonight—”
“Oh, yes. That. How are you? Are you okay? What made her do that? Do you know her?”
She was babbling and he found it adorable. Found her adorable. And sexy as hell. When was the last time he’d found a woman adorable and sexy at the same time? Maybe Gina was onto something about his blonde bombshell type.
“I’m fine. Her pride is probably more injured than anything else.”
“Does that happen a lot? Women throwing themselves at you?” She nibbled on her bottom lip while she avoided eye contact by lifting the cake tins in front of her, perfectly obstructing her field of vision.
What Gage wouldn’t give to get her focused on him instead.
“Technically, her friends threw her at me.”
She lowered the cake tins and glared at him.
Okay, light-hearted banter was not the way to go. “Uh, no, it doesn’t happen a lot, but it is an occupational hazard. You should know that regardless of our company’s non-fraternization policy, I have my own set of standards, and public lovemaking is not one of them.”
Private on the other hand…
She wheeled the gurney against the van and fished in her purse for her keys. “But I thought you said you don’t dance anymore.”
“Tanner got sick. It might be his appendix. I had to fill in. That’s why Bryan or I go to every performance. You never know what’s going to happen, and like this case, it was a good thing we had someone else available. People paid for a show; they deserved to get one.”
“You certainly gave it to them.”
He wasn’t sure if that was praise or condemnation. “Did you enjoy it? Well, before Megan got out of control, I mean.”
“I’d have to have been dead not to.” Lara yanked the double doors open and turned back to the gurney. “Every woman here tonight liked it. You have to know that.”
“Yours is the only opinion that matters.”
She stopped midway to the gurney for the span of a heartbeat.
Two.
“Lara?”
She took a breath, then reached for the stack of flattened boxes. “I’m sure you’ll be swimming with business first thing tomorrow.”
That wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
“I mean, I saw Maryellen Bledsoe talking to you afterwards. That’ll be good for a bachelorette party.”
“She’s getting married?” Put a whole new spin on the woman coming on to him.
“No, her daughter.” Lara collapsed the gurney and slid it in the back of the van, then she turned around and brushed off her hands. “Thanks for helping me with everything, Gage. I appreciate it.”
“So that’s it?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I think you do.” He crossed his arms, very aware of what that did to his chest and his pecs, and the effect on women. He wasn’t above using whatever God gave him to get her attention. Cheap shot, maybe, but he was desperate. “I didn’t come on to Megan. She and her friends got a little out of control. It happens, but no harm, no foul. It’s not as if I’m going to take her up on the offer.”
She tugged her chef’s hat off. “That’s just it, Gage. It’s not nothing. Every woman here wanted you.”
“Yes.”
“Yes? That’s what you have to say? You know it?”
“Of course. They’re supposed to. That’s what the show is all about. Delivering a fantasy. It’s what I set out to do.”
“But their boyfriends were right here.”
“You don’t think the guys go to strip clubs? If anything, we’ve brought some equality to the relationships.”
“How can it be equal if they’re lusting after someone else? Isn’t the whole point of a relationship to be in one? Isn’t that why people form relationships, to be with that one person? I don’t get the looking at other people thing. Why bother to be in a relationship at all if that’s what you’re going to do?”
So her e
x had cheated on her, too. A burning desire to rip the guy apart, limb from limb, roared through him. The prick didn’t deserve to live. He certainly hadn’t deserved her. What in the world would make the man who’d had Lara go for someone else?
But thank God he had, because now Gage had a chance with her.
And just like that, his world shifted.
He did want a chance with her. More than just a few texts or a stolen night here and there, he wanted her. To be with her. Explore what was happening between them. Yeah, it’d be tough, but it’d be tougher not to have her in his life.
He reached for her hand. He needed to touch her and he wanted her feel him. “Lara, I can’t define other people’s relationships. There’s a demand for BeefCake, Inc.; we’re fulfilling it. But that doesn’t mean it’s who I am. That it defines me or how I live my life. You know why I’m doing this. That’s the bottom line to me. Connor and Missy. I work my ass off to help them, both at the day job and this. It’s the best chance we have. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s who I am. It’s not. It’s a fantasy—for the clients.
“I go out, put on a show, deliver what they want, and then I leave. Go back to my real life. Missy and Connor and the day job. And you.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I came back to you. Worked at your table, helped you finish up, cleaned up with you, and packed up for you. Not anyone else.”
He could see her wanting to believe him. He wanted to make her believe him, and while actions spoke louder than words, in this instance it would just cloud the issue because she’d seen all that blatant sexuality tonight and hadn’t been able to deal with it.
Just like Leslie.
He exhaled, praying she wouldn’t call it quits before it’d even started.
Or… did he want her to? It’d make his life a hell of a lot easier.
But not better.
It was that thought that spurred him on. “I’d really like to go somewhere and be with you. However you want to define that, I just want to be with you.”
She wanted to; he could see it in the flutter of her pulse in her throat. At the way her eyes flitted to his and that utterly sexy way she nibbled her lip.
He skimmed his fingers along her temple and down along her cheek. “Please, sweetheart. I just want to be with you. Even if it’s just to talk. I like talking to you. I like being with you. I’ve missed you this week. I was hoping you’d felt the same way.”
That was the problem. She did feel the same way. And it scared the shit out of her. For all of Cara’s be adventurous, she just wasn’t sure she was up for the risk. Look at what had happened tonight: Gage hadn’t been in the wrong, but she was ready to crucify him because of it. All she’d been able to think about was what he could see in her. When the other shoe would drop and he’d be all over one of those women—or, hell, maybe more—and she’d be stuck nursing a broken heart again.
But then Gage slid those delicious fingertips that had already sent shivers racing from her temple down her cheek to parts farther south, twisting and tumbling through her heart and tummy, and slid them down over her jaw, along her throat to her collarbone. Just the faintest touch, but it had her attention and she hoped… she really hoped that this time, with him, it’d be different. That she could trust what he said. Unlike Jeff.
Jeff.
She was doing it again. Allowing her ex-husband to define her life and how she saw the world.
No freaking way. Jeff had lost that right when he’d chosen someone else.
“You want me, Lara. You want to be with me.”
Well, duh.
“And I want to be with you.”
She swallowed. Be adventurous.
She’d always followed Jeff’s decisions. Whatever he’d wanted to do in any situation. Her job, their home, her baking business, which side of the bed she could sleep on, what clothes she should wear… She hadn’t realized how controlling he’d been and how much she’d allowed herself to be controlled until everything fell apart.
If she truly wanted freedom from Jeff, she needed to do what she wanted to do.
And she wanted Gage. For as long or as short as she could have him, regardless of what had happened on that stage tonight, or that women had come on to him the entire time. If she didn’t trust him, if she gave in to the paranoia, she was letting Jeff win again.
Be adventurous.
Gage hadn’t moved. He was about five inches from her, his finger right above her heart and not another part of him touching her, letting her make the decision.
“Yes, Gage. You’re right. I do want you. Let’s go home.”
Chapter 19
To Gage’s credit, he didn’t break any laws getting them back to her place, but she wouldn’t have minded if he had. It was one thing to take the leap, but another to have to second-guess it for twenty-five minutes while she’d followed him in the van.
But it came down to the fact that she wanted him. It was as simple as that, because even though that Megan chick had been all over him, he hadn’t been all over her. It was very important for Lara to remember that. Unlike Jeff who’d been an octopus around Plastic Barbie that night she’d discovered the affair, Gage hadn’t been the guilty party, and if she wanted any chance of moving beyond Jeff, she had to allow Gage to be who he said he was without her projecting her issues onto him.
He opened the van door when she shut off the ignition and held out a hand to help her down—or maybe it was to tug her against him.
She went willingly.
“I didn’t get the chance to do this properly before,” he said before he kissed her.
It was so not a proper kiss.
It was hot and hungry and everything she needed. Those women could fantasize all they wanted, she had the real thing in her arms and soon, hopefully, in her bed.
Oh God. The images she saw in her mind as his tongue did deliciously sinful things to hers, igniting every nerve ending to full steam ahead, about sent her over the top.
“Inside,” was all she managed to get out.
But it was all she needed to. Gage grabbed her hand, pressed one last hard kiss to her lips, then practically dragged her up the walkway. They fumbled a bit with her key but ended up both shoving the door open and almost falling inside.
Gage slammed the door behind them and yanked her against him. “So I’m guessing you don’t want to talk.”
He was so freaking sexy. His aquamarine eyes were drilling into hers, his hard body pressed up against her so she could feel every ridge and plane, and yeah, talking was definitely overrated.
She nibbled her lip, trying to keep the smile off her face. “Well, if that’s what you want to do—”
He kissed her. Hard.
She needed that. Needed him. Needed this. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.
He groaned and Lara’s knees went buttery at the sound.
Thankfully, Gage hefted her in those strong sculpted arms of his and carried her down the hallway to her bedroom, never once breaking the kiss.
Her feet dangling between his legs, Lara didn’t care. All she could focus on was the heat and taste and utter sensuality of his kiss. His lips were amazing, his tongue even more so, and the coiled tension she felt in him was intoxicating.
He flipped on the light switch by her bedroom door.
“What?” She wrenched back when he set her on her feet, the light too glaring.
“I want to see you, Lara. No fumbling in the dark. I want to see everything you’re feeling. I want to watch you come apart in my arms. I want to see you smile afterwards.”
Which would happen too quickly if he kept saying things like that. She put her hand on his mouth. “Careful. Don’t rush this. I want to enjoy every second.”
He nipped her fingers. “Trust me, sweetheart, you will.”
She did trust him. As surprising as that was, given what he did for a living and how women came on to him, she did trust him.
That ought to worry her—a lot—but his ha
nds were skimming everywhere, racing fire along her veins and across every nerve ending as they slid beneath the hem of her t-shirt to skim her belly, and she couldn’t worry. All she could do was feel. And enjoy.
“So soft and smooth,” he whispered. “Like satin.”
Satin sheets maybe. She wished she had some.
They were going on her shopping list tomorrow.
His fingers dipped beneath the waistband of her skirt. “I want to feel you, Lara. All of you. Touch and taste and tempt every inch of you.”
“You already are.”
“Oh, sweetheart, you haven’t seen anything yet.” And with that, he undid the zipper on her skirt to let it fall at her feet, then dragged her shirt over her head, leaving her in nothing but the two scraps of peach silk and lace that constituted her underwear.
So, okay, maybe she’d been hoping this would happen tonight.
Gage sucked in a harsh breath. “My God, you’re beautiful.”
No, she was self-conscious. After all, he was the beautiful one. With the perfect body. That he’d had on display for everyone to enjoy.
Be adventurous.
Right. She wasn’t going to let her insecurities ruin tonight. Gage was here with her, wanted her, and she’d be a fool to let anything get in the way.
So instead, she replayed tonight’s dance in her head, imaging that it’d been just the two of them there. No crowd, no other women, no Gina, just Gage and her, and he’d been dancing for her alone. That every circle of his hips, every wink and smile, every hand skimming over his skin and come-hither look in his eyes… all of that had been for her.
She grabbed the neckline of his tank top and ripped.
Gage’s eyes flared and, ohmyGod, she couldn’t believe she’d done that. She’d never ripped a guy’s shirt off before.
He smiled that wickedly sexy side-cocked smile and dropped his hands from her body. “Have at it, Lara.”
No time to be embarrassed now. Especially when she was turned on by it.
She grabbed the last bit of fabric holding the shirt together at the bottom and tore it apart, then shoved it down his arms and plastered her lips to his chest. He tasted so good. Soap and sweat and Gage and… arousal. Oh, yeah, she recognized that scent. He wanted her.
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