by Aria Cole
“You’re pushy.” Valentine swatted me on the chest.
“I love the way your lips are bruised and red from my kisses.” I traced her bottom lip with the pad of my thumb. “I’ll have to kiss you like that every day.”
Her eyes sparkled up at me, and I swear I almost lost myself in the galaxy of stars I found there. Valentine made me spout poetic shit, but I couldn’t be bothered to care. As long as she was in my arms, I found I didn’t give many fucks about much else.
“Well, since you’ll be picking me up in the morning I guess you’ll get the opportunity.” She smiled.
“It was all a plan.” I tapped my head. “Wise, remember?”
“So wise.” She nodded, backing away and tilting her head to one side. “Tell me, Knox, what time do you think I get to the bakery in the morning?”
I shrugged, following her footsteps, unwilling to let another inch stretch between us. “Six, seven?”
She grinned widely, nodding as she pushed out of the front door. “Well, the bakery opens at six, so that really wouldn’t work.”
I followed her through the bakery doors, caramel-and-vanilla-scented air greeting us. “What time works for you, sugar?”
“Four.”
“Four?”
“Maybe a little earlier on Saturday. You’d be surprised how many men are still buying last-minute gifts on the morning of.”
I nodded, arms crossed as I watched her glean way too much enjoyment from my predicament. “Four’s pretty early, Valentine.”
“Yeah, it is, but I’m a morning person, so I don’t mind. I told you, if it’s an inconvenience, I’m fine walking. ”
I nodded, pretending to listen, letting her finish. “No, I don’t have a problem being here at four.” I crossed the space, folding her into my arms. “I’m just thinking it might make a little more sense if I stay all night.”
Her eyebrows shot up, clearly expecting me to decline the early pickup.
Like hell I would decline anything with her.
“Ready to close up? I’ve suddenly found myself with an early call time tomorrow.” I crooked a grin, loving the teasing way her eyes glinted back at me with challenge.
“You’re a pretty determined guy when you set your mind to something, Knox.”
“Stubborn determination is the key to success, Valentine.”
“That explains so much then.”
“Enough with the smart mouth.” I looped an arm around her neck and pulled her to me in a soft kiss. “Let’s get you home.”
I helped her close up the bakery, switching off lights and making sure both the doors to the bakery and what would be the café were locked up tight.
There was no better feeling than sliding her across the bench seat of my truck.
I’d never had a woman in my truck before.
Not a single one.
I was a solitary guy, I lived a simple life, never had a woman affect my soul quite like this one did.
“It’s that house right there.” She pointed through the still partly frosted-up window.
I frowned, thinking the place was smaller than I expected. Older.
Damn, I wanted to grab a few of her things and haul her up the mountain with me tonight. She felt so exposed here, so open and vulnerable.
“How long you been here?”
She tipped her head at me before she answered. “It was the only place in my budget when I graduated college.”
She launched from the truck, not waiting for me to get the door for her. I loved that independent streak she had. The more she showed it, the more I wanted to pull her into my arms and lock her to me for the rest of my life.
“So, 4 a.m., big guy?” She stood at the small front porch, snow dancing in a whirling dervish around her.
“Not gonna invite me in?” I pulled her in for a kiss, using the distraction to open the door and ferry us both in.
“Hey!” She swatted, but kept kissing me.
“Hit me all you want, sugar. Truth is, I like your hands on me.” She pouted up at me then shook her head and threw her bag on the kitchen table. “Sure you don’t want to come back to my place tonight?”
She untied her apron, pulled it from her sweet hips, and tossed it over a chair. Fuck, I wanted to unwrap her like my own personal sweet treat. “I’m fine, Knox. Four a.m. comes early.”
I shook my head, pulling her into my arms. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t tie you up with that cute little apron of yours and haul you up that mountain with me.”
Her smile deepened, her hands pressed against my chest. “Because you don’t trust yourself with me, remember?”
I shook my head, remembering why it was important I wait. I couldn’t push her, and spending the night with her would surely be way too fucking much.
“Maybe I could just crash on the couch, make sure everything is okay here…” I looked around, preparing to sleep in my jeans and shirt if that’s what it took. I just didn’t like the idea of leaving her in this house. Who was I kidding? I didn’t want her in any house but mine. I wanted her safe and warm and cradled in my arms.
“I’ll be fine, Knox.” She tapped me on the cheek.
A growl rumbled from my chest.
“Resorting to caveman grunts now?” she giggled, pushing me towards the door.
“I’ll sleep in my truck then. A sweet, innocent woman like you shouldn’t be left alone somewhere like—”
“Like what, Knox? Somewhere like what?” She crossed her arms and tipped her head. I could hardly keep the chuckle from breaking past my lips. She was so damn cute when she took a stand.
“Like nothing, Valentine. Just worried about you.”
“I can take care of myself, Knox. Cut the macho shit. I’m fine.”
I frowned, dragging my feet when her hands connected with the broad wall of my chest.
“Now, go home.”
“I’d rather stay here with you.”
“Argh,” she grunted, narrowing her eyes. “I don’t need your protection, Knox.”
“See you in the morning?” I grinned as she pushed me out onto the porch stoop.
“Skip the morning. I’ll walk,” she retorted.
“Oh, I’ll be here, Valentine. Turns out I’ve got one helluva sweet tooth.” I winked just as the door slammed closed. But not before I saw the huge grin overtaking her face.
I had Valentine. Now I just had to keep her.
Chapter Five
Valentine
I stood in the bathroom of the bakery, two hours after Knox had showed up on my doorstep, cup of fresh-brewed coffee in hand, waiting to take me to work. We’d only chit chatted for a few minutes before we were at the bakery and I was scuttling through the front door, chased by cool February air, and he was gone again.
I sighed, remembering the way his lips had touched mine last night, his insistence on staying at my house.
Deep down, I’d loved the idea.
Not because I needed protection, but because being around him brought me a sense of safety and comfort I’d never quite had before.
I pressed a hand to my neck, checking out the different angles in the mirror and imagining what he saw in a girl like me. My hips were too wide, for sure. I carried extra weight around my waist and in my chest, curves I often felt ashamed of, but under his gaze…I felt alive.
I pulled a tube of pink gloss from my purse, applying it in a thin layer, then I headed out into the bakery and opened the doors. Six a.m. came early, and I liked to look as alive as possible. Applying layers of make-up wasn’t my jam this early in the morning, or ever really. But one small swipe of lip gloss went far in making me feel a little more human. The day before Valentine’s Day would be pretty much the bakery’s busiest day of the year, so I had a long day ahead, but I was ready. I was more than ready.
I puckered in the mirror, wondering what it would feel like to have Knox’s lips smearing it across my face, when the man of the hour popped his head in the door.
I shrieked, han
d to my chest. “What are you doing here?!”
“You left the back door open. You need to stay on top of that, Valentine. Anyone could walk right in here”
“Apparently.” I rolled my eyes.
His hands were on me a breath later, eating up the skin at my neck, his lips hovering just at my ear. “Look how pretty these lips are.” The pad of his thumb ghosted across the bow of my lips. “I’d hate to ruin them.”
Knox gripped my thighs in his hands and hoisted me up on the vanity, his hands spreading my knees as he dropped on the floor, flipping the hemline of my dress and sliding his palms up my thighs.
“Knox, you’re crazy.” The words whispered out so breathlessly I didn’t even believe them.
“I can smell just how crazy your cunt is for me.” He pressed his lips to the crotch of my panties and sucked in a breath. Sparks ricocheted through my body as my hands curled into his hair and I lost myself to his touch.
“You smell so fucking sweet, Valentine. I can’t wait to taste this pretty pussy.” He slipped a finger under the elastic of my panties, the caress of his fingers like fire against my core.
A soft sigh pushed past my lips when he hooked his fingers in my panties and pulled, the stretch of the fabric down my thighs, the rasp of his knuckles against my sensitive skin sparking fires as he went.
“You make me crazy,” I breathed, the only thing rattling through my head.
“But it feels so good doesn’t it, sugar?” His lips attached to my clit and pulled in long, slow strokes. I nearly shattered into a thousand pieces, crumbling under his tongue right there on the bathroom counter. In my bakery. So wrong. So right.
“Oh my god, Knox,” I whispered, pulling at the threads of his hair as an orgasm built swiftly. “I’ve never…” I couldn’t think. Could hardly breathe. Only feel. “This is my first…”
“Jesus, Valentine, I’m driving myself insane thinking about how it will feel when I’m buried inside you.” One long finger slipped through my wet folds, pushing past the entrance and burying itself inside my body. I clutched at him, desperate for the release that was building. All the sensations so new, so earth-shattering, so mind-numbingly blissful.
“Knox, Knox,” I chanted, his teeth nipping at my clit, then soothing the pain away with his talented tongue. He sank a second finger inside my body, sliding and rocking his palm to create the perfect rhythm to send me spiraling to the edge. “Knox, I’ve never had an orgasm before, but I think…I’m going…to…” I sucked in labored pants, the muscles in my body seizing under his assault.
“Give it to me, Valentine. I want your cum all over my face.” His lips continued their ministrations at my clit, and stars shot behind my eyelids. I moaned and gasped for breath as every muscle in my body pulsed with waves of pleasure.
“Oh my god,” I breathed, feeling his arms wrapping around my body, hauling me off the counter, and crushing me into his arms. His lips covered mine in a possessive kiss, hands in my hair as his tongue twisted against mine. My lip gloss was screwed, our kiss was a mix of his delicious scent and my arousal, and nothing ever tasted so sweet.
“Sorry about your lips, sugar.” His eyes looked pained when he pulled away, wiping at the corner of my mouth.
“It was worth it.”
“Thought you’d say that.” He smiled, pulling his lips to mine again, swiping his tongue into my mouth in dominant strokes.
The way he owned me with a single touch made my knees weak. I didn’t really know who this man was or where he’d come from, but I loved every single moment of being in his presence.
“You’re an arrogant bastard, Knox.”
He caught my hand with his, lacing our fingers together. “Comes with wisdom and old age, baby.” He crooked that devilishly irritating grin at me.
“So that’s something I have to look forward to at middle age, then?”
“Middle age!” He laughed, pulling me from the bathroom and then into his arms again. “You wound me, Valentine.”
“I didn’t think your ego was so fragile,” I teased, pressing a kiss to his lips.
“My heart is fragile when it comes to you, sugar. The rest I can take.” His fingertips dusted at the backs of my thighs, under the hem of my skirt.
“Mm, I wish I could shut down the bakery all day and just hide out here with you.”
“I’ll be right next door if you need me.” He pulled me a little closer, his huge erection biting into my hip. I wondered what he would feel like buried inside me. I hoped I’d find out soon. “And you know I can’t stay away from you long.”
“I feel like your dealer.”
He laughed again. “You are, baby. I’m totally high on you.”
“Hey, Knoxie baby, you workin’ today or is there a special occasion I don’t know about?” Someone’s voice echoed down the hallway.
I froze in Knox’s arms as one of the other contractor’s faces came into view.
“Just stopped to see if Valentine needed anything,” Knox replied, a slight edge in his voice. I could tell he didn’t like this guy. Well, that made two of us. He’d stopped in a few days ago, and every moment of the exchange had made me uncomfortable.
“She looks mighty fine to me.” His eyes traveled up and down my form. Knox’s hand twitched beside me.
“I’m fine, Knox. I’ll holler if I need anything.” I stepped away, putting distance between myself and the men.
“I’ll see you later.” Knox nodded, eyes holding mine for an extra-long minute as if asking if I was truly okay. I forced a smile, reassured but the fact that he was only a few steps away.
“Later.” I nodded softly. He winked then, turning my stomach to putty, before turning back to the other guy.
“Got started on the trim last night. Should be dry by now.” Knox walked off down the hallway, leaving me alone in the bakery again.
I sighed, glancing up at the clock to find that it was five minutes after six and time to open the front doors.
And I’d already had enough drama for one day.
Having Knox in my life was a total surprise, I didn’t know what our future held yet, but what I did know was that it felt good to be in his arms.
I felt more alive, more like a woman than I ever had, and that feeling was just about priceless.
Chapter Six
Valentine
I worked until I was a dead girl walking the next thirty-six hours. My life consisted only of scones, pastries, chocolate ganaches, and an assortment of other cavity-inducing treats. I loved every second of it. I couldn’t believe how blessed I was to have a revolving door of regular customers who went out of their way to stop by my little bakery.. They kept my lights on, they allowed me to pay my bills, be creative, and live my dream. Being a small-business owner wasn’t easy, but I’d found a small and supportive community of locals who helped keep me grounded.
I sucked in a caramel-scented whiff of air, finally getting ready to close for the night and locking the door. After a quick clean-up I could head home and grab a long, hot bath. Valentine’s Day or not, I’d slept a total of three hours in the last twenty-four. I need to close my eyes.
I pulled a broom out of the closet and spun just in time to glimpse the man who’d interrupted Knox and me—Lon Caruso, as Knox had informed me when he’d stopped by for lunch.
I frowned, tightening my grip on the broom before pasting a smile on my face. “Hello. Need something to bring home to the wife for Valentine’s Day?”
His smile deepened as he advanced, hands working the loops of his belt. I think my face looked visibly shaken then. I couldn’t hide it. I’d seen that wolfish leer before. Lon Caruso was trouble.
“Was hoping you could send me home with a sweet treat like you did Ford.” He was close now, so close I could smell the whiskey on his breath.
“Who is Ford?”
His grin turned lopsided, another step forward, shaking his head. “Didn’t even tell you his real name.” My stomach fell. “Ford Knox, the asshole who had
his hands on you this morning. I just want a little piece of the pie, sweet cheeks. Guarantee I can please more than that old man can.”
My head pounded then, violent breaths heaving my ribcage. “It’s probably time you left.”
My mind raged at me to launch the broom at his head and run, scream at the top of my lungs and pray Knox heard me. Pray Knox was even still next door and hadn’t left already. He hadn’t exactly said he would wait for me tonight, I’d only assumed…
His earlier warning to lock the back door echoed through my mind. I cringed when I realized I’d left it open after I’d taken out the garbage this afternoon. Allowing Caruso in, unbuckling his belt and threatening me right now was my fault.
“I’m not going anywhere.” His finger trailed through a lock of my hair and sent a horrifying shudder racing through my freezing cold veins. “Why don’t you get on your knees, sweet cheeks?”
My fingers twitched, my blood boiled, words pulsed through my brain on repeat. “Fuck. Off.”
I threw all of my strength into launching the end of the broom into his chest and shoving him off balance and onto the floor. Feeling triumphant as he coughed and held his chest, looking up at me in disbelief, I thought quick and banged three loud knocks on the wall, then screamed at the top of my lungs for Knox.
It wasn’t two seconds later the back door of the bakery was thrown open and the dark hallway filled with the broad physique of my man, Ford Knox.
“What the fuck is going on?” His eyes pinned Caruso on the floor.
“I’ll get your tight ass shut down. You think you can just fuck around in a public business, where you serve food? You’re gonna regret this. I’m reporting you to the health department.”
“The health department?” Knox pulled Caruso from the floor and slammed him into the wall. The cupcake clock I bought in the clearance section at Target shook. “I’m going to beat your pathetic loser ass until you can’t see or talk ever again. I’ll shatter every damn bone in your useless body. You think having that limp dick between your legs makes you a man? You’re nothing but a waste of space, left over garbage. ”
