She loved it because it was a place where she and Bill were able to enjoy the most delightful intimacy.
‘Do we have time for this, Bill?’ she asked. She glanced back over her shoulder. ‘Don’t you have to go and get Harvey sorted? Shouldn’t I be calling round to Eldorado to get Charlotte prepped for the day?’
His hands were on her backside, slowly stroking her bare flesh and exciting a fiery need in her loins. One palm slapped sharply against her right cheek and she flinched from the delicious impact.
‘Of course we have time for this,’ he growled. ‘Do I need to tie your wrists to the taps to keep you there?’
She shivered at the thought. He knew exactly what to say to make her excitement more profound. The prospect of being bound, abused and used by the generous Mr Hart made her inner muscles clench and clutch with greedy anticipation. The fluid of her arousal was almost ready to begin trickling down her inner thighs.
‘And you’ll call me Mr Hart whenever I’m spanking your backside,’ he reminded her. He said the words with an uninflected, matter-of-fact tone, as though this was an instruction he gave every day. Her heart beat faster as she realised it had been too long since she’d heard him give such a command.
Bill had been out of the hospital for a fortnight. He had an impressive scar on his chest and he was a few pounds lighter than when he’d gone in. The leanness looked good on his athletic frame and Trudy had lost count of the number of times he’d showed off his scar to junior chefs and favoured patrons at Boui-Boui.
‘Mr Hart,’ Trudy repeated dutifully.
He stroked a finger through the slick wetness of her sex.
She shivered. His touch was so perfect she felt herself tremble on the precipice of orgasm. She held her breath for an instant and savoured the sensation. Her nipples stood hard. They silently begged for his caress. The wetness in her loins was becoming tidal. The heat of her sex smouldered with need.
‘How many things do I need to punish you for this morning, Ms McLaughlin?’ He landed a lazy slap on her rear to punctuate the question.
She held her back stiff and allowed the warming flare of his punishment to scorch through her body. Her breathing became more urgent, more rasping. Swallowing, she said, ‘I’m not sure I deserve any punishment this morning, Mr Hart.’
‘You refused to bake the wedding cake in Boui-Boui’s kitchens. You need punishing because of that.’
As he said the words he slapped a spatula against her rear. Trudy had no idea when he had grabbed it but it struck with a delightful weight. The rosy glow in her cheeks had begun to spread to the centre of her sex.
‘Sweet Temptation had better facilities for the wedding cake, Mr Hart.’
He sniffed with obvious disagreement. ‘What about the fact that you’re parading around my house naked?’
‘I haven’t heard you complain about me being naked and bent over your sink before, Mr Hart.’
This time the spatula landed with more force. Trudy suspected this was a punishment because of her impertinence. She didn’t mind the extra sharp sting. If anything, the additional punishment was more exciting than his previous blows. She could feel the greedy yearning of her sex silently begging him to sate her growing needs. Glancing back over her shoulder she said, ‘I still don’t know what I’ve really done to deserve your punishment, Mr Hart.’
‘You’ve refused my proposal of marriage every day since I recovered from surgery, Ms McLaughlin. Surely you need punishing for that?’
She turned away from him and stared out of the window at Aliceon’s cottage.
‘There’d be little point in my accepting your marriage proposal, Mr Hart. You’re already married.’
‘That won’t be for ever,’ he promised.
She shrugged. ‘It doesn’t matter. Even if Aliceon divorced you tomorrow, I wouldn’t want to marry you.’
‘You’ve said that several times since I got out of hospital but you haven’t told me why. Harvey’s sorted out Aliceon’s nationality now so there’s no danger of her being deported.’
She turned around to face him and smiled.
It was obvious that her obstinacy had spoilt the passion of the mood. It hadn’t helped that he had mentioned Aliceon, but there was little chance of a light-hearted spanking session when they were discussing something as serious as their future. She could see that she needed to address his argument.
‘I don’t want to marry you because I have no need to marry you. If we do get married I’ll be wife number five or six – which shows how much you value the blessing of a church on your relationships.’
Bill scowled but nodded reluctant agreement. ‘Fair comment,’ he grumbled.
‘And, if we did get married,’ she continued, ‘I know that the media would make a big thing about our age difference and they’d call you a cradle-snatcher and me a grave-robber and everyone would need to have their say about our relationship.’
‘I don’t care what other people say,’ Bill declared passionately.
‘No,’ Trudy agreed. ‘You probably don’t. But I can’t see the point of making our business public for no good reason.’
‘So you don’t want to marry me,’ he said solemnly.
‘That’s right,’ she agreed. ‘But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you every chance we have.’
His smiled brightened. His eyes gleamed with a twinkle of excitement as he considered her naked flesh. ‘And you’re happy with that, Ms McLaughlin?’
‘Now that we’ve got Aliceon back in her cottage and we can live here together, I’m very happy with that arrangement, Mr Hart.’
He cupped her chin in his hands and raised her lips to meet his. The kiss was a long, lingering exchange in which Trudy knew she had made the right decision. Maybe, one day, they might decide to get married. Maybe, one day, they might just decide to go their separate ways. Trudy didn’t know what the future held and, because there was such a large age gap between them, she knew it might not always be a future together. But she did know that she wanted to spend as much of her future with Bill Hart as time would allow. And she was delighted when he turned her around and bent her over the sink and proceeded to use the spatula on her backside.
‘Mr Hart,’ she breathed excitedly. ‘You do know that’s arousing me, don’t you?’
Twice more he slapped the spatula against her before responding.
‘That was my intention, Ms McLaughlin.’
Once both cheeks had been paddled to a state of crimson heat, she felt his hands fall on her hips and then he was pushing the thickness of his erection towards her sex. She squirmed eagerly against him and welcomed the surge of his thrust as he filled her with his length.
He rode swiftly in and out of her with a measured pace that was commanding and exhilarating. She clutched at the taps with both hands and strained against the rising tide of excitement that flooded through her centre.
When it came, the orgasm seared through her body with a rich shriek of raw pleasure. The swollen wave of satisfaction left her trembling and breathless. Even as she recovered some of her senses from the climax, she could feel herself being urged towards another thrill of release as he continued to slide easily in and out of her sex.
And when he came, filling her with the thick pulse of his climax and the molten fluid of his seed, Trudy didn’t think anyone could ever be happier.
23
Charlotte and Harvey held the knife together as they cut the cake. It was a tremendous creation from the Sweet Temptation bakery and Trudy was particularly proud of it. Five tiers made it high but Trudy had made it distinctive by using a chocolate cake recipe and having half the cake decorated with chocolate fondant. The other half was a traditional ice-white royal icing. The combination of colours served to make something asymmetrical, unconventional and unashamedly delicious.
The wedding party cheered enthusiastically as the couple cut the cake. Nikki gestured for a pair of waiters to take it through to the kitchen to be sliced and wra
pped for the guests.
Bill slipped his arm around Trudy’s waist and kissed her gently on the ear.
‘Aren’t you worried someone will see you canoodling with a woman who isn’t your wife?’
The question came from Imogen. She stood with baby Bill in her arms, smiling at Trudy and her father.
‘We’re at my best friend’s wedding,’ Bill said. ‘In this crowd, if any of these bastards saw me kissing your mother, they’d wonder what the hell was wrong with me.’
Imogen nodded. She shifted the baby from one arm to the other and asked, ‘Did you hear that Finlay wants me to take on a bigger role in the shop?’
Trudy smiled. ‘Really?’
‘He wants to prepare himself for retirement. He thinks I have the ability to be a suitable manager rather than just a counter assistant.’
Trudy grinned. The job was perfect for Imogen. She knew the business as well as Finlay and the position would allow her to invest her time in the baby while working in the shop. It would also mean she was close to her parents.
‘Make sure Finlay pays you a proper wage,’ Bill cautioned.
Imogen shook her head at her father’s parsimony. ‘Did you hear Donny is being prosecuted?’
Trudy had heard. The Smurf had been arrested and Harvey thought he might get four years in jail. Donny could likely end up with a lengthy sentence.
Bill shook his head. ‘I have no interest in hearing anything about Donny today,’ he said. ‘This is a celebration of my best friend’s marriage. Don’t sour the mood by talking about that reprobate.’
Imogen frowned and took a step backwards.
Daryl placed a hand on Trudy’s shoulder and squeezed her in a soft embrace. ‘I see you’re here with your secret lover,’ she grinned.
Trudy blushed. She could see something in Daryl’s eye and asked, ‘How long had you known about me and Bill?’
Daryl shrugged. ‘Pretty much all the time.’
She was holding hands with Kali, Boui-Boui’s pâtissier. Trudy tried not to blink with surprise. She had not known Kali was gay and she’d had no idea that she and Daryl were seeing one another.
‘Why didn’t you say you knew we were still seeing each other?’
Daryl laughed. ‘Charlotte and I considered it, but you were clearly quite proud of the fact that you were keeping your relationship secret, so we figured it was best to leave you convinced that you’d outwitted us.’
Trudy stared at her with bemused disbelief. ‘Who else knew?’
‘Most people,’ said Daryl. ‘But none of us wanted to burst your bubble.’
Trudy’s mouth worked silently for a moment. ‘But you kept setting me up on blind dates.’
‘I know,’ Daryl laughed. ‘That was pretty amusing, wasn’t it?’ She turned to Imogen and said, ‘Now that Trudy isn’t seeing him, I have a doctor friend who might just be the right guy for you.’
Imogen raised an interested eyebrow and allowed Daryl and Kali to lead her away as they discussed Mark’s charms.
Bill returned to Trudy’s side. He was still nodding agreement to some silent arrangement he had just made with Harvey.
‘Is everything OK?’ she asked.
‘Everything’s more than OK, Ms McLaughlin,’ he assured her.
She smiled when he used that name.
‘I was just telling the bride and groom that you and I will be disappearing in the kitchen for half an hour to do some more of our special work.’
‘Special work?’
His grin glinted wickedly. He lowered his mouth to her ear. ‘The Sweet Temptation staff have left a mess in my cottage.’
She arched a surprised eyebrow. The Sweet Temptation staff hadn’t been anywhere near the cottage. Understanding came to her when she saw the sparkle in his eye. She asked, ‘Is it a terribly bad mess?’
He nodded.
‘It sounds like someone needs punishing,’ she murmured. She took his hand and allowed him to lead her out of the wedding reception. She dearly hoped the person who needed punishing would be her.
THE END
More from Mischief
A Mischief Novel
When baking entrepreneur Trudy Cole falls for celebrity chef Bill Hart, all is far from sweetness and light. Instead passion, betrayal and ambition makes for an explosive mix in the high stakes game of gourmet dining.
Discover more about A Taste of Passion
***
A Mischief Novel
Bill and Trudy’s tempestuous relationship veers from hurling insults in the kitchen to intense passion in the bedroom.
The love/hate rollercoaster is made worse by a new revelation: Bill also has an ex-wife whom he neglected to mention. To throw oil onto the flames Donny is back and more determined than ever to hammer a wedge between the couple and ruin their business.
Discover more about Turning Up The Heat
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Just Desserts (Sweet Temptation, Book 3) Page 15
