by Tawny Weber
Oh, yeah.
Her arm was in the air, ready to point toward the stairs that led to her apartment over the bakery. Inside her apartment was a bed. A big, comfy, private bed.
But something made her freeze midgesture.
Dozens of stories ran through her head. Stories about Zane Bennett and his legendary skill with women. The only thing more legendary was his inability to refuse a challenge.
Ding.
Vivian lowered her hand, letting it rest on his shoulder, her fingers tracing little circles on the back of his neck to buy time as her mind raced.
She took a step closer, so their bodies nearly brushed, but not quite. Then she gave him her sexiest smile. She sighed, deep, so her breasts skimmed over his chest. And watched his eyes blur.
Good, she thought as she stepped back enough to let him miss the contact. She had his attention.
“I have some damage control to do here,” she said, lifting the box of ruined chocolates and giving it a shake. “Why don’t we meet somewhere tomorrow?”
“Somewhere?” he repeated, his eyes boring into hers as if he could see all the way to the depths of her soul where her secrets were hidden. “Where did you have in mind?”
Oh, so many possibilities came to mind.
A hotel. A motel. Hot Tub Heaven. A mattress store. The back room of the bakery, where there was an ample supply of chocolate to pour over his body, then lick off.
“Drinks,” she said, shoving the words out fast before any of those other ideas could escape. “We could get a drink.”
“A drink sounds good.” She had to give him credit. He didn’t look upset about being put off. “Does Carvellos still have great appetizers?”
She’d figured on meeting at the pub, with her thoughts on easy access to her apartment. Vivian’s breath caught, delight pouring through her. With its moody lighting, private booths and piano bar, Carvellos was the go-to spot for romantic dates.
And he wanted to take her there.
Oh, my.
“They still have an amazing appetizer menu,” she said, blaming the giddiness in her voice on the fact that he wanted to romance her. Romance. Her. That was worthy of another “oh, my.”
Vivian bit her lip, her gaze shifting toward the stairs and her apartment. No, she scolded herself. Stick with the plan. She wanted his attention for more than one night. Now she had it, along with an invitation for drinks at the swankiest spot in town. “Is six okay?”
“Perfect.” His smile was like a magnet, pulling her closer. Vivian didn’t object when he reached out to slide one hand over her hair, his fingers tangling in the strands as he cupped the back of her neck.
Staring into her eyes with that hypnotic gaze of his, Zane slowly lowered his head until his mouth was a breath away from hers. Vivian was sure her heart stopped. She was pretty sure the world stopped. She tried to tell herself to keep her expectations somewhere in the realm of realistic. Just because she’d spent years dreaming about Zane’s kissing prowess didn’t mean it’d be like she’d imagined.
Then his lips slid over hers.
A soft, gentle glide just a hint stronger than a whisper.
Her breath released in a slow shudder as she sank into the sweetness of it. Almost as sweet as her Bavarian cream. She started to relax, some of that tense anticipation drifting away as he shifted angles. Just the tiniest shift.
His tongue caressed her bottom lip. So, so sweet.
Then he nipped, a scrape of teeth over the full softness of her mouth. Desire shot, sharp and hot, through Vivian’s belly, sparking a desperate need.
She gasped.
His tongue plunged.
It swept over hers, coiled and danced. Vivian melted. She straight-up melted into a puddle of desire as he took the kiss from hot to incendiary with his magic tongue. She might have kissed him back; she wasn’t sure. Everything became a tangled blur of desire, edgy need pounding through her body, settling deep in her belly. Her breasts swelled, nipples beaded with passion.
Vivian had never felt so much.
The kiss might have lasted a minute. It might have lasted forever. All she knew was that she didn’t want it to end.
But apparently Zane didn’t hear that silent plea, because he pulled away. Slowly, he eased back. One last press of his lips against hers and he lifted his head.
Feeling as if her lashes weighed a ton, Vivian had to force her eyelids open. It took longer to swallow the knot blocking her airway and breathe.
Zane’s expression was intense. He stared for a long moment, first into her eyes, making her want to squirm. Then his gaze shifted to her mouth. His eyes darkened; his head shifted just a little. Vivian held her breath, wondering if he’d kiss her again. Then his eyes met hers again.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, his hand releasing her neck, leaving her feeling cold without the pressure. He stepped back, watching.
Waiting.
For what? she wondered. Until he realized he was being a gentleman. He was waiting for her to go wherever she was going, to make sure she was safe.
She couldn’t go upstairs to her apartment. Mike might have mentioned that his little sister lived above the bakery. Besides, knowing he realized where she lived might be too much temptation. What if he walked her to her door? There was no way she’d be able to resist yanking him inside with her.
So she dug her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the bakery door. Nothing to resist here, since no amount of sizzle could inspire her to do him in the same place that Mrs. Enid indulged in her daily cruller. A girl had to have some standards, after all.
As she pushed the door open, Vivian looked over her shoulder. Zane stood at the edge of the sidewalk, both hands in his pockets as he rocked back on the heels of his motorcycle boots. He wore a hint of a smile on his face and his eyes were hot with appreciation as he stared at her butt. Finally, his grin widening, he met her eyes.
“Tomorrow,” he said again, giving her a jaunty salute by tapping two fingers to his brow.
“Tomorrow,” she echoed, hesitating before she stepped through the door. He waited, she noticed, until she’d turned the lock behind her before he headed for the alley. He must be staying with Lenny, Vivian realized with a groan. She had to force herself not to chase after him.
As soon as he was out of sight, she dropped into one of the padded ice cream chairs, letting her box of ruined chocolates fall onto the table with a thunk—quickly followed by her head.
What had she done?
She’d had a chance to have hot, wild, rock-the-walls-and-make-the-roof-shake sex with Zane Bennett.
Something she’d been dreaming about since she was seventeen. She’d heard plenty of stories. Oh, not like Mike came home boasting about the Bennett brothers’ sexual exploits. But there’d been plenty of things she’d overheard him and his little circle of friends say, usually in tones of awe. And the women in town were more than vocal in singing their odes of delight to the wonder that was Zane’s sexual talents. They probably sang about Xander, too, but Vivian’s focus had always been on Zane.
So she knew that he was a man who loved a challenge. One who thrived on a dare. Which gave her an easy option if he balked at getting naked. The only downside to the dare option was as soon as he stepped up to the challenge, he was done.
She’d seen it plenty of times.
Guys loved the chase. But the minute they scored, they were off to the next challenge.
But Vivian wasn’t sure she wanted to settle for only one single round with Zane. Oh, she wasn’t thinking she wanted forever—who could make that kind of decision before sex and a playlist comparison? But she knew she wanted more than one time.
And the only way she’d get more than one was to keep Zane interested.
Intrigued.
Challenged.
Vivian gave the box of chocolates a little shake as she headed for the kitchen.
Oh, yeah. This was going to be fun.
5
ZANE ROLLED OUT of bed—or in this case, off Lenny’s couch—with one thing in mind.
The same thing that’d been on his mind all night.
The sexy blonde with the mile-long legs and chocolate lingerie.
Delicious.
He wouldn’t mind tasting more.
More than just that nibble of her finger, and definitely more of that chocolate. She’d sparked a hunger in him that he didn’t remember feeling before. One he had to explore. If only to see if that combination of laughter and lust had been a fluke. Laughter, lust and a gorgeous blonde? A perfect combination.
Who said chivalry was dead?
Zane knew it was alive because he’d used up his share for a lifetime. He’d used it walking away from the sexy blonde instead of talking his way into her bed.
Oh, he’d had the lines all—well, lined up. A little charm, another taste of that chocolate and a suggestion that they head to her place, where he might get to peek under that silky blouse of hers to see if the lingerie she wore was as sexy as the kind she made.
But first, he should find out her name.
How else was he going to call it out when he came?
A quick check of his watch assured him that he had an hour and a half before he had to meet the family for breakfast, then later to hit the high school to register for the reunion. Plenty of time to do a little recon on the blonde, take a pass at Quinn and hit the florist for a bouquet to take his mother.
Given all the women he had to charm, Zane took the time to cram himself into Lenny’s minuscule excuse for a shower. Damned thing was almost as small as the ones on the subs he’d served on. Not nearly as clean, though.
He was halfway down the outside stairs when he realized that, hey, he wasn’t bored anymore.
Which was probably why his grin was so wide when he strode through the wide glass doors of the bakery. It smelled amazing. Yeasty breads, sugary treats and hot fruit wafted through the air in tempting invitation.
He noted that, like the new blue-and-white-striped awning, the interior decor had been upgraded. There were a half-dozen small round tables, apparently for people who couldn’t wait to get out the door to dive into their baked goods.
“Can I help you?” The offer came from the pretty woman behind the counter, blond curls waving around a Kewpie doll face.
“I’m looking for...” Shit. Zane frowned. He really did need her name. “The baker.”
“Oh? Did you want to place a special order?”
“Sure.”
She gave him a narrow-eyed look, one that said she obviously knew who he was. But after a long moment, she stepped away from the counter to call through a set of swinging doors.
“Customer to see you.”
And there it was.
The sexy siren’s voice called out from the kitchen. He couldn’t make out her words, but that husky timbre was enough to ease a tension in his gut he hadn’t even realized he was holding.
Lips pursed, the Kewpie doll returned to the counter and gave him that look again.
“She’ll be out in a few minutes. She’s on the phone.” As if realizing that didn’t sound exactly professional, she added, “She’s talking with one of the owners and can’t be interrupted.”
Remembering Mike mentioning that his parents were traveling, Zane realized they must be running things long-distance. He wondered if they knew their sexy baker made naughty candies in her spare time.
A quick scan of the display counter assured him that while varied, pretty and delicious in appearance, there was nothing suggestive on those glass shelves.
He wasn’t surprised. Mr. and Mrs. Harris were nice enough people, but they leaned toward the stuffy side. The kind who would be horrified to even realize that chocolate could be molded into sexy undies, let alone that it was being done in their own bakery. He remembered their reaction to catching Mike with a Playboy—threats of a monastery, running his brain through a carwash or, as they’d settled on, grounding the guy for two months of hard labor.
“Did you want to buy something while you wait?” the girl asked halfheartedly. If her expression was anything to go by, she was sure the answer would be no.
So Zane was determined to say yes.
A quick glance at the cupcake-shaped clock on the wall reminded him that he had two more tasks and thirty minutes before he had to leave to meet his brother. But he’d bet his mom would be just as happy with a baked treat as she would flowers. With one task knocked off his list, he could use that time to spend with his own personal treat.
With that in mind, he glanced toward the glistening display case.
“How about a cupcake?” he requested, pointing to a pretty yellow one mounded high with swirls of whipped cream and topped with a glossy strawberry. It looked like the kind of thing Quinn would enjoy.
Deciding the sultry blonde was more the sexy devil’s food cake type, he pointed to another, this one looking as if it’d been dipped in chocolate that’d hardened beneath the swirls of lighter chocolate frosting and decorated with chocolate curls.
“Which one did you want?” the kewpie doll asked.
“I’ll take both.” Literally and figuratively. “And box up a half dozen of those there, the ones with the roses.”
After paying, he grabbed the chocolate cupcake and headed behind the counter, leaving the box and strawberry confection next to the register to grab on his way out.
“Wait,” the Kewpie doll stammered, trying to move fast enough to block his way. “You can’t go back there.”
“Sure I can. Mrs. Harris used to let me do it all the time. Mike’ll vouch for me,” he assured her.
She looked like she didn’t know if she should argue or not. Before she could decide, a pair of women entered the bakery with a jingle of the bell over the door.
Zane used the distraction to slip around her and into the back room. Letting the door swing shut behind him to close off the storefront from the kitchen, his gaze skipped over the stacked trays of bread in various tempting varieties and what looked like a wall of cookies, muffins and a rainbow of cupcakes waiting for frosting.
Overhead lights glinted on the stainless-steel tables in the center of the room, two set with baking equipment while the third held a five-tier cake currently naked but for the little sticks propped between the layers.
A sugar fiend’s paradise, he decided. Then his gaze found true paradise in the far corner. Her back to him, Zane enjoyed the unobstructed view of one of the sweetest butts he’d ever seen encased in a flirty skirt that cupped said butt, hugged slender hips and held tight to long legs all the way to just below the knee. As she shifted from one foot to the other, a series of tiny pleats played peek-a-boo with the back of her knees.
Who knew knees could be sexy?
He listened to what sounded like a report on a week’s worth of baking with half an ear as he settled one hip on a stainless-steel table and waited for her to notice him.
Eighteen seconds.
It took her just over a quarter of a minute to turn around. She made a little choking sound, gulping down the last of her sentence before giving him a little finger wave.
Zane waved back with the cupcake, liking the way her eyes lit up as she smiled.
“Um, I really should get to decorating now,” she said into the phone, her eyes tracking Zane’s moves as plucked off a chocolate curl and popped it into his mouth. “I’ve got that wedding cake to finish by two.”
She rolled her eyes, giving the won’t-shut-up hand signal.
Impressed with what he’d tasted so far, Zane broke off a chunk of the chocolate shell and licked the sweet fros
ting from the edge.
“Delicious,” he murmured before offering her the piece. When she shook her head, he popped it into his mouth. Damned delicious. He licked a smudge of frosting off his thumb. When her eyes blurred, he did it again.
By the time she hung up the phone, they were both pretty obviously turned on.
“You think you can seduce me with chocolate?”
Points to her for being quick on the uptake.
“As a matter of fact.” Zane swept his finger over the side of the cupcake’s frosting, scooping up a dab of chocolate. His eyes locked on Vivian’s, he licked it off, grinning when her pupils dilated.
“I thought we were meeting at six,” she said breathlessly, her eyes shifting from him to the door that led to the bakery, then back again.
He grinned, not sure why it amused him to make her so nervous.
“I wanted to stop in for cupcakes,” he explained. “And from what I’m tasting, yours are definitely delicious.”
“If you think my chocolate cupcake is amazing, you should taste my vanilla cream,” she teased, her smile widening into a teasing grin.
A niggling reminder tapped again, telling himself he knew her from somewhere.
“Are you attending the reunion?” he asked, knowing he’d never get another taste of frosting if he admitted that he knew her from somewhere but couldn’t remember where.
“Nope, no reunion for me. But I’ll try to catch a few of the events.”
Events?
“What events?”
She tilted her head to look behind him at the clock and gave a wide grimace before he could puzzle it out.
“It totally bums me out to say this, but I have to get to work,” she told him, pulling out a sexy little pout that made him want to lick that bottom lip.
“I should get going, too.” After all, he had to see his mom, meet the guys, win a challenge. “You probably have some cupcakes to bake.”
“Actually—” she wet her lips “—I’m playing with frosting today.”
Hot damn.
She dipped her finger into the bowl, drawing out a scoop of fluffy white frosting and holding it high.
