* * *
“You all have been chosen as the best bakers in America,” Brandon Tyler, the host, said. “And we’re going to put you to the test.”
“We’re up for it!” Carter said enthusiastically. Several of the other bakery teams concurred.
“That’s good.” Brandon smiled. “Because we will be testing your ability to work under pressure but still deliver a quality product. It’s all about creativity, taste and of course your presentation.”
“Brown Sugar Bakery is all about creativity,” Dina boasted from the sidelines. “We got this.” She bumped shoulders with several members of her team while the Drayson family gave her the evil eye.
Brandon continued, “Since you’re the best of the best, we’ve really amped up our challenge.”
“What does the show have in mind?” Grandma Lillian asked.
“It is ‘Cakes Around the World’ week,” Brandon announced excitedly. “Instead of one day, it’ll be a weeklong challenge. Every day you’ll be asked to create a cake from around the world with a few curveballs here and there.”
“Wow!” Drake said from beside Shari. “We certainly hadn’t thought about that.”
“Don’t worry, Drake,” his sister Belinda replied. “With all the talent we have, we can handle anything they throw our way.”
“So if you guys are ready...” Brandon said. “Let the competition begin!”
Each team was given a few minutes to figure out who would be working for the day. The Drayson family formed a football huddle to determine who would go up against their competitors. Deciding they’d get a really hard country to start off the show, they’d settled on Carter, Malik and Shari for the first day.
Shari heard everything that was said, but every time she got excited, she would turn to find Dina staring at her curiously.
“Is everything okay here?” Carter asked, coming to her side.
“Why would you ask?”
“Because if looks could kill, judging by the looks that have been passing between you and Dina, we’d all be dead,” Carter replied.
Shari scoffed, “It’s been five years since we last saw each other. What did you expect? For us to skip and hold hands like a bunch of schoolgirls? Too much has happened, Carter. Too much that can’t be forgotten.”
“Is this all about Grant?” he pressed.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Shari said. She doubted she would ever fully be able to get over Dina’s betrayal.
Carter held up his hands in protest. “Okay. Okay. I’ll leave it be.”
The director, Drew, walked them through their markers and what would be expected of them. He advised them that the ovens had all been preheated and the pantries and refrigerators stocked with whatever they might need for the day. He cautioned them that it would be a long shoot each day.
“Today, we want you to transport us to the romantic country of France,” the host said.
Carter gave the rest of the family standing on the sidelines the thumbs-up signal. With his skills and Shari’s delicate pastry skills they were a cinch in this round. “Your first challenge is to incorporate the mystery ingredient sitting in the box at each of your countertops into your miniature cakes,” Brandon added. “And remember, we’ll be looking for creativity, taste and presentation. We’ll give you a few minutes to deliberate.”
“It’s as we thought,” Carter replied. “So I was thinking we could do a dacquoise.”
“And a mille-feuille,” Shari replied. She knew her Napoleon with layers of puff pastry and pastry cream would be a winner.
“Sounds good to me,” Malik added.
The first and subsequent rounds that day were long. They impressed the judges with the creamy texture of Carter’s dacquoise filled with hazelnut meringue and chocolate buttercream. Dina’s Brown Sugar Bakery did several different petit fours, Bliss made a chocolate Charlotte with brandy-soaked ladyfingers, Delovely did a lemon soufflé and Double Yum did an apple tarte Tatin, which the judges loved. The bakery eliminated was Sweet Tastings. The bakery had done a version of a Napoleon, but theirs was not nearly as good as Shari’s.
“You guys did fantastic!” Grandma Lillian said at the end of the day as they were cleaning up their stations.
“Was that as easy as it looked?” Shari’s father asked her.
“Not in the slightest,” Shari said, wiping the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand. The day had been physically as well as emotionally draining. They’d been taping for nearly ten hours.
A couple of times she’d seen Dina eyeing what they were doing. Shari was trying her best to ignore the woman, but she could see that Dina was impressed with just how far Lillian’s had come since she’d left them. The Drayson family had become more skilled and adept at their craft, and they’d added several new products to their repertoire.
“You guys were definitely on point,” Drake said once the day was over. “We’ll have to add a couple of those recipes to the Brothers Who Bake cookbook.”
“So long as this sista,” Shari added, “gets a shout-out. These two—” she punched Carter and Malik in the arm “—were not the only ones in that kitchen.”
“Of course, cuz,” Drake said, pulling Shari into a hug and ruffling her hair. He was so much taller than she was that he towered over her at six feet tall. “We couldn’t do it without you.”
* * *
Grant was glad to have the day to himself. Ever since they’d come to Los Angeles, he’d had to play the role of a newlywed who adored his wife. The role was becoming easier and easier because if he admitted it to himself, he was enjoying Shari’s company and kissing her and feeling her soft lips against his.
The days spent with her and Andre had been wonderful. He was beginning to learn what his son liked and disliked, but the nights...oh, the endless nights of lying beside Shari in bed were driving him crazy. He wanted to make love to her until she was moaning in ecstasy. He didn’t know how he was going to be able to continue to restrain himself from taking her in his arms.
Instead, he’d focused on business while Andre watched cartoons. He had a conference call with several of his restaurant managers discussing staffing, menus and orders. His flagship restaurant in New York was looking for a temporary executive chef because the current one had unexpectedly taken maternity leave when she’d given birth at eight months. Solange was an excellent chef and would be hard to replace even if on a temporary basis. They had their work cut out for them.
A few hours later, he was taking Andre out for the day because his son was getting antsy being indoors. He took Andre to the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens. The zoo had hands-on activities, stories and live animal encounters for children of Andre’s age. They explored the zoo’s grounds and animal collection from the fabulous flamingos to lovable chimpanzees to the ginormous giraffes. In amazement, Grant watched Andre’s fearlessness. His son, unlike other children, was not intimidated, easily petting the animals when allowed in the children’s petting zoo. Andre laughed with joy when he rode the new carousel in the center of the zoo.
Grant was glad he had this time with Andre. It was important to him that he develop a relationship with his son that was separate from Shari. He had a lot of time to make up for. Andre was too young for him to ask him how he felt about having a sudden father, but Grant wanted him to know he was loved and important in his world, just as important as Shari.
Ah, there she went again, creeping into his thoughts. He’d done a good job of keeping his thoughts of her at bay throughout the day. But the day was over and Shari would be back soon, playing the dutiful wife and wearing those sexy jeans or the floral fragrance that filled his nostrils. He was on the edge and all it was going to take was one push to make him act on his desires.
* * *
Shari went through the motions as she sat beside Gra
nt and Andre at a late dinner in the hotel with her family. She gave all the appropriate responses when asked a question, but her mind was a million miles away. Despite her lack of interest, the entire Drayson family was poised for tomorrow.
“We have to beat Dina,” Carter was saying when Grandma Lillian interrupted him.
“Winning isn’t everything,” she said. When several family members looked doubtful, she clarified her remark. “Of course I want Lillian’s to win, but as long as we do our best, give it our all, that’s all that truly matters.”
“C’mon, Grandma,” Drake responded incredulously. “We can’t let Dina win. Not after all the training you gave her. Not when she stole some of our recipes to start her own bakery.”
“We don’t know that for sure,” Grandma replied.
“Did you see her website?” Drake asked. “Her almond macaroon cake looks awfully like Lillian’s.”
“I’d have to agree with Drake, Grandma,” Belinda added. “Look at what she did to Shari.”
All eyes at the table suddenly turned to Shari. She looked up from her plate to questioning eyes. “Do we have to rehash this yet again?” Without another word, she rose from the table and headed out of the restaurant.
Shari didn’t go up to her room immediately. She couldn’t bear the sexual tension and emotional turmoil between her and Grant. She took a short walk along the boulevard before finally returning to their room nearly an hour later.
“Where have you been?” Grant said, jumping off the couch in the en suite and coming toward her. “I was worried sick when I didn’t find you in the room.”
“I’m sorry to make you worry.” Shari’s voice broke and then she rushed into the master bedroom. She flung herself onto the bed and the tears she’d been holding in came spilling out.
Grant was beside her within seconds. He was stroking her hair softly and whispering her name. “Did something happen today, my love? Whatever happened, I promise you, it’ll get better.”
“Dina,” she muttered. And then she paused. Did Grant just call her my love?
He lowered his head until he was inches away from her face and wiped her tears away with the tips of his fingers. “Shari, my love,” he said.
There. He’d said it again and this time, she hadn’t imagined it.
She turned around to face him and that was long enough for Grant to slant his mouth possessively over hers. He brushed his lips softly over Shari’s and he kissed her as if she was made of glass and might break.
Shari opened her eyes for mere seconds. That’s when Grant lifted his head to look down at her. He seemed to be intuitively asking her if she wanted him to stop.
Something unraveled inside her. Don’t let me go.
She was feeling a little bruised and battered after her encounter with Dina earlier. She wanted, no needed to be held, to be kissed, to be adored.
When she didn’t speak, he leaned down to kiss her again. This time, he traced every inch of her mouth with his tongue. He teased the corners and she opened her mouth up to him and when she did, torrid sensations filled her body. Her heart spurred in a fast, frantic beat.
Grant used the opportunity to deepen the kiss, sealing his mouth and hot tongue over hers. He slid his hands leisurely up and down her body as his tongue toyed hungrily with hers and he made love to her mouth. He dragged his mouth from her lips and up her jaw to her ear. Using his teeth, he gently nipped on her earlobe and a moan escaped her lips. The floodgates of emotion that she’d kept at bay the last couple of weeks—heck, the last five years—opened.
Grant rolled to his knees in one fluid movement. He rose from the bed and gazed down at her with wicked desire, and she knew he was hers for tonight. He undressed her tenderly, slowly, reverently.
“Simply beautiful,” he said, his eyes raking over every inch of her body. When he’d stripped her naked to her birthday suit, he pulled his shirt out of his pants and began unbuttoning each button ever so slowly.
Shari took a sharp intake of breath when his shirt fell down to the floor, and she was able to lay eyes on his bare chest again. She swallowed hard, but that didn’t stop her from allowing her eyes to sweep over him as he’d done her. Her gaze zeroed in on his erection straining in his pants as she watched him unbuckle them. She released a deep sigh when he eased them and his briefs down his muscular thighs in one fell swoop.
He returned to the bed, and she entwined her hands around his neck, opened her mouth and wrapped her legs around him. Every cell in her body wanted to be touched by this man, to become one with him. When she felt his hardness nudging against her thigh, she moved against him, desperate to be closer to him.
Grant broke his mouth away and trailed a hot, wet kiss down her neck to her bosom. Shari thrust her breasts forward, eager for his touch. Grant easily obliged. He cupped her breasts and they pressed in his palms and Shari gasped.
“Yes,” she said through heavy-lidded lashes.
He rolled one nipple, plucking the tip between his fingers and Shari arched against his touch. He continued the sensual onslaught by taking the distended bud in his mouth and gliding his tongue over it. When he was finished with one dark chocolate nipple, he gave the other equal attention.
Shari writhed, tilting her hips upward. She was drunk with the sensation of having his mouth on her.
Grant’s fingertips trailed down her breasts to her flat stomach and then lower to her thighs and calves. He teased the tender spot at the underside of her knees before urging her legs apart with one knee.
He lingered at the curls between her thighs, palming her softly. Shari sucked in a deep breath when Grant thrust his finger inside her and stroked her gently. His finger eased out, then in, then out, then in again. It was such delicious torture that Shari didn’t even realize Grant had changed his position until she felt his tongue inside her. His tongue flickered back and forth, deeper and deeper, higher and higher. Her orgasm was just out of reach and she thrust her hips forward.
“Oh, oh, oh,” she gasped. Did his thumb feel better or his tongue? she wondered. She didn’t know or care because after another thrust of his tongue on her clitoris, stars exploded behind her eyes, sending her into oblivion.
He returned to nuzzle her neck and she could feel him pulsing with desire against her thigh. “I need to be inside you,” he murmured.
“Not yet,” she said, once she’d recovered. She pulled herself up and laid one palm on his shoulder and another on his biceps. She lazily stroked his hard chest, and then she lowered her head and licked his nipples, gently biting them with her teeth. His eyes flickered open and then shut.
“Shari.” He made a low, savage sound.
Shari smiled. She hadn’t remembered that his nipples were a sensitive spot for him. Of course, the first time they’d made love she’d been somewhat intoxicated. But this time she wasn’t intoxicated by liquor, only with thoughts of Grant.
While her mouth made a meal of his nipples, she slid one hand lower until she closed around his hard, masculine length. He throbbed and pulsed against her hand. She stroked the length of him again and again and he jerked in her hand.
“Shari, I need you now.”
“What are you waiting for?”
Grant flipped Shari over until she was flat on her back and settled his erection at the juncture between her thighs. Grant was deliciously hot, sinfully sexy and the world fell away as he looked into her eyes. “Make love to me,” she whispered.
Tender, yet demanding, Grant slid inside her. Her body, her hips and a place deep inside her that hadn’t been touched in years sprang to life. He was so thick; it felt like he was rooted inside her. It scared Shari and she shut her eyes, arched her back and bent her knees so she could focus on the moment. Each thrust caused their bodies to go in a primal rhythm and the friction was so incredible, Shari thought she might die from happiness.<
br />
Grant seemed to understand her need because he didn’t stop. Instead, he thrust harder, deeper, higher. It was so maddening, so disabling...she lost all choice or thought but staying in this moment with him. She squirmed underneath him, clenching her inner muscles as she took him more and more inside her.
Her breathing became rapid as he took her higher. In, out, in, out.
“Come with me.” Grant moaned just as an intense orgasm, a wave of perfection, went through Shari and she went limp. Grant followed her as tremors shook his entire body and he collapsed on top of her.
* * *
The next morning, Shari was the first to wake up and a wicked smile spread across her face when she looked down at her husband who was sleeping soundly, but then just as a quickly a frown followed it.
The ramifications of being with Grant were far more potent than she could have ever imagined. He’d given and taken everything simultaneously, and all her defenses were down. Shari couldn’t deny anymore that she was in love with her husband; she probably always had been. The way they’d made love last night had confirmed that. Grant had satisfied her like no other man had. He was an athletic and creative lover who’d been intent on ensuring her pleasure.
She was ready for them to have a real marriage, but was Grant? Was last night merely her being a convenient body next to him? He was a man, after all, with needs. What if last night was just sex to him? Shari wasn’t sure how she would handle it, but on the other hand, if sex was the only way she could be close to her husband, to build a bond, then she would try anything. She wanted Grant to love her back as she loved him. The question was whether he could ever forgive her for keeping the truth about Andre from him, long enough to let love in?
As if reading her mind, Grant stirred in his sleep and then his eyes popped open. He didn’t seem surprised to find Shari staring down at him. “Good morning,” he murmured, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
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