She slumped against the wall, eyes squeezed tightly shout, mouth open in a perfect “O” of wonder. Her breath came in heavy pants.
He fumbled his zipper open and had his jeans down around his ankles and then kicked them off faster than he would have thought possible, and then slid up against her.
“Yesss….” She moaned.
He slid his cock between the wet folds of her pussy, up against the tiny, tight entrance, and then speared her with a single savage thrust. She gasped and he paused, afraid he’d hurt her, but she clutched his shoulders and closed her eyes with a look of pure bliss.
“Is this what you want?” He grabbed her buttocks, fingers sinking into her soft flesh, and began pumping into her rhythmically. She was tight and hot and fit him like a glove, her insides molding to him perfectly. He plunged into the hot embrace of her channel again and again, feeling the heat rising in him until he was ready to explode.
Her gasps were rhythmic, and he slowed down to time it just right, to drag her to ecstasy again.
“Yes,” she wailed. “Yes, Rafe, I want you…Ohhhhh…”
And he could feel her come, as her muscles rippled and convulsed, squeezing his cock and pushing him over the edge.
Fireworks exploded inside him, and he plunged all the way in, to the hilt, and shuddered violently as he found blessed, ecstatic release.
Finally he pulled away and looked down at her, panting and satisfied beneath him.
He loved the way she relaxed into him, trusting him, nestling her head against his shoulder.
Trusting him. Damn it.
As his arms tightened around her, he buried his face in her hair, breathing in the light flowery scent of her shampoo.
He was an idiot. Every time he was around Poppy, he got so damned turned on that he couldn’t think straight, and now he’d gone back on his promise to himself.
How the hell was he going to explain himself to her without breaking her heart?
Poppy leaned into Rafe, drinking him in, his scent, his warmth, the hardness of his muscles, the tenderness of his embrace. And she closed her eyes and thought of all the many reasons that this could never work out.
She’d be in town for at most two more months, and then she had to go back to school and her job. And a man like him was never going to fall for a woman like her.
But that didn’t mean that she couldn’t have fun while it lasted, right? And when the summer ended she would be back in school, too distracted by work and her studies to think about him.
She slid out of his arms and looked up at him. “Rafe, I want you to know something.”
He smiled down at her, raising an eyebrow. “Really? Is there a husband and a bunch of kids tucked away somewhere, that you forgot to mention to me?”
She choked back a laugh. “A couple of husbands, actually. And forget about all the lovers on the side. But seriously…like I already told you…I have to leave town at the end of the summer. I love being with you, but we need to go into this knowing that it’s a summer fling, and when it’s time for me to leave town, it’s over.”
Because that’s the only way my heart can survive this, she thought.
An odd look flashed across his face – confusion? Hurt? “You only live five hours away. People do have long distance relationships and make it work.”
“Not us,” she said quickly, fear swelling up inside her. She couldn’t afford to hope; it was too dangerous, because she already felt like sinking into him forever and never letting go, every time that he was near. If she let herself hope, she was setting herself up for a heartbreak that would shatter her very core. She was setting herself up to be her mother all over again, and she would never let that happen.
She turned away quickly, avoiding his eyes. “I’m going to get dressed,” she said, hurrying to the dressing room and ignoring the dull ache in her chest and the feeling of Rafe’s gaze burning into her back.
Chapter Fourteen
“I need to wrap this up so I can tell her.” Rafe paused. “I don’t care, she has to know.” Rafe hunched over his cell phone, standing outside the bakery. It was eight a.m., and he was groggy and out of sorts.
She’d let him come up to her apartment to spend the night, and they’d made love until they collapsed into each other’s arms, sweaty and sated, but he’d sensed the distance between the two of them.
And worse, he didn’t feel right pleading his case until he was able to tell her everything. When she’d told him that they were only having a summer fling, he sensed deep down that she wanted him to argue with her, to fight for her…but he hadn’t said a word.
“Has to know what?” Viola’s voice snapped in his ear, right behind him.
“Goddamn, woman, you scared the life out of me. How did you sneak up on me like that?”
“I’m like a cat. Has to know what?” she repeated, her voice low and dangerous. Her blue eyes drilled into him.
“It’s not what you’re thinking,” Rafe said defensively.
“Oh? What am I thinking?” The edge in her voice was a sharp as an obsidian blade.
She hadn’t raised her voice or cursed at him or threatened him, which was actually even scarier. She was like a coiled cobra, perfectly still, ready to strike.
“You think that I’m married or have a girlfriend or boyfriend or mistress. I don’t.” He looked down at her, meeting her gaze. “This is something that I need to tell Poppy, face to face, and I will face the consequences. The only thing I can tell you is that I care about her deeply, I would never do anything to hurt her, and there is no-one else in my life. And I want to be in her life for a long time to come. Maybe forever.”
Viola stared at him for several long seconds, then sighed and said “I believe you.”
“You do?” Rafe said, surprised.
“Why? Are you lying?”
“No, but you don’t seem like a particularly trusting individual.”
“I’m not, but my bullshit detector is pretty damn good. Except when it comes to my boyfriends, but that’s a whole different story. I can tell you care about her. I know you don’t have to come back here day after day.”
Ouch, Rafe thought. But I do have to.
But I’d come here even if I didn’t have to. For Poppy.
Damn it, he’d let this lie go on way too long.
“Just make sure that you tell her soon. I’ve never kept anything from Poppy before, and I really don’t like it.”
He nodded, face solemn. “You have my word. And what I need to tell her has nothing to do with her and me. I just can’t explain further right now.”
Viola’s face was expressionless as she turned and walked back into the bakery, slamming the door behind her.
Inside, Poppy didn’t even bother trying to hide the cheerful smile on her face.
When she looked at her reflection in the mirrored wall, for the first time since she could remember, she liked what she saw.
She was well rested and she had an inner glow that lit up her face. It was amazing what a night of multiple screaming orgasms could do to one’s perspective. Yes, things were going to end with Rafe, but she had another couple of months with him, and she was concentrating on the here and now.
“Penny for your thoughts!” Poppy grinned, waiting for the inevitable grilling to begin.
But it didn’t.
Poppy leaned against the wall, waiting. She was even prepared to share some details.
Ha! And Viola thought she was such a goody two shoes! She could tell her some things that would curl her flat-ironed purple hair.
Without looking at her, Viola opened up a box of vibrating lollipops and began restocking a display. She didn’t even crack a dirty joke.
“Viola? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Viola muttered. She glanced at the front door. “Look, there’s a customer. You should probably go help them. Or I can.”
Poppy was openly staring at Viola now. “Did you find out that you have a terminal disease or something since
I saw you last night? You’re really not yourself right now. Oh, god, is it The Boyfriend? Did you guys break up?”
“Eh. Probably. Haven’t heard from him. No big. Here, finish restocking and I’ll go help the customer.” Viola walked away without glancing back.
As Poppy stood there with her mouth hanging open, Rafe walked in, handsome as a male model in a cologne ad, with his rumpled hair and cupid’s bow mouth, and threw his arms around her. “Did you have a good night’s sleep?” he asked her.
“Yes, thanks to some very timely stress release tactics employed by a professional masseuse.”
“Who is he? I’ll kick his ass.” Rafe grinned, but there was something behind his smile…worry? Doubt?
“Something wrong?” Poppy asked. “Have you found out anything more about the guy targeting the bakery?”
“No, but we will.” Rafe said, answering her without really answering her.
Poppy looked at him, puzzled. “You, too? Something’s up with Viola, and I swear something’s wrong with you too. What is it?”
“Nothing’s wrong.”
But his gaze was a million miles away.
Poppy felt her heart sinking. Was he already getting tired of her? Had Viola found out and she couldn’t bear to tell her?
“I’m leaving on my business trip tonight. I should be back on Saturday or Sunday. Jeffrey will be here to keep an eye out for our friendly neighborhood psycho, and I’m hoping that you can sleep at Viola’s house until I get back.”
“Sure,” Poppy said, forcing a smile. “You mean you don’t want Jeffrey pulling bodyguard duty all night long in Penelope’s apartment?”
That made Rafe smile. “He’d better not try.”
The rest of the week went by in a blur. Poppy threw herself into organizing the store, and Viola worked on the store’s website, sold pastries and went from store to store in the neighborhood, networking and ingratiating herself with the local business owners.
A uniformed police officer came by mid-morning on Saturday, carrying a manila folder.
Poppy was getting so used to being surrounded by genitalia shaped pastry that she barely even blinked at the idea that she was holding a fresh tray of boob cupcakes and talking to an officer of the law. She almost offered him one, but stopped herself in time and set them down behind the counter, wiping her hands on her apron before she shook hands and introduced herself to him.
“Officer Miles Renault,” he said. “I’ve got mostly good news. We know who’s been putting the flyers on cars and sending the threatening letters, and he’s our most likely suspect in the assault.”
“Oh, thank heavens. Who is it?” Poppy said.
He opened up the manila folder and handed her an 8 ½ by 11 flyer with a man’s face printed on it, along with the police station phone number. “David Barbossa: Wanted in connection with vandalism of Warehouse District business”, the flyer said.
She stared at the picture; it was of a hollow-cheeked man with the light of madness glowing in his eyes. And it was clearly a mug shot.
“He left fingerprints on the letters that he sent to you, and he also left fingerprints on the cars where he put flyers. He’s got a record; he used to live in Portland, where he picketed strip clubs and then assaulted customers when they came out. He beat up one of the strippers in an alley outside the club.”
“What’s his problem with us?” Viola walked up to them, looking at the picture. “Hey, Poppy, did you offer the nice officer a pastry?”
“Well, no, I did not,” Poppy said peevishly. “For obvious reasons.”
“How can he spread the word about our store among his coworkers if he doesn’t have a sample?” Viola handed him a vanilla frosted cupcake with a candy vagina on top of it. He held it gingerly, as if it might bite.
“We also have them with penises, if that’s your preference,” Viola added helpfully.
While Poppy looked around for something hard and heavy to throw at her, Officer Renault quickly blurted out, “Oh no! This will be fine, thanks!” and bit into the cupcake. He chewed and then smiled. “This is actually really good. I have a friend who’s getting married, I’ll let him know about this place.”
Viola flashed Poppy a triumphant smirk, which made Poppy want to beat her with a baguette, but there was a police officer present and she didn’t think it would be a good idea. Also Viola was fully capable of kicking her ass, even though Poppy had a good fifty pounds on her.
Instead she turned back to Officer Renault. “So? Why does this psycho have his sights set on us?”
“It’s kind of a pathetic story. According to his police records, his mother was a prostitute and she had syphilis when she gave birth to him, so he was born with brain damage. He went back and forth between living with her in the same motel room where she brought her customers, and living in foster families, and he finally got adopted by an holy roller pastor and his wife. He slashed the wife’s face when he was a teenager, and went to juvie for it, and they washed their hands of him. He’s been in and out of the system ever since.”
“So you’ve arrested him, right? Oh, no. You haven’t, have you?”
Poppy saw from the look on his face that she wasn’t going to like his answer.
“Like I said, we have mostly good news. We can put these flyers up all over the neighborhood, all our patrol officers will know to look out for him. But he’s homeless and unemployed; it makes him harder to track down.”
He saw the look on her face. “We’ll find him!”
Poppy nodded unhappily, while Viola grabbed a handful of flyers from him and went out to staple them on to telephone poles and hand them out to the other store owners up and down the street.
That afternoon, Rafe sent Poppy a text. “I’m back! Miss me?”
Her heart leaped in her chest, and an idea dawned on her.
And she quickly texted him back an answer, and just as quickly wished she could take it back.
Had she just made a terrible mistake?
Chapter Fifteen
Poppy stood in the living room/bedroom, knees quaking with fear. Was she setting herself up for the most embarrassing rejection ever?
She’d texted Rafe to come meet her at Penelope’s apartment at 7 p.m. After work she’d showered and dabbed on rose scented perfume behind her ears.
She’d closed the shutters and pulled the blinds, and stood in darkness only broken by the tiny pools of light spread by a dozen votive candles she’d scattered around the room.
She’d done it partly because she thought the low light would be sexy, and partly because she was really, really nervous about what she was wearing.
She’d bought the sheer baby doll negligee that Rafe had admired downstairs, and was wearing it, and nothing else. It cupped her full, large breasts and lifted them, and then flowed outwards in rippling waves of black gauze, trimmed with frothy lace. She fought the urge to cross her arms in front of her body in a desperate attempt to hide.
Rafe rapped on the door, and, voice trembling, she called out “It’s open!” And then the door swung open, and he stepped inside, staring at her, speechless.
“Poppy,” he finally choked out. “My God.”
And he slammed the door shut behind him and locked it.
He was on her before she even had time to answer, pushing her on to the bed, his clothes still on. She could feel the long, hard bulge of his erection against her thigh, and his hot breath in her ear, and she knew she’d made the right choice.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you while I was gone,” he groaned. “And you have to invite me up here when you look like this? I’ll be lucky if I get my pants off before I come.”
“Oh really?” she breathed. “Maybe I can help you with that. Kneel for me.”
This was so unlike her; she was normally shy and nervous in bed, hiding under the covers. With him, she was a wanton seductress.
He knelt on the bed, unbuckling his belt, and she grabbed at his jeans, yanking them down and exposing his thick,
glorious phallus.
On the night stand was a jar of Raspberry Ecstasy body butter that she’d purchased from the store. She reached over and opened it, dipped a finger in, and ran it gently along the length of his shaft, smearing a sweet, raspberry chocolate trail, wrenching a gasp from him. The smell of raspberries and chocolate mixed with the musky smell of his excitement.
She scooped up another dollop and slowly spread it on the head of his cock with two fingers, and he groaned, teeth clenched.
“You’re killing me, Poppy – oh God,” he gasped as she ran his tongue along his cock, lapping up the sweet chocolate. She sucked and licked it until she’d cleaned every last drop with her tongue, and then she took the head of his cock in her mouth and ran her tongue across it, and the salty taste of his precum mixed with the sweet chocolate.
His fingers tangled in her hair and tightened, holding her head in place as he thrust deeper into her mouth. She opened her mouth wider to accept him, and he slid into her throat and began pumping hard.
His obvious hunger for her aroused her more than anything she’d ever experienced before. Her nipples swelled with desire, and she longed for his mouth on them, wanted to feel his strong hands sliding over her skin…
“Oh God…yes…I’m going to come, baby…” And he exploded in her mouth, a gush of sweet and salty come filling her up, and she sucked hard, swallowing every drop, as he shuddered, hands clenching her tightly.
Smashwords version Sweet Surrender Page 8
