“You’ve definitely come to the right place. I’m certain we can find something you’ll like.”
“Daniel probably needs something for his girlfriend, too,” Carlie said, the words sneaking out before she could clamp her runaway lips. Double ack! She took a quick look around, praying she’d discover some other lip-flapping fool in the store she could blame for those words, but sadly her prayer went unanswered. That being the case, she didn’t even bother to hope for the floor to open up and swallow her.
“I don’t have a girlfriend.”
Daniel’s softly spoken words had Carlie turning toward him so fast she risked whiplash.
“You don’t?” she and Ellie asked in unison. Ellie sounded surprised and curious. Carlie noted she also sounded surprised. And positively breathless.
He shook his head. “No.”
“But you did,” Carlie said.
“Yes.”
“So you broke up.”
“Yup.”
A bolt of heat, along with an odd sensation that felt like her hormones applauding, rippled through her. Still, why were men so frustratingly monosyllabic? Getting information out of them was like trying to drag a sausage through a needle hole. Good grief, didn’t men know that women thrived on details?
The urge to fire out a barrage of questions along the lines of “Who had broken up with whom and why?” trembled on her lips, but she managed to contain them. What difference did it make?
Yeah, her inner voice agreed. It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that he’s no longer taken!
“What about you, Carlie?” Ellie’s voice broke into her reverie. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
Carlie looked at the shop owner but was very much aware of the weight of Daniel’s stare as she hesitated. Six months ago she could have said yes. But then Paul had issued an ultimatum, and she’d chosen the “or we’re finished” option. She’d never regretted her decision, but she couldn’t deny that she missed having a man in her life to share things with. Like movies. And meals. Conversation. Laughter. Sex.
She shook her head. “No. No boyfriend.”
Ellie’s beaming smile encompassed both her and Daniel. “Well, as you’re both unattached, you’ll qualify for our special Valentine’s Day dinner prize with your first purchase.” After explaining the rules, Ellie said, “Who knows? Maybe you’ll find your perfect match and win.”
“I’d like that,” Carlie said. Certainly a date would be nice after the dry spell she’d experienced the past few months. But she had the sinking feeling that with the way her luck had been going lately, if she won, her “perfect match” would be some unemployed loser who hated dogs and had an aversion to bathing.
“Why don’t you look around, Carlie,” Ellie suggested, “while I show Daniel a few things for his mother?”
“All right.”
“Just holler if you see something you like,” Ellie said with a wink as she led Daniel toward the counter.
“Will do,” Carlie said, sorely tempted to holler as her gaze took in the very fine view of Daniel’s jean-clad butt.
Oh, yeah, she’d seen something she liked all right. And it had nothing to do with chocolate.
3
DANIEL USED THE sharp end of his shovel to break open another bag of topsoil. In spite of the cool, early evening breeze, his T-shirt stuck to him like a second skin. Nothing like lugging heavy bags of dirt, then filling in holes and laying sod to work up a sweat. Kevin had stuck with him for the rest of his errands, but once they’d arrived back at the house, his brother had taken one look at the backyard and made a hasty exit.
“Gotta study, man,” Kevin had claimed as he’d headed swiftly for the door. “Big test on Monday. Good luck with those holes. And your neighbor,” he’d added with a broad wink.
Now, three hours later, with the sun’s waning light streaking the sky with fiery reds and smudges of mauve, and casting long shadows across his yard, only two rolls of sod remained. After finishing, he’d shower, grab some dinner, and then…nothing.
With a sigh, Daniel thunked his shovel point into the ground and stacked his hands on the handle. And then another evening alone stretched out before him like a dark, yawning cavern, forcing him to admit what he’d tried so hard to deny.
He was lonely.
So lonely he ached with it. Sure, there were friends he could call, e-mail, or chat with online, but as he well knew, neither the phone nor the computer would relieve the growing emptiness inside him. He supposed he could walk around the block and find a neighbor to talk to, but a brief “hi, how are you?” wouldn’t satisfy him either. That would be like settling for a fast-food burger when you craved filet mignon.
The mere thought of the word “neighbor” brought a vivid, mental image of Carlie into his mind. Carlie, with her shiny, cinnamon curls, sunny smile, and jaw-dropping curves. Carlie, whose golden brown gaze had skimmed over him in Sinfully Sweet in a way that had made him feel as if he’d been dropped into a steaming cauldron.
Carlie, who didn’t have boyfriend.
Well, he’d wanted to know and he’d found out. And had very much liked the answer.
Now he just needed to decide what to do about it, a mental debate that had raged in his head all afternoon.
I should ask her out.
It’s crazy to ask her out-I’m moving.
Yeah, but I’m not moving to Mars, for cryin’ out loud.
A two-thousand-mile distance between two people might as well be a galaxy.
So just have fun with her for the next two weeks. She’d know the time limit right up front. We could enjoy each other, then say sayonara, adios, buh-bye.
He couldn’t deny that last option sounded pretty damn appealing. Worst-case scenario? After one evening together they’d realize they couldn’t stand each other and, so what, since he’d be gone in two weeks? Best-case scenario is they’d have some no-strings-attached fun, then he’d drive away from her and her zany dogs with a happy wave and head toward his exciting new job and life. Yeah, that sounded like a great idea.
But there was one possible hitch in his great idea. What if Carlie told him to get lost?
Except for that unmistakable ogle this morning, she’d never given him any indication she found him attractive. But there’d definitely been interest in her eyes today.
Hadn’t there?
He blew out a frustrated breath and dragged a hand through his hair. Maybe not. Maybe he’d read her all wrong. Maybe she’d just had something in her eye. Who the hell knew? Figuring out women was like navigating a mine field wearing a blindfold. According to Nina, Daniel couldn’t have traveled through the mine field with a map, a guide, and a GPS system to show him the way-an assessment he totally didn’t agree with, by the way. Like most men, he might suffer from bouts of confusion where women were concerned, but he wasn’t as completely clueless as his ex-girlfriend claimed. Still, why couldn’t women just look like women, but be easy to figure out-like men? Which only brought him back to the question of whether Carlie had really ogled him, or if it had just been a case of wishful thinking. Maybe-
A soft, low moaning sound cut off his thoughts.
“Ooooooh.”
His brows furrowed into a frown. What the hell was that?
“Aaaaahhhh.”
His frown deepened. Whatever it was, it sounded-
“Oooooooh. Yeah. Mmmmmm.
Human.
“Hmmmmmm…ohhhhhh…myyyyyy…”
And female.
“Yeah, ohhhh…that’s incredible…”
And sexually aroused.
“Soooooo good…so, so good…”
But where-? His head whipped around and his gaze zeroed in like a laser beam on the fence separating his and-
“Ohhhh, God…”
Carlie’s backyard.
“That is sooooooo…aaaaaah…good…”
Everything inside him stilled. For about two seconds. Then, whoosh, heat sizzled through him like he’d been struck by lightning,
pulsing fire to every nerve. A series of low, guttural, velvety-rough gasps drifted toward him, luring him like a siren’s call. Unable to resist the enticement, he released his shovel and moved toward the sound. That sexy, aroused female sound that had everything male in him on red alert.
His conscience spoke to him, as though in the form of a mini, halo-wearing angel. “Daniel Montgomery, don’t you even think about looking over that fence.”
Another voice, which obviously belonged to a pitch-fork toting horned devil, said, “Are you kidding me? Whatever’s going on over there is definitely a must-see.”
“It’s none of our business,” the angel voice said primly.
Daniel paused and dragged his hands down his face.
“Hey, if we can hear it in our yard, then we have every right to see it, too,” the devil’s voice shot back.
“Ohhhh, God. Ohhh, God…”
Unable to stop himself, Daniel moved toward the fence, feeling like one of those rats being led by the Pied Piper’s seductive music.
“The girl is entitled to her privacy,” the angel whispered.
“Oh, button it, Miss Goody Two-Shoes,” the devil sneered.
Daniel frowned and mentally shrugged off the two combatants and continued walking. One quick peek. Just to make sure she was okay.
“Whoaaaaaaaaa, baby…”
Damn. She sure sounded okay. And since her moans were the only ones he heard, it seemed clear she was alone. ’Cause show him a guy who could elicit those incredible sounds from a woman and still remain silent himself, and he’d show you a guy with no vocal chords. Just listening to her had Daniel aroused and pressing his lips together to contain a groan.
The fence loomed before him, cast in the deepening shadows from the oncoming twilight. Drawing a deep breath, he took the final two steps. Then looked over the top.
And saw her.
She lay on a blue-and-white striped lounge chair, her hair fanned out around her shoulders, her arms raised above her head. Dressed in the same clothes she’d worn earlier today, she stretched sinuously on the cushion as another raspy groan passed her lips-full, pouty lips she then slowly licked in a way that seemed to open a valve in Daniel’s neck, draining all the blood from his brain and redirecting it to his groin.
She rolled onto her side, a position that highlighted her fabulous curves, and examined the contents of a small silver foil box set on the round resin table beside her. After taking a bite from whatever she selected from the box, she eased onto her back, closed her eyes and the throaty, erotic sounds of pleasure started again.
“Ohhhhhh…so good…sooooo good…”
His gaze flicked back to the silver box and recognition hit him, as he had a similar one himself. The box was from Sinfully Sweet.
A deep sigh of utter delight drifted toward him and he found himself gripping the top of the fence, unable to tear his gaze from her. With her body sinuously shifting and those erotic sounds coming from her glistening lips, she inspired more fantasies than his blood-deprived brain could even process. And all this because of chocolate. She was practically orgasmic over chocolate. What the hell would a woman who responded like that to candy be like in bed?
Wild. Uninhibited. Passionate. Insatiable.
Delicious.
No doubt about it, she was certainly a woman a guy would want to give chocolate to every damn day.
God help him, just watching her, just listening to her, hardened him to the point of pain. But damn it, he wasn’t some perverted Peeping Tom. Usually. Time to make his presence known. And he’d do that. As soon as he unswallowed his tongue. An accomplishment that was only achieved with the greatest of efforts.
“I’ll have what you’re having,” he said, his voice sounding as if he’d swallowed a handful of gravel along with his tongue.
She froze mid-wriggle and her eyes popped open. Their gazes met and held and he wondered if she could see the hunger he knew had to be blazing in his eyes. No way he could hide it. And that hunger had nothing to do with chocolate.
She slowly swung her feet to the ground then rose, moving toward him with a hypnotic sway of her hips that did absolutely nothing to relieve the discomfort occurring in the front of his jeans.
“You want what I’m having?” she asked in a smoky voice as she approached.
“Absolutely.”
She paused about three feet from the fence, but in his fantasy-addled mind he still saw her undulating. With the last fading strands of golden sunlight highlighting her hair, her eyes gleaming with mischief, and holding a half-eaten piece of chocolate between her fingers, she looked like the personification of Temptation. “Well, there’re a couple of problems.”
“How fortunate that I’m an expert problem solver. Lay yourself, uh, them on me.”
“Well, first, as you can see, I’ve already taken a bite.”
“I don’t mind.”
“You’re not worried I might have a head cold?”
“Not a bit.”
“Then there’s the issue that I only bought four of these Belgian truffles from Sinfully Sweet, and this is my last piece. And it is exceptionally outstanding.”
“Really? I couldn’t tell,” he teased.
“Oh, it’s fabulous. Any sort of chocolate will give me tingles. But it takes a very special type of chocolate to inspire a chocogasm.”
Daniel’s imagination immediately conjured up a series of steamy images involving him and her and chocolate and orgasms and, holy hell, sweat broke out between his shoulder blades.
“Chocogasm,” he repeated slowly, savoring the word as one would a decadent treat. “That’s very…descriptive. And intriguing. I want to experience one.”
“You’d be crazy not to.”
He nodded his chin toward her half-eaten piece of chocolate. “So how about it? All the problems solved?”
“Not quite. Unfortunately, when it comes to chocolate, I’m sharing impaired.”
“I’ll give you a million dollars.”
“Do you have a million dollars?”
“No. But if I did, I’d give it to you.”
Her gaze shifted between him and her chocolate, then she shook her head. “Sorry.”
“If you share yours with me, I’ll share mine with you.”
Interest flared in her eyes. “Share your what?”
Anything you want. “My chocolate.”
“Oh? What kind do you have? Stuff left over from last Halloween, I bet.”
“Nope.” He rested his forearms along the top of the fence and leaned forward. “Belgian truffles. Assorted flavors. A pound box of them from Sinfully Sweet.”
Her eyes widened. “You do not.”
“Do, too.”
“I didn’t see you buy them.”
“You left the store before I did.”
“But they cost fifty dollars a pound!”
“I know. But I told you I have a weakness for chocolate. Ellie Fairbanks assured me they’re worth every penny. Based on your reaction, she’s right.”
“Oh, she’s definitely right. So let me get this straight. You have in your possession a full pound of Belgian truffles.”
“Yup. Haven’t even opened the box.”
“A virgin box? Stop toying with me.”
He laid his hand over his heart. “Swear.”
Something that looked like awe entered her gaze. “You’ve had them all day and haven’t eaten even one?”
“I’ve been too busy.” He jerked his head toward his backyard. “Filling in holes, laying down sod. You know, the usual.”
Even in the fading light he could see the color that bloomed on her cheeks, an enticing blush that made his fingers tingle with the need to touch her there.
“Oh,” she said in small voice. “So, that being the case, it seems I owe you one.”
“You do. And as it is, I’ll only be getting half a one.”
“What about your offer to share your chocolate? That still stand?”
“Depends.”
>
“On what?”
“Whether you share yours with me.”
“You have a lot more than I do.”
He smiled. “How advantageous for me. And how lucky for you I’m not as sharing impaired as you are.”
She stepped forward, until less than a foot separated them-well, a foot and the damn fence. He decided then and there that if he could possess one superpower, it would be the ability to make fences disappear.
Now that she was closer, he caught a whiff of her scent. Something flowery and musky that made his head spin. Or maybe his head was spinning from the way she was looking at him with those big brown eyes. Jeez, this woman was actually making him feel dizzy, just by looking at him. He wasn’t sure if that was good, or if it should scare him spitless.
“Well,” she said in a voice he could only describe as a purr, “then I guess you can have what I’m having. Allow me to offer you a taste of heaven.”
She held out her hand, offering him the half truffle held delicately between her thumb and index finger. Whew. Talk about an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Carlie stood in front of him, her heart beating ridiculously fast at the thought of feeding Daniel her remaining bite of chocolate, at the thought of her chocolate slowly melting in his warm mouth. Heated awareness jolted through her, making it impossible to deny she’d like to share a heck of a lot more than her chocolate with him. And based on the way he was looking at her-with enough heat to actually melt her chocolate-he wouldn’t be adverse to the idea. Something that was further proven when instead of simply taking the proffered half truffle from her, he reached out, snagged her wrist, then slowly drew her hand toward his mouth.
He leaned forward and his lips brushed over her fingers, stalling her breath. And, oh wow, was that his tongue? Before she could decide, he straightened. Still holding her wrist, and with his gaze behind his glasses steady on hers, his jaw moved slowly back and forth in a way that let her know he knew exactly how to eat a truffle. No chewing, just a long, slow melt into pleasure. She practically experienced another chocogasm just watching him, imagining his tongue slowly sweeping over her skin rather than her chocolate.
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