With This Cake: A Meet Me At The Altar Novel

by Samantha Chase

  Chapter 9

  As long as you know how to bake, life is sure to be sweet.

  Her heart was beating like wild as Brody carried her through her apartment and then placed her down on her bed. Had she known she was going to be this bold, she would have put a little effort into making sure her room was cleaned up a bit more and definitely would have put fresh sheets on the bed.

  But the way he was staring down at her told her it didn’t matter to him.

  Thank God.

  She slipped her shoes off and waited for him to say something or kiss her or…

  “How early do you need to get up in the morning?” he asked her, his voice so deep and rumbly it was almost a growl. She could tell he was trying to go slow on her account, but the last thing she wanted was for him to hold back.

  “I don’t have to be in until eight, but considering I’m one of the owners, I can go in any time I want. How about you?”

  His smile was slow and almost wolf-like. “I might call in sick.”

  Her laugh was out before she could stop it because she may not know Brody King all that well, but somehow, she greatly doubted the man had ever called in sick in his life. “You better watch it or I’ll hold you to that.”

  “I’d let you hold me any way you want, Lea.”

  In that moment, she fell a little in love with him, and instead of scaring her, it felt like a giant weight had been lifted. Reaching up, she raked a hand through his dark hair and guided him down on top of her. “Kiss me,” she whispered urgently.

  And he did.

  Over and over and over, each one deeper and wetter than the last.

  There was a part of her that loved making the man who was usually so completely in control lose it.

  For her.

  All for her.

  After a few minutes, he rose up and stripped off his suit jacket and tie and Leanna’s mouth went dry when he began to unbutton his crisp white shirt. There was something infinitely sexy about watching a man strip like this and she was more than happy to lie back and enjoy.

  His shirt came off and she reached up, rested a hand on his stomach, and marveled at the muscles there. The night they spent together had been such a frenzy that she hadn’t taken the time to really look at him. That night had been all about feeling and a sort of crazed need to claim and be claimed.

  That wasn’t what she wanted tonight.

  Tonight she was going take her time and appreciate everything about this magnificent man and revel in the fact that he was here with her.

  And how much he wanted her.

  It was a heady mix.

  Brody reached out and captured her hand before leaning down so her arm was up and over her head. “I think we need to take some things off of you,” he said hotly before running his tongue along her throat.

  “I already took off my shoes,” she teased and then let out a low moan when he bit her shoulder.

  “I think we can do better than that, don’t you?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t mind taking the necklace off…”

  Rearing up, he gave her a sexy smile. “The pearls stay. Everything else needs to go.”

  Oh, my…

  Arching her back, Leanna reached behind her and unzipped the dress, then relaxed back against the mattress as Brody took over sliding it off her body. She had a brief moment of insecurity because she wasn’t as thin as she wanted to be and knew she was curvier than was fashionable, but the way his eyes raked over her told her she was worrying for nothing.

  He tossed her dress onto the floor and ran a hand up her leg. “I want to touch every inch of you, Leanna. I’ve done nothing but think of you like this for weeks.”

  That was definitely surprising. “Really?”

  His hand continued upwards and toyed briefly with the edge of her panties before moving up to cup her breast.

  “Every day,” he admitted darkly. “I’d get hard at the most inappropriate times but it was worth it.” He paused and ran a finger along the lace edging of her bra. “But the reality is so much better.” That same finger dipped beneath the fabric and lightly grazed her nipple and Lea practically bucked off the bed. He repeated the move on her other breast until she thought she’d go crazy.

  “I think so too,” she said breathlessly, panting at the sensations that one finger was giving her. “I just have one question for you.”

  “Anything, beautiful.”

  “Are you planning on getting up to go to the gym in the morning?”

  His laugh was low and practically a growl. “I plan on working out right here with you.”

  “Ooh…I like knowing I’m part of your training.”

  And right before his lips claimed hers, he said, “You’re my favorite part of it.”

  Lord help her…she couldn’t wait.

  “Any other questions, love? Because my hands are itching to get you naked.”

  She shook her head as she reached for his belt buckle. “Funny, I was thinking the same about you.”

  Brody leaned forward, his mouth a breath away from hers. “I told you we were compatible.”

  And before she could utter another word, his lips claimed hers.

  The kiss was definitely needier than all the others tonight and in the blink of an eye, she was naked and Brody was kicking the rest of his clothes away,

  Skin to skin was her favorite way to be with him.

  Her legs wrapped around him to keep him close, but she knew he wasn’t going anywhere.

  Not until morning.

  “Well, well, well…look who is strolling in at ten a.m.,” Josie sang as Lea walked into their office.

  “I don’t care what time it is–just tell me you have donuts or something,” Skye chimed in.

  “As if I would show up late and not come bearing gifts,” Lea said, her face sore from smiling so much.

  And she had pretty much been smiling since Brody woke her up this morning as he kissed his way down her body.

  Yeah, that was her new favorite way to start the day.

  She put a large decaf coffee and a bagel on Skye’s desk and then did the same with Josie’s before taking a seat at her own. It was hard not to laugh because she could literally feel both of her friends staring at her, but she was going to get herself comfortable before she shared anything.

  So she took a long, slow sip of her coffee before unwrapping her bagel and taking a bite. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Josie rolling her eyes and had to hide her smile.

  When she finished chewing, she gently wiped her mouth.

  That’s when Josie’s patience ran out.

  “Oh, for the love of it! Did you sleep with Brody last night or not?”

  “Jos, we said we weren’t going to pressure her,” Skye chided before glancing over at Lea. “But now that the question is out there, I’m dying to know too.”

  Resting her arms on her desk, she grinned. “I did sleep with Brody last night and it was a-mazing!” she sang giddily. “Although that description isn’t completely accurate because there wasn’t a whole lot of sleeping.”

  “I love it!” Josie cried while fist pumping the air above her. “I knew there was no way he was going to be able to walk away after seeing how gorgeous you looked last night!”

  “Well, he did not want to leave but didn’t want to pressure me. Then I realized that I didn’t want him leaving either. I swear, when he showed up and I opened the door, it was like James Bond had come to take me to dinner! And then we went out to his car and it’s a freaking Aston Martin! I mean, come on! How is this my life?” She was laughing and it felt so good and she was so happy to be able to share this with her best friends.

  “No way! He drives an Aston Martin?” Skye asked. “Seriously? I thought those cars only existed in movies!”

  Leanna nodded and took another bite of her bagel. “The car is amazing and watching him drive it while dressed in a suit was almost foreplay in and of itself.”

  “Damn,” Josie commented, now fanning herself. �
��Now there’s a picture for you. Any chance he has a twin brother or perhaps some equally-attractive single friends?”

  “Sorry, not twin brother. He does have two brothers but one is married and the other is marrying my cousin.”

  “The bridezilla,” Skye said. “Poor guy.”

  “He doesn’t seem to mind,” Leanna explained. “Brody minds, but the rest of his family doesn’t see it as an issue, so…”

  “Okay, so no more eligible King brothers,” Josie interrupted. “What about cousins? Did you meet any of them at the engagement party thing?”

  She thought about it for a moment. “I met so many people that weekend so I really don’t remember who was family and who wasn’t.” She took a sip of her coffee. “And what’s with you wanting to get fixed up with someone? For years you’ve been yammering on about how you don’t need a man and don’t want to get married.”

  Josie took a sip of her own coffee before leaning back in her seat sighing. “Yeah, I know. But now that Skylar and my brother are married and you’re with Brody…”

  “I’ve been with Brody for like…ten seconds,” Lea reminded her. “So don’t throw me into the equation. A couple of dates certainly don’t mean anything.”

  “Oh, really?” Skye asked. “So you’re saying you’re not totally into this guy? Because if you are, I’m going to call bullshit. I talked to you that whole weekend and I heard how you went from annoyance, to interest, to totally being into him. And the look on your face as you were telling us about last night was not the look of someone who wasn’t seriously hooked.”

  Why deny it?

  “You guys…I know it’s so unlike me, but…I really am crazy about him. Maybe even a little in love,” she said quietly, staring down at her breakfast. “It’s too soon and I’m sure this is not going to end well for me, but…I can’t seem to stop myself. Not yet anyway. For now, I really want to just be with him and enjoy everything I can for as long as it lasts.”

  “Why do you think it won’t end well?” Skye asked.

  Leanna explained how different she felt they were and then all the ways Brody pointed out how they were the same.

  “O-kay…that all sounds very normal,” Skye reasoned. “No two people are exactly the same, Lea. And in a relationship, you kind of don’t want to be. Elliott and I have a lot of common interests but there are also a lot of things that we don’t. And all those things make us who we are.”

  “It’s not just that,” she began and then groaned because she thought back to that first day and realized he had essentially told her everything she needed to know then. “He’s already told me he never intends to get married.”

  “Oh.”

  “Damn.”

  She reached for her coffee and took another long sip. “So how stupid is it for me to keep moving forward? We all know I want to get married some day and have kids. I’m not a child anymore. I’m a grown woman who is getting older and my biological clock is starting to tick. Loudly. I shouldn’t be wasting my time at this stage of the game with someone who definitely doesn’t want the same things I do, right?”

  Skye was about to answer but Josie cut her off.

  “Speaking as someone who has always sworn she didn’t need or want to get married, I can tell you that…sometimes things change,” she admitted softly. “Sometimes you just have to meet the right person and your whole perspective changes.”

  “Josie, are you saying…”

  But her friend held up her hand to stop her. “I haven’t met anyone, but…it feels like everyone I know is either married or getting married or falling in love and…I’m starting to feel like I want that too. And if I met someone who completely swept me off my feet the way my brother did with Skye or like Brody’s doing with you…then I’d totally want all the hearts and flowers and promises for forever too.”

  “Wow, Josie,” Skye said. “I had no idea you felt like this.”

  “Yeah, well…” She sighed and then straightened in her seat and Leanna knew they were done lamenting about her friend and the focus was back on her. “All I’m saying is that maybe Brody did feel like that a month ago or even a few weeks ago. It doesn’t mean he’s going to feel like that forever so…I say go for it. Date him. Sleep with him. Have fun with him! At some point you’re going to have to have the conversation with him about where things are going or about how he feels, but only you will know when that time is. Don’t sacrifice your own happiness right now because you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. None of us do.”

  It was weird to have her most cynical friend be the encouraging one, but she loved the advice.

  “Okay. I’m going to do it. I’m going to date the hell out of Brody King and not obsess about a conversation we had on day one.”

  “Good for you!” Skye cheered. “So when are you seeing him again?”

  “We’re going out Saturday night. He’s taking me to dinner and to see Hamilton! I couldn’t believe that he had tickets to it, but I am really excited about it.”

  “I have a feeling a man like Brody can get tickets to see anything you’d like and if he can’t get them for here in Raleigh, he can fly you up to New York to see it on Broadway.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” she murmured. “I would never ask him to fly me anywhere. That’s not why I’m with him. I’d never take advantage like that.”

  “We know you wouldn’t, but that doesn’t mean he won’t take it upon himself to spoil you a little,” Skye said.

  Maybe, Leanna thought, but she wasn’t going to even go there. Right now, she was just happy that things were moving forward.

  And silently prayed it lasted longer than she could even imagine.

  “You’re leaving early again?” Travis asked as he walked into Brody’s office several weeks later.

  Closing his satchel, Brody slung it over his shoulder. “I am. Is there something you need?”

  His brother stood there looking more than a little confused and it was almost comical. “Um…I wanted you to look at this contract for the new vendors in San Diego.”

  “Just email it to me and I’ll take a look at it. When do we need to have it finalized?”

  “Dude, seriously? You were the one who initiated this and had legal put a rush on it!”

  “And…?”

  “You said you wanted signatures on it by the end of the month,” Travis said wearily. “I had hoped you’d sign off on it today so I could email it out to management and…”

  “Have you read it?”

  “Of course.”

  “Was there anything out of place? Anything that sounded off?”

  “No, it’s our standard contract that we’ve used for other complexes.”

  Checking his desk to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, he shrugged. “Then we’re good, Trav. You can sign off on it and send it off. I trust you.” Walking around his desk, he smiled and clapped his brother on the shoulder. “Have a good night!”

  “Wait!” Travis called out and waited until Brody turned to face him. “What’s going on with you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve been cutting out early, coming in late, and…I don’t know…you just smiled at me. It’s a little unnerving.”

  “Seriously? You’re complaining because I smiled?”

  “It’s very unlike you.”

  With a huff of annoyance, Brody put his satchel down on his desk before facing his brother again. “If memory serves, everyone hated me and how I was. Now I’m working on changing things up and it’s still a problem?”

  “Okay, for the record, no one hated you. You were just a little…intense sometimes.”

  “Fine, now I’m not so intense and yet you’re still giving me shit!”

  With a groan, Travis tried to better explain himself. “I’m just curious what’s going on that has you…you know…relaxing like this. For years we’ve all been telling you to ease up a bit and you refused. Is it Charlene’s cousin? The baker?”

  “Her
name is Leanna, and yes,” he said a bit stiffly.

  “Wow! I just thought you hung out with her that weekend to keep everyone off your back.”

  Yeah, that had been the plan but there was no way he was going to admit it out loud because it made him sound…shallow.

  “We’re…um…dating,” he said stiffly.

  “Holy shit! Are you doing this so Dad will finally consider you for that promotion?”

  “What?! Why would you even say that? What is wrong with you?”

  Travis held up his hands in defeat. “Okay, okay…sorry. The timing just seemed a little…you know…convenient, that’s all. You haven’t gone out with anyone more than a handful of times in years so…”

  With a huff of annoyance, Brody glanced down at his watch. “Was there anything else you needed? Leanna and I have plans tonight and I’d really like to get going.”

  “That’s great, Bro! I had no idea you were serious about her!” Then he paused and Brody’s eyes went a little wide.

  It was on the tip of his tongue to correct him and say they weren’t serious, but…they were. This was all so new to him and the last thing he wanted was anyone interfering or giving their two cents–especially anyone in his family.

  Although…if it hadn’t been for them, he wouldn’t have a relationship with Leanna right now.

  Still, he liked their privacy and wasn’t looking to invite any observers in.

  “It’s all still a little new,” he said reluctantly. “Our schedules are a little hard to manage but we’re making it work.”

  “Good for you!” Grinning from ear to ear, Travis repeated Brody’s earlier move and clapped him on the shoulder. “And don’t let me keep you. Go and have a good night. Maybe the four of us will have to go out sometime!”

  It was not something he was even remotely interested in doing, but he simply smiled and said, “Sure,” as he grabbed his satchel and headed out the door.

  The entire way down to the parking garage, Brody felt mildly annoyed by having his personal life questioned. It wasn’t anyone’s business where he went or what he did or who he was doing it with.