by Jodi Vaughn
“Lilliana.” He looked into her eyes. She shuddered as another orgasm rolled over her. He held her close and found his own release. He spilled his seed deep inside her.
He rolled over and pulled her into his chest. They spent several minutes like that. Touching and feeling and saying all the words, without anything spoken.
Chapter 15
Killian woke up to the sun crawling in the window of a tiny cabin. He frowned and then smiled as he remembered where he was.
He’d spent the night with Lilliana. In her bed. In her body.
A slow, satisfied smile settled on his lips, and he rolled over to pull her into his chest. He froze. The bed was empty.
A note with his name sat propped up against the pillow.
He sat up and picked up the paper.
Killian, had to go make breakfast for the guests at Monmouth. Then I have to make my cake deliveries. I left you some cinnamon rolls by the coffee pot.
Xoxo
Lilliana.
XOXO? Did that mean she loved him? Or did it mean just hugs and kisses? Was it a generic greeting or was she trying to say she felt something more?
“Ugh. Stop being a pussy, Killian.” He slung off the covers and grabbed his jeans from the floor. After sticking his feet in and pulling them up, he didn’t bother to zip them.
He walked over to the fresh pot of coffee and smiled at the large plate of sugary goodness waiting on him.
“Sex and sugar. Two things I love the most.” He cheerfully poured himself a cup and grabbed the plate. He headed over to the overstuffed chair, sat down, and proceeded to devour the cinnamon rolls.
He glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was almost nine o’clock. He didn’t usually sleep in, but he’d had sex until the sun was starting to peek over the horizon.
He grinned as he thought about last night.
Lilliana had been just as beautiful and sexy as he imagined. She’d seemed to be in sync with what he wanted. She did everything that turned him on and more. He’d known by the number of orgasms he’d given her that he’d satisfied her as well.
He set the empty plate down and picked up his coffee cup. He deeply inhaled the scent of chicory and looked out the window.
The garden was empty, and the only movement he saw outside was the mallard ducks and Canada geese walking toward the small pond, probably looking for some food.
Monmouth was certainly beautiful. It was the perfect romantic getaway or honeymoon spot.
He rubbed his hand across his chin. Had Lilliana already left to deliver her cakes? He knew that breakfast would be over by now and that she probably did leave as soon as she was done cooking so she could get her cakes delivered.
He’d watched her make the cakes last night and had even taken the liberty of tasting the batter. It tasted wonderful. No bitterness whatsoever.
He was convinced. The bakery had mistakenly put some cleaner near the cake, and that’s what had made it taste so bad.
He grabbed his coffee cup washed it out in the sink. Since he was technically still doing recon on the Natchez Bakery, he was going to grab a shower and head back down there.
Chapter 16
“I think this is too much money.” Lilliana frowned at the wad of cash stuffed in the white envelope. She ran her thumb across the large bills and recounted it again.
“That’s a first. A woman not liking money.” Emmett sniffed and shoved his glasses up on his rather large nose.
She gritted her teeth and stared. “It’s not about not liking money. I like money just fine. This is about you overpaying me. You already gave me a raise, and this,” she shook the envelope at him, “is almost four times what I normally get.”
“Yes, well.” He stood from his desk and went to the door. He poked his head out and shut the door.
Unease crawled up her spine.
She didn’t like the vibe he was giving her. She stood and turned to face him. “What are you doing?
He swallowed nervously and took his seat.
“It’s more money this week because I need more Hummingbird Cakes.”
“How many more?” She preferred standing.
“I need about twenty. Every day.”
“Twenty? I can’t do twenty cakes a day and decorate them and cook at Monmouth.” She gave him an incredible look.
“What if you didn’t decorate them? I mean we could decorate them here. It’s just frosting.” He shrugged.
She cringed. “It’s not just frosting.” And they were more than just assembly line cakes. They were her own creation.
“Lilliana. The amount you are holding in your hand is the amount of money you would get paid every single day. You take that into account before your artist’s heart gets in the way of common sense.”
“Every day?” She felt her eyes widen.
“Yes. Every day.” He smirked.
She glanced down at the envelope. If she could produce that many cakes every day for a couple of months, she could have enough money to pay her mother back once and for all. Hell, she might even have enough to start her own small business and start her own bakery.
“What do you say?”
“Fine. I’ll do it.” She nodded her head. “But if I’m baking twenty cakes a day, I’m going to need to see the recipe for the frosting you are going to be using.”
“Fine.” He shook his head and went to the door. “I’ll be right back with the recipe.”
She walked around and sat in her chair. She stared at the money in her hand.
Her mind was screaming that this was easy money. But then she reminded herself that there was no such thing as easy money. Baking twenty cakes a day was going to seriously take over her life. From dawn to midnight, whenever she wasn’t cooking for Monmouth, she was going to have to be in the kitchen, baking her cakes. She pulled a piece of paper off Emmett’s notepad and scribbled down the amount of ingredients she was going to need to produce cakes for the rest of the week.
“Here we go.” Mr. Reece held out a recipe card that had seen better days. It was discolored from age and splattered with what looked like melted butter and powdered sugar.
“It’s a cream cheese recipe,” she said.
“Exactly what you use on your Hummingbird Cakes.” He crossed his arms and smirked.
“Yeah. It is.” She stood and gathered her purse.
“So, do we have a deal?” he asked.
“Twenty cakes a day is a crazy amount. And to be honest I don’t really see that many people in the bakery.” She looked at the ground.
“That’s because all our customers usually come in before lunch.” He cocked his head. “Not to mention we are now doing a great deal of catering for businesses. So we’ve had quite a lot of deliveries. And your Hummingbird Cake is the most requested dessert we get.” He shrugged. “Lilliana, I am no fool. Your cakes are making me a lot of money. I’m willing to pay money to keep the money and the business coming in. Besides, I’m not getting any younger. I will be selling the bakery in another three years or so. And I would like to see someone with talent and enthusiasm for baking buy it.” He arched his brow.
She jerked her head up. “Really? But I thought you were barely holding on….”
“Yes, well, businesses go through feast and famine times. Right now, it’s feast. And I’m taking advantage of your baking skills.” He held out his hand. “I tell you what, I’ll give you Saturday and Sunday off. Just produce twenty cakes Monday through Friday. What do you say?”
She stared at his hand. The urge to shake it was overwhelming. She’d struggled all her life. While other people seemed to always get what they wanted with ease, she didn’t. Everything for her was a battle.
Maybe, just maybe, karma was looking out for her.
She took a deep breath and took Mr. Emmett Reece’s hand. His skin felt ice-cold against hers, and she had to remind herself that it was because he was human not a Were like her. As a Were, their body temps ran higher than a mere wolf.
; “Emmett, it looks like you have a deal. With Saturday and Sundays off.” She looked him in the eye.
“Fine, fine.” He looked quite pleased with himself and opened the door for her. “Remember, don’t bother doing the frosting; we’ll handle that here.”
“I got it,” she muttered under her breath. She stepped out of the office and down the corridor. She usually came and left through the back door. But today, she changed direction and headed into the bakery.
There were only a couple of people milling about the glass displays. One was an elderly woman clutching a large, black purse. The other was a big, burly man wearing a plaid lumberjack shirt and worn jeans. He had a scruffy red beard, and he looked dirty.
But it was his smell that hit Lilliana.
She cringed and stepped back. He smelled to high heaven.
She watched as one of the employees stepped up to the counter to wait on him, completely ignoring the old woman.
She stepped back and pretended to look at the cupcakes.
“I pay good money to be waited on, and that guy gets attention instead of me.” The old woman pulled out a lace handkerchief and held it up to her nose. “And his smell. Good Lord.”
“Maybe they are waiting on him so he’ll leave faster.” Lilliana shrugged.
“Well, this is not the first time that I’ve been passed over for some smelly man.” She shot Lilliana a look. “I’m about to take my business somewhere else.”
“What is it that keeps you coming back?” Lilliana smiled broadly at the woman. “Is it the Hummingbird Cake?”
“That?” The woman’s eyes narrowed in slits. “They won’t sell me a sliver of a slice. They always say that it’s preordered by some business. Makes me so mad I could spit.”
“You’ve never had it? I hear it’s really good.” Lilliana looked at the woman under her lashes.
“Must be. But I’ll never know.” The woman crossed her arms.
Lillian smiled to herself. “I’m Lilliana.” She held out her hand. The old woman took it and forced a smile. “I’m Edith.” She looked Lilliana up and down and nodded. “Lilliana, I like that. It’s a good, solid name. An older name. Not the latest fad. You should thank your mother for her wisdom in naming you something that means something. Lilliana is Latin, and it means Lily. The flower is a symbol of innocence and purity as well as beauty.” Edith nodded. “Your mother was a smart cookie.”
Lilliana grinned wide. “I think so too. She raised me herself.’
“Oh. No father in the picture?” Edith shook her head.
“He died when I was young. She said he was the love of her life. She never married again.”
“Smart woman. One man is enough.” She patted Lilliana’s hand. “I should know. I’ve been married five times.” She narrowed her eyes.
“Five?”
“Yep, and the only one that was worth a flip was the first one. I should have held on tighter to him. Instead, my pride got in the way.” She fussed with her purse and drew her gaze away.
“How do you mean?” Lilliana studied her new friend. There was a sadness in the old woman’s eyes that tugged at Lilliana’s heart.
“Well, you see, I thought he was not paying me enough attention. I was jealous of his work. He traveled a lot, and I was worried he was with another woman.” She shook her gray head. “I let my mind get the best of me. And my pride. One night he came home after a long week of traveling for work, and I started a fight.” She wiped at her eyes. “I didn’t know any better. I was young and insecure. I threw him out that night, and we were divorced a year later.” She looked at Lilliana with determination set in her gray eyes. “Let this be a lesson to you, honey. If you find love, you hold on to it with both hands until your hands bleed. Don’t let go. Not even for a second. Because things change at a moment’s notice.”
Lilliana reached out and touched the woman’s wrinkled arm. “I’m sorry.” It was all the words she could offer.
Edith smiled and patted Lilliana’s hand. “It’s all water under the bridge now. I’ve learned to live in the present. I’ve buried three husbands, and I’ve raised a family. I’ve seen good times, and I’ve seen bad. I’m a very old woman, and my beauty has faded. But this I know. A good man’s heart is hard to find.” She nodded.
“You said you buried three husbands.” Lillian looked at the woman. “Is your first husband still alive?”
A slight smile crossed the woman’s mouth. “How did you know?”
“Because there is still life in you.”
The woman jerked her gaze to her, and her eyes widened as if Lilliana had discovered her secrets.
“And since there is life in you, you should make it your mission to go live it.” Lilliana lifted her chin.
The old woman’s chin quivered. “What if he’s dead or worse?”
“Happily married?” She arched her brow.
Edith nodded.
“What if he’s neither dead nor happy? What if he is living with regret and thinking of you every single day? Life is too short to be bogged down with what ifs.”
“You’re right.” Edith narrowed her gaze. “What makes you such an expert at such a young age? You’re not even thirty.”
“No, I’m not. But being raised by a single mom, I’ve had to grow up fast. And I was lucky enough to grow up with a lot of love. Even if we didn’t have much else.” Something inside Lilliana warmed and gave her hope.
“You know what, my dear?” Edith gave her a wink. “You are going to find love. And it’s going to hit you hard and fast. You’re going to want to build a wall and keep him out. Don’t. Don’t do it. Love comes once in a lifetime. You grab him and hold on to him with everything inside of you.”
Lillian’s heart flipped in her chest. She nodded.
“Good. If you do that then you’ll do just fine.” Edith’s smile faded as she glared at the cashier. “I think I’m going to go to the other bakery in town since this one isn’t keen on keeping customers.”
Edith hiked her purse on her shoulder and lifted her chin in the air as she headed for the front door.
Lilliana watched Edith’s retreating back. She was more focused on the old woman’s words of wisdom than the Natchez Bakery’s customer service.
Chapter 17
Killian frowned at his ringing cell phone.
Barrett.
“Hello?” Killian killed the engine and threw the kickstand on his Harley Davidson. He had arrived at the Natchez Bakery just in time to see Lilliana leave out the front door.
He was going to catch up with her until Barrett rang.
“Any news?” Barrett’s impatient tone forced Killian to concentrate on the mission instead of watching Lilliana leave.
“I broke into the bakery and went through the office. There was nothing unusual. Just paperwork and receipts of customers.” He scratched the back of his ear and frowned. “I did find a key that was locked in a drawer, but I could never find out what it went to.”
“Not good enough. There’s been in increase in meth sales in Mississippi. It’s starting to leak over into Louisiana. I don’t want that shit in my state.”
“Understood.” Killian sighed. “I can go back in tonight and do another sweep of the place. There might be something that I missed before.”
“You do that. And keep me updated.” Barrett hung up.
“Not much for words I see.” Killian spoke to the phone in his hand. He climbed off the bike and studied the big building in front of him.
There was not a lot of traffic coming in and out of the building. And the people he’d seen were an odd collection. They were either old women who looked like they were dressed to go to church, or they were tattooed guys who looked like they’d never stepped foot in a church.
Kind of like him.
He headed toward the bakery. Since he was already here and Lilliana had been long gone, he might as well buy another Hummingbird Cake.
If this one was bad then he was going to have to tell her. He wanted her
to be a success and someone getting a cake of hers that had gotten ruined would not do anything for her career.
He opened the front door and stepped inside.
The room was practically empty except for a guy in a leather biker jacket standing in front of the display case. He had dark-black hair and was built like a tank.
He was also eyeing Lilliana’s Hummingbird Cake with interest.
Killian strode up beside him and stuck his hands in his jeans pockets. “I was thinking of getting that cake.” He nodded toward the display.
The big guy snorted. “Yeah. That’s not going to happen. I already bought it.”
“Really?” Killian suppressed a grin. “You must have gotten this cake before.”
The guy turned toward Killian and narrowed his gaze. “Why would you ask something like that?” His gaze wandered up and down the Were as if he were trying to figure out if Killian had an angle.
“No reason.” Killian shrugged. “I had heard those Hummingbird Cakes were good. Thought I’d come in and buy one.”
The large guy cocked his head. “No. You don’t want those cakes. Not here.”
“Why not?” Killian took his hands out of his pockets. “What’s wrong with them?” Had the guy heard something?
“You can’t get Hummingbird Cakes here because they are all sold out. Months in advance.” The guy turned back to the counter and shook his head. “Besides, you look more like a Twinkie Cake kind of guy.”
Something about the way the guy carried himself and the way he talked had Killian’s instincts going crazy.
He had a feeling they were no longer talking about cakes.
“Well, I heard those Hummingbird Cakes were good, and the best ones are here.” He tapped his finger on top of the glass display case. “At the Natchez Bakery.”
The guy turned and smirked. He nodded his head. “I see. You must be one of the new guys.” He shrugged. “I wasn’t told we were going to have new guys help with pickup and distribution.”
Killian crossed his arms. Whatever this guy was talking about sounded a whole lot like drug dealing.
