Page 12 of Redeemed

She took a couple of tentative steps forward until she could reach the utensil in his outstretched hand. Her fingers came up to rest on his as she closed her mouth around the proffered spoon covered in chocolatey batter. Her lids floated down and closed in pleasure as the taste exploded on her tongue. "Mmmmm," she moaned, swallowing the bite.

JT went still as a statue as he watched her plump, red lips close around the spoon and suck the batter into her mouth. When she moaned and swallowed, he almost lost it. He reached up to wipe a sheen of sweat off his brow as he pulled the spoon from her mouth. "What do you think? Did I get it right?" he asked, his voice suddenly husky.

Sofia's eyelids fluttered open and met his hooded gaze. Her pink tongue darted out and licked some stray chocolate from her lips before she answered. "I don't know if it's an exact match to Miss Etta's, but it's divine," she said in a breathy whisper.

"I'm glad you like it," he said slowly. He noticed a stray bit of chocolate at the corner of her mouth as his eyes refused to leave her face. "You've got a little chocolate just here…" he gestured but grabbed her hand before it reached her mouth to find the offending bit. "No, let me," he said and leaned forward, licking away the chocolate and letting his lips graze hers. Her mouth opened on a sigh and JT moved closer, his lips sipping at hers until their bodies were flush against one another. His hands met at her nape, his thumbs stroking the sides of her soft neck under the perfect shells of her ears. When he slanted his head to deepen the kiss, her long fingers came up to encircle his wrists, but instead of trying to pull him away, she hung on as if his hands on her were the only things holding her up.

A groan from deep in his chest escaped him as his tongue explored and he tasted the chocolate she had just eaten. He'd forever associate that taste with her and her sweet mouth. He dropped one hand to the small of her back and pulled her closer, cupping the back of her head with the other. Forced to relinquish her hold on his wrists, her hands found the dirty blonde locks at the base of his neck and threaded their way in, locking him in place to her.

For a minute, or maybe an hour, they stood absorbed in each other until a perky voice pierced the bubble they had been sequestered in. "Sofia? Are you back here? I was just going to head…" They jumped apart as they registered Jenny's voice, but it was too late. The young waitress' eyes seemed to find the oven and the pots hanging from the ceiling incredibly interesting as she sputtered. "Uh, s-s-sorry. I just wanted to make sure it was okay that I headed out for the day."

Sofia took a step away from JT toward the girl. "Of course!" Sofia said, a little too enthusiastically. "Let me come lock the door behind you."

She didn't look at JT as she ushered Jenny from the kitchen toward the front door. JT watched them go then scrubbed his hands up and down his face.Jesus, man, what are you doing? It's not real.He knew he shouldn't be kissing her, touching her at all unless they were doing it to make others believe in their relationship. Even then, it didn't need to be so, so consuming. But since he'd had a taste of her, he couldn't seem to help himself when those gorgeous full lips presented themselves. She always smelled of summer honeysuckle warmed in the sun. and her skin was so soft, even her hands that did hard, honest work every day. And today, when her curvy body melted into his, he thought he'd die a happy man right there. She overwhelmed all of his senses whenever she came near.Man, you are in deep trouble.

Chapter eleven

It's All Pretend...

Sofiasatontheend of her bed on Friday night wrapped in a towel, trying to get her nerves under control. JT was due to pick her up for an official 'date' in half an hour and she was in panic mode. Ever since their scorching kiss in the kitchen, they had been trying to give each other a wide berth at work. It was nothing anyone would notice but Sofia could feel the tension whenever they came into close contact, which they had to do frequently throughout the day. When he had suggested dinner out and a movie for tonight, she had agreed that being seen out together was the right thing to do but now she was freaking out.

You can do this, Sofia. It's only dinner and a movie. It's not even a real date.

She walked to her closet just as her phone started ringing. She decided to ignore it. She had important decisions to make. What do you wear to a fake dinner and a movie date? She stood in her closet and stared. She wanted to look cute, but not too cute. Definitely nothing sexy. Casual but flirty. No. Scratch that. Not flirty. But they had to make everything seem real, right? Wouldn't she do flirty if it was a real date? She growled to herself in frustration. Finally, she picked up her phone that wouldn't quit ringing. Didn't they know how to leave a voicemail? A glance at the screen showed her mother's number. She huffed a huge sigh. She did not have time for this but knew if she didn't pick up, the woman would keep calling her non-stop until she did.

Reluctantly, she answered. "Hola, Mamá. What's up?"

"Sofia, I need you to come by the house this evening," her mother announced.

"I kind of have plans tonight. Can't it wait until Sunday?" Sofia asked hopefully.

"No. Magda and her daughter, Marguerita, are here. You need to come say hello and I'm sure she'd like to apologize to you. They are leaving in the morning."

Sofia stifled a groan. Magda and Marguerita were two of the last people she wanted to see. If possible, the daughter was almost more interfering than her mother. "Mamá, I have a dinner date. I wish you would have let me know earlier."

She could almost hear her mother's ears perk up. "A date? With who? JT?" she asked, her worry clear in her tone.

Sofia squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for patience. "Yes, with JT. You know we're dating."

"Phsst! Bring him with you if you have to, but come by," Mrs. Benevides commanded. "Be here by six."

She sighed. Trying to thwart her mother's plans was futile when she took that tone. "Fine. We'll be by, but it will only be for a minute. I'm sure JT has reservations."

As her mother took a breath to respond, Sofia's mind searched for a way out. "Mamá, I have to go. JT is here," she fibbed. "We'll be by in a little while."

"Be sure you're here by six, Sofia," her mother said before disconnecting. Great. Now she had to subject JT to Tia Magda after everything she'd done. A fake date with a side of family drama. Just what she needed. She sighed again and went to finish dressing. JT would be here any minute.

JT rang Sofia's doorbell then shoved his hands in the front pockets of his best jeans. After discarding three other ones, he had finally decided on a hunter green flannel shirt topped by an Orvis down vest instead of a jacket. His nicest cowboy boots and a tooled leather belt Maggie had given him as a gift completed the ensemble. He blew out a nervous breath. He couldn't remember having been nervous for a date since his first one in high school. He didn't understand it and didn't like the jumpy feeling in his belly.Get your shit together, man. We're simply two friends going out for a bite, even though it's supposed to look like more. It's pretend!Before he could ruminate further, Sofia opened the door.

The breath caught in his lungs when his eyes caught sight of her in the doorway. She was gorgeous. Her normal high ponytail had been exchanged for a soft bun at the top of her head with a few of the shiny black locks already escaping their confinement to fall down to frame her face. She had on more make-up than he saw her in at work. It accentuated the slight tilt of her eyes. Like a cat, he thought. And her lips! Those full, rosebud lips were slicked with red. It was all he could do to not swoop down and taste them again. He suddenly desperately wanted to see that lipstick smeared across her face, her lips swollen from his kisses. JT blinked when he realized she had said something to him.

"JT?" she asked with concern.Great, she clearly thinks I've gone mental.

His voice cracked when he started to speak, and he had to clear his throat before he could get the simple words out. "Uh, yeah, hi! Ready to go?"

"Let me grab my jacket," Sofia answered, flashing him a shy smile.

JT could only nod, giving himself a mental facepalm.Get your shit together, man. You're acting like an idiot.