Page 53 of Perfect Together
“It’s only bad if we get caught. If we don’t, it’s all good.”
She looked up at him through eyes half open. “Why?”
“Because you were stressed and needed some relief.” And because he desired her, he couldn’t wait until they got home.
She studied his face, making him wonder what she was looking for and if she’d find it. Then to his surprise, she relaxed, the muscles in her legs gave way, and she opened for him. The trust inherent in that one move humbled him—and truly frightened the young man inside him who’d had his heart and his own trust ripped to shreds one October morning.
The only way he could ignore his rapidly beating heart was to focus on Nicole’s pleasure. Around them, he heard the sounds of a busy night at a restaurant. Bussers loading trays, servers checking in at tables, conversations between patrons.
He’d paid and tipped for privacy, and until he asked for a check, they’d be alone. He kept asking himself why he was putting in the extra effort to wine, dine, and seduce her, and all he could come up with was Nicole. She’d been afraid he was in it for sex only, and he wanted to take her out in public and reassure her. Treat her like the lady she was.
He told himself it didn’t have anything to do with her fancy ex-fiancé, but he wasn’t so sure. A part of him figured this was his way of competing. Not that she’d made him feel like Tyler was in the running, but she deserved to be wined and dined.
Pleasured.
Beneath the tablecloth, he drew her skirt up over her thighs and cupped her completely, her damp heat pulsating against his palm. Her breath caught and her eyes opened wide, but she didn’t stop him as he pushed aside her flimsy underwear and slid his finger along her slick folds.
Her lips parted, and she sighed.
“Shh,” he said, brushing her hair off her cheek. With his hidden hand, he shifted positions until his fingertip touched her clit. Her hips jerked in response and he turned her head toward him, sealing his lips over hers.
He kissed her while he stroked the tiny bud, all the while aware of her increasing wetness and building desire, the hushed moans he devoured with his mouth, and the way her smaller hands gripped his sides. He kept up the pressure, her feminine juices coating his finger. His dick wanted inside her so badly he could barely breathe, but that meant he had to get her home. So first she had to come.
He stroked her harder, more insistently. Circled his finger over and over her clit until he silenced her cries with his mouth, thrusting his tongue inside her in the same rhythm he used to control her orgasm with his finger.
Soon he gentled the kiss as she came down.
He touched his forehead to hers. “Okay?” he asked her.
“Sublime.”
He tilted his head back and met her hazy gaze. “Beautiful.”
Her cheeks were pink, her lips swollen. “Mortified.”
He brushed his thumb over her mouth. “Don’t be. Nobody knows but us. And now that you’ve had dessert, it’s time for the check.”
“Maybe I’ve had dessert, but you haven’t.” She smiled at him then. “Hurry up so it can be your turn.”
In that instant, Sam knew he was falling for this woman, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stop it.
***
As the artfestival and the weekend approached, Serendipity grew more crowded with people Sam didn’t know or recognize. Mike put more cops on foot patrol, and Sam was grateful he’d made detective or he’d be working even longer hours. He hadn’t seen Nicole since spending the night at her house after their date. He did, however, have enough memories to keep him going.
They hadn’t slept much, and he discovered that despite the occasional shyness, she was a match for him in bed as well as out. She’d made him breakfast, the best egg and cheese omelet he’d ever eaten, and sent him home with cookies she’d obviously baked the day before and had ready for him when it was time for him to head home to shower and go to work.
He’d never slept at a woman’s place nor had one stay over at his for obvious reasons, yet doing it with Nicole felt right. Despite the fact that he was feeling uncomfortably domesticated, he couldn’t get her out of his head. He called her that day and again during the week, and damn if hearing her voice didn’t add something to his long day. Even when working, he found his mind drifting, her blue eyes and the sounds she made when he was deep inside her staying with him wherever he went.
She and Aunt Lulu had taken a booth at the art festival, and Sam headed home to change so he could attend the big event downtown. Normally, he wouldn’t go near an art festival, but like everything else when it came to Nicole, he was drawn there and planned to be one of her first customers.
***
Nicole was amazedat how fast things moved in a small town because people were willing to work on faith and trust. The bakery itself was in pristine condition, the equipment fairly new. Having a partner to share the workload helped. Aunt Lulu had all the information about inspectors and licenses and had agreed to handle the business end of things. Meanwhile, Nicole called Kelly Barron, a paralegal in town, to discuss having partnership papers drawn up. The bank manager assured them their loan would be approved sometime next week, and the landlord had allowed them into the shop in advance of any papers being signed.
With a few phone calls, they had the electricity and water turned on, and Nicole spent the day Friday baking for Saturday’s art festival. She hoped to give the good people of Serendipity a taste of what was to come when their bakery opened. Aunt Lulu would bring pies and cakes to their booth and posted signs around town.
As she readied for what she considered her debut, Nicole was finally starting to feel like she belonged somewhere. Other than Tyler still hanging around, calling and stopping by, all of which she blatantly ignored, praying he’d get the message, life was looking up.