The sheer force of the wind from the speed of the truck knocked him forward a step and I screamed.
“Fuck,” he growled under his breath.
Something shifted in my belly beyond a new trauma to add to my collection. His arms shook as he course corrected and shifted to keep the cake from sliding.
I rose up as if to help.
“Stay put,” he barked.
My butt landed on the leather of the seat.
I wasn’t sure how to help him and had to sit there helplessly as he inched his way over to the Cadillac—and me.
He lifted it a few inches to clear the body of the convertible and the sheer strength in his arms made my mouth dry. It was on a sturdy base which also added to the weight of the cake, but it was the only thing that was going to get us to the pavilion without incident.
“Ready?”
I nodded. All words had dried up like the saliva in my mouth.
The scent of icing and something darker slid over me as he leaned in to place the board on my lap. Cloves and late nights with fresh sheets. When I looked away from the cake, his dark green eyes met mine. “This thing is going to crush you.”
“Worth it to get it to Sully and Nora.”
He nodded. “Ready?”
I nodded.
The heat of his arm hit me first as he turned his body to get it inside. “Sorry,” he mumbled as his arm tucked between my boobs.
“All good. Most action I’ve gotten in a while.”
He huffed out a laugh. “That’s a crime.”
“Working for yourself is a bitch sometimes.”
“Tell me about it.”
When his hand glided down my lower belly, our eyes collided. His jaw muscles flexed. “Okay, I gotta pull my hand out. Might get a little too?—”
“Just do it.”
“Got it.”
He set the front of the board down first then slowly eased the back, closest to me, down. “Can you widen your legs?” His voice was little more than a rumble in the semi-dark of the backseat.
I did as his wide hand slid down between my legs to settle the board onto my thighs. I sucked in, but there was no room for anything other than a full press of his arm against my wholedamn body. The backs of his fingers glided over the front of my work pants as he pulled up and away.
I blew out a breath on a groan as the full weight of the cake finally registered as he backed away. My whole system hummed from the stress and his touch.
He spun around and bent at the waist, his hands on his knees.
“Ripley?”
“I can’t believe that worked.” He paced away from me, shaking out his arms.
I laughed. “Me neither. You okay?”
“Yeah. I just need a second.”
