Clem nods. “I even know more than his name and what he does for a living, but that’s thanks to working with him.”
“You should count your lucky stars you didn’t work with my ex.”
Both of them look at me. Mom’s lips form a troubled line. Damn. My gaze strays to Cruz yet again, still chatting by the porch with my dad and Uncle Karl. I wasn’t going to touch this subject, but it slipped out. I cracked open the door, and I want to shut it again.
For years, I gave them the bare minimum—when I actually answered their calls. Guilt chews my insides, but that door is going to stay cracked. I won’t shut it completely, not after opening up to Cruz. “I knew something was wrong, and I didn’t want to admit it. Now I just want to forget.”
“But Cruz?” Mom’s approving gaze touches on the group of men. “No history of being bad news?”
I know about the history. That’s the difference. “He’s not perfect, but he’s worked on himself.”
“Then save him from another hour of small talk and interrogation.” Mom wiggles to get out of her chair, her feet barely touching the ground until she’s almost all the way out. “Go get your dessert, and I’ll distract your dad.”
Laughing, I make my way toward the kitchen to retrieve my eclairs. When I turn from the fridge, Cruz is waiting to take the container from me like my very own dessert.
I could get used to this, to having him there when I need a hand. “How are you holding up under their attention?”
He flashes his crooked grin. “It’s the most fun I’ve had in a long time. Except for when a pretty girl stopped in at the distillery at closing time.”
Tendrils of heat unfurl in my belly, and they only stoke hotter when he gives me a quick kiss. I feel like I’m a teen and I’ve snuck a date through my window, which is something I’ve never done.
He carefully tucks the eclairs under an arm. “I’ve been looking forward to your... cannoli.”
I let out the girliest giggle. Who am I right now?
He leans against the island and adopts a crooked grin. “Are you ready to go on another date with me?”
I’m ready for so much more than a date. I might be ready to drop, but I’m not missing another chance with Cruz. “How about you come over tonight instead?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.” He pushes off the island and leans close enough to murmur in my ear. “And you’ll have free rein with me.”
My heartbeat thrums between my thighs, and a needy quiver runs down my spine. I have so many ideas about what to do with his hard body and that wicked mouth of his, but my business brain won’t shut off. “Whatever I do might be pretty quick because I have a lot of baking to catch up on tomorrow, along with two wedding cakes and a birthday cake.”
His grin is unrepentant and full of promise, infusing me with enough adrenaline to chase away a large chunk of my fatigue. “I’m at your mercy.”
Cruz
Just like the night we got interrupted by her mom’s injury, Elodie and I are all over each other as we plunge through her back door. My tongue’s in her mouth, and as soon as we’re fully inside, I kick the door shut behind me.
Again, I pin her between me and the door. She kicks her shoes off and I manage to toe out of my boots while keeping ourlips locked. The salted caramel flavor lingering from the eclairs is just what she’s going to taste like when I get her naked.
I hook my fingers over the hem of her shorts to drag them down, but she shakes her head and grabs my arms. Then she spins me around and my back hits the door with a thump. “It’s your turn.”
When she yanks my zipper down, I suck in a breath. Having her mouth on me is a recurring fantasy come true, but it can’t be an obligation for her. “Aw, sugar, as much as I want you to do that, you don’t have to.”
“I know.” She flicks open the button of my fly.
I’d be all about her pleasure, I’d insist, but my dick has been pestering me for weeks when it comes to Elodie Palmer. And the way she’s clawing open the fly of my pants, who am I to deny her something she wants to do?
My brain can be a selfish prick, but all other logic and good intentions vanish as soon as her warm fingers curl around my shaft. A long groan leaves me and her grin is unadulterated wickedness. She tugs the rest of me free and pumps her hand up and down the length. Blistering pleasure sears me behind my eyes. I have to brace myself—against the floor, against the door, fuck, anything. Nothing has felt this good. Ever.
When she drops to her knees, I’m a goner. The sight of Elodie with her big eyes gazing at me from behind her glasses and her lips plump from my kiss is an erotic sight that will never leave my brain. My spank bank has one image in it and it’s this.
When her lush lips part and she licks that pink tongue across the crown of my cock, I hiss. “Fuck me, Elodie. You’re going to twist me into a pretzel with nothing but that mouth.”
“Good. Then you’ll feel the same way as me.” She wraps her hand around the base of my erection and takes me slowly into her mouth, her cheeks hollowing as she goes.
My desire cranks to infinity, and I fight my way down from my peak. I will not come within a minute of her touching me. This should be an exception, but the night I have planned with her is going to be long, and it’s going to start with her coming on my face, and finish with me orgasming inside of her while we come at the same time.
