Chapter Seven
Poppy straightened up after piping a line of icing to seal the edge of a cookie where it wrapped around their paper towel frame. “Don’t let go until the icing is dry,” she warned Darius. “I don’t want it to pop open again.”
“Me either. I think we’ve got it this time. It’s been two weeks of fiddling with this. If this one doesn’t work, we’re going to have to try something else. I can’t believe we can’t use marshmallow squares for this and just ice over them like they do on baking shows.”
“Rules are rules.” She shrugged. She didn’t understand why that particular rule had been put in place. Marshmallow squares were edible, but they’d been ruled against, and the contestants had to find another way to build. Maybe because it was all about the gingerbread and the baker’s skills.
“My fingers are cramping,” he complained, not sounding serious.
“Baby. Want me to take over so you can rest your itty-bitty fingers?”
Darius rolled his eyes. “Would you? Seriously, this is our tenth attempt today and the icing takes eons to harden.”
She walked around the table and edged closer to him. Threading her arms around his, she reached in to squeeze the pieces together. His hands were warm against hers, almost as warm as the cooling cookie dough. The heat from the dough was keeping the icing from setting. She’d had to mix an extra thick batch because the heat made it runny. It was a crazy balance between too thin, too thick and just right.
She laughed aloud.
“What’s so funny?” he asked without letting go.
“I feel like Goldilocks trying to find the icing that is just right.”
He chuckled along with her. He carried a natural joy she hadn’t seen in him as a youth. She liked this side of him.
“Just don’t sit on our house and bust it down, like she did the chair.”
Poppy laughed until she was breathless and weak in the knees. She leaned against him for support. Heat and his enticing scent washed over her.Holy hotness. “You can let go now. I’ve got this,” she said breathlessly, hoping he’d blame the laughter for the hitch in her voice.
“I don’t think I will,” he whispered against her cheek. “I kind of like it here.”
“Oh.” She turned her head to look at him, her lips accidentally brushing against his. A jolt of desire washed over her, leaving sweet heat in its wake. She jumped back, dislodging his hands.
“Oh no! Sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Heat flooded her face.
“Look,” he whispered. “It’s holding.”
Disconcerted, she glanced at the tube they’d created. It held together for another fifteen seconds before slowly splitting.
“Darn,” she muttered. She never should have kissed him. Well, not exactly kissed him. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Look. It’s not spreading any further. It’s going to work if we hold it longer. Now, we can just fill the small crack in the icing and decorate the rest to look like bricks. It’ll be perfect.”
Surely, he wasn’t just going to ignore their touch. Hadn’t he felt that delicious zap? It had exploded through her, stealing her breath and making her heart jump. He could use those lips to jumpstart a heart. The man was lethal.
He spun around and hugged her. “We did it!” he exclaimed. “You did it.” He kissed her.
An electric brush of his lips on hers and he backed away. “Sorry.”
“Um. It’s okay. You were just excited.”
“No. Not sorry for kissing you.” He leaned back in, moving slowly as if giving her time to object. “Sorry for kissing you again. Once wasn’t enough. I’ve been waiting days, weeks, no years to taste your lips.”
“Shut up, Darius.” He talked too much. Lifting up on her toes, she pressed her lips to his. He didn’t move. Not an inch. Crap. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. She poked her tongue out and teased it across his lips.
His mouth open, his tongue sought hers.
Electric thrills raced through her. He tasted sweet, like the cookies and icing he’d stolen bites of earlier. But earthy too, like man and hot steamy sex. Part of her mind catalogued that he’d changed aftershaves. Pine, musk, and a hint of cinnamon washed over her. Sweet heaven he smelled delicious. She pushed closer, pressing her body against his.
Her hands stole around him, pulling him nearer, threading through his hair, dragging his face lower, deepening the kiss.
