“I’d love something sweet too.” I grinned, even as she tried to choke me. “Creamy.”
“We’re done here.” Mandy pulled away before I could capture her lips in a kiss. Next time I wouldn’t be so slow. “I’m not sleeping with you again, Nate.”
“Baby, we wouldn’t get any sleep.”
“I’m serious. I need space. I can’t handle the wedding preparation and work and my family and…you at the same time.”
I loosened the tie, imagining how beautiful she’d look with it binding her hands over her head. But then she couldn’t touch me, couldn’t wrap around me.
Other girls might have made it interesting, but I wanted to be held, caressed, and fucked by Mandy as much as I planned to do the same to her.
I stared at her, wanting nothing more than to kiss her back into a smile. “Something about you is irresistible to me now.”
“That’s because you can’t have me.”
“That’s not it. I already had you. I should be satisfied.”
Mandy’s mouth popped open. “I didn’t satisfy you?”
I laughed. “You did more than that. I’ve never had a fuck like you. I don’t think I will again until I lay you down and get those panties off. So fair warning, baby. Once isn’t enough. It will never be enough. You’re a sweet addiction, but there’s no vice in wanting you. The only sin would be denying what we need.”
She shook her head. “You have no idea the trouble it will cause.”
“The only thing I love more than trouble is a good fuck.” And the only thing better than a good fuck was doing it again. I loosened the tie and tossed it onto the bed. She was lucky I didn’t lay her down next to it. “I’m not going to stop until I take you again.”
“And then what?”
I should have shown her. She baited me, like she didn’t believe how badly I ached to fill her.
The only way she’d understand was if I took her again, but I wasn’t a man to beg. Next time, she’d come to me, and I’d reward her for every second of her bravery.
“And then I’ll fuck you until you realize you never should have run.”
3
Mandy
Coconut cake.
Why did it have to be coconut cake?
Even the chocolate wasn’t sitting right. Or the marble. Or the carrot.
Or the water. The air. The car ride to the cake tasting.
Morning sickness came at all times of the day, and it didn’t mix well with the apprehension of holding the cake tasting at Nate’s pub, Arrogance. Of course he graciously volunteered his bar for a private event, opening the doors before his regular hours.
He did it to see me. He wasn’t giving up.
And I might have been flattered if it weren’t for the secret hanging over my head.
Mom wasn’t happy about being seen in a bar before nightfall, but the ivory balloons and flowers Nate used to decorate was a stroke of genius. She overlooked the dark woods, leather seats, and huge selection of specialty brews on tap because he pampered Lindsey.
For that, I supposed I could be nice too. Except I had no idea what to do while he leaned against his bar. The green-eyed miscreant offered me a seat at the counter, close to him. He wanted to sample the sweets together.
That only made the nausea worse.
My life wasn’t flashing before my eyes anymore; it was hurling into the toilet as discreetly as I could hide it without my family assuming I was pregnant. Of course, when Mom heard me at home, she patted my cheek with an encouraging good job.
At least I could please my mother with a fictitious eating disorder. God forbid we had a size-ten bridesmaid.
Curves were for roads, not strapless dresses.
But coconut didn’t have a place in my life before I got pregnant. Now it exacted some sort of tropical revenge for every disparaging remark I ever made about the nut.
Fruit?
Hellspawn.
The flakes crusting the top of the cake squeaked over my teeth. I took one bite, shuddered as the stringy flecks lodged in my throat, and tried to choke it down.
My stomach flipped.
This wasn’t good.
“What do we all think?” Mom clapped her hands. “Write it down. Come on, quickly now. We have two dozen more cake samples to go.”
Now my stomach flopped.
Twenty more pieces of cake? I couldn’t even watch Food Network this morning. Who the hell inflicted this type of torture on their family or local bakery?
Lindsey slapped my arm. “You aren’t writing anything down! I need your input! This is the most important decision for the reception!”
She’d said the same for the music, the venue, the dress…
I blinked, staring at the grid paper in front of me. The cake samples were labeled numerically, and a dozen columns stretched across the page. Each box held a specific set of criteria for judgment—decorations, flavor, color, texture, consistency, sweetness, frosting thickness, exclusivity, trendiness, melt-ability, memorability, champagne compliments, and how likely the flavor profile would match Lindsey’s chosen wedding theme, Fairytales in Heaven.