Sweet Spot(Plaything #2)(7)

Her expression softened and the starched set of her thin shoulders rounded as she relaxed. "You've been dreaming about kissing me?"

It was my turn to laugh. "Out of that entire explosion of feelings, something that believe me is as rare as a fucking dodo bird for me, that's the most important part you came away with—that I've been dreaming about kissing you?"

She blinked her big brown eyes at me. "Yes."

"Good." I took hold of her arms and pulled her against me. My mouth pressed down over hers, and I kissed her.





Chapter Eleven





Macy





It was instant. The heat. The slight case of delirium. The tell tale sensations in my pussy. And it knocked me nearly senseless. Trevor had kissed me many times, but I'd never had such a spontaneous reaction. In fact, there were times when I'd hardly had any reaction at all. I'd told myself it was out of self-preservation because I knew with Trevor it would never go past the kiss. So I'd trained my body not to react. I'd held down my desire because it would only have led to an unsatisfactory ending each time. But now, in the glittery haze stirred up by Chase's kiss, I wondered if my body had never reacted to Trevor's kiss because it just wasn't worth reacting to.

Chase lifted his mouth from mine. My lips trembled in loneliness. They wanted more. I wanted more.

He lifted his hand to my face and pressed his palm against my cheek. "Even better than I dreamed of."

He was a man who knew exactly what to say and at the exact right time. I, on the other hand, was utterly speechless as I catalogued, in my mind, every physical reaction I'd just experienced. Even my breasts and nipples ached from the kiss as if he'd kissed me there directly.

"Holy shit." They were the first words that ushered from my tender lips. "I dodged a bullet."

Chase straightened. "Uh, is that bad or good? I'm thinking bad."

I shook my head with a smile. "It's good for you and for me. If I hadn't caught Trevor in the act, I might have gone through with the wedding. I might have been contractually tied to a man who I had no physical interest in. He'd kissed me a thousand times and I have never—" I felt a warm blush cover my cheeks.

"Oh no, you don't get to stop there. I'll be up all night trying to fill in the blanks. You have never . . ."

I wasn't bold enough to list the intimate reactions. "I'm just questioning my entire relationship with my ex. In fact, I'm questioning everything about my personal life for the last four years." Chase certainly didn't need any more notches in his bachelor's belt. I'd already confessed enough to him. He didn't need to know how much he had aroused me with just his kiss. He probably could have guessed, anyhow, by the stars that were no doubt floating in my eyes. "I feel like I've been living in a cave . . . by myself. That jerk, I will never forgive him." Because Trevor had so badly damaged my sexual confidence with men, it took all my courage to reach up and press my hand against Chase's chest. It was hard and impressive beneath my palm. The muscles in his pecs tensed more as if my touch had caused a physical reaction. I lifted my hand away, but he reached up, took hold of my wrist and placed it there again. His chest rose and fell with a breath. The soft cotton of his shirt wasn't barrier enough, and I felt the heat of him against my palm.

"Chase, could we try that again? That whole kissing thing. Could we do that—" My request was cut short by his mouth.

This time, rather than just hold me, his hands explored my back. His palm smoothed over the cotton fabric of my dress and journeyed down toward my bottom. I found myself jutting my bottom out just a little more than was natural, in hopes that his hand would eventually brush over it. My wish was granted, and I found myself melting against him as his hand ran over my ass. His tongue danced intimately over my bottom lip as he bunched the fabric of my dress up in his fingers, lifting the hem high enough that I felt a breeze brush against my panties. That same breeze cooled the moisture that was quickly pooling between my legs. All this and he had done nothing more than bunch up the skirt of my dress a few inches. How the hell would I react if he'd swept that same dress up and over my head, slowly stripping me naked, right there on his dad's balcony? That erotic thought produced a mewling sound in my throat that I'd never heard before. It was a sound that made him groan in response.

His kiss deepened. He released the fabric of my dress and pushed his hand beneath the hem. My knees turned to jelly as his hand swept over my panties and his fingers teased and tugged at the thin, silky fabric. My body trembled with the possibility of his fingers slipping beneath my panties and between my legs.

Then with a sound that seemed a mix of lust and frustration, he dropped his hand and lifted his mouth from mine. The strain I saw in his face mirrored the way my entire body felt. I'd been turning to pure hot liquid in his arms, but his sudden retreat had frozen me solid.

Had I done something wrong? I could only imagine how much the virgin thing would turn off a man with his experience.

"I guess we should heat that dinner." For a guy who was always as cool and smooth as cream, his voice sounded tight and gritty. I wasn't sure how to decipher what had just happened. My own inexperience left me feeling confused and more than just a little disappointed.

"Yes," I said with a weak smile. "Let's eat."





Chapter Twelve





Chase





The night air had cooled, which was good. Kissing Macy had started out as just that, a kiss. But my cock had reacted instantly. Hell, every cell in my body had reacted instantly. A few times, I'd tried to convince myself it was the virgin thing. The notion of introducing someone as amazing as Macy to the joys of sex held more than just a little appeal. But it didn't take long for me to dismiss the virgin theory. As intriguing as that was, it was the woman herself who had me spinning. Her quick wit, the way she rubbed her finger across her bottom lip to wipe away spaghetti sauce, fuck, even the way she ate the spaghetti had me spinning. And that was why I'd stopped myself before I hit the point of no return, before I lost my mind entirely and took her right there on the balcony. She was slightly drunk, and she'd just told me that she'd gone through a four year relationship waiting and trying to imagine what sex was like. The last thing I wanted to do was scare her off or ruin her expectations with a wild, crazy fuck on the balcony. Even though a wild, crazy fuck was exactly what I wanted. I needed to go slow and pace myself. I was going to do this right. If Macy was interested, I was going to introduce her to the world of pleasure.

She put down her fork. "Delicious. Your chef friend is amazing.” She rubbed her bare arms. "It's getting cold, and I need to get back home and go to bed. I've got to be up in six hours."

"But tomorrow is Saturday."

"Yes, it's a slower day than the rest of the week, but I can't afford to shut down. Sunday is my day off. Although, I spend most of it doing paper work and testing recipes."

"Testing recipes? Well, if you're in need of a taste tester, I'd like to offer my services."

Her lips were still slightly swollen from my kisses and that made me pretty fucking pleased. "If you like, you can come by Sunday afternoon." She waved her hand. "What am I saying? A guy like you probably has a million things on his social calendar."

"What time?" I asked.

Her eyes rounded and those same swollen lips fought to keep back a smile. "Four o'clock?"

"I'll be there."





Chapter Thirteen





Macy





Of course, the last thing I needed at the start of my new business was to be located out front of Chase's apartment complex. Yesterday, the work day had dragged on, mostly because I'd spent time between customers waiting to see Chase walk out of the building. If I'd had a tiny click counter in my hand to squeeze every time my gaze landed on the giant glass doors of the building, I would have moved the number five digits. And that was being conservative. But I'd been in the plaza, peddling my goods, for four hours, and I never saw him come outside.

Naturally, my mind went right to the idea that he had gone on to a party or another date after he'd dropped me off at home. Then the wretched scenario of him walking out of the building with a woman, or even two, on his arm turned my disappointment at not seeing him into relief.

After his kisses, which I could still feel on my lips, I'd had an impossible time getting him out of my head. It was as if Chase had turned on a switch, a switch that had been turned off for four years. Which brought me back to the conclusion that Chase was the last thing I needed right now. But I didn't have enough willpower against his charms to cut things off. I had never been one to shy away from something new and this was definitely new.

The fragrance of almonds and brown sugar filled my small house. The oven timer rang. I clicked out of my spread sheets and closed my laptop. I walked to the oven and pulled out the tray of bear claws.

After the breakup, Trevor had hinted at me giving back the very expensive engagement ring he'd bought me. It was a ring that I had always had mixed feelings about. There was no way not to admire the massive sparkling diamond in the middle of it, but big diamonds had never been my thing. Neither had impractical jewelry, and an oversized rock on the ring finger of a baker was highly impractical. I couldn't count the number of times I'd nearly lost the thing when I had taken it off to knead dough. Trevor knew I wasn't all that keen on wearing it. But when he had asked for it back, I flatly told him that I had earned the fucking thing. And then I promptly took it to a jewelry consignment store and sold it. I'd gotten enough for the stupid thing to buy myself a professional stove and convection oven. They were far more practical than a sparkling diamond.