"I'm tempted to take you up on that offer, but I'm going to pass tonight." He feathered his warm fingers along her jaw, the touch more soothing than sexual. "It's late and you look tired."
She gave a jerky nod of understanding, even as a huge swell of disappointment settled over her. She'd known from the moment she'd forgotten her Caramel Caresses at home that they wouldn't make love, but that knowledge, combined with Jack's subtle rejection of her invitation to come inside, didn't make her heart ache any less.
Her all-consuming need for Jack was having less and less to do with her experiment, and everything to do with a deeper yearning she couldn't ignore.
She inhaled a deep, startled breath as her mind tried to grasp the ramifications of those thoughts. Oh, Lord, she was falling for Jack Tremaine, despite her best intentions to keep her emotions out of their relationship. And that realization scared the heck out of her.
Still, she was determined to enjoy their affair, and her short time with Jack. And that meant being daring enough to invite him to join her for a night out, without her desserts as a lure.
"I meant to mention this earlier," she said with a tremulous smile. "I'm catering an art show next Friday for the Seaside Gallery, and I was invited as a guest. Would you be interested in coming with me?"
He smiled that sexy smile of his, which made her feel a bit better. "Are you asking me out on a date?"
A date. She liked the sound of that. "Yes, I guess I am."
"Then I accept." He brushed a tender kiss on her temple. "Good night, Kayla."
"Good night," she whispered, hating the longing in her voice that she knew he had to have heard.
She went inside the house, stripped out of her clothes, and put on a silky chemise, still disappointed about how the evening had ended, but feeling hopeful about their date next Friday. After washing the makeup from her face and brushing her teeth, she crawled into her big lonely bed with only Pumpkin for company. The feline loved to cuddle, but she was a poor substitute for the warm male body Kayla had been hoping for.
Chapter 8
"I think it's going to be a tie between the Dutch Apple Streusel Cheesecake, and the Chocolate Pecan Turtle," Jack announced after sampling the variety of cheesecakes Kayla had set out on the stainless steel table for him to try.
Kayla smiled, the first genuine one in days-ever since Jack had dropped her off at her house and she'd spent an endlessly long night tossing and turning in her bed.
"What do you know, those are my two favorites as well," she said. "How are we going to narrow this down to just one?"
Jack rubbed a finger along his jaw as he contemplated her question. Finally, he met her gaze, his eyes such a brilliant shade of blue her stomach fluttered in keen awareness. The desire she'd been fighting since the moment he'd walked into Pure Indulgence nearly an hour ago expanded, making her ache all over for his touch.
His kiss.
Any kind of physical contact at all. So far, since he'd arrived he'd been all business, and she was frustrated and confused by his pragmatic demeanor. Then again, maybe he needed a bit of an incentive to be more forward with her. Maybe he needed to eat one of the Caramel Caresses she'd set aside to feed him after they wrapped up this selection process.
That would probably do the trick and end his too-noble behavior. A few candies, and he'd likely ravish her right there on the work table.
The provocative thought made her pulse quicken.
"What do you think?" she prompted, anxious to follow through on her idea. If need be, she'd ravish Jack-that's how badly she craved him.
"I think since they're both so vastly different in taste, I'd like to go with both for my dessert menu."
She hadn't expected that. "Are you sure?"
"Positive." He nodded succinctly.
"Okay." She hooked a finger toward the back room. "I left your paperwork in my office. I'll be right back, and we can sign off on these desserts, too."
"Great." He smiled, and an instant surge of heat sped through her veins.
Good Lord. She had to have him again. Here. Tonight. And she would, just as soon as they finished with business and she was able to feed him a few of her Caramel Caresses. She'd rev up his libido, and since her employees were gone for the evening and they were all alone, they'd both enjoy another hot, illicit tryst right there in the back of her bakery.
She went to her office, grabbed the file folder for Tremaine's Downtown, and returned to the kitchen area. Jack was across the way, examining the proof boxes and the industrial-sized dough-and batter-mixing machines. He seemed fascinated by the equipment-while she found herself just as captivated with the sight he presented.
Whether front or backside, he was a gorgeous hunk of male. And in this case, she had a spectacular view of the way his broad shoulders filled out his blue cotton T-shirt and of the defined muscles that bisected his spine. She took in his narrow waist, his lean hips and a world-class ass that made her envy the denim that hugged his butt in such a loving way.
Her breasts swelled in reaction to her naughty thoughts, her nipples tightened, and she felt tingly all over. She didn't need the benefit of eating her candies to want Jack, and she wished he felt the same.
She swallowed the groan in her throat and instead inhaled a deep breath that did little to calm the desire taking hold. "Here you go," she said, drawing his attention back to the fact that she'd returned. The sooner he signed the exclusivity form, the quicker they could move on to more pleasurable matters.
He strolled back to the table and read through the paperwork for the two cheesecakes before signing on the bottom line. She gave him a copy of the form, then closed the file folder and pushed it out of the way for now.
"What kind of dessert would you like to consider next?" she asked.
He leaned a hip against the counter and pushed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "I know this isn't exclusive, but I've tried the shortbread tarts you carry out in the front display case and I think they'd make a nice addition to the dessert menu. They're rich and buttery, but not overly sweet. Just a smooth cream-filled pastry that we can top off with fresh strawberries or kiwi slices."
"Sure, you could do that." She boxed up the rest of the sample cheesecakes to put into the refrigerator. "The shortbread tarts are one of our most popular items."
"Then let's go with that." He helped her remove the plates and utensils and set them in the sink. "And with the cheesecakes and tarts, I think that wraps up the dessert menu."
She'd known from the moment that Jack had hired her that their relationship, business or otherwise, would inevitably come to an end. But there was no denying the sharp twist of dread Kayla felt in the vicinity of her heart. The one that told her she'd allowed herself to get involved with Jack on a much deeper level than she'd ever intended. But business was business, and she'd made a commitment to Tremaine's Downtown that superceded any feelings she might have developed for Jack. Making sure she satisfied the terms of their deal was her first priority.
With that in mind, she asked, "When would you like to start receiving the new desserts?"
"I need to have new menus made up and printed, so let's say the beginning of next month?"
That gave her a few weeks to get everything prepared on her end and work his desserts in with her other weekly orders. "That's doable for me."
She returned to the table, which had been cleared of everything but the box of Caramel Caresses that she'd deliberately set out earlier. They might have just finished up their business transaction and no longer had a reason to see one another on a regular basis, but she had tonight with him, and Friday at the art gallery show. And she was feeling shameless enough to take advantage of both opportunities, because she knew that once she had no professional reason to see him anymore, their current relationship would return to a more casual, businesslike exchange.
Reconciling herself to that fact was getting harder and harder to do.
She brought the box of candies forward, lifted the lid, and glanced up at Jack with a hopeful smile. "Since I forgot to bring along my Caramel Caresses to dinner the other night, I was hoping you'd give one a try and let me know what you think."
He leaned close, bringing with him the warm male scent that was uniquely his, and peered at the candies she'd revealed. Then he looked up at her with amusement dancing in his eyes.
"You know, I couldn't help but notice that the last batch of candies you sent to me, the Chocolate Orgasms, resembled a very intimate female body part." His voice had turned into a low, mesmerizing murmur and a sizzling heat was slowly replacing the humor she'd seen in his gaze only moments before. "And now these am I mistaken, or do they look like the curve of a woman's breast with that small dollop of chocolate right in the center serving as a nipple?"
She watched him graze the tip of those candies with the pad of his finger and felt that touch as surely as if he'd just caressed her own taut nipple.
"You have a very vivid imagination," she said, trying to suppress a visible shiver, and failing miserably.
He lifted a dark brow. "Do I?"
It was a question, a dare for her to admit just how naughty her candies were. "You're not mistaken. It's all part of the new line. I wanted the sexual resemblances to some of the candies to be subtle, but definitely arousing."
"Then you achieved your goal. The candies are very sensual, in name and taste. And erotic." His deep tone was equally so. "Just the name of the candies are enough to turn me on. And when I eat them, they make me think of you, and I'm beginning to learn that that can be a very dangerous thing."
She tipped her head and slanted him a beguiling glance, enjoying the direction of their conversation "Dangerous, how?"
He gently brushed a stray strand of hair off her cheek before tucking it behind her ear. "Because after eating those candies and thinking of you, then I have to have you."