Sweet as Sin (14 page)

Confidence made her chin rise. He wanted her.

Maybe as badly as she wanted him. But he was going to wreck the display case with his single-minded quest. She walked behind him and nudged him aside, ducking under his raised arm. “Here, let me find them. You’re going to mess up the trays.”

“What’s this?”

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149

Lust slammed into her at the small plastic box in his hands. “Uh, that’s a Two For Play Kit. You must have gotten it from the top rack.”

“Two for play?” One brow arched as he stared at the seemingly innocent mini cupcakes.

An idea sparked. It was so out of character for her, totally irresponsible and spur of the minute, that at first she rejected it. But it clung to her imagination like chocolate ganache—rich,

decadent and tempting.

Livvy closed the door behind her. She took the thin clear case from his hands.

“It’s a twist on
fore
play. Here, let me show you.”

With a flick of her thumb, she popped the plastic top and the thick scent of buttercream wafted upward. His nostrils flared but his eyes never left her face. “Smells sweet.”

“It is. It’s Italian buttercream frosting, so it stays very…smooth and soft. The sugar is heated so it’s like silk on your tongue as it melts.”

John barely glanced at the pastry. “Buttercream.

Silk that melts on your tongue. I like the sound of that.”

“You’ll like the taste, too. The heating means it’s very sturdy but it tastes very delicate.”

He lifted his hand and drew his knuckles down the curve of her cheek. Her breath caught.

“Sounds… sinful.”

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Livvy inched closer and tilted her head. “Want a bite?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Devil’s Food or French Vanilla?” The words meant nothing. She was offering him so much more.

“Devil’s Food, of course.” He accepted her offer with a whisper.

His pupils dilated and his tongue skated across his lip. The cake was heaped with a frothy swirl of frosting in snowy white. Slowly, she licked half the frosting off the mini. She held it in her mouth and stepped to him. The sugary cream slipped from her tongue to his.

Drenched in sweetness, his mouth caressed hers. Long after the frosting had melted away, she pulled back and brought the cupcake to her lips.

John’s breath deepened as she held half the mini dessert in her mouth. Gripping his neck, she yanked his lips back to hers. A wolfish grin appeared just before he took the dark cake and her kiss in one greedy motion. The shared bite melted with their heat and dissolved with their hunger.

A stray trace of chocolate speckled his lip and Livvy brushed her finger against it. He captured her fingertip, drawing it inside his mouth for a wet caress. A throb began between her legs.

“Your turn.”

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John plucked the remaining mini from the box.

He licked half the dark fudge frosting away, curled his arm around her waist and drew her mouth to his. The rich chocolate coated her tongue, flavoring the moan that sprang from her chest. Whatever calories were in the frosting were burned away by his kiss. His sharp teeth pierced the pale cake before the other half touched her lips.

A sudden burst of spongy vanilla filled her mouth, mingling with creamy fudge and sizzling John Murphy.

“Two For Play, I like it.” His sugary breath warmed her cheek.

“We’re not done yet.”

She lifted the carton. In a third compartment, generous ruffles of chocolate and vanilla circled each other in an erotic blend. His gaze followed as she dipped one finger in the frosting and brought it to her tongue.

“Can I tempt you into a taste of sin, Murphy?”

Her long lick garnered his loud swallow.
Oh
yeah, he’s hungry and I’m the only item on his
menu.

The low white noise of sleeping machinery mimicked the hiss singing through her veins. John flung the box on the table behind him and grabbed her, planting her ass on the table. The tall work surface positioned her precisely against his zipper.

She drove her tongue into his mouth. The sweet 152

Sweet as Sin

taste of sugar and cake heightened her intense craving for him, and she hooked her legs around his hips, her arms clinging to his shoulders. The faint sound of her shoes hitting the tiled floor rang like a gong through her body, vibrating every nerve in anticipation.

“I’ve been dreaming of you covered in frosting forever.”

The cool metal table warmed rapidly to her steadily rising body temperature as his blind fingers found the covered buttons of her blouse.

Hot calloused hands cradled her breasts, his thumbs tracing over the tightened tips. She arched in total abandon. He made her feel wicked and reckless and she loved it.

“Livvy, this is where you stop me because if I get on this table I’m not stopping.”

She leaned back on her elbows with a wicked grin. Who wanted him to stop? From the reclined pose, she crooked her finger, inviting him to join her. He kicked off his loafers and hoisted his body up to cover her, claiming her mouth in a hard, hot kiss. The feeling was deliciously like the first make-out session in high school—forbidden, illicit and thrilling.

His tongue traced lazy circles, skimming down the lace edge of the bra. Her nipples begged for his mouth but he trailed his kisses back up her jaw to her lips. Protest surged through her. This was Inez Kelley

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her seduction. Why was John controlling the action?

Her fingers trembled, working the flat buttons of his shirt free. The fabric peeled open, baring him to her touch.
Present time for Livvy
. She skimmed her hands up his stomach and the

muscles tightened under her caress. A feather-light kiss brushed above his navel made him quiver and she purred with power. The linen blouse slid from her body like melted ice cream, slithering silently to the floor. Finally, flesh met flesh.

John splayed one large hand just below her collarbone and masterfully laid her back to the table before stroking his palm down over her bra to her stomach. The move was rough, possessive and raw. He claimed her body with one broad-fingered swath.

“Damn, I love this bra.”

The same bra he’d returned to her the day they met released to his fingers, and the wispy cups fell away. From beside his knee, he brought up the tossed container of frosting. A wicked slant carved into his brow and he dipped one finger into the swirled mix. “Now, where should I taste Livvy first?”

His now-white finger trailed down her neck.

With long slow moves, his tongue lapped at the 154

Sweet as Sin

frosting. A groan rippled the air. She thought it came from her mouth, but she wasn’t sure.

He dotted her collarbone, her breastbone and the curve of each breast. Never before had any man lavished so much attention on her skin. There was no rush, no trying to get to the next level. Just John, the frosting and her flesh. One sugary dollop landed on her tight peak and his mouth followed.

His tongue teased her pebbled nipple until the ache below began to throb. His name ripping from her throat was a plea.

The sugar was long gone but he continued to suck and nip her breasts until her hips rocked to his. She loved the feel of his body atop hers, firm and heavy, an exquisite friction of the lusty variety. Nestled deep inside moistened folds, her clit ached in delicious torture, but John wouldn’t be hurried. He simply began the entire journey all over again. At some point, her bones dissolved and she was reduced to a mass of quivering need.

Whimpers poured from her and she sank her fingers into his hair as he painted her navel with frosting and then lapped it away. Slowly, slowly, so damn slowly it drove her crazy, he tasted and nipped each inch of her stomach from ribcage to skirt band. She was ready to scream in frustration when he took her mouth, his tongue delving to share the sugar. The thick sweetness intoxicated her.

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Something snapped inside Livvy. She wanted more. Now. She grabbed at his belt. “My turn.”

His soft chuckle halted her fumbling and he held out the empty carton. “No more frosting.”

She snatched the box and threw it to the floor.

His zipper slid down, her efforts aided by the hard bulge straining at it. “This is a bakery. Pick a sugar, I have it.”

John leaned close, kissing the soft vulnerable place below her ear. “You, I want your sugar, Livvy, melting on my tongue.”

Erotic, naughty and exactly the right ones to say, his words painted a picture that plunged her body into shivers of anticipation. Somehow he’d taken her seduction and twisted it around until she was the one being seduced. She no longer cared.

Frantic fingers pulled at his shirt flaps, ripping the warm cotton down his arms. He tossed the

clothing away.

It hit something with a small metallic rattle and he froze. He pulled a wide caddy closer and plucked a container out with a triumphant grin.

His delight was obvious. John wanted to play.

“That’s not sugar,” Livvy warned. “It’s

Lusterdust, an ultra-fine sparkling powder. No taste.”

Her words were met with his lips and he

lowered her once more to her back. John peeled the plastic top from the short tin and drew his 156

Sweet as Sin

fingers over the baby-powder-fine crystals. The awe on his face quickly turned to marked

determination.

He poured a small pile on her stomach before setting the can aside. He widened his concentric circles until her entire stomach was powdered.

The silky dust spread beneath his hands like fabric as he massaged upward, coating her with a pearlescent glow. He smoothed the crystals from her stomach to her breasts, her shoulders to her throat.

Livvy felt beautiful just watching him stare at her body. His fingers shook as he lingered a trail down her nose, across her brow, and on her cheeks. Veneration eased every line from his face.

He breathed a sigh. “Livvy, you
are
an angel.

You’re really glowing.”

The sheen on her breasts sparkled like fairy dust in the pale light. Normally applied to pastry with a soft brush, his hands had worked the dust into her skin, illuminating it with cold fire. The wonder on his face shifted to want. John growled and pressed his mouth to her glistening stomach, his tongue blazing a path from her tummy to her breasts.

Playtime was over. John was hungry.

Like butter in a hot skillet, his lips sizzled across her skin. The side button of her skirt popped and a firm hand jerked the short zipper Inez Kelley

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down. John gripped the skirt band and yanked both it and her panties off in one swoop. He tossed her clothing to the side and she froze, naked before him.

Shallow breaths stuck in her throat as he devoured her with a carnal look. He was a hunter and she was prey. Never before had any quarry anticipated capture so much.

Livvy wanted him to look, needed him to be as hungry as she was. In a long slow stretch, she reached high above her head, rounding her breasts to their fullest. He wrapped his fingers lightly around her throat then skimmed his hand down her body. He curved to the sides, caressing each breast before palming her stomach and lower. Hot as a kiln fire, the move burned her, branded her, seared into her soul that she belonged to him.

There was no hesitation, no timidity in his claim.

She was his and she knew it. She reveled in it.

One firm hand gripped her left ankle and lifted it up near his biceps, opening her body to him. His eyes locked on her melting center. A primal cry brewed in her gut as he threaded his caress through the small thatch of damp cinnamon hair before smoothing down into heated honey.

Livvy bit her lip to hush her begging. The higher he built her fire, the stronger it burned. The stronger it burned, the more she craved it. The more she craved him and his total possession, the 158

Sweet as Sin

more Livvy wanted to close her eyes and

surrender to the release he offered. But she didn’t want to stop looking at him.

Bathed in frosty light, dark hair blending into shadows, eyes swirling with lascivious intent, John enthralled her with sinful temptation. No wonder poets spoke of the devil’s beauty leading women into sin. Just the sight of him above her, bare-chested, pants open, coaxing her toward climax, made her tongue so thick with lust she could hardly breathe.

Livvy grasped the reins of her fragile control with a shaky hold. She needed to let go, to shatter into a thousand pieces, but the feel of his hands was too sweet to abandon. She wanted more. She wanted him. His lips split into a shameless tilt as he raised her ankle to his mouth.

With one hard kiss below her anklebone, he placed her foot on his shoulder. Controlled focus darkened his face and he lowered his body in slow degrees, allowing her leg to slide along his shoulder until her knee rested there. His mouth was inches from her when he looked up and flashed an animalistic grin. Teeth like fangs, the expression was untamed and raw. She tensed as he moved lower, closer, predatory. The wild look in his face threatened to consume her. Swallowing the plea in her mouth, she became his meal.

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The first touch made her moan. She pressed her ass against the warm metal as his tongue stroked her. He teased her without mercy and she

quivered with each lick. Her clit swelled under his circling tongue. John thrust his hands under her with a low growl, cupping her ass, bringing her more fully to his mouth. Her unsteady fingers shot out to grip the rounded table edge.

Deep in her belly, need swirled like the frothy frosting. It coated every nerve ending with a sweet twang that resonated at a fevered pitch. Her foot curled against his back as her body tensed. Just as her tight muscles began to scream in protest, he raked her clit with his teeth.

Livvy exploded. Her shuddered cry echoed in the cavernous room. It flowed through her body like a tidal wave of gourmet flavors. His mouth took her fast and hard until she felt each nip, lick and suck deep in her belly, drawing out her climax until there was nothing left but shivers of afterglow.