The Sweetest Dare (6 page)

Saved by the ringtone. Thank you, Tish.
She’d set her boss’s number to “Sugar Sugar,” and excused herself to answer the call.

“Rise and shine, missy.” Tish sounded cheerful as always. “Are you decent?”

“Depends on your definition of the word. What can I do for you on a Sunday?” Tish didn’t need to know she stood in Sidney’s living room-slash-bedroom, or that the apartment’s nude resident stood behind her and hooked her thumbs in the waistband of Kit’s jeans.

All the while a knot formed in her stomach. Tish rarely called her on a day off. This could only mean a plea to work overtime.

“Well,
wherever
you are, I’m glad to hear you answered your phone and not some ax murderer.” Behind Tish’s voice somebody—no doubt Vinnie—snickered.

Kit frowned. “Meaning?” Where was this going?

“Kit, it’s a small town. Not many people own bright red Mini Coopers with
Star Wars
stickers on the back windows. Vinnie’s uncle called to say he noticed your car wasn’t in your driveway when he drove past on the way to early Mass.”

Her stomach roiled. She rented one half of a duplex near Dominic Petrocelli’s home. Nice guy, but so damned nosy, always trying to fix her up with one of his drivers. “Why would he do that?”

“He thinks I’m your mother. The heck should I know?” Tish laughed. “He was worried, I guess. I guess if everybody in town knows you sleep in on Sunday, imaginations run wild.”

Am I that predictable?
“As you can hear, I’m intact and breathing. Next time you get a call from that busybody, you should threaten to charge more for the chocolate and champagne packages Big Apple promotes.”

Another laugh. “I’m not going to rag you about it, I promise. But, if you met a guy last night, yay for scoring.”

Kit let out a small chuckle. “Tish, is there another reason for this call?”

“Yes, sorry, I don’t mean to embarrass you. I got an urgent phone call from Dare’s Destiny. They’re having a special tasting today and last night the refrigerator holding all their food broke down.”

Kit had visited the local winery a few times. Tish often supplied chocolates for them, and she had an idea where this conversation headed.

“Oh, lord.” It came out more as a reaction to Sidney’s hand down the front of her jeans. She’d wriggled underneath the zipped fly and rubbed her clit. “Er, that sucks. I’m guessing you’re at the shop now?”

“They don’t want to cancel because people have paid the tasting fees in advance, so yeah. Want to earn some extra coin?”

Kit preferred to strip down to nothing and topple onto Sidney’s futon with the hot blonde underneath her. She couldn’t leave Tish to fulfill a large, last-minute order by herself, though. The chocolatier treated her too well.

“Give me a few minutes to clean up, and I’ll be over as soon as I can.” So much for a hot morning fuck. She eyed Sidney and her heart sank on seeing the other woman pout.

 “Oh, you’re an angel. Kit, I’ll make this up to you. I just wish I could count on other certain people on my payroll.” Tish’s tone darkened at that.

“You don’t mean Sidney, right?” Sidney perked up at this, and Kit put a finger to her lips for a second. “Do you have a way to call her, because I can look her up and see if she’ll want to help out.”

“I don’t mean her. Who currently works for us now? Until you let her know?”

Shit.
Gloria. The sex had gone to her brain. She’d forgotten Tish put it on her to can the slacker.

“Consider it done.”

“Awesome. Listen, you take care of that and I’ll call that Sidney girl and ask if she’s interested in a baptism by fire. I have her resume. See you soon.” Tish rang off before Kit could say goodbye.

“What’s up? Everything okay at the shop?”

Kit briefly explained the winery’s dilemma and sighed. “It doesn’t happen often, but Tish will get calls like this. She’s too damn good at making chocolate and has trouble saying no.”

“Good for future business, anyway.”

“You’re replacing Gloria, who isn’t yet aware she’s about to be kicked to the curb. No need to feel bad about it, because she’s awful.” She called up Gloria’s number and waited. “I don’t know what possessed Tish to hire her in the first place.”

“Ouch. Hard to find good help, I guess.” Sidney made a face.

“Either that, or these girls come in thinking it’s going to be like
Ace of Cakes
or some other embellished reality show, where an entire day is squeezed into thirty minutes. They realize they have to stand behind a counter and wait on indecisive people who want you to explain the ingredients of every damn truffle when the place cards explain everything, and I’m going to shut up now.”

Kit realized her pent-up frustrations from suffering the counter work, before Tish promoted her to the kitchen, might influence Sidney to change her mind. She relaxed a bit when the other woman laughed.

“Kit, it’s fine. I’ve worked in food service. I know the drill. Just happy to be part of the team.”

“It’s not all that boring, and if you come today you’ll make chocolate. We get a nice steady stream of—” Finally Gloria answered and Kit turned away her attention. “Hey, it’s Kit. Got a minute?”

A roaring sigh tickled her ear, and she imagined Gloria in one of her gaudy floral blouses, buttoned to the throat and covered by the olive drab cardigan she probably slept in. “Yeah. I was about to meditate, then shower and have breakfast, but I guess it can wait.”

“Look, Tish is working to get a last-minute order done for the winery—”

“I don’t work Sundays. Anyway, I’m busy.”

“Right, you’re meditating. You can’t do that at the shop, huh? Put a little
om
in the
nom nom nom
?”

“What?” Gloria sounded dull and leaden.

Kit sighed. Damn, this girl had no sense of humor and had all the personality of a mud puddle. She’d planned to ease into a gentle layoff, but fuck it. She had a hot girl teasing her who deserved more of her time.

“Gloria, I have good news for you,” she said. “You can meditate every day and every hour until the planets align. Tish says you’re fired. She’ll mail your last check. Don’t ever work in customer service again.” Tap. Swipe.
Done.

She tossed the phone on the futon and turned in Sidney’s embrace, dislodging her hand. “You’re getting a phone call in a minute from Tish,” she said, and explained the unexpected downtime. She thought Sidney would take the news well, and was surprised when the blonde’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Why didn’t you tell her I was standing right here? Does Tish have a no-dating policy for employees?”

What to say here? Tish might have guessed correctly she had some overnight fun, but her bed partners were her concern.

“There aren’t any employees to date. At least, not until recently. Tish is happily married, like I said, and the part-timer who works during the peak tourist season has a guy.” Of the temps who spun through the revolving door before Gloria, none had appealed to her as a booty call, much less a potential life partner. “I never asked about a policy because truthfully I never thought it would come up, and it’s not her business that we hooked up.”

Sidney pursed her lips, as though pondering the reason, and slowly nodded. “That’s very considerate of you to keep quiet about me then. It’s nice when somebody thinks of your feelings. Thanks.”

They kissed—lightly at first, then Sidney opened to receive Kit more deeply. She cupped bare flesh and moved into a tighter embrace, savoring how her lover’s bare nipples brushed over her thin shirt and tingled her skin.

A second ringtone pealed through the small space. “Whip It” by Devo. Almost an appropriate tune for a sexually adventurous gal. Sidney put a finger to her lips to bid Kit to hold all thoughts until she finished the call.

“That was Tish. Let’s make something sweet,” she whispered, coming back to Kit’s embrace.

Kit smiled.

With six hands working two hours non-stop, the three women rolled and wrapped a few hundred truffles and dipped dozens of juicy strawberries. Sid took to the work easily and enjoyed the casual atmosphere of Tish’s shop kitchen. She quick-stepped to the classic rock blaring from the boss’s phone, and it seemed as quickly as she’d arrived they had completed the order.

“Do you need us to go with you to set up?” she asked as they packed up the van.

“Vinnie will be here any minute, and the winery people will handle all the service. I took enough of your free time, and I really appreciate it.” Tish rewarded them both with a broad grin. “Lunch is on me tomorrow. I’ll order pizza from Mick’s.” Slamming the back door, Tish shooed them away with a brushing hand motion. “You gals have fun, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She followed Kit around the corner of the block to where they’d parked along the curb. Kit’s Mini Cooper had a spot reserved for cars with sticker permits while Sid had to use a metered space on the other side of the narrow road. Tish had promised to sign her form for a permit tomorrow when the town offices opened.

“So, uh…” Kit began as she undid her locks via remote fob. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”

How sweet
, she thought, studying how Kit fixed her gaze on the car and shuffled her feet. The shy act never got old.

“I hope to eat your pussy until you beg for mercy. You?”

She couldn’t decide Kit’s more endearing feature at this moment: the slack jaw or her saucer-wide eyes.

“Are you always this direct?” Kit asked.

Sid skipped across the road to her Beetle. “It should go without saying, but you’ll know for sure if you come back to my place.”

“Race ya.”

****

“I noticed this morning you ate your pancakes without syrup,” she said as Kit pulled her t-shirt over her head. “You normally have them that way?”

Kit leaned back to shimmy out of her pants. “Not really. Yours just tasted so good. I didn’t need anything to cover them.”

Sid brought over the glass bottle left on the counter and set it close to the bed then slipped into the bathroom to undress. Once naked, she bent down into the cupboard beneath the sink. “I infuse my own syrups… and vodkas.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. That bottle is an experiment. It’s vanilla and rosemary. I was curious what you might think of it. When I make blueberry pancakes I usually make a compote to go with them, but I used all the fruit.” She returned with a red metal toolbox and set it at the foot of the futon, laughing at Kit’s reaction to it.

“Exactly what did you have planned?” Kit shrank from her, eyeing the case as though she’d be subjected to pain play with hexagonal nuts affixed to her nipples.

“Relax. These are fun toys. I don’t go for the whips and cuffs. Well, maybe these once in a while.” She took out a pair of clamps attached by a long chain and squeezed them open. “These are incredible, if you want to try them.”

Kit eyed them warily, and crossed her palms over her breasts. “They look pretty stiff. I swear you cramped your hand working those hinges.”

Sid let one clamp fall and teased her right nipple to stand at attention. Kit was more vanilla than the content of the bottle at their feet. She wouldn’t pressure the girl, but it would be nice to roll outside the box during sex. “See? It’s fine,” she said, and applied the clamp. Her pink nub reddened and she inhaled at the increased pressure to this sensitive area. Kit watched in fascination, then reached to stroke around the areola.

“It’s okay if you tug.” Sid demonstrated, then pushed out her chest. Kit said nothing, but reached for the chain for a quick yank. The clamp pulled on her breast and Sid moaned at the sensation. Once she released the clamp and the blood rushed back, it would feel amazing to have Kit’s tongue lapping at her skin.

“Want to try the other one?” She held out the attached clamp. Kit responded by stimulating Sid’s other nipple.

“You first. You look kinda sexy with them on,” she said. “Besides, this chain isn’t very long, and I won’t be able to eat your pussy if we’re connected.”

“Good point.” Like hell would she pass up Kit’s mouth on her clit. When the other woman surprised her with a firm hand on her chest, she sank down and let Kit guide her to a desired position.

Kit reached for the syrup and flipped open the lid to expose the spout. She squeezed a thick drop on her finger and tasted it. “That’s pretty good,” she said, nodding her approval. “I never knew anyone to make her own pancake syrup. Tish makes
dulce de leche
and other stuff, not this.”

“It’s an infusion. I do that with a lot of things. Water, sugar, salt… the different flavors enhance food. I like to inject a bit of spontaneity in cooking.”

To say nothing of sex. Kit caught on that quickly. Reclining on her back, Sid propped her torso up on her elbows and watched her lover dribble a curved line of amber maple goodness from the valley between her breasts down to her navel, taking care to miss the chain. The second it hit, Sid felt every inch of her skin turn sticky. It didn’t take much, maybe a touch on her fingers if she picked up a fork wrong, to make her feel covered like her pancakes.

Kit lowered her head, braced the heels of her hands on either side of her, and licked away the herbed sweetness with one broad stroke. Sid noticed the dusting of freckles on her shoulders and longed to kiss each one. It relieved her that Tish didn’t require them to work at the winery. She’d rather hunt for more spots and really get to know her new lover’s body. She’d connect the dots with cupcake icing and indulge in the special treat.

Kit sat on her haunches and tipped the bottle down again. This time she had Sid part her legs a bit wider so she could apply the syrup to her pussy. “I’ll pay for a new futon cover if you can’t wash this out,” she said.

Sid laughed, her clamped breasts jiggling and creating a disjointed melody as the chain links tinkled. So considerate, such manners! Did she want to break that habit and encourage Kit to ramp up her dominant side?

A drop of maple landed smack on her clit and oozed down her pussy lips. Kit dove to lap it all up, and Sid hissed at the contact.
Oh, yes.
She could learn to like this take-charge girl with the sweet tooth.