Chapter 15
Baylor
“Ride with me,” I say, taking a large cupcake pan out of the oven and setting it on the rack behind me. “To the ranch. I’m staying here anyway. I can bring you back to your car or . . . you can stay.”
I peek over at her. She’s leveling the batter in the last pan to go into the oven by tapping the metal to the counter several times. Her hair is nested on top of her head, and flour is dusted across her cheek, or maybe it’s sugar. I’ll need to taste it to verify.
Tasting hasn’t been an issue with her cupcakes. I’ve practically eaten my weight in the small peach cakes. It’s still tempting to take another just to check for quality and all that good stuff.
As soon as she turns toward me, she asks, “Sorry for the banging. I didn’t hear the last part.”
The banging conjures images of her bent over this very worktable or spread across it naked for me.
I would lick her nipples free from the powdery mess we made before making her come under some stellar and hit-the-right-spot fucking.
I adjust myself over the apron. We were so fucking close to having sex earlier.
Hour s later, I’m caught in another obligation—heading to Rollingwood to spend time with the fam.
It wouldn’t normally be a negative, but I’d much rather act out some fantasies with my sexy little baker than eat potato salad in a hundred-and-three-degree temps.
“Baylor?”
“Yeah?”
She smiles, but the emotion dancing around her irises tells me she knows where I disappeared to.
When she crosses the room, I open the oven to set the pan inside, closing it right after.
She doesn’t rush away. In fact, she comes closer than she’s been all afternoon and rubs her hand along my side.
“I think you were inviting me to stay with you tonight. Or am I making that up?”
Her mom’s voice travels through the crack of the swinging door from the front of the store, where she’s been serving customers while we bake. It’s a reminder that pushes Lauralee to move away from me.
“Not making it up,” I reply in a lowered voice, not wanting her mom to hear us talking. “I want you to stay with me tonight.”
Her smile grows, but she still tries to temper it. “How would we do that?”
“Easy. We just come back together, and you stay.”
Glancing at the door and then back at me, she leans forward. “No, I mean, what would I tell my mom since she knows it’s rented out? That kind of forces me to stay at home.”
I lean forward, wanting to kiss her, but whisper, “You tell her you’re a twenty-nine-year-old woman, and you’re having a sleepover with me tonight.”
“Ironic because every time I’m with you, there’s no sleep involved.”
“You can tell her we’re having sex, if you prefer.”
She bursts out laughing. “Um, no, thank you. That’s not a conversation I’m up for having tonight or any other time, for that matter.”
“Look,” I say, resting down on my forearms, which puts me almost eye level with her standing.
“I want to see you and spend time with you. Whether that’s in the bedroom or outside of it, I want that.
It’s a busy weekend for you, so I understand that you don’t have a lot of time to give.
But if you find yourself with a few spare minutes or want to stay over, I’ll help however I can. ”
Her eyes glisten under the fluorescents of the kitchen.
No tears, but sincerity shadows them as if they weren’t already the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen.
She leans on her forearms, bringing her so close that our hands touch.
“Okay, since you’re being all charming and everything, you’re going to have to sneak me out, Greene. You up for the task?”
“I’m up for anything that includes time with you.
” She stands when the door pushes in just the slightest. Looking to make sure the coast is clear, she turns back to me and says, “If I go to the ranch with you, I still need to frost these before ten a.m. Frosting goes quickly, but five hundred is still a lot.”
“Like I told your mom,” I say, straightening my spine to my full height and swinging my arms out. “Beck and call, baby.”
She briefly eyes the oven behind me and comes around, stopping next to me. Looking up, she whispers, “You’re quite the surprise, Baylor.”
“In a good way?”
“Unfortunately for me, in a terribly charming way.” She moves closer to the oven to spy on the cupcakes thro ugh the glass window.
“I wouldn’t call it unfortunate.”
Turning back, she looks at me over her shoulder while slipping oven mitts on her hands. “Me either.” God, I love the way she blushes for me. “ After this batch comes out, I can freshen up, and we can head out.”
I nod toward the door. “I can take care of it if you want to go ahead.”
She reaches for the bow at the waist of her apron and tugs the tails. “You sure?”
“Yep. I have it handled.” Checking the timer, I add, “Six minutes and we’re golden.”
“Okay. It’s going to be a late night, though. I really do have to frost some of the cupcakes, and I’ll need to clean this mess.”
“We got it covered.”
“Thanks.” She pushes through the door to the front of the store.
I can hear her and Peaches talking, but it’s muffled, so I don’t know what they're saying. When she returns, though, she’s smiling as she passes through the kitchen to the back door. “My mom is going to close the shop. Give me five minutes, and I’ll be ready.”
“I’ll be here.”
As soon as she leaves, the timer goes off.
I won’t be responsible for ruining a batch, so I’m quick to pull them out of the oven and put them on the cooling rack.
The place is a mess, so I try to do what I can, turning off the ovens, dusting the flour off the counters into the trash, and then finding a rag to wet and wipe them down.
It’s not the best job, and probably not one Lauralee would approve of, but I hope she’ll appreciate the effort.
She walks in, her feet stopping so fast that she tips forward a little. “You cleaned?”
I shrug. “I wouldn’t say it’s clean, but it’s a start.”
She lunges for me, opening her arms, but then catches herself just before they land around my neck. Patting my chest is a consolation prize. “Thank you, Baylor.”
“You’re welcome.” I take the apron off and toss it in the laundry bag. “You ready to face the family?”
Adjusting her purse on her shoulder, she locks the door and starts for the front with me trailing. “It’s not like I’m meeting my boyfriend’s family for the first—” The words choke in her throat, and she turns back. “Right?”
I’ve thought about her a lot since I saw her on my previous visit. I didn’t even go on any dates, not feeling it after spending the night with her last time. Who could possibly compare?
Great, now she has me questioning where things stand between us. I shake it off but keep nodding like an idiot. “It’s Chris and Tagger, the kids, and my dad. Family you’ve known your whole life.”
“Right,” she says, nodding just like me.
“They’re practically my family as well. Not by blood but by relationships.
” She pushes through the door and goes right to her mom to hug her.
“I’ll be back later to clean the kitchen and finish the cupcakes.
” When she pulls back, she adds, “It’s going to be a late night because I also need to frost them, so don’t wait up. ”
And just like that, the groundwork is laid . . .
If we pick up where we left off earlier, it’s going to be a late night.
“Have a good one, Peaches.”
“You, too. Y’all have fun and say hi to your dad for me. ”
“I will.”
As soon as we’re in the rental, Lauralee buckles herself in, but the look we share makes me think this drive is about to get a lot more interesting.
As soon as we’re on the road, I reach over and rub her thigh.
She changed tops, exchanging the crop top for a loose-fitting shirt that hung around her frame, with no midsection on display at all.
Hidden. I don’t approve. “I do like those shorts on you.”
She looks down as if she didn’t know she was wearing them. “Thanks. They’re just old jeans I cut off.”
“You always did know how to wear denim.”
Angling toward me, she laughs. “You make it sound like you noticed me when I’m pretty sure you never thought twice about me before the last time I saw you.” She rests her head on her hand, a smile working onto her relaxed expression.
“I’ve thought about you,” I say, taking her hand in mine and folding my fingers with hers. “I should have . . .” I put my attention back on the road. “I sure noticed you at my sister’s reception.”
“Lost opportunity?”
“One I’ve regretted since.”
Her hold on my hand tightens. I don’t even know if she purposely gave the subtle hint, but I notice. She asks, “You have?” Her voice is as soft as her gaze.
“Of course. You’re a beautiful woman, Shortcake,” I reply, trying to play it off a bit.
I don’t know why this seems like a good time to just stick to the facts and own them, especially with her.
She’s given me an open forum to be who I am.
No games. No fronts or masks, no role to play. Just me with her.
“Quick detour.” I pull off on an old dirt farm road. The property was abandoned before I was born, so it might be private property, but there was no one to enforce it. I stop just past the rickety fenc e posts and shift the car into Park.
There’s not been one ounce of argument from her. She sits there, trusting me. It’s a weight that I haven’t carried for anyone in years. I’m not that guy in New York, but she’s making me think twice back here in Peachtree Pass.
I undo her seat belt and then mine before leaning over the console to run my fingers over her cheek. “I’m going to kiss you.”
Her hand covers mine, and she leans in, her breathing deepening. “You don’t have to ask or warn me. Just kiss me.”
I press my lips to her, so much of this feeling like the first time. Her eyes close in complete trust, her soft mouth molding to mine, and her other hand finding my side and rubbing before trying to pull me closer.
The fucking console keeps me from her, but as our kisses deepen, our tongues begin a slow dance to encourage more.
Her hand dips to my lap and rubs over my erection.
I push against her and lower my hand to slide over her tits, one and then the other.
Lifting myself over the console, I trail kisses toward her ear and whisper, “Put your seat back.”
She fumbles beside her, and then it slowly glides back for me. When she’s lying as flat as the seat goes, her hand returns to my legs and goes higher. I capture it. “I want you to touch me so badly, but I don’t want to come in my pants and then see my family.”
I slide my hand over her belly and pop the button on her jeans. “But I want to make you feel so good you’ll be thinking about it while we’re eating.”
A small laugh escapes, and she says, “So you want me to come in my shorts, though?”
“Yes. I do, and I want to smell you on my fingers for the rest of the night. ”
Her eyes widen as her chest rises before falling again. Breathless, she whispers, “Yes, please. I want that so much.”
“You just enjoy, baby, while I make you come so hard.” I know I can’t fuck her, though she looks at me like she wants nothing less. I can’t even get out and eat that sweet pussy of hers because we can still be seen from the road.
I’m kicking myself for not driving farther onto the property, but I didn’t know it would escalate like this. A gorgeous woman begging for me to please her? I’ll do everything to make that happen.
I focus on her shorts and getting them down past her knees so my hand can fit properly between her legs. Hovering over the console that’s digging into my lower stomach, I kiss her while sliding two fingers between her lower lips.
Her hips buck as her mouth leaves mine to grasp for air. I slip down to her entrance and tease her with my fingertip. When her hand covers mine, she pushes as hard as she can. “Please, Baylor.” Her eyes roll back in her head as the crown digs into the leather.
The glimpse of the highway behind us sets my desire on fire. I need to feel her pulsing around my fingers. I push one finger into her wet heat, and the slick sides grip and squeeze around me.
Little moans rumble through her, but it’s when I push in another finger that sends her ass off the seat. “So good.” She licks her lips and begs, “Yes. Yes. Yes.”
I pull out and push back in, watching her body come alive before me.
Her nipples push against the shirt, and her mouth hangs open.
As she starts to fuck my hand, I bend over and bite that tempting nip.
“Ah,” breaks free from her throat, giving me the opportunity to kiss her.
I do and pick up fucking her where she left off.
My fingers co ntinue to pump as I watch her body. Watch that stunning face reaching the peak before she tumbles into her release.
A siren blares, startling me. “Shit.”
“No,” she says, gripping my hand so hard to hold it in place. “Finish. Finish. Please, Baylor.”
I look up to see the deputy getting out of his car. A rock and a hard place. I can’t disappoint her now. I fuck her so fast and hard that she screams, “Oh God, yes!”
The car door slams closed, causing me to look up once more . Fuck. I’m going to end up in jail for this.
Her hips bounce against my hand and with her last breath exhaled, she sinks to the seat with her eyes still closed. “Hate to cut this short, but you need to pull your pants up fast.” I fall to the driver’s seat and try to push down my hard dick so it’s not so obvious.
She’s still catching her breath when she casually raises her seat to the upright position again and then pulls her shorts back up. Just when she buttons the top closed, there’s a knock on the window. I ask, “You good?”
She straightens her shirt and takes a deep breath. “So good.” When she smiles, her bliss has her eyelids hanging lower and a smile that even the scare of a cop catching us can’t wipe clear.
I push the window open and scan his name tag. “Good afternoon, Officer McCall.”