Chapter 13
Be Our Guest
Mara tossed and turned most of the night in her new room. Fritter had initially curled up at the end of the bed, but her restlessness had sent him searching for another spot to sleep.
Excitement about the first day of guests was part of the reason for her lack of sleep, but it was more than that.
The new suite was gorgeous. Beautifully painted, decorated with pretty furniture from the inn and farmhouse. She appreciated the living space attached to the bedroom and the newly renovated bathroom.
All for her.
Which brought her to the real reason she hadn’t slept well.
Seth.
With his leg, it made the most sense for him to take these rooms closest to the kitchen. It would save him steps and ease the aches his injuries caused.
But he’d been worried about her safety and had insisted that Gray and Amber offer her the room instead.
When she’d suggested she refuse so Seth would take it, Gray had snorted.
Not a chance in hell, Mara. He wants you to have it.
And he’s right. With your early hours, it’s smarter for you to live here.
So, here she was.
Thinking about Seth’s kindness and protectiveness. Thinking about inviting him into this room.
The bedrooms in the farmhouse were large. Between the bathrooms, the rooms were private. She could have invited the man into her room there with no one being the wiser. This was even better.
Shivers covered her skin as she snuggled the pillows for another minute. One day soon, she’d like to be snuggling Seth instead.
Finally, she showered and dressed. Fritter ignored her completely, preferring to snooze on a chair in the living room.
She figured he’d love having his own spaces to roam, and she’d be able to check on him frequently.
If guests didn’t have allergies or worries about him, Amber had suggested he’d be free to roam the inn.
She’d give him a few days to get used to their new rooms before letting him roam freely.
Instead of being the outdoor cat they’d expected, Fritter enjoyed the indoors.
He watched birds and squirrels through the windows, but never tried to head out the door.
There’d been no word from Kimi, so no one was looking to claim him. With every hour that passed, Mara’s hopes grew. She didn’t want to give him up.
In the kitchen, Mara turned on her morning playlist, laughing when “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast started her morning. It was the perfect song for the inn’s opening day.
First, she made the dough for the Danishes and the croissants. She’d make some plain, while others would have apple filling and chocolate drizzle.
Her favorite scents soon filled the space. Cinnamon, rising dough, apples, vanilla, and chocolate. Her personal paradise would smell like this.
Seth walked in from the back door and nodded at Mara. That was another scent she would add.
After a look at the time, Mara wondered if he’d been waking early to escort her between the buildings. She’d assumed he was an early riser, but now she guessed it was that innate protectiveness that had meant she’d seen him most mornings.
Her working playlist now filled the room because she’d switched when she’d been mixing up muffins.
It shuffled through over two thousand upbeat songs, and she could listen to it for days.
As Seth washed his hands at the prep sink, “A Spoonful Of Sugar” from Mary Poppins played, making his lips quirk.
She grinned at him. “Want me to turn it off?”
He shook his head, but didn’t respond. He wasn’t a chatterbox, especially before his coffee.
They both puttered around for the next hour, sharing the kitchen without words.
Mara decided multigrain rolls would match his proposed menu, and his grunt of approval when he realized what she was making had her singing along with “Cabaret”.
One day, she’d get him to sing along with something. “What’s your favorite song?”
He glanced up, eyebrows raised. “What makes you think I know enough songs to have a favorite?”
She laughed as she filled the sink with warm bubbles. “Everyone should have a favorite.”
He grunted, but she could now differentiate the sounds and knew he was amused. “Maybe you’re secretly a “Time Warp” fan. You must have seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show at least once.”
“That’s the one where you throw toast at the screen?”
She laughed. “And rolls of toilet paper. Seeing that movie with a crowd at midnight is so much fun.”
He grunted as he placed the chicken into a baking dish and covered it in a marinade he’d mixed up. When he set it in the fridge, he pulled out some lemons and put them on the counter to warm. He’d use a few for the salmon later on. They were going to have happy guests that evening.
Which sent a shudder through her. She plunged her hands into the water and began washing her dishes. “I’m a little nervous about today.” Oops. She hadn’t meant to say that aloud.
A beat of silence followed her words. “No need. You’re a talented baker.”
“Thanks.” That helped. She doubted Seth gave out unwarranted praise.
She was halfway through the load of dishes when Seth’s large hands landed on her hips. Her squeal of surprise morphed into a moan as his lips brushed over her ear.
He squeezed her hips and ran his lips down her neck. “You taste like sunshine.”
Her body melted at his growled words. That might be the nicest compliment she’d ever received.
“You’re a mix of chaos and sunshine. No nerves allowed. Your baking is as amazing as you are.”
Mara was surprised that her knees didn’t buckle. Between his roving hands and his whispered words, she might imitate the Wicked Witch of the West and melt into a giant puddle.
His hands kneaded her hips. “Keep washing those dishes. You don’t want to fall behind schedule.”
As if she could concentrate on anything other than his touch. Glad she was done with anything fragile, she cleaned the large mixer bowl.
Seth’s lips cruised from her ear to her collarbone and back, then kissed the fine hairs beneath her ponytail.
The bowl clattered into the second sink when his fingers roved under her apron and around to the front of her leggings.
He chuckled in her ear. “Keep working, Chaos Machine.”
Her brain wanted to process and protest that, but his fingers slipped beneath the fabric and down to her panties.
She gasped and dropped the beaters back into the soapy water.
One finger traced back and forth along the edge of her panties and then finally dipped inside.
“Okay?” His gruff question rumbled against her skin, and she could barely manage the nod.
She was about to float away like the bubbles while Gershwin’s “Someone To Watch Over Me” filled the kitchen with its sultry beat.
When he moved to coast his fingers lightly over her, she nearly shot through the ceiling.
He groaned. “You’re going to be the death of me, Mara.”
She couldn’t suck enough air in to respond. Then his fingers were moving again.
Stroking.
Swirling.
Reaching deeper.
Her knees wobbled, and Seth’s other hand banded around her waist to tug him back into his strength.
His tongue imitated the movements of his hand, and Mara felt the spirals beginning.
Back and forth. Harder, softer. Slow and fast.
Building her up and easing her off the cliff.
“So close.”
“So beautiful. Let’s see what happens when Chaos explodes.”
He found her clit and did something to make stars spiral behind her eyelids.
Pleasure, sharp and intense, blossomed like fireworks throughout her body.
He swore softly in her ear and did something else that had her flying again.
Hallelujah.
Seth breathed harshly into Mara’s hair, desperately trying to control his body.
He’d never been as turned on by a woman’s response. None of the women he’d known had been such a lethal combination of sex, chaos, and sweetness. She was as addictive as her baking, and he was in way over his head.
After her shudders slowed, he eased his fingers from Mara’s panties and slipped her clothing back into place.
He’d been a breath away from stripping her naked in someone else’s kitchen and pounding into her from behind.
Hell, he was still barely a breath away. Only the worry that Gray or Amber could walk in at any moment kept him from doing precisely that. Well, that and the fact he wasn’t sure his leg could handle it.
Summoning all his hard-earned control, he kept breathing into her hair, kept his hand moving as her breathing slowed into something resembling normal.
It took a long time.
Seth ran his hands up and down Mara’s torso, hoping to offer some comfort without ramping either of them back up again. “Should I apologize?”
Mara laughed and looked at him over her shoulder. “For giving me the absolute best orgasm of my life? Or for calling me Chaos Machine?”
He grinned, feeling better than he had in years, maybe ever. “Absolute best, huh? And we haven’t even started.”
Her eyes darkened immediately, and he kissed her lightly. “But probably not here and now.”
She blinked at him, and her gaze roved the kitchen. “Probably not.”
But her tone held desire without a trace of embarrassment or regret. A definite win because he wanted to do that again. Often.
The sound of footsteps approaching had him backing up a step. “Company’s coming.”
Confusion lit her eyes for a moment, but then she nodded. She reached up on her toes to press a light kiss to his lips. “Thanks.”
Then she turned back to the dishes.
By the time the door swung open to reveal Gray, Seth had washed his hands and was prepping chickpeas to roast for one of the salads.
Gray grinned. “Good morning. Smells delicious.”
When his wife didn’t appear behind him, Seth frowned. “Is Amber feeling okay?”
Gray nodded. “She didn’t sleep well last night, so I left her to it with Boomer on guard. She’s nervous about today.”
Seth refrained from glancing at Mara and thinking about how he’d distracted her from her nerves. Instead, he focused on his buddy. “Nothing to be nervous about. This place is amazing, and the guests are going to love it.”
Gray nodded. “I know, but the first time doing anything is rough. I’m hoping she can sleep for a couple more hours. No one should arrive until the afternoon.”
Mara took the muffins out of the oven. “Are you hungry? There’s plenty here. I’m going to make the fritters next, but I’ve got Danishes, croissants, and muffins ready to go. Although these caramel apple ones should cool for a few minutes.”
Gray bit into a cheese croissant and immediately moaned. “This is perfection, Mara. As good as my mamma’s. Are you sure you’re not Italian?”
Mara grinned, color still high in her cheeks from her orgasm. “Not that I know of, but thank you.”
Gray’s eyebrows raised, and Seth knew he’d noticed Mara’s glow. His buddy glanced toward where Seth worked behind the island, keeping his lower half shielded from view.
Gray grinned at him. “Anything I can do to help either of you out today?”
He shot him a glare. “We’ve got it under control.”
Mara nodded. “I’m going to make some sandwich buns that freeze well. If anyone wants to make a sandwich for lunch, they can thaw one. I’ll leave instructions on the freezer door.”
Their friends had priced the inn rooms to include both breakfast and supper, but there would also be easy options for lunches if guests wanted to help themselves. Seth had canned and frozen individual jars of soup for that purpose.
Gray nodded. “We sure got lucky that the two of you moved to the farm. Don’t know where we’d be without you.”
Seth snorted. “You’re as good a cook as any chef I’ve ever met.”
Gray shrugged. “But that would leave Amber on her own to run this place. I like it better this way.”
Seth shot Mara a look. “Me too.”
Amber and Boomer walked into the kitchen, and Claus shot to his feet to approach her. “I was hoping you’d get more sleep.”
Amber smiled. “Too nervous and excited. I can’t believe today is actually here. The No Phailed Apples Inn is open for business.”
Mara nodded. “And it’s going to be amazing. Are you up for the first taste of a caramel apple muffin?”
Amber nodded. “I think I’m officially done with morning sickness. I hope so anyway. This is probably where I start devouring everything in sight.”
Gray grabbed a muffin and set it on a plate for her. “You’re eating for two. Our bambino needs sustenance.”
Amber laughed. “Our bambino is the size of a plum right now. I don’t think he or she needs this muffin, but I do.”
Claus watched his wife carefully as she ate, and the four of them talked through the day’s routine.
Amber had hired a local woman to do the daily laundry and room cleaning, but she wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow.
Marcia and her husband lived on a small dairy farm nearby, and she was thrilled to have the job to supplement their income and to escape what she called “moo duty” for a few hours each day.
Amber had also asked Marcia and her husband to supply the inn with milk, another plus in Seth's opinion. Between Gray’s garden, their neighbors’ farms, and the soon-to-arrive chickens, the inn wouldn’t lack for freshness.
He searched Mara out again to see that her color had returned to normal. Her eyes sparkled when they locked gazes, making him want to devour her, regardless of their companions.
He wanted a long stretch of time to explore every last inch of her. If she hadn’t been exaggerating, and that had been the best orgasm of her life, he couldn’t wait to watch her soar higher and higher.
She hadn’t seen anything yet.