Chapter 27
“Careful,” Barbara cautioned, standing back as Catarina pulled the brownies out of the oven. “They look good!”
Catarina smiled as she set the pan down on the stove, closing the oven door with exaggerated care. A moment later, she stepped back, hands on her hips, and admired her work.
“They do, don’t they?” she said with triumph. Her mouth twisted. “Much better than the last batch, right?”
Barbara laughed and handed Catarina a knife. “Everyone who cooks eventually burns something.”
Catarina pressed her lips into a line. “Yeah, but how many people mix up the salt and sugar?”
“More than you’d think,” Barbara chuckled. “The difference is most of us taste our batter before we bake it.”
“What about the raw eggs?” Catarina asked, frowning. “I thought we weren’t supposed to eat batter because of salmonella. I read that somewhere.”
Barbara waved a hand. “It’s true, but most bakers ignore it. We lick the spoon anyway. You’re far too disciplined.”
Catarina smoothed a hand down her navy dress. Disciplined wasn’t the word, she thought grimly. Sal fed her so well that she’d gained more weight than she ever had before, and he noticed if she skipped so much as a bite.
“He really likes brownies?” she asked, hesitant.
“Loves them,” Barbara replied, already slicing into the warm chocolate squares. She cut four generous pieces, slid them onto a plate, and handed it over Catarina’s hands. “Go! He’ll be grateful for these right now.”
Catarina hesitated. “Maybe I should test one first. You know, in case I messed up again—”
“Go,” Barbara interrupted firmly, her sternness softened with a conspiratorial wink. “I’ll give the rest to the guys.”
Still smiling weakly, Catarina clutched the plate like a shield as she walked down the hall.
She paused at Sal’s office door, heart racing.
He was reading a document, brow furrowed in concentration.
That stern, focused line between his brows made her cheeks warm.
She must have shifted because his head snapped up.
“Cata?” His expression softened the instant he saw her, then darkened again with concern. “Are you okay? Is something wrong?”
“I’m fine!” she gasped quickly, not wanting him to worry. She stepped into the office, clutching the plate tighter. “I just…um…made some brownies. Thought you might need a break.”
“Brownies?” His gaze dropped to the plate, then back to her. His eyes narrowed. “You made them?”
She almost rolled her eyes. The scowl wasn’t irritation—she knew that now. It was his clumsy way of hiding concern for her. On him, though, the scowl was…adorable. Dangerous, rugged, intimidating, but also—adorable.
She bit back a laugh. Dangerous men weren’t supposed to be cute. But somehow Sal was.
Then, unbidden, she remembered last night—the way he’d punished her by teasing with his mouth and fingers until she’d been half-laughing, half-crying from pleasure. Her cheeks heated furiously.
“Did you know your brow wrinkles when you concentrate?” she blurted, desperate to distract herself. She took two steps closer, then glanced at the open doorway. Boldness surged—maybe from Barbara’s wink, maybe from last night—so she walked back and pushed the heavy door shut.
Sal’s eyes changed instantly. Warmer. Sharper. Not alert in the way he was with business, but focused entirely on her.
“I do?” he asked, leaning back in his chair as if curious.
“Mm-hmm.” Catarina held the plate out like an offering. “It makes you look…less terrifying.”
One dark eyebrow shot up. “Less terrifying?” He took the plate, setting it on his desk.
Her lips curved. “Almost human.”
“Almost?” he echoed, standing now, moving toward her with deliberate slowness.
She tilted her head, her smile growing bolder. “Don’t worry. You’re still plenty scary. Just…cute scary.”
Oh, that sexy growl, she thought as he stood up, completely ignoring the brownies. “Did you just call me…cute?” he asked, moving around to the other side of the desk. He was playing right into her hands, she thought, unconsciously licking her lips.
“Yeah,” she replied, tilting her head back to look into his eyes.
He leaned forward, pressing his hips against hers, then she had to lean back slightly when he braced his hands on the surface of his desk.
“You know that I’m a very dangerous man, right?”
She almost giggled at his “dangerously” serious expression.
“A very cute, dangerous man,” she taunted.
He made another sound that sent a thrill through her entire body. “I think that,” he lifted his hand to brush her hair off of her shoulder, but then he wrapped that hair up in his fist, gently tugging her head backwards, “someone wants to play. A very dangerous game.”
“You think so?” she whispered, feeling her whole body tingle with need now.
Suddenly, his other hand wrapped around her waist and…she was lifted up and set down on his desk, then he pushed her legs apart, his hips stepping between them, forcing them wider.
“Yeah,” he rasped out. “Is my pretty wife subtly insulting me so that she will be punished?”
Catarina laughed, gripping his shoulders, then sliding her fingers up so that she could touch his bare skin.
“Yeah,” she whispered, wiggling enticingly against the growing evidence of his interest in such a task.
“I think that your wife is very interested in seeing how her very dangerous,” she said that with a roll of her eyes, “husband, can defy being cute while…!” She couldn’t finish because he was kissing her now while one of his very talented fingers slid along the lace of her panties, causing her to gasp with surprise. The man didn’t mess around!
“Stop,” he shifted again, “calling me,” one of his hands cupped her breast, “cute!”
With a rip, he tore off her panties, lifting her up so that he could remove the material that was hindering his hands.
Catarina might have protested the destruction of such a pretty pair of panties, but he was kissing her, his fingers doing something new, something shockingly good, and all she could do was hold on.
Somehow, he’d found the zipper on the back of her dress and was lowering it, then moving the fabric out of the way.
Did he strip her naked? Nope! In fact, he merely lowered the material of her dress, pushing it around her waist, trapping her arms. Then he pulled the straps down on her lacy bra, adding additional control to her movements.
“Am I still cute?” he demanded, pushing her back and lifting her legs over his shoulders.
“Sal!” she gasped, then fell backwards on his desk as he tilted her at an unsustainable angle and…
disappeared behind pink, flowing fabric.
Before she could protest, his mouth was there, nibbling at her inner thigh.
She gasped, trying to grip his head, wanting to position that mouth where she really needed it.
His bad-boy persona never failed to turn her on.
Then again, she loved his gentleness too.
It was such a departure from the tough-guy image that he projected to everyone else and it never failed to excite her, because he was showing that side of himself just to her.
But then his tongue flicked against that nub and she cried out, her body shuddering with anticipation.
“Do you like that?” he asked, pulling away, but his thumb flicked against her nub.
“Yes!” she gasped.
“Am I still cute?”
She bit her lip, trying to sit up and pull away.
But her efforts weren’t very effective. “Yes,” she replied, starting to laugh, but he easily slid a finger inside her.
She laid back down, arching her back. Her movements were messing up the neat stacks of papers on his desk, but she didn’t have the ability to care. Not when he was doing that to her body.
There was another growl. She thought about trying to get away from him, but she didn’t want to. This kind of torture was exquisite!
So she lifted her leg higher, “accidentally” rubbing her foot against his back. She had no idea where her shoes were at this point, nor did she care.
“I think you’re adorable, S…!”
He bent over and started sucking that nub, bringing her right to the edge of that beautiful cliff, but he knew her body too well. He knew she was about to find her release and he pulled back. Instead, he reached up and pinched her nipple. Hard!
That nearly tipped her over, but it wasn’t quite enough and she nearly screamed with her frustration now.
“You’re…this isn’t fair!” she whispered, wiggling, trying to entice him. She was nearly out of her mind. Had it only been mere minutes since she’d kicked the door closed? And who was this daring woman?
She loved it! Catarina was tired of being afraid. And she wasn’t going to cower anymore. Her marriage to this man had freed her from decades of abuse and she was free!
So instead of begging, which she would have done last night, she reached down, pushing the folds of her pink dress out of the way, and slid her finger against that nub, doing for herself what he was withholding from her.
“Damn!” he hissed, pulling back and watching her fingers slide over her nub. “Don’t stop!”
She didn’t, entranced by the heat in his eyes. She was too involved in finding her own pleasure and didn’t realize what he was doing…until he lifted her hips higher and slammed into her, his own body sliding into her heat with no resistance. She was too turned on, too ready for him now.
Every time he thrust into her, his body pressed her finger more perfectly against that nub. She watched him watching her and felt her body tighten, her climax so close, she was ready to scream.
And then it happened. She couldn’t hold back the release as her body shuddered, tightening around his shaft.
His fingers tightened on her hips, pulling her against him.
She was teetering on the edge of his desk, his hands and body the only things keeping her from falling on the rug now.
And it was incredible! She couldn’t stop the laughter from bursting out of her as he groaned out his own release.