“Let me get this straight, Brandon. You broke up with me. Then you got pissed off that I didn’t come crawling back to you, so you decided to freak me out?” She was keeping the asshole busy so Jacob could come up with a plan. Good girl.
“You deserved it.” Brandon’s face looked weary and pale as he paced.
“So after weeks of sending me threatening messages, breaking my boxes, trying to run me over—yeah, I finally figured out whose car that was: your mom’s—and doing stuff to freak me out like putting real worms in my gummy case, you’ve got my one hand tied to a drawer, so you can kill me?”
That’s why she wasn’t moving. She could get off the chair, maybe even duck to the floor if need be, but she wouldn’t be able to go far. Thank God he had assessed before storming in.
Her crazy ex stopped and leered at her, a maniacal look in his eyes. “I wasn’t planning on killing you. I just wanted to cut you up a bit, make you see yourself for the ugly trash you really are.”
“What is wrong with you?” She grimaced. “You broke up with me. You came into my bakery and taunted me with a new girlfriend, and made fun of me.”
“You bitch! You drove Beth away. She left me because of you. You’re both just like my bitch of a mother! Always judging, always better. Mocking. Laughing. I’m going for her next after I finish with you.”
“You really are a piece of work. So how did you get my wine drugged?” She carefully picked up her tiny metal measuring spoons and tossed them at the swinging door toward the front of the bakery.
When the crazy asshole turned toward the sound of the noise, Jacob sprinted through the door and rolled behind the island.
“That was easy. I stole your keys and put the stuff into your wine bottle while you were working. I was going to play with you a bit, humiliate you, and maybe take some videos and pictures to put online. But then your visitor showed up, so I had to leave. You ruined all my fun. You ruined my whole life, you stupid, fat bitch.”
“Well, I’m sorry about your miserable life, Brandon, but I do have to thank you. If you hadn’t become an asshole stalker, my brother would never have sent Jacob to keep an eye on me. I wouldn’t have found that special person to connect with on so many levels. I wouldn’t have had the best orgasms of my life. And I would not have allowed myself to be vulnerable enough to let someone truly protect me. I’ve got someone here for right now at least. And he does all of that. Say hello to my leetle friend.” She smiled.
Yeah, leave it to his woman to come up with a godfather quote in a crisis. Jacob stood up behind her and from the other side of the island, the asshole looked up and paled. Since she still had one damn hand tied to the island, she wasn’t going far. But he could get her out of the way. He pressed his back against the counter and placed his hand next to the industrial fan on the counter. He met Cherry’s gaze and said one word. “Quack.”
She nodded and ducked off her barstool. At the exact moment, her crazy ex swept forward, Jacob hit the high control on the fan, and placed the full flour bag in front of it. Flour exploded from the fan’s high wind right into Brandon’s face, sending him toppling backward with an angry howl.
While he rubbed his white eyes and screamed, Jacob dove over Cherry and knocked out her flour-caked attacker with a hard punch to the face. Then he picked up the knife and set it in the sink, just as the police burst into the room. Damn, he would have liked to have gotten a few more punches in first.
Jacob cut the rope holding her in place.
“Thank you for making it easier to prosecute you.” Cherry smiled and picked up her phone from the counter, and pressed a button.
“You recorded all of that?” The asshole actually shrieked like a little girl as the police cuffed his hands behind his back.
“The tech support lessons from the new guy came in really handy. You’re going to jail, you big jerk.”
Her ex, champion that he was, chose that moment to burst into tears of rage. “I have flour in my eyes. Help me!”
Jacob grabbed Cherry into a big hug, and scowled at the pitiful man. “I can’t believe you dated that.”
“I was bracketing.” She shrugged and wrapped her arms around him so tightly he could barely breathe. But he’d take a cracked rib just to have her safe and in his arms. His woman. His Cherry.
Chapter 8
After the police left—asshole in tow, handcuffed—Jacob threw out a quick text to Chance that all was okay, and then assessed the damage around them. The kitchen looked like a tornado had blown through it. Pans and baking utensils were laying on every inch of flat surface, a bowl of something dark and red had been flung around, making this look more like a gory murder scene than a bakery. And flour was everywhere. He ran his hand over his head, shaking out more remnants of the soft, white stuff. Cherry’s kitchen was in a shambles, but she looked more beautiful than ever. She hadn’t backed down an inch, not even at the threat of death from her crazy-ex. He couldn’t get the vision of her sitting there, proud and tall, a firm look on her face as she stared down her enemy, and then followed his orders like a well-trained soldier. He chuckled to himself. Cherry didn’t like following orders, but knew how to when it mattered. His woman was a warrior at heart, and he could now see why she had such a hard time with Chance’s constant doting. She was an independent, strong, hard-ass, taking-care-of-business, no-shit-taking, warrioress. And his warrioress looked even more beautiful with her battle scars of frosting and flour painting her face and body.
She grinned at him and scratched her hair, sending a cascade of flour from her strawberry locks. “So, you’re still going to hang around long enough to help me clean up, right?”
He needed to tell her he loved her. Right then, right there. Tell her he would help her clean up, and then take her to bed, and if she was okay with it, he would never leave her again. That he needed her in his life. That he couldn’t bear the thought of living any more lonely nights without her, without her beautiful body, without her humor. He opened his mouth to tell her all of that. “I said quack.”
Her eyebrow rose and she did that cute, little squinching thing with her nose when she was trying to figure something out. “I figured it was a lame attempt at secretly telling me to duck.”
God, he was an idiot. Why couldn’t he talk to her? “I love you,” he whispered. His insides churned with rage over his inability to articulate his need for her. “And I like your lame one-liners from movies.” Shit. He was drowning.
“Who’s on first?” she asked quietly.
What? He still couldn’t get his mind to slow down enough, and he blinked a bit more flour out of his eyes and met her sure gaze.
“Who’s on first?” She placed her hands on her still messy hips and cocked her head in anticipation, her lower lip between her front teeth as she grinned at him.
“Um, what’s on second?”
“I don’t know, but I want you to take me to bed and spank me like the naughty school girl I am. Can you handle that, Sergeant?” Her eyes glowed with arousal and humor. “Or should I just take care of it myself?” She bent over the counter, and wiggled her flour-covered yoga-pantsed bottom at him, then picked up a wooden spoon from the container. It was, miraculously, the only clean utensil in the kitchen. She wacked herself a couple of times and her eyes widened with desire and hope as she held it out for him. “Daddy?”
“Hell, little girl, you’re going to be the death of me yet.” His cock strained at his zipper as he took the spoon from her and pulled her up to face him. “You’re still a bit too dirty for Daddy to spank you.” He ran his tongue up her cheek and over her eye, capturing the frosting and flour remnants. “You taste delicious.”
She shuddered when he ran his tongue down her neck, nibbling on the little spot behind her ear. “I bet you’ll taste even better down here.” He stroked between her legs, grazing her pussy underneath her clothes. “Let’s go get cleaned up so I can punish you properly for making such a big mess.”
She was about to answer him when
the bell over the front door rang. Shit, they had left the doors unlocked because of all the traffic from the police.
“What in the name of Fred happened in here?” The older woman poked her head through the double doors, her white-silver hair almost matching the current coloring on the walls.
“It’s a new decorating style. Flour shui.” Cherry laughed and grabbed a box from the refrigerator and handed it to her. “Sorry, I would have had it out sooner, but we had some difficulty with a fan.”
“And the flour,” Jacob added with a smile.
The older lady grinned up at them and gave them a knowing glance. “Thank you. I’ll turn the sign on my way out.”
Jacob walked her out, and locked the door behind her, and went back into the kitchen.
“So, where were we?” Cherry batted her eyelashes innocently.
“I was about to take you upstairs to shower you, spank you and fuck you senseless.”
“At the same time?” Her words mimicked exactly what was in his head, and he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah, little girl. At the same time. Let’s go make a new recipe.”
He loved her! Cherry had heard his low whisper between his frantic attempts at not making a butt out of himself. But she had heard it. I love you. She had heard the words, and it was still making her dizzy with glee.
Jacob was already in the shower, giving her a look that said she better hustle it and get naked. He was gorgeous. His abdominal muscles rippled as he closed his eyes and dunked his head under the water. He still had a bit of flour on him, and she should take care of him. That’s what you did for the man who saved your life, the man you loved so much it scared you.
She stripped off her messy top and flour-caked bottoms and got in behind him, gripping his firm waist in her arms. Her pussy was already wet as she rubbed it against his firm ass. God, she needed this man. Right now. The hot water mixed with the faint scent of the cranberries and sugar, along with his masculine scent, was already sending her senses into overdrive. She might faint if she didn’t get a release soon. A release from Jacob.
She knelt down on her knees and turned him so she could take him into her mouth. He sucked in a hiss of pleasure as she sucked and stroked his balls as if her life depended on it. As she took more of him into her mouth, the water and flour cascaded down her face, and she closed her eyes. She listened to the stream of water hitting the tile floor, combined with her soft slurps and sucks, and his low groans. She tasted his salty essence on the tip of his tongue and tried to open her mouth wider to get even more of him. She loved his taste, his low groans, the way he let go of his control, letting her take charge of the moment. She was doing this to him. Making this gorgeous man groan with desire, giving him all the love she could with her mouth and her tongue.
He pulled her off him, and stood her up, a wild look in his dark eyes. “Turn around, little girl.” He turned her and placed her hands on the other side of the shower wall. “I need to spank you now.” She whimpered when he squeezed her bottom cheeks hard. “I need to feel your beautiful cheeks redden beneath my hands. I want to spank you until you come, and fuck you until you sob, bury myself so deep inside you, I don’t know where I end and you begin. I need you.” He tilted her chin so he could kiss her. His kiss claimed her mouth, her mind, her body, and her soul. This wasn’t a kiss. It was a claiming. “I love you, Cherry Donovan.” He shifted. “But it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. I can wait. We can take it slow. We can…”
She grabbed his wrist and held it tightly in her grip, bringing his palm down onto her right bottom cheek. “Shut up, Sergeant. I love you, too. Now spank me properly, or I’ll do it myself.” She gripped his hand tighter and used it to spank herself again. Okay, maybe he helped a little bit, because that one definitely stung more than the first smack.
“You like spanking yourself with my hand, baby girl?” He growled and let her spank herself again. His palm cracked down the center of her ass as she maneuvered him out and back a few more times.
“Mmm, yeah, Daddy.” She brought his hand down again, and the sound of the crisp swat echoed throughout the shower. “But I think you do a better job of it.”
He wrenched his hand from her and squeezed her cheeks so hard she yelped. He drew her back against his wet chest and she felt his cock harden against her bottom. He nipped her on the neck and tickled her nipple with a flick of his fingers. “Ask me nicely.”
“Please,” she groaned when he pinched her nipple. “Please, Daddy, spank me long and hard and make me come.”
“What are the magic words?” He crooned and started drawing lazy circles with his fingertips along her buttocks.
She couldn’t think straight. Oh my God. She was going to lose her mind if he didn’t do something quick.
The sound of his hand cracking down on her right cheek echoed through the shower, and she groaned as the heat filled her. Again and again, until no part of her was untouched, and her pussy felt like it would shrivel up and die if he didn't take her right then. “Take me, please. Hard. Fast. Deep.”
He picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his wet hips as he turned off the shower and carried her to the bedroom. “I am going to do so many things to your body, you won't be able to walk straight tomorrow.”
She shuddered when he kissed a scorching trail over her lips, down her neck, and then took her aching nipple into his mouth. “All night, little girl. You’re mine to toy with. Mine to feast upon. Mine to fuck senseless. Mine to protect. You get me?”
“Yours. Yes.” As he proceeded to claim her in the most amazingly wicked ways, she knew this was the first step in a relationship she had never thought possible.
Epilogue
Three months later...
“What do you think?” Jacob asked, trying to remain casual, as if his heart weren’t trying to hammer its way out of his chest as Cherry looked through the old shop on the other side of the movie theater on Fort Bragg. “It’s a good location. When people come in and out of the movies, they can stop in here and get a snack.”
“Yeah, it’s fantastic. And this is right in the heart of the base. It’s bigger than my shop at home too. The perfect size to expand.” Her face was lit up with excitement and joy as she walked through the doors and into the much bigger kitchen with the walk-in cooler. “I love it.”
“And there are enough teenagers and spouses nearby that you can easily hire help.”
“I still don’t know about the money.” Her forehead furrowed as if she were trying to do the mental math.
“I already told you, little sis, we’re backing you on this venture.” Her brother, Chance, engulfed her in a hug, and then punched Jacob in the arm. “Not that either of us can afford to eat pies and cakes every day. This lady’s man has a rep for rock hard abs that can’t be forsaken, even for chocolate cake with vanilla frosting.”
“I’ll add some healthier options to the list. Smoothies, gluten free, I even have a few new recipes for protein bars that are supposed to taste pretty good.” She smiled. “If I can find a couple of hard core test subjects.”
They both groaned, but nodded.
“Thanks for finding this place for me.” She kissed Jacob on the lips, and grinned as her brother rolled his eyes and pretended to busy himself with his cell phone. “Are you sure you won’t mind me living nearby and working on the same base as you?”
“About that. Now that our next tour has started, and we’re in charge of the training, um, I want to talk to you about something.” Jacob’s eyes darted over to Chance nervously.
Chance laughed. “I’ll be out front, wuss.”
“I want to be your Westley.” Jacob blurted to her.
“What?”
“Or you could be my Adrian, that’s cool too.” He grimaced. “Or you could be my Bella. I could be your Will Turner or your Edward. Shit.”
“Are you asking me to marry you by using my favorite movies?”
“Yeah, I’m killing it, aren’t I?” He
grinned sheepishly. “Team Edward?”
She giggled and kissed him on the cheek. “Silly Sergeant. I will always choose Team Jacob. But alas.” She paused for dramatic effect and winked at him. “I can’t marry you. Not like this.”
“Why not?” He could tell she was playing with him, the way her eyes lit up with mirth, but it confused the hell out of him.
“My name would be Cherry Pye, silly. I might be a bit quacked up, but that’s pushing it a little, isn’t it?”
He shrugged. “We could name our first kid American.”
She laughed. “And our second could be Apple.”
“Our third could be Shepherd. I love you.”
“All right, I’m in.”
He yelled and picked her up in his arms and then kissed her on the lips. “You are making me a very happy man. I have a surprise for you.”
She snuggled into his arms and looked at the ring on her finger. “I don’t know what could possibly make me happier. I have a new bakery, a new home, and a gorgeous fiancé who makes me tingle in all the best ways.”
“Call your brother.” He pointed at Cherry’s phone, and she dialed.
The music from the Barbie Show blared from Chance’s phone, while he muttered and tried to turn it off. Then Jacob called him, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star played from his cell phone. “What the hell?” Chance’s loud shout came from the front, followed by a few giggles from women who were passing by the front of the store.
Life was good. And Cherry was finally on top.
The End
Katherine Deane
USA Today bestselling author Katherine Deane is a multi-published, top 100 romantic and BDSM author and romantic at heart.
She loves cheese, red wine, chocolate, and snuggling up with her daughters’ kittens while reading a good book.
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