Sugarcoated

by Erin Nicholas

  She was flushed, her lips dark pink, her pupils dilated, and she was breathing hard.

  She was also wrapped around him like a spider monkey on a banana tree.

  Slowly she pulled in a deep breath and blinked.

  “Surprised?” he asked, his voice gruff.

  She licked her recently ravaged lips. And nodded. “Um, yeah.”

  Even the Christmas Eve kiss hadn’t been this hot. In part because he hadn’t been prepared for it. In the least. In part because he’d only let himself indulge for about ten seconds before he realized he had to stop.

  This time he wasn’t stopping anything.

  He pressed her more firmly into the fridge to hold her up and brought the cake ball he was still holding to his mouth. He bit into it as she watched, her breathing still uneven.

  He chewed, swallowed, and then gave her a cocky smirk. “I intend to have my cake and eat it too, Zoe.”

  4

  It took about three seconds for that to sink in.

  Then she realized she was plastered against him like a sucker fish on the side of an aquarium.

  Zoe unwrapped her legs and put her hands on his chest to push him back.

  Aiden let her go and leaned back, allowing her to slide gracefully until her feet were on the floor.

  She pushed her hair back and pulled in a deep breath. Well, that wasn’t going to help her convince him she didn’t want any of this.

  Truth was, she wanted it so badly she was torn between pretending to be huffy and stomping out of here with her dignity slightly still intact, or stripping all her clothes off and begging him to resume the position.

  Honestly, she’d only have to pull her panties down. This dress was very little barrier.

  As she knew by the way the skirt had hiked up when he’d put her up against the fridge—damn, that was hot—and she’d felt every big, hard inch of him. Her panties and his suit pants were definitely not enough to hide that he was very okay with what had just happened.

  Thankfully he said the thing about having his cake and eating it too. It was so classic Aiden. He’d really never not had his cake and eaten it too. It reminded her he’d pushed her away at Christmas when it wasn’t convenient—or whatever—for him and that was not okay with her.

  He thought he could just breeze back in here after five months? Of course he did. He was so… Aiden. The Golden Boy. The favorite son. The honor-student-class-president-star-athlete-debate-team-captain-perfect-commencement-speech giver. Of course he thought he could just waltz back in and say, “Okay I’m ready now. Take your panties off.”

  It really burned her up that she wanted to take her panties off so badly.

  Because, of course, he was an amazing kisser.

  Argh!

  She was grateful for the cocky grin on his face at the moment because it was all that was giving her the ability to smooth down her dress, brush back her hair, and look him in the eye when she said, “Oh yeah, we should totally get married.”

  She knew he heard her sarcasm. But his grin grew. “I knew I’d bring you around.” He reached for her face.

  Zoe slapped his hand away. “You’re insane.”

  “I don’t think so.” He stepped in and brought his hand up again. He ran his thumb over her cheek. “You’re dusted with sugar.” He put his thumb to his mouth and licked the sugar off.

  Her nipples tingled.

  “Hazard of the job.”

  “I like it.”

  She blew out a breath. “Knock it off.” She pushed him back and slipped around him before he could touch her again. It was clear that that was going to be of the utmost importance—keeping a nice, big space between them.

  Had he surprised her with the kiss? Yes. Yes, definitely. Had the heat of it surprised her? Yes, indeed.

  Did that surprise make up for the fact that she knew everything from his favorite color to his favorite pizza toppings to his favorite church hymn? No, it did not. They had unexpected chemistry. Big deal. He was still the last person she should get involved with if she wanted surprises and excitement.

  “I need to get going.” She grabbed the trays of fully finished cake pops. Thank God she’d gotten a few of those done. She’d just store everything in the fridge overnight, and then she could finish the others tomorrow.

  She turned. And stopped. Aiden was still standing in front of the fridge. The fridge they’d just made out against. The fridge she was very afraid she was now going to be unable to pass without thinking of him every damned time.

  She passed by that fridge probably a hundred times a week.

  Great.

  “Excuse me.”

  He stepped to the side. “You’re just going to leave? We’re not going to talk?”

  She looked at the handle on the fridge pointedly, and he reached for it, pulling the door open for her. She slid the tray in on the lower shelf.

  “I think we both said plenty,” she told him, turning back for the other tray. “You want to get married. I don’t. I think that covers it, don’t you?”

  He laughed. “Yeah, not quite.”

  She grabbed the bowl of melted candy coating and stored it too. She should be able to remelt it in the morning. She couldn’t deal with cleanup right now.

  Slamming the door, she reached for the tie on her apron. “Really? What else do we need to cover?”

  “The fact that I need to know who took your virginity,” he said bluntly. Not smiling. “For one thing.”

  She rolled her eyes. Yeah, she wasn’t telling him that, and there was no way he was going to be able to find out. Because the answer was no one. But she wasn’t about to tell him she hadn’t done a thing about her V-card in the past five months.

  Mostly it was because of all the reasons she’d chosen him in the first place. She didn’t know anyone else she could totally trust with her lack of knowledge and ineptness in that area. She hated being incompetent at anything.

  That was actually something she and Aiden had very much in common. The difference between them was Aiden always thought he could become good at anything he wanted. Zoe was not at all sure of that herself. That was why she stuck with the things she knew she was good at.

  The majority of which involved sugar, butter, and flour.

  Definitely not sex. She wanted her first time to be with someone who could, and would, coach her through it, wouldn’t think she was an idiot—or wouldn’t let her know he thought that, anyway—and who would then leave town and wouldn’t be running into her all the time and thinking about what a dork she’d been between the sheets.

  Sure, she’d have to face Aiden again, eventually. She was going to have Aiden in her life forever. That was just a foregone conclusion. But it was Aiden. She’d truly thought they could have sex and then go back to things as they’d always been. He could do her a favor, help her out like he had when she’d been struggling with chemistry in high school, and after that one night, they’d just fall back into their regular relationship.

  It had only taken one kiss to realize she’d really messed up that line of thinking.

  Okay, yes, that had been a surprise.

  And now that they’d kissed again… and this time he’d kissed her, which definitely made a difference… sitting across from him at her mother’s dining room table was going to be difficult.

  Dammit.

  “You have to know there is no way in hell I’m telling you who I’ve slept with,” Zoe told him, putting her hand on her hip and summoning all her annoyance.

  “I just want to have a little talk with him and let him know that you’re now off limits.”

  She stared at him for a moment. Then she started laughing. “Yeah, sure, that’s totally fine. You can absolutely go stomping around all over Appleby acting like a caveman who’s marking his territory. Everyone will think that’s adorable. Not to mention, totally in character for you. And I’ll be paging through bridal magazines the whole time so turned on and ready to settle down with all that.” She crossed the kitchen to
the hooks by the back door. She hung up her apron and grabbed her purse. She looked back at him. “You coming?”

  He had his arms crossed and was just watching her from beside the worktable. The worktable that was covered with drips of candy coating and a dusting of sugar. She was going to have to come in early to clean up tomorrow, but she couldn’t be here, alone, with him any longer.

  “Did you actually lose your virginity, Zoe?” he asked.

  His voice was low and a little husky, and she felt a little shiver tickle down her spine. Bastard. He knew her. He could tell she was lying?

  No way.

  She gave him a bored look. A fake bored look—she couldn’t deny her heart was pounding and she was having dirty thoughts about candy coating and sugar—but still. “You don’t think so?”

  He wouldn’t know for sure either way. Maybe that would drive him even crazier. That seemed like it could be fun. Playing around with Aiden could be a good time. She hadn’t had a good time in… a while. Maybe since planning her little Christmas seduction.

  Which had turned into a huge humiliation.

  She frowned.

  He came toward her, almost like he was stalking her. Zoe felt herself straighten instinctively then told herself to relax. She didn’t need to be defensive around Aiden. This was none of his business now. She just needed to remember that.

  And remember to hate that he seemed to legitimately feel possessive of her. She did not like that. She didn’t want some guy thinking he could control her.

  But that’s not how it felt. That’s not how it would be with Aiden. He knew her too well for that. He knew she was very good with a paring knife.

  Besides, she knew him too well. He was used to getting his way and having things just work out, sure, but he was a good guy. He’d always been a good boyfriend. She hadn’t been close to any of the girls he’d dated in high school, being four years younger, but she knew he had a reputation for being charming and sweet and considerate, and yeah, good in bed. Or at least in back seats and on blankets down by the river. Rumors got around in a small town. Girls had known Aiden was Camden’s best friend and that he was at her house a lot. They’d always wanted information about him. What kind of cookies did he like? Did he have a girlfriend currently? Would he be at her house after the basketball game? Would she take a note to him? Or a secret admirer gift?

  It had been funny when she’d been twelve and he’d been sixteen.

  She frowned a little. Now it wouldn’t be so funny.

  Now that she knew he was a good kisser. And that he wanted to sleep with her. And that he was feeling possessive of her.

  Dammit.

  He stopped right in front of her, totally in her personal space. Close enough for her to confirm, once again, that yes, he did smell as good as he looked in that freaking suit.

  “I think if you wanted a guy, all you’d have to really do is snap your fingers, and you’d have a line out the door,” he said. “But,” he added. “I also think all the reasons you wanted me to be your first are still true. So I’m not so sure that you haven’t just been waiting for me to come home.”

  All the reasons she’d wanted him to be her first were definitely still true. The bastard. He could have taken care of this five months ago, and she’d be over her hang-up about having sex for the first time at twenty-five and could maybe be dating someone now and having regular, fun sex and doing the relationship thing.

  But no…

  “It doesn’t really matter if you believe me,” she told him truthfully.

  “You could still just tell me.”

  “It’s really bothering you, huh?”

  “It is.”

  “Then no, I don’t think I will.” She pulled the back door open, flipped off the kitchen light, and stepped out into the evening before he could say anything.

  He stepped out right behind her and grabbed her upper arm before she could get too far. He pressed in close behind her and put his mouth against her ear. “I want to be your first,” he said, his voice rough. “But more importantly, I intend to be your last.”

  Those damned shivers rippled through her, stronger and longer than before. She took a deep breath. “Your ego is out of control, Golden Boy.”

  But dammit, her voice was a little too breathless to really pull off the sass she’d wanted.

  He chuckled, the sound low and delicious against her ear. “Comes from years of getting my way. You should remember that.”

  She sucked in a breath then elbowed him in the ribs. “I think maybe you need someone who doesn’t just fall to her knees in front of you.”

  Too late, she realized how that sounded. And with absolutely zero experience with blow jobs, she still had a pretty vivid picture of her and Aiden in her kitchen with her on her knees holding a jar of pink sugar.

  Crap.

  He chuckled again. “Believe me, getting you on your knees will be a pleasure, no matter what it takes.”

  She stepped away from him and he let her go.

  “I’ve got to get going.”

  “You mentioned that.”

  She didn’t look back. Or say anything more. What more was there really to say?

  Zoe headed straight to her mom’s house. She had dinner with Maggie and Steve a couple of nights a week. Not because she was lonely or hated cooking for one, but because she legitimately loved hanging out with her parents and because, well, why not? They lived a block away, and her mom loved to have her over. Jocelyn and Jane, her two best friends, joined them a lot of the time too.

  They were careful not to talk about Jane’s job with Hot Cakes too much. The snack cake company that was headquartered in Appleby was the McCaffery family’s nemesis.

  Zoe and Maggie didn’t blame Jane for working there. The girl had to have a job. Zoe got that. But they just avoided the topic for the most part. It helped their friendship that Jane was a sugarholic and that she much preferred Buttered Up’s sweets to the ones she made every day. They hadn’t been close in high school because of their age difference, but once Jane had confessed her addiction, Zoe and Josie had become her dealers. She showed up at the back door of the bakery every morning at 6 a.m. sharp, just as they were opening, and they gave her a sugar hit for the day in the form of muffins, bars, cookies, cupcakes, and pie. Particularly strawberry pie. Zoe honestly believed Jane would kill someone for her if the payment was strawberry pie.

  She was relieved to see Jocelyn and Jane’s cars were both already in front of her mom’s house. She needed some girl time. She needed to forget about Aiden for a little while. Then she needed to pull her friends onto her mom’s back patio, tip some vodka into the lemonade Maggie no doubt had in the fridge, and ask them what she was supposed to do about Aiden.

  She wanted to have sex with him.

  She should not want that.

  He’d had his chance. He’d turned her down. He’d left without any contact for five freaking months.

  She should definitely not give him a second chance.

  Especially when he was talking crazy about moving here and them having an actual relationship.

  Unless she should.

  She needed her friends to tell her what to do here. Both Jocelyn and Jane had dated more guys than Zoe had, and they would be objective about Aiden and all his nutso claims. At least, more so than Zoe was.

  “Hey, everyone.” Zoe let herself in through the back kitchen door.

  Jocelyn had one of Maggie’s favorite pink, polka-dotted aprons on and was stirring something on the stove. Jane was sitting at the table with a glass of the lemonade Zoe wanted to spike. Jane wasn’t much of a cook. Jocelyn, on the other hand, was amazing. She’d practically grown up in Buttered Up too, working after school with Zoe at a young age.

  They all gave her big smiles.

  “Hi, honey!” Maggie leaned over for Zoe’s kiss on her cheek. “Did you get my text?”

  “Text? No.” Hell, she wasn’t even positive she had her phone now that she thought of it. She’d been w
ay too distracted after closing time. “Why?”

  “Oh, I was hoping you’d bring a pie home.”

  “I um… didn’t check messages before I left the bakery,” Zoe said. She shot Jocelyn a look that said, Don’t tell who I was with.

  “She knows,” Jocelyn mouthed.

  Zoe sighed. Of course she did. She should have known Aiden couldn’t be within the Appleby city limits for more than fifteen minutes without Maggie knowing about it.

  “Can you run back down?” Maggie asked. “You know the chocolate pie is one of Aiden’s favorites.”

  Zoe rolled her eyes. Behind her mom’s back, of course. Jane saw her though and smirked. “No, I’m not going to run back down to get a pie for Aiden,” she said. Then she realized what Maggie’s question truly meant. “He’s coming over for dinner?”

  “Of course he is.” Maggie beamed at her. “I wish he’d told us he was coming home today, but as soon as he texted me I was able to hop over to your place and clean up.”

  Zoe tossed her purse onto the kitchen table—dinner would be at the dining room table with the nice dishes and even a tablecloth if Aiden was here—and slumped into the wooden chair across from Jane. “Great,” she said. At least her sheets would be especially lavendery tonight. That could be helpful. She had a feeling she might have some trouble sleeping, what with the hot guy she wanted to get naked with right down the hall. And supposedly willing this time.

  Jane gave her a wink. “Josie told us he stopped by the bakery. In a suit.”

  Jane and Jocelyn knew about Christmas Eve. Or The Great Seduction Debacle as they’d started calling it over hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps two nights later.

  They didn’t think it was quite as horrible as Zoe did. They were plenty protective of her and would absolutely give Aiden a hard time about it, but they thought his “no” made some sense. She and Aiden were longtime friends, and they’d have to see each other again—forever—afterward. She’d taken him by surprise. One night of sex to learn how to have sex with other guys was a strange request, and no way would Aiden Anderson ever be able to just casually have sex with her. They’d given her all those reasons.