Sweet Attraction

by Melanie Munton

  And the few times she messed up, she laughed with total abandon.

  She really had the best laugh.

  She needed to let it out way more often.

  Much too soon, the song was over and her face was flushed from giggling.

  “Didn’t think I had that in me, did you?” he asked as he led her toward a table, away from the dance floor.

  “You’re definitely full of surprises.”

  Without realizing it, he had backed her into a dark alcove near the hallway that led to the bathrooms and storage room. He’d been aiming for an empty table, but her smile had distracted him and he’d walked right on past it.

  Now, he had her alone, in the dark, and he didn’t want to share her with anyone else.

  “I’m glad you’re having fun,” he murmured.

  He felt himself grow thick as the thought of lifting up her dress and fucking her right there against the wall swirled around in his head.

  She seemed to sense the change in him when she looked around their secluded location. “Um, yeah, I am,” she said. “Having fun, I mean. I’m happy I came out tonight.”

  He continued to walk forward until her back was against the wall, biting back a groan when the words “I came” left her sweet mouth. He lifted his arms to cage her in, and she plastered her hands against the wall, as though she needed to hold onto something to keep herself upright. The nervous twitch of her lips would have stopped him had he not glimpsed the spark of excitement in her eyes.

  “So you like it here?” he asked. “In Shell Grove?”

  Her gaze flew over his face and landed on his mouth. She swallowed slowly. “I’m liking it more and more every day.”

  Holy fuck.

  That was as close to a green light as he ever hoped to get.

  “Allow me to show you just how much better it can be.”

  He leaned in, ready to brand himself on her skin when she placed a hand on his arm. “Hunter, everyone will talk if they see—”

  “I don’t give a shit, Jade. I want you. Now.”

  He swallowed her next words as he crashed his mouth against hers. With all the restrained sexual frustration that had built up between them over the last few weeks, there was no easing in gently or starting slowly.

  There was only raw lust.

  He moved in with impatient hunger, his mouth rough and his tongue demanding entrance with fevered intent. She responded to his urgency with breathy moans, throwing her arms over his shoulders, writhing against his body, clearly chasing her own needs. And when her first frustrated whimper reached his ears, he decided he was going to give her exactly what she needed.

  He couldn’t deny her when she so obviously craved his touch. Couldn’t push her away when she sucked on his tongue like it was her favorite lollipop. And he definitely couldn’t shove her aside when she arched into his arms, placing her pussy right into his damn hand.

  I read you loud and clear, baby.

  With a muffled growl, he pushed her dress up her thighs and hooked one of her legs over his elbow. Moving in front of her, he blocked her body from anyone who might happen to spot them at the end of the darkened hallway. She panted into his mouth when his fingers sought out her center, and he immediately shoved her panties out of the way.

  His middle finger ran down her slick folds and he died a little. “Damn,” he whispered, the throbbing in his dick turning painful. “You’re dripping for me. Your panties are fucking soaked.”

  He traced his finger along her slit as his eyes were drawn to her heaving breasts.

  “Oh God, Hunter.” Her fingernails dug into his arms and her head fell back against the wall. “Please. I need it so bad.”

  Fuck me. So do I.

  “I know, baby.” He lowered his mouth to her and licked along her collarbone. “Let me take care of you. I’ll make it all better.”

  Lifting her up his body, he plunged his fingers into her wet heat, savoring the feel of her tight channel. He vividly remembered how good that tightness felt around his dick. He laid open-mouth kisses all over her chest, his mouth dying to get under that dress. She worked her hips against his hand, thrusting onto his fingers as if they were his cock.

  “Jesus, you’re fucking sexy,” he growled into her skin. “I want to feel you come, baby. Can you do that for me?”

  “Yes,” she said on a moan. “Oh, just a little more. Yes.”

  He felt an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment when he felt her clench around him. She bucked her hips uncontrollably as her orgasm washed over her. He had to seal their mouths together to prevent her from screaming the place down, even though he wanted nothing more than to hear those sounds.

  Afterward, he watched as she caught her breath and slowly opened her eyes. Her expression was soft as she stared up at him.

  And then it all changed.

  In an instant, her eyes filled with purpose. Her hands dropped to the button of his jeans and quickly worked to open the fly.

  “Whoa, what are you doing?”

  He hadn’t expected her to return the favor. He’d just planned on having an intimate evening alone with his hand when he got home. Not as if he hadn’t done that a hundred times since meeting her, anyway.

  “Jade, baby. You don’t have to do that.”

  Her gaze remained locked on his as she deftly unzipped his jeans. “I know you need it.”

  Damn straight, he did.

  And if she really wanted to give him his turn, he didn’t think he had it in him to deny her.

  His head fell forward when her hand reached into his briefs and grabbed hold of him. “Christ.”

  He braced his hands against the wall above her head, preventing himself from giving his cock what it really wanted. To be crammed balls-deep inside her pussy. Her hand worked him, stroking with fast pumps, her fingers feeling even better than he’d fantasized.

  “Oh yeah.” He fucked himself into her fist, driving his hips forward. “Squeeze me tighter, baby.”

  She did.

  “That’s it. Faster. Yes.”

  He couldn’t recall another time when he was so desperate to come. When he felt like his balls would literally explode if he didn’t get his release. He couldn’t believe that after weeks of fantasizing about a scene just like this with her, he was finally living it for real. Of course, a lot of those fantasies involved her using her mouth instead of her hand, but this was working just fine. They would get to the next step soon enough.

  “I’m going to come,” he told her, his voice strangled.

  He was almost there.

  Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized he would have to walk around for the rest of the night with cum soaking the inside of his jeans. But who the hell cared? Getting off by Jade’s hand was more than worth it.

  He felt the need bubbling to the surface. Felt it slowly working its way up his length.

  “Fuck, I’m coming. I’m—”

  Warmth suddenly engulfed his straining cock. Something hot and wet and tight was gripping his shaft. His head snapped down to see her on her knees in front of him, tits almost popping out of her dress, and his cock in her mouth.

  Holy fucking shit.

  He came so hard.

  There was no way in hell he could have held back after seeing her willingly go to her knees to swallow his cum. He held her head in place as he shot down her throat, the feeling of her sucking it all down almost too much for him.

  When he eventually finished and she cleaned him off with her eager tongue, his mouth was as dry as a desert and his heart was beating so erratically, he was actually afraid it might forget how to function. He watched in awe as she stood back up and primly wiped the corners of her mouth with her fingertip.

  The contrast between her well-mannered, pedigree-infused demeanor and the unrestrained, passionate goddess of moments ago were causing all of his cognitive processes to short circuit.

  He opened his mouth to express his overwhelming gratitude when a call interrupted him.


  “Jade!” Ivy’s voice reached his ears from the doorway. “Jade? Is that you?”

  Damn it, Ivy.

  That was the second time the damn woman had cock-blocked him from Jade. Well, not really cock-blocked this time, since he’d just come. But the annoying woman was calling Jade away from him, and he wasn’t finished with her yet.

  He needed to tell Garrett to have a chat with his wife.

  Jade’s eyes widened, probably in fear of what they looked like standing there together. “Yeah, it’s me,” she called out. “I’m coming.”

  She moved to walk away, but Hunter grabbed her arm, keeping her in place. “Come home with me,” he pleaded.

  Her expression turned apologetic. “I can’t. I should go.” She left him with a knowing smile. “But I had fun.”

  That smile allowed him to let go of her. It had hope in it. Something there was telling him it was okay to leave the evening where it was because there would be more to come.

  His insecurities made him hope that more meant they weren’t just going to be confined to the bedroom. Not that he had a problem with that. But it wasn’t the only thing he wanted with Jade. Suddenly, he wanted all the other couple stuff people did when they were in a relationship.

  Despite all the many reasons he shouldn’t, all the red flags warning him he was a fool, all the hard lessons he’d learned in the past…he felt compelled to give them a try.

  As a couple.

  So dangerous. To his heart. To his sanity. Shit, to his company. But there it was.

  He wanted the cute first date at a carnival where they shared cotton candy and he won her a stuffed animal. He wanted to take her to dinner and make every other man in the restaurant jealous of what he had. He wanted her smile to be the first thing he saw when he woke up in the morning.

  He wanted to be able to call her his.

  Did she want that, too? Was he good enough for her?

  He was determined to find out.

  Reluctantly, he watched her walk away, suppressing every instinct he had to go after her. “I’ll see you soon, Jade.”

  She looked over her shoulder at him.

  And winked.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Well, the store was still a long way off from being done.

  But Jade was officially open for business.

  Sort of.

  She had racks and tables of merchandise on the sidewalk outside her store and just inside where the floor wasn’t completely destroyed. She hung up Pardon our Renovations signs everywhere and put a cheap mirror and chair in her unfinished dressing room so her customers at least had the option of trying things on.

  It wasn’t the best setup ever, but it was definitely getting attention. Business was already decent.

  Her free triple chocolate chunk muffins probably didn’t hurt, either.

  Jade had once thought she’d found her calling as a baker. But after working ten-plus-hour days in a bakery in DC for over two years, she’d realized that for her, baking should be more of a hobby.

  Owning her own place, being her own boss…now this she could be happy with.

  It was a good thing people were stopping in, too, because she had been nervously watching the number in her bank account getting smaller and smaller. She didn’t have a whole lot of time left before she would be living off of Ramen noodles and carrot sticks. And if things got that bad, she would be tempted to walk down Main Street modeling her merchandise, if it prompted people to come buy something.

  Hopefully, it would never get to that point.

  She was rearranging a rack of swimsuit cover-ups when she heard a car pull up to the curb. She glanced up expecting to greet a new customer and was instead struck by Hurricane Maggie-Mia.

  “Hey, Ginger!” Maggie cheerfully greeted.

  “Maggie!” Mia scolded. “Redheads don’t actually like to be called gingers.”

  Maggie went straight to the sunglasses and started trying on each pair. “No, they don’t like to be called Fire Crotch. Ginger is a compliment. It sounds like a movie star’s name, like Ginger Rogers.”

  Mia just rolled her eyes, shrugging at Jade as if to say What can you do?

  Jade smiled, already used to Maggie’s eccentricities. She found them amusing. They just made her all the more likable.

  “How’s everything going here?” Mia asked, her eyes flitting over the sidewalk tables and racks. “Looks like you’re making it work, despite the setbacks.”

  “Trying to,” Jade replied. “Business has been surprisingly good so far.”

  “Well, it’s no wonder,” Mia said, holding up a retro halter one-piece. “You’ve got great taste.”

  “Speaking of great taste,” Maggie mumbled around a mouthful of chocolate muffin. Her eyes closed dramatically. “Oh my Gawd. I think I just died and went to food heaven.”

  The two cousins browsed for about ten minutes before circling back around to stand in front of Jade.

  “Okay, we have to confess, we had ulterior motives for coming here,” Mia said. “We want to invite you to our family barbecue tomorrow. It’s down at Bradford Beach. We’ll have all kinds of food and drink”—she grinned—“but if you feel like baking some more muffins, I don’t think anyone will complain. And definitely bring your bathing suit.”

  Everything inside Jade’s head came to a standstill.

  The thought of spending that much time around Hunter and his family sounded…nice. If a bit unnerving, since she didn’t have much of a family dynamic so she wasn’t quite sure how real families operated. Big families…who actually loved each other.

  Not to mention the fact that she would be meeting Hunter’s parents. Which sounded a little…serious. Didn’t it? And she and Hunter weren’t serious.

  They weren’t…anything.

  Right?

  Right, she told herself firmly.

  No falling in love. Period.

  “Hunter’s going to be there,” Maggie added before Jade could respond.

  She glanced away, hoping to hide the desire that flooded through her just hearing his name. She forced a laugh. “And that’s supposed to entice me?”

  Maggie scoffed. “Oh please. I have eyes, honey. And last night, you two were all over each other. Like fleas on a dog.”

  Mia flinched. “Not the best analogy, Mag.”

  “Like stink on a skunk.”

  “Not an improvement.”

  Maggie waved her off. “Apples and oranges.”

  “That doesn’t make sense.”

  Maggie put her hand over Mia’s mouth. “Hush, woman!” She turned back to Jade with an inquiring eye. “So, can we tell everyone you’re coming?”

  By everyone, Jade assumed she meant Hunter.

  What the hell.

  It wasn’t as if she had any other plans tomorrow since the store was closed on Sundays. And in such a small town, they’d definitely find out if she decided to ditch them, only to stay home.

  Besides, she really wanted to see Hunter again.

  The feeling of wanting to be near him all the time grew stronger every day. Which made no sense at all, since he was the reason her shop currently looked like a giant yard sale. The big jerk.

  She nodded at the two women. “Sure, I’ll be there.”

  Maggie clapped so loudly Jade’s ears started ringing. “Fabulous! And whatever you do, don’t bring anything with peanuts in it. Uncle Wayne is extremely allergic.”

  “Yeah, Mag tried to assassinate him with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich one time.”

  Maggie threw her hands up. “I didn’t realize peanut butter would be a problem, okay? I thought it was strictly peanuts.”

  Mia stared at her blankly. “Peanut butter comes from peanuts.”

  Maggie glared. “Well, you’re next on my hit list, so you better watch out.”

  Jade laughed as they continued to argue their way back to their car. She waved at them as they drove away, but not before Maggie stuck her head out the passenger window and shouted, “One o�
��clock, by the way! See you there, Ginger!”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Hunter was definitely losing his mind.

  And becoming a stalker at the same time.

  Once again, he found himself walking through Jade’s front door, at night, uninvited. Only, this time, it was her shop he was strolling into without knocking. Damn woman still wasn’t locking her doors. With an impatient exhale, he locked it behind him. He’d seen the light on, but he knew the store had closed for the night. If she was doing work around the place, he figured he could help out again.

  It was the least he could do.

  She was nowhere in sight as he walked around the main salesroom. The store’s speakers were blasting a slow rock song, so he assumed she hadn’t heard him come in.

  Jesus. He’d given her the speech about crazed serial killers, hadn’t he?

  Stepping farther into the stop, he heard movement coming from one of the back rooms. A curtain hung across the doorway had been left open, and he approached cautiously.

  Then he about had a damn heart attack.

  Holy. Shit.

  She was standing in the center of the small cubicle with her back facing him…

  Half naked.

  She had on some tiny-ass bikini bottoms and was in the process of placing a microscopic top over her perky rose-tipped breasts. He had a good view of those rosy peaks, too. She was standing in front of a full-length mirror that was providing a beautifully unobstructed view of her mostly naked form.

  God, her skin was flawless. Creamy. And it was always so silky soft every time he touched her.

  He wanted to lick her from head to toe.

  She was checking out the suit and her body, twisting and turning to get a better look at herself. And she had a fucking frown on her face.

  He couldn’t understand that. What was she seeing that he wasn’t? Because as far as he was concerned, she was damn near perfect.

  But the massive erection now tenting his jeans was not.

  He reached down to adjust himself, which of course, had to be the moment she finally glanced up and saw him. She jumped about three feet in the air and let out a noise that was half scream, half squeak.