Treat with Caution (Treats to Tempt You Book 1)

by Serenity Woods

  “Phew, what a day.” He drove home slowly, tired and with an aching neck after all the stooping to look in the camera, but pleased with how it had turned out.

  “I don’t know how you do it.” Tasha had kicked off her shoes and now rolled her head back onto the seat rest. “You don’t stop.”

  “I’m regular dynamo.”

  “And some. I think half of New Zealand could be run on your energy.”

  He laughed. “I’m tired tonight though.”

  “I’m not surprised. Want an early night?”

  He glanced across at her, but there was nothing in her eyes except genuine concern. “Depends if you come with me.” He held her gaze long enough to show her the pun was intentional.

  She reached out and held his hand. “Are you sure you don’t want to drop me off at my house tonight? I’ll understand.”

  His heart skipped a beat. It was their last night together. Didn’t she want to spend it with him? “Is that what you want?”

  “No,” she said softly.

  He tightened his hand on hers. “Then you’re coming home with me.”

  They didn’t say anything more for the last few miles. He pulled into the drive and turned off the engine, and then she helped him collect the cases from the car and carry them inside. Before he did anything else, while Tasha poured them both a glass of wine, he turned on his computer and unpacked the memory cards he’d used, slotted them in and downloaded all the images onto the computer. She came to stand beside him as he flicked through them all, making sure they’d come out all right.

  “Oh, Kole, they’re amazing.” She leaned on his shoulder to look more closely at the pictures of the bride and groom he had to admit looked stunning with the dazzling blues of Doubtless Bay behind them, the red pohutukawa flowers just entering the shot in the top corner.

  Relieved everything looked okay, he saved them, backed them all up again on a portable disk drive, then closed the computer down. “Done.”

  When he turned, Tasha was waiting for him. As he stood, she took his hand and led him toward the bedroom. It was only early in the evening, and the sun still hovered low over the horizon, flooding the room with a beautiful golden light. She opened the large glass sliding door to let the honey-like smell of the manuka bushes waft in, took his glass from his other hand, and placed them both on the bedside table. Then she began to unbutton his shirt.

  He watched her, tired but happy she was there, enjoying the slide of her fingers against his skin as she unbuttoned down to his navel and then pushed the shirt off his shoulders to the floor. Her hands moved to the waistband of his trousers, and he let her undo them too while he toed off his shoes. When she’d undone the zipper, he took off the trousers and his socks, and turned back to her in his boxers, waiting for her to take them off too.

  To his surprise, she didn’t, but quickly stripped off her own trousers and the pretty pink top, and stood before him in her underwear, a lovely matching light pink lacy bra and panties.

  He went to put his hands on her hips, but she shook her head and turned him, drew back the duvet, and motioned to the bed. “Get in,” she instructed. “Lie on your front.”

  He did so, only realizing what she was up to when he saw her holding the small bottle of olive oil he kept in the cupboard.

  “Your shoulders are all tense,” she said, placing the bottle on the table and climbing onto the bed. “First, we need to get you to relax.”

  “I’m not going to be able to relax with you sitting on me dressed like that,” he said. He groaned as she straddled him, conscious of his growing erection pinned beneath him.

  She leaned forward and retrieved the olive oil, poured a little onto her hands and rubbed them together, and then placed them on his shoulders. “Hush,” she whispered. “Just enjoy.”

  Kole sighed as her hands stroked slowly down his back, then up his sides to his shoulders and down the tops of his arms. Maybe she was right—he’d just enjoy her touch for a while before he made a move on her.

  For about ten minutes, she used long strokes, warming and relaxing his muscles. Then her touch became firmer, and she squeezed and massaged, kneading out the tenseness, using pressure to get right into the knots almost to the point of pain, but not quite. She’s done this before, he thought. To whom? An answering wave of jealousy surprised him. He didn’t want her hands touching another man like this. So intimate and tender.

  Eventually, she returned to the long, gentle strokes, up his back, over his shoulders, down his back again, relaxing and caressing. He could feel the last dregs of the evening sun on his legs, smell the manuka in the bush. Somewhere, a morepork hooted, announcing the arrival of night. The glass of merlot threaded through his veins, unravelling him like a skein of wool.

  And gradually, as if a blanket had been shaken to settle over him, he fell asleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  When Kole awoke about an hour later, Tasha was lying on her side, facing him. In the light of the waning moon, she watched him rise slowly to consciousness, his body stirring, his eyes fluttering open confused at first, then finally registering where he was like booting up a computer.

  He lifted his head and looked at the clock, saw it was only nine, and rolled onto his side. “Jeez, I’m sorry. I dozed off.”

  She smiled. “That was the plan. You were worn out.”

  He rubbed his face then ran his hand through his hair. “I feel all disoriented. I never go to sleep earlier than eleven.”

  “You worked hard today. You deserve an early night.”

  She half-expected him to take her in his arms, but instead he pushed himself up and padded to the bathroom. When he came out, he walked over to the window and looked at the harbor.

  “It’s Midsummer’s Eve,” he said.

  Tasha rose and walked to stand beside him. “Longest day.”

  He moved to stand behind her, and wrapped his arms around her. “The sun sets earlier here than in the rest of New Zealand, did you know?”

  “I didn’t, actually.”

  “Our longest days are shorter than Dunedin’s, for example. Although our shortest days are longer, if that makes any sense.”

  “Not really, no.”

  He chuckled into her ear. “It sounded great in my head.” He pressed his lips to the sensitive skin behind her ear.

  She tipped her head to the side so he could kiss her neck. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream is my favorite Shakespeare play.”

  “I prefer the history plays, but it is entertaining.” His lips trailed down her neck, making her shiver. “‘The course of true love never did run smooth.’”

  Tasha’s breath hitched. Why had he chosen that line to quote? He continued to kiss her shoulder, then back up to her ear, and she decided he hadn’t meant it to have meaning.

  “‘Methought I was enamored of an ass,’” she said.

  That made him laugh. He fastened his mouth on the crook of her neck and sucked hard, and she gasped. “Ouch! You’ll give me a hickey!”

  He stroked the area with a finger. “Yep. Serves you right for being cheeky.” He began to undo her bra. “I’m going to mark you tonight. Let everyone know you’re mine.”

  It was such a similar comment to what he’d said about the wedding rings she couldn’t think what to say. As he unfastened her bra and drew the straps down her arms, her mind spun with confusion. Was he implying this might go further? That he wanted to continue to see her? If that wasn’t the case and he still had every intention of finishing this tomorrow—if this really was all about the bet—it was an exceedingly cruel joke. But then that’s it... I’m not looking for a relationship. And I don’t want you blaming me when you lose the shop and your heart. She closed her eyes as his warm hands settled on her breasts. If he said goodbye to her tomorrow, if he laughed when he won the bet, she’d never be able to forgive him.

  He must have felt her tense, because he nuzzled her ear and said, “It must be my turn to relax you.” He lifted her breasts in his palm,
stroked his thumbs across her nipples. An “aah” of pleasure escaped her lips, and he murmured his appreciation. “You have the sexiest body of any woman I’ve ever met,” he whispered. He slid his right hand down her stomach, and then lower, his fingers sneaking beneath the elastic of her panties to cup her mound. “I want you, Tasha Wilde. I want to fill you up and hear you scream my name as you come. Will you do that for me?”

  She rested her head back on his shoulder as he slipped a finger down into her folds. “Yes…”

  “Tell me you want me.” His deep voice sent ripples of desire through her.

  “I want you…”

  He moved his finger inside her, then drew her moisture up to her clit and began to arouse her. “I could play with you for hours. And in fact, I think I will. You’re in no rush to get to sleep tonight, are you?”

  Her lips parted at the notion of him touching her like this in the darkness. “No…”

  “So many things I could do to you, Tash.” He squeezed her nipple with his fingers, tugging it gently until she arched her back and moaned. “So much we could do to each other, if only we had the time.”

  His words stirred her, made her brain spin again. Hope kept mixing with fear he was only playing with her, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask him the truth.

  “I want to pleasure you every way a man can pleasure a woman. Kiss you everywhere. Get to know every freckle on your body, every inch of skin.” Again, he moved his finger inside her, collecting more of her slippery moisture and bringing it up to coat her folds. “Would you like that?”

  “Yes…” She felt half-drunk, in a sexual haze, stirred by his deep, sexy voice, his sure touch, the feel of his hard erection pressing against her bottom through his boxers.

  “You’re so wet already.” He nipped her ear.

  She gave a huff of displeasure. “Don’t embarrass me.”

  “I’m not. It’s sexy to talk about what happens to our bodies when we’re aroused.” He removed his hand from her panties and returned it to her breasts. The fingers of both his hands squeezed her nipples. “These become engorged when you’re turned on. I love how they swell, and they’re soft, like plush velvet. And then I do this—” he tugged them again “—and they tighten like magic into tiny, hard buttons.” He rubbed his thumbs over them. “They’re beautiful.”

  She couldn’t stop herself pushing back with her hips against his erection. “Mmm…”

  “And see what you do to me?” He stepped back a second, lost the boxers, then returned, nestling his erection between the cheeks of her bottom, only the panties separating them. “Just one look from you, Tash, gets me like this. And the thought of tasting you, or sliding into you and filling you up, makes me swell.” He nipped her ear again. “Open your legs.”

  She lowered her hands to her panties, but he pushed them away. “Leave them on.”

  Puzzled, she did as he said and widened her legs, and leaned against the window again as he moved his erection beneath her. The head slid along the crotch of her panties, which she knew must be soaked by now, and she groaned when he returned his hands to her breasts.

  He kissed her ear. “Tell me what you thought about last time you pleasured yourself.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Kole!”

  “Don’t be coy. I’ll tell you what I thought about. I imagined you before me on all fours like you were the other day. You looked fucking amazing. I could see your lips here glistening—” he thrust his erection forward to illustrate where he meant “—and your breasts swung every time I thrust.”

  Tasha’s cheeks grew warm. He was making her blush again! “Please…”

  “Tell me.” He continued to give small movements of his hips, arousing her through the thin panties, and his right hand slid down and beneath the elastic again to continue stroking her clit.

  “I thought of you.” There, she’d said it.

  “What was I doing?”

  She decided he’d had his way long enough. “Fucking me.”

  He paused temporarily, and then gave a deep, sexy laugh. “How was I fucking you, Tasha?”

  “Same way. From behind.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it feels fucking amazing.” She groaned as he swapped his hand to her right breast and squeezed her nipple. Her mother’s words flared in her head. Melt him a little… “Then you pulled out,” she whispered. “And pushed me down onto the bed.”

  His hand circled through her slippery flesh, bringing her closer and closer to her climax. “And then what?” His voice had turned husky. She was getting to him.

  “You parted my legs. Pushed up my knee.” She bit her bottom lip as lifted the hand in her panties to her breast, transferring some of the silky wetness to her nipple before returning it to stroke her. This time, when his other hand rubbed her nipple, the sensation was electrifying. “Oh…”

  “Then what did I do?”

  Her breaths came hard and fast. “You took some lube and squeezed it onto your fingers, and smoothed it down between my cheeks…”

  His fingers circled faster. “And then…”

  “You pushed your fingers into me.”

  “Where, Tasha?”

  “Mmm…into my arse…”

  He fastened his mouth onto her neck and sucked gently. “And then?”

  “Mmm…”

  “Come on,” he chided. “My sexy little whore. What did I do next?”

  She was so close to coming. She licked her lips and arched her back. “You slid the tip of your erection inside.”

  “And then?”

  “You fucked me there,” she whispered. Just the thought was enough to tip her over the edge. Her muscles clenched and she came, hard and fast, clutching his hand to stop him pulling away, not that he seemed inclined to.

  He let her finish, but immediately turned her around. He dropped to his haunches before her and pulled down her panties, removed them, then rose to stand before her. Her head still spinning, she gasped as he pressed his nose into the wet cotton before dropping it to the floor.

  “Kole!”

  He laughed then, and planting his hands beneath her butt, lifted her up and pressed her against the glass. It was cold against her hot skin, and she squealed.

  “Another punishment,” he said wryly. “For nearly make me come just by talking to me.” He lowered her a little, and the tip of his erection parted her lips.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, plunging her tongue into his mouth. He groaned and lowered her more, and she slid down his erection to the root, until she was impaled on him.

  “Fuck,” he said, with feeling. He waited, letting her adjust, and she slid her hands into his hair and clutched them at the sensation of him inside her, stretching and filling and possessing her completely.

  Holding her tightly, he slid out a little, then thrust back in.

  “Oh.” She kissed him, deeper this time.

  He thrust again, and again, setting up a punishing pace. Tasha couldn’t move, but she was content to let him take her. And amazingly, as he thrust, she began to feel another climax building.

  “Slower,” she said, gasping. “Let me catch up.”

  He gave a deep groan and his fingers dug into her butt, but he slowed nevertheless, grinding against her with each movement of his hips. “Quick, Tash,” he muttered. “I can’t hold on for long.”

  “No need…to worry…here it…comes…” She gave into the sensations and clamped around him, and he let out a triumphant yell and thrust as his own climax hit. He pumped hard, plunging deep into her, and even as her body pulsed, she was aware of his muscles tightening, his hips jerking as he spilled into her.

  They were both panting by the time they’d finished, and when he finally withdrew and lowered her down, it was all she could do to make it to the bed and collapse next to him.

  “Jesus. You’ll be the death of me.” He threw one arm across his face, his chest heaving. “You really do need a ‘Treat with Caution’ sign stuck on you.
”

  Tasha curled up beside him, exhausted, sated, and slightly smug. “Thank you.”

  He gave a short laugh. “Thank you.”

  “I mean it.” She kissed his chest, suddenly very tired. “I’ve enjoyed this, Kole. Whatever happens, I’ve had a great time.”

  “Lovers, to bed; ‘tis almost fairy time,” he said, laughter in his voice.

  She smiled in the semi-darkness. And almost immediately, she felt asleep.

  Chapter Thirty

  When Tasha finally awoke to see sunlight, she rolled over and found the bed beside her empty. Kole’s voice murmured from the living room, but she couldn’t hear anyone else, so presumably he was on the phone.

  She lay on her back for a while, looking up at the ceiling. In spite of his proposal to keep her up all night, he’d let her sleep, only rousing her once in the early hours with soft kisses to make love to her before wrapping her in his arms and letting her doze once again.

  It had been a wonderful few days, and it had felt almost as if they’d been suspended in time. But this morning the hands of the clock would finally move forward.

  Who was he talking to? She fought against an urge to eavesdrop, scolded herself for even thinking about it, and then curiosity overcame her. She crept to the door and strained her ears to see if she could make out who he was talking to.

  “…meet at the shop,” he murmured. “And then sign the contract, because there’s no time to waste.”

  Her jaw dropped, and she backed away to the bed and sat heavily. Midsummer Night had passed, taking the dream with it. And reality hit her with the force of a sledgehammer.

  He wasn’t out there thinking romantic thoughts about how much he’d enjoyed their time together. He was planning the signing of the contract for the shop. That was the only thing he’d been interested in all along. And she’d been stupid to think otherwise.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  “Morning.”

  Her head snapped around at the sound of his voice in the doorway to find him leaning against the doorjamb. He wore jeans and a T-shirt, although he was barefoot. He looked slightly amused. “You all right?”