Sweet Tooth

by Brandy L Rivers

  He pulled up her skirt and shifted her panties to the side as she hooked her leg over his hip. One of her hands landed on the desk with a thud as she leaned half her ass on it. Then he filled her, and she bit back the guttural moan that wanted to escape.

  “So fucking ready,” Isandro praised, gripping her ass cheek as he pounded into her.

  Her hand wrapped around his head and she pulled him down for a kiss. He gripped her hair, pulling her head back to kiss down her throat, sucking every sensitive inch as he drove her pleasure higher.

  Orgasm crashed over her like a tidal wave. She held her breath to stop the cry of pleasure. He kept driving into her, drawing out the intense sensation rolling through her body as he covered her mouth when she gasped for air. Just when she thought she was coming down, she followed him into release.

  His eyes twinkled as he backed up. She glanced at her watch and closed her eyes a moment.

  He kissed her again, wiping her clean. “Needed you, Ari. You left before I woke this morning.”

  She found her footing with a smile and righted her clothes.

  “You were up late, working hard. Thought you’d be tired.”

  “Not too tired to make love to you.”

  A smile warmed her. “This way you came to me.”

  “Yeah, but if you hadn’t hired Miley, you wouldn’t be letting me make love while you’re open.”

  “This is my business,” she taunted, heading for the kitchen.

  He pouted. “Sorry.”

  “I’m not complaining.” She bent over, taking the cakes from the oven and shutting it off.

  His hands wrapped around her hips as she stood up. “You know I can’t resist you.”

  “And you’re impossible to resist.” She licked her lips and moved back to lock the office door. “Are we still doing lunch?”

  “Yeah. I assume you want to get back to decorate those. And they sure do smell good.”

  “I made the same flavors from your barbeque, and more.”

  “The espresso one?” he asked.

  “Of course. It’s my favorite.”

  “Come on, let’s go eat.”

  Out front Miley smirked at them. “Taking off?”

  “We’re grabbing lunch. Want anything from the deli?” Isandro asked.

  She shook her head. “Nope. I have lunch with me. But thanks.”

  “We’ll be back soon,” Arianna promised and walked outside where she found her mother.

  Arianna walked past her, holding tight to Isandro’s hand. She didn’t slow down, and she didn’t look back.

  “Arianna, we need to talk.”

  “I have nothing to say to you.” She kept going, biting her tongue. She wished like hell blocking the number actually prevented her from receiving calls or voice mails, but it didn’t. The phone didn’t ring, but messages still came through. Instead, she auto-deleted every time she heard her voice.

  “You can talk to her,” Isandro offered.

  “Don’t want to. She only wants to complain about you, and I don’t have the patience or desire to listen. Her opinion does not matter to me.”

  “Maybe she wants to apologize? I know my sister sat her down and asked a bunch of questions about Talbot.”

  “And if she’s covering her ass?” she whispered, then shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I’m over her bullshit. I want to ignore her for the rest of my life if at all possible.”

  “Doubt she lets you.” He threaded his fingers through hers and glanced over his shoulder. “She’s following us. Don’t think you can get away from her so easily.”

  Arianna stopped and turned back to face her mother. “One rotten word toward or about Isandro and I walk.”

  Her mother held up her hands. “Hear me out.”

  Anger shot through Arianna. “I’m warning you. I don’t want to hear a single negative thing about the man I love.”

  Her mother blinked slowly, her mouth falling open. Then she sputtered, “That wasn’t what I came to talk about.”

  “Fine, what is it?”

  “I’m sorry. Old memories make it truly difficult to accept anything good came from his father. I admit I jumped to conclusions that were unfair.” She didn’t bother looking at Isandro while she said this.

  “And?”

  Isandro’s grip tightened slightly, but he didn’t make any noticeable move.

  “And I never realized you were in danger. Not from Isandro, but from whoever is targeting your home and shop. I should have done something more, paid attention, helped.”

  “I don’t need your help, acceptance, or any damned thing from you. You haven’t been there for me since I decided I wanted things you didn’t approve of.”

  “I didn’t realize how lucrative your business is of late. I’ve been doing the research.” She held eye contact. “I’m honestly impressed by what you’ve built.”

  “Little too late,” Arianna replied.

  Her mother nodded. “And after asking people in the community, I realize I was wrong about Isandro. He’s a better man than his father.” She turned to Isandro and offered a tight smile. “I’m sorry.”

  He nodded without a word.

  Arianna’s mother met her gaze. “What can I do to make things better?”

  “Nothing. Even if you meant that, you’d start bitching I’m too fat, or not pretty enough, or not successful enough. I don’t need your validation. I’m proud of where I am.”

  “I’ll learn to accept that.”

  “And that’s the problem. You have to learn to accept me. I’m your daughter. That should be enough.” Arianna took a step back. “Now, I need to eat before going back to work. I may be expanding my business if tonight goes well.”

  Her mother smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “You’ll be successful. You always are, sometimes to my dismay.”

  “Exactly. Doesn’t matter how well I do because you’ll never approve. But I no longer care. Goodbye.”

  She turned and started walking. Isandro took her hand again, not a word said. Once they were in the deli, she walked to the counter where they ordered.

  Once they took their seats, Isandro squeezed her hand. “How are you, Arianna?”

  “Dandy. My bitch of a mother feels guilty. Now she wants to make it right, but I don’t want it right. I just want it over.”

  “Has she ever treated you well?”

  “Yeah, until my second year of college when I gained a little weight and switched my English major to business.”

  “Did you know you wanted to open the chocolate shop then?”

  She laughed softly. “Yeah. I started experimenting with recipes in college when I was lonely.” She didn’t mention that she’d been missing Derrick. “I gained the freshmen fifteen, and then some. She didn’t like that either. Thing is, I’m not unhealthy. Sure, I’m heavier than I could be, but I don’t think I could ever be as small as I was in high school. We aren’t all meant to be stick figures.”

  “No, you’re not. And you are beautiful, sexy, delicious,” Isandro added. “Honestly, you’re sexier now than you were then. And you kept me up plenty of nights, but now…”

  His desire had already wiped away her insecurities. Pressing her thighs together, she leaned in. “Now you can’t resist me.”

  A devilish smirk pulled at his lips as his brow cocked. “Which you enjoy.”

  “Hmm, more than you know. I didn’t think I would feel like this.”

  “Like what?”

  “Hopelessly in love.”

  Isandro captured her mouth in a slow kiss. When he pulled back, he stared into her eyes. “Me too.”

  The server brought their sandwiches, and she sat back, blushing.

  “So, tonight, any requests?” he asked.

  “Nope. I know you all do the barbeques fairly often. You know what they like. I’m easy.”

  “For me, you are,” he teased.

  “Because you know how to please a woman.”

  “Only woman I want to please is you.
”

  “You do.”

  Chapter 22

  The knock caused Isandro to worry. He hadn’t heard from Arianna since lunch. He’d been foolish in assuming she’d be home before Trent and Ella showed up.

  Frowning, he went to the door. “Hey, come in.” He walked back, glancing at his watch. Ten minutes sooner than he expected Trent and Ella. She wasn’t late. He took a calming breath.

  “What’s wrong?” Ella asked cautiously.

  “Should have asked Arianna when she planned to be home.”

  “Everything okay with you two?”

  “Yeah. She’s probably still decorating.” He managed a smile.

  Trent nodded to the street. “There she is now.”

  “Ooh, I’ll help with the cakes.” Ella slipped through the door, and Trent turned to him.

  “What’s wrong?” Trent asked quietly.

  Isandro shook his head. “Nothing. I wasn’t paying attention to the time, and with this jackass out there, I don’t know.” He rubbed at his neck and watched Arianna and Ella.

  “You’re worried. Makes sense. Possible stalker.”

  Isandro shook his head. “I don’t think that’s it. He doesn’t seem interested in Arianna. He was face to face with her and he was more interested in taunting me. Someone put him up to it, but why?”

  “Who do you think?”

  “Shit, I don’t know. I don’t run in those circles. Marissa says he’s tied to her mother, one of her sisters, and her ex. That’s all I know, but it could be anything. He’s some rich snotty kid from the other side of town.”

  “Kid?”

  “Maybe early twenties. I don’t know. But when he hit my car, he didn’t even look at Arianna, so that can’t be it.”

  “What would she have that he might want?”

  “Fuck if I know.”

  “Did Marissa find him?”

  “Not yet.”

  Ella opened the door, and Arianna carried three baskets in. “She wouldn’t let me help,” Ella pointed out.

  Arianna shrugged. “I already had them. And you got the door.”

  “Fine, fine, but are we having cake before or after dinner?” Ella asked enthusiastically.

  Isandro chuckled. “I haven’t even fired up the grill.”

  “Cake it is.” Trent nodded to the door. “Get the grill started and we can begin with dessert.”

  Arianna set the baskets on the counter. Isandro caught her hand and tugged her toward the door. She followed but her smile fell.

  Outside, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “Want to make sure everything is okay,” he murmured.

  Her head tipped to the side. “Yeah, why?”

  He sighed and took her hands. “You were upset earlier. Then you never called or sent a message.”

  “Got busy decorating. I assumed you were busy since you didn’t contact me either.” She shrugged. “And we agreed on five. I was here by then.”

  “Come here,” he whispered, pulling her closer to take a kiss. “Can’t help worrying about you.”

  “Promise, I was fine. Tell me you didn’t think I’d skip out on you.”

  “No. Was worried your mother was upsetting you, or Derrick was hassling you, or maybe that asshat had done something to you.” He caressed her cheek. “I trust you, but I’m worried about all the things that could hurt you.”

  “I’m a big girl. I’m not letting them fuck with me anymore.”

  “Talbot broke in. He crashed his car into mine. I don’t want him to come after you.”

  Her eyes narrowed as she stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. “I refuse to let some stupid kid get the better of me. I refuse to fear the unknown every second of every day. Now turn on the grill.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He turned and lit the flame before following her inside.

  Ella stood at the counter, peeking in the baskets. Her eyes sparkled. “These look amazing. And if they didn’t smell so good, I wouldn’t want to eat them because they’re so pretty.”

  Trent walked over to take a look.

  “Let me get them out,” Arianna pleaded as she took over. In a moment, she had twelve small cakes set out. Each was decorated differently. Flowers on some, geometric patterns on others, and various designs. No wonder it took her so long.

  “Wow, you did all of this today?” Trent asked.

  “They’re small. Doesn’t take long for these, and I wanted to try different designs. I needed an idea of my capabilities. I’m taking this seriously. If I’m any good, maybe I’ll start selling cakes too.”

  “I’m all for that,” Ella promised.

  “I’m not positive I will yet. The online orders are really taking off. Before long I’m going to need help to keep up with the demand. I have to figure out if I can manage both. This is a test run. Wait to see if you like the product before you start urging me to expand.”

  Trent rolled his eyes. “Please. When have you ever not managed to pull off three times more than anyone expected?”

  “True.” Arianna sighed.

  Isandro nudged her. “I already know your cake is as good as your candy. And you definitely have the drive to pull it off.”

  Her face lit up.

  Trent interrupted. “Okay, time to try the goods. Let us be the judge.”

  Arianna took a knife and cut thin pieces of each, placing them on four plates, and handed them out.

  “Even the filling is pretty,” Ella squealed.

  “Taste them,” she urged.

  Ella pouted. “I don’t know where to start.”

  Trent picked up the slice with the salted caramel filling. A few seconds later he nodded. “Shit, if they’re all this good how the hell do we pick?”

  Ella took a bite of one and hummed her appreciation. Then she tasted another. “Oh, this is going to be hard.”

  Arianna relaxed as Isandro took a bite and squeezed her hand.

  * * * *

  Several hours later Ella was still discussing the cake options. She had a million pictures on her phone and couldn’t decide between flavors.

  As much as Arianna appreciated her enthusiasm, she was over the cake and wanted a shower. She couldn’t stifle the yawn.

  “Tired?” Ella asked. Then she nodded sadly. “Sorry. The more I think about this, the more ideas I have, and you have to stop me.”

  “Hmm, we should go, Ella. She spent all day baking those amazing cakes. We have a few months to decide.”

  “True. We have so much to think about,” Ella answered.

  Trent helped her up and pulled her toward the door.

  Ella pulled free and gave Arianna a hug. “Thank you, and if you’re up for it, you are definitely doing the cake.”

  “Of course. Unless you find someone you like better.”

  “Don’t even start. You’re doing the cake,” she warned.

  Trent grinned. “Arianna, your cakes are perfect. I never realized there could be so many different types. Honest, thinking about anyone else doing it gives me a headache.”

  “Oh, that’s not even the tip of the iceberg,” Arianna answered.

  “Come on, they need some alone time,” Ella murmured, pulling Trent outside. “Thank you again, Arianna.”

  “Have a good night,” she answered happily.

  Isandro followed them to the door and locked it, then set the alarm. He turned back and captured her with the intensity of his stare. “You’ve had a long day.”

  “I have.” She considered lying back and passing out on the couch. Instead, she stood and started for the bedroom.

  He caught her hand and pulled her closer before scooping her into his arms.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded.

  “Bed.” She giggled.

  “How about a shower? Then a massage in the bed?”

  “Sounds like heaven.”

  He carried her back to his room and set her down, quickly removing her clothes, caressing every inch of skin he exposed.

&nbs
p; She closed her eyes, letting his touch take her away. “Keep doing that and I may fall asleep standing.”

  “Oh no. I want to make you feel good.”

  “Already are.”

  He pulled her toward the bathroom. “I’m nowhere near done.”

  “You never are.” Arianna started with his shirt, hurrying to remove his clothes. Isandro gently pushed her toward the shower. She stepped in and turned on the water. Before she could turn around he was behind her, taking over.

  Isandro took his time washing her hair, then her body. Slow steady strokes, caressing her every curve. He gave her the massage in the shower, every touch sensual.

  A million thoughts swirled through her head. She finally settled on one. “Did you think we’d wind up here?” she murmured.

  His mouth closed over hers in a sweet caress. “No,” he whispered against her lips before kissing her more fully. “Never imagined any of this.” He shut off the water and pulled her toward the sink. She reached for a towel, but he snatched it up.

  “Let me. You’ve done enough today,” he murmured. More pampering.

  She smiled, trailing her fingers over the tattoo on his chest. An idea floated through her head. It might be silly, but she wanted to do something small, a token of what she felt.

  Her eyes slipped closed as he brushed the cloth over her nipples. A deep moan resonated from within. “You’re driving me crazy.”

  The towel left her body and she opened her eyes to watch him quickly dry off before throwing her over his shoulder and taking her back to bed.

  Arianna traced the muscles down his back before squeezing one firm globe. So strong. He could crush her, but she knew he’d never hurt her. Isandro could give her hard loving, but never in a way that frightened or hurt her.

  She bounced on the bed, and he was over her.

  The intensity in his gaze set her aflame. “I want to blindfold you. Then tie your hands to the headboard.”

  “Oh.” She gasped and nodded. Being completely at his mercy appealed to her in a way it wouldn’t have with anyone else. It came down to trust. Something she gave Isandro without thought and always held back from Derrick.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes. Completely.”

  He grinned, reaching over to grab a blindfold. Not even a scarf, but an actual blindfold. Her breath picked up with her heartbeat.