Mann Cakes: A Beach Pointe Romance

by Mysti Parker

  She circled her tongue around and around, savoring every last bit of strawberry icing. It complemented the salty bead of liquid on the tip of his shaft. If she spent much longer there, he'd come, but she'd much rather have him inside her for that.

  Of course, she hadn't needed any protection for ages. As her luck would have it, now she had a desperate need for it and him. She stroked him, and raised her head, afraid to ask and scared silly that she might have to remain celibate for another long, lonely night. Tanner blinked a couple times then awareness dawned in his eyes.

  He pointed at his jeans. "Wallet."

  Paige crawled over to them. Her head swam. Excitement fogged her brain and beat a drum in her ears. She turned his pants this way and that until she finally made sense of them and found his wallet in the back pocket. She ripped it out, unfolded it on the floor, and found the little foil square that would save the night.

  "This thing's not expired, is it?" she asked, looking for the date. When she noticed Tanner's pout, she had to laugh.

  "I'm not exactly a playboy, but I do think ahead," he said, propping himself up on his elbows.

  "Ha! A head. Get it?" Paige tore the wrapper with her teeth.

  Mild surprise flashed in his eyes then he laughed. This was how they used to be—always joking, having fun no matter what they were doing.

  Paige crawled back over, pulled the condom out, and put it between her lips and teeth. He'd gone a bit soft, but hardened again as his eyes grew wide. She grinned and winked, leaned in, and lowered her mouth, sliding the condom over him as she went. His jaw dropped. Laughing, she slid up his body, skimming her breasts over his abs and chest, while he lowered himself flat on his back again.

  She straddled him. The head of his shaft nudged against her slit. Paige searched his eyes while he reached up and gently stroked her face. There was no mistaking it. He wasn't just sex-hungry. He cared deeply, but did he love her? She finally admitted to herself, despite the hurt, that she'd never stopped loving him. Lingering fear held tight to the words and kept her quiet. She pressed her lips to his, hoping her kiss could convey how she felt. He cupped the back of her head with his hand and returned her wordless confession with one just as sincere.

  Her tongue eased between his lips while she lowered herself on him. Still wet, she had no trouble sliding all the way down to take him in deep. A low groan rumbled from his chest. She responded with a sigh of pleasure. He filled her so very well. But it had been so long. If she rushed, it would be over too soon. She worked slowly, gliding him in and out of her.

  Tanner held on to her hips, helping her set their steady rhythm. They'd always fit perfectly together, reading each other's body cues like some erotic telepathic bond. He'd been her first. Would he be her last?

  Their rhythm increased, breaths came faster, and their skin dampened with a sheen of sweat. His hips bucked beneath her. The sudden tightening of his jaw meant he was on the brink. His body lurched and his eyes clenched shut, signaling his release. Paige rode him fast and hard, while he bucked into her, skin smacking against skin. The friction brought on a fresh wave of sensation, working her into a third orgasm as his rocked through him. They both cried out, like a duo of desperate beasts who'd been shut away and were now free again. They slowed until Paige collapsed on top of him. She lay her head on his chest, catching her breath while the strength of his pounding heart beat against her cheek.

  The oven timer wailed. She shot off him. "Oh!"

  "How long has that been going off?" Tanner asked, grinning from ear to ear.

  "I don't know." On shaky legs, she stumbled to the oven, grabbed a mitt, and opened the door. Good, the cupcakes weren't burned, but they had a serious tan. She pulled the pan out and set it on the cooling rack.

  Tanner slowly got to his feet and came up beside her. They both melted into laughter as he took her in his arms.

  "How about we clean up as they cool?" Tanner suggested.

  "Sure. But we may need more icing. And a shower."

  He bent his head and licked a spot of icing off her breast. "I'm thinking shower first."

  She inhaled sharply, tempted to ask him to lick her clean instead. But then again, Tanner, slick with soap in the shower? Hells yeah. She grabbed his hand and dragged him to the bathroom.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Round two in a word—awesome. Wrapped in her plush bathrobe, Morgan fell asleep in Garrett's arms on the couch where they'd made love for the second time. They'd experimented with a few positions, some of which she couldn't wait to try again once they were well-rested. Hopefully Paige had enjoyed her night too. She couldn't wait to talk to her and compare notes. They weren't twins, but they still shared a lot more than most sisters did.

  A clicking sound woke her sometime later. Her eyes fluttered open to find Garrett sitting there in the dark with her laptop open on the coffee table. The light from the screen illuminated his hunched, tattooed shoulder and knit brow as he concentrated on whatever he was doing.

  "Whatcha up to?" Yawning, she sat up and draped a sleepy arm around him, resting her head on his shoulder. God, he smelled good. Like her body wash and a hint of salty, lingering sweat.

  He kissed her softly on her forehead. "I'm logging in to our security system to look at the camera footage again."

  "Think you missed something?"

  "I don't know. Maybe. This is a nice laptop, by the way."

  "Yeah, I invested in a really good one so I could do graphic design for the shop. Do you still think it's Jesse?"

  "Seems likely. I don't like the way he looks at you."

  She came in close to his ear and brushed it with her lips, smiling when she felt him shiver. "You don't have to worry about that. I'm yours. Besides, I've known him forever. Sure, he had a mean streak in school, but he grew out of that. Shoot, he even fosters kittens for the local shelter."

  He looped his arm around her waist and gave her a quick kiss. "That's why I'm looking again. I don't want to blame someone you respect."

  "You are the sweetest man I have ever met. How did I get so lucky?"

  "Ditto."

  Garrett clicked a few links and brought up some footage of Mann Cakes. There was the interior, the candlelit lunch—oh so yummy. He sped it up a bit, until it showed her and him kissing passionately near the table. Then came the part where he pulled her top down and did that glorious thing with his mouth on her nipple.

  "Wow..." She got wet all over again—it was super sexy seeing that from a third-person view.

  "No kidding. You know...making videos is easy these days. All you need is a cell phone."

  Morgan sat up straight and wiggled in her seat. "I have a tripod too."

  Garrett chuckled. "I like how you think. But we may want to get rid of this bit on the security footage."

  She grimaced. "Yeah, right. Tanner didn't see that earlier, did he?"

  "No, I made sure to skip past that part when I showed him."

  "Good, but it would be a shame to throw that scene out."

  "You're right. I can cut it and save it elsewhere for our private viewing pleasure."

  "Awesome."

  He brought up the storefront again. Just like the first time she'd viewed it, the front door was in clear view, as was the sidewalk a few feet on either side of the entrance. The grill on Tanner's Jeep barely showed from where it was parked.

  "I wish I had readjusted those cameras," Garrett grumbled.

  Morgan scooted to the edge of the sofa and leaned in close to the screen. There was the loose potato chip bag blowing by, followed by Mrs. Donner and that ugly excuse for a dog.

  He moved the timestamp cursor forward a few minutes before playing it again. “I still don’t see anyone, do you?”

  “Hmm." Morgan didn't want to give him false hope, but she could have sworn she saw something move. "Back it up a sec or two. Can you zoom in?”

  “Yeah.” He moved the cursor back a little and, while it was paused, he hit the plus button a few times to get a closer vie
w.

  “There,” Morgan said, pointing. “The Jeep rocked a little.”

  “I think you’re right.” He zoomed in a couple ticks more. “Here in the corner—can you see that shadow?” Garrett backed it up a few seconds and hit play again.

  “Oh, right—yeah. Can you zoom in more?”

  “Not a whole lot more without it becoming grainy. But I’ll try.”

  He zoomed in a couple ticks, and they both watched, unblinking on the edge of their seats, as though waiting for the big reveal in a suspense movie. Right at the frame where the Jeep rocked, a shadow darkened the corner, blocking the sunlight.

  “See that?” he asked.

  “Yeah, looks like one side of a hoodie, and hair blowing around.”

  “I think so. Unless Jesse likes to run around in a wig, I believe we’re looking at a woman here.”

  “Well you know it wasn’t me or Paige. She was with Tanner. Who else would do that? One of his exes?”

  Garret paused the video at the clearest frame they had of the shadow. Though stretched a bit from the sun’s angle, Morgan could clearly see the long hair and the edge of someone's arm. Garrett sat up and rubbed his chin, deep in thought. Then his hand fell limp on his knee, and he looked at her with his mouth slightly ajar.

  “Of course. Why didn’t I think of her?”

  “Her who?”

  “The stalker—the woman who Tanner flirted with on Facebook after his breakup with Michelle. I think they may have had some R-rated chats.”

  “Eww, like dick pics?”

  “No, Tanner’s smarter than that. Or at least I think he is. He used to warn our interns about sending pics like that to people. One poor girl’s boobs got sent all around their campus after she broke up with her boyfriend. She found the photos hanging in her dorm and on trees. We thought she might kill herself over it. Luckily, she had a strong group of friends and us to support her. Tanner actually tracked the guy down and threatened to tear off his penis if he didn’t remove those pics.”

  “Wow, I hope he took them down then.”

  “Yeah, he removed all the physical pics, but the digital ones are out there forever. You can never be rid of all those.”

  “What happened to her after that?”

  “She ended up going to another school where she wasn’t recognized. Last I heard, she was doing really well.”

  “Okay, so what about this stalker?”

  “Complete nutcase—Tanner finally stopped moping over Michelle and tried to tell this chick he didn’t want to keep talking to her. She didn't take that well. She sent him lewd pics, begging him to call her, threatening to hang herself. He called her bluff, then blocked and reported her.”

  “Did he hear from her after that?”

  “Oh, yeah. She followed him to Twitter, posted messages about him in a bunch of forums, about him being a sick, twisted pervert. None of it was true. We even had the authorities out once because she had called them, saying Tanner had threatened her. We had to show them the evidence of her stalking behavior to prove otherwise.”

  “Totally batshit, then.”

  “Totally."

  "Did you find out who she was?"

  "No, she’d been using a fake name and location. The IP address was even fake. It could have been anyone, even a guy.”

  “Catfishing—isn’t that what they call it?”

  “Yeah. He blocked her every which way from Sunday. We encrypted everything, and then got deployed.”

  “And now we have the tire and the note and the security footage that points to a woman. Do you think she’s the one who burned your shop?”

  “Maybe. This person clearly knows how to avoid being identified."

  “She must have found out that you're here from all the publicity you've gotten with Mann Cakes. And now she’s back to finish the job.”

  “Also likely.”

  They both stood and scrounged around for their belongings. Morgan found her purse by the door and dug out her cell phone. Garrett found his pants near the bathroom and pulled his phone from his back pocket. Morgan dialed Paige’s number. Garrett must have been calling Tanner.

  “Come on, sis, pick up,” Morgan said through gritted teeth, holding the phone with her shoulder while slipping on her panties and capris. The phone kicked over to voice mail. “Crap.”

  Garrett was doing the same, pulling on his jeans. “No luck here, either.”

  Morgan waited impatiently for the voice mail beep, then blurted, “Paige, call me—it’s very important. We’re on our way over there now.”

  “They may be out somewhere with their phones turned off or otherwise, um, indisposed.”

  “I hope so, but Paige never turns her phone off in case there’s an emergency with Tyler. She’s also a hermit—I can’t remember the last time she wanted to go to a movie or anything beyond McHeartAttack.”

  "Okay, but can you let me drive this time? I almost had a heart attack with you behind the wheel."

  Chapter Eighteen

  Tanner stepped out of Paige's shower for the second time in one day. But tonight, it had been much more fun. He couldn't tell how much of the wet on his skin was water and how much was sweat. They didn't have a lot of room in there, but they hadn't needed much. Damn, Paige sure could give head like nobody's business. He could definitely get used to that, though he didn't want to think about how she'd perfected that skill. It didn't matter, though. The past was in the past. It could only get better from here.

  They toweled off in silence, but he caught their goofy afterglow grins in the mirror. While Paige combed her hair, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck, still hot and moist from the shower.

  She smiled and let out a quiet sigh, turning her head from side to side. "Does my hair look okay short like this?"

  "You'd look good even if you were bald," Tanner said. "I hate to say it, but we should probably get some sleep. We both have work tomorrow."

  "Yeah, and I have a gazillion orders to fill thanks to the radio interview."

  "That's awesome."

  She craned her neck around to look him in the eye. "Really? Since when? You're not planning some crazy scheme to lure all the new business to Mann Cakes?"

  "I'm too tired to plan anything right now. I'll let you have this one." He grinned. "But after that, it's fair game."

  Yesterday, she would have been mad as hell at him for that remark. But now, she laughed and nodded. "Bring it on, little man."

  He glanced down. "Little?"

  She followed his gaze as a playful smile danced on her lips. "Well...that's not little, thank goodness."

  "We can test it out again just to be sure if you'll give me a few minutes."

  She looped her arm up around his neck and gave him one of the most tender, sweetest kisses he'd ever had. He loved her so much it hurt. Always had. Did she feel the same?

  Slowly, her lips separated from his, and she rested her back against his chest. They smiled at each other in the mirror.

  "You've gone and done it," she said.

  "What did I do now?"

  "You made me fall in love with you all over again."

  A big smile stretched across his face. "I'm pretty persistent, aren't I?"

  Her eyes glistened, and she turned in his arms, embracing him tightly. With her head on his shoulder, she whispered, "Thank you."

  "You got it, babe. I love you too much to let you get away from me again."

  "I love you, too." She pulled back, worry creasing her forehead. "But what comes next?"

  "We have more dates, more sex, throw a few more blowjobs in there..."

  She slapped his chest playfully. "Be serious."

  "Okay, seriously now. I'd like to find out if we have a son together."

  She stared down at the sink for a moment, took a deep breath, then nodded. "Okay. We'll go to a testing center this week. I owe you that."

  "You don't owe me anything. Ty's a great little man. We can take him to the park together. I can play
ball with him if he enjoys that. I'll color with him, be there on his first day of school, take him out for ice cream. I'll never put myself between you and him, no matter who his father is."

  "You're amazing, you know that?"

  He gave a pretend bashful grin and shrugged. "Yeah...I'm the shit."

  Paige laughed. He'd never get tired of that sound.

  "Yeah, well the shit's going to help me clean up our food fight."

  Tanner stood at attention and saluted. "Yes, ma'am."

  They got dressed and emerged from the steamy bathroom. The kitchen was dark. Dim light shone through the front windows of the shop.

  "Weird. The streetlights are usually brighter than that," Paige said. "A bulb must have burned out." She flipped on one of the kitchen lights and found her phone where she'd left it on the counter. "Crap. I should have kept this with me. Morgan texted."

  "We were both a bit distracted." He found his phone where he'd left it on the dining table. "I got one from Garrett, too."

  She unlocked the screen, eyes growing wide as they scanned the message.

  Tanner read the one from Garrett: I analyzed the security footage again. I think I know who knifed your tire and burned our shop. Remember "Jenny Smith"? I hope you're at Paige's place. We're on our way over. Watch your back.

  Tanner's stomach churned. He knew that name, all right. That batshit catfishing woman had stirred up a lot of trouble. He could kick himself for ever having messaged her in the first place. He'd been lonely and sad—pathetic was a better word. At least he'd had enough common sense to not send her naked pics, though she'd sent him a few explicit shots. Never of her face, though. And he'd learned that a lot of catfishers sent fake pics—so those boobs and cooter shots were likely from random pics pulled from the internet.

  He texted back: Yeah we're here. Park around back, ok?

  Garrett replied with: 10-4.

  Paige shook her head, her eyes squinting in confusion. "What is Morgan talking about? An internet stalker knifed your tire? The one you talked to on Facebook?"

  "Yeah." He put the phone back on the table and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I wish I'd never talked to that bitch...or dude. Who knows? I feel so stupid."