by Milly Taiden
“That’s confidence all right. I look forward to your efforts. Goodnight, Bastien. “
“Goodnight, beautiful. Dream of me.”
Carly hung up and groaned at his words. He was impossible and so damn sexy it should be illegal. His words proved too prophetic as the night wore on and she tossed and turned from dreams of her bear making her scream in pleasure. When the alarm clock roused her from another dream she groaned and flopped back on the bed. “Damn you, Bastien!”
She climbed out of bed and dragged herself into the shower. As the hot water ran down her full curves she couldn’t help but remember the wicked dreams she’d been having. The urge to touch herself and find some semblance of pleasure was almost overwhelming. The shrill tone of her alarm woke her from her sensual thoughts. “Damn snooze button.”
Carly hurried and finished her shower and rushed to the alarm clock to make the world’s most annoying sound end, at least until the next morning. That sound could be used to torture the most hardened criminals, she mused as she contemplated throwing it against the wall as payback from ruining her shower fun.
THIRTEEN
Bastien was so screwed. He was a bear, not Romeo. His bear’s idea of romance was to stand in the middle of the river to catch salmon returning to spawn. Wildlife’s version of going out to dinner.
He needed serious help. He snatched up his phone and dialed Garrett’s number.
“Yello. This is Garrett.”
“Hey, man. I need your help.”
“Wassup, my friend?”
“I need romantic things to woo Carly.”
“You gonna do what to Carly?”
“Woo her. I need to woo her.”
“Is that a new sex position? Sounds shaky to me.”
“No, Garrett. Woo means—never mind. Do you know any romantic stuff?”
His snort came across the line. “You are talking to the Don Quixote of romance.”
Bastien frowned. “I think you mean Don Juan.” This was not sounding good.
“Don Juan, Don Shwaun. Whatever, dude. I got the perfect idea. Send her a dick pic.”
Bastien thought about it a second. “What the fuck is a dickpick? I get picking a nose, but a dick?”
“No, dipshit. It’s a picture of your dick. Chicks go crazy for that kind of stuff.”
Bastien looked at his zippered crouch. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, man. You can either stand in front of the mirror or just hold the camera sorta aimed in that direction. Since you’re a bear, it might be good to shave.”
“Naw, she loves my five o’clock shadow. She says it’s sexy.”
“Yeah, that’s not what I mean you should shave, dude.”
Horror struck Bastien in the stomach. “No—you don’t mean—”
“Oh, yeah, man. Gotta see the tree among the forest.”
“Well, there’s no problem seeing this tree—”
“Man, don’t go there. I don’t want to know about your wood.”
“Is it supposed to be hard or soft?”
“What? The wood?”
“My dick, dumbass.”
“How should I know? If you’re thinking about your mate, I’d guess it’s hard.”
“Garrett!” Bastien took a deep breath to calm himself.
“But be careful and check the email address you send it to. My mom wasn’t none too happy.”
“You sent a picture of your dick to your mother!” Bastien dropped his phone, laughing so hard.
“Hey, it was an accident. The girl had the same first name as my mom and when it popped up in the address line, I just tapped the first one.”
“Holy shit, I would’ve loved to be a fly on that wall.”
“Yeah, yeah. Okay, don’t send a dick pic. How about poetry. Chicks dig poetry.”
“I don’t know any poetry. Like what?”
“It’s best to use the one-liners. They’re easier to remember. I got a whole slew of them. What you do is walk up real cool like, maybe flip the collar, then you say, ‘Hey, baby, you know what this shirt is made of?’ She’ll say no, then you finish, ‘Boyfriend material.’” Garrett laughed at himself, by himself. Bastien wasn’t so sure.
“Here’s another. You’ll love this one. “My angel, did you sit in a pile of sugar, because you got a pretty sweet ass.” His laughter once again came solo. Even though Carly did have a sweet ass, he wasn’t sure that was what she’d call romantic.
“One more—”
“Garrett—”
“No, really. This is great. ‘I want to live in your socks so I can be with you every step of the way.’ Yeah? What do think?”
Bastien shook his head. “No fucking wonder you’re single. Socks? Really? Man, that’s just not right. Let’s skip the poetry. What else you got? And don’t call them ‘chicks.’”
“Okay, chill, amigo. Ch—babes like chocolate.”
That wasn’t a bad idea. “But that’s so normal.”
“That’s why I say send her a dick pic. It’s original.”
“I am not sending her a picture of my dick! Jesus H. Christ.” He remembered Carly very much liked Kira’s wedding cake. It had some kind of orang-ish, red-ish filling. “How about I send her a cake.”
Silence met him. “A cake?”
“Yeah, then I can write what I want on it.”
“Well, you could do that. Why not make them cupcakes so she doesn’t need a plate and fork.”
“Garrett, my friend, that’s the first thing you’ve said that makes sense.”
“I told ya, I’m a Don One.”
Carly’s week flew by with Kira being gone on her honeymoon. Thankfully, Toni was there and they made a fantastic team.
“Hey, Carly, this was just dropped off for you at the front desk. I don’t know what it is or who it’s from but it smells divine,” Toni said as she placed a large white box on the desk in front of Carly.
“I didn’t order anything.”
“Don’t keep me in suspense open it!”
Carly laughed and opened the box and gasped in delight. “It’s cupcakes.”
“Who sent them?”
Carly turned the box around, so Toni could see them. “Read the message for yourself.” In the box were thirty-two cupcakes with the words Please forgive me, beautiful. I’m sorry. spelled out.
“Who sent it and what do they have to be sorry for?”
“Bastien, he is always calling me beautiful and he is apologizing for being an ass the other night when you crashed my dinner with Adam.”
“Oh, he is a keeper. Hey look, there’s a note too.”
Carly picked up the note, already smiling. He had already earned her forgiveness and a piece of her heart.
“Don’t keep me waiting. What does the note say?”
“At Kira’s wedding I heard you mention how much you enjoyed the cake with the guava filling. I had the bakery make an assortment of cupcakes with different fillings, but the ones with the word BEAUTIFUL on it has the guava filling. I have the perfect date planned. See you then. B.”
“Oh, the man is a romantic! He is definitely a keeper. That has to be the sweetest thing a guy has ever done! He not only paid attention to you, but supplied enough I can have one too.”
Carly couldn’t stop staring at the cupcakes and the amazing message. Kira would never believe her when she told her the story.
“You have any plans tonight?” Toni asked as she dropped into a chair beside Carly’s desk and let out a weary breath and put her hand out for a cupcake. “I can’t wait for this week to be over; it’s been exhausting.”
“I’m meeting Ralph later. You have any plans?”
“No Bastien?”
Carly blushed. “Tomorrow, actually. He is picking me up after work.”
“Oh, look at you go. Juggling men.” Carly blushed at Toni’s teasing.
“Stop that. Ralph is nice and we had a good time. He works for my dad and he likes it when I am nice to his employees that come to town for him. It’s n
othing serious, really.”
“Does Ralph know this?”
“I don’t know why he would want anything else. He doesn’t even live here. Plus, he said himself he wants to be my friend.”
“Okay, fine. Does Bastien know about your date?”
“No, and he doesn’t need to. Don’t you dare tell him either. I swear I will make you will regret it. And it’s not a date!”
Carly glared at Toni as she laughed at her threat. Poor Toni hadn’t been around long enough to know she was completely serious. Carly’s desk phone rang and with an apologetic smile to Toni she picked up the call and immediately wished she had caller ID.
“Hi, Dad. Yes, I’m fine. Work’s been keeping me busy. How are you?” She sat back in her chair and quietly groaned. She loved her father, she really did, but he was just so opinionated on her life, especially her dating life.
“I spoke to Ralph yesterday. He said you are going on a date with him, is this correct?”
“Yes, Father, you heard right. I will see Ralph tonight.” She didn’t bother saying it wasn’t a date because her father would just ignore that and assume it was a date anyway. “He seems like a very nice guy.”
“Yes, he is. I trust him and think you and he could definitely hit it off. He did tell me some startling news, though. Have you been getting close to shifters? He said he thought you might be dating one as well?” Her father’s voice sounded more than a little alarmed. Full blown panic came through the line. “Tell me this isn’t true. You know what they are like. Don’t break my heart. Tell me you aren’t going against me and dating one of them.”
This time Carly couldn’t hold her groan in. “Seriously? I am not talking about this with you. Who I date is none of your concern.”
“Carly--” he stopped and cleared his throat. “I have to go. Have fun with Ralph tonight. I’ll talk to later. Love you, sweet pea.”
Carly hung up the phone, looked to the wall next to her and contemplated hitting her head against it in frustration. What was it about her father that could make her feel like a five-year-old all over again?
She stared in horror at her cell phone ringing on her desk. Please don’t let it be her dad again. She couldn’t handle another call from him right now.
Carly sighed with relief. “Hi, Ralph, how are you?”
“Hey, Carly. Are you still available for tonight?”
“Yes, I am. What do you have in mind?”
“I was kind of hoping you could help me out on that front. I don’t know this area that well and I thought you might have a suggestion for something fun to do.”
“Sure, I can do that. Anything particular you like to do?”
“No, I am good with anything. How about I pick you up at your house at seven.”
“That works, I’ll see you then.” Carly hung up and sat brooding. She wasn’t that old fashioned, but if you ask someone out, shouldn’t you plan the evening?
Ugh. She didn’t want it to be but was starting to feel like agreeing to see him had been a mistake. She grumbled under her breath as she packed up her desk to head home.
“Have fun on your non-date date,” Toni called out as Carly passed her in the hallway.
Carly ignored her and pulled out her cell to call Bastien and thank him for the wonderful cupcakes. She dialed and waited not so patiently. She sighed in disappointment, she really wanted to talk to him in person and not just hear the automated voicemail person talk.
“Hey, Bastien. The cupcakes came today. I love them. That is the sweetest and most unique thing I have ever received. Yes, I accept your apology and can’t wait for our date to see what you have planned. You surprised me. I like that. Talk to you soon.”
Carly spent the next couple hours doing odds and ends around the house waiting for Ralph to pick her up for their date. She purposefully didn’t spend much time getting ready. She didn’t want Ralph reading anything into this. She spent way too much time checking her phone to make sure she didn’t miss Bastien’s return call.
There was a knock at her door at seven on the dot. She had to say one thing about Ralph, he was prompt. With one last glance at her phone, she moved to the door and her non-date date as Toni called it.
An hour later and Carly was ready to run screaming from the restaurant. Ralph was slowly boring her to death. When he wasn’t droning on and on about how rewarding working for her father was, it was how he couldn’t find a nice young woman to settle down with.
She found herself tuning him out at this point and focusing instead on Bastien and the cupcakes he sent to the office today. She had to give the man credit, not only did he send her something that was thoughtful and insightful, but also proved to her he didn’t worry about her weight. She had never dated a guy who would have dared send her cupcakes like that. One douche she dated actually gave her a gym membership to his gym.
“I’m sorry, what did you just say.” Ralph’s words had brought Carly’s world crashing down around her.
“I said, I talked to your father tonight before I picked you up. He encouraged me to stay up here this weekend and take you out again. He is even willing to let me work remotely so I can stay up and be close to you.”
“I don’t really know why he would be encouraging this, if I am honest with you, Ralph. I agreed to come out because you are a nice guy, and it would make my father happy. I have no intention of anything other than friendship with you, though, and I am sorry if you thought that there was more there.”
“Nonsense,” he said with a tone that irritated her because he sounded like she was lying about there not being more than friendship between then. “I’ll call you next week and we can set something up. I need to find a place to stay other than the local hotel anyway, this will give me a few days to do that.”
She slammed her hand on the table and leaned forward into Ralph’s personal space. “You are not listening to me!”
FOURTEEN
She growled. “There will be no future between us other than as friends. Don’t move your life here for me.”
Ralph wiped his mouth with the napkin and stood beside the table. “If you will excuse me, I need to use the gentlemen’s room.”
She watched him walk away in a slow, dignified pace as she fumed at the table. How dare her father’s attempt to impose his will on her like this?
“Excuse me, miss, are you okay?” Carly glanced up at the waitress who appeared next to her.
“Yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make a scene.”
“It’s quite all right. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t need assistance or for me to call in help for you.”
“Thank you very much, but that won’t be necessary. I appreciate you looking out for me, though.”
The waitress smiled and walked away. Carly was tempted to call a cab and leave, but her father had instilled better manners in her than that. She was getting impatient at Ralph’s prolonged absence when finally she saw him moving between the tables back to their table.
“Everything all right?” At Ralph’s nod Carly continued. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to react like that. My father is my trigger. He knows I hate when he interferes with my life like this and I took it out on you. I apologize for my behavior.”
“I understand completely. Let’s just forget about it for now.”
“Hey, folks, can I get you any dessert?” The waitress returned with a guarded look on her face as she scanned between them.
“No, thank you,” Ralph replied at the same time Carly said, “Yes, please.”
“Let me get you a dessert menu. I will be right back.” Ralph sat forward to whisper to Carly as the waitress disappeared.
“Do you think you should be eating dessert after the dinner we had?” Carly didn’t have a chance to respond to that before the waitress was handing her the menu. Carly took delight in looking over the menu and debating what she was going to order and eat every damn bite of just to piss Ralph off.
“Ooohhh, yes, that’s perfect. Can I have a pie
ce of the Double Fudge Chocolate Orgasm Cake please?”
The waitress winked. “Good choice, it’s absolutely delicious and decadent. You won’t be disappointed.”
Carly glared at Ralph as the waitress left to put her order in. “I will eat whatever I damn well please. If you don’t like it, you can leave anytime.”
Ralph must have realized his mistake. “I didn’t mean anything by that. I just meant we had a really large meal and I, for one, am stuffed. It came out all wrong, I never meant to imply anything.”
She wasn’t sure he was telling the truth, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt because Bastien’s cupcakes were still making rounds in her head and making her feel nice. Much nicer than she normally reacted when someone said anything about what she ate. She didn’t have plans of having a relationship with Ralph anyway, so his opinion didn’t matter.
The cake arrived, she gasped in delight. It was huge and looked like manna from the Gods. Carly took her first bite and had to keep back a moan of pleasure. There was no doubt why it was called orgasm cake, that’s for sure. She closed her eyes and savored each bite.
She wanted to cry when she finished the delicious cake. She contemplated licking the plate, but didn’t want to get thrown out of the place. She was definitely coming back for this dessert again and again.
“I have to say I have never quite heard those sounds come from someone eating dessert before. Dare I say it was almost obscene.” Ralph stood stiffly from the table and gestured for Carly to join him.
“The check?”
“Already taken care of, you were a bit involved and didn’t notice it would seem.”
Carly wanted to laugh at Ralph’s affronted tone. He was just jealous the cake made her moan more than he probably had ever made any woman in the past.
“Is it okay if we call it a night?” Carly could have wept with joy at Ralph’s words. There wasn’t much she would rather do than go home and get away from stuffy ass Ralph.
“That would be fine. It’s been a long week and I have to be in early to work tomorrow.”