Sex, Lies And Mistletoe

by Tawny Weber

  “Pandora?” he prodded. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

  He didn’t know if he was hoping more that she would, or that she wouldn’t.

  “You’re exactly where I want you to be, too,” she finally murmured. Whether that was true or not, he didn’t know. But he was positive it wasn’t what she’d been thinking about.

  But before he could push, she rose on tiptoe, and, even as nerves simmered in her eyes, brushed a soft kiss over his lips.

  It was as if she’d flipped a switch that only she knew existed. His body went on instant hard-on alert, and his mind absolutely shut down. All he wanted was her. All he could taste, could think of, cared about, was her.

  More and more of her.

  He slanted his mouth to the side, taking their kiss deeper with one swift slide of his tongue.

  His fingers still entwined with hers, Caleb let his hands drop, then wrapped both their arms around her waist to pull her tighter, effectively trapping her soft curves against the hard, craving planes of his body.

  Why the hell was she wearing this bulky coat? All he wanted, now and for as long as it lasted, was to get her naked.

  Lost in the pleasure of her mouth, Caleb didn’t hear the key in the door until a loud clatter of the chimes hit a discordant note. Pulling her lips from his, Pandora jumped, blinking the sexual glow out of her eyes as she looked over his shoulder toward whoever had come in.

  Her jaw dropped and her face turned bright red even as embarrassment filled her eyes.

  “Hello, Mother.”

  10

  “WELL, DARLING?” Cassiopeia said as she settled comfortably on Pandora’s couch and sipped chamomile tea. “It looks like you have a lot to share. When did you get involved with the likes of Caleb Black? And more important, why didn’t you ever mention him in your emails? I’d have stayed away a few extra days if I’d known you had that kind of entertainment on tap.”

  That entertainment, as Cassiopeia called him, had barely stuck around long enough for introductions before he’d high-tailed it out of the store for his father’s party.

  Now, twenty minutes after Cassiopeia’s shocking arrival, she was soothing her travel woes with tea while Pandora resisted the urge to pace.

  “I’ve got so much to tell you. I shared the basics in our emails, but things are really going great at the store,” she said, even as a part of her wondered if she hurried her mother along, could she catch Caleb at the party. The other part of her, the one that bwawked like a chicken, was glad her mother’s arrival had given her an excuse to keep their relationship quiet for a little longer. Sort of. Nothing was ever hidden from Cassiopeia.

  As if reading her mind, her mother gestured with her teacup.

  “I’d rather talk about the man,” Cassiopeia said with a smile too wicked for someone’s mother.

  “I’d rather not,” Pandora decided. Not while she was so mixed up over the issue. “Let’s focus on the store instead, okay? Before we left, I printed out the financial statements. Do you want to see them? I saved the store, Mom.”

  She felt a little giddy saying that. As if she was tempting fate. But she was so excited she had to share. And hoped, like crazy, that her mom would be proud.

  “I mean, it’s obviously too early to tell for sure, but I’m betting the café and the aphrodisiacs stay solid, long-term.”

  “Most likely,” Cassiopeia agreed with a shrug that seemed more disinterested than dismissive.

  “Don’t you care?” Pandora frowned, trying to read her mother. Calm and centered, as always. A little worn-out, which wasn’t surprising since it was a long trip from Sedona. But shouldn’t there be some relief? Some joy at the prospect of keeping the store a success? Some pride in her only child?

  “Darling, of course I care. The café is a brilliant idea and you’ve done a wonderful job. I knew if left to your own devices, you’d come up with something.”

  Her mother’s smile widened, a self-satisfied look just this side of gloating in her eyes.

  “You left to force my hand?” Pandora realized, almost breathless from the shock.

  “Well, the store was in trouble, of course. And I was having a heck of a time figuring out how to keep things afloat and still meet my commitment in Sedona. But I imagine I could have probably muddled through, canceled the appearance and crossed my fingers until the spring bus tour if I’d had to.” Cassiopeia waved a heavily bejeweled hand as if her manipulation didn’t matter. “But the point is, I didn’t have to. Thanks to your return to Black Oak, and your clever café idea, we’re in wonderful shape for the first time in years.”

  “That was a huge risk to take if you didn’t have to,” Pandora pointed out, trying to calm her sudden jitters. “I could have ruined the store. What if I’d failed?”

  “Then you’d fail,” Cassiopeia said with a shrug.

  “You’d risk the family legacy to teach me a lesson?”

  “The family legacy is talent, dear. It’s intuition. It’s not a building and a bunch of candles and crystals.”

  Pandora choked down the urge to scream. She knew what the hell to do with the shop, dammit. But she didn’t have any talent. So where did that leave her? She’d thought she’d finally contributed to the family name. That she’d done something worthy of the women who’d come before her.

  “Darling, you make it so hard on yourself. Instead of embracing hope, which will help you realize your gift, you spend all your time chasing the Furies, trying to corral misery before it causes hurt,” Cassiopeia said, launching into one of her favorite stories. In the Easton family, they didn’t believe in choosing a name until they’d discovered the newborn’s personality. Pandora had been Baby Girl for eight months until the gods, fate and the tarot cards had revealed her destiny to Cassiopeia. “You need to quit worrying about those miseries, darling. Instead, focus on joy. That’s the only way you’ll find the right path.”

  With that, Cassiopeia rose and glided to the kitchen to set her teacup in the sink, returned to kiss the top of her silently fuming daughter’s head and left.

  An hour later, frustrated tears still trickled down Pandora’s cheeks. She didn’t even answer when someone knocked tentatively on her door. Eleven o’clock on a Sunday night, it could only be one person. And she was too worked up to deal with her mother twice in one day.

  The knock sounded again, a little louder this time.

  Who the hell needed to chase misery when it was always right there, tapping her on the shoulder and reminding her that she didn’t measure up. That she was a waste of her family name. Ungifted and unworthy.

  The urge to run away-again-made her body quiver. But unlike her escape when she’d been eighteen, this time she didn’t have anywhere to go. Nor did she still have that cocky faith that she could prove to her mother, her grandmother and everyone else in Black Oak that she could be a success without the family gift.

  Pounding replaced the tentative knock.

  “Fine,” she huffed, jumping to her feet.

  Her mother wouldn’t give up. She had probably headed home to gather some crystals and cards, determined to help her daughter find that damned path she always harped on.

  “What?” Pandora snapped as she threw open the door.

  The bitter cold from the icy rain swept over her bare toes as she stared.

  “Oh.”

  It wasn’t Cassiopeia on her doorstep.

  It was a delicious looking chocolate éclair with what looked like a tub of ice cream and, if she wasn’t mistaken, hot-fudge sauce.

  Her eyes met Caleb’s golden gaze.

  “I thought you could use a sugar rush,” he said, lifting the dessert a little higher. “It comes with, or without, a second spoon.”

  She hesitated. Attention was a good thing, but attention while she was having a tantrum? Hardly something she wanted Caleb to remember her for.

  “I’m not very good company right now,” she demurred, rubbing her hands over the velvet of her skirt and wishing she w
ere wearing sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt. Something innocuous to hide behind. Although, if she was going to do some wishing, she should put all her falling stars and birthday candles toward having washed her tear-stained face instead of answering the door looking like a sad raccoon.

  “I’m not looking for entertainment,” Caleb said, shrugging before leaning one broad shoulder against the door frame. Catching the arch look she shot him, he grinned. “I’m not looking for that, either.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say no if you decided to strip naked and paint my name across your body in this fudge sauce before inviting me to lick it off.” He waited for Pandora’s laugh before continuing, “But that’s not what this is about. I’m just here as…as…”

  Pandora swallowed hard to get past the lump of emotions suddenly clogging her throat. “As?”

  “As a friend.”

  The only thing that kept the tears from leaking down her face was fear of adding another layer to the raccoon effect. Instead, Pandora sniffed surreptitiously and stepped aside to let him in.

  “How’d you know I needed a friend tonight?” she asked as Caleb crossed the room. “Better yet, how’d you know my mother wasn’t still here?”

  “She stopped by the party.” He gave her a quick look, something shuttered in his eyes making her wonder if he’d had his own parental confrontation. “She looked a little stressed herself, so I figured I’d check on you.”

  So Cassiopeia had decided to skip the crystals and cards and had sent in a sexy ego boost instead. Too dejected to even fake being a good hostess, Pandora dumped two bowls on the table. Caleb, jacket gone and his shirtsleeves rolled up, scooped big fat mounds of vanilla-bean ice cream into them.

  Her frustration and hurt feelings shifted, sliding into second place behind her sudden urge to lick hot fudge off his knuckle. Her body warmed, excitement stirring at the sight of Caleb’s hands. So strong. So big. So wonderfully good at sending her into a fog of desire where she could forget everything except him and the pleasure he brought.

  “What?” he said, noting her stare.

  “Just realizing something,” she said, color warming her cheeks.

  “Again… What?”

  “You have magic hands,” Pandora admitted despite her embarrassment. “I knew they felt incredible. I’ve had plenty of proof of their copious talents. But I didn’t realize until just now that they are magic.”

  Caleb’s grin was huge as he plopped sloppy globs of whipped cream on top of the fudge-covered ice cream. “Magic, huh?”

  “Yep.” Pandora pulled one of the bowls toward her, grabbing a spoon with the other hand.

  She suddenly felt a million times better.

  “Tell me more,” he invited, stashing what was left of dessert in the freezer. He joined her at the table, but didn’t sit.

  “More, hmm?” she said, giving him a slow, teasing smile as she licked hot fudge off her spoon. The rich, bittersweet flavor slid down her throat. “How about we make it a show-and-tell kind of thing?”

  His wicked smile didn’t change, but his eyes did. They sharpened and heated at the same time. He reached out a hand, pulling her to her feet. Then he scooped up his bowl, handing her the other one, and led the way out of the kitchen.

  “We’re eating in bed?” she teased as excitement spun and swirled like a snowflake inside her, buffeting through her system and making her breathless with need.

  “Too messy,” he deemed, continuing through the living room, one hand wrapped around hers to keep her close. He stopped at the bathroom and glanced in, gave a decisive nod, then turned to her with an arched brow. “Do you have a blanket you don’t mind getting sticky?”

  “Sticky?”

  “Babe, even if I paint as carefully as I can, my magic hands might drip a little bit before I can lick this hot fudge off your naked body.”

  “That’s going to make a mess,” she said, not really caring.

  “That’s what bubble bath is for,” he assured her. “I assume you have bubbles.”

  Bubbles?

  Ten minutes ago she’d been wallowing in misery, sure her life sucked hard. And now? Now she had Caleb, with his tub of vanilla ice cream, his gorgeous smile and an intuitive understanding of her that nobody, not even her best friend, had ever had.

  He made her feel so many things. Sexual and passionate. Exciting and fun. Brave and strong and interesting.

  But most of all, he made her feel safe. Like it was okay to stand in the middle of the room and make a fool of herself. Like he accepted and appreciated her. All of her.

  And now he wanted to feed her dessert, then take a bubble bath with her. Yes, it was sexual. But she knew it was more than that. She could see it in his body language. In the set of his shoulders and the concern on his face.

  He was doing it to make her feel better.

  “I do have bubbles,” she said, trying not to giggle at the image of the ultramasculine Caleb Black surrounded by frothy floral-scented bubbles.

  And from the terrified nerves jumping through her system at her realization. She was in love with him.

  That wasn’t the plan. It was crazy. It was a huge mistake. And she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to let herself. Not right now. It might not be her path, but it was a wonderful place to be. And just for now, she was going to give herself the gift of enjoying it.

  “And I’ll be happy to share my bubbles with you,” she assured him as she grabbed a blanket off the couch and laid it in front of the Christmas tree. “Right after we find out who can get whom stickier.”

  “YOU SMELL LIKE FLOWERS,” Fifi observed as Pandora swept into the store the next day. “Is that a new perfume?”

  “Bubble bath,” she told the blonde, winking. “I’m going to get started on the cookies and desserts for today’s lunch crowd, okay? Can you handle the store yourself?”

  “Russ is in soon, I’ll be fine,” Fifi assured her.

  Pandora winced. She’d forgotten Russ was starting today. Adding that to her to-do list, she headed back to the café and its tiny kitchen. As she went, though, she heard the whispers start.

  Like a wave, the words flowed toward her, softly at first, then crashing in a big splash. Caleb Black. Dumped the poor sweet sheriff. What could she be thinking? Poor mother, had to come home to fix it.

  Pandora’s feet froze on the threshold of the café. A part of her wanted to turn around and face the gossips. To insist they say it to her face so she could refute their words. The rest of her wanted to run into the back room as fast as she could, tugging her hair as she went to relieve the pressure on her brain.

  She wasn’t going to think about it, she decided as she forced her feet to move. She couldn’t. Her mother had told her to choose a path and this was the one she was on. She was in love with Caleb Black. And if that meant dealing with gossip, then she’d deal.

  Washing her hands, she let the water trickle over her skin, warming her and easing the tension. Eyes closed, she took some deep breaths and tried to center herself.

  Out the kitchen window, a movement caught her eye. Three scruffy-looking guys were arguing in the alley. She frowned, realizing one of them was Russ. What was he doing back there?

  Then one of them took a swing at another. She gasped, stepping back and cringing. Before she could go get the phone to call Tobias for help, a fourth guy waded in.

  Pandora’s heart calmed. Sheriff Kendall. He’d deal with it. Remembering her mother’s warning about chasing miseries, she turned away. She didn’t want to see, hear or experience anything else that stirred up tension, so she ignored the rest of the drama and got to work. She had cookies to bake, sandwiches to prep and éclairs to pipe.

  An hour later, she was still in her Zen mood as she arranged half the cookies on a large silver platter and the others in to-go boxes.

  “Darling, this is wonderful,” her mother drawled as she swept into the tiny kitchen, mingling the scent of peanut butter and chocolate with the aroma of
Chanel and the nag champa incense she always burned at home. “I love the ambience. And these tables are so adorable. It’s so clever, the way you’ve used the red soy candles in the dish of rose quartz. Love and lust, with just enough liking to keep things from getting sticky, hmm?”

  Her Zen shot all to hell, Pandora just shrugged. She knew she was pouting like a brat, but she didn’t want to face her mother yet. She’d been happily distracted by Caleb. Incredible sex and the realization that she was falling in love was enough for any girl to handle for one morning, wasn’t it?

  “Darling, don’t be in a snit. You came home for a reason, didn’t you?” As soon as Pandora opened her mouth to say that yes, she’d come home because she needed a job, Cassiopeia waved her hand. “And it had nothing to do with that drama you’d fallen into. That was just an excuse. A crossroads, if you’d like. It was time for you to face your destiny, and fate obviously felt you needed a nudge to get you to do so.”

  “Right. Being under police suspicion, used by the man I was sleeping with and then fired from my job were all the work of fate,” Pandora snipped.

  “Of course not. Those were all the result of your choices, dear. Not bad or good choices, mind you. Simply ones you made without stopping to listen to your intuition. Fate just used them to move you along.”

  “Mom, stop,” Pandora barked, perilously close to tears again. Was anyone on earth as frustrating as her mother? “I obviously have no intuition. So will you please let it go? I’m never going to be what you’d like. I wish you’d just accept that I’m a failure as an Easton so we can both relax.”

  Stepping back so fast her rust-and-hunter-green caftan caught on the corner of the counter, Cassiopeia gave a shocked gasp and slapped her hand over her heart. Even though her shoulders were tense with anger and her stomach was tight with stress, Pandora almost giggled. Nobody did the drama show quite like her momma.

  “A failure? That’s ridiculous,” Cassiopeia snapped. She lifted her chin so her red curls swept over her shoulders, and crossed her arms over her chest in the same gesture Pandora herself used when she was upset. “Let’s not confuse things here, young lady. You’re not angry with me.”