His fingers came up to skim her breasts. He squeezed the nipples, stroking and teasing them with the pads of his fingers. Shari cupped her breasts and offered her sensitive nipples to him as a gift.
“Yes, baby, lift those breasts to me,” he groaned. She moaned out her pleasure when his mouth closed on one tightened peak, and he began sucking as he’d done earlier. He’d noticed she liked it and used the exact same pressure and suction.
She pushed her pelvis harder against him and Grant took the hint and reached down to stroke her clitoris where they were joined.
“Yes, oh, yes, like that,” Shari said. “Touch me there.” He felt her internal muscles clench around him and she shattered in his arms. Grant was right behind her and gave an exultant male cry as white-hot electricity shot straight through him.
* * *
Grant was already up when Shari awoke the next morning. She’d hoped to find him curled up next to her in bed as exhausted and sated as she was. Last night had been even more wonderful than their previous encounters. Her sexual attraction to Grant was visceral and powerful, and she’d completely given herself to him, but she still had no clue how he felt about her. He could show her in the way he kissed, touched her, made love to her, but he didn’t speak the three little words her soul yearned to hear.
There was no mistaking that she was head over heels in love with Grant. When she was in his arms she felt like she belonged to him and that she mattered. Like she was home. It scared her to know that her feelings for Grant were that strong. What if he tired of her? They’d gotten married so suddenly, and after the initial glow wore off, after he’d built a relationship with Andre, he could want his freedom. He could want to end their marriage. The thought frightened Shari and she sat upright in the bed.
Grant walked in at that moment bare chested and wearing pajama bottoms and holding a tray. Then his focus changed and she noticed he wasn’t looking her in the eye, but was staring at her chest. That’s when Shari reached for the sheet to cover her breasts.
“Don’t.” Grant smiled coming forward. He bent down to sweep his mouth over hers. “I like seeing you so free and uninhibited.” Grant sat beside her and slid the tray with coffee, yogurt, fruit and toast on her lap.
Although that hadn’t been her intention, Shari smiled nonetheless. She accepted the proffered tray. “Thank you.”
“We worked up an appetite,” Grant said. “I thought you might be hungry.”
“I’m ravenous,” Shari said, reaching for the wheat toast and taking a generous bite.
“I bet,” Grant said. He grasped hold of the second coffee mug on the tray and sipped. “I didn’t recognize you last night.”
“Nor I, you.”
“Well, I think emotions were a little high last night,” Grant said. “We pushed each other’s buttons.”
Shari hazarded a glance in Grant’s direction. She knew she was primarily at fault for the discord between them. She had informed his parents of their marriage without discussing it with him first. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have butted my nose into your relationship with your parents.”
“If you hadn’t, I doubt I would have seen my parents look as happy as they did last night,” Grant answered honestly. “You gave them a grandson.”
“True, but that wasn’t why I told them.”
Grant turned to face her. “What was it about, then? Was it about competing with your cousins in the show?”
“I always come up short,” Shari said, placing the tray on the nightstand. “Everyone asks for Carter’s creations at the store, Belinda is beloved by Grandma. Drake has his niche with the social-media thing and his cookbook. Even though I came up with selling Lillian’s baking mixes, I’m still undervalued.”
“You are a wonderful mother,” Grant interjected. “And a great baker. I’ve tasted some of your delicacies.” The apple tartlet she’d brought him from work in Chicago a couple of weeks ago had been divine. “Why do you give yourself so little credit?”
Shari blinked back the tears threatening to form. “This competition, seeing Dina again, battling for supremacy at Lillian’s. It’s been a lot.”
“Including our rushed marriage?” Grant asked.
When Shari didn’t answer right away, Grant reached for the phone sitting on the nightstand. Shari had no idea who he was calling, but then she heard him ask for Dwight Drayson’s room. Then she heard him talking to a female who she assumed was her mother. “Yes, ma’am. I was hoping that if Shari wasn’t in this round that we could spend the day together, just she and I. Do you think you would be able to watch Andre for us? You would? That’s great. Thank you, Mrs. Drayson. Shari and I truly need some alone time. We’ll call you later this afternoon. Okay, thanks.”
When he turned back around to face her, Shari was in disbelief. Grant had just made arrangements with her mother to ensure that they would spend the whole day together, just the two of them. “Grant...” She was speechless and her voice caught in her throat.
“What?” He acted as if he was surprised by her reaction.
“You know what.” Shari threw caution to the wind, tossed off the sheets and jumped naked into Grant’s waiting arms. “You know exactly what I need.”
* * *
Their day together was everything Shari could have hoped for. After making love again, they had showered and set about seeing more of Los Angeles. Their first stop was a tour of Warner Bros. studio where they would get a behind-the-scenes glance of how movies and TV shows were made at the studio.
Shari was excited as they waited at the Warner Bros. gift store for the tour to begin. Holding hands, she and Grant perused the merchandise while sipping on Starbucks coffee. Shari felt like a normal couple on vacation.
Their tour guide, EJ, took them around on a golf cart big enough to sit eight. Shari and Grant were squeezed together, but she didn’t mind at all. She was having the time of her life. The guide was very knowledgeable as he took them around the back lot and sound stage. He explained the film processes and how the studio’s set could be altered. Shari discovered Grant was quite the movie aficionado and asked lots of questions.
Halfway through their two-and-a-half-hour tour, they were able to walk on the set of a hit television series and browse through some of the costumes and props. They ended the tour by standing in front of a large green screen, which, thanks to Grant’s fascination with Batman, had a bat backdrop.
“That was fun,” Shari said once they were back in the rental car after the tour with their Batman photo in hand.
“You needed to let your hair down,” Grant replied, starting the engine. “You know, have some fun. The Draysons have been taking this You Take the Cake competition way too seriously.”
“If a member of my family heard you say that, it would be sacrilege.”
“What if Lillian’s doesn’t win?” Grant inquired as he eased out of the parking lot and onto the highway.
Shari didn’t hesitate with a response. “That’s not an option. Although she says otherwise, Grandma will accept nothing less than a win, especially going against Dina.”
Grant nodded in understanding. “I just see what this competition and the rivalry between the two bakeries is doing to you.”
“Being here with you is helping,” Shari said, smiling in his direction.
“I’m glad,” Grant said, offering her an irresistibly devastating grin, “but this tour wasn’t all I have in store for you today.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s next?”
“You’ll see.”
They took a short drive to Long Beach marina. Shari was confused by their destination because she was not a boat woman. The only time she’d ever been on a boat was a family dinner cruise on the Spirit of Chicago on Lake Michigan. “Are we sailing?” she asked, looking apprehensively at the watercrafts.
“No, we�
��re going on that.” He pointed to the fleet of gondolas waiting down by the docks. “C’mon.” Grant grasped her hand and led her to a white picket fence decorated with flowers. They walked down the wooden dock to a two-person gondola where a gondolier stood in a costume of a black-and-white-striped shirt and black pants with a red sash.
“Signora.” He reached for Shari’s hand to help her into the gondola. Shari sat down on the cushioned red seat and leaned back against the decorative pillows. She took in the traditional decor of the gondola with its flat bottom, Italian throw rug and pointed decorative nose.
“Signore?” The gondolier helped Grant in the gondola and he scooted in beside Shari on the seat.
“You like it?” he asked, giving her hand a squeeze.
“I love it.” Shari certainly hadn’t expected Grant to come up with something so romantic.
“Your craft, a Sandolo, was imported all the way from Venezia,” the gondolier said with a thick Italian accent. “This evening I will take you on a sunset tour of Naples Island through the canals for your recreational pleasure. In the basket you will find chilled champagne and a variety of meats and cheeses.”
Shari turned to Grant. “This is wonderful and incredibly romantic.”
“Anything for my wife.” Grant leaned in closer to Shari and brushed his lips across hers.
The gondolier didn’t seem to mind their outward display of affection. Heck, he was probably used to it. He pushed away from the marina with a large wooden oar without saying a word. He took them on a ride through the inland waterways, and serenaded them in Italian. During the course of the ride, Grant popped open the bottle of champagne and poured Shari a glass.
“To us.” He held up his champagne flute.
“To us.” Shari tapped her flute against his and then took a sip. Then she leaned back into Grant’s arms to admire her surroundings.
Their tour took them through several canals, allowing Shari and Grant to see all the decorated homes along the canals. Some were contemporary; others looked like a throwback to days gone by. Many of the homes had their own personal dock with a sailboat or small yacht moored there.
“Look at that.” Grant pointed to the sun setting in the distance with various shades of orange, red and yellow. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yes, it is.” Shari snuggled closer into his chest. She could smell the musky scent of his cologne. It suited him and smelled completely male.
Grant’s hand threaded through her hair and he pulled her closer so his mouth could claim hers. And he didn’t just claim her mouth; he made her totally his with tantalizing deep strokes of his tongue that Shari returned with a hunger of her own. He kissed her lingeringly, succulently. He tasted her as if he’d never kissed her before. When he finally pulled away, Shari could see lust lurking in his green eyes. “We’ll finish this later.”
“Promise?”
“I will have you screaming out my name,” Grant murmured in her ear.
Once back at the dock, Shari and Grant thanked the gondolier, who received a very generous tip from Grant. Soon they were back in the rental car and on their way back to Los Angeles.
* * *
Grant didn’t notice Shari was quiet on the ride back because he was lost in his own thoughts. Their day together had shown him what it would be like to really be invested in his marriage to Shari. He had such a pent-up longing for this woman since their college days and now that he’d indulged it, the experience was better than he could have ever imagined. He’d wasted years not knowing what it would be like to kiss her, to taste her, to drive deep inside her until he reached her very soul.
He was falling for her. He’d probably been in love with her from the day he’d met her, but they’d both been too scared to act on their feelings. He’d been waiting for a sign from Shari back then and the only one she’d given him had been the night they’d created Andre. Afterward, he would have given anything for her to say that she wanted to be with him, but she’d shunned him instead by telling him that what they’d shared had been nothing more than a hookup.
That night hadn’t been how he’d envisioned being with Shari the first time. He’d wanted to romance her, court her and then make sweet love to her. So his pride had been admittedly stung by her rejection of him.
But Shari wasn’t rejecting him now. She was giving herself to him. Last night, she’d been a giving and expressive lover, intent on pleasing him. And she had done that and more. She’d touched him. She’d shown him that they fit together perfectly in and out of bed. Now he just needed Shari to say that she felt the same.
Chapter 12
When they arrived back at the hotel, the Drayson family was milling around in the lobby, talking and having drinks. Shari didn’t see Andre, so she assumed he was upstairs with her mother.
“Look at the lovebirds!” her sister Monica teased, sipping on a green cocktail. Even though Monica was legal, Shari still wasn’t used to her little sister drinking alcoholic beverages.
“Hello, hello.” Shari waved at everyone. “Did Lillian’s bring home another win?”
“We killed it, of course,” Drake replied as if her question was ludicrous. “We are the best in the business. Now it’s just down to us and Dina.”
“Yeah,” Monica said. “And I helped.”
Shari raised a brow. “Did you?” She thought her sister was more interested in the business side of running the bakery rather than actually getting her hands dirty.
“What country did you get?” Shari inquired.
“Germany,” Malik said as he came forward into the middle of the group with her cousin Belinda. Shari could see a touch of lipstick on his lips, which meant they’d been in a corner canoodling. Their wedding was this summer and knowing her cousin Belinda, a perfectionist, everything would be of the highest standard. Thank God she hadn’t scared off Malik with her strong and independent streak. He was a great guy.
“That should have been easy,” Shari responded. She was familiar with her cakes. “Did you guys do a streusel, a coffee cake or Black Forest?”
Before Malik could answer, Drake replied, “That would have been too easy and that’s what Delovely Cakemakers and Brown Sugar did. And Delovely got axed. But me? I’d already done my research online, since Germany was an obvious choice, so we did a buttercream, dark chocolate Prinzregententorte.”
Shari had no idea what the cake was, but she could see Drake was very impressed with his internet skills. But after her amazing day with Grant, she wasn’t about to let anything or anyone get to her. “Good for you.”
“Well, we had to rise to the occasion to fight off Dina and Brown Sugar Bakery since you abandoned us in favor of gallivanting with your husband,” Drake said. “But no matter. You’ll be up against Dina tomorrow.”
Shari didn’t appreciate Drake’s remark. “Gallivanting? We are newly married and we chose to forego our honeymoon to come here.”
“Perhaps you should have postponed this quickie wedding until after the competition,” Drake returned. “What’s more important to you?”
“How dare you question my commitment to Lillian’s,” Shari shot back, putting her hands on her hips. She could see that several hotel patrons were looking at them, but she didn’t care.
“I don’t think that’s what Drake meant,” Belinda said, defending her brother.
“That’s exactly what he meant,” Shari replied curtly, glaring at Drake. “I’ve be working there just a tad longer than you, Drake.”
“By what, a year?” Drake chuckled. “Look at what Carter, Malik and I are doing with our blog and cookbook. The buzz we are bringing to Lillian’s. What are you doing?”
Grant jumped into the fray. “She’s bringing Robinson Restaurants, one of the premier restaurant chains, to you. Selling exclusive Lillian’s desserts.”
“I appreci
ate you stepping in,” Shari whispered in his ear, “but I don’t need you to fight my battles.” She turned back to her cousin Drake. “I work just as hard as you, Drake, actually longer, because while you’re fiddling around on your computer, I’m putting time in the kitchen. Without us worker bees, putting out quality Lillian’s bakery products day in and day out, your blog and cookbook wouldn’t be a success. Now if you’ll excuse me, my husband and I are going to finish our evening.”
Shari stalked off toward the elevator, leaving a surprised Grant to follow behind her.
* * *
Grant saw the stunned look on Shari’s cousins’ faces. They probably weren’t used to Shari standing up for herself, but she had, and Grant was proud of her.
He found her pacing at the elevator. “Please don’t let them ruin our day,” he said, taking both of her hands in his. When she didn’t look at him, Grant gave them a gentle squeeze.
Shari finally looked up at him and he could see that although she’d put on a good front, tears were shimmering in her eyes. “C’mon.” He wrapped his arms around her and led her into the elevator.
Once they were in their room and he’d checked in with Mrs. Drayson and found that Andre was sleeping comfortably in their room, he joined Shari in the living area. “So how about some dinner?”
“I’m not really up for someplace fancy,” Shari said.
“That’s okay. We can have dinner here at the hotel. They have a highly regarded restaurant with a beautiful view of the Hollywood Hills.”
“That sounds perfect.”
* * *
After a quick shower, Shari and Grant dined in the hotel restaurant. The maître d’ set them by the window with a gorgeous view of the city of Los Angeles.
“I’m sorry about earlier.” Shari was embarrassed by her family’s antics and her reaction to them. She was undervalued by several members of the Drayson family, but tonight was the first time she hadn’t taken it lying down.
“Why are you apologizing?” Grant asked. “You didn’t start it. Drake was razzing you from the moment we said hello.”
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