With This Cake: A Meet Me At The Altar Novel

by Samantha Chase

  “I’m wide awake now,” she said breathlessly, knowing he was as turned on as she was. “And I really love it when you kiss me everywhere.”

  He didn’t need to be asked twice.

  In the blink of an eye, he was stretched out on top of her–kissing her lips, capturing her moans and sighs as she wrapped her arms and legs around him. It was both arousing and soothing at the same time.

  Wet kisses.

  Deep kisses.

  Soft kisses.

  On and on and on and he knew he’d never get enough.

  But he also knew he could come back to them. Right now, there were so many other places that he was dying to taste and when he lifted his head and gave her a wicked grin, she licked her lips in response and whispered, “Please.”

  Slowly, he made his way along her jaw, nipping at her earlobe, and then her shoulder.

  Arching her back under him, she hummed with pleasure.

  Moving a little farther down, he teased one nipple with his tongue when gently caressing the other with his hand.

  Leanna moaned again. “I love it when you do that…”

  Her admission made him smile.

  And while he could have very easily set up camp right there for a little while, there were other places he wanted to give attention to. Every time he stopped in a particular spot, he’d get her writhing beneath him.

  “Mmm…that too,” she panted. “I love that.”

  But when he got to the spot he most wanted and did settle in, it took very little time to have her crying out his name.

  “Yes, Brody,” she whispered, her hands anchored in his hair. “I love that…love that…” she chanted over and over. “Love that…love you…”

  Maybe he hadn’t heard her right, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was making her feel good before making his way back up her body and sealing her cries of release with his mouth on hers. They were both a little frantic by then and when he rolled them over so Leanna was on top of him, he was more than ready for a little pleasure of his own.

  Chapter 13

  Life is what you bake of it.

  “So…wait. They canceled again?”

  Leanna nodded. “They canceled again. Third time.”

  “Sweetie, I hate to say this, but…”

  “But do I think it’s not his parents that are canceling, but Brody just saying that because I have a big damn mouth while in the throes of an orgasm? Yes!”

  Josie and Skylar looked at each other before they gave her sympathetic looks.

  “Ugh…me and my big mouth,” Lea sighed, dropping her head onto her desk. “Why did I have to say it then?”

  “It was three weeks ago,” Josie reminded her. “And maybe he didn’t hear you say it.” She paused. “You haven’t said it again since, have you?”

  “No, of course not. When I realized what I’d said, I had surprised myself. But when Brody didn’t react or respond, I figured maybe I was wrong and…you know…I didn’t say it.”

  “So why do you think you did? If he hasn’t brought it up, then I don’t understand what’s happening right now,” Skye said.

  “Because he hasn’t asked me for another extended sleepover, for starters.”

  “Lea, you’re over there all the time,” Josie commented. “Like other than the nights that we’re at events until it’s really late, you’re sleeping over at Brody’s.”

  “Okay, fine. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but you have to admit the whole parent thing is weird. The Kings don’t strike me as the type who continually cancel like that.”

  “And why did they cancel the first time?” Skye asked. “Like what was the reason Brody gave you?”

  “He said his mother had a migraine. Then his father was away on business. And now he just messaged that his father wasn’t feeling well, so…” She looked between her two best friends. “It’s suspicious, right? Like completely suspicious.”

  “I want to say no, but…”

  “No, it’s completely suspicious and you need to confront Brody about it,” Josie stated. “It’s the only way you’re going to have peace. And while you’re at it, you should probably address the whole ‘I love you’ thing too.”

  She banged her head gently against the desktop. “Do I have to?”

  “I think I speak for everyone when I say yes, you have to. If for no other reason than to put us all out of our misery.”

  Lifting her head, she glared at Josie. “Gee, I’m so sorry that this is difficult for you.”

  “Now look what you’ve done,” Skye said, shaking a finger at Josie. “You’ve made her get sarcastic! She’s the least sarcastic out of all of us. Stop poking at her!”

  “I’m not poking, I’m just being honest!” Josie cried with frustration before she faced Lea again. “You and I already talked about this and you know I’m right. You have to talk to Brody and clear the air.”

  Closing her eyes, she groaned. “I know. I know. I just…” Sighing, she let the thought hang there because they all already knew what she was thinking. After a few minutes, she straightened and reached for her purse.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I have to go talk to him. Now. You’re right. I can’t keep going on like this.” She stood and fished her keys out of her bag as she stepped around her desk. “Emilie’s got everything under control with the cake for the Perrys.”

  “Wait,” Skye said as she rose to come after her. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  Lea’s shoulders sagged. “Want to? No. Need to?” She nodded.

  Skye grabbed her and hugged her. “We’re here if you need us.”

  “Thanks.” Stopping in the kitchen, Leanna walked into the massive refrigerator and pulled out a tray of chocolate chip muffins. According to Brody, they were one of his assistant’s favorites and she had planned on bringing them to his house later for him to give to her. But considering she was going there now, it just made sense for her to bring them herself.

  It was weird how calm she felt as she got into her car and made her way over to Brody’s office. She had no idea what she was going to say when she got there or if she’d even be able to see him–she knew how busy he tended to be–but she knew she had to try.

  “I’ll start with asking about his parents,” she reasoned. “And then take it from there.”

  She prayed she wasn’t making a huge mistake.

  Security stopped her in the lobby of the massive building and Margaret was the one to clear her to go up. Once on the twelfth floor, Leanna stepped off the elevator and put a big smile on her face.

  “Leanna! This is a surprise,” Margaret said with a smile of her own. “Mr. King didn’t mention you were coming.”

  “Well…I didn’t tell him,” she said nervously before holding out the box of muffins. “But I did make these for you so even if Brody’s busy, it was worth the trip so I could give these to you in person.”

  “Oh, my goodness!” Margaret opened the box and inhaled deeply. “Are these chocolate chip?”

  “They are and I tasted one myself to make sure they were yummy enough and trust me, they are!”

  “Like they could possibly be anything else!” Placing the box down, she glanced down at her computer screen. “You lucked out. Mr. King’s schedule is clear for the next two hours so you’re good.”

  She wrung her hands, secretly disappointed that he wasn’t busy. There was a flutter of nerves in her belly and she began to second-guess her rash decision to come here.

  “Would you like me to let him know you’re here or do you want to just go in and surprise him?” Margaret asked while still lovingly cradling the box of muffins.

  “Um…I guess I’ll just go in. Thanks.”

  “And thank you for the treats, Lea!”

  With a weak smile, Leanna turned and walked toward Brody’s office door. She knocked softly before letting herself in.

  To say Brody was surprised was an understatement. His dark eyes went wide and for a moment he didn’t move.


  Or blink.

  Then he rose and smiled at her. “Leanna! Is everything all right? What are you doing here?”

  There wasn’t anything accusatory in his tone, but she still felt a bit ill at ease. “I um…I made a batch of chocolate chip muffins for Margaret and decided to deliver them myself.”

  He kissed her thoroughly on the lips and she practically melted against him while telling herself she had possibly misread the situation between them.

  Carefully, he walked her over to the sofa and guided them both down, his lips never leaving hers.

  So good…

  When Brody finally lifted his head, he smiled at her. “Have you had lunch yet? Would you like to go get something to eat? Or I can have something brought in?”

  She chewed her bottom lip because lunch would be a great distraction, but she didn’t think she could eat anything right now with her stomach in knots.

  “Um…no. I’m not hungry.”

  He studied her for a minute. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look like you’ve got something on your mind.”

  And there was her opening…

  “I want to know why you won’t take me to your parents’ house!” she blurted out.

  “Excuse me?”

  Nodding, she went on. “Yeah. I think it’s kind of weird how they invited us and now–according to you, at least–they keep canceling. And you know what? I don’t think they are. I think you don’t want me to go there so you keep making up excuses and I want to know why!”

  His eyes went wide and she thought he looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

  “Leanna,” he began cautiously. “That’s not the case at all; you’ve got to believe me. My mother really does suffer from migraines–she has ever since she was a teenager. Then my father had a meeting overseas and he just got back and is feeling exhausted and asked if we could postpone. He’s in the office right now. If you’d like, I can ask him to come in here…”

  “No!” she said quickly, feeling her cheeks heat with embarrassment. And dammit, now she went and made a complete fool out of herself.

  They sat in silence for a solid minute before he spoke. “I don’t know why you would think I’d lie about something like this. You and I talked about how I felt about going there and I thought we had a good plan to get through it. Why would I suddenly change my mind?”

  Considering she’d already opened the door to this, she might as well follow through.

  “I…” She let out a long breath and started again. “I thought you were having second thoughts because of…you know…what I said that night in bed.”

  He stared at her blankly.

  Ugh…

  “You know…the night you worked late,” she prompted, hoping he wouldn’t make her say it. Judging by the look on his face though, she needed to spell it out. “We got into bed and were…doing things and I said that I loved you.”

  “O-kay…but I don’t see what that has to do with lying about having dinner with my family.”

  Her shoulders sagged as she groaned. “Brody…work with me here!” she huffed. “I thought I freaked you out by…you know…saying what I said and now you didn’t want me around your family.”

  There were several scenarios she had played out in her head when they talked about this and in none of them did he laugh.

  Like he was right now.

  “Brody! Seriously?! It’s not funny!”

  “Oh, love, but it is! Do you realize how crazy that all sounds?”

  She knew it did, but there was no way she was admitting that to him.

  “And as for what you said in bed, I thought it was just…you know…something said in the heat of the moment,” he reasoned as he composed himself.

  “Oh.”

  “Oh?” he repeated. “Leanna, do you really think I’m that shallow that I’d make up all kinds of excuses to keep you away from my family because of something you said while we were in bed?”

  “Um…”

  “You know I’m not thrilled at the prospect of going to dinner with them. I don’t like being on the spot like that and with you being with me they’re going to ask a ton of questions and want to know all about our relationship. I’m a very private person and that sort of situation makes me more than a little uncomfortable.” He paused. “However, we can’t avoid it forever and I know you’ll be able to dazzle them with your personality and will know when to distract them or divert the conversation. I’m not dreading it nearly as much as I was at the initial invitation.”

  She nodded and knew he was trying to make her feel better, but…he wasn’t. If anything, it felt a little like the fake bit they did during the engagement party weekend. She’d make him look good and keep them from harping on him about anything. Only this time there was no bonus for her; her family wasn’t going to be there.

  Charlene would but…she didn’t really count.

  Not sure what to say, she simply nodded.

  And wished the floor would open up and swallow her because she had no idea how to leave gracefully at this point.

  Finally, she forced herself to look at him and smile. “I’m sorry I doubted you then,” she said, but her words sounded stilted even to her own ears. “And I’m sorry I interrupted your day. I should go.”

  Clearly Brody wasn’t expecting that because she was halfway to the door before he stood and called her name.

  Dammit.

  Something was definitely wrong and for the life of him, Brody had no idea what it was.

  He thought he’d cleared everything up so why was Leanna bolting for the door?

  “Hey,” he said when he caught up to her, his hand gently grasping her arm. “What just happened here?”

  She wouldn’t look at him–not directly–and that confirmed his thoughts.

  “Leanna?”

  “Like I said, I’m sorry I interrupted your day over something that was clearly all in my head, so…”

  Guiding her into his arms–which she only resisted for a moment–he kissed the top of her head. “First of all, you didn’t interrupt anything. And secondly, I want you to talk to me when something’s on your mind. Especially if it’s about me and it’s upsetting you.”

  The look she gave him told him she didn’t believe him.

  “Okay, maybe there was a time when that sort of thing would have been…unappealing, but where you’re concerned, I want to know.”

  “Okay.” She said it so quietly that he wasn’t sure he actually heard it.

  With a finger under her chin, he guided her gaze up to his. “I think there’s something else on your mind and I’d really like to know what it is.”

  Her initial response was to groan and rest her head against his chest and he wasn’t sure she was going to say anything, but then…

  “Did it ever occur to you that what I said…you know, that night…wasn’t just the heat of the moment?”

  For a moment he didn’t move–didn’t even blink–because…he had thought about it for barely a second and immediately convinced himself it was nothing. So what was she saying? That it wasn’t nothing? Not just a slip-of-the-tongue sort of thing?

  Carefully, Brody reached up and cupped her face and forced her to look at him again. “Are you saying that you’re in love with me?” His voice was low and gruff and part of him wasn’t sure he was ready for her answer even though now he had to know.

  Silently, she nodded and he felt a tightening in his chest even as he hauled her closer and kissed her–kissed her with everything he had as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to the sofa.

  The door was so far away and he wanted to run over and lock it, but that would mean letting Leanna go and he couldn’t–not right now. Right now, he needed to be close to her. But he wasn’t sure if it was because her admission was a happy surprise or unexpected and confusing. Either way, he wanted to let what she said sink in.

  Love.

  She was in love with him.

  And for the life of him, he had no i
dea how he was supposed to feel about it.

  All he knew was that he felt…something. And that something had him wanting to stretch them both out on the sofa and do very naughty and sexy things to her.

  When he broke the kiss a few minutes later, that’s exactly what he told her. “I don’t think either of us are capable of being quiet enough to pull it off,” he said huskily, placing a kiss on the tip of her nose. “But if we could, I’d send Margaret to lunch and lock the door.”

  She hummed in that sexy way she had as her hand caressed his chest. “I think I would be too nervous to do something like that in here in the middle of the day.”

  “So you’re saying you’d maybe come by after-hours and try it?” he asked hopefully.

  Kissing him softly, Leanna replied, “I don’t see why not.”

  It would be shallow to say that her response made him fall a little in love with her, so he kept that to himself. Instead, he took one of her hands in his. “So are we good?”

  Nodding, she said, “We’re good.”

  “I swear we’re on for dinner next weekend and I’ll make sure we go no matter what, okay?”

  Another nod.

  “And how about some lunch now?” He knew she turned him down earlier because she was nervous, but now that everything was out in the open, he was sure she’d want to eat with him.

  “How about a rain check?” she said as she rose. There was a smile on her face but…something was just a little off. “Emilie’s handling the work on a cake and I know she’s doing a fabulous job, but…” She shrugged. “I’d feel better if I were there to make sure it was all going well.”

  He stood and nodded because it was something they had in common–the inability to fully delegate anything.

  “I’m going to hold you to that rain check. We’ll have to look at our calendars and work out a time for lunch.”

  “Definitely.”

  “And an evening to come here and not worry about interruptions,” he said smoothly.

  “Sure.” Leaning in, she kissed him on the cheek and turned to walk away. And just like he had earlier, Brody stopped her.