Jayme was the woman he’d dreamed about in his lonelier days. When he’d thought about the kind of person he wanted to spend his life with, she was it. She didn’t let things get her down, was always upbeat, fun to be around, sensual, and considerate. Rocket was damn lucky, and he knew it. He wanted to be her rock, the person she looked to when she was happy, sad, frightened. He wanted to be everything to her.
So he’d talked to his boss and managed to get the afternoon off so he could be here when Jayme met with her contractor. He’d done some work already, and they’d both been pleased with it, so now Jayme was discussing the second phase of her vision for the bakery.
She looked over and caught his eye and smiled at him. Rocket grinned back and waited for her to finish her overenthusiastic explanation of what she wanted where, and which paint colors she wanted the man to use.
Twenty minutes later, the contractor said he’d get some drawings made up for her to look at within a week. She shook his hand and walked toward Rocket as the man left. She walked into his personal space and lay her head on his chest.
He wrapped his arms around her and asked, “Happy?”
“Extremely,” Jayme replied, but then, strangely, she pulled out of his arms and headed for the door.
Standing up straight, wondering what was wrong, Rocket watched as she merely locked the front door and came back toward him.
When she got close enough, Jayme grabbed his hand and started to tow him toward the back of the space, into the kitchen area. Frowning, Rocket asked, “You all right, love?”
“I’m great,” she said perkily, stopping in front of the huge countertop she’d had installed. It was big enough for several people to roll dough at the same time. Someone could decorate a cake on one side, while someone else prepared cookies or cupcakes or whatever. It was gray marble, and Rocket couldn’t help but be flattered it mirrored the counter in his own kitchen. Jayme had told him she loved his kitchen so much that she couldn’t imagine anything better than copying the design here in her store.
She hopped up on the counter and crooked her finger at him. “Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you helping me get my bakery up and running?”
“Yup,” Rocket told her. “And while we both trust your contractor, I’m not one hundred percent comfortable with you being here alone with him.”
“Rocket, he’s like sixty-five, I didn’t think he was gonna jump me while I explained what I wanted for the public space of my store.”
“Don’t care,” Rocket said. And he didn’t. He didn’t think the man would’ve done anything to hurt Jayme, but he also wasn’t willing to take that chance. “Besides, I really just wanted to spend some time with you today. I feel as if we haven’t had much lately.”
“I know,” Jayme said, as she pulled him toward her. She spread her legs apart and hooked her ankles together at the small of his back. “You’ve been working really hard too. Everything all right?”
“Yeah. A few units are getting ready to deploy after the holidays and we’ve been working overtime to make sure the choppers are all in tip-top shape for them.”
“I’m proud of you,” Jayme said, and Rocket felt his chest expand.
He liked making her proud. It felt good. “So? Did you have something in mind when you dragged me back here?”
She grinned. “Maybe,” she said coyly.
Rocket loved when she got like this. He wanted her pretty much every minute of every day, but he did his best to rein in his libido so he didn’t overwhelm her. She didn’t usually make the first move when it came to sex, but when she did, their encounters were always over-the-top hot.
“Here?” he asked, wanting to make sure she felt comfortable. They’d made love here before, but that was right after she’d bought the building and there hadn’t been anything inside other than cobwebs and a few bits of odd furniture.
“I want to think about you every time I’m in here. When I’m icing a cake, I want to think of your hands on me. When I’m rolling out the dough for homemade bread, I want to remember the look in your eyes when you orgasmed. So yeah, Rocket. Here.”
“Fuck, I love you,” he said reverently, then immediately grasped the hem of her blouse and drew it up and over her head.
Jayme laughed and leaned back on her hands, thrusting her chest forward. Rocket was thrilled with how, over the months they’d been together, she’d lost a lot of her shyness around him. He adored how she looked and made sure to tell her every day.
She unhooked her legs from around his waist and spread them as far apart as she could before she lay back on the cold marble.
“Looks like there’s a feast laid out just for me,” Rocket quipped.
Jayme laughed and lifted her head. “Just for you. Only you,” she told him.
Rocket quickly unbuttoned her jeans and opened the zipper. He ripped her jeans and underwear off her legs, and her laugh turned into a moan when his hands lifted her ass and his head dropped.
An hour and a half later, they were on the way home. Rocket couldn’t remember being this happy and sated. The ring he’d bought a couple months ago was burning a hole in his pocket, so to speak. He’d wanted to ask her to marry him a hundred times since he’d bought it, but he also wanted to make his proposal a moment she’d always remember. And he hadn’t been able to come up with anything that he thought was good enough.
He hated that slight insecurity, but he never wanted her to feel cheated about anything to do with their relationship. He wanted to give her a story she could pass on to their kids.
Kids. God, he wanted to see her beautiful blue eyes on a daughter of their own. Their children would hopefully inherit her smile, her nose, her complexion. He already loved them more than he could ever say, and they hadn’t even done more than talk about the fact they wanted kids…someday.
“Rocket?” she asked.
“Yeah, love?”
“Thank you for believing in me.”
“Always,” he told her fervently.
“I know the building cost a ton, and the money it’s costing to renovate things and to make it fit my vision is over the top, but it means a lot to me that you haven’t, not once, told me I’m being ridiculous. That maybe I should be more frugal until I know if the bakery is gonna be successful.”
Rocket reached for her hand and held it tightly. “One, if you half-assed your business, people would notice and wouldn’t take you as seriously. Two, you’re not being ridiculous at all. It’s your money, you’ve saved for a long time, and I’d be a douche if I started dictating what you can and can’t spend it on. And three, there’s no ‘if’ about it, Warm Delights is gonna be successful. Wanna know how I know?”
“How?” she asked, tears shining in her eyes.
“Because I’ve eaten your treats. And they’re fucking phenomenal. Anyone who orders something from your shop is immediately going to become a repeat customer. I predict within six months of opening your doors, you’re going to have every special order slot filled for months in advance. You’re going to have to hire more help, and you’ll even need to think about expanding.”