Plus, his home was a bit intimidating.
The idea came to him the other night when they were on the phone. It was late and Leanna was working on some fondant in her kitchen at home and even though she tried so hard not to complain, she was clearly frustrated with all the constraints. He thought about his own kitchen which literally never got used and realized if anyone was going to christen it, it should be Lea. Why? Because he loved seeing her happy and smiling.
Plus, he knew he would be greatly rewarded in the sexiest of ways when she was done.
He’d gladly pass on any of the sweet treats she baked, but he’d never turn down an opportunity to get her naked and screaming his name.
The plan was to offer to whisk her away for a staycation at his place for the weekend. She had no events that she had to bake for and according to her, at noon on Friday, she was officially off the clock until Monday morning.
And Brody made sure he cleared his schedule so he was off for the same amount of time.
His assistant practically needed oxygen when he told her, but then she must have realized she’d be free of him for half a day and immediately cheered up and felt better.
If he were a lesser man, he’d take offense to her reaction, but he was feeling too good about his life to do it.
So for now he was heading home to work out for an hour before showering and heading over to Leanna’s. His triathlon was a little more than a month away and he was feeling like he was in the best shape of his life. Perhaps adding a little sexual activity to his workouts had kicked things up a notch or maybe it was because he finally had a little joy in his life and wasn’t solely focused on King Hospitality and training. Either way, he was pleased with the progress he’d made and so was his trainer.
He pulled into his driveway and turned off the car but didn’t get out. Instead, he called Lea.
“Hey, you,” she said when she answered and he wished he’d thought to video chat because he could practically hear her smiling and now he wanted to see her face.
“Hey,” he replied smoothly. “How’s your day going? We still good for six?”
“Absolutely! I went shopping earlier and Patricia is helping me prep everything so I won’t have to do as much when I get home.”
“You shouldn’t have to do anything after working all day. I can still pick up some takeout on my way over. Just say the word and…”
“Nonsense! I enjoy cooking. Not as much as baking, but I still enjoy it. And I think you’re really going to love this dish.”
“Oh, really? You still haven’t told me what it is,” he teased.
“I didn’t? Hmm…well it’s Argentinian-style churrasco skewers with chimichurri sauce. That’s our main course. But we’re staring out with mozzarella spiedini.”
“Um…”
“And for dessert, I totally planned it with only you in mind–grilled fruit kabobs with yogurt and honey. Doesn’t that all sound amazing? I’m so excited for you to try it!”
“Okay, I’m sure I’m going to sound like a complete idiot but…none of that made sense. The only thing I understood was the dessert.”
“That’s because you have a weird obsession with fruit,” she deadpanned.
“Lea…”
“Okay, okay, okay…our entrée is basically marinated steak kabobs with squash, cherry tomatoes, and eggplant with a chimichurri sauce.”
“Wow, that actually does sound fantastic! And what was the appetizer?”
“Fresh mozzarella with cherry tomatoes on toasted rosemary branches and served with a warm baguette and drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.”
“And that sounds equally delicious!” he said, suddenly starving. “But it sounds like you’re doing far too much. I would have been happy with a pizza.”
“I told you I wanted to cook…”
“Then I would have been happy with some spaghetti or a grilled cheese sandwich. I hate to think of you putting in all this work for me. You’re spoiling me.”
“Well, maybe I think you deserve to be spoiled,” she replied sweetly. “I think for someone who grew up with everything you could ever want, it seems like no one has gone out of their way to personally spoil you. So I’ve appointed myself to be that person.”
“You have, huh?”
“Absolutely! Just wait till you see what I’ll be wearing while I’m cooking all this.”
He groaned. “You are killing me. Are you sure you can’t leave work now? I can meet you at your place in fifteen minutes.”
“No can do. But I promise it will all be worth it.”
“I know it will, beautiful. I know it will.” He paused. “Well since I have to wait, I guess I’ll go and burn off this frustration on the treadmill.”
“Poor baby. Don’t work too hard and I’ll see you soon.”
“Yes, you will.” And when he hung up, her words stayed with him.
No one had ever accused him of lacking anything, but his parents always made it seem like they refused to spoil them. Their wealth meant they could have whatever they wanted, but it was everything in moderation and there had to be a reason for the things they received.
The way Leanna spoiled him was completely different.
It was personal.
It was affectionate.
And it was becoming everything to him.
Chapter 10
Good things come to those who bake.
Dinner was delicious.
Dessert was delectable.
But neither came close to the absolute satisfaction Leanna felt as she lay breathless and a little sweaty on top of Brody.
“I promise to buy you another French maid costume,” he said as his hand gently skimmed up and down her spine.
Yeah, she’d decided to be a little naughty and bought the costume just to see what he thought.
Considering he’d lifted her off her feet as soon as he arrived and made love to her furiously against the door told her he liked it.
Then there was round two on the kitchen counter while she was trying to get dessert ready.
By the time they finally made it to the bedroom, the costume was practically shredded and it was the best fifty bucks she had ever spent.
“You don’t have to do that,” she told him, placing a kiss on his chest. “I was thinking of maybe going with a sexy nurse or something next time.”
He chuckled softly. “You want to play doctor?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Every Halloween you hear guys talking about how they want their girlfriends to dress up as sexy nurses. I figured it was a thing.”
“Sweetheart, men always want their girlfriends to dress in sexy costumes. Any sexy costume.”
Lifting her head, she looked down at him. “What’s your preference?”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever given it much thought, but off the top of my head I’d have to say…sexy baker.”
Leanna rolled her eyes as she went to move off of him, but his strong arms held her steady. “Be serious.”
“I am! What would you like me to say? Should I go for the cliches of sexy cheerleader? Sexy Catholic schoolgirl? Or maybe Wonder Woman? I mean, come on. Think about it.”