“Why not?”
“Because when we got there, I overheard someone say, ‘Ten to one, Penny Plumpernickel spends the whole day at the dessert platz.’ ” Her cheeks turned red. “I liked my desserts, and it showed. It still does.”
His eyes raked up and down her luscious curves, the protest right there, burning on his lips. If she only knew how fucking beautiful she was.
“The point is, I have always regretted not trying that cake. For pretending to be someone I wasn’t just to meet someone else’s expectations. I like dessert. I’m going to eat dessert if I want, and to hell with anyone who doesn’t like it.”
“Okay.” He wasn’t sure where this was going, but he had an idea. “What does that have to do with me?”
She turned the full force of her gaze on him. “You, Jaxson Adams, are my bienenstich. I want a taste, just one, before I go back to my everyday menu.”
He blinked at her until she shifted uncomfortably.
“If I’m wrong and you’re not attracted to me, just say so. I’ll go and never bother you again. But if you are, this might be our only chance, and I don’t want to spend the next ten years regretting that I didn’t at least try to take it.”
* * *
Two steps—that was all it took before she was pressed tight against him.
His hands cupped the base of her head and tilted her gaze up to his. Beneath his palms, her pulse thrummed wildly, and her breath caught.
He lowered his lips to a mere hairbreadth from hers. “Are you sure?” he asked, his voice a hoarse whisper.
“I’m sure,” she whispered. “So very sure.”
That was what he needed to hear. He closed the remaining distance and captured her mouth. Her hands gripped at his upper arms, the scrape of her nails only slightly dulled by the fabric.
He allowed his hands to explore some of those curves he’d been fantasizing about. Along the sides of full, plump breasts. Inward, along the natural flow of her waist. Then back out, following the flare of her hips.
Jaxson groaned and moved to her ass, filling his large hands and pulling her tighter against him. She gasped into his mouth at the feel of his hardness pressing against her belly.
He wasn’t the only one with roaming hands. Hers had moved, too, and were inching their way up under his shirt, over his abs, mapping out each dip and ridge.
“Off,” she demanded.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Without completely relinquishing his hold, he used one arm to reach behind him, grab his shirt, and pull it over his head.
Her eyes glittered as she looked over his bared chest with blatant appreciation. Without warning, she leaned forward and licked, sending shivers down his spine and right into his balls.
“Your turn.”
She stepped back only far enough to cross her arms, grab the edges of her top, and lift upward, revealing the full extent of the lushness he’d only imagined before this point. Before she had the shirt fully over her head, he leaned down and tongued the hardened peak clearly visible through the pink satin.
She tossed the shirt, grabbed his hair with both hands, and arched her back, demanding more.
He was happy to oblige. He was happy to do a lot of things. Using his bigger body, he backed toward the bed, bringing her with him. Sinking down, he coaxed her to straddle his lap. Then, he reached around and unfastened her bra at the back. He wasted no time in slipping the straps down her arms and tossing it off to the side.
“Fucking gorgeous,” he murmured. His mouth was watering for a taste.
She gasped when he wrapped his lips around one taut nipple and sucked, tongued, and bit lightly. The way she rocked her hips suggested she liked that. He was glad because he sure as hell did.
They made out like teenagers, both topless, hands busy, intent on exploring and stroking. He’d forgotten how much fun foreplay could be.
She was breathing heavily when she finally pushed herself off his lap and began to tug at his jeans. He stopped her.
“Not yet.”
Her pout was adorable. “Why not?”
Because if she got her hands—or worse, her mouth—on him, he wouldn’t last. Yeah, it had been a while, and even if it hadn’t, the woman lit a fire in his blood. If they only got one night together, he was going to make damn sure it was a good one.
“Haven’t you ever played baseball before?”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, looking at him with dazed, lust-filled eyes.
“You can’t go from second base straight to home. It’s against the rules.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Penny
This was a side of Jaxson she hadn’t seen before. Gone was the brooding, guarded man, and in his place was a sexy, playful guy who looked just like him.
One minute, she was straddling his hips, enjoying the feel of his hands and lips on her body. The next, she was lying on her back while Jaxson tugged her yoga pants over her hips.
She lifted her hips to help, then propped herself up onto her elbows to watch what he would do next.
He grinned wickedly and ran his fingers over the part of her craving his touch. She knew she was wet. Embarrassingly so.
It was hard to feel self-conscious when his eyes burned with such lust, however.
“Is this all for me?” He ran his fingers through her folds.
She felt it acutely, as if her nerve endings had ramped themselves up for the occasion. A delicious shudder racked her body.
She nodded.
He hummed appreciatively, and then he leaned forward and put his tongue where his finger had been. A sound ripped, unbidden, from her throat, and her hips arched upward, much as her chest had when he applied those wicked tongue skills there, too.
As for his finger, that had relocated as well and was now stroking in lazy circles around her entrance. Teasing. Exploring,
Then, he slid inside her, and tiny lights burst across her vision.
He had long fingers. Strong ones.
One finger became two, then three, and soon, she was riding his hand, chasing down what she knew instinctively was going to be one hell of an orgasm. His strokes grew faster and more demanding, taking her even higher. Then, he sucked and swirled his tongue just right, and she was free-falling into bliss.
“Wow,” she said as he lapped gently between her legs. “I think I like baseball.”
He laughed softly and kissed his way back up her body.
“My turn at bat?” she asked hopefully.
“Not yet.”
“That hardly seems fair.”
“Life isn’t fair. And I’m still up.”
“I know,” she said, glancing pointedly downward toward the large bulge in his jeans. “Kind of my point.” To emphasize, she slipped her hand between them, stroking him through the denim. He was hard. Like iron hard. And big.
Though she was still tingling, a fresh wave of desire began to build at the thought of that inside her.
She pushed at his shoulders, a silent demand for him to roll onto his back. He didn’t budge, choosing instead to lavish attention on her breasts again.
“Jaxson, please.”
He looked up and met her gaze. “Penny, you don’t have to.”
“I know I don’t have to. I want to.”
He sighed heavily but did as she’d asked and rolled to his back. She wasted no time in unfastening his jeans and pulling them down over his hips.