Page 19 of Bake You Mine (Port Fortune #1)

twelve

This was the best kind of surprise. But before he could get a taste of her, he pulled away.

“Are you sure about this?” He kept his gaze on her, enjoying the sight of her cheeks flushed, eyes wild. “I mean, I thought you tolerated me like you do a rash you can’t reach?”

She smirked. “I can be an exceptional liar when I need to be.”

The words were barely out of her mouth before he grabbed her again.

What else was she lying about? He couldn’t wait to find out if the secrets were anything like this one.

The kitchen doors swung closed behind them as his hands encircled her waist. A surprised gasp tumbled out of her lips when he hefted her onto the counter.

Not that he’d spent much time thinking about what he’d do if he got to kiss her.

Lying came easily to them both.

Her legs fell open as she reached for him.

He cupped her chin. “Look at me for a minute.” Their eyes met. “Before we do this, I want you to know something. ”

She leaned against his touch. “Talk fast, then.”

He rubbed his thumb against her chin. “I know I have this reputation. But if we’re doing this…it’s me and you. Got it?”

She exhaled a lengthy breath. “Got it.”

She hooked an arm around his neck. She brought their lips together again.

Her kisses came one after another like firecrackers.

His large frame slipped into the narrow opening of her legs, his rapidly hardening cock pressed against the tender flesh of her stomach.

She shimmied her hips to the edge of the counter until there was no space between them.

Nothing was timid about this kiss. Had she been having dirty thoughts of her own?

He reached out his hand to a button on her jacket that had popped open. He needed to be sure every last bit of her was just as soft as the places he’d already touched. She had to be in his bed, STAT.

Conveniently located only steps away. Before Liam could pose the question, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

Fuuuuuuck.

Ordinarily, he’d ignore it, but the ringtone belonged to Damon.

Liam broke away from Aubrey. “Sorry, it’s Damon. I have to take this.” He brushed his thumb over her cheek as he fished for his phone with his other hand.

He stayed close to her as he answered the call. Her breath was warm against his neck. Her left hand idly toyed underneath his chef’s whites at the small of his back. The subtle movement distracted him, and he was amazed he hadn’t dropped his phone.

“What’s up, man?”

“Sasha’s fuckboy is drunk and causing trouble. Are you gonna come show him what for, or should I?”

Her fingertips trailed further north.

He cleared his throat and tried to focus on the situation. Sasha had broken up with Ryan once and for all, and apparently, he had a hard time understanding the word no. “You start it, I’ll finish it. Call the cops first, okay?”

Damon conceded, and Liam ended the call.

“That sounds like a mess. You should go.”

He cleared his throat, wondering what to do about his rock-hard cock. “Could we meet up later, maybe?” He stepped out of the way, allowing her to hop off the counter.

A subtle shake of her head let him know what she thought. “Let’s keep it at a kiss. Besides, isn’t the waiting half the fun?”

That had been more than a kiss. It made his dirty dreams seem like a fucking canapé when real life was an all-you-can-eat buffet.

“Come on, you have to know that’s bullshit, Aubs. Our chemistry is Scoville-scale hot. There’s no need to wait.”

She stepped around him and out the door. He caught it before it swung in his face.

“You’ll have to wait a little longer to get your taste. Now go help your sister.” She blew him a kiss before disappearing into the shadows.

Aubrey was addictive. The faint smell of her perfume lingered in the air, and he inhaled the scent of her.

He wasn’t one for fighting, but he hoped Damon had the situation at Elevation sorted, because he was pissed at only getting a brief taste of what could be.

Aubrey officially held the title of biggest idiot in Port Fortune .

She fell back onto her bed, grateful her father had dozed off in his armchair with another documentary flickering on the TV.

Why had she chosen the night before the first challenge to kiss Liam? They would be forced together for hours, with little to no breaks. What happened to her battle plans?

What happened to her thoughts that Liam was nothing more than a man whore? It would be easier knowing he had a million other girls. Instead, her brain repeated that one phrase.

It’s me and you.

She groaned as she remembered the kiss. She allowed herself to fall into one of those old daydreams again.

As quickly as the fantasy came, it vanished in a puff of smoke.

In the end, one of them would be moving in, and the other would be moving on.

She’d quickly caught on that Liam was something of a romantic.

Did he mean what he said, or had he merely taken a good guess at what she’d want to hear?

Her phone chirped with a text. In her exhausted state, it took her a moment to realize it was Liam’s tone. She glanced at her phone, which was on the bed. She would tell him to pound sand unless it was official competition business.

Rather than allow her anxiety to rise, she flipped over her phone.

You didn’t have to run away.

The words blurred together. She walked to a cushy armchair by the window. She dropped into it and mulled over what she should say. When nothing clever came to her, she decided to ask the obvious.

Is Sasha okay ?

Immediately, three little dots appeared on the screen, and his message popped up shortly thereafter.

She’s fine. The cops carted his dumb ass away. He had an outstanding warrant, anyway. It’s always the ones with the pretty faces you can’t trust.

She smirked as she typed her response, her fingers flying faster than her brain could catch up.

Are you talking about yourself there, friend?

RUDE.

Unsure of what to say, she looked out the window. Moonlight reflected on the Rappahannock’s clear surface, visible through the rustling leaves.

She pulled a blanket from the back of her chair onto her lap. Fall was officially here. Visions of delicacies to whip up for the upcoming holidays filled her mind, so much so that the text chime jolted her back to reality.

To be fair, Teddy is the better-looking of the two of us.

He included a photo of Teddy, braced by Liam’s large, tattooed forearm. The tattoo most visible was of a pair of knives, crossed like a coat of arms.

Well, yeah. That’s obvious.

The old man likes the attention.

He sent another shot of Teddy’s face, golden eyes narrowed.

She tapped her fingers on her knee, considering honesty. Could it be time to confess her crush ?

She winced at the thought. No, she’d been dumb enough already to kiss him.

Is that why you feature Teddy in a shirtless selfie once a month? #Cooldudeswithcoolcats or whatever you call it?

Have you been stalking me on the ‘gram, Aubrey?

Her fingers moved of their own accord as she typed out:

Duh.

Her phone rang, and her heartbeat was both in her chest and between her legs when Liam’s name flashed on the display, so much for dialing it back.

“I thought Gen-Z didn’t use the phone.”

His laugh was rich, throaty. “I’m a millennial, just like you. Stop making me out to be a baby.”

She scoffed. “You are younger than I am. Six years is a lot.”

“Eh, not to me.”

She slid back into her chair. “If you’re trying to convince me to go to your place, I’m already in my jammies, which means I’m in for the night.”

He snickered. “Jammies? What are you, ten?”

“I have a kid. You pick up the lingo.”

He paused. “I wasn’t calling to get you to come over.”

With her free hand, she tugged the blanket up toward her chin. “We’re in direct competition, Liam. In the end, there can be only one winner.”

So why had she kissed him? She was the idiot who’d started all this, not Liam.

“That sounds like a tagline from a Marvel movie or something.” Liam snorted. “But you say it like I’m not aware. I’m thinking of my plans B-Z.”

“Those are a lot of plans.”

“It is, but to return to the point, nothing says we can’t be friendly during this. It’s not like Gary laid out any hard and fast rules against fraternization. This is just a dog and pony show by him and the chamber of commerce.”

“There’s friendly and then there’s friendly .

” She huffed out a sigh. “Besides, you’re a popular guy with tons of admirers.

I know what you said, but look.” She paused, trying to phrase her words carefully.

“I’m not judging if you have other women who you see.

But I’m an old lady who’s only into fucking one person at a time. ”

He sucked in a breath. “Is that what we’d be doing then, Aubs? Fucking?”

Oh, sweet Jesus, that word, in his deep, melodious voice. He could convince her to get in her car and drive twenty minutes across town to his bed. And she was too old for midnight booty calls. Or, in this case, eleven fifteen p.m. booty calls.

“Stop with the persuasion.”

He cleared his throat. “I was merely asking a question.”

“I wouldn’t want to cramp your style.”

“You’re not cramping anything except my wrist.”

Again, there was an eruption of butterflies in her belly. He was right—the chemistry between them was a grease fire. But she had to take her time with this. Besides, most things tasted good after simmering for a little bit.

“As if you don’t have girls knee-deep in your DMs.

“My DMs are closed.” His tone may be light, but his voice was as dark and deep as the ocean. “Except for a select few people. Like you.”

Her breath left her in one big whoosh . “Oh.”

“Besides, you left me wondering how you felt about me,” Liam said. “You made it seem like I was your least favorite person on the planet.”

She considered admitting her fear, not only of him but also of imploding her chances of winning. He spoke before she could gather the words.

“Anyway, just to clarify one last time: I’m a) not dating anyone, b) no longer a man whore, and most importantly, c) not interested in anyone but you.”

As amazing as it was to hear her crush admit he felt the same way for her, IN REAL LIFE, she didn’t let her heart soar up like a balloon just yet.

She hissed out a long breath. “I never imagined being your type, Liam.”

“That’s not true. But, you’ve always been curt with me or ignored me altogether, so I returned the favor.”

She snorted. “Because you put a roadblock between my brain and mouth. So, really, this is all your fault.”

They both laughed, and she allowed herself to relax. Even without trying, she’d let her guard down in a way she usually only did with her closest circle.

Still, she wasn’t quite ready to spill the beans just yet.

“And hey, for the record, I’m not hot chef. I mean, I kind of am. The persona gets asses in seats, and I don’t mind showing off occasionally. I work hard to look like this, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a shirtless selfie now and again.”

“And perhaps you acknowledge those photos get way more likes than your up-close food shots?”

His laugh was low. “I mean, you’re not wrong. The hashtag is a marketing tool, after all. I want to keep it mostly professional, but everyone needs to know the person behind the page. You show pictures of your real life.”

“With my clothes on. ”

“Hey, your engagement numbers would go through the roof if you took a mirror selfie now and again.”

Aubrey threw her head back. “Says you.”

“You’re beautiful, Aubs. I’m not the only one with eyeballs.”

Those words, said by Liam, made her feel like she was on a Tilt-A-Whirl. “As much as I appreciate that, what are we doing here, Liam? Did you want to start hooking up, or do you want to move on and forget about the kiss?”

Her sensible side hoped he’d say they should move on. But her practical side was the one that had her throwing granny panties into the cart at Target.

“Hell no, I don’t want to forget.” He paused. “Maybe we can have a little fun during the competition. But I don’t want to lose focus on what matters, and I assume you don’t, either.”

His words were a proverbial cold shower.

“Excellent point, well taken.”

“So,” he said, “are you up for whatever will come next?”

She appreciated his gentle touch. The few times she’d tried online dating, the guys had been in such a rush. They’d get their boxers in a twist if she couldn’t meet up that day.

“Soon,” she said. “Maybe sooner than you think. Goodnight, Liam.”

She hung up and pulled up their text log and their recent calls. She could hardly believe this was reality. It wasn’t the one she’d imagined, but as long as she kept her heart guarded, it could be a different sort of dream come true.