Page 28 of Bake You Mine (Port Fortune #1)

nineteen

The last thing he wanted to do was freak Aubrey out, especially now.

She blinked a couple of times, her lips parted. “You’ve got me where you want me. You don’t need to lay it on as thick as honey.”

He pushed her hair from her face. “I know I don’t. I’m telling you the truth. But thanks for putting the idea of honey into my mind. Because now I want to slather it all over you. That would be a bitch to get out of the sheets.”

Laughter erupted from her. He was glad for the distraction. Because he’d been telling her the truth—albeit inconvenient—that the woman to undo him would have to be the one standing between him and the prize of a lifetime.

“You old softie, you.” Aubrey danced her fingers across his back. He sucked in a sharp breath.

Enough of this heavy talk. He should be doing something else with his mouth. He brought his lips to the outside of her thigh.

Judging by her gasp and hip arch, she liked the slow touch. He hooked his fingertips under the scraps of fabric clinging to Aubrey’s hips.

With a downward tug and a hip raise, they were done away with. He traced his hands back up her legs, wanting to touch every inch of her.

She was just as eager to claim those spoils, judging by her appreciative gaze. “You are making this a punishment, huh? Are you planning on teasing me all night?”

“No, because I’m going to die if I’m not inside of you soon.”

“Please don’t die. Then I’d have some uncomfortable questions to answer. Like why I was here, with my clothes off?—”

He reached over to his nightstand and snapped up a condom. She watched, open-mouthed, as he rolled it on before emanating a noise between a laugh and a groan.

He leaped forward like a cat and pushed her onto the bed. “It was a metaphor.” He grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. “Duh.”

Their faces were so close he could see the flecks of gold in her eyes, even in the dim light. Her breath came warm against his cheek as he kissed the side of her neck.

Typically, sex was serious, or it seemed that way. If you were laughing, something had gone wrong.

Yet with Aubrey, he’d never been more turned on, and they were both snickering like kids as her hands looped around his waist, tugging his boxers down from his hips.

He cut her a glance as he sat back, pushing his underwear free.

“What? You’re not the only one with a fetish.” Her grin was devious.

Then, there were no jokes. Their mouths came together with an urgency that made him wonder what he had been doing all his life. That made her an entirely new level of danger, like taking things seriously, screw the competition, dangerous .

He did not want to let those kinds of thoughts cloud his brain when he should be focusing on the delicious little noise she made as he slipped inside of her.

He groaned with the first thrust. She felt so damn good, he had to think about the 2005 Orioles starting lineup to keep from coming in thirty seconds.

She dropped onto the pillow and exhaled, eyes closed. Her face was a mask of desire as she groaned out his name. She raked her nails down his back, hard enough to make him wince but also to claim him as hers.

If that were true, it would be kind of hot.

The room became still as they moved together, the gentle sway of the bed, the headboard hitting slightly against the brick wall, and his new favorite sound in the world, Aubrey’s delicious sigh-groan.

“So,” he said, bringing his mouth to her ear. “Living up to those dirty dreams so far?”

Her eyes snapped open. “Why don’t you tell me?” She nipped a kiss against the side of his face. “Sit up.”

She gestured for him to take her place on the bed before she slid a leg onto either side of his thighs. She whipped her dark locks over one shoulder. Eyes locked with his, she guided him back inside of her.

“Holy fuck,” Liam groaned, gripping the soft, tender flesh of her hips as she lowered herself onto him.

Her hair cascaded over them like a veil as she lowered to kiss him.

“Of course, you’re pretty even now,” she murmured. She drew her arms around his shoulders. “I should draw a portrait of you. You’re one of a kind.”

Their lips came together, taking her smart-assed comments with them.

That sweet groan returned as her kisses grew sloppy. “Fuck, Liam, please don’t stop. ”

As if he could, halfway gone himself. He stayed, gripping her waist. Now it was his turn to watch. Her hand dipped in between them as she took herself over the edge. He circled her wrist, guiding her movement.

She was so beautiful as she fell apart, stretching his name into a song of moans and sighs.

She collapsed against him, and he caged her in with his arms.

He wasn’t sure how long their breathing was the only sound, until a scratching against the bedroom door broke the moment.

She tilted her head to the side. “He’s going to keep doing that until we let him in, isn’t he?”

“He acts like he pays the bills around here.” He kissed her again before they left the bed, her to the bathroom to clean up, him to let in his demanding old man.

Liam bent over to pick up the twenty-two-pound fluffball. “I’m going to give you a snack and then you’re going to fuck off to your cat tree, got it?”

Teddy narrowed his eyes and meowed.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Too late, big boy. She’s mine.”

“It would be weird if we showed up at the fall festival together, right?” Liam asked. “I’m kind of excited to go. I want to spend more time with Kiki and Brody.”

She sipped her coffee. “Kinda.”

Aubrey wondered if there would be a typical day on her schedule anytime soon, probably not until after the competition.

Already, her routine was thrown, with it being after seven, and she wasn’t at Petit Chou yet.

She’d planned to go in late because she hadn’t wanted to leave Liam’s bed.

Why the school administration thought to hold the damn festival during the week was a mystery to her.

He leaned over the counter, and Aubrey watched how his abs flexed and tuned him out. She felt he’d asked her a question, so she’d murmured in response.

When she’d said nothing else, he said, “Did you hear a word I said?”

“Abs,” she said, pointing. “Sorry, you’re distracting!”

With a laugh, he reached over and ruffled her hair. “Okay, we’ll go over to the school separately, then. I can only stay an hour or so anyway.”

“Me, too. Chris took the day off, and he’s staying for the whole thing. I wish I could, but I’m the God damned boss, and that means getting to work.”

“Girl, same,” Liam said, and they both laughed.

Her phone buzzed with a text, and she reached for it. With an eye roll, she read it. “My ex-husband is a demon who can be summoned by saying his name.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, Daphne wanted to wear something specific to the festival, and she forgot to pack it because, of course, she did; she’s twelve and refused to let me help her.

He wants to meet at the house before he drops her off at school since he assumes I’ll be there.

” She looked at the time on her phone. “Which means I should have left ten minutes ago.” She ran into the bedroom to throw on her clothes and then paused to kiss Liam on her way out.

She caught sight of Chris’s truck, several cars ahead of her, on her way off of Ford’s Parkway and into her neighborhood.

She felt like she was starring in one of the final scenes of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off as she zoomed her van down a side street and pulled into the garage.

The door descended seconds before Chris’s truck followed into the circular drive.

She grabbed her things and ran into the house, finding her father standing in the kitchen.

“Hello, bat. I see you made it out of hell. I’m Dad.”

She rolled her eyes, threw off her jacket, and kicked off her boots into the hall closet. She slammed the door shut just as Daphne and Chris walked through it.

“Hey there, little bug. What did you want to wear to the festival?”

“My black sweater with the cat eyes! I’ll grab it.” She took the stairs two at a time. Her father, being the turd he was, left her alone with Chris.

“Everything okay with Daph aside from the wardrobe malfunction?”

“Well, I told her Kayla and I have separated.” He held her gaze before dropping it dramatically, like some soap opera star.

She palmed her face. “Would’ve been nice if you’d told me that was a possibility, for our kid’s sake.”

“I’m sorry. Life’s been hectic, and things have fallen through the cracks. I think we might be done for good this time, since she’s moving out.”

“Everything all right, Aubrey?” Her father appeared in the doorway. Oh, now he cared enough to check on her.

Chris cast a glance at his former father-in-law. He straightened and put a smile back on his face, likely because he knew Aubrey’s father had deep connections at Quantico, where Chris still worked.

“Everything’s fine, Dad.”

Daphne came tearing down the stairs and ran right out the front door. “Come on, I don’t want to be late! ”

Chris and Aubrey exchanged glances as he pulled his keys from his pocket. “I’ll see you over there, I guess.”

“You will. Thanks for taking her.”

Chris left, and Aubrey drummed her fingertips against the banister. She had to be careful bringing Liam into Daphne’s life. Which was hard, considering they already seemed to adore one another.

Her father came out of the kitchen. “So, will you tell me where you were last night?”

“Maybe, maybe not,” she said, taking the stairs in a fashion not unlike her daughter.

Liam met his mother outside the hay bales display that marked the entrance to the festival, which was taking place in the school’s backfield. His siblings were already inside with the kids.

“So, is Aubrey coming today?”

“Yes, Ma. Her ex is bringing Daphne, but she’s swinging by for a bit.”

The festival was a fundraiser-slash-field day for the school, with vendors, rides, and other fun activities. The kids had a half-day, so they were wild-eyed as they ran around.