Page 37 of The Gingerbread Bakery (Dream Harbor #5)

Even the sounds of her getting dressed were sexy.

Was that the elastic of her absurdly tiny panties being pulled over her hips?

The shush of her jeans as they were tugged up her long legs had him thinking about how it felt to peel them off.

Seeing her like that, God he had dreamed about it for years, obsessed over this woman, and then there she was bare in front of him, finally letting him lick and suck and worship her.

It had been perfect, and he wanted more, and lying here not being able to touch her or look at her was absolute torture.

She let out a small sigh.

‘Christ, Annie,’ he breathed, pressing his palm to his aching cock.

Her sharp intake of breath skated over his skin, letting him know she’d noticed what he was doing. He could feel her standing over him, her gaze lighting him up.

He pressed once more, savoring the sound of Annie’s whimper. He was about to stop, to say they needed to go, to apologize, but then he felt the mattress dip beside him.

‘Annie, what?—’

‘Keep your eyes closed,’ she whispered.

The feather-light touch of her fingers under his waistband nearly had his back bowing off the bed.

‘What are you doing?’ he gasped.

‘What I should have done last night,’ she said, undoing his button. So business-like, so Annie.

He opened his eyes and found her leaning over him.

‘Eyes closed,’ she said.

And there was something in her gaze. She sounded like her usual confident self, but he could see it in her eyes. She was nervous, uncertain.

‘Annie, you don't have to?—’

‘I want to,’ she said, holding his gaze. She lowered her voice. ‘Just close your eyes.’

This time he listened but Mac had so many questions.

He wanted to know why she wanted to do this.

Had she forgiven him? Did she want to be with him or was this just something she’d fantasized about over the years like he had?

Was she simply getting it out of her system? Getting him out of her system?

They needed to talk about all of it, but Annie was slowly sliding down his zipper, and all Mac wanted, all he could think about in that moment, was her mouth on him. Everything else could wait. The entire world could wait.

‘Can I?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ he rasped, his voice stuck in his throat. ‘Annie, I?—’

He didn’t know what he was going to say, but he felt like he had to say something, until Annie cut him off.

‘No, don’t say anything,’ she said. ‘Please just let me…’

She was hiding from him. Still. Even after all he confessed this morning, she was still keeping her distance.

But her hands were on him, her breath coming in short little gasps, and who was he to deny her?

So, he let her. He let her wrap her hand around his aching erection.

He let her slide her mouth around him. He let her cross another thing off the list of things he’d thought about over the last eleven years.

Annie’s mouth around him, her tongue sliding over his length was as close to a religious experience as Mac had had in a long time.

Her hair brushed along his lower abs, and he gathered it in his fist making the ponytail she was so fond of wearing.

He thought about how many times he’d resisted tugging it.

He didn't resist now. He gave it a tug, gentle at first, but judging by the low hum Annie was making, she didn’t mind at all.

Her hair was like silk between his fingers, and he gave it another pull.

Annie groaned and the sound shot through him.

He wasn’t going to last long but who would blame him?

He was living out his teenage fantasies.

This moment was everything he’d wanted all those years while he was out on the road, or at least he’d thought it was all he wanted.

But somehow it wasn’t enough. He wanted to hold her and touch her and see her.

Somehow, even as pleasure barreled through him, even as Annie’s sweet mouth worked him to the best orgasm he'd had in years, Mac felt like he was missing out, like he wasn't getting all of Annie.

And after all this time, he wanted everything.

She sat back with a sigh, leaving Mac panting on the bed.

‘You can clean up in the bathroom if you want,’ she said. ‘But we should probably get going soon.’

His eyes sprung open. ‘You're kidding, right?’

Annie blinked back at him. Her flushed cheeks and messy hair were the only evidence that anything had even happened, that just a second ago his hands were in her hair and her mouth was filled with him.

‘I’m not kidding. You know we’re on a tight deadline.’

He ran a hand down his face in frustration. ‘So, we’re just going to pretend this didn't happen? What the hell are we even doing, Annie?’

She sighed, standing up from the bed. ‘I don’t know but maybe I’m not ready to forgive you yet.’

Well, this was a shitty way to come down from an orgasm.

‘But I couldn’t leave you like that all day,’ she added, gesturing toward his lap. ‘You could thank me.’

‘Jesus, Annie. Is this seriously how it’s going to be between us?’

‘We don’t have time to deal with this right now,’ she said, hand on her hip. She was trying to get back to business, but Mac saw the fear in her eyes. She didn’t want to get hurt again. ‘Are you driving me, or should I go get my shovel to dig out my car?’

He tucked himself back into his pants and stood up.

‘I’m still driving you,’ he nearly growled.

‘But this isn’t over between us. I’m not letting it go this time.

I'm not going to go from enemies to whatever this is.’ He gestured between them in some futile attempt to explain what they were to each other at the moment.

Exes who now orally pleasured each other?

Friends who gave each other orgasms every once in a while?

He felt like he was losing his mind. A few days ago, Annie couldn’t stand being in the same room with him, and then this morning it seemed like maybe she was about to forgive him, and now she was giving him blowjobs and trying to pretend it never happened. It was enough to make a man go crazy.

‘Fine,’ Annie ground out, like he was being the unreasonable one. ‘But we really need to go.’

There was clearly no point in arguing with her any further, so he used the bathroom, they grabbed their things and headed for the door. But on the way out he spotted something on Annie’s refrigerator. An old postcard, one he recognized from the Grand Canyon.

‘Wait a minute,’ he said, and Annie paused, glancing back at him.

‘You kept it,’ he said. It was one of the later ones he’d sent her, after he stood her up and went back out on the road.

The Grand Canyon was supposed to be one of his original stops, one of the ones on the list they’d made at the diner.

He never made it in that first year but when he finally did, he felt like he should let Annie know.

It had been the first time he’d reached back out to her. The first time he’d let himself admit that he missed her.

He’d kept the message simple. Something about the canyon being as cool as they thought it would be and that he hoped she was well.

She’d never written back but she’d kept it.

Annie’s eyes flicked to the postcard and back to his face.

‘Yeah, well you got my name tattooed on you, so I guess we're both idiots,’ she said before heading out the door.

Mac couldn't help but laugh.

He took one last glance at the postcard before following Annie. Maybe there was still hope for them to get this right.