Chapter Ten
Singing softly to herself, Leah piped frosting, adding another mint-green leaf to the flowers twisting up the side of the cake. It was a special order for a post-baptism party, all soft pastels and sparkling sugar. She glanced up to see Q staring at her, his mouth flattened in a failed attempt to hide his amusement.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked.
“Abso-fu—ahh—lutely nothing. I am fabulous.” She tried to scowl at him, but it didn’t work. Thanks to the previous night with Hamilton, it was physically impossible for her to frown. After the best shower she’d ever experienced, they’d just slept, since morning came super extra early for her. Having him wrapped around her was almost as good as fooling around again, especially since she knew she’d get a chance to corrupt him some more later. “Why?”
“You can swear around me, you know.” Apparently, he’d caught her little slip-up. “I’m not five.”
She grinned at him. “You’ll always be a sweet young thing to me.”
His expression showed how not thrilled he was by that, but he changed the subject back to the original topic. “You going to tell me why you’re being weird?”
“I’m always weird.” Turning to the cake, she added two more leaves.
“Yes, but you’re not always weird to the point of manically over-decorating.” He snatched the frosting bag and tip from her hands and held it over his head so she couldn’t retrieve it. “If you put one more leaf on that cake, it’s going to collapse under the weight of the frosting. It’s beautiful. It’s perfect. It’s done. Move on to cookies or something.”
Glancing down at the cake, Leah examined it critically and cringed a little. “It is quite...elaborate, isn’t it?”
“The customer will love it and think it’s fancy, but you need to stop while you’re ahead.” Q gave the cake a doubtful look. “Well, while you’re not too behind, at least.”
“Right. Thank you.” She moved the cake stand over to another station and started cleaning up. “Are you excited about tonight?”
Q’s smirk immediately fell away. “I can’t think about tonight. It’s probably best if we don’t talk about it.”
“Nervous?”
“Insanely freaked out of my mind. And what did I just say about not talking about this?”
“Sorry.” She made a motion like she was zipping her mouth shut.
He gave her a grateful smile that bordered on a pained grimace and then looked around the kitchen. “What’s left for you to bake today?”
“Nothing.” Dumping her tools in the dish sink, she grinned at Q over her shoulder. “I’m done. I was like lightning this morning.”
“You’re done? Already? With the Friday bake and three special orders?”
“Yep. Speedy.” She knew she sounded smug, but she felt that smugness was totally deserved. Adrenaline and excited anticipation had given her wings that morning, and she’d flown around the kitchen like she’d been turbo-charged.
Q’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What’s going on? Did you pick up a meth habit this week?”
Before she could answer, a new voice interrupted them. “Hello.”
When Leah snapped her head around to see Hamilton at the back door, she clutched the edge of the sink as if it would keep her from running across the kitchen and throwing herself at him. He looked good, all shiny-clean and suited up, and his hungry gaze was fixed securely on her, ignoring all the delicious sugary things in the kitchen he could have focused his lust on.
“Oooh.” Q’s knowing tone broke the spell, and she tore her eyes away from Hamilton to look at him. Q’s smirk returned as he looked back and forth between her and Hamilton. “Now everything makes sense.”
“Except for you.” Leah’s voice came out husky, and she cleared her throat with annoyance. If she couldn’t even hide her obsession with Hamilton from her not-quite-seventeen-year-old employee, there was no hope for her. “You’re making no sense at all.”
“Uh-huh.” Turning toward the kitchen, he gave her a wave over his shoulder without looking back. “You keep telling yourself that. Good morning, Mr. Hamilton.”
“Q.” Ham’s deep greeting made her look at him again, and she was caught. Absently, she heard Q snickering as he shoved through the swinging door, but everything in her was focused on Hamilton. Her feet moved without any input from her brain, and she stood in front of him before she realized what had just happened.
“Hi.” Up close, he was even more mesmerizing, and there was enough heat in his expression to set her on fire. “Headed to work?” She wasn’t even embarrassed that she sounded like she was auditioning for the role of radio porn star.
“Yes.” He shifted closer, his gaze never leaving hers. Leah was beginning to rethink her philosophy on whether kissing and other sexy stuff should be allowed in the kitchen. The silence stretched as he leaned in, and an excited tension vibrated through her, making the butterflies in her stomach dance. His gaze dropped to her mouth, and her lips parted on an audible inhale. She saw his throat move as he swallowed, and her eyes drifted closed as she waited for his mouth to find hers.
Clearing his throat loudly enough to make her jump and open her eyes, he stepped back.
“Oh.” Disappointment squashed her stomach butterflies. “We’re not kissing, then?”
“I didn’t want to assume.”
“In this case, feel free to assume.” If he was going to keep staring at her with those hungry, hungry eyes, he’d better kiss her, or her body was going to burn itself from the inside out.
He moved in again, his gaze locked on her mouth. “What are the rules?”
“Rules?” she repeated, confused and annoyed that he still wasn’t kissing her.
“Now that we’ve...showered together, does that mean I’m allowed to touch you?” He looked slightly uncertain, which sat strangely on his harsh features. “Whenever I want?”
Both baffled and intrigued by the question, she took a second to organize her scrambled thoughts. Even though he’d told her that he was new at sex, she was having a hard time processing that Mr. Anthony Fitzgerald Hamilton III was a true, never-been-kissed—well, before last night—virgin. Now, she was realizing that she was playing tour guide to a complete relationship neophyte, and the thought was equal parts scary and thrilling. “As long as I want to be touched, and if the touch is appropriate for the setting and possible audience, then yes. You can touch me whenever you want.”
He smiled slightly at that, the corners of his mouth lifting just the tiniest bit, and Leah felt her insides turn to goo. Obviously, a happy Hamilton was her Kryptonite. Watching her face closely, as if waiting for her to object, he reached toward her. His fingers landed on her bare elbow, exposed by her short sleeves, and a shiver worked its way up her arm, spreading through her chest and lighting a flame at her core. Just that tiny skin-to-skin contact made her whole body burn.
His fingers slid down her forearm to her wrist, tracing over the back of her hand before sliding back up again, leaving trails of heat in their wake. It was too much and not enough at the same time.
Grabbing his hand so suddenly that she felt him start, she towed him through the back door into the stairwell. As soon as the door thumped closed behind them, Leah grabbed two handfuls of his jacket and yanked him down so his lips crashed into hers.
After a shocked second, he cupped her face and took over the kiss. Both of his hands cradled either side of her cheeks and jaw, and he used them to gently angle her head into the position that he wanted. He had complete control, and it made everything so much hotter. Even though he’d had limited kissing experience, he behaved as if he’d done it a million times, his confidence and assurance as he tugged her lower lip with his teeth and plunged his tongue into her mouth both exciting and arousing.
It wasn’t enough, though. Leah wanted more, but she had a pretty good feeling that going from shower hand jobs to full-on stairway sex wasn’t going to happen with Mr. I-Hate-a-Mess. Instead of pressuring him, she dropped to her knees, hoping he’d accept a compromise.
“What are you doing?” he asked as she unbuckled his belt and then unfastened his pants, carefully easing down his zipper over the huge, hard bulge.
“Giving you a blow job.” Her words were absent as she let his pants gape open and reached for the waistband of his boxer briefs.
“Here?” His voice was stiff, but he didn’t move away as she eased his underwear down, releasing his enormous erection.
“Yes. I have a no-sex rule in my kitchen, and that includes oral. And groping. And partial nudity. And...” She trailed off as she stared at his cock. He was gorgeous. Even though she’d gotten to see him the night before, now she was up close and personal with his dick, and she fell a little bit in love with it. It stood out from his body, iron-hard and straight as a poker, and her mouth actually watered, surprising her. Even though she had nothing against blow jobs, she’d never especially liked giving them. Now, though, with Hamilton, she was eager and seconds away from drooling.
“This location is not the mo—” He sucked in an audible breath as she licked the head of his cock. Both of his hands knotted in her hair, his fingers tight against her scalp.
She glanced up at him, trying to keep her expression innocent. “What was that?”
“Nothing. It was nothing. Continue. Please.”
The way he stared down at her, amazed and aroused and a little shocked by it all, cranked up her hunger for him. Pressing her inner thighs together, she took the tip of his erection in her mouth. He hissed, his fingers working against her head, tugging on her hair just enough to send pinpricks of pleasure through her. The tugging made her even more eager, and she took him deeper. He was huge, but she was determined to take him in all the way, to give him the most mind-blowing blow job, one he could never forget, no matter how many women he slept with after her.
The thought of him with another woman made her growl deep in her throat, and he groaned with what sounded like desperate pleasure, his fingers tightening again. Sliding her hands over his hips and back to his hard ass, she gripped his cheeks, pulling him toward her as she lowered her mouth over his length.
His hips jerked forward, shoving his cock an inch farther into her mouth, and she fought the urge to gag. Pulling back, she tightened her lips around him as she slowly withdrew, keeping a steady suction until her lips hit the base of the head. Using her tongue, she traced the tip, wiggling it against the tiny hole.
He made another sound, something close to a yelp, and Leah would’ve smiled if she could’ve managed it with his erection filling her mouth. She loved his reactions, the noises and movements he made. They were so different than his usual impassive bearing. It felt like she was dragging the real Hamilton out of him—right through his dick.
Holding her head still, he pushed his cock into her mouth, cutting off her air and any rational thoughts. Sucking in a breath through her nose, she concentrated on relaxing her throat, taking him all the way to the back of her mouth and then swallowing the end of his erection.
“Jesus, LeeLee.” He froze in place and groaned. “You’re squeezing... Oh, fuck!”
As if he couldn’t hold still, his hips pulsed, small motions that still managed to shove his cock deeper down her throat. To her surprise, the depth of his penetration didn’t make her panic, though. This was Hamilton, after all, and she knew the slightest shove at his thighs would make him back off. She trusted him. That knowledge made her grip tighten on his ass, and she tugged him closer. Lunging her head forward, she kept swallowing until her lips were wrapped around the base of his cock. Triumph flooded her. As big as he was, she’d managed to take all of him.
The guttural, wordless noise he made, sounding as if it had been forcefully ripped out of him, added to her excitement. She’d done that. She’d cracked that stoic shell of his and released the raw hunger he’d carefully hidden inside. Drawing back, she retreated until just the head was in her mouth and her scalp was prickling from his tight hold. After a pause, she swallowed him again, and he made another one of those hoarse cries that thrilled her so much.
Her core was on fire, her pussy wet and aching. She wanted him, wanted to yank him down on top of her, needed him to drive his cock deep inside her. To her surprise, though, she wanted him to finish in her mouth even more than she wanted her own satisfaction. Looking up at him as she sucked on his thick erection, as he felt the slide of a tongue and the pull of cheek and throat muscles for the first time, was enthralling. His face was naked, all his emotions and feelings in plain view, and that in itself was even sexier than the cock in her mouth.
“LeeLee...” It was even better when he moaned her name with that desperate rasp to his voice. “I need to pull out. I’m about to ejaculate.”
His phrasing tickled her. It was so like Hamilton not to simply use the word come. Ignoring his warning, she increased her speed, moving her head back and forth as she sucked hungrily on his length.
“Wait!” He sounded a little frantic. “I’m going to—” Breaking off with a groan, he tipped his head back and the tendons in his neck stood out in tense, prominent relief. Her mouth was flooded, and she hurried to swallow before any could escape her lips. He made another sound, this one choked, as her mouth continued to work around him, although more gently now.
Her entire body felt as if it was one huge, throbbing, needy mass, but she ignored it, concentrating on watching Hamilton as he recovered from his first mouth-induced orgasm. Leah loved that, loved that she was his first in so many things. With a final shudder, he slowly shifted his hips back, pulling his cock free of her mouth. She reluctantly dropped her hands from his ass cheeks and let him move back slightly.
His guarded expression was gradually returning, but she could still see the startled amazement and post-orgasmic satisfaction. She searched his face, not able to stop herself from looking for any trace of disgust or horror that he’d allowed himself to be sucked off in the stairwell, but she couldn’t see anything. She hoped that wasn’t just wishful thinking.
Catching her under the arms, he lifted her to her feet with an ease that made her figurative blue balls give a bruise-like throb. Needing to look away from the traces of raw emotion still evident in his gaze, she focused on his softening cock, carefully tucking it back into his boxer briefs and zipping up his pants.
“There.” She couldn’t resist smoothing a hand over his newly tidied crotch, making him jump a little before he caught her wrist. “Now you’re all fixed up and ready for work.”
Using his hold on her, he tugged her in close. Not expecting that, she stumbled into him, her aching, stiff-nippled breasts pressing into the steel-like slabs of his chest. “That was... You need something, too.” He reached under her apron and caught the back of one jean-clad thigh, but she reluctantly shook her head.
“Nope.” Standing on her tiptoes, she pulled his head down so she could give him a quick kiss. “That was all for you. My reward can come later.”
His lower lip slid out in the tiniest of pouts, and she felt warmth flood through her chest. He really was the most adorable human she’d ever seen. “But—”
“Nuh-uh.” She kissed him again, both to shut him up and because kissing him was fun. It started as just a peck, but he quickly took over and turned it into a full-mouth exploration. By the time he lifted his head, bright sparkles lit up the insides of her eyelids. It took a moment for her to remember their conversation. “We’ll be opening soon, and I need to wash dishes and then go help Q up front. You need to start actuary-ing.”
His tongue ran over his bottom lip. “Is that what I taste like?”
The question fired arousal through her, and her blood ran fast and hot. She realized that she was leaning toward him, her gaze locked on that glossy lower lip, and she pulled herself up and took a big step back. “I’m going back in the bakery while I still can control my leg muscles. Have a good day, and I’ll see you tonight?” Although she meant for the last sentence to come out as a statement, it rose at the end, turning it into a tentative question.
To her relief, he dipped his chin in a quick nod. “Come upstairs after work.”
“To your place?” Pleased, she glanced up toward the second-floor landing. She’d been curious for a while about what Hamilton’s loft looked like. “Okay.”
Turning toward the door, she stopped when he grabbed her hand. She gave him a questioning look over her shoulder.
“Thank you.” The hungry look was back in his eyes, and she shivered with anticipation.
Her gaze dropped to his crotch, where the fabric bulged again, showing his renewed excitement. “My pleasure,” she said, being completely honest.
“Mine, too.” Lifting her hand, he kissed her palm. “That was even better than cupcakes.”
As she headed back into the bakery, she was unable to stop smiling like a besotted fool. Who knew that giving Hamilton a blow job would be even more fun than feeding him sweets?