Authors: Cheyenne McCray
Harder, harder yet. Another orgasm hit her just as he shouted with his own climax. He continued to thrust with loud groans before he shuddered and relaxed on top of her, still inside her. He didn’t put his full weight on her, but she loved the feeling of his body resting on hers.
When their breathing slowed, he raised his head and kissed her, a long, lingering kiss. When he drew away, he said, “Next time I’m going to make love to you good and proper in your bed or mine.”
“You just did a perfectly fine job of it,” she said and the corner of his mouth curved up.
She gave a relaxed and contented sigh, smiling up at him before he kissed her again.
Garrett adjusted himself and Ricki so that he was now on the bottom and she was lying on his chest, her head against his heart. She didn’t know if she’d ever felt so contented. For a long moment they lay together until their breathing had slowed.
She moved so that her chin was resting on her hands that were splayed over his chest and she was looking into his beautiful eyes. She smiled at him. “I have to get to work. The bread and pastries aren’t going to bake themselves.”
“I’ll help,” he said as he helped her to her feet. “It’s the least I can do after taking you away from your work.”
She looked at him doubtfully as she picked up her panties and slipped into them. “Know anything about baking?”
He gave a boyish grin. “Mom didn’t have any girls around, so she made sure my brothers and I did our share of the baking with her standing over us. I might not be able to make anything on my own, but I follow directions real good.”
Ricki laughed and tugged on her jeans. “Let’s get busy, then.”
She felt warm and fuzzy inside as she and Garrett finished dressing and freshened up in the private bathroom in her office.
When they headed back into the kitchen, she glanced at the clock. It was almost one a.m., so she was a good hour behind schedule.
He did follow directions well and knew something about baking, so soon she had him busy kneading the bread dough while she started on the cakes. He even put on an apron when she handed it to him.
She liked working side-by-side with Garrett. It felt comfortable and like they’d been doing it for ages instead of just a few hours. She felt giddy and happy and had that satisfied feeling of a woman who’d just been made love to.
Well, a woman who’d just had wild, passionate sex with an amazing man who’d promised to make love to her “good and proper” later on.
Lettie called and apologized profusely that she’d be late because her alarm didn’t go off. It was highly unusual for Lettie to not show up on time and Ricki told her not to worry, that she had everything under control.
Garrett slid trays of cookies into the case as Ricki had instructed him to while she went around the counter to the front door and flipped the “Closed” sign to “Open”. She was still moving back toward the cases when the bells jingled, telling her she had a customer.
She turned and saw it was Deena. Ricki couldn’t help a grin when she saw her friend.
Deena looked at her quizzically. “Something’s different about you.”
Without thinking about it, Ricki glanced toward Garrett who was closing the case that he’d just put cookies into.
Deena’s expression seemed to freeze. She looked from Ricki to Garrett and back and then a knowing light was in her eyes. “Looks like you two have been busy.”
Ricki hesitated. “We’ve been baking through the wee hours of the morning.”
Garrett leaned one arm on the case and met Deena’s gaze. “Good morning, Ms. Samson,” he said in his low country drawl.
“Hi.” Deena looked like she was making an effort to be polite. She turned back to Ricki. “Thought I’d stop in for one of your cream puffs and to keep you company.” Her smile didn’t seem natural. “You look like you have plenty. Company, that is.”
“You’re always welcome.” Ricki smiled, but this time it felt a little awkward. She started back around the counter. “One cream puff coming up. Coffee with that?”
“Dark roast with two creams and three sugars,” Deena said.
“You’ve got it.” Ricki glanced at Garrett. “Do you want anything, Garrett?”
“I sampled enough of your goods this morning to hold me over.” He gave her a long sensual look. “But I intend to stop by for more this evening.”
Ricki’s face heated as Garrett moved toward her. Unmindful of Deena, he took Ricki by her shoulders and gave her a long, slow kiss that stole her breath. When he drew away, she realized her heart was beating faster and she swallowed down the need that had sprung up within her again.
He reached up and tugged on a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail. “Need help with anything else before I go?”
“You’ve already been of great assistance.” She gave him a meaningful look. “I’ll see you later.”
“Count on it.” He gave her another kiss. “I’ll make sure the back door is latched properly,” he added before he headed to the back, taking the apron off as he walked away. He glanced over his shoulder and gave her one last look before disappearing through the doorway.
Ricki glanced at Deena. The woman’s eyes seemed darker but she was smiling. “I take it you two ended up in bed last night.”
Deena’s directness caught Ricki off guard, but she knew it shouldn’t have. Deena didn’t tend to beat around the bush.
With a nod, Ricki set about getting Deena her cup of coffee. “Not exactly in bed, but yes, we had sex last night. Or early this morning, however you want to look at it.”
Deena was waiting at the counter as Ricki set the coffee down. She headed to the case where she kept the cream puffs, bagged one, and returned to the counter. Deena handed her enough cash to pay for the items and Ricki gave her change.
“I’ve been thinking.” Deena picked up the bag and the coffee. “I could use a day at a spa. Why don’t we drive to Sedona and go to one? They have incredible spas there.”
“That sounds like fun.” Ricki tucked loose hair behind her ear. “When?”
Deena sipped her hot coffee before answering. “I’m moving this weekend, so how about a week from Sunday, on your day off?”
Ricki thought about Garrett. She wanted to be with him more than anything, every single day she was free, but she needed to make sure she didn’t forget her girlfriends, too. “Let’s make it a date,” Ricki said with a smile.
“Good.” Deena gave an answering smile. “It will be so much fun.”
“You said you’re moving this weekend?” Ricki asked. “That was fast.”
“Yep.” Deena nodded. “This Sunday. Still up for helping out?”
Ricki nodded. “Of course,” she said. “How early do you want to start?”
With a shrug, Deena said, “How’s eight?”
Ricki nodded. “That works.”
Deena raised the bag and Styrofoam coffee cup. “I’ve got to go. Lots to do before Sunday.”
“I’m sure I’ll see you before then,” Ricki said.
“Oh, you will.” Bells jingled as Deena used her hip to push the glass door open. “No doubt about that.”
Ricki gave Deena a little wave as she left the bakery. She had the strangest feeling that Deena didn’t approve of Ricki’s relationship with Garrett.
With a shake of her head, Ricki took a cloth and wiped off the drop of coffee she’d spilled while filling Deena’s cup. Ricki knew she was imagining things. Deena had become a good friend who wanted her to be happy.
It occurred to her then that Deena had made it clear she didn’t like men and didn’t trust them. Somehow Ricki needed to prove to Deena that there were good men left in the world and Garrett was right on top of the list.
As she strode from the bakery toward her Lincoln Continental, Deena could barely contain the anger that caused her skin to feel like she’d been singed all over. That McBride bastard had fucked Ricki.
Ricki belonged to Deena. She’d fix this somehow, some way. It wouldn’t be long before Ricki realized the truth—that McBride was no good for her and Deena would be everything she needed.
When she reached her car, she set the coffee cup on top, then used the remote to unlock the vehicle. With a harsh movement, she yanked open the driver’s side door before leaning in and tossing the bag with the cream puff along with her purse on the passenger seat. She rose up and bumped her head on the doorframe as she went for her coffee cup and pain shot through her skull. Grinding her teeth, she snatched the cup off the top of the car and climbed into the vehicle.
Garrett would abuse Ricki just the way Deena had been abused by her bastard of an ex. Bart had been a cruel man and Deena was certain Garrett would be just as bad to Ricki.
At the thought of Garrett and Ricki together, rage poured through Deena and her whole body went rigid.
The Styrofoam cup exploded in Deena’s hand as she clenched it too tightly. Hot coffee sprayed over her and the inside of her car, soaking the front of her blouse and burning her skin.
She screamed in fury and flung the mangled remains of the cup across the car. Her whole body jerked as she slammed the heel of her palm repeatedly against the steering wheel until her hand hurt.
That sonofabitch.
That sonofabitch!
Garrett didn’t care about Ricki. All he wanted was a good fuck. He couldn’t care about her like Deena did.
Her breathing came deep and hard, almost animal-like as she tried to control her temper. She’d lost her temper and had nearly lost her mind with Celia and Maria both, and had gone crazy when they rejected her. She barely remembered what had happened.
This time things would be different. This time the woman Deena loved would reciprocate. It would just take a little longer than she’d planned.
Her next opportunity to gain even more familiarity with Ricki was coming this Sunday when she helped Deena move. Then would come their spa day in Sedona, when Deena would show Ricki how much she cared and how right they would be together.
Covered in sticky, sugar-sweetened coffee, Deena started the car and gunned the engine. She peeled out of the parking space, her vehicle fishtailing as she pointed it in the direction of the storage facility where she kept the things she’d taken with her from Tucson.
When Maria had been murdered six months ago, Deena had been interviewed, but was never considered a suspect in Maria’s death, much less suspected in Celia’s disappearance. Still, Deena had thought it best to get out of town and make a new start for herself. With her boat-sized car pulling a small trailer, she’d headed out one dark night, after telling no one but her best friend that she was going north and didn’t know where she’d end up.
First thing, she’d holed up in Phoenix for a couple of months, just long enough to make some drastic changes to her appearance. She’d started losing weight after Maria’s death but it wasn’t noticeable until she went on a liquid diet while in Phoenix. Following her weight loss, she’d had some liposuction done along with collagen lip enhancement.
When she was ready, she was on the road again.
She’d never been to Prescott before and had taken the exit toward the town on a whim. When she drove through town, she’d spotted Ricki through the bakery window and knew she’d found the right woman. They were meant to be together. Deena had known it with everything she had and it was even more obvious now than ever.
Deena had found an extended stay hotel and had sought out Ricki the next day and had then followed her to the dress shop. The fact that Ricki had needed to find a dress had been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that it had given Deena time to get involved in Ricki’s life and start a friendship. A curse in the fact that she’d helped Ricki find a dress to go out with the man who’d just fucked her.
With her body shaking so hard she didn’t know how she managed to drive, Deena made it to the storage facility. She used her key code to gain access then drove to the storage unit where her things were. The unit was large enough that she’d been able to park the trailer inside it along with those possessions important enough for her to bring.
She looked around as she climbed out of the car. Great, no one was around. She took her keys and used the one for the lock on the storage unit before rolling up the door.
The unit smelled of dust despite the fact that it was supposed to be dust-free. She supposed it could have been from the dirt on the trailer’s tires, but ultimately it didn’t matter.
She went to the rear of the unit and unfastened one corner of the blue tarp covering the trailer and then opened the trailer’s gate. She pushed the tarp aside to reveal a chest where she kept her most valuable treasures.
Her skin thrummed with excitement as she used a key to unlock the padlock on the chest then hefted the heavy lid up so that it was open and she could get inside. She could barely breathe as she pushed aside the packing material and brought out the handmade container in the shape of a vase, but with a lid. She touched it reverently. She’d made the container herself at one of those pottery places.
Celia.
Deena hugged the handmade urn to her chest and a lone tear trickled down her cheek. Celia had been an adorable young woman with her flaming red hair and green eyes that had always held a hint of laughter. It was too bad, really, that things had gone so very wrong. But at least Deena would always have some of her ashes.
She tucked the urn back in the chest amidst the packing material and drew out a music box that had belonged to her mother. She opened the small box’s lid and hummed to herself as a tiny ballerina twirled in time to the music. When it stopped, Deena opened the false bottom and brought out the blonde locks that had been Maria’s, the hair tied with a dark pink bow.
Beneath the locks was one of Maria’s sculpted nails that had broken off when she’d scratched Deena as she’d thrown Maria across the room. Deena had been forced to take the nail so that no trace of her DNA would be found under it. Fortunately the scratch had been on her belly so no one had ever seen it.
Another tear followed the first, this time the tear was for Maria. Such beautiful women. She’d loved them both so very much.
With a sigh of longing, Deena tucked the music box in the packing material and brought out a little treasure chest that was a lot like the large one that it was hidden within. She opened it, even though it was empty.