Sweet Seduction (10 page)

“Daisy, you don't want to hit me without gloves. It'll hurt and...”

“I'm not going to hit you, dum-dum,” Daisy snapped. The other glove dropped at her feet. She shoved him much like he'd done to her earlier.

Jamie didn't budge.

This seemed to anger her or...something. Because she body-checked him. He grabbed her shoulders and squeezed. “What are you doing?”

“I don't know.” She gazed up at him, her face flushed from the frenzy, her lips parted and moist. “I need...something.”

“What?”

“I don't know!” She howled in frustration. Using all her body weight, she shoulder-checked him, grunting. But instead of letting him stumble back, she grabbed for him, her fingers curling around the waistband of his shorts. She blinked up at him, nostrils flared, fingertips dipping cautiously beneath the elastic, brushing the skin of his abdomen.

“Daisy?”

“Do something.”

Oh, God. She had to stop looking at him like that. The angry need, her mouth open and inviting. So kissable. He swiped his thumb across her lower lip. She should have turned away. She didn't.

No, what she did was reckless and seductive: she opened her mouth and sucked him in.

Oh, hell, no. He withdrew his thumb, slowly.

She blinked up at him. “Do it.”

He shook his head.

“Kiss me.”

He tried to back away, but she had a vise grip on his shorts.

“Please.”

Shit.

He fit his fingers through her hair and held her face. Before he could stop himself, he leaned down and took her mouth in the way he'd wanted to all day. Just like his words and taunts had activated her anger, his kiss activated her passion. She would have devoured him if he wasn't already devouring her. While their lips were locked, she struggled out of his too-big shirt, wrenching herself away from his kiss only long enough to snatch the shirt off.

His hands went to her breasts. So lush, so feminine, so beautiful. He groaned into her mouth and she replied with the sexiest little moan. Seriously, this woman. “Daisy...?”

“Shh.” She silenced him with a deep kiss, exploring his mouth before trailing her lips across his jaw and down his neck. A part of him—a very small part of him—knew this was mad and he should stop. But that would take someone noble, and there was not one noble bone in his body at the moment.

While her kisses moved from his throat to his chest, she reached lower, covering his arousal with her small hand.

That was it.

He was done.

With a groan he unsnapped her bra, lifted her up and took a nipple into his mouth. He was not gentle. He couldn't be gentle if he tried. Daisy brought out a savage need in him. He had to have her. He had to feel her body beneath his, skin to skin. Her moans a product of his actions. Her passion brought on by his need.

They fell together, Jamie taking the brunt of the impact as Daisy rolled on top of him. He quickly rectified the situation by rolling her over. The exertion of their boxing bout had only made her tastier—her skin sweet and salty, a delicious combination. Jamie had to sample all of her. He kissed her mouth, her ear, beneath her jaw and throat, his kisses bordering on bites. Sucking a tender bit of skin inside his mouth, he wasn't satisfied until he heard Daisy moan, until she arched beneath him and her fingernails dug into his back.

So good.

He needed more. He always needed more with her. While his mouth found her sweet, sweet breast, his hands found their way beneath the sagging shorts. His shorts.

Why was it a turn-on to see a woman wearing his clothes? He didn't know. Except now that he had, he wanted her out of them.

Right now.

“Jamie.”

His name, spoken on a sigh, had to be the best sound. He sank his hand deeper inside the shorts, sliding his fingers over her satiny panties that would no doubt match the pretty bra she wore.

“Oh, God.”

He glanced up from where he was positioned, his face on a level with her sweetly indented navel. “Do you want me to stop?”

With eyes half-closed, she lolled her head back and forth across the ring floor.

“Daisy, look at me.”

She opened her eyes.

“Say the words. I need to hear you say them.”

She blinked to focus, though the haze remained. “Don't stop, Jamie. Please. Don't stop.”

10

W
HILE
PUNCHING
J
AMIE
was cathartic, this was so much better.

Why did it feel so good? Jamie's hands on her hips, his lips on her belly. Kissing, nibbling, tasting, while his hand stroked beneath the shorts. It was so good. Deliciously good.

Painfully good.

She tried to roll away when his kisses approached the waistband of the shorts, but his hold was too strong.

“Too late. You're not going anywhere,” he growled.

“Jamie.” She both wanted him to stop and lifted her hips in encouragement.

What was wrong with her?

She had no idea, but she needed to get her shorts off, pronto, because she was sure that would make her feel better. She fit her hands beneath the waistbands of her shorts and panties and pushed, wriggling her ass to get them off. Jamie helped, yanking them from her ankles and moving between her parted legs.

He bit the inside of her bare thigh. It was exquisite.

“More,” she begged.

His hands preceded his lips, sliding roughly up her thighs, squeezing her flesh as he moved higher and higher. “Is this what you want?” He flicked her clit with his tongue.

“Yes.”

He groaned, spread her and dropped his mouth to kiss her in the most intimate way imaginable.

“Oh!” The sensation of his mouth on her was so sudden and stirring that her eyes popped open. The sight of Jamie's thick hair against her belly, his strong hands gripping her, while he lay shirtless between her parted legs only added to the over-the-top stimuli of his mouth, teeth and tongue.

Her body bucked beneath his as his kisses became more aggressive, and she needed something for her hands to give her purchase. There was nothing except his hair to hold on to.

Jamie's head lifted, his eyes smoldering behind half-shut lids. He licked his lips. “I'm going to make you come. You okay with that?”

“Jamie, I need...”

He bent back to her, touching his tongue to her clit. Her body quaked in response, making Daisy forget what she was about to say. The very next second he lapped along her warmth, and she gave herself over to the sensations of his mouth and hands because there was nothing else she could do. She threw her head back, loving the tickle of his hair against the sensitive skin of her thigh, giving in to his firm grasp, allowing him to spread her open for his pleasure.

“Ah!”

When he plunged a finger inside of her, it was like something red and hot pierced her, reaching all the way through her belly to her throat, bending her like a bow, right off the floor. It was all so much: the pounding of her blood through her veins, the feel of his mouth on such an intimate part of her, the sensation of his fingers moving in and out at the same time as his tongue, claiming her together, taking what he wanted just like he'd allowed her to take out her anger on him.

And then...holy hell!

Orgasm hit her like an unexpected cross after a fury of jabs, the fierce explosion taking her completely unaware, making her scream and yank on Jamie's hair to keep from flying off the floor in ecstasy.

How did he do it? How had he brought her there so quickly? So thoroughly? It was...

Daisy didn't know what it was, but it kept going and going.

How long was it before she opened her eyes? Seconds? Minutes? Hours?

Jamie's face came into view and she blinked, trying to focus on his smile. So seductive. Knowing. Tender.

“How are you feeling?” He brushed a hand across her forehead, smoothing hair out of her eyes.

“Good.” She bit her lip but released it as Jamie leaned down to kiss her softly. Wow, the man could kiss. His lips were warm and soft. Gentle. These lips that had just made love to another part of her now sweetly made love to her mouth.

Too soon he stopped, but he remained propped above her, looking down at her with warmth in his chocolate eyes. He reached past her head and grabbed her shirt, passing it to her. “Get dressed. We need to talk.”

She frowned and pushed herself into a sitting position. It wasn't until she was upright that the gravity of what had just happened descended upon her. She was sitting—naked—in a boxing ring, of all places. She glanced down at her nakedness.

Dear God.

She'd just let Jamie... Shit!

Daisy hurriedly pulled the shirt on, not bothering with her bra. Finding her panties beneath her, she yanked them on. All the aggression and passion of earlier had passed, leaving only one thing in its wake.

“You okay?” Jamie asked as he helped her through the ropes.

“Yep.”

“Because you're acting like you're not okay.”

“I'm fine. Just need a quick shower.” She forced a smile and hurried to the locker room. Her appearance in the full-length mirror inside the door stopped her. Her hair was clumpy and messy, sticking to her neck in places and sticking out haphazardly in others.

Sex hair.

Her cheeks were flushed.

Sex cheeks.

Her lips swollen.

Sex...

“Quiet,” she whispered to her reflection. “I know what I did. You can be quiet now.” She scrubbed a hand up and down her face. This was a disaster. She was a disaster.

She'd come to the gym to make herself feel better and instead she felt worse. So much worse. Daisy dropped her clothes on the floor, turned on the shower and stepped under the hot spray, using the soap dispenser on the wall to wash as quickly as she could.

How could she?

Falling against the cool tiles of the shower stall, Daisy lifted her face to the spray. It was completely possible that some of the moisture streaming down her cheeks was of her own making, because Daisy had never been in a lower place in her life.

It was bad enough that Alan had betrayed her by cheating, leaving her and then demanding half the bakery. Then there was her mother: her betrayal had started from the moment Daisy was born.

But she was the worst, the very worst betrayer of them all, because she'd betrayed herself. How could she give in to lust and stupid physical desire when her very happiness and livelihood were on the line? How could she?

Now she had absolutely nothing left. Not even her self-esteem.

If only she could blame Jamie.

Banging her head against the tile, Daisy didn't want to think of Jamie. Whenever she thought of him, things went sideways. Take what happened in the ring, for example. It wasn't Jamie's fault.
She
was the one who jumped him, asking him to kiss her.

He'd even given her a chance to stop.
Say the words. I need to hear you say them.

Had she taken the out?

Nope.

Her response?

Don't stop, Jamie.
Good lord! She'd begged him.

She had to get out of there. No more Jamie. No more crazy physical attraction to a man who was helping destroy her.

Definitely no more sex.

She turned the shower off and squeezed the water from her hair. Clean towels were stacked on a shelf outside the showers and Daisy dried off, her hands shaking, making getting dressed in a hurry difficult. Once she was ready, she slung her bag over her shoulder and marched out of the locker room and into the gym, where Jamie was waiting for her. She pressed his now folded but still-damp clothes against his chest and kept walking.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“Back to the bakery.”

“We need to talk, Daisy,” he said, following her. “We can do it here or back there, but I'm not letting you go until we've talked.”

“We have nothing to say to one another.” She looked up at him. Mistake. Her stomach did a mutinous flippity-flop at the sight of him. Face still flushed, hair in disarray from
her
fingers, lips still swollen...

Sex lips.

Oh, God. She gave her head a shake. This was wrong. So wrong.

“Are you still working for Alan?”

He hesitated. “Yes.”

“Then I have nothing to say to you.”

“Daisy. We just—”

She spun on him. “We just what? You let me punch you. I let you...kiss me.” She pointed to her jeans, ignoring the flash of anger that sparked in Jamie's eyes. “It was physical. Nothing more.”

She walked out the door on noodley legs, wondering if they were going to join her stomach in the mutiny against her, as well. Much to her surprise, they supported her all the way down the steps to the curb, where she was able to flag down a cab.

“Daisy,” Jamie called as she pulled open the door to the car. “This isn't over.”

“Yes. Oh, yes, it is.”

* * *

D
AISY
EMPTIED
THE
remaining wine into her glass. “I hope you brought another bottle. I'm all out.”

Gloria took Daisy's glass and poured half of the wine into her own glass. “Getting drunk is not the answer.”

“Are you kidding? It's an absolute necessity in this case.” And it was, for so many reasons. She needed to forget about her divorce, about the impossible situation she was in...about Jamie. Yes, Jamie was the worst part of it all because even though the situation with the divorce was dire, it was Jamie who occupied her thoughts and yesterday with him in the gym had only made things worse. Even now, she could feel the ghost of his hands on her, the whisper of his lips and tongue...

Gloria studied her. “So, let me get this straight, Colin Forsythe's brother is representing Alan.”

“Yep.”

“And it was him, not Colin, who came to the bakery to interview you for the article?”

“Yep.”

“So did something happen between the two of you?” Gloria leaned toward her, expectantly.

Daisy dismissed the question with a wave. “You're getting off track.”

“Okay,” Gloria said slowly, indicating to Daisy that questions about Jamie would likely resume at a later date. “So, how much time do you have before the bank takes the bakery?”

“Huh?” Daisy swallowed a big gulp of wine. It wasn't having the numbing effect she'd hoped it would have by now. “Oh, um...twenty-two days.”

“Daisy!” Gloria sat up straight. “Tell me you're joking.”

“Nope.”

“Why haven't you said something? Why did you leave it so long?”

“I don't know. I thought maybe a miracle would happen, you know?”

Gloria raised the glass to her mouth. “So, what are we talking here?”

“I need to pay Alan seven hundred fifty thousand.”

“Dollars?”

“No, tiddlywinks. Of course, dollars.”

Wine dribbled out of Gloria's glass where she'd tipped it toward her mouth but didn't drink when she heard the sum. “Seven hundred and fifty G? Are you kidding me?”

“Wish I was.”

“Daisy.”

“I know.” Daisy swallowed the remainder of the wine.

“Have you talked to your mother? Her boyfriend's loaded, isn't he? Maybe they'll help you out.”

“I tried. Do you know what she said?”

Gloria shook her head.

“It'd be good for me to let Nana Sin's go.”

“Hmm.” Setting her glass down, Gloria went to find a cloth beside Daisy's sink and returned to wipe up the spilled wine. “What about a loan, a second mortgage?”

“I don't qualify.”

“How is that possible?” Gloria spread her arms. “You own the whole building. What about the equity?”

Twisting the stem of her wine glass, Daisy said, “I already took out a line of credit for the repairs and the renovation. Just in my name. The rest is basically Alan's. According to the bank.”

“Daisy!”

The pressure inside her made it difficult to speak. She'd left it too long. She'd acted like nothing was wrong, compartmentalized everything so well. Now that the time was here, she couldn't believe it. It wasn't real. It couldn't be real.

“A payment plan?”

“Alan offered that in the beginning but I was angry. Hurt.”

Tapping her fingernails against the counter top, Gloria asked, “Is he still seeing
that woman
?”

Daisy shrugged. “I don't know.” That was another thing Daisy chose not to think about, though the burning ache in her stomach reminded her of how hurt she'd been when he'd told her. The memory of that night crashed through her thoughts like Godzilla in the streets of Tokyo.

I'm seeing someone else.

She makes time for me, and she makes me feel special.

I'm leaving and I want my share of the estate.

This was all a win-win for Alan: seven hundred fifty thousand dollars that didn't belong to him and a new, prettier woman while Daisy got screwed, and not in the good way.

Standing, Gloria set her glass down. “Okay, we can figure this out.” She paced the short length of Daisy's kitchen. “You need to come up with money, fast.” Daisy had seen Gloria like this before. When presented with a problem, her tiny redheaded friend could not sit still until it was solved. Daisy reached for Gloria's wineglass and drank while watching her friend think.

“You don't have much time.” The conversation didn't require answers. Gloria was having the conversation all on her own. “Lots of money, little time.” Gloria stopped, her eyes blazing. “A fund-raiser.”

Daisy shook her head. “We can't do that.”

“Why not?”

“I'm not a charity.”

“That doesn't matter.” Gloria's eyes blazed. “Crowdfunding.”

“What's that?”

“It's a way to raise money online. People do it to raise capital for all sorts of projects—to start up businesses, for hard times, college fees, litigation fees. It's perfect for you. Nana Sin's is a Chicago treasure. That's even what the article said in the
Tribune
.” She pounded the counter top. “We can do it, Daisy. We'll have a big party here with celebrities and the media. We'll have a group here doing stuff online, like a telethon, except they won't be answering phones. They'll be posting to the internet.” She waved her hands in the air. “Save Nana Sin's!”