Sweet Seduction (18 page)

“There's no secret, Daisy. I'm not.”

“You're not what?”

“What you just said.”

She squinted at him. “Can't you say it?”

The woman was playing him; her saucy smile gave her away. But regardless of the fact that this was nothing more than a verbal sparring match, the conversation was making Jamie twitchy. “Of course I can say it.”

“Then say it.”

“What? That I'm in love with you?”

She covered her mouth, but her hand did nothing to hide the awful mixture of mirth and delight glowing in her eyes.

“Daisy.” Jamie said her name quietly as a means of gaining control of this situation. If he was muddled this morning, it was because she was still here and she shouldn't be, though the idea of her spending her nights anywhere else was unpalatable. “Let's not get ahead of ourselves.”

“I'm teasing, Jamie.” She continued to rub his arm—which felt so nice, Jamie didn't want her to stop—but eventually her expression grew serious as she watched her hand moving up and down the length of his bicep.

She raised her gaze, all joking gone. “But let's get something straight. Baking is what I do. I've done it every day of my life.”

“I know.”

“I don't do it for me, Jamie. I do it for others, and I'm not about to stop now, not even if you say so...” Wickedness returned in the form of a sweetly crinkled nose. “Not even if you're in love with me.”

He was about to deny her claim again, but stopped himself because he realized, by the secret smile she didn't bother to hide, that she was baiting him. She glanced up from her crossword puzzle and winked—cheeky woman—before going back to it, or at least, pretending to.

He hid his smile behind his newspaper. That's what he
liked
about Daisy; her playfulness and...pretty much everything else.

Did he love her?

He doubted it, not that he had an accurate gauge of the emotion. He'd never been in love before.

What Jamie did know was that he cared for Daisy more than any woman he'd ever met and the realization left him feeling both comforted and terrified.

18

T
HE
MUSIC
WAS
on loud—Jamie had a really nice sound system—as they cooked together in his kitchen. Even though Daisy had spent the entire afternoon in his kitchen, it was still an unfamiliar space, and it was nice to have Jamie there to help. Actually, he was more than helping, he was co-cooking, which was a bit of a surprise given how weird he'd been this morning. Hot then cold. Then lukewarm. There was a moment this morning when she wondered if she'd gone too far with the teasing, but based on the way he'd kissed her goodbye and left her the key to his place, she figured he was okay with it.

Now, she was busy toasting cloves, a cinnamon stick, anise and coriander for the mole sauce while Jamie was taking care of the chicken. To be accurate, he was neglecting the chicken as he sidled up behind her, as if this morning's weirdness had never happened, and rested his hands on her hips. He leaned his head over her shoulder, drawing in a deep breath.

“That smells delicious.”

Daisy closed her eyes. She had to agree that the spices were deliciously fragrant, but Jamie's body pressed up behind hers? That was even more delicious.

“Can you seed those chili peppers?” she asked, wriggling her ass against his front.

He groaned in her ear. “You play dirty, woman. Appealing to my two most basic appetites at the same time.”

“You love it.” She tilted her head up and to the side, presenting her lips for a kiss, which Jamie gave her with enthusiasm, making her temporarily forget the food on the stove. With a playful elbow to his midriff, she nudged Jamie away. “Get back to work, slacker.”

He chuckled and stepped away, grabbing the wine bottle to refill each of their glasses. Daisy couldn't remember feeling happier. Was there anything better than cooking a sexy meal with a sexy man, with the promise of sex afterward? She stole a peek at Jamie.

Nope.

Her tummy rumbled pleasantly at the prospect of both the meal and the man. It had been a pretty much perfect day so far. She'd spent the day in Jamie's kitchen baking cheese buns, rye bread, raisin bread and double chocolate-chip cookies, all items requested by the Families in Need Shelter. When Jamie came home to a kitchen full of bread and learned of her intention to head downtown to the shelter to drop off the fruits of her labor, he'd insisted on accompanying her.

“Jamie, I'm a big girl and—”

“I know.” He took her hands. “I know you are capable of taking care of yourself. I'm asking you do to this for me, for my benefit.” He glanced toward his mantel. “For my peace of mind.”

Funny how when he put it like that, Daisy was happy to oblige him, and she was also happy for the help. After dropping everything off, they'd stopped at the market on the way back and gotten all the ingredients for one of her favorite meals, chicken in mole sauce made the traditional way with fresh spices, raisins, almonds, pumpkin seeds and chilies, blended with corn tortillas to thicken the sauce and finished with melted Mexican chocolate.

Heavenly.

An hour and a half later, they were seated side by side at Jamie's dining room table and already on their second bottle of wine, laughing like a couple of giddy teenagers.

“Allow me.” Jamie cut into his chicken, making sure there was ample sauce, and held the fork up to her mouth.

Daisy parted her lips, guiding the fork inside with her tongue. She softly closed her lips around the morsel, breathing in as she tasted. “Mmm.” God, that was good, and the flavor was enhanced by Jamie's enjoyment of watching her eat. Once she swallowed, she copied his actions, carving a piece of meat, dipping it in sauce and feeding him.

His eyes rolled back inside his skull as he moved the food around in his mouth. Once he'd finished his bite, a devilishly seductive smile grew as he studied her. “I'm not surprised this is your favorite dish.”

Daisy shrugged. “Any entree that includes chocolate is pretty much a given.”

He leaned forward and kissed her, his lips still flavored with mole. “Perfectly sweet and spicy. Lusty and rich, it's the flavor of sunshine and happiness.”

Wow. That was it. Mole chicken tasted like happiness. The thought occurred to her that Jamie should have been the food critic instead of Colin, and then the thought passed. Jamie was gazing into her eyes as he ate another piece, and there was a world of communication in his intense stare.

His guard was down, his fondness was clear and his intentions were wickedly obvious. “You know what else is perfectly sweet and spicy?”

Daisy shook her head.

“You.” He yanked her chair close so that she was facing him and his knees were on either side of hers. “You're so incredibly sweet.” He dipped a finger in his sauce and smeared it across her lips—a rather uncouth but terribly sexy maneuver. “But spicy, too.” He leaned close and licked the sauce right off her mouth.

She groaned, opening so that his tongue could enter her mouth. How was it possible to meet a man who shared the same passion for flavor? Who found a sauce sexy?

“You taste like sunshine.” He kissed her again. “You are the flavor of happiness.”

Breath snagged in Daisy's throat, both because of his words and his expressive gaze. She blinked away the emotion his commentary created and swiped her own finger through the mound of sauce, holding it dripping up to Jamie's mouth. He parted his lips and drew her finger inside, sucking greedily at her sauce-covered digit. The sensation sent a thrill up her arm to the back of her throat.

“More.”

She dipped two fingers this time. Her nostrils flared as she sucked in oxygen that suddenly seemed in short supply. Jamie held her hand in place, sucking her deep while running his tongue up and between her fingers.

Oh, God. It felt so good.

Never breaking eye contact, Jamie dared to undo the buttons on her blouse. If it hadn't been for the fact that her fingers were covered in mole, Daisy would have helped him, though he certainly didn't seem to need help as her blouse fluttered to the floor. Pulling Daisy to her feet, he gazed down at her, slipping a finger beneath the lace of her chocolate bra.

“You have the nicest underwear.” He slid the straps off her shoulders and kissed the spot where one had been while his hands snaked around to undo the clasp.

“Umm, Jamie.” Daisy sighed, her hands resting on his shoulders. “What are you doing?”

“This.” He backed her up to the empty side of the table, lifted her to a sitting position on the edge and gently pushed her onto her back.

Daisy couldn't speak. She could barely breathe as Jamie slid a plate closer, dragged a finger through the sauce and painted her nipples in mole. Her head lolled against the hard wooden surface as Jamie lapped the dark sauce from one nipple before sucking the other right into his mouth. The mixture of Jamie's warm mouth and the chilies in the sauce made her nipples tingle in a way that caused intense pleasure to radiate across her chest and pool low in her abdomen. She arched up into his mouth, grasping his hair as he made a meal of her body.

“Daisy...” He moaned as he squeezed her breast, kissing and licking her flesh. Biting and sucking, crawling up onto the table so that he was right on top of her. “I've never... I've never...” He didn't finish because his mouth was now fused to hers, hot and hungry.

Daisy raked her fingers through his hair, just as hungry, just as needy, shifting beneath him as she tried to get comfortable on the hard surface. When Jamie tore his mouth away and then rolled off her, she cried out in displeasure. “Why are you stopping?”

He held his hand out to help her up. “Because I don't want to hurt you. So I'm taking you to the bathroom, where I'm going to take your clothes off, clean this sauce off you and make love to you. Then we're coming back out here to enjoy this meal.”

* * *

I
T
WAS
STRANGE
how easy it was to fall into a routine with Daisy. Waking up to her soft, inviting body in the morning. Showering together, which usually resulted in them hurrying back to the bedroom to finish what they inevitably started in the shower. Showering again—independently—so that he wouldn't be tempted by Daisy's sweet form, while Daisy fixed some marvelous fare for breakfast.

After work he'd come home to a kitchen counter full of baking, they'd deliver it to whatever shelter or mission Daisy had arranged to take it to that day—there were so many in the city—and then they'd stop at the market to buy ingredients for the evening meal, which they'd cook together. It was becoming a bit of a test to see how far they'd make it into the meal before dashing off to the bedroom. It was never very far, and considering how much time they spent on cooking the food, he thought they really should try to eat a meal while it was hot one of these days.

He chuckled to himself as he straddled his bike. Despite the files piled in his inbox, he hadn't stayed late at work one night this week. Nor had he been to the gym in the last four days. The reason? He was too eager to get home to Daisy. She was the sexiest, most desirable woman he'd ever met. Sure, she was his type, curvy and luscious. Lusty and fun. But it was so much more that that. She had the sweetest spirit, she was kind and funny and giving and unpredictable, and he'd never thought he'd ever look forward to coming home to a woman the way he looked forward to coming home to Daisy. He'd never thought he'd want to share his space and life with someone the way he wanted to share them with Daisy. Even after such a short time, he couldn't imagine it any other way.

He didn't want it any other way.

So his disappointment at finding his apartment empty when he arrived home solidified the fact that he was more than smitten with Daisy Sinclair. Even the sight of her name in the contact list on his phone brought a stupid smile to his face. “I've got it bad,” he muttered to himself as he dialed her number, needing to hear her voice.

Now.

“Where are you?” he asked after she'd barely said hello.

“I'm at my new place.”

A sharp pain speared him between the ribs. Of course. What had he been thinking? This living arrangement was temporary.

“Did you hear me?”

Jamie rubbed his brow. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“The movers came today. Do you want to come over and take a look?”

With a glance around the apartment, which already felt empty without Daisy in it, Jamie said, “Of course. I'll be right there.”

* * *

D
AISY
WONDERED
IF
she'd always feel like this—the little flippity-flops in her tummy—whenever she heard Jamie's voice. She buzzed him in and waited at the top of the stairs, wiping her damp palms on the front of her skirt.

She opened the door to him and had to hold onto the frame to keep herself upright. Jamie's infectious smile nearly knocked her off her feet.

“I missed you,” he said, ducking low to kiss her smack on the lips.

“Missed you, too. But I've been busy. Moving day's a bitch.”

“Why didn't you tell me it was moving day? I could have taken a vacation day to help.”

Daisy waved him off. “I hired some guys. It's all done now.”

He made a face. Now what did that expression mean? The rigid jaw, the narrowed glance. It was almost like Jamie was perturbed by the fact that she hadn't asked for his help. She smiled to herself. God, it was so nice to have a man consider her feelings and to put her needs first. She'd never really believed there were men out there who were like that.

But apparently there were. Jamie proved it over and over again.

Squeezing his hand in pleasure, she led him inside, excited to show him how much she'd accomplished in one day of unpacking. Of course Gloria had helped, making sure everything was in the right place for “good flow” or whatever, even bringing over new cushions for the sofa and chair, giving them a face-lift.

“It's great.” He gazed around. “It's so you. Your other apartment was nice. Homey. But this? This is you.”

“Do you think?” She stood in the middle of the living room and turned in a slow circle. The place had a light, breezy, happy feel. “Maybe.” She smiled up at him.

He touched her cheek. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Stay so...optimistic?”

She frowned, considering his words. “I don't know. Am I?”

Taking her hands, he said, “Yes. Even when you're angry.” He squeezed. “You don't stay angry long. Like you always expect things to get better.”

“Well, they generally do, don't they?”

He tilted his head to the side as if he wasn't sure.

“You don't agree?” She rubbed his arm. God, she loved his arms.

“My work makes me cynical.”

“I get that. Your work sucks big, fat lemons, and that's speaking from experience.” She gave him a playful hip check.

His face went through a transformation, from scrunched up, as if he had just sucked the very lemon Daisy spoke of, to grinning, to...something else. He leaned down to her level. “I really like you, Daisy Sinclair.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “And my God, you smell good.”

That did it. He could tell her she was beautiful, she was smart, she was funny—those were wonderful compliments and she loved them—but for some reason, his appreciation of the way she smelled sent tingles skittering across her skin until she felt as though she glowed. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him, showing him with her lips and tongue how much she appreciated him.

As was the norm, Jamie soon took over. With his hand at the back of her head, he tilted her to the best angle for him to have her mouth. He ran his tongue along the inside of her lip before drawing her lip itself into his mouth and catching it between his teeth. His other hand dropped from the small of her back to her ass, bunching up the material of her skirt so that he could work his hand underneath.