Taste Me Page 2

  She didn’t want their intercourse to end.

  His wavy black hair caressed her cheek, and she closed her eyes only for a moment to seal this special memory. Panting harder and harder, gasping for each elusive breath, she knew her climax was near. Her breasts rubbed against his chest hair, stimulating her nipples. He was good at lovemaking. Real good. Surely, he would let her come with this thrust…or the next.

  Oh, my God, this man is heavenly.

  His breath came in pants, and his arm muscles tightened. He held himself above her and quickened the pace. He pumped harder, driving into her wetness and withdrawing again, only to thrust deeper one more time. She grasped his buttocks to encourage him. With each inward thrust, she held him tighter. His thrusting, throbbing cock hit her core, tempting it to let loose and exciting her beyond anything she’d ever experienced.

  With one final thrust, his cum squirted into her, tickling and delighting her entire being. She held him there, squeezing him with erotic intensity. Shockwaves rippled through her, and she hit the brink of no return. Her final orgasm was earthshattering, and she held onto it, barely able to breathe.

  He withdrew and hovered over her for a mere moment, pressed a soft kiss to her sweaty cheek, and stood before her in all his spent masculine glory.

  She was breathless, fulfilled, and wonderfully achy, yet had to ask, “Who are you?”

  His chuckle was deep and every ounce seductive. “Your fantasy lover.”

  And he was gone.

  ****

  Aurora wasn’t sure how long she lay there, shivering in the damp confines of the warehouse. Her pulse slowed to normal, and her mind realized her vulnerability. She pondered the situation she’d experienced. Was he for real? What had happened to her was the most amazing thing she’d ever fantasized about. Her ultimate sexual encounter, to put it right on the money.

  Noises in the adjoining room startled her into action. She gathered her clothes from the floor to tug on the wet jeans and T-shirt. She rolled up her hot pink G-string panties and stuffed them into her back pocket. If her clothes were soaked from rain and her body glowed with spent passion, what had happened was real.

  Not a dream, not a fantasy.

  But why did he leave, and how did he disappear so fast?

  She took a deep cleansing breath and stepped out into the alleyway between the old buildings. It was still raining, but not as hard. She glanced side to side. No one was there. Wait a minute! Where the heck was her denim purse? Oh, God, she’d left it in the farmers’ market. She’d probably dropped it on the floor, right where the virile man had approached her with his carnal offer. Heat flushed her cheeks in remembrance of that extremely erotic rendezvous. Would he be waiting inside the market, if she went back in to find her purse?

  Shaking her head free of wishful thinking, she had to locate her belongings or report them lost. Not that there was much of interest in her purse. A minimal amount of cash for groceries, her driver’s license, and girl stuff—lipstick, chewing gum, and the like. All replaceable. Nothing much different than most women carried, except the spare condom packet she kept on hand for special occasions.

  Oops!

  She’d just had the best sex of her life and forgotten to use it. She brushed away any thoughts of disaster. Only time would tell if her secret tryst would come to fruition and bite her in the butt.

  ****

  “I don’t need a damn secretary. You should handle all this paperwork yourself. That’s what we agreed on when we started this business.” Bryce Lovella glared at his twin brother—the brainy one. Bryce had attended college too. His degree was in agriculture. He wanted more than anything to run his own farm, sell his own homegrown food, and make life more enjoyable for those who were meant to appreciate it. He thought that’s what they both wanted.

  Brent glared back. “My bachelors in business admin doesn’t claim I want to sit behind a desk all day. I want to live too. I want to sample all life has to offer, and that isn’t what I’m getting out of this…this farm business we started with Dad’s money. He wanted us to be successful and happy. I’m the first, but not the last.”

  “Maybe you should try harder?”

  “And maybe you should try sitting behind a desk while big brother is out mingling with the ladies.” He harrumphed and dropped into his leather chair behind the solid oak desk scattered with papers. “Or did you think I didn’t know?”

  “What? Is that jealousy I hear coming from my sibling’s lusty mouth? I hear you have a good time with the women you hang out with too. Or is that a myth?”

  “No myth. I’m good at what I do with the ladies.” Brent laughed and tossed a wad of paper at Bryce. “Say, do you want a challenge? I mean, like we used to do in college?”

  He stared at his twin, and a moment of distrust trickled into his mind. All the times they’d swapped girlfriends to see if their dates would notice which twin they were with and if one brother was any better or different from the other—especially when it came to sexual encounters. Was he interested in doing this again?

  “Hell, yeah. You’re on, little brother. How long do we have to meet this girl, and what are our limits?”

  “No limits. Let’s give them the best we have to offer and let the chips fall where they may.” Brent placed a long finger to his temple as if in deep thought. “Let’s give it two weeks this time. Or longer, if neither of us is successful within that period.”

  Two weeks was short notice, but he could do it. “If you win, I’ll do the paperwork for a year—no complaints. If I win, and I will, you have to do the paperwork for our first year like you promised. After that, we can look for a responsible replacement. We can’t afford to hire an accountant right now. We agreed on this arrangement, Brent. But I’m willing to give a little for the sake of competition if you will too.”

  “One small thing, Bryce—the girl has to say ‘I love you’ and mean it.” His younger twin winked at him and chuckled.

  It irritated Bryce when his brother thought he was the smarter of the two. “You’re definitely on. Two weeks, and I love you. Got it.”

  Brent’s sideways smile mirrored his own as he gathered up the papers on the desk.

  Bryce walked out of the manager’s office and into the maintenance room. As twins, they were identical in all ways, right down to their muscular builds and insatiable hunger for sex. They even liked the same type of women—blondes, slender and pretty—which sometimes made life quite interesting.

  Sometimes, their little competitions ended up in a fight. But they always managed to work things out. Like today. A new challenge. So far, neither brother had found the perfect woman. Who knew? Maybe this time, one of them would actually fall in love.

  ****

  Aurora peeked around the corner of the market entrance. No confident, dark, and sexy European-looking male in sight. She breathed easy and stepped inside the renovated building once again. The aroma of fresh produce reminded her of the way her mystery man smelled. He was masculine, sensual, and he was going to be extremely difficult to forget. She checked the area around the strawberries. Her purse was nowhere to be seen. A young cashier stood behind the counter near the front entrance, ringing up another customer.

  Aurora approached with a smile. “Excuse me? I lost my purse over by the fresh fruit section earlier. Did anyone happen to turn it in?”

  The girl’s blank stare made her wonder if she spoke English. She giggled and pointed toward two high windows in the back of the market. “You’ll need to check with management. Take a right by the bread aisle, and the stairs are down the hall by the restrooms.”

  “Thank you.”

  Aurora peeked over her shoulder and noticed a teenage boy. No wonder the girl didn’t respond right away. Puppy love and wild crushes were a thing of the past. Nearing twenty-eight, she still remembered those long-ago days. Sometimes, she wished life could be that simple again.

  She took the flight of stairs with ease and paused at the top to look around at a large
open area with a sofa and wide-screen TV. There was a closed door on each side of the room that probably contained the large windows she’d seen from below. The engraved, gold plate on the closest door read Maintenance, and the other door’s plate read Management.

  Since no one was around, she walked over and knocked on the manager’s door. She heard scuffling from within and stepped back. The door swung open. She gasped, and her hand flew to her throat. It was him. He had changed into dry clothes—a pair of gray slacks and a half-buttoned white dress shirt. But the same magnetic brown eyes spoke to her with mirth.

  He finished tucking in his shirt at the sound of movement behind him. “Can I help you?” He stepped sideways to block her view of the room’s other occupant.

  Where was her voice? The cat not only had her tongue, he’d tasted it about a half hour ago. Among other things he tasted. She cleared her throat, and heat rushed to her cheeks. “Hello, again. I lost my purse, and the cashier told me to come up here and check with management. Would that be you, by chance?”

  He grinned, the devil. “Why, yes. I believe my employee here turned in your purse.” He walked back into the room and snatched her purse from the desktop, where a shapely blonde woman sat with her legs crossed, obviously upset at the interruption. “That’ll be all, Belinda. Thank you for turning in Miss—?”

  That was her clue to speak. “Daring.”

  “Miss Daring’s purse.” He dismissed the other woman, and she left with a huff. “I apologize for my employee. She loves to chat, and sometimes you can’t turn her off.”

  Especially when she turns you on, you scoundrel. “I bet. Thank you.” He acted as though they’d never met before. Maybe he didn’t have the same awesome experience. She reached for her purse, but he held it behind his back.

  “Hold on. Any chance we can talk for a minute, or are you in a hurry to get home to your husband?” His dark eyes twinkled with mischief.

  “No husband.”

  “Boyfriend?” He raised one eyebrow in a curious arch.

  “No.”

  “Are you busy tonight?” His smile was devastating to her senses, and damn if he wasn’t aware of the fact.

  “Look, I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing here, but I’m not interested.” She combed a damp lock of hair out of her face and shivered. The air-conditioned room made her nipples stand out beneath her wet T-shirt. She glanced down. Yep. Shameless little hussies.

  He chuckled. “Nice touch. I didn’t know it was raining outside.”

  Who was he kidding? He’d been soaked to the skin too, but he had a place close by to change clothes. That didn’t mean he had to pretend their mad moment of passion never occurred. “I didn’t catch your name?”

  “Where are my manners? Bryce Love.” He gave her outstretched hand a shake. “Nice to meet you.”

  Oddly enough, she felt nothing. How could that be? He’d sent her to the moon and beyond with the slightest touch less than an hour ago. Maybe it was all some weird dream-like fantasy after all. “Well, it’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Love. I’ll take my purse now and be on my way.”

  He stepped between her and the door. “How long ago did you say you lost your purse in the store?”

  She wasn’t sure what he was up to with these silly questions. She wanted to ask him why he pretended not to know her. A flush of warmth in her nether parts reminded of their little tête-à-tête. She wiggled uncomfortably. The man knew what he did to her and exactly when he’d done it. His customer service was impeccable and the most incredible she’d ever experienced. But his memory must have lapsed.

  “About an hour ago. Maybe a little longer. I’m not sure. I’m glad your employee turned it in.” And now she wanted to leave. She had to go before she did something stupid, like run her fingers over the chest hairs peeking through his half-buttoned shirt.

  He dangled her purse between them. “Maybe you should check inside and make sure everything is still there. You know, since it was brought upstairs twenty minutes ago. Someone might have taken something important.”

  Aurora shrugged. Whatever he was up to, he played the perfect stranger to her now. She took the purse from him, unzipped the pocket, and looked inside. Her driver’s license and money were still there. Gum, lipstick…but where was her special condom? It came in bright colors, and the package matched the condom color. She’d picked hot pink, her favorite color. Sassy, strong, and—

  “Something wrong, Miss Daring?”

  His smile was smug. He knew exactly what she was missing. But how? Did the female employee take the new condom? Or did he take it, and they’d recently put it to use? It didn’t really matter. There were more at home. She sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly. She wouldn’t give him the pleasure of telling him what was missing from her purse. No way.

  “Everything is here. Thanks again. And thank your employee too.” He’d obviously accomplished that particular deed. She started to leave to salvage her dignity.

  He caught her arm. “Did I do or say something to annoy you?”

  Aurora looked up. A wickedly sensual smile crossed his lips, the same one she saw for the first time down in the fruit section—before he so roguishly seduced her. Or did she seduce him? One couldn’t be seduced if they were doing the seducing too. She shook her head. Was she freaking crazy? This man possessed her mind with sex—and damn it all to hell—she craved sex with this man.

  “No. I need to be going. I still have shopping to do.” Somewhere else far, far away from here and the mental disturbance he caused her.

  “Here, let me loan you a shirt. You’re shivering.”

  Before she could refuse, he walked over to a closet and grabbed out a dress shirt very much like the one he was wearing. He slipped it over her shoulders. His long-fingered hands lingered there, but there was no fire, no tingles. He was just a man. Had she only imagined what had happened between them after all?

  “I’d still like to take you out to dinner sometime. Tomorrow night?” He pulled a business card from his shirt pocket and handed it over. “Here’s my number…in case you change your mind. I hope you do.”

  She stared down at the Love’s Farmer’s Market logo and smiled. What a name for a place she would never forget, even if it was a dream. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”

  “Please say yes. Give me a chance to apologize for whatever it is I’ve done to disturb you.” He stepped back and allowed her to pass.

  The man was impossible. She straightened her posture and slipped her purse over her shoulder. “I appreciate your assistance, Mr. Love. But I think you’ve done enough already. I’ll return the shirt tomorrow.”

  Aurora made her way back downstairs and recalled her original mission to the market. She didn’t feel much like shopping now. Still, she needed those lush strawberries and whipping cream for the dessert she planned to make for a friend’s dinner party tonight. She crossed the produce section and happened to glance toward the high windows overlooking the store. He stood there in the framed window, arms crossed, staring at her with the most tempting smile on his lips. He had the audacity to blow her a kiss.

  ****

  Bryce worked his ass off the remainder of the afternoon. It was either that or stop and recall the awesome sex he’d experienced with a woman he would never forget. A stranger, sampling the fresh strawberries and licking her lips in bold invitation. God, she’d turned him on in a heartbeat. Sure, he’d noticed her the moment she walked into the market. She was petite, blonde, and shapely in her blue jeans and loose pink T-shirt that failed to hide breasts the perfect size for nibbling and squeezing like delicate plums. He got hard at the thought.

  He had to find her again.

  If she loved fresh fruit, she would be sure to return soon. His market had the best produce fresh from his garden. All he had to do was wait and watch. Either she’d treasured her experience, or she was an excellent actress. He wondered what she did for a living. Then it hit him—what if she was married?

  �
��Hey, Bryce!” Brent called and waved from across the warehouse. “Don’t forget our new challenge. I already have a woman in mind. See you at home.”

  Bryce swiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm. “What? You’re not staying in your classy apartment?”

  “Nope. I have dinner plans, but I’ll come out and stay at the farm tonight. I won’t be too late. But don’t wait up for me.” He chuckled and waved goodbye.

  Hell, he’d be asleep by nine o’clock. Otherwise, he couldn’t get up and do the farm chores before he headed into town tomorrow. Living in Northern Virginia gave them the perfect access to wealthy shoppers, tourists, and local rural families. Bryce enjoyed the hour-long drive out to the farm. He loved nature and everything natural. Including bare skin, pretty green eyes with no makeup, and a body he couldn’t wait to wrap himself around one more time. Maybe he’d see her tomorrow.

  ****

  The brick brownstone apartment house Aurora called home looked inviting. She parked her compact car in her slot behind the building and hurried in through the side door with her grocery bag. Rain in the late spring was common for the area, and the flowers certainly needed it. But she was soaked to the skin and in dire need of a real shower for more reasons than one.

  She set the bag of berries on the counter, slipped the whipping cream into the fridge, and hurried for the bathroom. One look in the mirror told it all. Her cheeks were still flushed pink. A slight redness on her neck reminded her of his five o’clock shadow. His stubbled jaw rubbing against her in the heat of their lovemaking. He must be of European descent with his thick dark hair and espresso eyes. She loved his slight accent, even though he’d hardly spoken. They hadn’t needed words for what they both craved. Pure steamy sex. No inhibitions. No boundaries. Simply oodles of satisfaction.