Taste Me Page 9

  “Something came up. I’ll be back late Monday. I’ll make it up to you.” Brent’s voice sounded too cheerful. It must involve a woman.

  “I’ve heard that promise before.” He leaned back in the chair with a sigh. “Go ahead and have fun. Next weekend off is mine.”

  “You got it. Thanks for understanding.”

  Bryce heard a female voice in the background and wished he were going away with Aurora Daring for a long weekend. Maybe he would ask her about next weekend. Give her plenty of notice. “I can hear you’ve got company. Drive safe.”

  After he set the cellphone down, he shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. They would never succeed at this new market venture if he couldn’t get Brent to stay interested for five minutes. And it had been Brent who suggested the recent challenge.

  Suddenly, he knew what Brent was up to. His brother had a gal lined up to get her to fall for him, so he could win their challenge. But Brent didn’t know about Aurora and that they were so hot together. It was only a matter of time before she whispered those three sweet words in his ear.

  ****

  The Hudson River was wide, and the view of downtown Manhattan was nice, if you liked big cities. Aurora examined Bryce’s profile behind the wheel of the speeding sports car. When he’d picked her up, she was impressed but still questioned how he could be so different from one moment to the next. Dressed in his expensive suits and with his slicked back hair, he was a handsome man. Yet there was a difference, ever so slight, from the man who wore jeans like a calendar model.

  He had the sexual expertise of a man who loved women and loved them well. She adored the wild, sexy, lover-boy Bryce. But the more cautious, straight-laced Bryce, who liked fast cars and even faster women, wasn’t exactly her dream man. She wondered who Bryce was today. She opted for the classy Bryce but really wanted the hot hero Bryce.

  “A penny for your thoughts?” He glanced at her and returned his sunglass-covered gaze to the heavy traffic. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”

  “I was wondering why you want to tell everyone we’re engaged.”

  “It gets me what I want.”

  The wind whipped her long hair into her face, and she tucked it into her leather jacket. She never liked riding in convertibles. She would much rather be in an enclosed vehicle that sat higher off the ground for safety reasons, especially in busy traffic. “And that is?”

  “You.”

  Maybe she didn’t hear him right. “What?”

  “I want you.” He reached his hand across the console and squeezed hers.

  She tugged her hand free. “I want you too. But I want the sexy, fun Bryce.”

  He frowned and his lower lip puckered out. “I’m not sexy and fun?”

  “You can be so hot you send me to the moon and beyond.”

  He glanced at her with a satisfied smile.

  She studied his profile and decided physical interaction would be the only way to tell his mood. She would find out when they got back to the hotel for the night. Hopefully, he would be in his playful and erotic mood. She was horny. They hadn’t had sex for two days now. After getting sexual release so many times in such a short period, her pent-up frustration threatened to boil over. She needed his brand of loving, and she needed it now.

  “I’ll do my best.” He laughed and settled his hand on her thigh.

  He played the part of the hot Italian lover, but she wondered what it was in his demeanor today that made her feel like she was riding with a stranger. Maybe it was her imagination. She shook it off and leaned back to enjoy the panoramic view, ignoring his hand on her jeans. She sighed. New York was fabulous, but not where she wanted to be. She would be glad to leave the big city behind and return to her hometown in Northern Virginia.

  Just two short days…and three nights of loving to go. Maybe she could handle it after all.

  ****

  Bryce had the perfect plan. He would invite Aurora out to the farm next weekend. If she liked where he lived, all the better. He could give her a tour of the hundred-year-old farmhouse and his modern greenhouses where he started all his plants and kept the more fragile varieties. She could even meet Brutus. He glanced down at the affectionate two-year-old bulldog lying at his feet.

  Now, if Brutus approved of her it would be a first. The dog was a rescue, possibly abused by a female. He rarely liked women, but Bryce hadn’t really taken anyone out to the farm before. Never saw a need to. He got what he wanted from women—dinner and sometimes sex, if he was interested. Once he got to know them, the magic didn’t exist.

  Not so with Aurora. She caught his eye from the first moment he spotted her, and his libido went into overdrive when they were together. He’d never been so sexually open or ready to try new things like he was with her. There had to be more than sex to build a relationship on, but what if sex got them together and everything else fell neatly into place?

  Bingo!

  “Wait ’til you meet her, Brutus. You’re going to love her. She’s sweet, has the sexiest body a man could ask for, and she’s so damn hot in bed. Well, I haven’t actually had her in a bed yet. But I plan to change all that soon.” He shook his head, took the last swallow of his glass of wine, and stood to stretch. “Why am I talking to the dog? Why am I talking to myself?”

  Brutus yawned and rolled onto his side to fall fast asleep. Bryce watched the dark night sky and saw a shooting star. Wondering if it was true, he closed his eyes and made the wish. Who knew, maybe his wish would come true. He could use a change of luck about now.

  ****

  Aurora waited up until she could no longer keep her eyes open. Nodding off to sleep, she dreamed of making mad passionate love with Bryce. When she opened her eyes, darkness remained, and the chill of being alone washed through her. She stared out at the big city across the Hudson through the wide picture window of the hotel room. Lights everywhere, even at night. The city that doesn’t sleep only made her feel all the more alone.

  She crawled back under the covers and pulled the sheets up to her chin. Why hadn’t Bryce come back yet? He left to get a bottle of wine hours ago and never returned. She hoped something hadn’t happened. She was about to call the front desk and ask if they had seen him when she heard the key turn in the door.

  The room was dark except for the ribbon of moonlight cast through the open window drapes. Bryce came around the bed, stripping off his clothes before he slipped under the covers beside her. He rolled on his side with his back toward her. Within minutes, snoring took the place of his easy breathing. And that odor? Dammit, if he wasn’t passed out drunk.

  Aurora squeezed her eyes tight to shut out the tears. Disappointment filled her. She wanted to be with him, to have him hold her like he did in the shower, to have him make mad crazy love to her until she screamed with the joy of release.

  There would be no satisfaction tonight. Not ever again, if this was how he treated her when he wasn’t in the mood or too drunk to get there. She didn’t want to be with someone like that. No matter how fantastic the sex was, she would be better off without him.

  Good thing Stan’s niece didn’t place in the second round of judging today. She was free to leave New Jersey early with nothing more to report. She felt sorry for the teen but glad to be going home tomorrow. The long ride with Bryce would be barely tolerable, but she could do it, and she would tell him goodbye for the last time. She was so done with his back and forth personality and his irresponsible manner.

  ****

  Bryce whistled as he walked into the office Monday morning. He thought Brent would still be gone, according to his note, but he’d noticed his red roadster outside. “Hey, how did it go? Get enough rest this weekend? You’re home early, aren’t you?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  He dropped into the chair opposite the desk where Brent sat with a frown the size of Alaska on his face. He struggled to control his laughter. Sometimes it was humorous to watch his twin squirm with anxiety wondering whe
ther he was as appealing to women as Bryce was. “Oh, God, don’t tell me she shut you down? No sex at all?”

  “I had sex all right, but not with the girl I planned to have sex with. And now she’s not speaking to me over some damn ad she read in the newspaper.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Just what I said. I took this gorgeous blonde to New York, but when I went down to get a bottle of wine, I ran into an old friend in the bar. A female friend from college. We’d had great sexual relations in the past, and she wanted to catch up on everything—even sex. We both wanted one more quickie. Well, it lasted three hours or maybe more. By the time I got back to the room, I was trashed and barely made it to the bed. I awoke the next morning to an ice princess.”

  That did it. Bryce burst out laughing. “My God, you finally got your just rewards!”

  “Shut up. I still have a hangover. She had to drive home.”

  He was absolutely pleased his brother got shot down, but regret stirred for the young woman who’d thought she was going away for a romantic weekend, only to lose her lover to another woman. What a stab in the chest. She would never speak to him again.

  Brent had no manners when it came to women. He used them. They were pretty objects to dangle from his arm, sexy things to make him look good. When he finished with them, he cast them aside. No hard feelings. None at all. As identical twins, almost to the T, they differed in one way. He would never abuse a woman in any manner, even if they didn’t hit it off.

  Wait a minute! Did Brent mention the ad? He was guilty of that particular joke. He’d better change the subject, before Brent thought about it too hard.

  Bryce smiled. Payback was a bitch. “You’ll be happy to know sales were up while you were gone. It means more paperwork for you this week, but I think you can handle it. Starting tomorrow. Go home and sleep it off. You’re no good to me here. You look like shit.”

  Brent glared at him from behind the desk. “How can you be nice to me when I’m such a louse?”

  “Because I love you, and I can’t help it if I’m the better man.”

  Bryce chuckled as he got up and left the office. His brother might find all the women calling about the ad a nice distraction. Bryce had twisted the ad’s meaning and implied his brother was the instigator, looking for a wife. He laughed again and hurried downstairs to the market, wondering if he would spy Aurora in the produce area today. If not, maybe he would drop by the local newspaper office later. He hadn’t seen her for five days now. He missed her, a woman he barely knew but hungered for like no other.

  ****

  The Daily Sun newspaper office was closing when Bryce arrived. Waiting outside for Aurora to come out the door, he leaned against the short brick wall surrounding the parking area, nodding and smiling at the women who passed by on the way to their cars. He spotted Aurora and waved. She swung on her heel and disappeared back inside.

  He followed her into the nearly empty office. Low partitions separated the reporters’ desks, but the room was mostly open. Aurora stood over by a glass enclosed room he guessed to be the owner or senior editor’s office.

  He raised his hand to wave. “Aurora.”

  She walked up to him and scowled. “What’s wrong with you? I told you I don’t want to see you again.”

  “You did?”

  She nodded her head. “I can’t deal with this yo-yo existence. I don’t know who you are, but I don’t think you do either.”

  What the hell was she talking about? “My name is Bryce Love. Bryce Lovella, actually.”

  Her eyes opened wider. “Now you have a different name?”

  “No, we shortened it for the store. It sounds classier. Don’t you think?” He reached for her arm, but she pulled back. “What did I do? Ohhh…you’ve seen the ad.”

  “That’s just part of it, and you know it.” She held her hand up, and it was all he could do to not take her hand in his and pull her into his arms. “Don’t touch me, please.”

  He stepped back at her harsh tone. “Excuse me?”

  “I can’t think straight when you touch me. If you’re in the mood, that is. But I never know when you will be in the mood, and I don’t care to find out anymore. You tear my feelings apart. I’m so done with you.”

  “But I’m not done with you, Aurora. I’ll never be done with you.”

  She glanced away, but not before he caught the tears forming in her beautiful eyes. The vision sucked the breath right out of his body. She sobbed before she spoke. “Go away and leave me alone. Please.”

  “Give me a chance, Aurora. Talk to me. Let me fix whatever I’ve done to upset you.” He didn’t know what else to say. His gut ripped in two, and he couldn’t swallow the lump in his throat. Was it hot in here?

  “Goodbye, Bryce.”

  There was nothing he could do but turn around and walk out of her life. Never in a million years had he expected to receive such a cold reception from her. He recalled each word she’d uttered and couldn’t figure out what it was he’d done to upset her. Sure, he’d placed the ad, but he hadn’t meant any harm by it. He thought she might think it was funny or sexy. Now, he knew why she hadn’t come around. She was done with him, she’d said.

  So done.

  His heart sank into the pits of Hell, and he didn’t feel like climbing back out.

  Chapter Five

  Where was that darn box? Aurora dug through her closet looking for the missing box Bryce had sent her. She’d tossed it somewhere unopened, after she returned from New Jersey. What a disaster that had turned out to be. She was so angry the drive home was silent and took way longer than three and a half hours. She’d dropped Bryce and his fancy luxury car at his apartment and took a cab home.

  Her mind flickered back to the newspaper she’d found on her desk at work, opened to the classifieds. Circled in Carla’s red ink pen was the personals ad Bryce had obviously taken out before they left for New Jersey. How could he mention her pink panties for the whole world to see?

  “Ah, here it is!”

  She shoved aside her dresses and yanked the box from beneath some dirty clothes. She should have at least opened it. What if it was something edible and maybe spoiled by now? After tearing open the box she had taped shut for privacy, she read the letter once again. This time it made her angry. They could have had a wonderful getaway, even if it was under the pretense her boss thought she was engaged. Well, she’d set Stan straight on that one when she returned from New Jersey. Stan said he would smash Bryce’s face at the next opportunity he got. She smiled. Stan cared about his employees. He’d thought he was doing her a favor by sending her away with Bryce, but fate intervened. Maybe it was supposed to, so she could make up her mind about Bryce once and for all.

  She tossed the worthless note aside.

  Beneath the note was another box wrapped in bright pink tissue. She tore the tissue away and gasped. What she held in her hand was interesting. And maybe a little provocative? She swallowed hard and tugged it out of the box to free it of the wrapping. She’d thought about getting something like this, but never had the courage to go where you had to go to get one. Fingering the soft silicone hot pink tip, she shuddered. It was a man’s cock.

  Oh. My. God. Do women really use these things on themselves?

  Tai Chi pounced on the pink tissue paper, claiming it for play. He attacked the box too and a small tube fell out. Lubricant. Cotton Candy flavor. She couldn’t help it. She laughed out loud. Did Bryce think he was going to use this on her? Come to think of it, it sounded kinda sexy. Goosebumps slithered across her skin. She recalled the fun they’d had their first time together. The sexual heights he’d taken her to were incredible.

  “This is silly stuff, Tai.” She gathered up the vibrator, the instructions, and the lubrication tube and set them high on her dresser, so Tai Chi wouldn’t get into them. On second thought, she tucked them into her sock drawer, way to the back.

  Out of sight, out of mind. Right?

  As she straighten
ed the dresser top, she noticed the Love’s Farmer’s Market business card Bryce had given her. She closed her eyes and willed herself to walk away. But she couldn’t do it. With resignation, she snatched up the card, memorized the number, and called it before she could change her mind.

  Three long rings before he picked up.

  “Hello? Love’s Farmer’s Market. Bryce speaking.”

  His deep Italian accented voice sent a tingle along her back, and her heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe, and felt lightheaded.

  “Hello?” he repeated.

  She’d called him, so she had to say something. “Hello, Bryce. It’s me, Aurora.”

  Silence reigned, but she heard him take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “Bryce, I want to apologize for this afternoon. I shouldn’t have said those things. I don’t know what’s gotten into me lately. I’m really sorry.”

  Still, he didn’t speak.

  “Bryce, please forgive me. I was rude. I didn’t give you a chance to explain.” She shifted off the bed, stood, and stretched, then dropped back down again. “Bryce, are you still there?”

  “Yes. Can I come over?”

  She swallowed what felt like a rock. “Now?”

  “Please?”

  How could she say no? It’s what she wanted. What she couldn’t resist. Only if he came as the downhome, natural Bryce, and not the citified, classy Bryce. “What are you wearing?”

  “Huh?” He chuckled. “Jeans and a sweaty T-shirt. Let me take a quick shower, and I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Oh yeah, where do you live?”

  “Same address—thirty-three ten East Maple Street, apartment seven. You do have a short memory sometimes.” She giggled, content that he’d decided to visit her. “See you.”

  “See you in twenty minutes.”

  A click. He was gone. She tossed the cellphone on her bed and flopped backward. “Oh, geez! I haven’t showered since last night, Tai.”

  She gathered up clean clothes and hurried into the bathroom, careful not to trip over the cat playing with the tissue paper and box. A quick shower and fresh body lotion, and she felt a million times better. Well, maybe not a million since her hair was still wet and dripping. She towel dried it and ran her brush through the long tendrils.