LATE NIGHT KISSES Read online

  “That still doesn’t excuse you from wanting to cut our conversation short and jump straight to sex. You shouldn’t have even been thinking about sex.”

  “If you didn’t want me to think about sex, you should’ve worn a different dress.” He looked me up and down for the umpteenth time, forcing butterflies to flutter around my stomach. “I personally think I deserve a second chance.”

  “I don’t.”

  “How’s next Friday?”

  “I’m working.”

  “Saturday?”

  “I’m watching Netflix.”

  “Sunday?”

  “I’m free, and I’ll consider it.”

  That sexy smile crossed his lips again. “Same place and time?”

  “Fine. By the way, I’m not allergic to flowers next time.”

  “I’ll be early next time.”

  “I still have to finish considering this.”

  “Only if you want to make things more difficult.” He looked as if he wanted to say a lot more, but he held back. “I’ll see you Sunday.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “Am I free to go now, or should I wait for the ticket?”

  “No ticket.” He motioned for me to get back into the car. “Although you do deserve one for the broken tail light. I suggest you get that fixed by the next time I see you.”

  I slipped into the car and took off his coat, handing it to him.

  “Have a good night.” He shut my door. “See you in a few days.”

  I looked him over one last time and cranked my engine, pulling onto the road to contemplate what the hell just happened. I couldn’t deny that he was the sexiest man I’d ever met in my life, or that the tension between us was ten times thicker than what I felt between me and any of the other men I dated. Hell, the very thought of feeling his lips against mine was enough to make my knees weak.

  That said, I was not going to give him a second chance. If he was forty-five minutes late and bold enough to suggest sex within five minutes; he’d probably expect a blowjob on the spot if he was early.

  I didn’t need to waste my time on his cockiness, and I wasn’t going to let him make me want to cancel my remaining blind date options for this week either. The second I made it to my bakery, I was going to find the perfect recipe to make sure I didn’t change my mind.

  “NO SECONDS ALLOWED” CRUMB CAKE

  4 cups confectioners' sugar

  3 cups (18 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

  2 tablespoons shortening

  1 cup ground pecans or walnuts

  1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

  1/4 cup butter, softened

  NATHAN

  *The next Sunday*

  “WHERE CAN YOU BUY THE best what?” My brother laughed over the line. “Please repeat that because I’m sure I misheard you.”

  “You definitely heard me the first time, Tristan.” I groaned. “Where can I buy the best fresh cut flowers?” I looked down at the roses I’d purchased from a street-side florist, certain that they weren’t going to cut it. They were already shedding their petals.

  My brother was still laughing.

  “I’m ending this call now,” I said. “Thanks for your help.”

  “No, wait!” He cleared his throat. “The best flower shop is on Folsom Street. It’s called Sterling Stems, and it’s expensive as hell.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I take it that your first blind date went well after all?” he asked. “No sex, but flowers a week later?”

  “I told you it’s a make-up date since I was late.”

  “Interesting. What’s her name?”

  “Christina Ryan.”

  “Christina Ryan of Sifted Perfection Bakery?”

  “No idea. We never got that far.”

  “Well, if it’s that Christina, I’ve never seen her in person, but her picture is always featured in the tourist magazines for her bakery. I’ll give it to you. She’s definitely sexy. Well, not hundred-dollar flowers sexy,” he said, laughing. “But then again, no woman truly is, right?”

  I ended the call and headed toward Sterling Stems.

  As far as I was concerned, Christina was million-dollar flowers sexy, and the moment I saw her sitting in that booth at Starry Nights Café, I knew she was bound to run through my mind for a long time. I also knew that I was canceling the other three dates the agency scheduled for this week.

  As a matter of fact, once Christina’s hazel eyes met mine and her cherry coated lips started moving with a similar sense of sarcasm and humor, I knew it was a sealed deal. Since then, I’d mentally replayed every word that rolled off her tongue, and I was up to four cold showers a day.

  I couldn’t stop thinking about the way her lacy black dress clung to her curves, how her sexy little scowl made me forget that I was that damn late. (All thanks to a man who locked himself out of his grain silo and couldn’t remember any phone number other than 9-1-1.)

  Nonetheless, considering we’d only shared one encounter, my thoughts about her were out of control. I’d replayed images of her thighs locked around my waist as I fucked her against her car, her fingers clawing at my neck as I demanded full control. Her screaming my name as I devoured her pussy.

  Contrary to what she said, I’d filled out the survey honestly, and I was determined to make this second date far more memorable than the first.

  A few hours later ...

  I EYED THE CLOCK AS I sat in Starry Nights Café. It was now eight o’clock, and Christina had yet to show.

  Tapping my fingers against the table, I figured she was paying me back and making me wait the same amount of time that she waited for me.

  Fifteen more minutes passed. Then twenty. Then thirty.

  Is she standing me up?

  “Sir?” A waitress stepped in front of me. “So that you know, we’re closing a bit early for the holiday.”

  “What holiday?”

  “Wish Tree Day.” She smiled. “Last day to sign and seal your ornaments before the Christmas Eve drawing.”

  “Thank you for making me regret that question.” I tossed back the rest of my coffee. “Can you bring me the check?”

  “Ten steps ahead of you.” She placed it on the table, and then she clasped my hand—lowering her voice. “I saw the way your date left you last week. It was so sad.” She caressed my wrist. “Now you’re being stood up by someone else. For the record, I would never do that to you. I’ll be by your side, all the time.”

  “You’re wearing a wedding ring right now.”

  “My husband doesn’t have to know about us.” She looked into my eyes. “It can be our little secret. What do you say?”

  Silence.

  I pulled my hand away and put a twenty-dollar bill on the table. “Thank you for the coffee.” I stood to my feet and walked to the exit before she could say anything else.

  I slipped behind the wheel of my car—half pissed, half aroused, and thought long and hard about what my next move with Christina needed to be.

  I’d spent all week reading romance novels for a better insight on what to do after we finished our coffee at the café. I’d read my way through hundreds of pages of “throbbing members” and “hard, wet cocks” to come up with a way to create a perfect night.

  No point in keeping those reservations now.

  Clenching my jaw, I called two other restaurants, a winery, and a private town car company to cancel everything.

  I thought back to Christina saying she would “consider” coming. How the blush on her cheeks kept appearing every few seconds, how she definitely noticed my cock hardening in my pants when we were standing in front of her car.

  There was no point in her denying that she was as attracted to me, as I was to her, and I was definitely going to get her back for this shit.

  I immediately called my brother.

  “I’m only talking to you if you’ve come to your senses,” he answered on the first ring.

  “I want you to tell me everything you�
��ve heard or know about Christina Ryan and Sifted Perfection,” I said. “I also need your help with something illegal tonight.”

  “On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest, how worried should I be about what you have planned?”

  “Zero,” I said, smiling. “There’s only one person who needs to be worried.”

  PEANUT BUTTER “PAYBACK” PIE

  ½ cup confectioners' sugar

  16 ounce (thawed) whipped topping

  16 chocolate covered peanut butter cups

  ½ cup peanut butter

  8 ounces softened cream cheese

  1 graham cracker crust

  CHRISTINA

  IF THERE WAS EVER AN exact moment in my life that made me want to stab out my eyeballs, I was sure that right now more than qualified.

  “You sure you don’t want to touch them and see for yourself?” My final blind date for the week, Carlton, ran his hand through his hair. “It’s nature at work, and you get to experience it firsthand.”

  “I’m sure,” I said, shuddering. “I don’t want to touch your bunnies.” I stared at the poor, dirty-coated rabbits he’d brought along in a glass case. They’d spent the past fifteen minutes humping each other, making every patron in the bar shoot embarrassed glances in my direction.

  “I’m sure you’ll warm up to them eventually,” he said. “Now that you’ve seen my parrot, snakes, and gerbils, I guess I’ll return these guys to my condo upstairs. I’ll be back in a few seconds.” He carried the glass away from the table, and I knocked back a much-needed glass of gin and tonic.

  How the hell our once promising date had devolved from him picking me up with fresh flowers, with great conversation about how he also loved baking, to bringing me to his condo’s café and showing off his fucking animals (no pun intended) was beyond me.

  As if those things weren’t awkward enough, he didn’t seem to understand my brand of sarcasm, and he’d managed to make every topic about his ex-girlfriend, who he was “totally, one hundred percent over.” He also had a strange way of inserting cringe-worthy innuendoes whenever we encountered a few seconds of silence. (“I promise I’m not this silent in bed—my ex-girlfriend can totally attest to it,” “Can you hear that? It’s the sound of our bodies quietly aligning for what’s to come later,” and “The only reason we’re not talking right now is because I’m sure we’re both thinking about all the things we want to do later. I bet there are a lot of things.”)

  I didn’t want to admit it, but I regretted standing Nathan up the other night. Images of his perfectly chiseled face invaded my thoughts all week, and no matter how many “No Seconds Allowed” Crumb Cakes I made, I couldn’t stop fantasizing about him burying his head between my thighs. Couldn’t stop pressing my vibrator against my clit in the middle of the night as I imagined him owning my body with his cock.

  “What are you smiling about?” Carlton returned to the table. “Missing me already?”

  “Um ...” I shook away the thought of Nathan bending me over a kitchen counter. “I was just thinking about work.”

  “Sure, you were.” He winked at me. “Anyway, sorry if I took a little too much time to show off my friends. I figured I should be upfront about my love for animals. Let’s talk about what’s really important now. You.”

  “Sure.” I vowed to get up and leave within the next half hour. “What do you want to know?”

  “Why are you still single? You seem too good to be true, so I can’t believe I haven’t run into you before.”

  “I spent most of my twenties trying to get my bakery off the ground, and when I finally did—”

  “My ex-girlfriend wanted to open a bakery once.” He interrupted. “She said she wanted it to be for the both of us. We wanted to call it Two Toasted Hearts. How creative is that?”

  I gave him a blank stare.

  “Are you looking at me like that because you’re ready for me to invite you up to my place?” he asked. “After we talk for ten more minutes, I’ll happily show you exactly where my rabbits learned all their moves.”

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  “Wait right here.” He stood up from the table and walked over to the barista.

  I pulled out my phone and sent Amy a text.

  Me: Call me with an “emergency” as soon as you see this.

  Me: Amy?

  Me: AMYYYYYYY!!!!

  No answer.

  Carlton returned to the table with two new drinks, scrap paper, and a pen.

  “Let’s play a little game,” he said. “I’ll say something I like in bed, and you’ll write it down.”

  “How is that a game?”

  “Shhh,” he said. “We’ll both win at this in the end.”

  As he was tapping his chin, a whoosh of cold air blew in from the open café doors.

  I looked over and saw Nathan walking inside, making the first woman in his line of sight blush all over. He scanned the room, stopping when he saw me. Raising his eyebrow, he looked between Carlton and me.

  Unbuttoning his coat, he locked his blue gaze on mine, and I couldn’t help but think that the slow, deliberate way that he was undressing was intentional. Wearing his full navy-blue uniform, he looked even sexier than the last time we’d met.

  “Your cheeks are red,” Carlton said. “Am I turning you on already?”

  I didn’t respond. I kept staring at Nathan as he ordered a cup of coffee, as he clenched his jaw the moment Carlton rubbed my arm.

  The moment he received his drink, he walked right over to us.

  “My apologies for interrupting your afternoon,” he said. “I’m Officer Benson with CFPU. May I ask you two a few questions?”

  “Of course, you can, Officer.” Carlton nodded. “What’s going on?”

  “There was a robbery last night.”

  “What? Where?”

  “The tourist plaza,” he said. “A couple of men broke into The Wish Tree and stole a few things, but I managed to recover everything by this morning.”

  “Impressive.” Carlton smiled. “But if you’ve already recovered everything, what exactly do you need our help with?”

  “Well, one of the wish ornaments was too damaged for me to figure out who it belonged to, and I’d hate for this person to miss out on his or her chance to win ten thousand dollars. I figured some other residents would be able to help before I posted about it in the paper.”

  “Well, here’s a real game for you, Christina.” Carlton leaned back in his seat. “I know a ton of people in Cedar Falls, so I’ll probably be able to guess who it belongs to. Detective Carlton Lewis and Detective Christina Ryan are at your service.”

  “Good to know.” He pulled a glittery red envelope from his pocket, and I held back a sigh as I inhaled the scent of his addictive cologne.

  “Wish Number One,” he said, looking at the notecard. “I want to finally meet a man who is worthy of my goddamn time, one who won’t look at me crazy when I tell him what I want in bed. And for the record, what I want is for him to devour my pussy for hours (sometimes without me asking), control my body with the strokes of his tongue, and beg me to come in his mouth.”

  Oh. My. GOD!

  I felt my entire body heating, felt every nerve running wild.

  Get up and leave right now. Right now.

  “Why would someone ever write a wish like that?” Carlton shook his head. “That is ... That is absolutely filthy, and I’m saying that as the king of dirty talk. I don’t think I know anyone who would write a wish like that, Officer.”

  “What about you, Miss Ryan?” He looked at me, his lips curving into a smirk. “Do you know anyone who may have written a wish like this?”

  Son of a bitch ... “No, and I’m not sure why anyone would break into The Wish Tree Plaza and steal some ornaments, let alone break them just to read people’s private thoughts. A real criminal would surely break into one of the actual stores instead.”

  “Yeah.” Carlton scratched his head. “Isn’t there twenty-four-hour surveil
lance on the entire plaza?”

  “The criminals did their due diligence in advance.” He smiled as he pulled out a chair and sat between us. “That’s why I’m focusing all of my attention on this far more important element of the investigation.” He looked at the card. “Wish Two. For once, I would like to be fucked out of my mind—so recklessly and passionately, that it takes me a while to recover. I also want it to happen someplace other than a bed, and I want it recorded, so I can watch it over and over again. I want the romance before all of this happens, of course.”

  “Ha!” Carlton scoffed. “This person doesn’t want romance at all, Officer. I think we have an aspiring porn star in our midst.”

  Nathan smiled and looked at me. “What do you think, Miss Ryan?”

  “I think there are plenty of other investigations you could be spending your time on right now.”

  “There really aren’t,” he said, lowering his voice. “I think I should make it my mission to satisfy this particular one until the very end.”

  “What happened to people asking for simple, sweet things?” Carlton asked. “Is there any of that on there?”

  “The person did ask for a few of those things.” Nathan looked over the card. “A new standing mixer, new pajamas and slippers, a chance to see Cedar Falls through the eyes of a tourist, and lastly, late-night kisses down there.” He looked up. “You know, I’m starting to see a not-so-subtle pattern for what this person really wants for Christmas.”

  “Me, too,” Carlton said. “Are you thinking that the late-night kisses “down there” may be an allusion to a foot fetish?”

  Nathan gave him a blank stare.

  “I don’t think either of us will be of any help to you during your investigation, Officer Benson,” I cleared my throat. “I’ll be sure to ask some of my friends about this later today.”

  “No need for that, Miss Ryan.” He sipped his coffee. “I’m going to place the entire list in the town paper’s ‘Lost and Found’ section tomorrow morning. I know how important The Wish Tree tradition is to everyone here, so whenever we figure out who the list belongs to, I’ll be sure to post an update with the person’s picture on the front page, so everyone will know that this whole unfortunate thing was sorted out.”