Craving More (8 page)
Authors: Brandy Walker
Sam
moved past her, grabbed the case of beer and headed out the slider. “Hey man,
grab the steaks on your way out,” he said before slipping through the door.
Jett
stood staring at the back of Corrine’s head. He hesitated to move from the spot
he was rooted in. Afraid she would bolt if he did what his body and tiger were
screaming to do—to get close and touch every inch of her. He wanted the
scent of her back on his skin, clinging to him. More importantly, he wanted his
scent on her. Branding her as his to anyone who might think about getting
close. Clearing his throat he tried to get her attention. When that didn’t work
he called her name. “Corrine.”
Her
body tensed. Back straightened, hands fisted at her sides. “Turn around and
face me kitten.” He waited a few seconds before adding ‘please’.
Her
shoulders rose and fell in one big breath. Finally, after what felt like
minutes, she turned around, leaned back against the counter and looked at him,
a glint of nervousness shining in her eyes.
“Hello
Jett,” she said softly.
Jett
studied the woman in front of him, body rigid. Her gaze flicking to the slider
every few seconds when they weren’t hungrily roaming over his body.
He
could only guess she didn’t want her brother to walk in on them talking.
“You
don’t have anything to worry about, I told him I’ve been to the bakery a couple
of times. He would expect we would have something to say to each other.”
With
one last nervous glance at the slider she licked her bottom lip, her body
relaxing minutely. “It’s good to see you.”
Inwardly
he sighed, his tiger calming down a fraction. He could tell she was wound a
little tight, but took her talking and not yelling as a good sign. “It’s good
to see you too. I’ll admit though that I didn’t expect to see you again
this
soon.”
“Sorry.
That’s my fault actually. Sam was talking about you and I said he should invite
you over.” She dipped her head down taking great interest in the floor. “You
didn’t have to accept though if you didn’t want to come back here. I would
understand if you didn’t want to see me.”
Jett’s
body was in motion. She looked defeated and vulnerable. He snatched up the
steaks that were sitting on the counter next to him and walked up to her, crowding
her in against the counter. Electric currents shot through his body on contact.
Taking a deep breath he pulled in as much of her essence as he could, his eyes
rolling to the back of his head in sheer bliss.
He
dipped his head placing his lips next to her ear. “Of course I wanted to see
you. I couldn’t get you off my mind. I’m sorry about last night.”
Her
head shot up, emotions he couldn’t read fast enough passing over her face.
“Before
you even say anything silly, I’m not sorry about the sex. I’m sorry I reacted
so poorly to the news of your brother.” Unable to resist, he traced the shell
of her ear with his tongue. A gasp escaped her glossy pink lips, the sound
sending heat straight through his veins. Arousal stirred in his gut as his
dick, which had been getting harder by the second ever since he saw her again,
twitched behind the zipper of his shorts.
“Did
you miss me kitten? Lord knows I missed you.”
The
quake of her body as he spoke was all the answer he needed.
He
checked to see where Sam was. When he didn’t see him, he knew they were safe
for now. Quickly he brushed his lips against her ear before moving down the
column of her neck. Sucking on the sweet spot where neck and shoulder met. The
spot he bit last night.
Corrine’s cool hand wrapped around the back of his
neck, holding him in place.
“Oh,
god,” she moaned.
Jett
pulled away, licking the tortured skin before pulling back and forcing her to
drop her hand. Studying her face, her eyes were closed and mouth open slightly,
delight and arousal clearly stamped across every feature.
He
was satisfied with that reaction. “I think you did miss me.” With the steaks
still in his hand he stepped back and walked away. Needing to escape before he
let go and took her on the counter, regardless of where her brother was and
what he would do to him. At the slider he looked back at her. “You might want
to let your hair down and cover that spot on your neck.”
She
blinked a couple of times before speaking. “You might want to brush the flour
off your neck.” Pushing off the counter she walked out of the room as if the
hounds of Hell were on her feet.
Jett
pushed open the door, whistling as he walked out into the sun. It looked like
it was going to be a great day after all.
CHAPTER SIX
She
was really doing her best not to melt into a puddle of goo once she realized he
was there. That was one of the blessings about baking. She could forget
everyone and everything. The world could crash down around her and, as long as
her kitchen was intact and delicious treats were in the oven, she would never
know.
She
thought she was prepared to see him again except when she turned around and he
was standing right there, she freaked and screamed like a girl. Okay, granted
she was a girl but she didn’t need to act like a silly one.
Taking
her shock and frustration out on her brother did feel good though. So did the
completely unnecessary trip to the laundry room to wash her hands and grab Sam
a t-shirt. It gave her time to pull herself together and come up with a
temporary plan.
The
only thing she could think to do was turn away and not stare at him like a long
lost cinnamon roll. If she kept her back to him then she could think and talk
like a normal human being. Out of sight, out of mind would have to become her
new motto. At least until she knew she had her mind and body under control.
Heading
back to the laundry room again she took off her vintage apron. Without thought
she tossed it in the washer while peeking out the window of the laundry room
door to catch a glance of Jett.
Sam
stood at the grill, beer in hand, yammering away as Jett stood a few feet back
listening. They looked at ease and content. Like they were home.
Her
heart skipped a beat as she took in the cozy scene while her mind created
images of future family gatherings—picnics and holidays, births of babies
and a myriad of other things.
Corrine with Jett.
Sam with MJ.
It would be the perfect scenario, however
completely out of the realm of reality.
Turning
from the view she grabbed up the rest of the aprons and threw them in the
washer. It needed to be done anyway so she may as well do it now. It would keep
her busy just a little bit longer. Stalling the inevitable when she had to face
him again.
Finished with the task Corrine checked
on the guys one more time before strolling through the house heading up the
stairs to the safety of her room.
She
closed her door most of the way, leaving it cracked open so she could hear if
they called her name. It was a habit from her youth that stuck with her to
adulthood. Even when she was alone in the house, she kept it open a little.
A quirk of her nature.
Flopping
on the bed she snatched up her phone and speed dialed MJ, who picked up on the
first ring.
“Please
tell me you need me home right this minute. That there’s some emergency you
can’t handle on your own,” MJ rushed out.
“Hey,
to you too. I take it things aren’t going well there.” Corrine couldn’t help
the light chuckle that came out. Just hearing her friend’s voice relaxed her
more than she knew she needed.
“Oh
my god, it’s even worse than I thought and no one is listening to me at all. They
think I’m acting childish and should be grateful they’re doing this for me.” MJ
released a sound of disgust. “I’m to the point I’m about to tell them I’m a
lesbian and you’re my lover.”
Corrine
couldn’t help, but fall into a fit of laughter. It wouldn’t be the first time
someone thought that about them.
“Stop
laughing, Rini. This is horrible. Plus, you would be lucky to have me as your
undercover lover.”
They
both giggled and some of the tension Corrine felt coming over the line, died
away.
“So
tell me what you’ve been up to?” MJ asked on a huge sigh. “Did you finally get
out for that midnight run you’ve been dying for?”
Mention
of the night before brought back the sharp memory of being beneath Jett as he
pounded her from behind. A shudder worked down her spine.
“Corrine?
What’s going on? You made a funny moaning noise.”
“I
made it out like I planned.”
“There’s
something else. Something happened last night and don’t you dare try to deny
it. I’m in Hell right now and need you to take my mind off all of this.”
Corrine
could picture her standing there hands on her hips, eyes narrowed, refusing to
back down.
“Sam’s
here,” she said in an attempt to deflect her friend.
“Really?”
MJ’s
interest in that tidbit of news was too easy to hear. “Yeah, got here this morning.
He even asked about you.”
“He
probably wanted to know where I was so he could pick on me, the jerk.”
“No.
He did want to know where you were but got upset when I said you were out of
town.”
“Bullshit.
That man couldn’t care less if I was out of town.”
“That’s
not true MJ.” She hated that Sam and MJ were being so stubborn about each other
and their attraction. Before she could say anything else MJ spoke.
“Whatever.
Sam wouldn’t be the reason you just moaned.”
Corrine
closed her eyes and steadied her nerves. For a moment she was hoping MJ would
forget about the moan that slipped out. “Something did happen and I really
don’t know what it means.”
“I
knew it! Okay, hit me. I’m great with other people’s problems and apparently
suck at figuring out my own.”
Corrine
heard her friend’s frustration. “You want to talk about it?”
“Don’t
try to change the subject again. I’m not ready or willing to talk about it over
the phone. I’ll tell you all about
their
twisted plan
when I come home. I need a little time to think about a few things anyway.”
“Whenever
you need me I’m here. I just want to put that out there,” Corrine said. Knowing
her friend already knew that.
“Quit
your stalling and just tell me. It has to be good if you’re being this
evasive.”
The
tiny chuckle MJ let out reassured Corrine that things weren’t too bad with her
friend yet.
“Fine.
Here goes. So I went out last night. Had a great run and went for a swim. After
I was done, I was moon bathing and just about asleep when another tiger came
out of the woods.”
“Holy
crap. No way,” MJ blurted out.
“No
interrupting or I’ll never finish this story.”
Corrine
waited for her friend’s agreement before going on. “Anyway, I’m standing there
not sure what is going on when he shifts.”
“
He
? Please say he was hot. And if he is
find out if he has a friend I can use.”
“Oh
he is hot.
So damn hot.
And if you need a man you can
use Sam.”
She
heard a grunt from her friend.
“Okay
then don’t use Sam.
Back to my problem.
You’ll never
guess who it was.”
“It’s
someone I know?” MJ’s shock bled through the line. “Well that narrows the
field. Let’s see. Hmm.”
Both
of them were silent waiting on each other. MJ was the first to break.
“Okay
I have no idea. The only tiger shifter I know that would be there is your
brother and I doubt you’d be dragging this out if it was just
him
.” The last word came out with a
little heat. Corrine wished the two of them would talk and figure things out.
Still, she vowed to stay out of it and maybe if she reminded herself enough she
would be able to keep that vow.
She
sighed, knowing she would have to admit it at some point. “It was the guy from
the shop.
The big, beyond sexy one that came in every day and
bought us out.
He’s a damn weretiger and was looking for me. Well, the
cupcakes really, but in a round about way—me. Shit, I don’t know.”
“No
fucking way. How come I never got the were-vibe from him?” MJ asked.
“Your
guess is as good as mine. We both know your senses are a little off kilter.”
“Hmmm,
well I guess it’s hard to get the vibe from anyone when I stay in the back the
entire time now that I think about it. I did catch a glimpse of him a time or
two.
His fine, firm ass that is.
Khakis look good on
him. So that’s it? He came out and shifted? What happened next? Did he want
more cupcakes? Or to see what other sweets you’d be willing to offer up?” MJ
snickered.
