Glazed (2 page)

“Yeah?” Derek fished in the white paper bag with one hand, pulling out one for himself. “I can’t remember the last day I went without a donut.”

She nearly choked on the bite she was chewing, whimsical star-shaped sprinkles and all. “But you’re in such amazing shape! You’ve got to be kidding!” She realized what she’d just said as soon as she finished speaking. Heat crept into her cheeks, threatening to turn them the same shade as the icing she was licking from a fingertip. She only knew how cut he was because she’d caught him running bare-assed down the street. Of course, it was obvious now that he was in great shape, but she vividly remembered his unclothed body and knew that no outfit could do it justice.

He shot her a mysterious sideways glance, leaving her to wonder exactly what he was thinking. Hopefully not about how
she
was thinking about how great his ass looked. She shoved another bite of sugar-coated donut into her mouth before she could say something even more embarrassing. He raised an eyebrow at that, and she groaned inwardly. Great, he probably thought she was a pig!

“Yeah well,” he finally replied, “I spend a lot of time at the gym.” He said it as if he were simply offering an explanation, not bragging.

She resisted the urge to say ‘I can tell’, and stared instead at the nearest available object, which happened to be the paper donut bag.

“Have another one. Or have them all. I don’t mind.”

She frowned fiercely at the bag. “No thanks. I don’t go to a gym, but I’ll need to if I keep pigging out on these things.”

“Pfft.” He somehow managed to roll his eyes while still keeping them on the road. “You?” He turned to look at her now, his eyes giving her curves a quick once-over. “A second donut isn’t going to ruin a perfect figure. Besides, you nearly died this morning – give yourself a break.”

He tossed the bag lightly into her lap.

She clutched it, stunned. Perfect figure? Was that really what he thought of her body? The thought caused her head to spin a little as she stole a covert glance at his incredible physique. If she’d ever seen a perfect example of the male body, his was it. To think he could possibly feel the same way about her was a little mind-boggling. Not that she didn’t like the way she looked, but he was such an obvious ‘10’. She, on the other hand, knew she was reasonably attractive – of middling height with fairly generous breasts and a slender waist, but also a bigger butt than she cared to have and legs that could stand to be longer. And the casual comfy-jeans and sweater outfit she’d chosen, knowing she’d be spending the day walking out in the cool fall air, wasn’t very flattering to her figure. “Yeah right,” was her eventual conclusion, but she pulled a second donut from the bag anyway.  It was impossible not to feel buoyed by his compliment, despite her doubts about its accuracy.

“Well, modesty is a good quality too,” he said, watching her bite into the second donut – this one covered with heavenly chocolate icing – with a smile.

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes, even as she blushed. Talk about a confidence boost! She didn’t even feel guilty over the second donut anymore. He, however, must really be feeling bad about nearly turning her into road-kill. Either that or he was hitting on her. She hurried to suppress the thought as images of his flapping towel and the flesh it had revealed rose unbidden before her mind’s eye. “So why were you running half-naked through the streets anyway?” she blurted, a mild sugar-rush fueling her natural curiosity.

He didn’t take his eyes off the road. “Somebody stole my duffel bag while I was showering after my workout at the gym last night. It had all my stuff in it. My clothing, my truck keys – everything. When I got out of the shower I was the only one in the locker room and it was already closing time.” He shrugged, keeping his hands steady on the wheel as he did so. “I only live a few blocks from the gym, so I decided to make a run for it and use my hidden key when I got home.”

Kelly laughed. “What a cruel thief. He could’ve at least left your shorts.”

“I’m just glad he didn’t snatch my towel.”

She nodded. “Guess it could’ve been worse.” For him, anyway. She hadn’t exactly minded seeing him sans-towel.

The truck slowed to a halt, the engine rumbling idly as Derek guided the vehicle close to the curb. “Here we are,” he said with a gesture toward two green street signs that were emblazoned with angular white letters reading ‘West’ and ‘Spiller’.

“Right.” Kelly deposited the empty donut bag onto the foot of seat space between herself and Derek before unbuckling her seatbelt reluctantly. How was it possible that her stomach felt so hollow when she’d just downed two donuts? For some reason, she didn’t want to get out of the truck. And that reason’s name was Derek. The man was poisoning her brain with his gorgeousness and sweet compliments. She needed to get out of his vehicle before she melted, giggling, onto the floor mats. She forced herself to smile as she turned to face him for the last time, wishing the trip had been longer. “Thanks for the ride.” She opened the door a few inches and stuck a foot out, preparing to hop down onto the sidewalk. “And the donuts.”

“Anytime.”

“See ya.” Her foot was a mere six inches from the concrete, and her heart seemed to be there too, sunken down to somewhere in the vicinity of her toes.

“Wait.”

She turned toward the sound of Derek’s voice, her heart suddenly springing back up into her chest where it belonged. “Yeah?”

He was leaning across the seat, which brought his gorgeousness within a heart-speeding few inches of her own body. “You’ve got something here…” He raised a hand to his face, pressing a fingertip to the corner of his mouth.

She mirrored him, lifting her own hand, meaning to wipe away whatever smudge of donut icing must be there as heat flooded her cheeks.

He was faster. His lips were pressed against hers before she even had time to register what was happening. When she did she stiffened with shock. That lasted for a brief moment, and then she relaxed, feeling alarmingly as if her body had been turned to jelly. Was she actually melting? His lips were hot, alternately soft and firm as he worked them against hers, slipping his tongue over them and touching it to the corner of her mouth.

She parted her lips in response, inviting his tongue in with a sugar-scented sigh. Sometime during the next few moments she realized he’d wrapped his arms around her and had one in her hair. The other rested on her hip, gripping her through her jeans. It was a good thing he was holding her head, because it was spinning pleasantly, her mind whirling with a myriad of electrifying sensations.

The kiss ended abruptly when a vehicle sped by, its horn blaring rudely.

For a moment, she was suspended in his arms, her lips still parted and damp. The pulse in his fingertips fluttered against her hip and skull. Then he withdrew his touch slowly. Very slowly. Slowly enough to make her want to throw herself back into his arms, at least until her common sense caught up with her more physical senses.

“I was going to say,” he breathed, “that you had a little bit of icing on your lip.”

She laughed, somewhat breathlessly. “Not anymore.”

“Dinner,” he said suddenly. “Come to dinner with me? Tonight?”

She shook her head, more in an effort to clear her whirling mind than in reply. “I’m sorry,” she half-panted. “I can’t.”

He didn’t bother to hide his disappointment, and his frown made her want to kiss his pouting lips all over again. “Alright. When would be a good time for you, then?”

She shook her head again. “No, I mean I can’t go out with you. I’m sorry.”

He reached out and took her hand suddenly in his, squeezing as his dark eyes searched out her hazel ones. “Are you seeing someone?”

“No,” she admitted, eager to escape his touch before it muddled her senses so badly that she agreed to a date. “It’s nothing like that.”

He frowned more deeply, and it struck her how what she’d just said must have sounded – like she had something against him personally. “It’s nothing personal,” she added hastily. “I just can’t see anyone right now. But thanks for the kiss.”  Maybe it was a stupid thing to say – who thanked someone for a kiss? But she didn’t want him to think she hadn’t enjoyed every second of it.  “It was amazing.” She wriggled her hand out of his and slipped out the door. “I have to go.”

He left without further complaint, pulling the door softly shut behind her and putting his truck into gear before guiding it back onto the street. Kelly watched him go, her lips still tingling and her heart gone back to keeping her toes company in her sneakers.

After a few moments she turned her back on the street, fighting down a wave of regret as she faced the building she’d come to see.

The empty downtown storefront was perfect – exactly what she’d been looking for. Its large display windows were currently dark, staring blankly out at the traffic that zoomed steadily through the intersection at the corner of West and Spiller. It was easy to picture them bright and shining, emblazoned with her logo and polished to an inviting shine. She’d seen pictures of the interior online and knew it was spacious enough to house her future business and all its equipment. The front doors were locked and chained, but she had no trouble imagining a silvery bell jingling cheerily as customers strolled through them, greeted by the rich aroma of expertly brewed coffee. Kelly’s Coffee, to be exact. That was what she was going to call her future café, which is what this place would be when she was done with it. With that intoxicating thought in mind, she reached for her purse, ready to fish out her phone and dial her realtor. This place was it.
The one
. It even had a second story above the first floor that she could turn into an apartment for herself.

Her fingers itched to dial but grasped at thin air. Her purse wasn’t hanging from her left shoulder as usual, or even her right shoulder. It wasn’t on her person at all, in fact, because she’d left it in Derek’s truck. She groaned, a wave of desperate longing twisting her stomach as she eyed the red brick building’s empty windows again. She wanted this place so badly she could hear the bell above the door jingling and smell the coffee brewing. She had to get in touch with her realtor, had to make an offer. There was a bright orange ‘For Sale’ sign in the window, and the thought of it catching another prospective buyer’s eye made her stomach flip-flop and her pulse speed. She couldn’t let this tempting chunk of real estate get away. Blue Mills was a small town, and she was sure she’d never find a more perfect place within her price range. Sighing in resignation, she turned on her heel and began to trudge away from her two-story brick treasure, beginning the journey all the way across town to her realtor’s office.

****

Derek suppressed a groan as he pulled into the parking lot of Blue Mill’s local home improvement store. Replacing all the exterior locks to his condo – what a way to spend the morning. It was necessary, however. Whoever had stolen his gym bag had used the keys to take his truck for a joyride before abandoning it to eventually be discovered by the police, and it was possible that the joyrider had made copies of his house keys before ditching them. Not wanting to leave his condo accessible for an encore appearance by the criminal, he’d decided to change the locks this morning. Still, he’d much rather be at the shop whipping up batches of fresh donuts, or better yet, cruising around town hoping to run into – not literally! – that sexy brunette, Kelly again. At the memory of their brief time together, he did groan. What had he been thinking, jumping on her like that? No wonder she didn’t want to go out with him. First she’d seen him streaking practically naked through town, then he’d nearly run her over in his truck. And to top it all off, he’d practically mauled her like a horny teen.

A shiver of delight ran down his spine as he remembered, and his jeans were suddenly too tight around the crotch. She’d looked absolutely irresistible, sitting there with that smudge of pink icing on her pretty lips. He’d only meant to tell her about it, but somehow he’d ended up kissing it away for her. He could still taste traces of the sweetness on his tongue, and her natural sweetness too, separate from that of the frosting.