Seducing His Heart (4 page)

She took more of her drink then fished a
handful of forks out of the drawer. She handed one to Whit. “Let’s
get started,” she said. He followed her to the cake. She uncovered
a small bowl and spread chocolate frosting over half. “We taste
with and without frosting.”

“
Interesting,” he said,
nodding his head.

“
The frosting is only
chocolate.” She doubled back and scooped out two small portions of
sorbet in little cups. Then, she sliced a piece of cake off with
the fork and held it out.

He closed his lips over the moist confection
and pulled it off the utensil. With closed eyes, he savored the
morsel then gave his verdict. “This is the best cake I’ve ever
eaten in my life.”

“
Fine, but does it have
too much coffee? Not enough? Is the flavor balanced?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Balanced?”

She sighed. “This is why I need a
professional. Balanced—exactly the right amount of coffee and the
right amount of chocolate to give you the perfect mix of
flavors.”

“
I think I need another
piece to be certain.” He reached for the fork, but Bess snatched it
away.

“
Oh, no. I’ll give you
another sample. You have to have a certain amount. You can’t shove
half the cake in your mouth then give me accurate feedback. You can
take some home later.” Again, she fed him. With his eyes closed
again, he chewed then licked crumbs off his lips. Bess’s heart
kicked up for a second.
Focus.
Concentrate. Take your eyes off his mouth.

“
I’d say the balance
between the flavors is perfect. I wouldn’t want even a tad more
coffee or a tad less.” He grinned. “Is that what I’m supposed to
say?”

“
You’re supposed to tell
the truth.”
Not butter me up to get me
into bed.

His eyes widened, and he
frowned. “That
is
the truth!”

She cocked her head slightly.

“
Absolutely. Why would I
lie? Believe me, I can be enough of an asshole to be completely
honest. I wouldn’t spare your feelings for a minute, if it meant
lying.”

“
That’s blunt.”

“
Look, which do you want?
Tactful and dishonest or blunt and honest?”

“
Can’t we do tactful and
honest?”

He laughed. “You’re a handful,” he said,
shaking his head.

“
Okay. So, the cake is
good. Onto the pie.”

She handed him the small dish of sorbet and
a tiny spoon. He took some and followed her to the next confection.
Bess placed the food in his mouth and waited anxiously for the
verdict.

“
It’s good, but it needs
something,” he said, running his tongue over his lips.

Bess smiled and went to the refrigerator.
She returned with a little bowl of hand-whipped cream. “How about
this?”

His eyes lit up. “I can think of many uses
for that,” he snickered.

She slapped his shoulder. “Focus.” She
applied a dollop to the pie then fed him another taste.

Again he savored, eyes shut. “That’s it.
Perfect. Exactly what it needed.”

“
Yes, the pie is denser
than the cake. It needs the whipped cream to lighten
it.”

“
Well put.”

“
You’re catching on pretty
quick.” She took a healthy sip of wine.

“
Thanks. Now the
pudding?”

Bess handed him the sorbet dish, and Whit
cleansed his palate.

“
Wait! Let me add the
whipped cream first this time.”

She scooped up some pudding and the right
amount of cream. He opened, and she spooned it in. He took the
creamy dessert off the utensil with his tongue. Heat gathered
inside Bess, making her damp. As he tasted, she fanned herself.

“
This one is a teeny, tiny
bit heavier on the coffee,” he said, directing his gaze to
hers.

Bess opened the window wider.

“
Warm?” he
asked.

She nodded.
I could jump him right now. Smear him with
pudding and whipped cream and—

“
How’d I do?”

“
Fine. For a first timer,
excellent.” She moved to a cabinet and pulled out two plastic
storage containers. She loaded a healthy piece of cake with
frosting into one and a giant slice of pie in the other. “You can
take a couple of ramekins with the pudding, if you like. I’m going
to be tweaking that recipe, though,” she said as she placed
everything on the counter.

Whit took a big swig of his Cabernet and
leaned back against the cabinet. “I can take these home?”

“
Your payment for helping
me.” She finished her second glass. The combination of the wine,
the desserts, and the closeness of his tempting body ratcheted up
her heat higher, and she began to sweat.
If I could stick my head in the fridge.

Bess covered up the pie and took it to the
refrigerator. She stayed longer than necessary, cooling her face
and body. Then, she returned to pack up the cake.

Whit stood only a breath away. He touched
her hand, making her shiver as she wiped a smidgeon of food from
his chin with her thumb. Whit rested his arm around her shoulders
and eased her against him.

Reason had flown out the window. As she
swayed toward him, her voice grew softer, causing him to bend down
to hear. “We shouldn’t.”

The wine had reduced her inhibitions to
ashes. His breath fanned over her cheek, his mouth only a kiss
away. She lifted her glass to keep from touching his lips with hers
before she realized it was empty. The front door opened, saving her
from intimacy with Whit.

Terry stood, filling the frame with his wide
shoulders and hips concealing an automatic weapon. “I heard there
was a tasting here. I had no idea you’d be tasting my girlfriend,
buddy.” He rested his hand on his weapon.

Bess’s eye widened. She jerked away from
Whit. He dropped his arm and stepped back, raising his palms to
Terry.

“
No harm, no foul, man.
Tasting some new stuff for her show.”

“
Looks more like you were
about to taste her. Bess?” Terry walked into the living room and
turned his gaze from Whit to Bess.

“
What he said, Terry. Ned
is sick. I needed someone to taste my mocha magic desserts. You
were busy.”

“
Well, I’m not busy now.
Run along, buddy.”

“
First, I’m not your
buddy. Second, this is Bess’s call. I was only helping.”

“
It looked like it. Gonna
help her into bed, too?”

“
Terry, you’re jumping to
conclusions. Whit lives down the hall. He’s a neighbor…”

“
I smelled the stuff, the
door was open…hey, you’da walked in here, too, if you’da smelled
that chocolate and coffee stuff. Wow, it’s amazing. This lady can
cook.”

“
Yeah, I know. But the
only man she’s cookin’ with is me. You can leave now.”

“
You’d better go,” Bess
said in a low voice, handing him the containers.

“
Okay, okay.” Whit moved
toward the door.

“
Thanks for helping me.
Here, take this,” Bess said, holding out the wine
bottle.

“
Keep it. Share some with
Mr. Neanderthal here. Thanks for the food,” Whit said, tucking the
desserts under his arm.

“
Weren’t you leaving?”
Terry asked.

“
Yeah, yeah. I’m going.
You’re a lucky guy.” Whit closed the door on his way
out.

“
I know.” Terry fastened
his stare on Bess. He approached her, pulling her by the waist up
against him. Then, he kissed her hard.

Bess pushed on his chest, and he let her go.
“What was that about?”

“
What?”

“
You were very rude to
my…my neighbor.” She carried the dirty forks into the
kitchen.

“
Neighbor? I can spot a
guy moving in for the kill a mile away, babe. This guy was all over
you.”

“
We were tasting
everything. He was very helpful. Now I know what I need to
do.”

“
If he’d been any more
helpful, you’d be on the floor with him grinding into you right
now. Couldn’t you wait until I got off?

“
You said you didn’t know
when you’d be free. I was waiting. He wandered in.”

“
Maybe, next time, you
should keep your door closed…and your legs, too.” Bess stepped
forward to slap him, but he grabbed her wrist. “Don’t do that.
Don’t ever hit me. You don’t know what I might do. I’m trained to
defend, and I’d hate like hell to hurt you.”

“
Don’t talk to me like
that. It’s degrading,” she said, water filling her eyes.

Terry pulled her hand to him and kissed it.
“I’m sorry, honey.” Tears flowed down her cheeks. Terry caught them
with his thumb. “Come here.” She inched closer to him, and he
circled his arms around her, gently. “You know I’m crazy about you.
I got jealous. I’m sorry.”

“
You come in with that gun
on and scare everyone to death.”

He removed his weapon and sat it on the
front hall table. “I’m sorry. I forget.”

Bess wiped her face and nose with a tissue.
Terry moved behind her and massaged her shoulders. He leaned down
to kiss her neck. “Now about that tasting…” he whispered.

“
There’s plenty left,” she
said, closing her eyes and resting back against his
chest.

“
I was hoping you’d say
that.”

“
Let me get a
fork.”

“
I had something else in
mind,” he slipped his fingers under her T-shirt and caressed her
waist then moved them up.

“
Oh?”

“
I want you, babe. Now.”
He turned her around and kissed her. She opened for him, and he
demanded her total surrender. Before she could take a breath, he
had her shirt off and her bra unsnapped.

Bess broke from him and led him to her
bedroom. Suddenly, she was hot, hotter than a blazing fire, and she
needed him. He was down to his boxers before she could unzip her
jeans.

Terry slid her pants down and off then
hooked his thumbs in her panties. “Love you in red,” he said,
practically panting.

“
Yeah?”

“
Yeah. Let’s take ’em
off.” Terry picked her up and tossed her onto the bed. He pulled
out a condom and covered himself. One swipe of his fingers across
her burning flesh, and she was ready.

“
Second time, we go for
foreplay,” he said, pushing up on his knees. He plunged into her,
eliciting a groan from both of them. Bess raised her legs higher,
and he buried himself all the way in. Her fingers gripped his
shoulders as he moved in and out of her, increasing the pace as he
went.

When she closed her eyes, a vision of Whit,
stripped to the waist and bending down to kiss her, flashed through
her brain. Bess opened to see Terry above her. The heat inside her
coiled up and burst forth like firecrackers. She grunted loudly as
pleasure filled her veins.

Her hands slid down his back, which was
covered in a fine layer of sweat, to rest on his rump. He continued
to thrust in and pull out, moaning louder with each movement.
Finally, he called her name and stopped.

Heavy breathing almost
drowned out the
click click click
of tiny, pug toenails on the wood floor. Dumpling
entered the room and flopped down on the dog pillow next to the
bed.

“
Thanks, Dumpling, for not
crowding us,” Terry said with a chuckle. He pushed up on his hands
and placed a sweet kiss on Bess’s lips. “You’re the best, babe,” he
said, pulling out and making his way to the bathroom.

Bess lay back and closed
her eyes.
Who did I make love to? Terry?
Or Whit?
Dumpling climbed up the doggie
stairs and curled up beside her on the mattress. She stroked the
dog absently.
Who was in my mind? What did
I do? Was I unfaithful to Terry?

“
I’ve got to shove off.
I’m sorry.”

“
What?”

“
Yeah. It’s this
undercover shit.” He checked his phone. “Meeting the perp at a bar
in twenty minutes.”

Bess sighed.
I’m confused. Need to think.
She pushed to her feet and wrapped a pink, silk robe around
her frame.

“
Next Friday, as usual?”
He donned his clothes quickly.

She nodded, following him to the door.

Terry stuck his gun in his waistband and
faced her. “You’re a sweetheart,” he said then planted a kiss on
her lips.

“
Yeah, yeah. See you
Friday.” She was anxious to be alone.

Dumpling followed, barking at him. As he
headed into the hall, Whit’s door opened. The broadcaster stood
still, staring with narrowed eyes at Bess in her robe. She
tightened the sash and felt the heat from him. Neither smiled. His
gaze traveled her length before he offered a curt nod. The ding of
the elevator diverted their attention. He joined Terry.

Bess shut her door. Tears
pricked at her eyes.
What am I doing? Who
do I want? I can’t have Whit and Terry.
She sank down on the sofa after swiping a ramekin of pudding
from the counter. As she ate, she considered her
options.

I could avoid them both.
Then I lose.
She glanced at the calendar
on her fridge.
Only three days until the
Dinner Club meets.
She smiled.
They’re my back-up. They’ll tell me what to
do.
She padded into the kitchen and
prepared Dumpling’s food. Then, she microwaved some leftovers for
herself.