Smashwords version Sweet Surrender (10 page)

“Yessss….please, yes…” Good God in heaven. The noises she made.
They were delicious. They were driving him mad.

He slid two fingers inside her, moving up the inside of her
vaginal wall until he stroked the spot that made her scream aloud and tighten
her fingers in his hair. He sucked harder and at the same time pumped his
fingers into her with rhythmic thrusts until she cried out aloud and shuddered
convulsively, orgasm rocking her body, and he lapped up the sweet moisture with
a firm, strong tongue before slowly pulling away.

She slumped against the wall, eyes squeezed tightly shout, mouth
open in a perfect “O” of wonder. Her breath came in heavy pants.

He fumbled his zipper open and had his jeans down around his
ankles and then kicked them off faster than he would have thought possible, and
then slid up against her.
“Yesss….” She moaned.

He slid his cock between the wet folds of her pussy, up against
the tiny, tight entrance, and then speared her with a single savage thrust. She
gasped and he paused, afraid he’d hurt her, but she clutched his shoulders and
closed her eyes with a look of pure bliss.

“Is this what you want?” He grabbed her buttocks, fingers sinking
into her soft flesh, and began pumping into her rhythmically. She was tight and
hot and fit him like a glove, her insides molding to him perfectly. He plunged
into the hot embrace of her channel again and again, feeling the heat rising in
him until he was ready to explode.

Her gasps were rhythmic, and he slowed down to time it just right,
to drag her to ecstasy again.

“Yes,” she wailed. “Yes, Rafe, I want you…Ohhhhh…”

And he could feel her come, as her muscles rippled and convulsed,
squeezing his cock and pushing him over the edge.

Fireworks exploded inside him, and he plunged all the way in, to
the hilt, and shuddered violently as he found blessed, ecstatic release.

Finally he pulled away and looked down at her, panting and
satisfied beneath him.
He loved the way she relaxed into him, trusting him, nestling her
head against his shoulder.

Trusting
him.
Damn it.

As his
arms tightened around her, he buried his face in her hair, breathing in the
light flowery scent of her shampoo.

He was an
idiot. Every time he was around Poppy, he got so damned turned on that he
couldn’t think straight, and now he’d gone back on his promise to himself.

How the
hell was he going to explain himself to her without breaking her heart?

Poppy
leaned into Rafe, drinking him in, his scent, his warmth, the hardness of his
muscles, the tenderness of his embrace. And she closed her eyes and thought of
all the many reasons that this could never work out.

She’d be
in town for at most two more months, and then she had to go back to school and
her job.  And a man like him was never going to fall for a woman like her.

But that
didn’t mean that she couldn’t have fun while it lasted, right? And when the
summer ended she would be back in school,  too distracted by work and her
studies to think about him.

She slid
out of his arms and looked up at him. “Rafe, I want you to know something.”

He smiled
down at her, raising an eyebrow. “Really? Is there a husband and a bunch of
kids tucked away somewhere, that you forgot to mention to me?”

She
choked back a laugh. “A couple of husbands, actually.  And forget about all the
lovers on the side. But seriously…like I already told you…I have to leave town
at the end of the summer. I love being with you, but we need to go into this
knowing that it’s a summer fling, and when it’s time for me to leave town, it’s
over.”

Because
that’s the only way my heart can survive this, she thought.

An odd
look flashed across his face – confusion? Hurt?  “You only live five hours away.
People do have long distance relationships and make it work.”

“Not us,”
she said quickly, fear swelling up inside her. She couldn’t afford to hope; it
was too dangerous, because she already felt like sinking into him forever and
never letting go, every time that he was near. If she let herself hope, she was
setting herself up for a heartbreak that would shatter her very core. She was
setting herself up to be her mother all over again, and she would never let
that happen.

She
turned away quickly, avoiding his eyes. “I’m going to get dressed,” she said,
hurrying to the dressing room and ignoring the dull ache in her chest and the
feeling of Rafe’s gaze burning into her back.

 “I need to wrap this up so I can tell her.”
Rafe paused.  “I don’t care, she has to know.” Rafe hunched over his cell
phone, standing outside the bakery. It was eight a.m., and he was groggy and
out of sorts.

She’d let him come up to her apartment to
spend the night, and they’d made love until they collapsed into each other’s
arms, sweaty and sated, but he’d sensed the distance between the two of them.

And worse, he didn’t feel right pleading his
case until he was able to tell her everything. When she’d told him that they
were only having a summer fling, he sensed deep down that she wanted him to
argue with her, to fight for her…but he hadn’t said a word.

“Has to know what?” Viola’s voice snapped in his ear, right behind
him.

“Goddamn, woman, you scared the life out of me. How did you sneak
up on me like that?”

“I’m like a cat. Has to know what?” she repeated, her voice low
and dangerous. Her blue eyes drilled into him.

“It’s not what you’re thinking,” Rafe said defensively.

“Oh? What am I thinking?” The edge in her voice was a sharp as an
obsidian blade.

She hadn’t raised her voice or cursed at him
or threatened him, which was actually even scarier. She was like a coiled
cobra, perfectly still, ready to strike.

“You think that I’m married or have a girlfriend or boyfriend or
mistress. I don’t.” He looked down at her, meeting her gaze. “This is something
that I need to tell Poppy, face to face, and I will face the consequences. The
only thing I can tell you is that I care about her deeply, I would never do
anything to hurt her, and there is no-one else in my life. And I want to be in
her life for a long time to come. Maybe forever.”

Viola stared at him for several long seconds, then sighed and said
“I believe you.”
“You do?” Rafe said, surprised.

“Why? Are you lying?”

“No, but you don’t seem like a particularly trusting individual.”

“I’m not, but my bullshit detector is pretty damn good. Except
when it comes to my boyfriends, but that’s a whole different story. I can tell
you care about her. I know you don’t have to come back here day after day.”

Ouch, Rafe thought. But I do have to.

But I’d come here even if I didn’t have to. For Poppy.

Damn it, he’d let this lie go on way too long.

“Just make sure that you tell her soon. I’ve never kept anything
from Poppy before, and I really don’t like it.”

He nodded, face solemn. “You have my word. And what I need to tell
her has nothing to do with her and me. I just can’t explain further right now.”

Viola’s face was expressionless as she turned
and walked back into the bakery, slamming the door behind her.

Inside, Poppy didn’t even bother trying to hide the cheerful smile
on her face.
When she looked at her reflection in the mirrored wall, for the
first time since she could remember, she liked what she saw.

She was well rested and she had an inner glow that lit up her face.
It was amazing what a night of multiple screaming orgasms could do to one’s
perspective.  Yes, things were going to end with Rafe, but she had another
couple of months with him, and she was concentrating on the here and now.

 
“Penny for your thoughts!” Poppy grinned, waiting for the
inevitable grilling to begin.
But it didn’t.

Poppy leaned against the wall, waiting. She was even prepared to
share some details.

Ha! And Viola thought she was such a goody
two shoes!  She could tell her some things that would curl her flat-ironed
purple hair.

Without looking at her, Viola opened up a box of vibrating
lollipops and began restocking a display. She didn’t even crack a dirty joke.

“Viola? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Viola muttered. She glanced at the front door. “Look,
there’s a customer. You should probably go help them. Or I can.”

Poppy was openly staring at Viola now.  “Did you find out
that you have a terminal disease or something since I saw you last night?
You’re really not yourself right now.  Oh, god, is it The Boyfriend? Did
you guys break up?”

“Eh. Probably. Haven’t heard from him. No big. Here, finish
restocking and I’ll go help the customer.” Viola walked away without glancing
back.

As Poppy stood there with her mouth hanging open, Rafe walked in,
handsome as a male model in a cologne ad, with his rumpled hair and cupid’s bow
mouth, and threw his arms around her. “Did you have a good night’s sleep?” he
asked her.

“Yes, thanks to some very timely stress release tactics employed
by a professional masseuse.”

“Who is he? I’ll kick his ass.” Rafe grinned, but there was
something behind his smile…worry? Doubt?

“Something wrong?” Poppy asked. “Have you found out anything more
about the guy targeting the bakery?”

“No, but we will.” Rafe said, answering her without really
answering her.

Poppy looked at him, puzzled. “You, too? Something’s up with
Viola, and I swear something’s wrong with you too. What is it?”

 “Nothing’s wrong.”

But his gaze was a million miles away.

Poppy felt her heart sinking.  Was he
already getting tired of her? Had Viola found out and she couldn’t bear to tell
her?

 “I’m leaving on my business trip tonight. I
should be back on Saturday or Sunday. Jeffrey will be here to keep an eye out
for our friendly neighborhood psycho, and I’m hoping that you can sleep at
Viola’s house until I get back.”

“Sure,” Poppy said, forcing a smile. “You
mean you don’t want Jeffrey pulling bodyguard duty all night long in Penelope’s
apartment?”

That made Rafe smile. “He’d better not try.”

The rest of the week went by in a blur. Poppy
threw herself into organizing the store, and Viola worked on the store’s
website, sold pastries and went from store to store in the neighborhood,
networking and ingratiating herself with the local business owners.

A uniformed police officer came by
mid-morning on Saturday, carrying a manila folder.

Poppy was getting so used to being surrounded
by genitalia shaped pastry that she barely even blinked at the idea that she
was holding a fresh tray of boob cupcakes and talking to an officer of the law.
She almost offered him one, but stopped herself in time and set them down
behind the counter, wiping her hands on her apron before she shook hands and
introduced herself to him.

 “Officer Miles Renault,” he said. “I’ve got
mostly good news. We know who’s been putting the flyers on cars and sending the
threatening letters, and he’s our most likely suspect in the assault.”

“Oh, thank heavens. Who is it?” Poppy said.

He opened up the manila folder and handed her
an 8 ½ by 11 flyer with a man’s face printed on it, along with the police
station phone number. “David Barbossa: Wanted in connection with vandalism of
Warehouse District business”, the flyer said. 

She stared at the picture; it was of a
hollow-cheeked man with the light of madness glowing in his eyes. And it was
clearly a mug shot.

“He left fingerprints on the letters that he
sent to you, and he also left fingerprints on the cars where he put flyers.
He’s got a record; he used to live in Portland, where he picketed strip clubs
and then assaulted customers when they came out. He beat up one of the
strippers in an alley outside the club.”

“What’s his problem with us?” Viola walked up
to them, looking at the picture. “Hey, Poppy, did you offer the nice officer a
pastry?”

“Well, no, I did not,” Poppy said peevishly.
“For obvious reasons.”

“How can he spread the word about our store
among his coworkers if he doesn’t have a sample?” Viola handed him a vanilla
frosted cupcake with a candy vagina on top of it. He held it gingerly, as if it
might bite.

“We also have them with penises, if that’s
your preference,” Viola added helpfully. 

While Poppy looked around for something hard
and heavy to throw at her, Officer Renault quickly blurted out, “Oh no! This
will be fine, thanks!” and bit into the cupcake. He chewed and then smiled.
“This is actually really good. I have a friend who’s getting married, I’ll let
him know about this place.”

Viola flashed Poppy a triumphant smirk, which
made Poppy want to beat her with a baguette, but there was a police officer
present and she didn’t think it would be a good idea. Also Viola was fully
capable of kicking her ass, even though Poppy had a good fifty pounds on her.