Soft Serve Sweetie (Plus Size Romance 2) (2 page)

While she was making the call, her hot cop walked over to another officer’s desk. 
Her
hot cop? When had she claimed right of possession?  It was a good thing a girl couldn’t be arrested for what she was thinking.  Because at the moment, she was having some rather impure, naughty thoughts about Officer Zane Barrett. 

He and the other policeman seemed to be deep in conversation.  Cherry was glad for the privacy.  She knew Pete was going to yell at her, and she would have been mortified if anyone overheard.

Less than five minutes after she placed the call, her boss came storming into the station.  Most likely he had sped all the way.  Cherry could practically see the smoke coming out of his ears when he spotted her.  He stalked toward her with a murderous look on his face. 

She glanced toward the other cop’s desk.  Zane was still talking to his colleague, but his eyes were focused in her direction.

With fury, Pete flung Cherry’s purse at her and yelled, “Here, you stupid cow! Where’s my deposit?”

Before she could answer, Zane was at her side, grabbing Pete by the collar.  “Speak to this woman like that again, and you’ll be taking your meals through a straw.”

Snarling, Pete asked, “Who the hell are you?”

Grinning wickedly, Zane growled, “I’m your worst nightmare.  Who the fuck are you?”

Cherry couldn’t help but smile inwardly at the visibly-shaken twerp she worked for.

“I—I’m her boss
and
her boyfriend.”

The shock on Cherry’s face was mirrored in Zane’s.  She felt like all the air had been sucked from her lungs when he gave her a questioning look.

She shrugged her shoulders.  “It was only a couple of dates.”

Zane released Pete’s shirt and dropped to one knee beside her.  “Cherry, you’re so beautiful and should be treated with respect.  You deserve better than this jerkwad.  You need a man whose heart you can count on.”

Pete scoffed, “What she needs is to get off that big butt and get to the bank.”

Jumping to his feet, Zane snatched the bank bag off his desk.  With the force of a hurricane, he slammed it into Pete’s chest, sending the slighter man sprawling across the floor.  With venom dripping from his voice, he spat his words.  “Make your own damn deposit.  Cherry and I have unfinished business to discuss.”

She was in awe of this cop.  No man had ever defended her honor.  She watched with satisfaction as Pete dragged himself to his feet. He gave her a hard look and an evil grin.  “Spend the day here for all I care.  We’re done; and, you’re fired,” he said, whirling on his heel and tearing out of the station.

ZANE TOOK CHERRY’S HAND.  “There’s an empty interrogation room down the hall.  We can talk privately there.”

He opened the door and pulled out a chair for her.  Reluctantly, he released her hand and took his seat on the other side of the table.

His heart was thunderously pounding in his chest.  He had just met this woman and, already, he had nearly ripped a young man’s head off in her defense.  This soft serve sweetie had brought out the alpha in him.  He felt like beating his chest, throwing her over his shoulder and staking his claim. 

He wanted to protect her and shield her from
all
the assholes in the world.  He wanted to kiss her, to touch her warm skin.  Hell, he wanted to carry her off into a dark corner and fuck her senseless.

The sound of her soft, sexy voice drew his attention away from the carnal fantasies that were playing like a movie reel in his mind.

“Are you going to put me under the hot light and cuff me?”

God knows he wanted to make her sweat, and the thoughts of her handcuffed to his headboard was making him hard as granite.  But now wasn’t the time to disclose his animalistic attraction to her.  It was difficult to keep the desire out of his voice when he answered.  “This isn’t an official interrogation, Cherry.  But I would like to ask you a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Why in the world would you ever go out with a jackass like Pete?”

She crinkled her nose, and Zane couldn’t help but smile.  She was so damned cute.

“He was the only guy who asked me.  And, I kind of need him,” she said, blushing.

Zane frowned.  “For what?”

Cherry took in a deep, shaky breath.  “It’s kind of embarrassing.  If I tell you, will you promise not to laugh?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s a promise I can keep.  Nothing about that guy amuses me.”

“Okay, here goes. I need him to take my virginity,” she said without meeting his gaze.

Zane could feel all the blood drain from his face as fury roiled in his gut.  Reaching out, he tilted her chin up and looked deep into her eyes.  “Are you fucking with me?”

Blushing again, she whispered, “Is that an invitation?”

Ignoring her question, he exclaimed, “Goddamnit, Cherry! What were you thinking? How could you even consider giving such a precious gift to that idiot?”

She shrugged her shoulders.  “It’s not a gift.  It’s a burden. All I was thinking about was getting rid of it.”

Zane couldn’t stop shaking his head in disbelief.  “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand this one bit.  I thought all women wanted their first time to be special and romantic.”  His voice softened. “To be with the man of their dreams or, at least, a man they love.  Have I been getting bad intel all these years?”

Cherry offered him a tiny smile.  “No, Officer Barrett, you heard correctly.  That
is
every woman’s fantasy.  But that’s all it is.  In the real world, big girls like me don’t get swept off their feet.  There’s no hunky Adonis awaiting to take my maidenhead and usher me into the enchanted forest for a happily-ever-after.  Besides, I can’t stand the thought of becoming a virginal old maid or, worse, dying a virgin.”

Zane’s heart failed at the sight of her misting eyes.  If only she could see herself the way he did.  There was no way in this world she could end up an old maid, much less die a virgin.  To him, she was cute, funny and sexy as hell. And he would bet his life he wasn’t the only man to think so.  God help him, it was all he could do not kiss her breathless right then and there.  Suddenly, he had a crazy idea—maybe the craziest anyone ever had.  “How old are you, Cherry?”

“Twenty-one.  Isn’t that pathetic? I’m a college graduate with a degree in biology, for goodness sake, and I’ve never had sex with a man.”

“Not pathetic. Precious.  I, for one, am glad to know that there’s at least one young woman over the age of sixteen who’s still pure.”

The look on Cherry’s face hurt him.  Her expression was that of one who had been slapped.  “God! Do you really think I’m the only 21-year-old virgin out there? I’ve got to go apologize to Pete.  Yes, he’s a complete shit.  But he has a viable penis, and I’m in dire need of deflowering,” she said, standing.  “I’ve got to get going.”

Zane bolted to his feet, kicking his chair halfway across the interrogation room.  Before Cherry reached the door, he had grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

She didn’t look any too pleased.  “Let me go!” she cried, jerking herself free.

Before he could stop himself he blurted out, “I’ll do it!”

She furrowed her brow.  “Do what?”

He swallowed hard.  “Take your virginity.”

Zane couldn’t believe he had uttered those words aloud.  His pulse was racing ninety miles an hour, and his nerve endings were screaming with anticipation.  He knew it was complete insanity.  He was nearly twice her age.  But there was no way in hell he was going to let her give it up to that bastard.

With bated breath Zane waited for her response.  He was having a difficult time reading her facial expression.  It seemed to fall somewhere between shock and relief. 

Her mouth worked a few moments before any sound came out.  “Are you fucking with me?” she asked, echoing his earlier question.  A mischievous smile played at the corners of her full lips.

“If you’ll let me.”

He watched the seductive rise and fall of her voluptuous breasts as she took in a deep breath.  “Okay.  But only on one condition.  I don’t want a pity fuck.  I may be young and inexperienced, but I can give as good as I get.  You got it, Officer Barrett?”

“I’m counting on it,” he said, winking at her.  “But I have a condition of my own.”

She cocked her head to the side.  “Oh, yeah? What might that be?”

“I want three dates before doing the deed.”

Placing her hands on her ample hips, she said, “Well, that’s just silly.  You don’t have to woo me to screw me.  It’s practically a done deal.”

“Silly or not, those are my terms.  Take it or leave it.”

She dramatically huffed and puffed for a few seconds before relenting.  “Fine.”

He smiled triumphantly.  “Great.  I‘ll pick you up at seven.”

Looking embarrassed, she cast her eyes downward.  “Uh, maybe I should just meet you somewhere.”

“Nonsense.  Zane Barrett always picks a lady up at her front door.”

“Look, I don’t have a front door, okay? I’ve been living out of the storage room at the ice cream parlor.  In case you didn’t notice, I got fired today.  I didn’t just lose a job, I lost a place to stay.”

Zane felt like a total ass.  Of course he noticed. He was responsible for getting her canned.  Raking his hands through his hair, he said, “I’m sorry, Cherry.  This is all my fault.”

“Forget it.  You probably did me a favor.  Why don’t you give me your number, Officer Barrett, and I’ll call you when I’ve found some accommodations.”

Zane shook his head.  “No damn way.  I’m not letting you out of my sight.  You’ll stay with me.  End of discussion.”

CHERRY FELT LIKE A weightless cloud floating through a vast blue sky.  Zane—as he had insisted she call him now—had just dropped her off at his beautiful, brick, split-level home on the outskirts of Oakgrove.  He had given her a quick tour and shown her the guestroom where she would be sleeping.  It was just across the hall from his bedroom.  She felt warm and tingly as she wondered if he would take her in his bed or if he would come to hers.

He told her to make herself comfortable before he left.  But there was no way for her to feel at ease just yet.  In the last two hours, she had crashed her Buick into the back of his patrol car, gotten fired from her job, lost her living quarters and agreed to give her virginity to an experienced, older man.  Not that his age was the pressing issue here.  If anything, his maturity was a breath of fresh air.  Plus, he was so handsome and youthful.  Had she been guessing, she would have thought him to be in his late twenties.  Apparently, not all cops were doughnut-loving pigs.  Some kept themselves in tip-top shape.

She had not wanted him to go.  But with his partner out sick, Zane had to finish his shift.  It was actually very considerate of him to open his home up to her.  He could have made her wait for him at the precinct.  Cherry couldn’t believe that such a sweet, thoughtful man was still single.

They had only just met, but she felt completely safe with him.  Maybe it was his line of work or the uniform that gave her such a solid sense of security.  Whatever it was, Cherry was grateful he was to be the first man she would have sex with. Despite her fears and insecurities, she almost wished they could have more than a physical relationship.  But she knew that wasn’t possible.  She couldn’t take a chance on loving anyone else ever again.

The degree of Zane’s kindness surprised her.  He had even had her car towed here to his house.  And, to her disbelief, her suitcase and all her belongings were in the front seat.  He
really
didn’t want her going back to the ice cream parlor, she thought, smiling to herself.

With a few hours to kill, she decided to give her old college roommate and dearest friend a call.

Gabriela Vega picked up on the second ring.  “Hola, chica.  Cómo estás?”

“Hola, mi amigo.  I’m fine, I
think
.  You know we have to switch to English now, right?” Cherry asked, giggling.

“Sí.  English it is! I remember that you barely mastered greetings and salutations in my language.  If I could only get you to come and live in Mexico, you would learn in no time.  I miss you so much, mi amigo.”

Cherry sighed, “I miss you, too.  Our days at Erskine College was the best of my life.  Lately, I’ve been longing for all the late-night conversations we shared in our dorm room, the early-morning coffee runs and the Saturday afternoon movie marathons.  Here in the real world, life is much more complicated.”

“Sí.  I cherish those memories as well—a simpler time full of fun.  Now, I am stressed.  Things are slow going with mi padre’s jalapeño farm.  He sent me away to America to learn about economics and to get a business degree.  Yet, I cannot get him to implement any of my ideas.  He is a stubborn vieja mula—
old mule.
But enough about mi familia.  Tell me how it is that you only
think
you are fine.”

Cherry relayed the events of her morning to Gabriela, being careful not to omit a single detail.  When she finished, the reaction she got from her friend was most unexpected.  The Spanish flew from her lips faster than Speedy Gonzalas
—
t
h
e fastest mouse in all of
Mexico
.