Soft Serve Sweetie (Plus Size Romance 2) (3 page)

“Dios Santo! Este hombre del que hablas es tu destino—”

“English, Gabriela, English.”

“Sorry.  I said, ‘Holy God! This man you speak of is your destiny.’”

“I hardly think so.  It was more like his patrol car was in the wrong the place at the wrong time.”

“No, it was the right place at the right time. Last night both of you appeared in my dreams. Your belly was swollen with child, and he was standing by your side.  The two of you were wearing golden bands upon your ring fingers. You were a family.”

Cherry laughed.  “Honey, the only thing swelling my belly is soft serve ice cream.  As far as your dream goes, it sounds to me like you’re eating way too much spicy food before bedtime.”

Gabriela’s voice turned super serious.  “You know I do not joke about such things, mi amigo.  Dreams are powerful.  Mine have a history of coming true.  You are in his home.  He is the man that will take your innocence.  You should go now and make him supper.”

It took everything Cherry had not to laugh, but she knew better than to make light of the situation again.  “Okay, Gabriela.  You win.  I’ll make the man a meal.  Given his generosity, it is the least I can do.”

“Bueno.  I will wait patiently for my wedding invitation.  It will be good to visit your country once more.  Adiós.”

Cherry ended the call and made her way to the kitchen.  Surprisingly, she found it to be spacious, tidy and fully stocked.  Given Zane’s bachelor status, she expected a pile of dirty dishes, a bare cupboard and a fridge full of beer, condiments and nothing else.  Instead, the pantry was filled with spices and all sorts of dry goods.  The refrigerator was packed with fresh fruits, vegetables and a variety of meats.

Pots and pans were easily accessible as they hung above a beautiful island made of oak.  She noticed a Bose Sound Touch music system mounted under one of the cabinets.  The magnetized remote was on the refrigerator door.  She grabbed it and pressed the power button.  Her favorite song came pouring from the speakers on waves of pure lyrical perfection.  It was light years away from the music that screeched out of her car speakers—sounds equivalent to a cat sharpening its claws on a scratching post.  Her ears certainly weren’t accustomed to this sort of digital clarity.  It was heavenly.

She couldn’t stop herself from gyrating to the base beat as she busied herself chopping vegetables for the salad.

ZANE NORMALLY RELISHED EVERY second of his shift. But this afternoon, he thought it would never end.  The last three hours had dragged by.  All he wanted was to see Cherry again.  His stomach filled with butterflies as he turned down Oakgrove Avenue.  Excitement and anticipation surged through his veins.  Coming home from work had never felt so damn good.  He wondered if all men who had women waiting for them experienced these same feelings.  God, he could get used to this.

Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself not to put the cart before the horse.  Cherry hadn’t shown any indication that she wanted anything from him other than his deflowering services.  And though he typically didn’t believe in love at first sight, this beautiful young woman had awakened something deep inside him.

When he parked alongside her car in his driveway, he couldn’t help but smile.  Forget Cupid and his arrow or the notion of being bitten by the Love Bug.  In Zane’s opinion, the surest way to a man’s heart was to rear-end him with a Buick.

The sky looked bluer, the sun shone brighter, the grass grew greener as he slid his key into the lock on his front door.  Stepping over the threshold, he inhaled deeply the delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen.  He could feel the deep base of the Bose reverberating in his chest, and his ears perked up at the sound of a sweet feminine voice singing along with the radio.

He was taken aback by the positive energy that permeated the atmosphere.  When this day began, he had walked out of this brick structure, a house, a place of shelter. Sure, he had called it a home, but it hadn’t truly felt like one until this very moment.

Figuring she didn’t hear him come in, he called out so as not to startle her.  “Hey, Cherry! It’s me, Zane.”

He stood still in front of the closed kitchen door, waiting for her to acknowledge him.  His palms grew sweaty when he heard her walking across the ceramic-tile floor.  His breath caught in his throat as she lowered the volume of the music.  He thought he was mentally prepared to see her, but nothing could have readied him for what he saw as the kitchen door swung open.  Cherry was standing there, smiling like an angel.  Only he didn’t think angels wore pink, satin teddies with polka dots, nude panty hose and black, open-toed, patent-leather pumps.

Batting her lashes, she said, “Welcome home.”

He let out a low wolf-whistle.  “God Almighty, you’re gorgeous.”

He devoured her with his eyes while she blushed all over.  He was glad to see his compliment was having the desired effect.

“Are you hungry?” she asked softly.

He quickly closed the space between them.  Placing one hand at the curve of her waist, he planted the other one in her silky, blond hair.  Lowering his head, he breathed against her mouth, “I’m starving.”  Lightly teasing her lips with his, he pulled her closer against his chest. 

He was six-foot-one, and she was just an inch shorter than him in those heels.  The closeness in height caused a delicious alignment of their intimate body parts.

A little gasp escaped her slightly-parted lips and fluttered over his neck.  Taking full advantage, he kissed her deeply.  His hard body pressed her firmly against the doorframe.  His hand sensuously slipped beneath the sheer bodice of the teddy to caress her bare skin.

“Zane,” she sighed, digging her fingernails into his shoulders.

Her sweet, soft voice sent a bolt of searing sensation throughout his entire body. 

“Oh, Cherry,” he groaned, pulling back enough to rest his forehead on hers.  “I want you so badly.  I want to fuck you until you can’t walk.  To hear you moan my name while I thrust deep inside you.  To lick that sweet little clit of yours until you scream, pull my hair and come all over my face.”

She panted against his mouth.  “I want that, too.  Can we please go to your bedroom now?”

He took a step back.  Her question had felt like having a bucket of ice water dumped on his head.  What the hell was wrong with him? He couldn’t take her innocence this way, having only known her less than a day.  Zane wasn’t the kind of man who lost control like this.  The deal was three dates, then deflowering.  And, by God, if it killed him, he was going to follow the plan.  Cherry was too important to him to do otherwise.  He didn’t want to screw this up.  He was hoping to win her heart before taking her to bed.  A dark turbulence of conflict filled his eyes as he answered her.

“No, sweetheart.  I’m sorry; we can’t.  I’m going to take a shower.  You should change into something a little less revealing before we eat.”

It took all the strength and will power he could muster to walk away from her, but it had to be done.

CHERRY WAS SO FRUSTRATED and angry, she could have spit on his living room carpet and then ground it into the plush fibers with her sexy stilettos.  It was a good thing she was a lady or else she would have done just that.  Granted, she had precious little experience with men and
none
with older men. But, shit-a-mighty, she couldn’t have possibly misread his desire.  She saw the outline of his perfectly sculpted sex against his pants.  Felt his rock-hard erection nudge her mound, making her weak-kneed. Even if his body hadn’t given him away, he had flat-out said he wanted to fuck her.

All of this was her fault for coming on too strong.  Admittedly, the teddy and high heels was a bit much for their first dinner together.  But she couldn’t help herself.  She had wanted to wear it for her first time. And despite the fact that he had told her he wanted to go on a few dates first, she was certain she could tempt him into action.

She had purchased the lingerie two months ago when she decided to give herself to Pete.  She didn’t even like the guy, but he was convenient.  He would have served the purpose just fine had her plan not been thwarted by an untimely fender-bender. 

Gabriela was full of refried beans.  There was no such thing as destiny.  Unfortunately, everyone’s life is made up of a series of random events.  Some good.  Some bad. Some devastating.  And for whatever reason, losing her virginity didn’t seem to be destined at all.  In fact, it appeared Zane had changed his mind about wanting her. 

The second she asked about moving things to his bedroom, he had pulled away.  The thought of having her in his bed probably made things too real for him.  She suspected he wanted out of their deal.  She couldn’t blame him.  A hot hunk like Zane could have any woman he wanted.  God, what had she been thinking, strutting around his house in her lingerie? He probably thought she looked like a pink Hostess Snowball Cake in this outfit. 

Cherry had really messed up.  To make matters worse, she had absolutely no place to go.  She was stuck for the night.  But, come morning, she would leave.  Pete had most likely cooled off by now, and—her nonexistent sex life aside—she still had student loans to pay and needed a job.  With the crappy economy, the ice cream parlor was the only work she could find.  She needed to make nice with Pete before he gave her position to some other poor sap.

ZANE HADN’T SLEPT A wink.  After his shower, he went downstairs to an empty kitchen.  Cherry left him a plate of food on the counter and had put the rest in the refrigerator.  The delectable meal was teasing his taste buds, but he was too upset to eat.  He made his way back upstairs and knocked on the guestroom door.  But she didn’t answer, and her light was off.  Not wanting to wake her, he trudged across the hallway to his own lonely room. 

He tossed and turned all night, cursing himself for hurting her.  His walking away wasn’t a rejection; he just wanted to slow things down.  To get to know her on a deeper level before they made love.  Perhaps he should have just acted on his desire.  He took a gamble on being noble and lost.

He got up around six and made some coffee.  There was a light on in the guest room, and he heard Cherry stirring.  Again, he knocked on the door, but she didn’t respond.  She was definitely pissed, and he didn’t blame her.  Figuring it best to give her some time and space, he decided to go into work a little early.  He’d grab a bite later with Knox.  He had texted late last night, saying he was feeling much better and would be back on the job today.

Hopefully, Cherry would be in better spirits when he got home.  He really needed to tell her what was on his mind and in his heart.

ZANE WATCHED IN AMAZEMENT as Knox put away seven strips of bacon, five sausage links, three scrambled eggs, hash browns and two pecan waffles covered in maple syrup.

“I wish your appetite was better,” Zane said.

Knox leaned back in the Waffle House booth and patted his stomach.  “You try losin’ it at both ends for two days straight and see if your tank don’t register empty.  Speakin’ of appetites, yours don’t seem too good.  Tell me what’s goin’ on, man.”

Zane filled Knox in on all the happenings of the last twenty-four hours.

Leaning forward conspiratorially, Knox asked in a whisper, “Are you tellin’ me you’ve agreed to pop Cherry’s
cherry
?”

“I wouldn’t put it that crudely, but, yes.”

Knox shook his head, gave his mouth one last wipe, balled up his napkin and tossed it onto his empty plate.  “After seventeen years on the beat, I didn’t think I could be surprised.  But partner, you’ve just shocked the shit out of me.  Does this deflowerin’ plan of yours include a strategy for the aftermath? You’re not exactly the hit-and-run type.”

“No, but maybe I should be in this instance.  Cherry’s young, and youth is always in a hurry.  I think she just wants to do the deed without any long-term entanglements.”

“What do you want?”

“Her. In my house. In my bed. In my life.”

Knox clucked his tongue.  “You got it bad, buddy.  You got it real bad.”

“I was hoping you’d tell me something I didn’t already know.”

Zane motioned for the waitress and paid the check.  Knox left the tip, slid out of the booth and said, “Let’s roll.”

The officers regularly patrolled four neighborhoods, including Zane’s.  When they turned down Oakgrove Avenue and drove past his house, he frowned.  Cherry’s Buick wasn’t in the driveway. 

“Shit!”

“What’s wrong?”

Zane blew out an exasperated breath.  “I think my soft serve sweetie has flown the coop.  And I got a hunch she might be about to make the biggest mistake of her life,” he said, making an illegal U-turn and switching the sirens to full blast.

A few minutes later he careened into the parking lot of Pete’s Ice Cream Parlor, screeching the tires.  He barely brought the patrol car to a roll stop before jumping out. 

As Zane was slamming the driver’s door, his partner called after him, “Holler if you need backup.”

Zane waved him off and burst through the doors like a mad man.  In seconds he had spotted Pete and bellowed, “Where is she?”

Pete smirked and jerked his head toward a door across the lobby.  “In the storage room with the rest of my junk where she belongs.”