Spicy (Palate #1) (10 page)

Sometimes it can be fun to tease. 

That’s what I was doing now, moving my hand up and down Gavin’s shaft until his head rolled back and his hands clenched hard on my hips.  Then, as he was searching for his climax, I’d back off a bit…just enough to take the edge off.  As soon as I was satisfied he was back in control of his senses, I’d resume what I was doing.

Despite Gavin’s growls of frustration,
I didn’t prolong his climax to be cruel.  It was quite the opposite, really.  Here’s a tip:  patience is one of the best kept secrets of a good fuck session.  I mean, there’s nothing wrong with just tearing each other’s clothes off and going at it like two animals – I quite enjoy that, to be honest.  But there’s something to be said about anticipation.

Teasing your partner, if done properly, can lead to the most intense orgasm you can imagine.

That’s what I was striving for.

And that’s what I got. 

Gavin came with a mighty roar, sounding like a lion as his cock unleashed a torrent of white hot pleasure.  The thick, creamy ejaculate spurted all over my hand and ran down my arm.  I couldn’t get over how much there was – it was like it went on forever.  But of course like all good things, eventually the orgasm came to an end. 

And judging by the
look on Gavin’s face, it had been a very satisfying end indeed.

Feeling rather pleased with what I’d accomplished, I expected Gavin to take a minute or two to recuperate.  H
is eyes were half shut in an expression of utter contentment.  I’d done that, I thought to myself with a tiny smile.

I turned away, looking back at the house to see if I could spot a garden hose
anywhere.  Call it silly, but I just didn’t feel right about washing off in some poor unsuspecting stranger’s swimming pool!

When Gavin grabbed my hips and pulled me the edge of the water, I was so
startled I nearly let out a shout.  At first I thought he was going to pull me in, but he stopped before I lost my balance. 

“What are you doing?” I demanded, teetering precariously as he arranged me so that my ass was right at the ledge of the pool. 

“No one has ever made me cum quite like that before,” he told me appreciatively, still looking glassy-eyed and lust-ridden as he pushed my thighs apart and positioned himself between them.  “Now it’s my turn.”

“I’m going to fall in!” I cautioned. 

“You won’t,” he assured me, tightening his grip on my legs.  “I won’t let you.”

At first it was difficult to surrender myself to
Gavin.  I was certain I’d slide into the water at any moment, bringing an unceremonious and somewhat comical end to our sexual escapades.  But I quickly came to realize that he was right.  His grip on me was firm and unwavering, holding me right where he wanted me.

Instinctively, I knew he wouldn’t let me fall.

A moment later I forgot all about gravity and space and time.  All I could concentrate on was the excitement welling up inside me as Gavin leaned in and began to kiss my sex.  It was something I’d fantasized about more than once but not even my wildest fantasies could live up to the reality of what he was doing to me.

He took his time, teasing the soft, delicate flesh as he kissed his way up to the top of my slit.  By the time his mouth neared my swelling clitoris, I was aching for him.  I tried to arch my back and thrust my hips toward him, but Gavin’s tight grip didn’t allow me much movement. 

All I could do was gasp and moan as his lips visited everyplace except the one spot that was aching for his touch.

Maybe he was trying to return the favor, drawing out my pleasure so that the much-anticipated explosion would be that much more intense.  Or maybe he was getting his revenge, inflicting sweet cruelty on me as he denied me the orgasm I so desperately craved. 

Whatever his motivation, I came alive beneath him.  The muscles in Gavin’s forearms flexed as he held me in place despite my increasing agitation.  His tongue lapped at my wet, pink slit, but no matter how much I whimpered and wiggled, he made sure to avoid my clitoris.

The tiny bud was harder than it had ever been, engorged and throbbing with longing.  I could feel it sticking right out from beneath its protective
shield, searching out the very stimulation Gavin was denying me.  When he pulled back, held still and simply looked at me, I knew he was staring right at my most private and sensitive of places.

“You’re soaking wet,” he marvelled in a husky voice that was tinged with lust.  He leaned in and blew on my throbbing pink pearl then, hi
s breath hot.  He chuckled as I involuntarily bucked beneath him.  “Would you like something?” he teased, clearly enjoying the predicament he’d put me in.

I was so on edge that I knew the slightest bit of stimulation would send me spiralling out of control.  If he’d just lick, rub or suck my pulsating button for a few seconds, I’d be there.  But it seemed he wanted me to beg for it first.  I wasn’t one to beg.  I wasn’t one to surrender control.  But at that moment my need for release was so great that I could hardly even breathe.

“Make me cum,” I moaned, partly commanding him and partly begging.  “Please just touch me…lick me…I’m so horny I can’t even stand it!”

“I can see that,” he agreed before once again lowering his head and licking my juices from my slick gash.  His tongue slid into my vagina momentarily before he turned his attention to my clitoris.  The second his lips closed around that erect nub at the top of my slit,
it felt so good that I nearly collapsed.

It was like an electric shock
had pulsed through me, lighting my entire body up with desire.  When Gavin began to flick the tip of his tongue across my sensitive button, ecstasy shot through every nerve ending in my body.  My eyes rolled back in my head and my toes curled as I finally got what my body was crying out for. 

Holy crap
, did Gavin ever know how to use his tongue!

I’d never been eaten out
like that before.  Suddenly it was fine that he’d so relentlessly teased me.  In fact, it was perfect because the anticipation had built…and built.  When I finally did have my orgasm, it was so intense I thought I might black out.  Had Gavin not been holding me I would have fallen into that swimming pool for sure!

My entire body
went rigid as the tension that had been building in my belly suddenly gave way.  My pussy began to spasm as I rode wave after wave of pleasure.  My hips rolled and my fingers dug into Gavin’s damp hair, but he simply moved with me like a cowboy at a rodeo. 

His tongue was relentless, coaxing every last ounce of pleasure out of me that he could.

By the time he finally backed off, I was completely spent – and deeply satisfied.  The look on Gavin’s handsome face told me he felt the same way.  As he hoisted himself out of the pool and helped me to my feet, I was overcome with an emotion so foreign to me I couldn’t immediately name it.  After a moment’s consideration, I realized it was exhilaration.

For so long, I’d been plodding along in life, putting one foot in front of the other.  Now, suddenly, I felt young again.  Young and free...and it was all thanks to Gavin Rothe.  Had someone told me this would happen back when I’
d first met him and instantly despised him, I’d have laughed out loud.

But here I was acting like a teenager with him; a very horny teenager.

As I shakily pulled my clothes back on, I couldn’t help but steal glances at Gavin.  I hated to see him dressing.  I could stare at that gorgeous, muscular naked body of his all day and it wouldn’t be enough! 

“Are you ready
to go?” he asked, turning to look at me.

I nodded and he extended his hand.  My legs were still trembling with the aftershock
s of my climax.  I felt giddy and on top of the world.  Laughing, we ran from the strangers’ backyard hand-in-hand, disappearing into the night from which we’d emerged.

And what a night it had been!

So what if we hadn’t been able to have actual sex this time?  The oral sex had been incredible so I could only imagine what the fireworks would be like when I finally got to feel Gavin inside me.  Mmm!

There was no question in my mind that there would be another encounter…and then another....  Our physical connection had simply been too powerful for this
night to be written off as a one-time rendezvous.  I could hardly wait, even though there was a concern quietly nagging at me.  I tried to brush it off, but it persisted.

C
ould being friends with benefits actually work without blowing up in our faces? 

___

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Palate:  Sweet
by Octavia Wildwood

PREVIEW

It was game day.  I was only three spots away from winning the reality show and the money I so desperately needed.  My competition was good but I was better.  I knew it.  It wasn’t conceit talking.  It was fact.

Today’s mission had been to create a dessert that was to die for.  I had it covered.  For once my sweet tooth was actually helping me instead of hindering me!  I wasn’t sure who would be sent home but I was confident it wouldn’t be me.

The other contestants had made some interesting creations:  a blackberry scone topped with homemade vanilla bean ice cream, a chocolate peanut butter cheesecake and
raspberry mint tartlets.  They all looked and smelled delicious, but I’d brought out my secret weapon:  strawberry cream puffs topped with mocha flakes and drizzled in caramel sauce. 

When Gavin emerged from behind the curtain to sample our desserts and evaluate our efforts, a tingle went through me.  I tried to play it cool but every time I looked at him, all I could think about was the feel of his bare skin against mine. 

His gaze met mine briefly, making me blush. 

The
warmth and familiarity I was used to weren’t there.  Instead, he looked distracted and perhaps even a little angry.  Gavin Rothe the celebrity was a different person than the man I knew and shared my bed with.  Accepting that was a challenge, but he was worth it.  His television persona didn’t matter.  All that mattered was the person he truly was beneath the layers of his carefully constructed façade.

I was crazy about him.

Though I hadn’t intended to, I’d fallen for Gavin hard and fast.  The day I’d first realized that had been terrifying, but he’d been there to catch me.  We’d warmed up to each other slowly, tentatively, but now we were a pot of water that had reached boiling point. 

There was no denying it: 
I was in love.

The best part about it was the knowledge that my feelings were reciprocated. 

I love you.

He’d uttered those three simple words last night as we’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms.  My son’s father had
said the same thing, but his words had been hollow and meaningless, designed to keep me complacent by telling me what I wanted to hear.  With Gavin, it was different.

At his core, the outgoing celebrity chef was cautious like me.  He’d been burned by love before too, so I knew he could appreciate my apprehension about leaping in headfirst.  I’d wanted to test the waters first to make sure they were safe.  So had he.  And because of that, I knew Gavin wouldn’t
ever throw words like love around carelessly. 

He’d meant it.

He loved me.

Though I’d purposefully kept him at arm’s length,
I couldn’t keep it up.  I didn’t want to push him away.  I wanted to invite him in.  I knew it was time to take things to the next level.  Every fiber of my being screamed that it was time.  He was so good to me.  Gavin had also been good to Joel, which was so important. 

So far my son only knew Gavin as a friend, no different than Amanda or Daniella.  But Gavin
was
different.  He was much more than a friend.  Like any single parent I wasn’t exactly sure how to explain it to my son – especially given his young age.  But just like all the other parenting firsts I’d had to figure out on my own, I’d handle it.

A lot of things were going to change.  It was new and scary, but also exciting.

At first I hadn’t wanted to imagine a future with Gavin.  I’d been afraid to envision it in case it didn’t come to fruition.  To get my hopes up only to have them crushed would be devastating.  I hadn’t wanted to get ahead of myself so I’d tried to live in the moment, enjoying the present instead of focusing on what might never come. 

But Gavin wanted to be with me.  He’d made it very clear that he wanted me and everything that came with me.  He was ready to make room in his life not only for me but also for
Joel.  That meant the world.

Gavin didn’t hold my past against me
, resent my independence or see my faults as weaknesses.  He loved me for who I’d been, who I was and who I wanted to become.  He didn’t think my stretch marks were ugly or my occasional profanity-laden rants were a turnoff.  He accepted me exactly the way I was. 

Considering the way my parents had disapproved of everything I did and said my entire life, it was a pretty huge deal.  Gavin didn’t want me to change for him.  He didn’t need me to be thinner or classier or prettier.  He just wanted me to love him back.  No problem!
  I could do that.  It had become second nature, like breathing.

Gavin was standing in front of me now.  I looked into the same eyes that had stared into mine the previous night as we’d made love…three times. 
A shiver ran through me as I thought about the magic he’d performed with his tongue, licking until I shuddered and cried out in pleasure.

It was strange to see Gavin and not greet him with a kiss hello.  But we were on television and he was the judge of a contest I was competing in.  It wouldn’t exactly be wise to announce to the world that we were together.  So I held back, my arms folded across my chest. 

I offered him a small smile. 

He looked away.

“You’ve made cream puffs,” he said in his characteristically abrupt interviewing style.  “Why?”

This was the point of the show where I was supposed to offer an elaborate explanation.  It was a bit silly that the producers expected us to have deep, meaningful reasons for choosing to make the dishes we did.  If I was to be completely honest, my reason was a simple one:  the cream puffs tasted damn good.

Amanda, bless her heart, had been watching the show diligently right from the beginning.  She said she’d been cheering for me since before she’d even met me.  She’d told me once that the reason she started rooting for me in the first place was that I was real. 

The other contestants offered contrived answers to Gavin’s questions, trying to bullshit their way to number one.
I, on the other hand, had once told Gavin on-air that I was in the competition for the money.  I vaguely recalled the way the audience had erupted in laughter and applause. 

Amanda had told me that she, too, had laughed out loud at my no-nonsense,
tongue-in-cheek demeanor.  It was sweet of her to say so.  Actually, it was more than sweet; it gave me the extra nudge I needed to be myself.  Doing what was expected of me had never been my thing, anyway.

So I smiled sweetly at Gavin and informed him, “After extensive testing in my early twenties, I concluded that these babies cure a hangover like nothing else.”

Once again, the audience cheered.  They were eating out of my hand.  But Gavin didn’t even crack a smile.  His face was a blank slate as he took a bite of the cream puff.  I couldn’t help but think he reminded me of a prisoner eating his last meal before an execution.  What a bizarre thought.  Sometimes my brain was so weird.

He offered me no commentary after sampling my dessert
, even though I was pretty sure he was contractually obligated to discuss it at length.  In fact, it seemed he wanted nothing more than to get away from me.  He quickly moved on to the next contestant without even a second glance at me.  It left me feeling unsettled.

A few minutes later, t
he overhead spotlights panned the audience.

Suspenseful music began to play.

“So you’ve now sampled each and every dessert – I have to say I’m very jealous.  How about we switch jobs?” the show’s host joked, eliciting a round of laughter from the live studio audience.

“Gladly,” Gavin replied.

“Have you made your decision?” the reality show host asked Gavin in an overly cheerful manner, ignoring his remark.

“I have.”  Gavin’s voice was flat and devoid of any emotion. 

“Just to remind you, ladies and gentlemen, tonight
one contestant
will be eliminated.  Next week the remaining three will compete in a brand new, top secret challenge that will be revealed at the end of tonight’s show.  So, Gavin Rothe, please tell us:  who have you decided to eliminate tonight?”

Gavin looked at me then.  His eyes
were trying to tell me something but I felt like it was lost in translation.  Without looking away from me, he quietly said, “I’m sorry Mina, but you will not be progressing to the next stage of the competition.”

Immediately, I went numb.  It felt like I had ice running through my veins.  I
desperately wanted to look away so he wouldn’t see my hurt but I couldn’t move.  All I could do was stand there onstage, frozen, staring into Gavin’s eyes.

Gasps could be heard in the audience and from the other contestants. 

Even the show’s host couldn’t mask his surprise when he spoke next.  “Can you talk to us about your thought process, Gavin?” he asked.  “I can’t imagine judging this competition is easy, especially not now that we’re down to the best of the best.  What, for you, was the deciding factor here tonight?”

“The cream puffs were too sweet,” Gavin said simply.  “That’s all.”

I was too stunned to even be angry.  I knew damn well the cream puffs weren’t too sweet.  They were absolutely perfect, light and fluffy and amazing.  Yes, I was secretly seeing the judge of the competition.  I didn’t expect or even want special treatment from Gavin, but didn’t I deserve to be evaluated fairly?

Sometimes it was hard to get a read on what Gavin was thinking.  We were so in tune with one another that we could have entire conversations without uttering a word, and yet a lot of the time I found myself unable to tell what was going through his head.  It kept things interesting and unpredictable. 

“They…were too sweet?” I asked, challenging him fearlessly although my hands were shaking.

“Yes.”

He was lying.  I could see it in his eyes.

I didn’t understand how Gavin could, in good conscience, vote me off the show.  It was a betrayal that cut deep.  He knew what that prize money would mean to me.  He knew how hard I was working and how much I’d sacrificed to be in the competition.  And he’d told me himself, more than once, that I
was going to go places in this industry.

His eyes, still locked on mine, begged for forgiveness.  He had a lot of nerve.
  I looked away.

Just like that, I felt all my hopes and dreams collapse around me.  It was over.