Pure Indulgence

leg and gently ease her thighs apart, until his fingers touched the damp barrier of her panties.

She moaned against his lips, the sweet, uninhibited sound telling him that she was all his, to do with as he pleased. Without further hesitation, he eased his hand beneath the elastic band of her panties and grazed his thumb along her warm, wet folds, before sinking one finger, then two, deep inside her slick heat.

She gasped and bucked against his hand, her body tightening around his seeking, gliding fingers in a way that told him she was close to climaxing. And because she was so primed and ready, that's exactly where he took her. With sure, skillful strokes of his thumb right where she needed it the most, with his mouth consuming hers, he pushed her up that peak, higher and higher, until she finally took a free-fall into along, gripping orgasm that left her body trembling and her thighs quivering against his hand.

When it was over, she buried her face against his neck and glided her fingers along his muscled torso, her hands inflaming a carnal hunger within him. Instead of her release exhausting her, it seemed to give her renewed sexual energy that amazed him.

She plucked at his nipples and whispered shamelessly in his ear, 'I want more.'

More of what, he wasn't sure. More orgasms? It would be his pleasure. But he was just a man, and he'd nearly reached the limit of his control. He was damned close to splitting the crotch of his jeans, and he didn't think he could watch her come again without going over the edge himself.

Framing her face in his hands, he pulled her away, just enough to look into her wild, glazed eyes. 'I want inside you, Kayla,' he said, his voice rough around the edges. 'If you don't want that too, tell me now while I can still think straight enough to stop.'

Awe and feminine wonder replaced the heat in her gaze. 'You want me that much?'

How could she doubt his desire when the fiercest, hardest erection of his life was pressing so insistently against her hip. Then he realized that she was referring to the kind of passion that went beyond the physical. He felt that for her, too, and did his best to reassure her.

'Sweetheart, I ache for you,' he said softly. 'You drive me crazy with wanting you. I even came prepared to make love to you, because I knew after our last encounter that it was inevitable.'

Her eyes widened in startled surprise at his admission.

He exhaled a deep breath. 'But if you're not ready to take that next step, I'm willing to wait until you are,' he said, leaving the decision completely up to her.

'I'm ready,' she said, excitement infusing her voice.

Thank God. He urged her to stand up, and he straightened, too. She looked at him in bewilderment, and he explained what he had in mind. 'Let's go to your bed.' Where he could strip her bare, take his time, and worship every inch of her.

'No.' She shook her head, appearing slightly panicked. 'Right here. Now.'

And then she was all over him, not giving him a chance to argue as she unfastened the button to his pants, then lowered the zipper over his burgeoning shaft. She fitted her mouth to his, kissing him wantonly as she slipped her cool hands inside his briefs and wrapped her fingers around him, then squeezed and stroked his throbbing length until he feared he'd come without the pleasure of being sheathed deep inside her body.

He pulled her hands away before he lost it and managed to utter the word, 'Condom.'

She stepped back and worked off her panties while he shoved his jeans off his hips and quickly retrieved the foil packet he'd put into his wallet earlier. In record time, he had the protection rolled on, but every good intention he had of taking this first time with Kayla slow and easy went to hell in a handbasket when she pushed him back into the chair, then hiked up the skirt of her dress and straddled his lap.

She moved over him and down his shaft, her breath catching provocatively as he stretched and filled her until she was seated on his thighs and he was buried to the hilt. The connection was so electric that shockwaves rushed through him, making his head spin. He'd known the moment he'd seen her that she had a body designed for hot, erotic sex, that her soft, provocative curves would fit him to perfection.

And he'd been right.

She hadn't given him a chance to remove her dress, which covered her hips, stomach, and thighs. And it was then that he understood her purpose, and her reason for not taking this into the bedroom. She wasn't ready to bare her body to him. Despite wanting him, she couldn't shake all her insecurities, even in a moment of passion. As much as he wanted to coax her out of her clothes, he'd let her have her way for now, and lavish attention on what luscious body parts he could.

Threading his fingers through her hair, he tugged her head back, forcing her to arch her spine, which gave him better access to her breasts. Pulling a taut nipple into his mouth, he teased the tip with this tongue and moved his free hand beneath her dress and between her thighs, caressing her slick flesh. She rocked against his hips, riding him with a quick building momentum that urged him to thrust his hips upward in counterpoint, each time driving higher, deeper.

Only when a hot, pulsing climax made her cry out did he let his restraint unravel. His entire body shook with the force of his orgasm, wringing him dry and leaving him wasted.

She collapsed against him and moaned, the soul-deep sound echoing within an empty place in Jack that she was beginning to fill, and he was suddenly overwhelmed by his need for this woman. Beyond the shattering sex they'd just shared, she made him feel… whole. And it was a sensation he wasn't willing to give up anytime soon. If ever.

* * *

Life was better than it had been in a very long time. Two days after Kayla's mind-blowing encounter with Jack in her kitchen, she was still walking around Pure Indulgence with a lightness to her step and a dreamy smile on her face. Concentrating on work took effort, since her mind seemed to drift to thoughts of Jack much too often. Especially the way he'd made love to her as if she were the most sensual woman on planet earth.

She sighed in remembrance as she pulled a sheet of cinnamon sugar cookies from the oven, placed them on a cooling rack, then slid another tray in to bake. Jack had most definitely sent her soaring-numerous times-but she had to give credit where it was due. Her Love Bites had no doubt spurred his lust, and her own unfettered passion, and the result had been combustible, spectacular sex.

Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to shed every inhibition with Jack. Sexually, she'd been insatiable, but when he'd suggested they take things into the bedroom she'd been stricken with a sense of dread at the thought of him seeing her completely naked, all her flaws and imperfections on display. Despite the effects of the aphrodisiac candies, some insecurities were harder to break than others, and she was grateful he hadn't pushed the issue.

Humming a cheerful tune, she cut up German chocolate squares and put them on a tray to go in the display case out front. Much to her delight, Jack's amorous behavior had carried beyond their night together. She hadn't seen him in two days because of their busy schedules, but he'd sent her a gorgeous bouquet of roses the day after with a note telling her what a great time he had, and he'd called three times since for no other reason than 'just to hear your voice.'

She couldn't deny that she enjoyed the attention, but a part of her questioned if his romantic overtures were due to the enhanced candies she'd been feeding him on the sly. She'd experienced enough proof to know that they could stimulate arousal, but she'd begun to wonder if the aphrodisiac could possibly have a lasting effect beyond sating sexual desire.

The possibility made her heart slam hard in her chest, forcing her to admit that her feelings for Jack were subtly changing, that outside of physical attraction he was a man she could fall hard and fast for.

If she allowed herself.

Which she certainly would not.

Jack was a temporary lover, she reminded herself. And she knew and accepted that once their business deal was over he'd have no reason to be in such close contact with her. No reason to eat her aphrodisiac candies. No reason to lavish her with arousing caresses, drugging kisses. No reason to be the lucky recipient of that magnificent body of his stroking deep within hers.

The thought caused an empty sensation to settle in the pit of her belly. Yes, she'd eventually have to give up Jack Tremaine-because she certainly couldn't feed him an aphrodisiac every day for the rest of his life to keep him as her own-but she still had a few more weeks until she completed his dessert menu and they went their separate