Luc came up behind her, close but not touching. She could feel his body heat through his clothing and hers. “I could help you with that. Then you could get it done in half the time.”
“Luc, you don’t have to-” She stopped. Luc was nibbling the back of her neck. He’d moved his hands to her waist, where he now held her gently but insistently, preventing her escape-as if she’d wanted to escape.
“If you got your work done in half the time,” he said in that low, sexy voice of his, “you’d have time for…other things.”
“Luc!” His name came out a squeak, rather than the forceful admonition she’d intended. “What if someone walked in and found you…and me…”
“You haven’t had a customer since I got here.”
Yeah, more’s the pity. “But you said…we said…the other day…”
“I’m sorry, I can’t help myself. I never knew baking could be so sexy.”
She couldn’t really criticize him for that thought, since she’d had the same one. Would it hurt? Would it really hurt? She was a woman with a normal woman’s needs. They were both single and unencumbered…except for Luc’s girlfriend.
He moved his hands to her abdomen and pulled her closer, and she leaned back against his hard chest.
“Luc, I…your girlfriend.”
“Mmm.” He stopped. Good, he ought to feel guilty. He swiveled her around so he could look into her eyes. His face was so close she could see each individual eyelash. “Is that all that’s bothering you?” he asked.
The girlfriend made for a handy excuse. “Is that all? I don’t know how you were raised, but I happen to believe in loyalty and faithfulness and honesty. My husband had none of those qualities, and it was very hurtful.”
“I’m sorry he hurt you.” Luc caressed her face. She could have stopped him, could have sidestepped him and insisted he put some distance between them. But she didn’t. She was weak. “The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”
“I’m not talking about me. I’m talking about her.”
He had the gall to laugh. “Loretta, there is no her. There is no girlfriend.”
“But you said-”
“I figured it would be easier for us both if you thought I was committed elsewhere, that’s all. I shouldn’t have lied about it, though, and I won’t anymore. My life might not be an open book, but I won’t lie again.”
Strangely, though she had no reason to, she believed him.
She also realized he’d neatly eliminated all her stated reasons for resisting him. And when he was looking at her like that, with fire in his eyes, she was helpless to resist, anyway. He could have a hundred girlfriends, and she’d be applying for the position of Girlfriend #101.
He was waiting for her to say the word.
She knew what the sensible answer was. But she didn’t feel like a sensible woman. The fire building inside her right now was hotter than the one in her oven, and it was burning all the sanity right out of her. A few inches, that was all that separated their mouths-all that separated Loretta from crossing a threshold that would change her life forever. After making love with Luc Carter, she would never be the same, of that she was sure.
The voice inside her that made her do crazy things-the one that was usually subdued by life’s responsibilities and practicalities-suddenly was yelling into a megaphone. Take the risk! Life is meant to be lived.
She took a step forward, closed the gap, and kissed him in a way that would leave no doubt as to what her answer was.
“Loretta,” he whispered between kisses, and her name spoken in his husky voice was a turn-on in itself.
But they couldn’t stay here in the bakery. “Just a minute.” She pulled out of his embrace long enough to flip over the sign on the door to Closed and engage the lock. When she turned back, Luc was standing right behind her, apparently unwilling to let her get far out of reach.
“I’m not running away,” she said.
“I wouldn’t let you.”
LUC STILL COULDN’T believe he’d done this. He’d promised Doc and himself that he would leave her alone. He knew she was fragile, yet he was powerless to resist her.
She returned to him and took his hand, leading him into her house, to her bedroom. Holding her hand gave him an oddly sweet feeling, especially given that explosive kiss they’d just shared. He shouldn’t be feeling sweet. He should be feeling turned on, and he was.
But he also felt a strange tenderness for Loretta that wasn’t the norm for him.
He’d never gotten emotionally entangled with a woman. He’d had his share of girlfriends, but he’d always been careful not to pick the sweet ones, the vulnerable ones who might get hurt. He wasn’t the sticking-around type of guy, and every girlfriend he’d ever had knew that going in.
Loretta didn’t, not really.
He should tell her. She had a right to know. But as they entered her bedroom, with its pink walls and frilly bedspread and every girlie item he could imagine, he knew the time for explanations had passed.
“I’m a little rusty.” She cast her eyes down in a self-conscious way that had Luc’s heart doing flip-flops.
“Me, too,” he admitted. Now that he thought about it, this was probably the longest he’d gone without sex since he’d lost his virginity to a Jamaican hotel maid at age sixteen. Lately he’d had other things on his mind. “But I don’t think I’ve forgotten how.” He pulled her close again and kissed her, more tenderly this time. He didn’t want her to be scared.
She sure didn’t kiss as if she were scared-or out of practice. After a few seconds of soft kisses and nibbles, Loretta heated up like a roman candle. She locked her mouth onto his and pressed her body against him until he was the one who thought he was going to burn up. She still smelled slightly of smoke, which only enhanced the image he had in his brain of the two of them going up in flames.
He slid his hands under her gauzy blouse, using the tips of his thumbs to graze the undersides of her breasts. Her bra felt all silky and lacy, and he was surprised that he didn’t have the urge to dispense with it and get on with the good stuff.
Because it was all good stuff. Every sigh, every breath against his skin, the way her spiky hair felt against his cheek. The ends were stiff from whatever product she used to make it stand out, but when he burrowed his fingers into the hair close to her scalp, it was soft as the finest silk.
He pulled her shirt over her head and stopped to just look at her. One great thing about sex in the afternoon was the natural light pouring into the bedroom.
When he stared for too long, she blushed. He’d already forgotten he was trying to make her comfortable, so he pulled her against him again and just held her. “Do you have any idea how gorgeous you are?”
“Don’t be silly,” she said. “I’m average in every way.”
Average? Surely she didn’t actually believe that. “No, babe. I’ve seen average and I’ve seen stunning, and I know what camp you’re in.”
She laughed. “You’ve been with lots of women.”
“Does that bother you?”
“No. A man who can have any woman but chooses me, well, at least for this moment-that feels good.”
This moment, and a lot of others if he had his way. He wished now he hadn’t told Doc he’d keep away from Loretta. He’d meant to, but he wasn’t that strong. “You know what else feels good?”
“I bet I can guess.”
“Naked skin against naked skin, that’s what.” He pulled his own shirt off, and then they were racing to see who could get their clothes off first. Shoes got kicked under the bed, underwear went flying, and they came together again, breathless. Luc pressed his arousal into the cradle of her hips and marveled at how well they fit together.
They still hadn’t touched the bed, but Luc kept looking at it. They stood near it, exploring each other with fingertips and mouths and tongues. Loretta was surprisingly fearless in her explorations, as if she wanted to experience him with all of her senses.