She padded barefoot into the kitchen and was greeted by her orange tabby-cat, Pumpkin, who'd appeared on her doorstep last Halloween as a stray and had made Kayla's home her own since then.
Bending down, she scratched Pumpkin behind her ears, which triggered an automatic rumbling sound deep in the cat's throat. "Hi, purry-bug," Kayla murmured affectionately. "Are you looking for a late-night snack, too?"
"Mrroww," the cat replied.
"I thought so." Smiling, Kayla gave the tabby a few cat treats, then poured herself a glass of milk. She set a few of the espresso butter cream candies she'd brought home with her on a plate. She hadn't had a chance to sample them earlier because of her busy schedule getting the desserts ready for the Chamber of Commerce dinner.
Sitting at the small dining table, she took a bite of her newest aphrodisiac creation, and the combined ingredients of espresso, caramel and rich, smooth white chocolate literally melted in her mouth. Amazingly, there was no odd aftertaste of the aphrodisiac powder that she'd purchased on a whim from a new-age Web site that catered to the mystical and magical. The all-natural stimulant was said to increase and enhance a person's sexual response when consumed, and so far, Kayla found that claim to be true.
After eating three of the Heavenly Kisses candies she knew she had to stop or her body would be feverish with need and her night would be even more agonizing. Already, that familiar tingling sensation was spreading through her veins, making her feel warm all over. Her breasts grew heavy and sensitive, her nipples hardened, and a slow, steady ache spiraled low.
She took a big gulp of cold milk, but knew from previous samplings that it was too late to douse her growing desire, the stripping away of her inhibitions, or the slow building need for an orgasm. But beyond her body's aroused state, she was excited by the possibility that she'd hit upon a unique addition to add to her growing selection of confections. She imagined a whole new line of desserts, all designed to arouse a lover's passion, and she couldn't wait to offer such a fun, sexy item on her bakery menu.
Oh, yeah, she thought with a naughty grin, and licked the lingering flavor of caramel and white chocolate from the corner of her mouth. But before she could make that claim, there was other data she needed to analyze, such as how long it took after eating the candies to become stimulated and what different levels of arousal they could create.
At this point, she only had her own physical responses to go by, and it wasn't enough to come to any kind of solid conclusion. She had to test her candies on an unsuspecting person, someone without any kind of precontrived notions. She needed that tangible proof that her enticing creations ignited a man's sexual appetite as much as it did hers.
But who to use as a guinea pig for her experiment? One man in particular immediately came to mind, and she wouldn't have hesitated to use him for her research-if he wasn't already taken. That left her choices quite limited, and she wasn't about to use her aphrodisiacs on just anyone.
She sighed. As for tonight, she was on her own to deal with her body's demands, so she did the only thing she could. She returned to bed and took her fantasies of Jack Tremaine with her.
Five days after the Commerce dinner, Jack still couldn't get Kayla Thomas off his mind, and like a man driven by a deep burning need, he had to see her again. Thoughts of her had consumed him during the day when he should have been concentrating on the proposals and estimates he needed to review and approve for the new restaurant. Those thoughts had followed him right into some pretty intense erotic dreams. Each morning he'd awakened with an aching hard-on, and a cold shower had been a lousy substitute for what he really wanted-the reality of Kayla, soft and warm beneath him.
The image of that provocative fantasy had the fly of his jeans growing uncomfortably tight as he drove toward SeaportVillage, reminding him just how long he'd been without a woman.
He'd never slept with Gretta and had ended things with her the night of the dinner, which had resulted in her slamming her door in his face. But her scorn was a small price to pay for his freedom. With new and exciting prospects beckoning to him, he felt more charged and alive than he had in months, possibly years. Tremaine's Downtown was getting a new dessert menu, and now he was completely free to explore his attraction to Kayla.
Jack turned into the SeaportVillage parking lot, parked his Escalade, and headed to the directory in front of the shops. He found a listing for Pure Indulgence and followed the map to her place of business, which was located between a wind-chime store and an art gallery.
He stepped inside the bakery shop and was immediately embraced by the delicious fragrance of sweet confections and baked goods. It was after six in the evening, yet the place was impressively packed with customers waiting their turn to order from the glass displays filled with an array of cakes, cookies, candies, and other treats. Two young girls worked quickly and efficiently behind the counter, but Kayla was nowhere in sight.
It would serve him right if she wasn't there, since he hadn't called ahead to make an appointment. But instead of planning a meeting with her, which seemed impossible with his schedule lately, he'd grabbed the first free moment he'd had in days, and before anything else could demand his attention, he'd headed toward SeaportVillage.
After a few minutes of waiting for the crowd to thin, he caught the attention of one of the workers and motioned her over. "Excuse me, is Kayla Thomas here?"
The girl eyed him curiously. "Did you have an appointment to see her?" she asked, though her cautious tone told him she didn't think it was likely.
The woman obviously thought he was selling something, when in fact he'd be buying. But he understood the woman's hesitation, as well as her loyalty in protecting her boss from unwanted solicitors. "She should be expecting me," he replied easily, and with just enough assertiveness to sound confident that Kayla would agree to see him. "Tell her it's Jack Tremaine."
"Let me see if she's available," she said, then disappeared through a swinging door that led to a back kitchen area.
Kayla was immersed in accounting paperwork in her office when her full-time employee, Sarah, knocked lightly on her open door, then stepped inside.
"Do you need help out front?" Kayla asked automatically.
From six to seven during the week was the shop's busiest time, when tourists wanted a sweet treat before heading back to their hotels, and locals stopped in to buy their families' favorite dessert on their way home from work. Kayla was always prepared to step in and help at the front counter if necessary.
"It's the normal six o'clock rush, but we've got it under control," Sarah assured her. "Actually, there's a man here who asked to see you. His name is Jack Tremaine, and he said you were expecting him?"
Just the mere mention of Jack's name was enough to send an unexpected warmth spreading through Kayla's veins, not to mention a good dose of shock. After five days of not hearing from him, she'd convinced herself that he hadn't been serious about his interest in revamping his dessert menu. She'd also considered the possibility that he'd found a more experienced, well-known company to handle the job instead of taking a risk with a small, up-and-coming bakery.
She'd finally come to terms with that probability, and now here he was, asking for her-and she was nowhere near prepared to see him again. Not mentally, anyway. She felt thrown off balance, and she didn't care for the bit of hope scratching below the surface of her shock.