Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 106041 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106041 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
"You made this?" His gaze rakes down my body, taking in my outfit.
"I did."
"Damn, angel," he murmurs, clearly impressed. "You're good."
"I want to be better."
"And you think we can help you get there?"
"It's kind of what you're known for." I smile. "Designers come here to work with and learn from the best."
Alaric grins wistfully. "Ma was the best. Blaze and I are just the stewards overseeing her dream."
"She'd be proud of you," I whisper, drifting along the row of desserts the caterer set out for us to sample. There are so many different kinds of chocolate and fudge. Just looking at all of them makes my teeth ache. "You and your brother should be proud too. You've done an amazing job."
"Thank you," he says, clearing his throat roughly. "I hope you're right."
I never met his mom, but I'm sure I am. Her company has flourished under their care, and everyone here loves them. Even though Blaze is a little bit grumpy, everyone speaks highly of him. They're happy here.
"Where do you want to start?"
"Start?" My lips pull down into a frown.
He nods at the table, making me groan. We've been sampling hors d'oeuvres for an hour already!
"No way. I've already eaten way too much."
His eyes heat. "I like watching you eat. It's a rather erotic experience."
I roll my eyes, my cheeks heating.
He strolls toward the table, his gaze sweeping across the treats. "Peanut butter fudge."
"What?"
"That's what you were eating in the garden that night," he says quietly, selecting a small square. "Peanut butter fudge."
"You remember that?"
"I remember everything." He turns toward me, his eyes locked on mine. "I never forgot either. You were the light in the dark."
I swallow hard.
He takes a step toward me.
"Seriously, Alaric, I can't eat that," I protest, backing away as he advances on me with a sexy smirk on his face and the square of peanut butter fudge between his thumb and forefinger.
"Just one bite, sweet girl," he says, trapping me up against a prep station. "You know you want it."
I groan, my stomach turning somersaults as my eyes tangle with his. I get sucked into a maelstrom of onyx and gold. My lips part, accepting the small bite of fudge.
"Fuck," he growls, pressing me deeper into the table as my lips close around his fingers and I moan.
The fudge melts on my tongue, but it's his taste that wrecks me. It's him that addicts me. I don't know why I do it, but I scrape my teeth along the pad of his thumb, caught in a net of lust that only tangles tighter the more I fight against it.
"Delicious," I whisper, swallowing the fudge.
Alaric growls, a deep, rumbling sound I feel in my bones. His mouth slants down on mine, his kiss hot and hungry. He kisses me like he's starving, one hand wrapped around my throat to keep me close. An onslaught of sensations rip through me, stunning my senses.
My lips part beneath his. He takes the invitation, sweeping his tongue into my mouth to steal my soul. I give it to him willingly, clinging to his shoulders as he annihilates any chance I had of resisting him. He's so commanding, so confident as he knocks my world out of orbit and sets it to spinning.
I whine in protest when he breaks the kiss, breathing hard.
"Keep teasing me," he rasps, his eyes hot and wild. "And you'll be getting that spanking tonight, temptress."
I want that so damn badly.
Why am I fighting so hard to keep my secret when he already knows the truth? I don’t know. At first, I was afraid he would find out the truth and tell Cory or fire me. But it's been four days. Despite the fact that I've been a disaster of an employee for the last four days because I've been too anxious to focus, he hasn't fired me. And he hasn't called Cory either. He's playing along.
That means something. So does the heat surging between us.
"Alaric, I..."
"What do you think?"
I jump as the caterer, a short battle-axe of a woman with her hair in a net and a starched white uniform, bustles into the room.
Alaric holds my gaze for a moment before slowly releasing me. "Everything is fantastic," he says. "The peanut butter fudge is particularly delicious."
My womb clenches.
I'm in so much trouble with this man.
"I brought you a dress," Jillian hisses, peeking out of the driver's side window of her BMW.
I bite my lip, trying not to laugh at her. She's wearing an oversized hat, sunglasses, and a scarf. The only part of her face that's visible is her nose. She looks exactly like she's trying to avoid notice.
I hurry across the parking garage to her, grateful beyond words for her anyway. By the time Alaric and I made it back upstairs, the entire design floor was in chaos. Blaze convinced Georgia, one of the models, to play an elf at the party, leaving the design team a matter of hours to put together a costume worthy of a fashion house of this caliber.