When we’ve wrung immeasurable pleasure from each other, we collapse against the wall. My head finds her neck, face burrowing into her now damp flesh as the aftershocks of intense gratification ripple through our bodies. Dizzy with raw ecstasy, I embrace her against me.
Though we don’t speak, the silence between us is consumed by the sound of our ragged, satisfied breathing.
Slowly I lift my head kissing her one more time before gently putting her back on the ground. She stumbles slightly to the side, giving me a weary smile when I straighten her back up.
We dress lazily after she grabs a dry outfit from her room and then we head back down to the bakery without a word of what happened.
One of the staff members had already iced the cupcakes and left them in boxes for me to take.
“I guess you’re ready to roll,” Holly murmurs softly.
Her voice carries the husk of sex in it. Just the sound makes me want to drag her back up to her little apartment and take her again, though instead of doing that I simply take the boxes.
“Thanks again for helping me out. If I know anyone else who’s looking for some dessert, I'll certainly point them this way.”
She nods silently, sweeping mussed hair from her eyes. A few of the workers give us the side eye, what happened between us apparent by the lust still on my face and the subtle redness of her skin. She gives another dazed smile, still basking in the glow of bliss. She follows me toward the door the same way someone would walk a date out after their night together.
We stand there for a long moment.
“That was . . . nice,” I offer uncertainly, not knowing how to talk to her now.
During my other one-night stands, I typically leave while my partner is sleeping. Now, I actually have to say a decent goodbye.
“It was, for a one-time thing,” Holly answers, as though she could read the hesitation in my mind. “Wish your sister the best for me.”
“I will. She’s having her dinner at The Plaza so these will fit right in.”
The conversation lulls, leaving us simply standing in silence and looking at each other. It occurs to me that I should walk away, but the finality of it keeps me rooted in one spot. If I turn around and head down the sidewalk, I will never see this woman again.
Isn’t that what I want?
“Goodbye, Bash” she says quietly, slowly reaching over and opening the door for me.
A cheery bell jingles overhead, the chatter of passersby greeting us in the warm breeze.
“Goodbye,” I echo, taking one step out.
I stare ahead, listening as the lock turns behind me. Though I want to turn around again, I head toward my waiting limo instead, determined to forget the beautiful baker and her perfect kiss and fierce eyes.
Chapter 6
Holly
I don’t know exactly what came over me with Bash. I'm not typically the type of girl who leaps into a naked man’s arms—or shower, rather.
I can’t believe I did that!
But the sight of him glistening in the water was too much to resist. Not to mention him taking me in his big, strong arms and lifting me out of the shower. It made me melt into a puddle of pure desire.
My eyes drift shut, remembering the feel of his fingertips gliding along my spine and the way my lips are swollen and bruised from his kiss. I can still taste him on my tongue, I can still feel his arms around me. I shiver, trying to push the tantalizing memories away.
I tell myself it’s not a big deal.
I mean, what could it hurt?
It’s not like we’re going to see one another again. Plus, it’s been so long since I let myself feel that good, a type of good that warms my bones and energizes my body.
Don’t I deserve that every once in a while?
I can’t even feel the floor under me while I move about in the bakery, humming some bubbly song that I heard on the radio yesterday.
“Um. . . Holly . . .” my assistant says slowly, edging up behind where I'm giddily marking items off our inventory sheets.
“Oh, hey. Why are you still here?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder at the young woman. “Weren’t you supposed to get off at closing time?”
The girl is holding a pink and cream colored box, the same box that I package up our goodies in before they’re handed off to the customer.
She nods, biting her lip. “I was but I wanted to make sure that all the deliveries were in order for tomorrow morning.”
“That’s so sweet of you, thank you. I'll make sure the extra time is on your paycheck this week.”
“Okay, thanks. It’s just . . . while I was finishing up, I remembered something,” she squeaks, biting her lip so hard that I'm worried she’s going to tear right through it.
“Well, what is it?” I ask, unable to keep one brow from lifting toward my crimson hairline. “Is everything okay?”
If she knocked over the wedding cake I'd spent four hours decorating this morning, I think I might puke.
“Um, that man who was here earlier. Mr. Titus?”
I nod, bracing myself to hear that he’d called again to demand something else, probably a wedding cake for tomorrow that I would never be able to finish.
“Well, while you two were . . .” she trails off and clears her throat. “Um, up in your apartment, I put the cupcakes in the fridge to cool so I could ice them.”
I glance down at the box in her hand, then back up into her worried eyes. “Okay?”
“And while I was just in there organizing your deliveries, I kind of found a box that I forgot to give back to him before he left.”
She holds out the box to me, eyes big and fearful.
In the past two years of having Holly Cakes open, I have never once been late on a delivery or messed up an order. She knows good and well what my record is and how important it is to me.
“Oh no,” I whisper. My mind races, already plotting the quickest course to The Plaza where Bash mentioned the rehearsal dinner would be. “We’ve got to get these to him. He made it clear how important it was for him to get these cupcakes to his sister.”
My assistant nods glumly, her chin hanging toward her chest. Pausing just long enough to put a hand on her shoulder, I give her an encouraging squeeze. “As much as we want to be perfect, sometimes we just fall short. Next time double check the orders you give out, okay?”
She nods eagerly, assuring me that she’ll be more careful in the future. I can see how upset she is at herself for failing both me and Bash, and I know I don’t have to harp on it any longer.
“I'm going to The Plaza to deliver these myself, can you lock up here for me and head on home?”
“Yes, Holly!”
I wink at her, scooping up the box and glancing inside to make sure that it was indeed the cupcakes before rushing out back to my delivery van. The van, recently repainted to match the trademark colors of the bakery’s interior, is freshly filled with gas and ready to hit the road. I leap in, slap on my seatbelt, and careen down the street. I might’ve blown a red light or two, but this was a bakery emergency.
Fortunately for me, The Plaza is only a few blocks away and, thanks to the numerous weddings held there and the cakes I deliver for them, I knew the best route to take.