Page 13 of Forbidden Flame

“It’s my favorite too. Apple is probably my second.”

“Where do you bake your pies?” I asked, looking forward to the way she lit up whenever she talked about what she did for a living.

“I started out in the kitchen. We remodeled the main house, adding a double oven. But eventually, I got too big for that. Especially around the holidays. My brothers surprised me with my own space. The building itself is small but perfect for me.” She pulled out her phone, scrolled through some pictures, and tipped her screen toward me.

Daphne wore a pink apron and stood at a table surrounded by racks of pies. “This was Thanksgiving last year.”

“You look tired there.”

She laughed. “I had to get all the pies ready by Wednesday, and I was overwhelmed with orders.”

I didn’t like the idea of her doing too much, but she wasn’t mine to worry about.

She put her phone away. “It only happens a few times a year. Most of the time, orders are manageable.”

“Your brothers don’t mind that you don’t help out with the farm?”

“I’ve always been in the kitchen. I feed them, and I think they’re happy with that.”

“You feed everyone?”

“Not anymore. But after Mom died, I took over. I think I wanted to do whatever I could.”

“But you were how old?”

“Fourteen.”

“How old were you when we met?”

“Fifteen. We’d just settled into our new reality. Teddy was around more and helping Dad with us.”

“That must have been tough.” My heart twisted for the girl I’d met years ago and the strong woman who sat before me now.

She pointed a finger at me. “We said no talk about our past.”

I shook my head. “You’re right. We did. How are we going to eat these pies?”

Daphne ducked her head, digging in the cooler, and then pulled out a bottle of whipped cream. “Marley generously supplied everything we’d need.”

I chuckled. “Let’s not use all the whipped cream on the pie.”

“You’re a naughty boy,” Daphne said as she sliced sample pieces of each pie and put them on a plate. “I thought we could feed each other.”

I raised a brow. “And I’m the naughty one?”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.” She poured dollops of cream on each slice, then swiped some with her finger and closed her mouth around it, sucking on it.

I shifted on the blanket to hide my dick which was on board with licking the whipped cream off her body. “You come across as innocent.”

Daphne’s cheeks turned pink. “I haven’t been with a lot of guys. I’ve been focused on my daughter. But there’s something about you that brings out this side of me. I kind of like it.”

“I, for one, love it. Don’t change for me.”

She leaned over the pies and kissed me. She tasted of champagne and whipped cream and every one of my dirty fantasies. I wasn’t close to being done with her. I lifted her and placed her in my lap so that she was straddling me. “Now you said something about feeding me.”

“Should we start with peach?”

I brushed her hair off her shoulder so I could kiss her neck. “I thought we already did.”

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