Page 28 of Along Comes Trouble

Colton straightens. “Yes, ma’am,” he says with a mock salute, pausing to give me a look of shock when he swings open the door. “Organize much?” he asks .

“A place for everything and everything in its place. Otherwise, it’s a slow descent into chaos and I learned a long time ago that chaos and I don’t mix .”

“I find chaos to be a lot like Long Islands. A little makes for an interesting evening. A lot? Things go sideways pretty fast .”

“I guess I’ll have to take your word on that,” I say and then crack eggs into the bowl. I add the rest of the ingredients and mix the batter while Colton watches. “I bet it was a lot of fun growing up on a farm .”

“Fun?” Colton sticks his finger into the bowl and pops it into his mouth .

“Hey! No tasting,” I say, taking a swat at him. “And yeah. Fun. I mean, you’ve got all the animals. Planting little seeds in the ground and nurturing them into plants that then go on to nourish your family. Being part of something that spans generations of Carmichaels.” I shrug because everything I described sounds ridiculously appealing to me, but a twinge of guilt works through my system. Colton had all those things. Now, they belong to his brother .

“First of all—” Colton takes another swipe of batter “—what’s the fun of making brownies if you don’t get to taste test along the way?” He presses his finger against my lips and I open for him, sucking it clean. “See ?”

I try not to cringe as I think about the raw eggs and all the reminders not to eat raw batter or dough. “It is pretty good .”

“You need to worry a whole lot less than you do. All that anxiety is bad for you.” Colton dips another finger and smears it on the corner of my mouth .

I start to protest, but then he leans forward and licks it off, pausing to kiss me, his clean hand snaking up into my hair. “See?” he says when he’s done. “Life is fun when you let go of the rules .”

I lick my lips and smile up at him as I stir. “Maybe .”

“Maybe?” Colton takes the bowl from my hands and sets it on the counter. “That’s all you’ve got for me is a maybe ?”

I shrug, smiling. “I like the rules. They keep me safe .”

“Sometimes. They also keep things boring.” He grips my hips and pulls me toward him. “Take off your shirt .”

“My shirt? Why ?”

“Because I said so,” he replies with a grin. “And because I want to show you something .”

I do as he says and he reaches around and unhooks my bra, both articles of clothing dropping to the floor while a rush of heat settles between my thighs. He takes a step back and appraises my naked chest, shaking his head in solemn appreciation .

I blush and drop my gaze while Colton swipes batter from the bowl and lets it drip onto my breast. I stare down at the long, brown smear standing out on my pale skin, half appalled and a whole lot intrigued. He lowers his mouth to me, licking and sucking me clean while I drop my head back and moan .

“See?” he asks as he dips another finger into the bowl. “Breaking the rules can be fun .”

I nod my agreement, lost as he spreads another streak of batter across my breast and then licks me clean. Before long, we’re both naked, learning each other’s bodies one brownie smear at a time .

---