Page 65 of Sweet Rivals

I shook my head.

“Jenna, I have a lot of money. It means nothing,” he shrugged. “I don’t need millions sitting in the bank.” My eyes went wide at millions. “Think of me as your financial backer. Happens all the time in the business.”

“What if I’m not good enough?” I asked, taking a shaky breath.

Jared laughed and looked up at him with daggers in my eyes. “Jenna, you are good enough. I believe in you.”

“I will pay you back. I have some money in savings, and I will make the rest up from sales.”

“You can pay me back by letting me be here with you,” he said.

“Your crazy is showing,” I laughed as the reality of the situation and what Jared had done sunk in. I owned a bakery. I owned this bakery. I looked around with fresh eyes. This place—it was mine. I stood up and started walking around the space, letting my hand run over the chairs, stools, and counter. I walked behind the counter, studying the pastry case, the espresso machines, the canisters that would be filled with tea, and imagined all the little touches I would add over time to make it mine.

“You approve?” he asked from directly behind me. I turned, started. His hulking form stood over me in the tight space behind the counter.

“I’m sure I’ll find ways to improve it,” I said.

“I’m sure you will,” he said as his eyes darted to my lips.

Chapter Forty-Five

When his gaze met my eyes again, the mirth had vanished, replaced by something darker and far more serious that sent my heart thundering in my chest. The last hour—or had it been thirty minutes?—felt like a lifetime of tumultuous storms working against my calm, level head. Nothing made any sense anymore. My heart had been shattered and reformed several times over.

But now, no logical thoughts mattered. I stood with Jared’s body inches away from me in my bakery, at the start of the rest of my life. I had a feeling that whatever I did next, whatever choice I made as he stared at me with that intensity he only had when he was about to kiss me, would leave a lasting impact. I had two choices. Push him away again, tell him I hadn’t forgiven him, close the door again until some indeterminate amount of time. Or I could admit once and formally that Jared—with his casual smirk, his unwavering support, his carefree attitude, the way he could make me laugh, the way his hands moved expertly, or the sensation when his lips pressed to mine in the most passionate kiss of my life—had been the only thing on my mind for a week. Much longer if I counted the online messaging, which I had to.

“Jenna?” My name passed his lips as a whispered question.

I angled my chin upward. It was the only response he needed. His hand slid around my waist before he pulled me close. He folded over me, so my body from my thighs to my hips to my breasts pressed against him. He kissed me like his life depended on it. Pressing his tongue between my lips, first caressing then devouring before he pulled away, fingers digging into my ass to lift me onto the counter. I heard something crash to the floor, but I didn’t give a shit what it was as his lips found my jawline, and then my neck. My hands found his back, running my fingers along his tight muscles as I tilted my head back to the sensation of his mouth as he found my collar bone.

I felt like I had waited a lifetime for what Jared promised. I wanted it all instantaneously, but he moved painfully slow. I yanked at his shirt until he didn’t have a choice but to pull away enough for me to pull it over his head. My eyes drank in the sight of his tanned, muscular chest before he lifted my own tank top over my head, his eyes going soft with desire for a heartbeat at the sight of me. It brought a blush to my cheeks and made me want to cover myself with my hands. I had dated boys in the past who groped awkwardly, never a man who knew exactly what he wanted. He reached around my back, and in an expert move, unhooked my bra, exposing my heavy breasts and hard nipples.

“Holy shit,” he said. “You are beautiful.”

Again, I felt my cheeks burn with a blush, but then his warm, callused hand found my breast, rubbing his thumb over my nipple and all thoughts fell from my head as an involuntary moan slipped past my lips.

“Oh, you like that?” he asked, and I could hear the arrogant smirk in his voice. When his lips found my breast and his tongue played along my nipple, I gasped. “Tell me you like it.”

“I like it,” I whispered just as his fingers trailed up my thigh, under my shorts and over my panties.

He pushed them aside and circled one finger over my opening until it found my clit. My fingers dug into his back. All I wanted was to feel him inside of me. I could have screamed. When he pulled his fingers away, I let out a frustrated sigh before he yanked off my shorts and panties, nearly pulling me off the counter. He used his hands to spread my thighs open. Once again, his gaze drank me in as he panted breathlessly. I could see his hard cock straining against his shorts, pulsing with need as a wet spot of precum formed. My mouth felt dry with need.

Then he kneeled in front of me, pushing his face between my thighs.

“Yes,” I moaned as his tongue licked along my opening.

I leaned back on my elbows, entirely lost to the growing sensation between my thighs. My fingers curled in his hair as my muscles tensed, warmth spreading out from my center to overwhelm me. Just before my orgasm rippled through me, he pulled away.

“I think you’re ready now,” he said, his voice gravely and insistent.

I looked up at him with wide eyes as he stood in front of me, fingers pulling urgently at his belt buckle before he unzipped his shorts. dropping them, along with his boxer briefs to the ground, revealing his thick, hard, smooth cock. Precum formed on the head. I desperately wanted to lick it away, but even as I lifted myself up, he pushed me down flat against the counter with a hand on my shoulder. It was only then that I realized we were in full view of the window. While no one could likely see in because of the glare, I felt exposed.

Jared saw where my gaze went. “Let them see,” he growled. “I’ve waited too long for this. He dragged my hips to the edge of the counter. Lifting my legs together before resting them against his shoulders. He held my legs in place with one hand and his shaft with the other as he guided his thick head to my opening.

“Oh God,” I shouted as he pressed his head inside of me.

“Fuck,” he moaned as he pulled it out and pressed just his head in again. I wanted all of him in me, filling me up, but he went slowly. Still, the sensation of his head moving over my clit pushed me to the edge. “I want to take my time with you.”

“Please,” I moaned.

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