Page 144 of Bake the Town Red

I love her.

I need her.

The desire to claim her has never been this strong as it is at this moment. This demanding. I arrange myself in my jeans. Silence the roaring beast inside me and past the swinging door I go.

Into the back of the shop.

“The cupcake was delicious.” Giggle. A nervous one.

No wonder there. Dahlia’s raising an empty flour bag for no apparent reason.

Rita tries a second time. “I’m such a sucker for strawberries.”

I lock the door of the baking area behind me.

“You know what I’m a sucker for?” Dahlia says as soon as the click of the lock echoes in the small space.

“Uh…” Rita’s eyes flicker to the flour bag. “What?”

“Myman.”

The cheetah is considered the fastest animal in the world. I’d strongly disagree.

No one’s faster than Dahlia. No one.

The bag in her hands covers Rita’s head at a breakneck speed. As if Dahlia snapped her fingers and willed it to be there.

“I’m a sucker for Tyler.” She grips the bag and tugs, choking Rita. Cutting off my neighbor’s air supply. “Miss Flirty Flirt. He’s mine. Mine.”

Throughout the whole ordeal, I don’t move to help either of the women. I lean against the wall closest to the door. Hands in my pockets. One ankle crossed over the other.

I refuse myself my most carnal desires. While I hold back, I watch as Rita struggles to break loose. Keen to see how Dahlia wins this round.

For a second there, Rita almost gets her by playing dead. Her shoulders slump, arms hanging near her body. Dahlia’s gaze remains fixed on her head.

Then Rita makes the fatal mistake of fighting back too soon. She elbows Dahlia in the ribs and Dahlia stumbles. Both women stagger back, knocking over a KitchenAid stand mixer.

There’s a loud clunk as it drops to the side and hits the metal table.

“Help.” A muffled cry permeates through the tightly woven cotton of the bag. “Let me go.”

“You’re terribly unoriginal,” Dahlia grinds out through clenched teeth. She yanks harder on the bag, giving it everything she has. “Boring as all fuck. You had no chance with Tyler in the first place.”

My obsession with Dahlia grows by the second. She handles Rita like an animal that needs to be put down. Rita doesn’t give up, struggling to breathe. Struggling to save herself.

Her attempts are pathetic.

No one beats my little savage.

Fucking no one.

“You’re the only one for me, beautiful. No one could ever take your place. My red queen.” Three steps closer and I have my fingers undoing Dahlia’s bun. Stroking through her soft tresses while she strangles Rita. “There’ll never be anyone else. Ever.”

A low growl is Dahlia’s reply. Her biceps are bulging, her eyes never moving from Rita.

Then Rita faints and it’s over. I mean, the overture is.

As soon as she becomes limp in her hands, Dahlia and I start our dance. We’ve never practiced this one before, but we’re executing it smoothly anyway.

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