Page 89 of Love Without Control

“You think that bothers me?” I asked, cupping the back of her head and bringing her mouth back to mine. The truth of it though? I’d never kissed a woman after blowing in her mouth. I’d always avoided it. Hell, by this point, I was usually slapping them on the ass and telling them to get dressed so I could call them a ride. Done. Finished.

But with her, it was different. My senses were immersed in the combination of my saltiness and the taste of cherry lips, the scent of honey on her skin, her soft noises as we kissed. And just…

Eden.

As dawn crested, I stared down at the woman on the bed, my body lingering in the doorway. She was still completely nude, though covered by the cushy comforter and wrinkled sheet.

All I wanted to do was crawl back into the bed, into her warmth, but I had to go to work. Charles had an appointment at the wound care center today, and I was the person who ran the bakery while he was gone.

It was early January, and turtle mating season didn’t begin till April, so Eden could sleep in. Striding back to the bed, I sat on the edge and kissed the side of her head.

“Hmm?” she hummed.

“Sorry, go back to sleep,” I said, quietly, stroking the wildness of her hair until she settled. Then I went to Sweet Heaven, ready to tackle cupcakes, cookies, and cakes. And the employees. Namely Kevin and Barry, the two guys I’d first met at Charles and Mimsy’s Christmas Eve party.

Those two were full of shit but in the best of ways. I’d learned they were roommates, had both grown up in Marathon, and had been best friends since kindergarten. Barry lost his parents in a plane crash when he was a teen, so Kevin’s family had taken him in for their senior year of high school.

I entered through the back door of the bakery to the sound of bickering. I swear, those two were like an old married couple. They weren’t together romantically, though Barry was gay.

“I’m telling you, you need to dump him,” Kevin was saying. “He’s a fucking douchebag.”

“You know I’m drawn to the bad boys,” Barry argued.

“You’re drawn to idiots,” his friend shot back before issuing a warning. “I’m not eating ice cream with you when he breaks your heart. I gained six pounds in a week with your last breakup. What was his name? Calvin?”

“Carmine,” the red head corrected with a sigh. “I miss him.”

“He literally blew half the island while—”

“Morning, guys,” I interrupted, pulling a white apron from the hook and tying the strings behind my back.

“Morning, boss,” they chorused before resuming their conversation but a bit quieter now.

“Happy New Year, Mr. Osbourne,” Maria said, walking into the kitchen from the front. She was a college student who worked the register on her days off from school.

“Same to you, Maria,” I said with a nod. She was a sweetheart, quiet and efficient, and she refused to call me anything other than Mr. Osbourne.

“There were thirteen calls on the answering machine asking if we’d be having those praline stuffed cookies today.” She giggled. “I think everyone in Marathon knows that you’re on the schedule on Tuesdays.”

“I’ll start making them now,” I told her.

“Cool, I’ll return the phone calls. And…” She dipped her head shyly as her shoulders rose.

“What is it, Maria?”

“It’s just that, um, it’s my mom’s birthday, and she really loves those cookies…” She lifted her eyes in a shy plea.

“Would a dozen be okay?”

Relief lowered her shrugging shoulders. “That would be awesome. Thank you. I’ll pay for them, of course.”

“Consider them a gift for your mom,” I told her, turning to Kevin and tossing him the handheld nutcracker. “Start shelling those pecans.” I nodded toward the two huge red bags on the pristine metal worktop.

“Bosssss,” he groaned, “you know you can buy already shelled pecans, right?”

“And you know anything that’s not fresh isn’t acceptable in my kitchen, right?” I leveled a glare at him.

Kevin hauled one of the bags toward him with a grumble. “I know, but my hand will be virtually unusable. Last time I had to jack off with my left hand for a week.”

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