Page 10 of Mocha Kisses

In all the best ways.

Not to be defeated, he’s suddenly standing beside me, twisting me toward him and taking my cheeks in his hands for another kiss. “Guess you need another taste.” There’s no hesitation when he meets my lips, one of his arms sliding around my waist to pull me flush against him. My thighs part to accommodate him, something thick growing against my inner thigh. As much as I want to indulge in something other than sugar, this is the worst possible idea.

I’ll be in Spring Haven for a few weeks before I disappear again and I don’t need the distraction from my work—especially when I’ll be dealing with Griffin. Or maybe… maybe it won’t be the worst thing.

“Woman, would youconcentrate?” Rome grumbles playfully against my lips as he tugs on my backpack. I scramble off the stool and clutch the straps a little tighter than necessary. No doubt he can see the fear in my eyes and feel the change in the air. Whatever supercharged horny shit that was going on a few seconds ago is gone. Unfortunately, my pussy hasn’t gotten the memo and she’s screaming like a bitch for some relief.

When was the last time I even had sex?

Rome takes this in stride as he has everything else in the past fifteen minutes. “Sweetheart, did I do something wrong?” He steps forward and then pauses, observing my reaction before closing the distance and pulling me into his chest. I can’t help but melt into his arms. All those one-night stands never offered a hug and this one feels just as fulfilling as that cinnamon roll. “Luna, I don’t know what brought you home or who put that look in your eyes but let me at least feed you, alright?”

The lingering pain in his expression is back but this time it’s for me as he rounds the counter and starts maneuvering dishes. It takes me a few moments to realize that he’s making actual food, my eyes widening at the gesture from a stranger. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll just—you said the cinnamon roll was free. I’ll take that and-”

The man whips his head toward me, frowning. “Luna, I get it. You don’t want a handout but my father taught me better than that.” Rome is ignoring our hot and heavy makeout session two seconds ago and is now offering me dinner? I don’t understand. “My father also used to tell me stories about this bright young girl who’d pop in, her gorgeous brown eyes full of life and excitement. He told me that if she ever came back everything was on the house.”

“Your father talked about me?” By the time Mr. Caddel had married into Rome’s family, I had been gone for at least a year or two. “Why?”

“You kept him sane. You gave him purpose. Did you not know?” Rome is slightly distracted as he works behind the counter, pulling things together before producing a cold-cut sandwich and a beer, a very different food option than the bakery usually provides. I slowly move closer, eyeing the food and then looking up at Rome, shaking my head. “Luna, you were his pride and joy. He opened this little café to bring a bit of sunshine into Spring Haven. It was pretty dreary here. No offense.”

I don’t want to agree with him but he’s right. My fondest memories revolve around certain shops, Mr. Caddel, and Griffin, but not the people who live here and most definitely not Spring Haven itself. Our high school and college were just across the town line which almost made it seem like our everyday lives were more than just the drab, monotonous bland routine. This cafe had been part of the happiness that I cherished.

Once again, Rome is standing next to me, a comforting hand squeezing my shoulder. “Eat. We can talk after. Maybe tell me what brought you back after all those years.” I open my mouth to argue but he just points at the plate. “Eat, Luna. I’ll still be here after.”

Rome

There’sahiddenbeautysitting in front of me, housing down on a club sandwich, ignoring any social etiquette required for a public setting. The way she surveys the room before those gorgeous brown eyes fall back on me, however, worries me. I know fear when I see it and Luna is chock-full of it. Something or someone is after her and returning to her hometown doesn’t seem to be by choice. The fact that her bag is still tightly strapped to her back gives me pause.

And yet, I can’t help but stare at Luna, the woman my father shared stories about over the years. My curiosity got the better of me as I looked her up, Luna St. Claire, a woman I fell in love with through pictures. Her radiant smile, unruly curls, and the mischievous look in her big brown eyes brought her essence to life. She made my father laugh when he had nothing else in this little town to keep him occupied. Sure, the older couples waltzed in here for fresh baked goods but many of the kids—the ones now my age—had no interest in places like this.

They grew up and moved on, leaving all this behind.

What Luna doesn’t know is that we have met a few times, in passing. She may not remember me because she merely came to drop something off to my father who was only dating my mother at the time. He had brought me in here, showing off his pride and joy, and this goddess bounced in full of smiles and excitement. She lit up the entire cafe and while I only waved from the doorway of the kitchen, I still remember telling myself that a smile like that would ruin me.

My gaze continues to peruse my crush sitting on the stool and unashamedly, I take in her thick curves, rounded hips, and full thighs. She’s not petite like most of the women in Spring Haven and thank the goddess for that. Just feeling her pressed up against me a few moments ago had me nearly forgoing any restraint and bending her over the stool. Luna isn’t ready for that but I hope she will be.

Unable to help myself, I lean in and brush away one of the curls dangerously close to her sandwich.

Luna grunts and shifts away before moving closer as if she has to think about who’s touching her. I hate that. I hate that someone has ruined the little things in life for her, that my touch is both welcomed and feared. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

I shake my head as I return to my lingering duties. It’s late and I should clean up so that I can head home. There’s no use in telling Luna that she’s eating my dinner. This small café only serves baked goods, not sandwiches and even if it did, I would never serve packaged meat. I just knew that Luna needed something more than the cinnamon roll and I would give her anything she desired.

I might have been head over heels with the idea of this woman but seeing her in person has cemented my one-sided feelings. “Luna, slow down,” I say as I reach around to steal the remaining quarter of the sub from her hands and instead shove the beer between her fingers. She coughs and tries to twist the cap open to no avail. I grab that from her too and chomp it against my counter, wincing when it leaves a little dent in the natural wood.Father, forgive me.

Luna murmurs a thanks as she chugs it, sputtering through another cough. “Sorry, just… wrong pipe.”

“I know, sweetheart but the food isn’t going anywhere.” I hand the sandwich back to her and she delicately takes it as if she hadn’t been swallowing most of it whole. “You’re welcome to hang around while I finish the few dishes and then I’ll walk you back to Ms. Elrod’s, okay?”

Her face scrunches up as she chews, looking like the most perfect chipmunk. Goddess, I wish she’d let me kiss her again. “I don’t need that. I can-”

“I’d feel better if you let me walk you over there, Luna.” I suck in my bottom lip, nibbling on the angel hoops. Her eyes follow the movement, heat blaring in her expression before it disappears and there’s that wall again. She doesn’t fight me as she downs her beer and playfully gestures for me to hurry up.

Falling into my usual rhythm, I begin stacking the dishes, reaching for my phone to turn on the playlist that I always listen to. It’s a combination of pop, punk rock, and alternative, anything and everything mixed in so that I don’t get bored over the next fifteen minutes. With Luna watching me, I feel like I’m being observed and tested and yet, I can’t help the way my body begins to move to the beats and the gentle hum that falls from my lips.

It isn’t until I look up as I’ve finished that I see Luna leaning against the counter, her chin propped up in her hands, a dreamy look on her face. Fall Out boy fades into the distance and one of Beyonce’s new songs rings through my speaker. A grin splits across my face as I reach for Luna’s hands, hoping she’ll give into the budding attraction between us. I know she sees it,feels itand if it’s only one night that I get with her, I want it.

Every. Last. Minute.

She snorts and tilts her head to the side before taking my hand and allowing me to pull her against my chest once again. Luna smells faintly of peaches and mango as I dip my head into her shoulder, my nose dragging along her throat. I wrap an arm around her waist and grab her other hand with my free one. “Dance with me, sweetheart.”

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