Page 52 of Sweet Escape at Bayside
“I don’t,” she said as they settled into the cab.
On the way, she told him about Abby, the owner of the doughnut shop, and how she’d named the Perpetual Bliss doughnut after Serena and Drake.
They got a dozen Perpetual Bliss doughnuts and headed back to the ferry, making it onboard seconds before they closed the ramp.
Out of breath and pink cheeked from the chilly evening air, Violet leaned against the railing and said, “I can’t believe you tried to bribe Abby into naming a doughnut after us!”
“We’re worth a heck of a lot more than a doughnut.” He looked down at the doughnut box and said, “I’m not sure the doughnuts made it through our run.”
She opened the box and peered inside. “Uh-oh. I think this doughnut has seen better days.” She lifted it from the box. Half the chocolate frosting was smeared off, and all of the dark and white chocolate pearls were shoved to one side.
He suggested they eat the evidence.
Violet grinned and held the doughnut up for him to take a bite. Delicious Belgian cream filled his mouth. She went up on her toes, pressing several kisses to his lips. When she drew back and slicked her tongue along his lips, he shifted the box to his side and hauled her in for a deeper kiss. They kissed so long and passionately, he was sure they’d spark fire.
When their lips finally parted he said, “The doughnut was delicious, but those kisses make me want to toss the box in the water and find a dark corner where we can hunker down for the next hour and a half.Naked.”
Her eyes flamed, sending heat straight to his groin. She made a seductive show of licking the cream slowly from the doughnut and closed her eyes, emitting a raw, sexual sound.
He crashed his mouth to hers, taking her in another fierce kiss. He wedged his knee between her legs, and she ran her fingers along the edge of his waistband. She was sohot. He didn’t think, didn’t seek approval, or even hesitate for a second, as he dragged her inside in search of someplace private.
Rows of seats blurred together as they passed, following the signs down a hallway and around the corner. He pinned her against the wall with his body, balancing the doughnut box against his side, unable to wait another second before devouring her again. She tasted deliciously sweet. He threw the bathroom door open and hauled her inside. He dropped the box and locked the door without breaking their kiss.
Afterward, he rested his forehead on her shoulder, his body shuddering with aftershocks. “I love you, baby.” He kissed her shoulder. “I’m sorry we missed the sunset.”
She leaned her back against his chest, and with a sated smile she said, “A double rainbow with you is better than ten thousand sunsets.”
“You mesmerize me, the way you go from being vixenish Violet one minute to sweet-as-sugar Daisy the next.” He turned her in his arms and said, “I couldn’t love you more than I do right this second.” He kissed her softly. “I was wrong. I love you even more now.” He brushed his smiling lips over hers and said, “Just made a liar out of myself again. Another second, another level of love…”
Chapter Fourteen
VIOLET REACHED INTO the vat of slip and fished out the fabric she was going to use to create the dress on the sculpture of the little girl. She couldn’t stop admiring the adorable face and the intricate detail on the cat she and Andre had created. Adding the clay-soaked fabric dress was the last element before they started the long drying process. It had been twelve sometimes-sappy, sometimes-erotic, always-sensationaldays since she’d met Andre’s parents, during which time her life had also gone on as normal…only better. They went to work, hung out with their friends at the inn, and had even joined them for a bonfire on the beach. They ate ridiculously good breakfasts—thanks to Andre—and they’d gone to the coffeehouse to hang out. They’d also dropped off several pieces of pottery for the suicide-awareness rally and auction, which was taking place tonight.
“It looks pretty good, doesn’t it?” Andre put his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek. “We make a great team, Dais—in the studio, on the beach, in the bedroom…everywhere.”
Her pulse quickened, and she wondered if she would ever get so used to being with Andre that she’d lose that nervous edge. She sure hoped not.
“We always did,” she said honestly. “Our timing just sucked.”
“It doesn’t suck now,” he said as she gently squeezed the clay-soaked fabric. “And it doesn’t have to suck ever again. Desiree comes back tomorrow. Are you still planning on talking with her?”
“Yes.” Her stomach dipped. It was Thursday. She still had one more day to prepare for that conversation. But she’d been avoiding any talk about the future, and she had a feeling that’s where he was heading. “I’m going to tell her about volunteering and sculpting.”
If Andre had his way, she’d tell Desiree about her friends at the coffeehouse, too. She didn’t know why she was more nervous about revealingthatpart of her life, though she had a feeling it was because Andre was leaving in a week and a half and they hadn’t discussed how they were going to handle it. If they decided to try a long-distance relationship, she might need the safety of that hideout and the comfort of those friends to make it through.
“Let’s get this done,” she said, trying to redirect the conversation. “I don’t want to be late for the rally.” She held the clay-soaked fabric in front of the sculpture and said, “I want it to look like she’s in motion, lifting her hand as the butterfly lands, so we need to create the feel of the skirt of her dress shifting.”
They’d made a beautiful clay butterfly in the girl’s palm. Andre had helped her make Erin’s hands look as soft and delicate as they had been in real life.
“Why don’t I do one side and then you can do the other,” she suggested. Andre had taught her how to sculpt, but she’d learned to use slip and add fabric to her sculptures on her own through trial and error.
“First we’ll drape the thin area over one shoulder and bring it across the body,” she said as she did it. “And then what I thought we’d do is create ripples like pleats, only softer like this.” She manipulated the wet fabric, carefully lifting and shifting one-inch sections so they fell like soft pleats over the little girl’s thighs. “Once we’ve done both sides, we’ll put another strip of fabric around her waist and tie it in a bow in the back. I’ve been thinking about this piece for so long, I feel like I’ve already done this a hundred times.”
As she placed the fabric in position she said, “I just realized—you can do the back while I do the front.”
“Babe, I’ll do you any way you’d like.” He stepped behind her, pressing his hips against her.
When he began kissing her neck, her hands stilled and she closed her eyes. There was no better feeling than being loved by this man, and it didn’t matter if they were taking a walk and holding hands or making out like they’d never get enough of each other. Every minute with him was magical. But if he kept this up, they’d never finish.
