Sinful (10 page)

“Maymi, can I talk to you again?”

“Are you kidding me?”

He heard her mumble under her breath before she spun around and looked at him. “I thought we were finished. We both know where we stand with each other so why can’t you just leave me alone?”

She started to turn away, but he caught her by the elbow spinning her back around. He wasn’t fond of people turning their backs on him. She had already done it to him more than a few times, but it was going to stop today.

“Are you always so disagreeable?” Jensen asked, removing his hand when Maymi glared at him. “Or do I just bring that side of you out more?”

“No, I’m a pretty happy person but that is only to people who like me,” she answered.

“I don’t dislike you. I just think you need to take my advice.”

“Oh, you don’t have to say the words, it’s written across your face every time you look at me.”

Taking a step closer, Jensen blocked Maymi’s body between the cart and his body. Her eyes blazed with sudden anger, but she didn’t tell him to move away from her.

“How do you know I’m not thinking something else besides dislike when I’m looking at you?” he asked, lowering his voice. “You are a very good-looking woman. I would be fool not to notice.”

Maymi blinked at him a second before she tossed her head back and her soft laughter filled the space around them.

“Are you kidding me?” She chuckled. “We both know you haven’t paid attention to my looks once in all of the occasions our paths have crossed.”

For a long moment, she looked back him while he stared back in waiting silence wondering what he was going to do with her. Maymi had a mouth on her and someone should have taught her a long time ago how to think more and talk less.

She needed to be tamed...she was a little
too wild
with her words for him.

“What’s wrong? Have I shocked you speechless with my com—”

Jensen kissed Maymi, stealing the rest of the words from her mouth. He captured her moist lips with his, demanding a response. He was tired of her pretending she knew what his next move was going to be, it was time to show Maymi who was in the driver’s seat and it sure wasn’t
her
.

His tongue licked at the corner of her mouth before she acknowledged his request and opened her lips giving him entrance to her hidden treasure. Slowly, he traced his tongue along the recesses of her mouth as his cock hardened against the zipper of his suddenly too tight jeans. He gave her a few more nibbling kisses then raised his mouth before things got out of hand.

Usually, he wasn’t fond of PDA, but Maymi brought out sides of him he never knew existed until he stared in her chocolate eyes. He noticed the confusion mingled with unleashed desire simmering there.

“Wh...Wh...What do you think you are doing?” she demanded her lips swollen from his kisses.

“Showing you that you can never figure out what is going on inside of my head, so don’t even try. I will prove you wrong every time, Brown Eyes.” He brushed another kiss across her surprised mouth before spinning around and walking away first this time, leaving as flabbergasted Maymi watching him leave.

Chapter Fourteen

“Tatum, it took everything in my power not to slap his smug face,” Maymi complained as she pulled another tray of low fat cookies out of the oven and closed the door with her elbow. “I swear that man acts like every woman with a pulse should fall at his feet.”

“I think you’re complaining way too much,” Tatum said from behind her as she transferred the oatmeal raisin cookies to a cooling rack.

“I mean, are you really upset a guy hotter than most Hollywood actors kissed you in the middle of a store? Come on, it’s me you’re talking to, not Jazmaine. I saw how you were checking Jensen out at the restaurant. I can understand why because he’s super hot!”

Walking over to the table, Maymi worked on mixing up the last batch of cookie batter. She used a small ice cream scoop and placed the balls of dough on a sheet tray before taking it over to the oven. Opening it, she slid them inside, closed the door and set the timer.

She opened her mouth and then snapped it closed. She wanted to lie, but she couldn’t.

Jensen’s shocking kiss was so good it almost had her moaning and begging him not to stop. Why was it the guy who a woman wanted to hate? Somehow, he was the one who constantly made her panties wet.

“Alright, I was checking out Jensen,” Maymi admitted as she looked back over at Tatum. “However, it doesn’t give him the right to think he can kiss me to prove a point or stroke his already over swollen ego.”

Leaning across the work counter, Tatum picked up a no bake cookie and waved it at her. “Did his kiss take your breath away? Do you even know what that is? I don’t ever recall you talking about a man since Hudson.”

She wasn’t going to talk about Hudson or compare him to Jensen. Hudson had been the most loving, caring and supportive man she ever had in her life. Maymi blinked away sudden tears. She couldn’t let herself get dragged back into the memories.

“Yes, his kiss stole my breath away. I’ve had time to date and even to get kissed but none of their kisses compared to his. It was shocking and I hate to admit a small part of me wanted it to continue. Yet, I think... No, I know he kissed me for another reason besides wanting to prove a point.”

“Honey, don’t care about why Jensen’s gorgeous mouth touched yours. All I would do is pray every night for it to happen again.”

Maymi rolled her eyes wondering what she was going to do with Tatum. Her best friend always went for what was in her face instead of going for the bigger picture.

“What am I doing to do with you?” she asked.

“Listen to my wonderful advice,” Tatum suggested then took a bite of the cookie in her hand. “Mmmm. This is so good. Can I have another one for the road? You make these to tempt my willpower, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do, along with everyone else who has a sweet tooth,” Maymi answered.

Walking across the kitchen, she grabbed a small hot pink cookie box off the shelf and then added a few extra cookies inside for Tatum. “Here you go. Don’t eat them all in one day. Save some for tomorrow,” she teased, handing her friend the box.

Tatum took the box from her. “Girl, these are adorable,” she said, running her hand over the lettering on the top. “I love the look of them, very eye-catching.”

“Thank you. I’m almost out of them because business has been so red hot,” Maymi gushed. “Honestly, since the last time we had dinner together, Sinful has improved even more.”

“Sweetheart, you deserve all of this success. I told you not to listen to your father. He doesn’t have a clue what a talented pastry chef you are. Didn’t you come in second place on
Incredible Desserts
and then took first place on
Monster Cookies
? You’re very gifted and the best friend I could ask for.”

“We have been through a lot together, haven’t we?” Walking up to Tatum, she gave her a hug then stepped back. ‘Thank you for always being my sounding board. I can tell you anything.”

“Honey, you know I have been keeping your dirty secrets for years, so I’m not about to stop this late in our lives.”

“You better not.” Maymi laughed, linking her arms through Tatum’s. “Let me walk you out before I need to start working on these low-fat cupcakes.”

Maymi walked through the door, hoping this new recipe worked for her. She wanted them to be a hot seller like her grandmother’s other desserts, but she was a concerned the taste might not be up to par with the rich old school ones.

“Make some extra ones so Jazmaine and I can be your tasters. You know your girls will tell you the truth. Just like I did about you liking the spontaneous kiss Jensen planted on you. All I have to say is, if it happens again, kiss his handsome butt back,” Tatum encouraged before turning around and going out of the door.

She loved Tatum even with her over-giving advice side, but she wasn’t going to listen to one word that came from her mouth about Jensen. The kiss he gave her was good...no exceptional...one of the best she had in a very
long
time, but she couldn’t let him seduce her emotions again especially not out in a public or alone.

They just shared a momentary lapse in judgment which neither one of them probably wanted to experience again. Yeah, Jensen better watch his step because the next time he tried something like his kiss again, he might get a surprise from her he wasn’t expecting.

Maymi took a minute to flip the ‘
Gone to lunch’
sign back over to
‘Yes, we’re Open.’
She needed to spend more time actually sitting down to eat lunch instead of sneaking a bite here and there in the back while she was baking. She moved away from the door and was halfway across the room when the bell chimed above the door, making her turn back around.

“Great, you’re open,” a tall, gray haired man said. He wore an expensive dark blue suit, and hurried over to the cupcake display case. “How many cupcakes are in there?”

“I have a little over two dozen,” Maymi answered, going behind the counter.

“I’ll take all of them along with all of your chocolate chip cookies. “I need them for a retirement party at my office. My assistant was praising your goodies and she’s the pickiest sweets eater in the world. So I know if she loves the things here they must be first-rate.”

“Thank you. I make them myself,” Maymi said as she boxed up everything and rang it up for the man. She gave him the price then took the platinum credit card he handed her.

“I hope you enjoy everything and please come again.” She gave the gentleman his four boxes along with his receipt and card back.

“Oh, I don’t have a doubt I won’t and you have a nice day,” he told her then left as quickly as he came in.

For the next several hours, Maymi worked on the steady flow of customers that came through the doors of Sinful with a bounce to her step. The rush of customers is what she wished for during her grand opening and finally weeks later, it was here. Her day couldn’t possibly get any better if she wrote the script of it herself.

Taking a towel from the waistband of her apron, she began wiping the few crumbs off the counter that came from handing out free cookies to the kids. She bent down and pulled out all of the empty trays placing them behind her on the counter just as the bell above the door chimed again.

“Give me a minute and I’ll be right with you,” Maymi called out as she finished stacking up the last of the trays.

“Should I feel insulted that my kiss was so lackluster that it didn’t have you next door warning me to stay away from you or else?” a familiar voice questioned behind her. “Maybe I should give it another try to get the reaction I wanted.”

Maymi felt her pulse jump as Tatum’s words rushed back to haunt her, but she shoved them down just as fast.

“I believe I told you before if you showed up here again uninvited, I would toss you out without thinking twice about it,” she countered, twirling to find Jensen standing on the other side of her dessert counter.

“I’ve been in here since then and you were very nice to me,” Jensen reminded her in his rich, deep voice that she was starting to hear in her dreams. “So your threats don’t scare me anymore. Besides, I believe I could take you.”

“Don’t let my size fool you. I’m tougher than I look.” Coming around the edge of the counter, Maymi stopped in front of Jensen, trying not to get lost in his masculinity, but it was extremely hard since it seemed to surround everything about him.

“I know you didn’t come over here to exchange small talk with me so what can I do for you?” she asked, hoping Jensen couldn’t see how excited she was to see him.

Damn Tatum and Jazmaine for giving her all of that stupid advice now she couldn’t keep it out of her head with Jensen standing right within touching distance of her fingers.

Chapter Fifteen

Jensen’s eyes sparkled at her as he crossed his arms over his wide, muscular chest. “You’re always brewing for a fight, aren’t you? Did you ever think I might just have come over here to see your pretty face?” he asked, shocking her, but Maymi quickly recovered.

“I’m betting Fitness 24 has several pretty women for you to find appealing so why don’t you tell me the truth?”

Numerous ideas raced through her head as to why Jensen was standing in front of her. One thing was for sure: this guy was full of surprises and she hated surprises, especially when they didn’t benefit her but him.

“You’re right. My gym does have a lot of gorgeous women over there, but I think you are a lot more interesting than they are. I never know what’s going to come out of your mouth and a part of me likes that about you.”

Something clicked in Maymi’s head and she was beginning to see where Jensen was going with this. Did he think she was so gullible that she would fall for his new tactic? She was a little disappointed he thought so little of her to do this.

“You have a lot of nerve, don’t you,” she said. “I mean your threats didn’t work on me because I was too strong. You saw another chance to manipulate me at the health food store with an unwanted kiss that wasn’t anything to write home about.”

God, she hoped he believed that huge lie! She noticed how Jensen uncrossed his arms and took a small step in her direction. Maybe he did because he looked pissed as hell with her.

“I didn’t hear you complaining at the store about my kissing abilities or the lack of them,” he tossed back. “Brown eyes, I saw your face and you liked it. You wanted me to continue.”

“How could I? You kissed me so quickly I couldn’t shove you away and tell you how bad it was. It would have torn down your fragile ego. Guys like you work out because you can’t do anything else with your life.”

Jensen’s rich hazel’s eyes grew a shade darker as soon as the words left her mouth and Maymi wondered if she should have kept her mouth shut and just walked away.

“I believe you are denying our kiss way too much, Ms. Monroe. I think you got into it more than you want to admit to me and more importantly yourself,” Jensen taunted, softly.