Yours to Savor (44 page)

Sandra felt her cheeks warm a little. “Is it really that noticeable?”

“Hun, it’s like night and day! Do you like him?”

“Of course! Isn’t it obvious?” Sandra sighed. “Although, I think it might be a little more than that at this point.”

Cassie’s eyes widened. “You don’t mean…” she looked around, lowered her voice, “…the
four letter
word?”

Sandra couldn’t contain the excited squeal, nor the growing smile, as she nodded.

“Oh!” Cassie clasped her hands together and leaned way back. “Honey, that’s
wonderful
! What I would do to be young and in love again…”

Sandra scowled at her. “Cassie! You’re only a few years older than me.”

Cassie gave her an obnoxious wink. “I know, I know. I’m just
saying
.” She sighed, her remorse genuine this time. “Robbie wanted to take me out tonight. He said he’d been planning something all week. I told him yes at first, because Josh usually closes on Wednesdays.” She shook her head. “But then Josh tells me he can’t come in later today, and all my other staff is busy, so I had to cancel on Robbie.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Cassie shrugged. “That’s one of the downsides of owning your own business, I guess.”

Suddenly, a bit of inspiration struck Sandra. “Hey. Wait a minute. I have an idea. Why don’t you let
me
close up?”

“You?” The surprise on Cassie’s face was evident. “Why would you…? No, Sandra, I can’t ask that from you.”

“No, no, I
want
to. Come on, you’ve been so kind to me for so long, it’s the least I can do. And you deserve to have a night out with Robbie. You work yourself too hard here.”

Cassie narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Who are you, and what did you do with the real Sandra?”

“It wasn’t me,” Sandra said slyly. “It was
Brandon
. Come on, it’s what, almost eight? If you call Robbie now and tell him you’re coming home, I’m sure he can manage whatever he had planned. I’ll have no trouble here. I worked as a bartender for a few weeks in college, and I closed that place just fine. How hard can it be?”

“You’re really serious?” Cassie looked at her as if uncertain how to react.

Sandra gave a small nod, complete with a comforting smile.

“Oh!” Cassie exclaimed, so loud she drew the attention of the man reading the paper. “Oh, my God! I’m so excited. Thank you, honey!” Sandra squawked as Cassie inhaled her in a giant hug. “If there’s anything you need from me in the future—anything at all—don’t be afraid to ask! Oh my, I can’t
believe
you, Sandra. You’re really serious! Robbie is going to be so thrilled. Here, here, come, come, I have to show you the back of this place so you know what to do…”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Cassie wouldn’t stop gushing about what a savior Sandra was, to the point that Sandra had to chase her out with a reminder to have fun with Robbie. When the last customer left, Sandra turned off the glowing ‘Open’ sign, picked up the washcloth behind the counter, and squatted down, set to work on putting the displayed pastries away and cleaning up the crumbs.

Just as she was getting started, she heard the door opening. She
tsk
ed to herself. She had a tendency to forget to lock things, it seemed.

Wiping her hands on the washcloth, she stood up, ready to apologize to whoever had come in and say that they were already closed. Then she saw the most magnificent man leaning against the doorframe, regarding her thoughtfully with deep, green eyes.

“Brandon!” she exclaimed, excitement bursting within her. “What are you doing here?”

“The better question is: What are you doing back there?” He smiled, and cocked his head to the side to continue his thorough examination of her.

“Helping out a friend. Cassie had a date with Robbie tonight, and Josh was supposed to have the last shift, but he canceled at the last minute—”

“Josh, the kid with the curly hair?”

Sandra nodded. “Yeah. How do you know?”

“I remember him from the first time I came here. He took my order before Cassie came over. I remember,” he lowered his voice, “because that was the first time I laid eyes on you.” Brandon pointed to the counter as he started walking toward her. “You were sitting right over there. Your hair—” he made a face, “—was tied up, stretched back, like you were ashamed of it.” He was right in front of her, now, and reached out to tuck a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “I like how you keep it down now. It suits you better.”

“Thanks.” Sandra drew a shuddery breath, overcome by the amazing, masculine scent of Brandon’s cologne. Even after more than two weeks together, seeing him always had this effect on her.

“And the reason I remember,” Brandon continued, his tone soft and dangerous, “was because I couldn’t stop thinking about how badly I wanted to fuck you against
This. Very. Counter
.” Sandra had no time to gasp as Brandon put one hand on the granite and leapt over, clearing it to land on her side without a sound. He put his arms around her waist, pulled her close, and kissed her, right there for the whole world to see.

“Brandon, stop!” she giggled, his rough stubble tickling her cheek. “Stop it! Somebody might see!”

“Let them.”

“No!” She gave Brandon a hard shove. “I promised Cassie I’d close up.”

“I’ll help you. Ooh. You’re so tight. Long day?” He slipped around her, and his thumbs began to knead slow, deep circles between her shoulders. Sandra let out a long breath as his fingers worked away the built up tension in her muscles. “Better?” he mused.

“Much.” She shuddered the word. Then she stepped away from him, turned around, and crossed her arms. “But I’m not letting you fuck me here.”

“Is that so?” That same knowing smile was back on Brandon’s lips. He didn’t step toward her, but his eyes trailed down her body to focus on her breasts. His searing gaze made Sandra feel as if she was already naked—but she
wouldn’t
let him see that. Although heat clenched in her middle, she was determined to ignore that, too.

“Nuh-uh,” she said, shaking her head. “No way in hell, cowboy. And I’m up here.”

Brandon lifted his eyes to meet hers, then. His voice was soft. “Is that why your nipples are so hard?”

Sandra gasped and spun around, cursing herself for wearing the thin velvety bra that came with her from Seattle. Brandon pounced like a tiger. One second he was a good five feet away. The next he was on top of her, his mouth pressing against hers with barely-constrained violence.

How did he move so fast?
She thought in alarm, still refusing to open her lips.
It’s like he didn’t even bother with the space in between!
She started to push him off, but then his tongue found a way through her lips. Suddenly, she was kissing him back with all the passion he was directing at her.

When Brandon released her, he exhaled and spoke, a deep growl. “I’ve been waiting to do that all day.”

“And that’s
all
you’re going to get from me here,” Sandra retorted, trying to sound steadfast. The way her voice cracked in the middle of the sentence, though, ruined the illusion. Brandon chuckled, and was on her again in a flash.

This time, Sandra had no choice but to give back. She found her hands tangling in his hair of their own accord, while his moved up and down her back. She moaned into him as he gripped her ass and squeezed tight, and she pressed her hips into him without restraint.

When he let her go that second time, his ragged, deep breathing mirrored her own. She didn’t need to look at his pants to tell he was already hard—she’d felt his cock pressing against her stomach when they kissed.

“Get on the counter,” Brandon commanded, sliding out of his blazer. “I want to fuck you right where you sat when I saw you the first time, three weeks ago.”

“Brandon, no!” Sandra admonished, glancing over her shoulder at the dark windows opening to the street. Anybody passing by would have a clear view of anything they did here. Even though her heart fluttered from need, even though she was so turned on she thought she might have an orgasm if he so much as touched her, she couldn’t—could
not
!—have sex inside her friend’s coffee shop. Kissing was one thing; sex, another entirely.

“What did you say?” A dangerous quality entered Brandon’s voice.

Sandra hesitated. “I said,” she repeated, feeling some of her resolve falter under his scrutinizing glare, “not… here.”

She trailed off as a new look appeared on Brandon’s face. She didn’t know quite what it was, but it was
hard
. His brows knit together and he tilted his head forward so that all the emphasis was on his eyes. His jaw was clenched. “Say that to me one more time.” His words were almost inaudible over the ventilation system running in the kitchen. “And this time,” he added, stepping so close she could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin, “don’t lie about what you want.”

“Brandon,” Sandra started, breathless. She found it excruciatingly hard to think, much less form a coherent sentence, with his attention so focused on her.

“Tell me what you want,” he rumbled, curling his finger around her earlobe before sliding it down her jaw and into the curve of her neck.

“I want…” she started, but the words died half-formed in her throat. All she could think of was the strength of the man in front of her… and the pulsing need between her legs.

“Yes?” Brandon urged. “Tell me, Sandra… tell me what you
really
want.”

“I want…” she tried again. “I want…” But she didn’t know
what
she wanted anymore, not with her emotional circuitry so jumbled up by Brandon. “I want—”

“Me,” Brandon finished for her, and suddenly his hand was pressing against her stomach, dipping past the waist of her jeans, and sliding under her velvet panties. Sandra tried to push him off, but his other hand grabbed her throat and turned her head to the side. “You want me,” he whispered, his fingers rubbing tight circles while his tongue danced like a serpent around her ear. “You say that you
don’t
, or you
can’t
, but your body tells me otherwise.” One finger slipped inside her, and she sucked in a breath and shuddered. “You see?” he rasped. “You can’t lie to yourself, Sandra. Don’t deny what you really want.
Listen
to your body.” A second finger joined the first, moving in and out of her in rhythm with the pace of his speech. “What does your body tell you, Sandra? What does it tell you
now
? What do you want?”

“I want…
you!
” she gasped, and he turned her head back and kissed her, all the while his fingers steered her closer and closer to climax.

Sandra recognized the familiar tension just before it hit her. She moaned into his mouth as her muscles clenched around his solid fingers, pulling him farther inside. She separated from his kiss to suck warm air into raw lungs as she came long and hard around him, overwhelmed by a wave of pure pleasure.

Sandra was astounded that she had come so quickly. However, things like that seemed to happen around Brandon. When the stars cleared from her eyes and her limbs felt a little more steady, Sandra found her man smiling just inches from her face.