Bitter Truth (Hawthorne Vines #1)

“And there is nothing like putting in all that work, plating the first meal, and looking out into the dining room to see someone smile as they eat what you’ve made.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever thought about any of that before. Or how much joy might come from watching someone eat what you cook. Is that—”

My words choke off, and I can feel the blood rushing to my cheeks when I realize what I was about to ask him.

A curious look comes over Wes’s face. “Is that what?”

I nibble on my lip for a second, considering, before I decide to just ask.

“Is that how you felt when you made me the butternut squash ravioli?”

Wes’s voice dips low. “You mean, did I get pleasure out of feeding you?” A mischievous grin lifts the edges of his lips. “Of course I did.” Then he takes a step forward, his body coming close to mine. “It’s why I made you brownies tonight, too.”

“It is?”

He braces his arms on either side of me against the counter, caging me in. “You make these little sounds when you like the way something tastes,” he continues, his mouth dropping so it’s close to my ear. “Little moans that turn me on.”

I close my eyes.

Any other time, I’d be curious what he means, the idea that a small sound could turn someone on a new concept to me.

But having his voice rumbling low and sensual in my ear is sending little threads of lust to every corner of my body, and his words make perfect sense.

“You closed your eyes,” he continues, pressing his lips, light and soft, against the curve of my neck. “Moaned around your spoon.” He kisses the underside of my jaw. “And it made me wonder what other things I could do to make you moan.”

He kisses my mouth then, and the taste of him is mixed with the hint of chocolate and vanilla, the sweetest treat I can ever remember on my tongue.

Wes moves his hands to my waist, grips my ass and squeezes, then trails up the back of my shirt. His fingers trace lightly against my bare back, sending shivers racing through my body. I feel my nipples go hard when he unhooks my bra and slips his hands under the cups.

I whimper into his mouth when he pinches them, my own hands grabbing on to his biceps, partially to keep my balance and partially because I’m desperate to touch him any and everywhere I can.

My top is off seconds later, Wes pulling it over my head, and my bra immediately after that. And then he licks up the center of my breasts, his hands pressing them together before he turns his head slightly and strokes his tongue in circles around one taut bud.

I squirm, the sensation tugging at something in my core. My hands come up to the back of his head, my fingers stroking through his hair.

He groans, then switches to my other breast as his hands begin to work at the button on my jeans.

“I’m on the pill,” I tell him, feeling out of breath even though I’ve barely moved.

Wes begins kissing down my stomach, then drops to his knees, tugging at my zipper and beginning to shimmy my pants down my legs.

“Good to know, but we’re not having sex tonight.”

My body freezes. “What?”

He continues working at my pants, but looks up at me with a mischievous grin. “We’re going to open the restaurant this weekend, and then on our first day off, I’m taking you on a date.”

Wes taps my right foot and I lift it off the ground. He tugs my pants off my right leg, then repeats on the left.

“So then what are we doing?” I ask, realizing that I’m standing in just my underwear in the middle of Wes’s kitchen, while he’s still fully dressed.

“Having a little … dessert,” he replies, that mischief still present in every line of his smile.

His hands stroke up my legs, the gentle movements again sending shivers through my body. He traces along the backs of my knees and then the sides of my thighs before his fingers slip under the edges of my panties and tug them up just slightly.

I moan, the movement causing a tiny bit of pressure against my clit, and I shift my hips, wanting so desperately for things to continue.

“I’ll make you a deal,” I tell him as he slides my underwear to the side, exposing my lips to his gaze. “I won’t be mad at you for keeping sex off the table tonight if you promise to let me give you a blow job.”