Page 92 of Desserts for Stressed People

“I’ll listen, as long as it involves me using you as human bread for all this chocolate I have on my hands.”

He shakes his head. “That’s not going to happen.”

Yes, it will. I take a few steps, and he does too. “Fine. What’s your proposition?”

“I’ll buy you a proper lunch at work for the next month.”

“Pff,” I say. That’s all I think of his proposition, though as I skip to the left, I make no progress.

“Okay. I—I’ll bake for you. Whatever you want.”

“But you’d do that anyway, wouldn’t you?” I ask as I cross my arms and quickly uncross them not to further stain my clothes. When he doesn’t retort, I shake my head. “You won’t get out of this.”

His shoulders slump, a defeated look appearing on his face, but it lasts a little over a second. Then, with a new resolution in his eyes, he dips his hands into the chocolate ganache container, now almost empty. “Fine. But you’re getting dirty too.”

“I’m already dirty. That’s the whole damn point, Shane,” I half-scream, grabbing a sticky lock of hair with my hand. “There’s chocolate in my hair!”

His beam makes me jittery. He looks so proud that he got chocolate in my hair, I almost forget how much I want to get my revenge. Especially as he slowly walks toward me, and I toward him, like predators waiting for the moment to attack.

We both know what’s going to happen. We’ll be drenched in chocolate, because neither of us will give in. Neither will back down, neither will give up. We’ll challenge each other for as long as we can.

His eyes flicker with something that makes my stomach sink, and soon we’re face to face. Neither moves. We just get lost in each other’s gaze.

“Surrender?” he whispers.

My gaze fixates on his lips. I can’t help it. The way they move when he speaks is mesmerizing. “Never.”

He closes the last inches of distance between us, and my heartbeat picks up. Chocolate is all I can feel, smell and taste, and for a second, I wonder if this is all a dream. If I’ll wake up alone in my bed, in a home that smells nothing like desserts and a lot like a lie.

I move my slimy hand to his cheek, and I’m not sure if I am doing it to get my revenge or simply because I want to touch him.

Before I can decide, he leans forward until his lips crash on mine.

Chapter23

Sweet Kisses

Our lipsonly brush against each other’s before he leans back and looks into my eyes. There’s everything I feel and more in them. The warmth, the sense of belonging, the marvel at what we just created with this kiss. What we are and how great this feels.

“You’re kissing me,” I say, my hand still cupping his cheek.

“I am.” His lips move back onto mine, and this time, we use them to taste each other—and a lot of chocolate. His breath is scorching hot, his mouth tangling with mine until we’re breathing loudly and my heart is hammering yet skipping beats at the same time.

When my knees buckle, I clasp his arms for balance. Every inch of my skin is covered in goosebumps, and I can feel this kiss with more than my tongue, teeth, and lips. I can feel it in my body, in my soul. Destroying and smearing me as he fixes it all at the same time until I’m whole. “Oh my God, Shane.”

He takes a few steps back, dragging me with him.

“You’re kissing me.”

“Yes.” He lifts my waist until I’m sitting on the kitchen counter. Once he fits between my legs, the rough fabric of his jeans grazes the sensitive skin of my inner thighs below the pajama shorts, then he moves his mouth on mine again.

My brain can’t process it. This kiss is too good, his lips too warm. His hands shift to the small of my back, his breaths become even quicker than mine. Our tongues twist, and it’s magical. More unrealistic than the book he made fun of me for.

My lips are made to kiss his.

Grasping his neck, I hold his face close to mine. My legs press onto his sides to keep him in place, and we kiss until he leaves my lips and moves to my cheek, then my neck.

Sparks move down my stomach as his teeth nibble my skin, then he drops sweet pecks on my shoulder. I gasp for air when his hold on me tightens, and he focuses back on my lips, suckling at the bottom one as I move my mouth over his.

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