Page 49 of Moonshine and Magnolias
He met her halfway, not stopping until his hand was threaded in her hair and the other around her waist, and yanked her against him in the confines of the booth. His full lips lingered on hers, torturously slow, before forcefully demanding more. His kiss sent jolts of pleasure through her that settled low in her belly, fanning embers of heat that spread to her limbs and her blood. The firmness in his jeans indicated he was feeling much the same way. She forced what Hal had shared out of her mind.
“Wendy.” Rob’s voice was half groan, half plea. “Before anything else happens, I have to tell—” He broke off as her phone played a sweeping orchestralsong. He huffed out a quick breath. “Saved by the bell.”
“You don’t need saving.” The protest felt foreign on her lips but right with the rest of her body, and she pressed closer. “Just kiss me.”
He stroked the smooth skin on her jawbone and brushed a light kiss on her mouth. Then another one. Then one that wasn’t so light.
Her lips parted. She wanted the taste of him on her tongue.
The ringing started again a few seconds later. Wendy sighed against his mouth. “It must be important if my aunt’s calling back. One second.”
Eulalee started chattering as soon as Wendy answered the phone. “Honey, I just got a call from a nice young woman looking to book a wedding on Tuesday. Something happened with their original location and schedule, and their Rabbi is available, and our calendar was clear, so I’ve set it all up.”
“Tuesday? As in, after Monday?” She sat straight up. “Aunt Eulalee, there’s more that goes into a wedding other than setting a date!”
“They know it’s short notice, so they’re not expecting much.”
“That’s all fine, but we have Fountenoy Hall’s reputation to think of as well. I just don’t think we can execute a wedding with such little time.”
“You can do this,” Rob murmured in her ear. “I’ll help.”
She lowered her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “I’m sure the Rabbi can reschedule to another time.”
“He’s going out of town. The family is all gathering and the date is very special to the brides.” Her aunt continued to wheedle a yes from her as Rob raised her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. A flush warmed her cheeks.
“Tell her yes,” he said.
She shook her head.
He grinned. “I dare you.”
She narrowed her eyes at his teasing, but secretly, she enjoyed the challenge. “Okay, fine,” she told her aunt.
“Oh, Wendy. You’ll make them so happy. We’ll figure out the details tonight.”
Wendy hung up the phone and glared. “What did you just do to me?”
“Nothing?”
“With all the prep I have to do for Pansy Hamilton and the retirement party, you have me considering more? You’re making me crazy,” she muttered. “That’s what you’re doing. That’s the only explanation.”
“I would like very much to make you crazy.” He nuzzled her neck. “I can help with the preparations. I’m very good at hanging tall things.” He trailed kisses to her mouth. “I can also spout off historical facts that no one cares about but me.”
She chuckled, the tension leaving her shoulders as she entered notes into her phone. “We’ll have to hire the assistant chef much sooner than planned and get vendors and the like on board, but …” She pointed a finger. “I will need your help. Beyond telling me when Georgia seceded from the Union and what the early settlers did for entertainment.”
“Eighteen sixty-one and dancing.” He grasped her extended finger and nibbled the tip. “Whatever you need.”
She paused for a moment, staring at him with the intensity of a soul searching for truth. “I think I need you to kiss me again.” Her voice came out much rougher than normal.
He grasped the silken hair under her ponytail, tilting her head up for better access and devoured her lips. Acting upon this wanting was so unlike her. Rob slid his tongue in her mouth and she moaned, imagining being with him with no barriers, physical or emotional. She was freer with him. Her self-imposed restrictions didn’t matter.
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and buried his nose in her hair. A growl built in the back of his throat, the vibrations sending tingles over her skin. Her fingers climbed up his back and dug into his shoulders, pressing the two of them even closer together.
Suddenly there was air between them. Rob’s hands were on her shoulders. His hazel eyes searched hers and he tucked some of her loose hair behind an ear.
Oh, God. The reality of what she had done hit her. It was all wrong. Thisgiving in, the desire, the acting without thinking. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but nothing came out. Light sweat broke out on her skin and she rubbed at her chest as the room swirled. Agreeing to something because a man told her to? That went against everything she had always set for herself. Her stomach rolled and she felt ill. “I have to get out of here. Let me out. Let me out.”
Rob slid out of the seat. “Wendy—” She held up her hand and he stopped talking. She scrambled out of the booth and dashed across the coffee shop to the hallway that led to the bathroom before she lost the pound cake on the floor.
