Page 12 of Daring to Love You
“I can finish up dinner, and Gwendolyn Renee will take care of cleanup this evening,” she said of Dorian’s aunt who also helped out at the B&B.
“I appreciate that.” Dorian removed her apron. Then she grabbed her duffel bag from a cubby in the back of the pantry which held her change of clothes. “The dinner is done, but the pies need a few more minutes. I set the timer, and they should be ready to take out in ten minutes. Oh, and there’s a bowl of fruit in the refrigerator to set out tonight, as well as pastries.” She pointed to the counter on the other side of the baker’s rack.
The B&B was full to capacity, which wasn’t unusual for the summertime, and she tried to make sure there was always extra food and snacks available for the guests.
“Got it,” her mother said and smiled as she approached with her arms outstretched.
The woman was a hugger, and normally Dorian craved her hugs, but she knew what this was about. Her mother was in thelet-me-get-all-up-in-your-businessmode. She felt she was entitled since she was the one who introduced her to her date, Glen.
Her mother was still on her matchmaking kick, and Dorian was a little sick of it. It wouldn’t be so bad if she wasn’t just focused on her, instead of Dorian’s two older sisters, Cree and Essence. But nope, she was the one getting all the attention, and telling her mother to back off was akin to telling her to try harder. Virginia felt it her duty to find the perfect man for her baby girl.
Her words. Not Dorian’s.
Her mother hugged her tightly before releasing her and stepping back. “I’m so excited you and Glen are going out again. This is a good sign. It means you two must be getting serious.”
“Mom, don’t get ahead of yourself. Glen is nice and all, but we’re just friends. Right now, I’m keeping my options open and not limiting my dating life to one man.”
Her mother waved her off. “Oh hogwash. Glen is perfect for you. Nice-looking, great job, well-mannered, and he always smells so good when he delivers our packages here.”
He worked full time for a shipping, receiving, and delivery company, and the B&B was a part of his route.
“Besides, I asked him all the important questions months ago,” her mom said as if it was perfectly normal for a mother to vet her daughter’s dates in advance. “Never been married. No kids. Owns his home, and he adores his parents. I can totally envision the two of you having a long life together. All I ask is that you don’t elope. Don’t be selfish like your sister, Nyla. I want to be a part of your big day. I even want to help plan your wedding, and your dad and I will pay for it when you’re ready.”
Dorian rolled her eyes, knowing she should run from the room right now before her mother continued.
A loud sigh came from the entrance into the kitchen and Dorian perked up when her aunt, Gwendolyn Renee, who she called Aunt GiGi, strolled in. “Ginny, leave the girl alone,” she said. “She’s thirty-three years old. She doesn’t need you buttinginto her love life. That’s probably why Nyla and Harrison eloped. They didn’t want to put up with you and your helicopter parenting and know-it-all self.”
“Oh hush,” Dorian’s mother said, smiling and not looking deterred in the least, but she did stop with the wedding talk.
“Thanks, Aunt GiGi,” Dorian whispered as she hugged her fashionista auntie whose makeup was done to perfection, including the red lipstick she favored.
Dressed in tight blue jeans and a light strapless blouse, she looked as stylish as usual. She was a retired educator. Now she helped out wherever needed at the B&B, and she always looked amazing. She had once told Dorian that it was more important to be ready for an opportunity to meet a man than to have a man show up and you look a hot mess.
“I appreciate you sticking up for me, but you won’t have to after tonight. I’ve already made a mental note to myself to never let my dates pick me up from here.”
She had mainly done it these last few times because she hadn’t been ready for Glen to know where she lived. He was nice enough, but she didn’t feel a spark when they were together. It was safe to say he might stay in the friend zone.
Dorian left her mother and aunt in the kitchen, then headed to the bathroom at the back of the huge home. After leaving their corporate jobs, her parents had remodeled the Chicago Greystone, maintaining its Italian architectural charm. The ornate, old world style building, with its historic and modern amenities, had been featured in several magazines over the years.
The home was stunning inside and out with dark woods and grandeur artwork and furnishings. It had seven huge bedroom suites, a large eat-in kitchen—which happened to be Dorian’s dream kitchen, a dining room, living room, and a library. What made it even more perfect was the two-bedroom, two-bathroominnkeeper’s cottage directly behind the main building where her parents stayed.
Dorian entered the bathroom and wasted no time in getting changed into a deep pink, cold-shoulder blouse and black skintight jeans that molded over her hips and butt. She paired the outfit with black wedge heel sandals and silver jewelry. Once she finished getting dressed, she freshened up her makeup. Going for understated but alluring, she added eyeshadow, black eyeliner, and mascara, and in the end, it did what she set out to do.
Now all she had to do was get through the evening without thinking about a certain someone else. The someone who made her tingle inside and who kissed like he created the activity.
Lynix. No matter how she tried, thoughts of him kept creeping in and whenever that happened, memories of their kisses dominated her mind. The man definitely knew how to turn her on with his lips and tongue.
I wonder what else he can do with his mouth.
The wayward thought came with an erotic visual that slammed into Dorian like a powerful wave, and she gripped the edge of the vanity as her body trembled. It was as if she could actually feel Lynix’s warm mouth on her, sucking and teasing her nipples into tight buds before peppering kisses down the center of her body. Once he reached the apex between her thighs, his tongue began its exploration, doing wicked things to…
Gawd!She slammed her eyes closed and breathed in and out a few times. What the heck was wrong with her? She didn’t normally have sexual fantasies, but they’d been coming more often, usually while she was asleep.
All of this was a first. She never imagined herself with a man the way she’d been imagining herself with Lynix. She had noright fantasizing about how he could please her in places she had no intention of ever letting him near.
Nope. She wasn’t going there, and neither was he. It was time to stop torturing herself with these thoughts. No sense in thinking about being intimate with the man unless it was going to actually happen, and it wasn’t.Ever.
She just had to forget about him.
