“Come on, Nat, lighten up. I’ll pay for it.”
But that wasn’t the point. He was standing there, in her shop, eating her frosting, telling her she was sweet? Telling her she was nothing more than Beaufort’s town buddy? No. She couldn’t take it anymore. She was face-to-face with the last man who’d ever call her sweet again. Especially when she was feeling anything but.
“You have no idea who I really am.” She stepped toward him. “I’m capable of way, way more than sweet.”
East shot her a look like he was examining a baby duck trying to fly for the first time. But just before she bought into that look, she saw a flash of lust in his eyes, especially when those eyes landed on her mouth, then her breasts. But he recovered quickly and patted the top of her head. “Just because you got a new dress, doesn’t change anything. You’re still sweet, darlin’.”
His words made her anger rise, but his gaze told a different story. Had he just done a double take? He had! He’d totally just checked her out! She wasn’t certain the first time, but she was now.
Easton Ambrose wanted her.
Her!
Holee-crap-on-a-cracker!
“Maybe not,” she said, determined to not only challenge him right back, but to force his acknowledgment. “But you seem to appreciate the dress.”
He snapped his eyes away and shrugged like he hadn’t just been staring down her body. “Just wondering where the rest of it was. You think your brother would let you—”
“My brother lets me do nothing. I let myself do what I want. Because I’m a grown woman. When are you going to stop being an idiot?”
“Oh, I’m the idiot?” His voice rose a tad. “You’re the one out there chasing a loser guy who apparently can’t see jack shit.”
She moved around the counter to face him head on, because it’d be easier to scratch his eyes out if she were toe-to-toe with him.
“Actually…” She nudged his chest with a pointed finger. “I ran from him because you’re right—he couldn’t see what was right in front of him.” She tapped his chest again, her other hand still holding the cupcake he’d desecrated. She knew they were talking about different things now. But she didn’t care. It was time to call a spade a spade. Or an East an East.
“Don’t push me, Natalie. That’s not very nice.” He was so close, looming over her, his warm breath hitting her mouth and his clean masculine scent surrounding her.
“I don’t feel very nice right now.” She tapped his shoulder again just to prove a point, and he gave a low growl. “Oh?” she said with mock concern. “Does that not feel good? Getting bossed around? Someone telling you what you are and what you’re not?” She tapped him again, and this time he took a step back, so she took a step forward until he was only a foot away from the counter.
“I’m warning you—”
“I warned you, Easton. Call me sweet again, and I promise you’ll regret it.”
He snarled at her. “You’re not sweet…you’re sugar incarnate.”
That was it. She shoved the cupcake at his mouth, effectively shutting him up, and the big search-and-rescuer was left wide-eyed and speechless. But only for a moment, because when he registered that she’d just shoved food in his face, he swallowed a piece down and glared hard.
“Ballsy move there, darlin’.” He ran one thumb along his lower lip then sucked off the frosting he’d collected. “But I’m a retaliation kind of guy.” With that, he grabbed the largest vanilla cupcake on the top tier of the display and smashed it into her cleavage, frosting first.
She gasped sharply and looked down at herself. “You son of a bitch!”
“That’s not news, darlin’,” he said with an easy chuckle.
She pushed him hard, but he caught her arms and spun her until her butt was against the counter’s edge. Instead of shoving another cupcake at him, she shoved her tongue into his mouth.
What shocked her wasn’t how amazing he tasted, or how good his mouth felt. It was how quickly her body registered him as a deep, desperate want. And he seemed to register her back. Because there was no hesitation. His talented tongue devoured her like he had no care in the world about who she was or how sweet—or not-so-sweet—she felt.
Her entire body ignited like fireworks popping off in succession. She was ravenous. Needy. Horny. And pissed.
She nipped at his lower lip then sucked his top one. He groaned, and his hands instantly landed on her ass and hefted her up to fully sit on the counter.
“Not so sweet now, am I?” she said, and bit his lip hard.
He lifted her briefly to swat her ass once, then dropped her back on the counter with a loud thud. Damn he was strong, lifting and working her body like she weighed nothing.