Breaking All the Rules (16 page)

The place
smelled as good as ever. He breathed in deeply, something about the smells
instantly relaxing him. Once again, at least half of the tables had customers
at them. He wasn’t surprised. He wouldn’t mind spending a few hours himself
here sometime, just wasting an afternoon. It was that kind of place. Especially
if it meant he could spend that time checking out the hot baker.

Unfortunately,
the baker he wanted to see wasn’t the one behind the counter. Ashley looked up
as he entered, giving him a slow once-over from head-to-toe. “Well, you
certainly clean up nice,” she said as he approached the counter.

“Thanks. Nina
around?”

She jerked her
head toward the back area. “She’s changing. She’ll be right out.”

That was
promising. Evidently she was going to make a little effort for the date after
all. It didn’t look like she was going to come up with an excuse, so she could
take all the time she wanted. He’d waited three years for this. He could wait a
little more.

“How are Jackie
and the baby?” he asked.

“Beautiful. She texted
me some pictures a little while ago. Do you want to see?”

He was surprised
to realize he actually did. He really didn’t have much experience with babies.
Like he’d told Nina, he hadn’t even thought about having them until recently.
But he couldn’t help but be curious what the little guy looked like. “Sure.
Does he have a name yet?”

“Joshua,” Ashley
said. “Joshua David.” She started to dig in her apron for her phone, only to
stop when the kitchen door swung open.

And there was
Nina.

Bobby actually
felt his heart stop dead for a second. An instant later, it kicked back to
life, beating faster than before. One glance was all it took to send the heat
shooting to his groin.

Wow
.

Her usual work
clothes had been replaced with a one-piece black sleeveless dress that molded
to every one of her curves. Somehow it was just as sexy as if she were naked,
the fabric clinging to her body, reminding him of every inch of skin he knew by
heart. The neckline revealed only a hint of cleavage, but that slight glimpse
was all the more enticing. The skirt barely skimmed her knees, swaying lightly
around her thighs. Her brown hair hung loose around her shoulders, just the way
he liked it. He knew she usually tied it back when she was at work; that was
how she’d looked the other night when she’d come home. She seemed freer like
this, not the responsible, respectable baker, more the wild, adventurous Nina
he knew so well.

As his stare
lingered, she ran a nervous hand over her hip, smoothing wrinkles that weren’t
there. “I hope this is all right. You didn’t give me any idea what I should
dress for.”

“Anything you
picked would have been fine. That being said, you made a great choice. You look
beautiful.” It had to be the understatement of the year. She looked sexy as
fuck. Suddenly he wasn’t sure he’d be able to make it through the date without
something happening like he’d planned.

“Thanks.” She
glanced at Ashley. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Ashley shot her
a grin. “Have fun.”

As soon as Nina
turned away from her, Ashley winked at him. Bobby managed to suppress an
answering smile as Nina faced him. “Should we go?”

“Absolutely.”

With a tight
nod, she started forward, heading for the door. Bobby followed close behind. He
didn’t miss how tense she was. She moved stiffly, her head high, like a queen
walking in front of a firing squad. Not exactly the note he was hoping to start
the night on. Bobby felt like he should say something, but suddenly he had no
idea what that would be, his mind going completely blank.

When they
reached the exit, he leaned forward to push the door open and hold it for her.
Nina gave him a tight, barely existent smile as she stepped outside. “Thanks.”

As they headed
for the car in silence, he finally had to acknowledge the tension. He fought
the urge to rub a hand across the back of his neck. “This is kind of awkward,
isn’t it?”

“A little,” she
conceded. “First dates usually are.”

“It shouldn’t
be. This is us. We know each other about as well as two people can.”

“That’s true on
one level, but we’ve never done this before. We skipped right past it the first
time, and I have to admit, I didn’t miss it.”

“It
was
easier,” he admitted. There hadn’t been any expectations, so there hadn’t been
any pressure either. Everything had come so naturally for them that first
night. But this seemed much more significant, the stakes so much higher. It was
only normal they’d be a little tense.

At least for
him, Bobby thought. It made sense that he’d be uneasy. Because this date
mattered to him. It wasn’t supposed to matter to her, so being worried that it
wouldn’t go well couldn’t be why she was tense.

No, she was
nervous that it
would
go well, that something could happen tonight, that
her resolve might be weakened.

Which meant it
could be.

Suddenly it was
all he could do not to grin, his earlier doubts evaporating. Oh, yeah, he had a
shot.

Game on.

Stopping at the
passenger side of his car, she glanced up at him, a trace of hope flickering in
her eyes. “Having second thoughts?” she asked. “Because we don’t have to do
this—”

He gave in to
the grin, anticipation and excitement surging through him. “Oh no. After
everything it took for me to get this date, you can be damn sure we’re going to
have it. You’re all mine.”

And he was going
to do everything he could to make sure she stayed that way.

YOU’RE ALL
MINE.

The words echoed
in Nina’s head as Bobby opened the car door for her and she climbed inside. She
wanted to say something light and flirty in response, something to signal that
this night was all about getting him into bed and nothing more.

But the
possessiveness she heard in his voice sent a shiver of warning through her,
putting her even more on edge. Her mind went blank, and she couldn’t think of
anything to say back. He sounded so determined, as firm and authoritative as he
had yesterday taking charge of getting Jackie to the hospital.

It didn’t help
that he looked even better than he had last night, as she watched him round the
front of the car to the driver’s side. He looked...dashing. That was the only
word that came to mind. He looked like a slightly more casual James Bond, bold
and masculine and intense. The dark blue dress shirt seemed to fit his body
even more perfectly than the one he'd worn yesterday, emphasizing every muscle
in his chest and arms. The dress slacks molded to his ass and hard thighs as he
walked, giving her a prime view with every step he took. She couldn’t look
away, heat pooling in her belly as she took the shifting of his muscles with
every long, purposeful stride.

Damn, the man
had a great ass.

As he climbed
behind the wheel, he shot her a slow, lazy, all too satisfied smile that only
fueled her unease.

Nina fought the
urge to fidget in her seat, not about to let him know what he was doing to her.
This felt too much like an actual date, and that was the last thing she wanted.
She wished she hadn’t worn the dress, but she hadn’t wanted to feel
uncomfortable and out of place wherever he took her. Not to mention something
sexier suited her ultimate goals for this evening. With any luck she’d have him
so turned on he’d want to race through dinner and get back to dessert at her
place.

All she had to
do was resist letting anything he had planned affect her.

No small feat
when he already had her feeling this jumpy and off-kilter, and all they’d done
was get in his car.

Starting the
engine, he shifted gears to back out of the parking space. “So where are we
going?” she asked.

“It’s a
surprise.”

A fresh wave of
apprehension crashed over her as a dozen romantic scenarios raced through her
head. “Oh,” she replied, unable to keep her lack of enthusiasm out of her
voice.

“Don’t you like
surprises?”

“Not really.”

“Not even mine?”

The heat of
memory flushed her skin. Oh, he had been full of surprises when it came to sex,
always coming up with new ways to thrill her. The man was practically a living version
of the
Kama Sutra
, with plenty of fresh and inventive things for them to
try. The corners of her mouth twitched involuntarily. “Well, maybe yours.” She
decided not to mention his announcement that he wanted to date her. That hadn’t
been one of his more welcome surprises.

“Then just sit
back and trust me.”

Nina was pretty
sure that was exactly what she couldn’t do. Still, she kept her mouth shut and
settled in for the ride. Nervousness fluttering in her belly, she followed the
path of the car with avid interest. From the way he was dressed, she was
expecting that he’d picked a pretty nice restaurant for this. She was hoping
for one in the general vicinity of her apartment. Instead, he headed north,
taking her farther and farther from her home turf.

Curiosity warred
with unease the farther they traveled. She tried to swallow the questions that
rose to the tip of her tongue, knowing she wouldn’t get any answers.

He finally
arrived at a restaurant she wasn’t familiar with. It looked perfectly nice,
exactly the kind of romantic place she’d been dreading, but there were a ton of
similar places closer to her. She wondered why he’d picked it.

He pulled into
an open spot in front. Nina started to unbuckle her seat belt, only to have him
stop her. “Hold tight,” he said as he opened his door. “I’ll be right back.”

Confused, she
watched him climb out and walk into the restaurant. What was he up to now?

Five minutes
later he finally reemerged carrying a picnic basket. Nina stared at it as he
made his way back to the car. She had to assume this meant he was planning an
outdoor picnic somewhere, maybe in a park or on the beach. It was another of
those romantic scenarios she hadn’t been looking forward to. It also might make
it a lot harder for her to make her move, depending on how public the setting
was.

Unless he had a
semi-private spot in mind, which might work out a lot better than any
restaurant. The corners of her mouth twitched at some of the ideas that
instantly came to mind. They might not even have to make it back to her place.

Bobby placed the
basket behind his seat, then climbed back behind the wheel. “All set,” was the
only thing he said as he started the car and backed out again.

He had to know
she was curious. She could practically feel the smugness coming off him in
waves. For once, he was solely calling the shots. Suppressing an eyeroll, Nina
turned her head away to look out the window. She wasn’t going to give him the
satisfaction of seeing how badly she wanted to know what he had planned. She
made herself relax in her seat, trying to determine if he was heading to the
beach or a park somewhere, playing out the possibilities in her mind of what
she might do when they got there….

He surprised her
again. They arrived in a residential neighborhood near Miramar. Frowning, Nina
watched as he drove into the parking lot of an apartment complex, guiding the
car into an open space.

She finally had
to ask. “Where are we?”

Bobby shifted
into Park and shut off the engine. “My place.”

“I thought you
lived in Oceanside.”

“Not anymore.
Mac and I got this place a couple years ago.”

“I didn’t know
that.”

Pushing his door
open, he shot her a pointed look. “Yeah, well. There’s a lot we don’t know
about each other. Hopefully we’ll work on that a little tonight.”

Nina shifted uncomfortably
in her seat and looked away as he stepped out. That was the last thing she
wanted to get out of this evening. She prepared to steel herself against his
charms, determined to keep him as much at an emotional distance as possible and
not get sucked in by whatever he had planned. All she wanted was one final
amazing night with him to give their relationship the ending it deserved. Then
she was going to walk away, clearheaded and composed, before they became more
deeply entrenched and risked one or both of them getting hurt.

That was her
plan, and she was sticking to it.

After retrieving
the basket from the back, Bobby reappeared at her side to open her door. Nina
started to climb out on her own, only to find him leaning forward, offering his
hand to help her.

She almost
hesitated, but there was no way to avoid it without being rude. Trying not to
let her reluctance show, she slipped her fingers into his. The charge that
passed between them as his warm, firm hand took hold of hers was expected. She
knew by now how her body always reacted to his touch. That didn’t lessen her
response to it, or the accompanying tingle that spread up her arm and down to
her belly. It lingered long after she’d stepped out of the vehicle and he’d
released her hand.

Of course,
almost the instant he did, he moved it to the small of her back. A short path
led to the building, with a trio of evenly spaced lampposts lighting the way.
He guided her toward it. Maybe she should have been annoyed. It was an
unnecessary gesture; she could certainly figure out how to get to the door
without him leading her there. But there was something almost chivalrous about
it, the way he touched her there, his hand a light presence she still felt as
strongly as if it had been imprinted on her skin. That same delicious prickling
danced up her spine. She resisted the instinct to close her eyes and bask in
the sensation.

“I’m on the
second floor,” he said, nodding to a set of stairs up ahead.

She dutifully
made her way there. They climbed the steps in silence. The same awkwardness
Nina had felt earlier when they’d left the shop was back, even stronger this
time. This time she could practically sense the excitement radiating from him,
and it only made her dread grow. She knew how much he’d been looking forward to
this, how much it meant to him. The fact that it didn’t mean nearly as much to
her made it seem even more wrong.