Craving More (12 page)

Corrine
stood with her hand on the knob of the bakery door not remembering unlocking
it. Stepping into the kitchen she took a quick look around and didn’t see
anything out of place.

“Maybe
MJ forgot to lock it. She was a bit distracted yesterday,” she said into the
silent room.

When
no one offered his or her opinion back, she went to work on the baking of the
day.

MJ
showed up a couple hours later looking like something that cat dragged in.

Corrine
offered her friend a cup of coffee. “Bad night?”

“Yeah.
Parents called. Then Devon. Both pleading their cases but in completely
different ways.” She sighed dejectedly, a sound completely uncommon for her.

Corrine
wrapped her arm around MJ’s shoulders and squeezed. “I’m sorry. Want to run
away with me?”

MJ
snorted. “When do we leave?”

“Right
after the morning crowd. That way Kacie will be in and she can feed everyone
else then lock up after.”

Corrine
moved away, going back to the muffin mix she was stirring before. “Speaking of
locking up. Did you forget to last night?”

“No.
I locked up. Even double checked since I knew my mind was in a different
place.” MJ sounded shocked.

“Huh,
I must have unlocked without paying attention then.” She patted her pants
pockets. “Keys are still in my pocket. I must be more tired than I thought.”

Five
muffins tins and three sheets of croissants later, Corrine was being backed up
to the pastry counter by Jett again.
His kisses as sweet and
addicting as ambrosia.
His demeanor as cool and
laid
back as the day before when they were interrupted by another customer.

That
evening he called just like the night before whispering sweet nothings through
the phone. And just like the night before, she fell a little closer to being in
love with him.

Wednesday
morning Corrine made sure she didn’t walk down to the bakery in a daze. The day
before had been a whirlwind of customers, chaos and thoughts of Jett. She
refused to let that take hold of her and bleed over. It was a new day with new
opportunities.

At
least that was what she thought as she walked into the bakery kitchen. As soon
as she unlocked the door, the faint scent of roses could be smelled. She knew
none of her staff wore perfumes while at work. They made it a policy so the
only thing customers would smell was freshly baked breads and sweets. They
didn’t want the cloying stench of something artificial to turn people away.

Methodically
Corrine inspected the kitchen, following her nose and the path of roses. After
thirty minutes she deemed the kitchen as all clear. Nothing was out of place or
missing. Even the aprons were still draped at each prep station just as she
left them the night before.

Making
her way into the store of the bakery, her nose lead her to the same spot Jett
had trapped her against at the pastry counter the prior two days. The scent of
roses was so strong she became light-headed. Pinching her nose she rushed to
open the front door, propping it open. Taking a deep breath of fresh air she
hustled back through the store and into the kitchen where she propped open the
back door.

“Hey
Rini. Whatcha doing? I don’t smell anything baking,” MJ said walking down the
last few feet of the path that lead from the house to the bakery.

Corrine
took a few cleansing breathes before answering. “That’s cause nothing is. When
I opened the back door I smelled roses. I’ve spent the last forty minutes
checking everything. It’s really bad on the store side. Had to prop open the
doors in hopes that it would clear out. I don’t remember it smelling like that
last night.”

“You
did spend most of the time in the back, and before closing Kacie told me about
some snooty woman with too much perfume. Guess she was a real bitch. Asked for
sugar free cupcakes and when Kacie said we didn’t have anything like that, she
made some comment about cows. I locked the front so you wouldn’t have been in
there to smell it.”

Corrine
looked around. Not sure that was the answer but it was better than anything she
would be able to come up with. Besides the smell of roses, nothing was
suspicious. Everything was in order. “If you say so. Let’s get a move on then.
I’m behind schedule.”

MJ
walked up to her and looped their arms together. “We’ll double time it,” she
said with a smile.

Corrine
looked sideways at her friend. “You seem chipper this morning.”

“I
am. I didn’t have any phone calls from my parents or Devon. So I slept great.”

Corrine
wasn’t so sure that was the reason. “There’s something else you’re not telling me.”

“I
tell you everything Rini. You know that.”

“I
still think something is up.”

“You’re
just a little freaked about the smell. Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from
vicious perfumes.”

Corrine
rolled her eyes and the two of them got to work. The pace was frantic, getting
the first batches done in record time.

She
jumped when she stepped into the shop with two full trays of sticky, sweet
muffins almost dropping them to the floor. A large figure stood looming over
the sales counter. The morning sun shining in behind him blocking out his
features. It took her a second to realize it was Jett standing at the counter.
“Why was the door propped open?” His voice came out low and demanding, steel
threading through every word.

“Well
hello to you too.” Instead of walking around to great him, she stayed behind
the counter stocking the trays. She was too harried to deal with his irritation
this morning. Though she’d worked off most of her wariness, a small part in the
back of her mind still thought there was something else going on in the shop
and with MJ.

“Corrine,
I asked you a question. Why was the door wide open? I’ve been standing out here
for at least ten minutes and judging by how you reacted you had no clue I was
here.”

“We’ve
been a little busy. Got a late start.” She placed the now empty trays on top of
the sales counter.

A
low rumbling growl caused her head to snap up. “That’s not good enough. Anyone
could have walked in. They could have threatened you, hurt you.”

She
took a second to look at him. Now that she was standing directly in front of
him and no longer distracted with work, she could see a scowl marring his
handsome face, his jaw was clenched and lips thinned in disapproval. His hands
were fisted on his hips, making his chest expand to an impressive width. The
golden hue of his eyes a good indication of how pissed he actually was.

She
never would have guessed what happened next.

An
unseen concentrated wave of heat and power hit her in the chest knocking the
air from her lungs. She winced from the pain before dipping her head in
submission as Jett’s Blood Legacy pulsed around her. The primal energy
emanating from him pushed her to bend to his will.
 

Her
voice came out small, barely audible. “Its nothing. There was a strange scent
when I opened the shop. I had to air the place out and forgot to close the door
while we got caught up with the baking.”

The
heat and pain assaulting her receded. Her knees buckled and she damn near hit
the floor. With speed and grace Jett was behind the counter wrapping his arms around
her chest and waist. Pulling her back into his body rocking her gently. “Damn
it. I’m so sorry Corrine. I don’t know what came over me.”

They
stood fused together. His whispered words of apology repeating over and over in
her ear as slowly she recovered from the effects.

“I
forget your lineage sometimes.”

“What?”

“You’re
from a founding family. I’m guessing you’ve entered into
Dewasa
and your Blood Legacy must be in full effect.”

“I
didn’t mean it to happen. Didn’t know…” he trailed off, confusion and distress
evident in his voice. “I hurt you. I was so angry that the door was open. That
someone could come in here and do heaven knows what to you.” He sighed; a
shudder wracking is body, shaking her as well.

His
concern for her safety thrilled her. The fact he used his inherent strength and
power, even accidentally, to hurt her, scared the shit out of her. She couldn’t
help wondering if he would do it again when she didn’t answer a question right
away or to his liking, or when she did something he disapproved of. Her
emotions fought a hard battle for dominance, ultimately the fear won out. It
was her turn to shudder within the shelter of his arms. He took the reaction to
mean something completely different.

“Shhh
kitten. I’m here now.” He reached up with one hand stroking her hair. The
motion did nothing to comfort her.

She
fought hard to keep her nerves under control. Knowing the nervous energy
produced a sickly sweet scent and not wanting him to wonder or get upset again.
Taking a quick breath, she grabbed his arm still around her waist, pulling it
from her and stepping to the side. Immediately missing the feel of him pressed
against her but knowing she needed the space.

She
cleared her throat quickly. “I’m fine.”

Jett
opened his mouth to say something just as a customer walked in. Spinning away
she greeted the young woman effectively cutting him off. He walked past her
seconds later. The very faint smell of roses drifting through the air in his
wake.

Late
that night while laying in bed her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID.
Jett was right on
time
. She debated on whether or not
to answer. Not sure how she felt about what happened that morning. By the
fourth ring she couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Hello,”
she said, trying to make it sound like she had been woken from her sleep. It
was a coward’s move and she knew it.

She
sat in silence as she waited for him to answer back. When nothing came she
called is name. “Jett? Are you there?”

Still
there was nothing. She waited a couple more seconds then sighed in
exasperation.

“Great
you must have butt dialed me. Night Jett’s ass.”

Hanging
up she put her phone on mute before placing it on the nightstand. Rolling away
from it she fell into a fitful sleep.

Thursday
morning there were no unlocked doors or mystery smells when Corrine opened up
the shop—only a grumpy and tired woman who needed more coffee than usual.

Prep
and baking went off without a hitch. When it came time to open the doors to
customers MJ offered to go out front but Corrine turned her down.

Opening
was one of her favorite things to do. The place was empty and clean. Just
waiting for the rush of customers. It was the calm before the storm and her one
chance, after a backbreaking morning, to collect her thoughts and re-center for
the day. Not that she had been able to do that lately. With Jett showing up the
past couple of days and the strange goings-on, her days had been a whirlwind of
non-stop action.

There
was also the fact she never told MJ that Jett was showing up. MJ appeared to be
clueless about everything, not even noticing the blast of energy from
yesterday’s incident. As far as Corrine knew, none of the staff had seen the
two of them together and the customers that had, well, they really didn’t care.

After
filling the morning trays she sat down. Sun on her face she closed her eyes,
letting the quiet of the room and the familiar and soothing smells settle
around her. She just about dozed off when the door jingled its morning
greeting.

With
her eyes still closed she took a deep breath.
Jett
. His spicy scent mingled with the shop’s sweet one. It filled
her lungs, making her light-headed. The man had no idea how just the smell of
him could turn her on. Goosebumps rose on her arms while a tingling sensation
skittered down her spine. Her nipples puckered beneath her shirt.

The
fact that sight unseen she knew it was
him
proved
their connection was growing. Don’t get her wrong; she was still ticked at him
although not as much as she probably should be. He didn’t intentionally try to
hurt her. He was as surprised by the power leaching from him as her. By the end
of the day yesterday she had moved from fear to anger about him using his Blood
Legacy on her. The butt dialed call didn’t help matters. However, she just
couldn’t stay mad or afraid. Deep in her heart she knew he would never use his
gift on her intentionally.

She
kept her eyes closed. Knew when he was standing in front of her when he blocked
out the warmth of the sun. “Good morning Mr. Murphy. How are you this fine
day?”

“How
did you know it was me? You haven’t opened your eyes once since I came in. I
could have been a serial killer.”

“Silly
man. Did you stay up late watching murder, death, kill shows or something? I
could smell you of course. Oh, by the way, thanks for the butt dial last night.
Nice to know your ass was at least thinking about me.” She heard the sarcasm in
her voice but really didn’t care. She was too tired to coddle his feelings.