Chapter One
Cason
There’s alwaysa line at Kotov Bakery. You’d think I’d learn to come earlier, but it never seems to happen. But any line would be worth it if I can see Josie’s smile before I go to work for the day. The man in front of me finally decides on an order and steps off to the side while one of the baristas starts to fill it. That’s one of the perks of this place, specialty brewed coffee to go with delectable baked goods.
“Good morning! What will it be today, Cason?”
My gaze meets the baby blues of Josie’s as she grins at me. That’s the thing about her, never once have I felt like her kindness or happiness has ever been forced. When she’s smiling it’s because she wants to, not because she has to be nice to the customer. Seeing her makes my lips pull into a smile. She has to be the only woman on Earth that makes me want to do so.
I hum and crouch, acting as if I’m checking out what the bottom of the display case has, when in truth, I can make out her shapely legs and rounded hips standing on the other side. Her jeans hug her like a second skin. I never thought I could be jealous of clothing, but they get to be wrapped around her; I’ll never have the luxury. After a moment, I stand and run my fingers through my hair. “I don’t know. Everything always looks so good. I guess I’ll have two of your famous peach scones with icing.”
She laughs, leaning onto the counter. “That’s what you always get. Are you sure you don’t want to try something else?”
It takes all my willpower to keep my gaze from straying down to her cleavage, as her arms press her ample breasts together, and her v-cut collar shows them off more. Part of me wants to get her a sweater to cover up. So that I know not every hot-blooded male in here could get an eyeful. I want her breasts to be mine. Again, it’s just a pipe dream. Even if she did want me, it could never happen. Besides, I’m almost certain she sees me as an older brother. I used to babysit her for heaven’s sake. I saw her as a sister until she came back from college last year, looking every bit a woman, and something inside me shifted. She was no longer the little girl that begged for piggyback rides and had me push her high on the swing. She had a woman’s body. Full of curves that I suddenly wanted to explore with my tongue and fingers.
I shrug. “I guess I’m just a creature of habit. I know what I like. My day wouldn’t be complete without your scones, Jo.”
Her eyes glitter in the sunlight coming through the large windows at the front of the quaint place. She pushes a strand of loose black hair behind her ear. “Well, I guess I should be glad for that. My day wouldn’t be complete without getting my daily dose of Cason. Do you want a coffee, too?”
I grimace. I’ve never been much of a coffee drinker and she knows that.
She laughs. “C’mon, I have a new cinnamon latte that would be right up your alley. It’s perfect for a chilly morning like today.”
I arch a brow at her. She knows cinnamon is a favorite of mine, but I’ll never give over to liking coffee. “Make it a chai latte to go and you have a deal.”
Josie’s plump lower lip juts out as if begging to be pulled on with my teeth. “You’re not staying around this morning? I reserved your table for you.” She points and I follow it to a table in front of one of the windows. She thinks I sit there to work on my laptop and watch the world outside, in truth, it’s the best seat in the house to be able to keep an eye on her and make sure that no one is bothering her.
“Not today, I’m afraid. Just stopped in for my breakfast. I have a meeting in an hour and you know how long it takes to get to the office.”
She sighs as she grabs a set of tongs and a paper bag. “I suppose that’s a good reason.”
My stomach flips a little at the fact she wants me to be here longer. God, if she could want me, too... No, I can’t let that happen. I pray every day to be able to see her with brother-glasses on. I never looked at her twice as a teenager. I had no problem finding a woman to spend my time with, but now that she’s no longer a child, I can’t seem to get hard by the idea of anyone else.
“Shannon will have your chai done in a few moments.” She lifts her hand to give me the paper bag with the scones and stops. Leaning to the side she looks around me, and I can’t help but turn my head to glance over my shoulder. I hadn’t sensed anyone walking up behind me, but when she’s in front of me, my normally acute senses dull. She becomes my world, and it makes my heartache.
No one stands there and I look back at her. “What is it?”
Her gaze meets mine and a mischievous gleam enters her eyes. “Come back here, there’s something I want you to try, a new buttercream I’ve been working on.
My cock twitches as her words; they instantly make me think of licking the cream off her body until she’s a quivering mass of wanton need under me. I move over to the swinging door in the counter that will let me join her behind it.
A throat clears near us and I pause. My gaze goes over to the burly man that sits next to it. I nearly forgot he was here. Her bodyguard, Sacha, is paid for by her father Michail. She doesn’t understand why she needs one, but I do. Her father has a lot of enemies as does mine and my family. We deal in too much crime for there not to be. She just thinks her father is a business mogul and that he’s overprotective of her. I’m not sure why she puts up with it, but she does.
Josie huffs. “Knock it off, Sacha, it’s Cason. He’s not going to hurt me and you know that. C’mon, Cason, don’t let that sourpuss stop you.”
Oh, I wasn’t going to let him stop me. I could wring his neck in two seconds before he could even try to fight me. I can’t stand him. There’s something about him that rubs me the wrong way.
I move past him, joining her behind the counter. She hands me the paper bag and then motions for me to follow her into the kitchen, where several of their assistant bakers work on batches of cupcakes and bagels for the lunch crowd that will be here soon. All of them are made with recipes Josie came up with. I’m certain both have to be nearly world famous at this point. Anyone who comes to Manhattan knows that they have to try one of her asiago bagels with cream cheese.
She leads me to the back where she works, and I watch her round ass sway. There I go again, getting jealous of a pair of jeans. I bet her plump ass would jiggle beautifully if I slapped it while it was bare.
She picks up a bowl from a mixing stand and faces me. For a moment, I think she might dip her finger in it and offer to let me suck it from the digit. Instead, she grabs one of her many test spoons and gets a bit of the cream on the tip before she offers it to me. She’s not offering me to take the spoon, she wants me to lean down and take it off the spoon. She barely comes to the middle of my chest, so even with her hand raised, I would have to lean down to take the bite.
I glance around, making sure Sacha can’t see us well from where he sits. If this got back to her father, my balls would be chopped off by him at the end of the day.
“He’s not watching.”
I turn back to her, she knew what I was worried about? Leaning down I take a bite. Something floral washes over my tongue first. I can almost smell it, shortly after it’s followed by something sweet like honey. I lick my lips. “Flowers?”
