Sweet Nothings: A Karma Café Novella by Tawny Weber Read Free Book Online

their fingers brushed, Bianca took the scrap of parchment and glanced at the flowing script.
    Enjoy. As long as you’re sure .
    Was she sure?
    It’d be easy to take her turnover, and a few pretend-measurements of the kitchen as a cover, then run away.
    But she didn’t want to run away. She didn’t want to be sweet and pure and good anymore. Not with him... whatever his name was.
    She wanted hot and wild and fun instead.
    “I’m Jacob, by the way,” he offered, along with a fork.
    It was like a bell chimed, signaling the last requirement being met. There it was, now she knew his name. Her last excuse to pretend she wasn’t here to seduce him disappeared in a puff of imaginary smoke.
    Time to put up or shut up. So she took a deep breath and reached for the apple treat.
    “Did you want a bite?” she offered, forking up a generous portion of the still warm, deliciously flaky turnover.
    His eyes didn’t leave her face. What was he looking for?
    He didn’t say. Instead, he shook his head. “Thanks, but no. I’m still full from the muffins and breakfast frittata Natalia brought up this morning.”
    Bianca swallowed a cinnamon-infused bite of apples, then tilted her head. “Are you sure? I hate to be rude. And to eat alone.”
    “How about I sit and visit with you while you eat?” Pure charm, his smile lighted his eyes. Man, he was cute. “You can explain what this is all about. Are you on a sugar-restricted punishment and Anja’s your enforcer? You can only eat sweets behind closed doors? A bossy family with control issues?”
    His smile widened as if he were joking. But his eyes were narrowed, still watchful. Bianca shifted uncomfortably. Did he know why she was here?
    “It’s a special recipe Anja was trying out,” she said around another scoop of apples. Oh my God, this was delicious. “She’s got this competition thing going on with her mom and doesn’t want Natalia to know what she’s making.”
    Bianca was proud of that. Every word was as true as this turnover delicious, and none even hinted at the fact that she planned on Jacob as her dessert’s dessert.
    “Have a seat,” he invited. “Let’s talk.”
    His tone was friendly, but the little hairs on the back of Bianca’s neck stood on end. As if warning her that he was after something. And not the same something she was after.
    But, what?
    She lowered the plate to the counter with a frown. Where this sudden wariness had come from?
    Before she could ask, or even figure out how to word her curiosity since he hadn’t done anything truly suspicions, everything did a loop-di-loop.
    Her head felt woozy and the room spun in a slow, sleepy circle.
    “Are you okay?”
    Jacob was spinning, too. She reached out, grabbing onto him with fingers that didn’t seem to work, trying to make him stay still.
    He felt so good. Hard and warm. What else was hard and warm. Her eyes dropped to the potential behind his zipper, but before she could check for herself, the spinning swung in the other direction.
    Bianca’s knees turned into a puddle of goo.
    Although falling into his arms held appeal, this wasn’t quite what she’d had in mind.
    She couldn’t quite focus.
    It wasn’t the sugar, though, that was rushing through her system. It was nerves, tangled with something she barely recognized. Something she hadn’t felt in over ten years.
    Bravery.
    Nerve.
    A sense of entitlement.
    Suddenly, she was a powerful woman. A smart, savvy woman who deserved to revel in her own strength. To take what she wanted, to enjoy every opportunity.
    She wanted Jacob.
    She wanted him for sex. She wanted to feel his body under hers, over hers. She wanted to explore every sexual fantasy she’d ever shocked herself with, with him.
    Taking a deep breath she found her balance against the swirling and stepped back. She needed a little distance from Jacob’s body for this part.
    Her hands went to the buttons of her blouse, sliding the small beads free and letting the cool, freeing air