Samantha Hunter - Wild Holiday Nights

And just as thorough.

Everyone knew that the decorated windows were a huge draw in the city this time of year, but he found it hard to believe that anything could match watching Calla work.

Well, except for watching Calla stretch sensuously beneath him, her hair scattered over a pillow as he planted himself deep inside her body, but that wasn’t for public consumption.

Looking past her, he realized that nothing here was decorated. Nothing in her apartment had been, either. Not even a wreath on the door or lights in the window.

Calla was having a difficult time drawing attention to her business. The shop was surviving, but barely, she’d confided. She was even considering moving out of her apartment to save money for the bakery, living here in her office until things picked up.

Gideon admired her determination, but he hoped things wouldn’t go to that extreme. Her shop space was nice, but not livable. He thought of all the nights he’d stayed overnight at the station, sleeping on the couch in his small office or even at his desk, but that was different. Some cases took a long time to settle. Calla was thinking about giving up her living space just to save her business. There had to be another way.

He walked back into Calla’s office to make a phone call to his sister. After explaining the situation, he hoped he could get some ideas of how to help Calla, and he did. Now the trick would be to convince her to go along with it.

Calla had gone outside, handing out samples, and he was glad to see her chatting a bit with the group. And giving them her business cards. She’d listened to him about connecting with her audience.

But what made them come back every day? What made them want more?

Gideon had an idea, but he wasn’t sure Calla would like it. She was so hardworking, but that dedication to her work, along with the worry about her business, created so much stress that she was missing out on the fun. People saw her work hard, but that’s all they saw. Maybe he could help show them something more—what he saw in her.

When she came back in, her cheeks rosy from the cold, he took a dollop of icing on his finger and dabbed it to her nose before she could sit back down.

“Gideon! What—”

He grabbed a towel from the counter as he pulled her toward him with the other hand. But instead of wiping the frosting from her nose, he caught it with his tongue and then pressed his mouth to hers in a gentle, sweet kiss—literally sweet as they shared the frosting.

For a moment, heat leaped between them as Calla melted against him before remembering where they were. She pulled away, looking scandalized.

“Gideon!”

She had no need to worry. The crowd, as they often said, went wild. Applause and cheers met them from the half dozen or so people who had witnessed the kiss.

“The wedding cake lady has a boyfriend!” someone said.

“And he’s hot!” another voice chimed in.

Gideon grinned and Calla looked struck dumb.

The look she gave him wasn’t a friendly one.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed under her breath.

“Just go with it,” he said in her ear.

Calla slid Gideon a look as she promptly closed the shades.

“Gideon—”

“Calla,” he said at the same time, and they both stopped.

He smiled; she sighed.

Gideon crossed over to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

“Hear me out. When you were working, I had an idea. I called my sister to ask her about how you could do some marketing, and I told her how you work in the window.”

“Yeah?”

Gideon nodded, encouraged at the flicker of interest in her expression. And the satisfied flush in her cheeks from his kiss.

“Yes. She said the performance baking is good, but people can’t necessarily connect with it.”

“I don’t understand—who can’t connect with cake? And weddings?”

“That’s true, but what you do is really about romance. Happily ever afters, right? And yet your storefront isn’t making that connection. Giving them something to relate to, and something to root for.”

“Or looking like someone who seems completely unprofessional.”

“I doubt that, not when they see how hard you work. Diedre said that you need to do something that could really draw attention. You have to admit, that kiss drew some attention.”

“I still don’t get it, and I can’t see how this will make people buy more cakes.”

“Because it will get them talking—to others at work, or at home—and it will bring them back. My mother was telling me about coffee commercials they ran back in the eighties, I think, where each commercial was like a story over coffee. People wanted to watch the commercials to see what happened—and then they bought the coffee because they liked the story. If people watch you and make the connection between what you do and romance, that’s stronger than just seeing how hard you work.”

Gideon could feel her tension, and turned her around and massaged her tight shoulders as he leaned in closer and kissed her neck.

“Gideon,” she moaned in half pleasure, half protest, but she didn’t move away. “I have to finish the cake.”

“You need to learn to relax a little, Calla.”

“There’s no time. And we relaxed a lot, all last night.”

He laughed against the back of her neck.

“Listen, why don’t you leave this to me? Let me try a few things, and let’s see what works?”

“Oh, I don’t know...”

Gideon nibbled on her ear, loving her taste. Sweet like the sugar she used on the cakes.

“Trust me, Calla. What can it hurt?”

She groaned as he sucked the tender skin under her ear, and Gideon was starting to lose focus, as well.

“I have to get to work,” she protested lamely, but didn’t pull away.

“In a minute.”

Gideon had a taste of her and he wanted more before he had to let her go back into her world. He left her only to lock the door before returning, wrapping his arms around her from behind, undoing the buttons of her chef’s coat, sliding his hands underneath.

Good thing she’d pulled the shades.

She arched back against him, catching her breath as his hands closed over her breasts, teasing.

“Sex produces endorphins, you know...it will help with your energy levels,” he whispered in her ear before biting the lobe lightly.

“I can’t have sex in here. It’s against health codes.”

“Right, we’ll be careful about that,” he said gruffly as he worked his hands up under her blouse, loving the warm silk of her skin.

She chuckled softly against his mouth as he kissed her again. Gideon walked her back to the small office. Inside, he eyed the desk.

“No health-code violations in here, right?”

“That’s true,” she admitted, letting him draw her inside.

Gideon couldn’t wait another second to kiss her—to really kiss her—and he loved how she deftly undid his belt, running her fingers over his stomach.

When her hands slipped inside his jeans to touch him, he caught his breath, his head falling forward to her shoulder. He was hard as a rock already, and she murmured her approval in his ear as she nipped his earlobe and stroked him gently.

Gideon was sure he’d never felt so much with anyone before in his life. Calla’s touch turned him inside out.

He darted his tongue out to taste the smooth skin of her shoulder and raised a hand to cover her breast, stroking her there in the same rhythm she did for him. She trembled as her nipple hardened under his fingers, and she sought a kiss that he was more than willing to give.

Gideon thought about taking her on the desk, which was still a possibility, but he didn’t want to break the intimacy of the kiss or the touches they were sharing, even though he was increasingly close to embarrassing himself.