Savage in a Stetson (Crossroads #4) - Em Petrova Page 0,26

in to kiss Cort on the top of his velvety baby head covered in blond fuzz. “Mom and Dad should arrive tomorrow night. Will you come for dinner?”

“No. You’ll all come to my place for dinner. You shouldn’t have to cook.”

“Well, I figured I’d send for takeout.” She threw a look at the table and the boxes of food Jada had brought over with her. “You didn’t have to bring so much!”

“Cold chicken makes a great midnight snack. Anyway, I’d better get going. I’m sure to have some delivery orders backing up.” She held out the baby, and Joss swooped him up into her arms as if she’d already worked through the first-time-mom jitters.

At the front door, she and Joss kissed goodbye and then Jada walked out to the little purple delivery car. She’d taken over the deliveries in the afternoons and paid a teenager for the evening shifts. She didn’t mind the work at all, and weirdly looked at it as welcome time away from her restaurant.

Ten minutes later she had all her orders loaded into the car and set off on her route. First drop off went to an older gentleman who limped to the door with a foot in a cast. They stood talking about how he tripped letting the dog out and landed wrong. Also he informed her of how happy he was to know he could order Mortimer’s special barbecue ribs anytime he wanted.

The next delivery served two old ladies for their lunch.

The final house she drew up in front of, Jada grabbed her delivery bag and started up the sidewalk. After only one knock, the door opened.

She took one look at the occupant and spun on her heel. “Oh hell no.” She started back to her car.

“Jada.”

The deep baritone shouldn’t affect her so much. After months apart, and weeks since their one and only encounter, she should be immune to Dominick Cole. He was her competition—he might as well be her enemy.

But when he caught her by the hand and spun her around, her insides quivered. They faced each other, and her breaths came so quick that her mind swam with dizziness. He slid the pad of his thumb over her cheek to her lips. His eyes burned into hers.

“I liked that barbecue so much, I wanted some more.” He curled his fingers around her wrist and took a backward step toward his open front door, hauling her with him.

Why didn’t her feet move in the opposite direction? Why was she giving in to his desires?

Maybe because they were her desires too.

He tugged her hand, drawing her up the steps and into his house, and then he closed the door. As he stepped closer to her, trapping her between the door and his hard body, her insides somersaulted like a child rolling down a hill.

“Jada… God, woman, what do you do to me?” He leaned in until he rested his forehead against hers.

She dragged in deep, rough breaths of his musky male scent. She should open the door and run down the sidewalk to her car. She should never get tricked into speaking to him again.

Several heartbeats passed.

“Kiss me.” Her plea sounded as a rasp, and the hairs on her arms prickled. She tipped her face upward just as Dom swooped in and claimed her lips.

He went still, holding the caress for a long, heart-pounding second.

She shouldn’t be doing this.

She couldn’t draw air.

Her nipples felt as though he wrapped his hot lips around both at the same time and sucked, but he hadn’t moved his mouth from hers.

Suddenly, he tore away, chest heaving. “This is your last chance to walk away from me, Jada.”

“Or what?” she challenged.

“Or you won’t be returning to work today.”

“I hope you’ve got some good employees to take over for you, because you won’t be at Savage’s either.”

He made a rough noise of want deep in his throat. Then he sagged at the knees and scooped her off her feet. Clearly, she’d given up her sanity, because she didn’t kick and scream or fight him.

Rooms zipped past her vision as he carried her to his bed. His home was set up simply, as sparse and tidy as she would expect from a man who prided himself on living out of his backpack. With the exception of a huge flat-screen, he didn’t seem to have more than the bare necessities.

That included his room. A queen bed and a nightstand holding a lamp were the only furnishings. He lay her on the