Hunting Ember (Pride of Alphas #1) - Milly Taiden Page 0,24

worked. His entire body, all six foot something of it, was made of muscles upon muscles. Every time he moved, it was all corded muscles and graceful force.

He was starting to look better than the fancy cake she was making.

And that was saying something. Fancy cakes were one of her favorite things in the world, right behind chocolate cupcakes and her pink stand-mixer.

Ember shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts of everything Kai. She had a competition to win, and she would fail if she kept staring at his jean-clad ass or the way his arms moved.

She needed to win the competition. Her dream bakery was on the line. She already had her ideal decor all picked out. She knew what her brand would be, and her creativity was dying to explode in a new space. There would be bright, happy colors everywhere. Not just on the walls and the accents, but in her baking as well.

But first? She needed to win.

Today’s challenge was making two wedding cakes, one for the bride and one for the groom. Ember had had the brilliant idea of making two cakes, but having them fit together, like puzzle pieces, just like a good marriage should be. She had known that it would be one hell of a challenge, but she knew that bold moves and big swings were the way to get the judges’ attention. If she could pull it off, it wouldn’t just demonstrate her talent as a baker, but also as someone who had the confidence and necessary attitude to run a successful business.

She knew she could do it. She was already doing it, but for someone else.

This bakery would be her own. When she needed to wake up at 4 in the morning, it would be for her and not her boss. Ciro Marino was a well-respected baker with storefronts all across the world. He was a good enough boss, but he could be temperamental, and he had already stolen one of Ember’s recipes. The jerk had released it in his last book, taking full credit for it.

That’s when Ember had realized she needed a change, that she needed her own place.

Rolling her shoulders back, she aimed her piping tool toward the cake, promising her eyes and other parts of her anatomy that they could gawk at Kai as much as they wanted later. When their dreams weren’t on the line.

We have dreams of being all up in that.

Could a vagina speak? No, obviously not. It was her damn hormones again.

Down girl, or I will not let us touch Kai again.

Her mind was filled with laughter. Yeah, no way was that going to happen. She needed to touch Kai again. His kisses were officially her new favorite thing in the world.

They even beat out chocolate cupcakes.

He was that good.

Maybe it was time for a different approach. Ember pipped a line of icing onto the tiered cake, promising to herself — and her overly chatty vagina — that she would spend some quality time with Kai as soon as she won the first round.

Unfortunately, her cakes and the puzzle concept wasn’t enough to wow the judges. They loved the way it looked, praised the bouquet of flavors she had picked, but in the end, Roberto won. The man was a real contender. He had done one colossal cake, decorating one side for the bride and the other for the groom. The two designs blended perfectly and seamlessly.

Ember hated to admit it, but it was the better cake.

That means no Kai, she told herself. She needed to go home and focus up.

Ember took off her white chef’s coat and threw it into the designated bin. Even though the contestants were told to leave their station as it was, that a cleaning crew would be coming in to make it look just so, Ember needed the time to evaluate her cake and what she could have done to win over Roberto.

She was scrubbing the already clean stainless steel counter, grumbling to herself when Kai leaned a hip onto the surface, blocking her cleaning frenzy.

“Your cake was beautiful. I really liked the concept.”

His own two cakes had been lackluster at best. Kai was definitely not going to make it to the next round if he didn’t step up his game. She needed to give him another piping lesson.

Preferably naked, where icing could get some exciting places.

“Roberto’s was better,” she said with a shrug.

“Agree to disagree.” The smirk he sent her way made her heart