A shudder of lust flutters through me so violently, my body shakes. And from the growing smile on Aleck’s face, it’s clear he felt it. His fingers dig into my lower back, making me cough to clear my throat.

“W-we have company, babe,” I say breathlessly.

Aleck looks over at Pantsuit, who is watching us through watery eyes, clutching the lapels of her suit jacket like a set of pearls.

“So we do, babe.”

“My, my,” she breathes. “You two are just adorable. I see many couples come through here stressed out, terse with each other, going through the matrimony motions… You two, though, you two really have it. To be planning everything so close to your actual date and not only are you not stressed out, but you’re so clearly enamored with each other… Well, I think this will be a wonderful lasting marriage.”

Pantsuit pulls chairs out for us both and gestures for us to sit at a table that’s been preloaded with ten different slices of extravagant looking cake.

“Please, sit…” she says.

It’s taken me this long to notice Aleck is still holding me like he’s about to rip into my body with his tongue. I pull away from him, immediately scratching the back of my neck uncomfortably.

Shit. He won that round.

“My name is Teressa Williams. My team and I will be making your wedding cake. I’m going to give you some time to try every flavor. It may seem odd, but I won’t tell you the flavors until after you’ve tried them all. I don’t want your preconceived idea of what a flavor should taste like to shadow how they actually taste. Every slice is numbered and there is a pen and paper so you can write down your favorites. I’ll come back and check on you periodically. Though, if you have questions, my direct line is on this card.” Teressa slides a card forward. “Have fun, love birds. I’ll be back in about fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you,” I say as Teressa turns and leaves the room.

My eyes scan the table, observing the sea of chocolates, pinks, and gold-dusted cake slices.

Aleck snaps my attention to him by sliding his hand over my thigh. “Which one would you like to try first, sweetheart?”

My eyes drop to watch his hand slowly travel from my knee to my inner thigh before I squeeze my legs shut, trapping his hand between them.

“Watch it, Fox.”

He chuckles, yanking his hand out from between my clenched thighs. “Are we not playing anymore?”

“No, we’re not.” I roll my eyes, then give him a side-eye glance. He’s playful. He’s cocky and so full of himself, but he’s playful. “You’re trouble,” I say with a smirk.

Is it possible Aleck Fox, manwhore extraordinaire, is becoming my friend?

“You’re craving trouble.” He smirks back.

“Yeah, like a yeast infection.”

Aleck shakes his head and laughs. “Okay…” He claps his hands together. “I’ll have to add an extra six miles to my run tomorrow, but let’s eat some cake.”