“Nora.” The way he said my name was a warning.

“You’re impossible.” I sighed dramatically, ignoring the pain in my stomach as I did so. “Nathan’s mother came in.”

Cue glittering anger in his eyes, tension in his jaw and narrowing of the brows.

“Relax, cowboy,” I said. “I took care of it. I’m just not well versed in confrontation, so I’m a little… off-kilter.”

Rowan’s hold was tight on my arms, and he watched my expression for a long time before he spoke. “She fucks with you again, you let me know.”

I rolled my eyes. “Aye aye, captain,” I replied dutifully, knowing that arguing was useless when it came to this protective man.

He kissed my head. “You closin’ up soon?”

I nodded, glancing at the clock. “Yep. You gonna hang around?”

“Yep.”

Rowan and I hadn’t been together long enough to establish a routine, but we kind of had one already. He didn’t come to the bakery every day at closing, but he was there most days. If he wasn’t, he was at my house, working on the greenhouse. There were only two nights he hadn’t spent with me, and after those, he was at the bakery at five, waiting for me, to fuck me into oblivion before I started my day.

I worried he may get sick of me, that this was moving much too fast. But I wasn’t worried enough to say anything. Because I liked this. Him. A lot. Dangerously too much.

I was in love with him.

And it was much too soon for that.

“I made lemon poppyseed muffins,” I told him, pointing to the cake stand they were encased in.

“You tryin’ to fatten me up, cupcake?” he teased.

“As if that is possible.” I ran my hand along his washboard abs to punctuate my point.

All teasing left his eyes and was replaced with hunger.

I swallowed roughly, my own need awakening with a vengeance.

“Don’t take too long,” he instructed. “We’re going to my place after this.”

My heart squeezed with excitement. “Your place?”

“That okay with you?”

I nodded enthusiastically. “More than okay with me.”

We’d spent every night together at my place, so I was infinitely curious about his.

“Good.” He leaned in to kiss me firmly on my mouth. “Now get to closing this place up so I can take you to my place and fuck you in every room so your cunt is all I think of whenever I’m there.”

Holy fucking shit.

My throat went dry when I realized Tina was only a few feet away from us. Rowan had pulled me back from the counter, closer toward the arch leading into the kitchen, and Fiona was now at the counter, bickering with Kip. Granted, the hum of the coffee machine made it incredibly unlikely that anyone had heard what Rowan had murmured in my ear, but still, my entire body was taut as a bowstring and primed for him.

He smiled wickedly, brushing his hand along my flaming cheek. “Oh, we’ll be doing things to make you blush for days, cupcake.” Then he stepped back, sauntering over to the cake stand to get himself a muffin.