Surprisingly, for as late as it was, there were a few people in the shop, testimony to just how good the treats in this place were. As they walked up to the glass display housing an array of different donuts, a young man who looked to be in his early twenties grinned at Tara.
“Hey, Tara, it’s good to see you,” the dark-haired man with a slight Italian accent said. His gaze shifted to Jackson, the same friendly smile on his face. “And what are you doing here so late? Don’t you have a wife at home waiting for you? Or are you here because she’s got a late-night craving?”
“Dante, this isn’t Clay,” Tara explained quickly, because clearly the guy was referring to Clay’s wife, Samantha. “It’s his twin brother, Jackson. And this is Dante, Angelo’s son,” she said.
Dante’s brows shot up to his forehead. “Oh, wow . . . ”
Jackson braced himself for that adverse reaction he was getting used to, like the one he’d just been dealt back at the bar with Hank. But Dante clearly didn’t know the dynamics of the situation that made Jackson an outsider to the Kincaid clan, because he didn’t hesitate to thrust his hand across the counter for Jackson to shake.
“Nice to meet you, man,” Dante said without an ounce of awkwardness between them, his tone completely sincere. “What can I get for you two?”
“I’ll take a large black coffee and an apple fritter,” Jackson said, going with Tara’s recommendation.
Tara bit her bottom lip, an indecisive frown creasing her brows as she looked into the display case. “Now that I’m here, I can’t decide. Do I want the donut with the sprinkles on it, the chocolate French cruller, or the apple fritter?”
“How about all three?” Jackson suggested.
She gave him a sexy sidelong glance. “Are you trying to seduce me with donuts?”
“I might be.” He winked at her.
A small, beguiling smile curved up the corner of her mouth. She certainly didn’t appear opposed to the idea, and he had to shove his hands into the front pockets of his jeans so he didn’t drag her out of here and make good on that promise.
Tara glanced back at Dante. “I’ll have a coffee and an apple fritter, too,” she told him.
The kid bagged their donuts and set their items on the counter. Jackson paid for their order, and while Tara stopped to put cream and sugar into her coffee, he carried their late-night snack to a vacant table away from the front area so they’d have some privacy. She joined him a few minutes later and took a seat across from him.
Once they each had one of the deep-fried donuts set out on a napkin in front of them—still warm from being freshly made—he watched as she pulled off a corner and popped it into her mouth. She chewed and a soft moan rumbled up from her throat as she closed her eyes as if to savor the taste. But all Jackson could think abou
t was her making that same arousing sigh of pleasure while he was buried deep inside her body. Another bite, and she made the same sound again, and this time his cock hardened with lust.
Fuck. “Please don’t do that.” His voice sounded strangled. He felt strangled.
Her guileless gaze met his, and she looked genuinely confused. “Do what?”
He swallowed his own bite of fritter, and damn, it was that good. “Moan like that.”
It took her a moment to catch his understanding, but when she did, the wicked light that glimmered in her gorgeous blue eyes tempted and enticed him, as did the sparkle of the diamond above her lip. “Like what?” she dared.
Did she really think he wouldn’t accept that challenge? He leaned across the table, his voice low and direct. “Like you’re in the throes of an orgasm.”
“I can’t help myself.” Her perfectly straight teeth grazed her bottom lip, scraping off a smudge of sugary glaze that he wanted to lick off for himself. “These fritters are crispy and buttery and sweet and all the bad things I shouldn’t have.”
He took a sip of his coffee, his eyes meeting hers from over the rim of the paper cup for a moment before he set it back down. “Am I one of those bad things?” he teased.
“Probably.” An emotion he couldn’t name crossed her features, bringing with it a vulnerability that changed the undertone of their flirty exchange and made her expression turn more serious than he’d intended. “But there’s something about you I find hard to say no to.”
He felt the same compelling attraction. “Then don’t,” he said, meaning it.
A wry smile tipped up the corner of her mouth. “There’s so many reasons I should say no.”
“Clay, Mason, and Levi?” he guessed.
She shook her head as she ate another bite of her donut, much more demurely this time and without the sound effects that had led them down this path of conversation in the first place. “Believe it or not, they aren’t at the top of the list.”
Surprise flickered through him. “Care to tell me what is?”
She wrapped her slender fingers around her paper cup, seemingly considering his question, but something ultimately held her back from confiding in him. “No. I’d rather not.”