Don't Go Baking My Heart

“What do you mean? Speak the truth?”

“Say things like that,” he clarified. “You don’t always have to say what pops into your head.”

Her eyes slowly tracked down his front, then back up to his face. “Trust me, I’ve been holding back. I haven’t said everything that’s in my head because I don’t want to scandalise you.”

“I’m a grown man. I think I can handle it.” No, no, no, what was he doing? He wasn’t supposed to be encouraging her.

He was tired, needed sleep. That had to be the only reason he was losing his goddamn mind and entertaining whatever the fuck was happening between them in his kitchen.

Reba sucked in her bottom lip before she released it with a pop. “I don’t think you could,” she countered. “I see you’re grown, Devon. Trust, I noticed, but that doesn’t equate being able to handle me.”

“Who said anything about handling you? I know you have this master plan to charm my co-workers, but I’m not that easy.”

Reba laughed. “I’ve never considered you easy. But you’re telling me if I did this, you wouldn’t care?”

Devon reached deep for all his willpower when Reba lifted the bottom of his t-shirt and pressed her hand to his stomach. Control. While he forced himself not to react outwardly to the feel of her nails lightly caressing him, he felt his grip on the situation slipping.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“You seem to have something to prove, so have at it.”

Reba’s grin was pure mischief, and Devon didn’t know why he was doing this. Yes, he didn’t back down from challenges, and he refused to let Reba unravel him, but why he felt he needed to prove anything to her, he wasn’t quite sure.

She gripped his waist and tried to move him. “I want you against the counter. Cooperate, please.”

He planted his feet, not budging. Reba wasn’t going to be able to move him, and he could be stubborn when he wanted to. She pushed her lips all the way out, clutched his waist harder.

Devon chuckled in spite of telling himself he wasn’t going to react to her in any way. “Definitely a pout.”

Her mouth curved up into a toothy grin. “Ha! I win.”

“What. How?”

Reba removed her hands from his body, dragging her nails over his skin before stepping away from the counter. “Made you laugh. A real one, too.” She buffed her nails on her shoulder. “Damn, I’m good.”

“Hold the fuck on, that wasn’t the game. You were trying to…” Seduce me. Which, as he said it in his head, sounded truly ridiculous.

“Wasn’t it? Remember I said I was going to help you have more fun, and look at you. Laughing and shit.”

“Reba.” He said her name with all the exasperation he felt. He couldn’t keep up with her all-over-the-place actions. She didn’t fit with his need to have a pattern for everything.

She smiled at him. “Yes?”

“Can we please just get back to the mission at hand?”

“Hey, I’m not the one that took us down this path, as fun as it was.” She wiggled her hands. “Thanks for warming me up.”

Devon pressed a hand to his forehead. He honestly felt like he was losing his damn mind. How had they gotten here? Taking control of the situation was the only thing that mattered. He didn’t like being played with like this, and yet he couldn’t yell at Reba because he had opened the entire can of worms with his question. He should know by now to simply ignore her outrageous statements. If he didn’t give her the attention she craved, they would move on.

He moved back to his earlier position to prep the frosting. The cupcakes wouldn’t take that long, and he needed to be ready. Forget the feel of Reba’s hand on his skin. Bury the memory of how his entire body had become one big nerve ending that Reba had set off with just her touch. It had been some time since he had allowed anyone in his personal space like that. He tended to his needs himself, didn’t seek out casual dalliances. That wasn’t in his plans. He wanted something serious, which meant he hadn’t been intimate with anyone since he and Monica had ended their relationship.

Two years could seem like a long time, for some, to go without sex, but Devon didn’t allow his urges to overwhelm. He was quite fine dealing with that on his own until he found someone he actually wanted to build something with.

He thought about his spreadsheets, specifically the one he’d used to calculate the risks of any given situation. If he plugged in everything he knew about Reba, it would surely just show him a ton of things highlighted in red.

Allowing Reba to breach his carefully crafted space was dangerous.

“Are you upset with me?” Her question floated over to him. He hadn’t looked at her once since he had decided to get back to baking. He didn’t want to look at her now, but he lifted his head, and there she was, swaying side to side to whatever song was playing now.