Bite My Bengal: Paranormal Dating Agency (Heads N' Tails Book 3) Page 4

  “Can I see you tomorrow?” he asked, taking her hand.

  “I’d like that,” she admitted.

  He gave her a soft kiss before turning to go to his truck. BJ locked the door. She giggled like a schoolgirl on the way back to the bakery kitchen. She washed the mugs and went up to her apartment for a shower with hopes of hearing from Dare tomorrow.

  Six

  The next morning BJ danced around the bakery’s kitchen while she made the morning’s batch of bagels. She had a peaceful night’s sleep with dreams of making love to Dare. She woke up with a smile on her face. All morning she had been humming and dancing while she did her morning routine. There was a knock on the glass door just as she put the pan of bagels in the oven. The bakery wouldn’t open for another thirty minutes. She planned on telling the customer she wasn’t open. That is, until she saw that it was Dare. Her smile grew instantly. She unlocked the door and Dare stepped in.

  “I thought I’d swing by on my way to work.” He bent down planting a kiss on her lips. “I couldn’t wait to see you again. I hope it’s okay I popped in like this.”

  “You can pop in anytime you want.” BJ smiled and thought of the other ways to take that sentence. She locked the doors so other customers wouldn’t come barging in. “Would you like a cup of coffee? I have some bagels in the oven but they won’t be ready for another 20 minutes.”

  “Coffee will be great,” he took her hand in his and they walked back to the kitchen.

  “I’m glad you stopped by.” She poured him a cup of coffee and refilled her own mug. “I wanted to ask you if you’d like to come over for dinner tonight.”

  “Of course, I’ll come. I love your desserts. I can’t wait to try your meals.”

  “No pressure there,” BJ laughed.

  “No pressure.” He smiled. “What time should I be here?”

  “What time do you get off work?”

  “I can get off anytime. It’s one of the perks to being my own boss. You just tell me a time and I’ll be here.”

  “How about seven o’clock?” she asked.

  “Sounds perfect,” he agreed and drank the last of his coffee.

  He checked the time on his phone and BJ knew he had to leave. She walked with him to the door, anticipating a goodbye kiss. She wasn’t disappointed. Like the night before, when he got to the door he turned back. He took her in his arms and kissed her gently. His tongue teased her lips. She parted her lips, letting his tongue pass over hers. Her knees weakened as he wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss.

  “You should be kissed like that every morning,” Dare whispered against her lips as he broke away from their kiss.

  “I’m glad you think so.” She smiled up at him. “I think you should swing by every morning and see that it gets done properly.”

  “I plan on it.” He gave a gentle peck on the lips. “Sadly, I have to go to work right now.”

  “I’ll see you later then.” She gave him another kiss then watched as he walked across the street to his pickup truck.

  The timer rang out, echoing through the bakery. Her bagels were ready. She left the door unlocked and flipped her sign to say open. It was still too early for the morning rush, but it wouldn’t matter if she opened a few minutes early.

  ****

  After the morning rush, BJ pulled out her candy molds from under the prep table. She had an order for baby shower chocolates she needed to make today. Before she could pull the chocolate from the shelf, she noticed someone walking up to her bakery. She let out a long, exasperated sigh when she realized who it was. The bell above the door chimed as he came through the door. Irritation rose in her the moment he stepped into her bakery.

  “What can I do for you, Mr. Jones?” BJ asked, coming out from the kitchen. “I highly doubt you came here for my bagels.”

  “I wanted to see if you’ve thought about my offer.” He walked up to her sales counter with his briefcase in hand. She’d like to smack him in the back of the head with his own briefcase.

  “I told you that you would be wasting your time if you came back.” BJ crossed her arms. “The answer is still no.”

  “Your place doesn’t belong here anymore. This building needs an upgrade to match the rest of the growing city.”

  “You know.” She stroked her chin for affect. “I have been thinking about upgrading some of my displays. What do you think? Maybe a grand window display.” She gestured widely with her arms.

  “You’ll lose your business soon enough. You’ll be forced to sell when you can no longer pay your bills.”

  “My bills are no concern to you,” BJ told him. The bell above the door chimed and Annette came in. “I assure you, Mr. Jones, this place will be open as long as people enjoy coming here for their pastries and delights.”

  Mr. Jones didn’t say another word. He turned stiffly and walked toward the door. BJ rolled her eyes behind his back, then smiled at her friend. When Mr. Jones walked passed Annette, BJ saw her stick her foot out. Mr. Jones tripped over Annette’s foot. He took a few hastened steps forward to gain his balance. As he opened the door, he turned toward her, placing his hand on the door jam.

  “You’ll change your mind.” He paused and looked at his hand, then back at her. “Have a good day, Ms. Elwood.” He turned and left her bakery.

  “What was that all about?” Annette asked.

  “He wants to buy the building. I’m guessing he hasn’t heard the word ‘no’ much.” BJ poured Annette a cup of coffee.

  “Eh, he’ll get over it.” Annette shrugged. “If he keeps it up, report his ass.”

  “He hasn’t done anything wrong,” she sighed. “He is starting to annoy me though. He came in yesterday, too. Offered some obscene amount of money for the building. How’d Tobias like the yeast rolls?”

  “Wow, subject change.” Annette’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “He absolutely loved them. In fact, he loved them so much he wants to order more.”

  “That’s great.” She could always use the extra business.

  “Now, how much did he offer?” Annette asked, trying to steer the conversation.

  “It doesn’t matter because I said no. Let’s talk about something else,” she demanded.

  “How did the date go last night? What’d you think of Dare?” Annette asked with a grin then sipped her coffee.

  “Everything went well last night,” BJ admitted. “He’s a great guy.”

  “Did he dust off the old cobwebs?” Annette wagged her eyebrows.

  “Annette!”

  “What?” Annette raised her hands. “He’s a good-looking guy. I saw how he looked at you. He was into you. Hell BJ, did you at least kiss the man?”

  “Yes, we kissed,” she admitted. “We’re just taking things slow.”

  “Why?”

  “I just… I don’t know,” BJ sighed. “We kissed last night and it felt like I was cheating on Dave.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t run away.”

  “No, but I did tell him about Dave. He understands how I feel. He’s been there before.” She remembered him telling her of Sarah. “He’s coming over tonight for dinner. I was thinking I would fix lasagna.”

  “You want me to get Bryan to tell him to leave early? I can,” Annette offered.

  “No, I need the time to close the bakery, cook, and shower.”

  “Okay, you know how to reach me if you change your mind. Let me get a few bagels before I leave.” Annette eyed the bagels on display next to them.

  “You’re going back to Heads N’ Tails, right?” She asked Annette as she put her bagels in a bag.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “I put an extra bagel in the bag. Will you drop it off for Dare?” She remembered his comment about trying her bagels. He had to leave before they came out of the oven.

  “Yeah, I got you covered.” Annette paid for her bagels and left the bakery.

  Seven

  BJ came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body and h
er hair dripping water down her back. She quickly glanced at the clock on the wall. She only had a little bit of time before Dare arrived. The smell of lasagna filled her apartment. She went to her bedroom to get dressed and wrap her hair in her towel. Thankfully, she didn’t wear makeup, so getting ready only consisted of getting dressed and fixing her hair. She blow-dried her hair and brushed it straight. By the time she was done with her hair, the oven timer went off.

  “Perfect timing,” she said to herself going back into the kitchen.

  She pulled the lasagna out of the oven and placed it on top of the stove to set. Dare should be here any minute. She grabbed the pan of garlic cheese bread and placed it on the middle rack of the oven then set the timer. Before she went downstairs, she took another look around her apartment to make sure everything was in place. Once she was satisfied with the way things looked, she went downstairs to the bakery. By the time she made it down the stairs, Dare was walking up to the bakery door. She quickened her steps to unlock the door for him.

  “You’re right on time.” She opened the door for him.

  “I try to never be late.” He kissed her cheek and presented her with a bouquet of roses. “These are for you. A token of my appreciation for the delicious bagel.”

  “They’re beautiful, thank you.” She took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the roses.

  “What’s on the menu tonight?” Dare took her hand in his as they walked through the bakery.

  “Lasagna and garlic bread,” she replied. “Oh, and I made a blueberry crostata for dessert.”

  “I’ve never tried a crostata.”

  “I think you’ll like it. Oh shit, my bread.” She raced up the stairs. When she opened her apartment door the timer on her oven was beeping. “Shit, shit, shit.” She ran to the oven, opening the door.

  “It will be okay. We don’t need to have bread.” Dare followed her into the kitchen.

  “It’s fine, not even burned.” She pulled the pan out and set it next to the lasagna.

  Dare grabbed both their plates from the table and handed her one. She cut them both a piece of lasagna, carefully transferring each piece to the plates. They each grabbed a piece of cheesy garlic bread before returning to the table.

  “I have sweet tea, water, or diet soda,” BJ told him as she opened the refrigerator.

  “Sweet tea will be good.” Dare brought the glasses over from the table and held them for her to pour the sweet tea.

  “Dinner looks excellent.” He sat the glasses back on the table and held out the chair for her.

  “Thanks, I’ve been craving it for a week now. It’s just too big of a meal for just one person.” BJ watched as Dare took his first bite of her lasagna.

  “I have to say, this is the best damn lasagna I’ve tasted.” He took another bite. “I’m positive this beats Tobias’ lasagna.”

  “There’s plenty more where that came from.” She bit into her cheesy garlic bread.

  “Don’t tempt me,” he laughed. “I can eat that whole pan in one sitting.”

  When they finished dinner, Dare helped her wash dishes and put away the leftovers. BJ fixed him up a container with some leftovers for lunch the next day. She enjoyed feeding others. It was nice having someone to cook for.

  “It’s been a while since I’ve done the whole dating thing,” she commented. “I wasn’t sure what you would like to do, so I set out a few movies. Why don’t you pick one of them?”

  “Sure, point me in the right direction.”

  “They’re set out on the coffee table. If you don’t like any of those, there’s a cabinet full of movies under the tv.” BJ nodded toward the living room.

  “I can handle that.” He walked out of the kitchen then paused. “Do you mind if I light a fire in your fireplace?”

  “Everything is right there. Matches are on the mantel.” She put the dishes away.

  She needed this moment alone. It’s been a long time since she’d curled up with a man. Dave’s favorite was watching the movie Ghost, while the fire flickered in the background. Maybe that’s why she wanted to have dinner at her place. It was an impulse invite. She wanted to curl up and feel again. No one had sparked anything inside her until she met Dare. With Dare she could start to live again.

  BJ went into the living room. She tried not to make any noise. If she did, he would move and she wouldn’t be able to stare at his nice ass while he bent over to light the fire. Her heart pounded with the thrill of sneaking a look. His pants fit tight around his ass. For a moment, she wanted to walk over and get a handful. She smiled with her excitement. She thought she’d never get these feelings back. The flames started flickering, gradually getting bigger as the fire took hold.

  BJ sat down on the couch, grabbing the remote off the coffee table. She turned on the tv and was taken back by the movie menu on the screen. She hadn’t set this movie out.

  “What made you pick Ghost?” she asked Dare as he sat down beside her.

  “It’s an awesome movie. I know it’s not one you set out. We can switch it to something else if you would rather.”

  “No, it’s fine,” she told him. “I like Ghost, it just wasn’t one I expected you to pick.”

  “It came close to being Die Hard, but something told me Ghost would be better.” He laid back on the couch and pulled her to him.

  She relaxed into him and started the movie. As the movie played, they got more comfortable. Dare took his boots off and propped feet up on the coffee table. BJ kicked off her shoes and brought her feet up on the couch next to her and laid across Dare’s lap. He ran his fingers through her hair, twirling strands between his fingers. Halfway through the movie she changed positions again. Dare pulled her up so she was laying in his arms rather than his lap. Her body was pressed against his. A hard knot pressed against her arm. He had nipple rings. She licked her lips to cover her grin.

  “Your heart’s racing,” Dare spoke gently.

  “It’s been a while.” She was cut off by Dare’s lips being pressed against hers.

  She wrapped her arms around him, taking a fistful of his hair and deepened the kiss. He pulled her close, exploring her mouth with his tongue. She had almost forgot how much she enjoyed kissing. The movie played in the background, forgotten by both of them. She couldn’t get enough of him.

  A clang and clatter came from downstairs. BJ jumped from the sudden break in silence. The movie had ended and was back on the menu screen. She looked at Dare to see if he heard what she did. Another clatter had BJ jumping up and grabbing her baseball bat from behind the door.

  “Where are you going?” Dare asked her when she opened her apartment door.

  “I’m going to see who the hell is in my bakery, then I’m going to beat the shit out of them.” She held her bat in a swinger’s position.

  “Hold on there, kitten.” Dare placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll go check it out. You stay here.”

  “Not a chance, I’m going down there.” She took a step forward. Dare stopped her again and stepped in front of her.

  “Fine, just let me go first.” Dare quietly went down the steps, hoping to take them by surprise. When they reached the foot of the stairs, he flipped the lights on.

  “Ah!” BJ screamed. “My bakery! This can’t be happening.”

  Rats were scurrying around her bakery’s kitchen like they owned the place. A lump in her chest formed at the sight of everything becoming contaminated by rodents. Tears insistently formed in her eyes. She’d never had a rodent problem, let alone a dozen rodents.

  “I’ll catch them,” Dare told her. “Get something we can put them in. Something large with a lid.”

  “You’re going to catch them?” BJ wasn’t sure she heard him right.

  “I’m going to try.”

  BJ ran back upstairs to her apartment. She closed the door behind her so none of the filthy rodents could easily run in. Frantically, she ran around her apartment trying to find something to use. She came across a large popcorn tin she had gott
en for Christmas last year. She kept it to store her extra yarn in.

  “This might work,” she said opening the lid.

  She dumped all the yarn out onto the floor and hurried downstairs. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she expected to see rodents running amok. What she didn’t expect to see was a humungous white Bengal tiger with its head under her prep table swatting at rodents with its paw. BJ missed the last step when she realized the tiger was actually Dare. The tin slipped from her hands, clattering to the floor. The tiger jumped, hitting his head on the bottom of the shelf under the prep table. BJ laughed when the tiger came out from under the table and looked at her. His eyes were wide like he had just been caught red handed. A rat hung by its tail dangling from the tiger’s mouth and another was trapped under his paw. Carefully, he came over to the tin, sliding his paw with the rat underneath.

  “Not exactly what I had in mind.” BJ quickly scooped up the tin and opened it for him.

  He dropped the rat from his mouth into the tin and grunted. BJ quickly covered it with the lid while he picked up the other rat with his teeth. While he dropped it into the tin, she looked for others.

  “There,” she pointed at another rat running along the edge of the sales counter.

  The tiger crouched down, stalking his prey. With a wiggle of his tail, he pounced on the rat, trapping it under his paws.

  “Yes!” She quickly ran over to him. He picked the rodent up with his teeth and dropped it in the tin.

  They hunted rodents for half an hour. BJ mostly spotted and pointed out the rats and Dare did all the catching. It was strange that he caught them in his mouth, but since he was a tiger it didn’t seem so gross. Better him than her, she shivered when he dropped the last one in the tin. The scurrying of the rodents inside the tin gave her the creeps. She put the tin down on the table, glad to get it out of her hands.

  “I don’t know how they could have gotten in here,” BJ said to herself.

  “They were put here,” Dare startled her.