My breath hitches as Tobias’s tongue darts out between his full lips, sexually sweeping over the bow on his upper lip.Is it possible to desire a man that you despise with every cell in your body?What is wrong with me?I know I have asked myself this very question many times since Tobias came crashing back into my life like a hurricane. But I am still yet to find a reasonable explanation as to why my body reacts to him this way.“I think we both-” He lets out a frustrated growl as he extracts his vibrating phone from his pocket. Scrubbing his face with his other hand, he slowly shakes his head, swiping the green call icon right, and presses the phone to his ear.“This better be good,” He growls over the phone to the poor soul on the receiving end.---He pinches the bridge of his nose, “When?”---“I don’t answer to you, and quite frankly I don’t give a shit what you think. It’s done and there’s nothing you can do about it.” He replies furiously, and it has me wondering whom he is sp

When I hear a soft knock on my front door, I stop shoving sneakers that I seldom wear into the back of my closet. Time has ticked by quickly, and I’ve managed to rush around the house to give it a quick clean before I leave.I mean… I can’t be the only one who thinks that there is nothing worse than returning home after a lengthy absence to find it in a state of disorder.Rising to my feet, I wipe the beads of sweat from my nape with a sigh and twist my torso from side to side to work out the knots.Turning the brass handle, I pull the door open, expecting to see Tobias.“Kip?” I blurt out, shocked to see him here and a little disappointed that it’s not Tobias.— What is wrong with me? Tobias should be the last man I’d ever want to see. But he’s not, and it’s really starting to fuck with my sanity —“Hey, Keri…” Kip drawls my name out seductively and I let it slide as he looks a little sheepish while he nervously scratches his jaw.“Oh… what are you doing here? Shit… Is everything oka

“So, what inspired you to open and run your own bakery, spitfire?” Tobias breaks the awkward silence between us as we eat dinner. After Kip had left, I quickly gathered my things and stormed out of the house with Tobias hot on my heels. He didn't say anything, he simply picked up his pace and opened the back passenger door of the SUV. He waited till I got inside, sliding in after me, and then he told the driver to fetch my belongings and to be sure to lock the house up behind him. Fast forward two hours later and we are sitting down, eating dinner together. I pause with my fork full of pasta touching my bottom lip, and I look up, meeting Tobias’s curious gaze. Clearing my throat, I place my fork back down on my plate and wrap my fingers around the delicate stem of my wine glass, twirling it around in circles.“Well, if you can remember when you used to come and stay with us, I loved to bake and pour my emotions into whatever it was that I was making,” I reply nonchalantly.“I d

“Your radiator overheated, and it caused your hose to burst. I’ve replaced the hose for you, and I’ve bridged it for you as well- removing any air bubbles. In all honesty, you are lucky that your engine didn’t catch fire. When was the last time you had your oil changed?” The mechanic known as Angel asks me with a look of disbelief smeared across his aging features.I bite my lower lip. “I asked Joe from One Smart Auto to change it when I took my car in to get warranted,” I reply with my brows drawing together. “He charged me three hundred dollars in the end because he told me that I needed my spotlights changed and a wheel alignment.”Angel scoffs, shaking his head as he wipes his oil-glazed hands on the rag that’s tucked inside his pocket. “That man needs to be shut down. I can tell you right now, darling, he didn’t change your oil nor did he replace your spotlights with new bulbs. He did you dirty, and you’re not the only one he’s ripped off this week.”“I’m not?” I ask surprised wi

TOBIAS:I stride out of the bakery, sensing Keri’s gaze following me out the door. It’s heated. Confused. Curious.I am not certain if she has taken my statement seriously, but by the time the sun sets and our conversation concludes, she will realise how genuine it is.Not to sound like a cocky bastard, but I do intend to claim her tonight. To have her withering beneath me. Moaning my name incoherently as she tumbles over the edge time and time again.I want to drown in her arousal, grow deaf from her screams of ecstasy, and submit to her every desire.It is time for me to take control of my life and reclaim what is rightfully mine, and Keri Landry is mine. I will be the first to admit that I am a self-absorbed jerk who has spent his entire existence lost in the shadows of my nightmares, frantically searching for her.Our differences make us comparable to oil and water. But if we can resolve our differences, we will be explosive. Setting everything on fire that we come into contac