2SpiceRack_bundle

Spice Rack

by

Karen Stivali

Karen Booth

Lil
y Harlem

ISBN: 9781419982040

Karen Stivali

A book in the Spice Rack series.

In eight years of marriage, Eric Carlson
has never forgotten to kiss his wife Jessica goodbye—until this morning. As
Jessica runs her errands, all she can think about is the missing kiss. When
Eric calls to tell her he thinks he left the toaster oven on, she rushes home,
annoyed and afraid their house may be burning down. Instead of smoke and flames
she finds Eric, looking hot and sexy as hell as he prepares fresh waffles.

Eric knows he and Jessica have been
drifting apart. He’s bought the hot new product everyone’s talking about—the
Spice Rack, guaranteed to spice up your love life. The jar he opens advises
them to “Spend a decadent day indulging all your senses.” With the whole day
ahead of them, a fridge full of tempting treats and the house to themselves for
a change, that’s exactly what Eric intends to do—in the kitchen, on the washing
machine, wherever the mood strikes. And Jessica’s got a super-steamy surprise
for him too.

A Romantica®
contemporary erotic romance
from Ellora’s Cave

He didn’t even kiss me goodbye.
Jessica knew it was silly to get upset over something so minor, but
she couldn’t help it. In the eight years they’d been married, she couldn’t
remember another morning when Eric had forgone the farewell kiss. Sure, the
kids were running amok, a sea of backpacks and lunchboxes, but that was normal.
Eric saying goodbye with a wave was not.

“See you later.” He’d thrown her his
trademark sexy grin. She’d stood still for a few seconds, holding the door open
as the kids piled out of the house, waiting. And…nothing.

While queued in the drop-off line at the
elementary school, she flipped open the vanity mirror. She didn’t look like a
beauty queen but at least she’d showered. Her skin was clear, her cheeks even a
bit rosy from gardening the day before. She grimaced.
I should have brushed
my hair.
Dark hair, wavy and out of control, pulled into a loose ponytail
paired with t-shirt and yoga pants.
I look like a teenager. Not exactly
sexy.
Frowning at her reflection, she heard the car behind her honk.

“Mom, pull up, it’s our turn.” Timmy,
though only seven, had been a backseat driver for nearly five years.

“Sorry.” She inched the car toward the
orange drop-off cone and stopped. “Have a good day, guys. I love you.”

“Love you too, Mom,” the chorus of three
came from the backseat as they scrambled out the door.

Taking a last quick glance in the mirror,
she snapped it shut and eased back into the parking lot. As she was about to
turn onto the main road, her cell rang.
XXXXX
, Eric’s ringtone. She
fumbled in her purse and slid the purple case open. Holding the phone to her
ear with her shoulder, she pulled onto the street, not wanting to get beeped at
a second time this morning.

“Hey, sweetie,” Eric said. “Can you do me a
favor?”

Sighing, Jessica shifted to keep the phone
in place as she changed lanes. “What’s up?”

“I know you said you were going to the
grocery store, but I need you to stop home first. I think I may have left the
toaster oven on.”

“Can’t you go check?”

“I’ve got a really important meeting this
morning. I need you to do it. Please?” She could hear the smile in his voice.
The charming, irresistible smile to which she’d never been able to say no.

“Fine.”
Even if you didn’t bother to
kiss me this morning.

“Thanks.”

Did he just chuckle?

She hung up and tossed the phone back into
her purse.
Great. Now I have to go all the way home, which means I won’t get
to the store for another hour.
Not that it was a huge deal. With all three
boys in school this year she had her days to herself. She’d been looking
forward to that for years, but it wasn’t as fun and freeing as she’d expected.
All the same responsibilities were there. The house still needed to be cleaned,
dinner still needed to be made, laundry was always piling up. And she always
had a stack of work on her desk. Freelance graphic design was the perfect
work-from-home job and she could do it any time of day or night, but lately she
felt as though everything was getting away from her. Somehow she’d had more
structure to her days when the kids were home than she managed to have with
them in school all day.

As she turned onto her block she couldn’t
help but look for signs of smoke pouring from her windows.
God, I hope he
didn’t really leave the toaster oven on. What the hell was he even using the
toaster oven for?
Eric ate cereal for breakfast, though now that she
thought about it she hadn’t seen him pour himself a bowl this morning. She’d
been too distracted by the fact that he was wearing only pajama pants as he
plodded around the kitchen. She’d been so busy the past few weeks with
back-to-school shopping and beginning-of-term projects they’d barely spent any
time together. Seeing him bare chested, hair tousled from bed, reminded her
that it had been a while. Too long. Her stomach fluttered from a combination of
longing for Eric and fear that her house might be burning.

Jessica slammed the door of the minivan
shut, breathing in deeply to see if she could catch any hint of smoke in the
air. Nothing. As she opened the front door, another scent greeted her instead.
The incredibly delightful aroma of…waffles.
Why does the house smell like
waffles?
She rounded the corner into the kitchen and saw the waffle maker
on the counter with Eric poised before it, faded jeans slung low on his narrow
hips, a t-shirt clinging to his muscular back, dark hair still damp from a
shower hanging loosely into his eyes. A wave of heat washed over her, settling
between her legs. Her mouth watered from thoughts of more than just a bite of
the waffle Eric was lifting out of the grates.

“Perfect timing,” he said, grinning so wide
the dimples on his cheeks were positively cavernous. Blue eyes twinkled at her,
full of mischief.

“What are you doing?” She tossed her purse
onto the counter, mystified.

“Celebrating Mother’s Day.” He plucked a
strawberry out of the colander in the sink, swirled it in a bowl of what
appeared to be freshly whipped cream, and approached.

“Mother’s Day is in May. It’s October
fifteenth.”

“I know.” He held the plump red berry close
enough that she felt the gentle brush of cream melting against her lips. “I was
thinking it was something we should celebrate more than once a year.”

She curled her tongue around the
cream-covered berry and gave a quick suck before biting off a piece.

The moan Eric emitted sent a tremor rolling
down her body, making her knees weak. His lips were on hers before she finished
chewing. The sweetness of his velvety tongue blended perfectly with the fruit
and cream. This was already better than any Mother’s Day she could recall.

“Yum,” she murmured, swallowing. Before she
could speak, Eric’s mouth was on hers again.

Jesus.
He
coaxed her lips apart with slow, gentle licks as he deepened the kiss, easing
his fingers into her hair, tipping her head back so her body instinctively
arched toward his. The enticing bulge in his jeans pressed into her hip,
shifting lower as he bent his knees to grind against her.
What’s gotten into
him?

Eric trailed his hands to her waist,
walking her backward until they reached the cupboards. He lifted her onto the
counter with such ease she felt weightless. She wrapped her legs around him,
tugging him closer. His tongue continued its maddening exploration of her
mouth, making it impossible for her to think of anything other than the
pressure building between her legs. She ached to feel his skin against hers. To
have him inside her.

Sliding her fingers beneath his t-shirt,
she skimmed the rippled muscles of his back. Heat radiated from his smooth
skin.

Eric’s strong thumbs shifted the elastic
band of her yoga pants lower and she arched her hips toward him. Long warm
fingers inched inside, teasing for just a second before slipping between her
delicate folds. A groan escaped her as she pressed into his hand. Her muscles
clenched and released, trying to draw him even nearer.

His mouth returned to hers. Slow.
Delicious. His tongue worked hers in drawn-out circles as his thumb swirled
around her clit. Dizzying, breathtaking swirls that spun her mind into a blur
of pleasure.
Oh god, yes.
She moaned again and Eric slid his mouth down
to her neck, nuzzling the sensitive spot just below her ear as his hot breath
caressed her throat.

“Eric,” she whispered, clutching at his
broad shoulders.

“Come for me, baby.” His voice was deep,
raspy, filled with desire. He increased the pace of his fingers, bringing her to
the brink and keeping her teetering on the mind-blowing edge. As much as she
wanted to stay in that moment, prolonging the anticipation forever, she
couldn’t. She braced her arms behind her, vibrating from head to toe. With one
intense shudder she felt the orgasm tumble through her so hard her hips lifted
off the countertop. Eric steadied her with a firm arm along her back as she
bucked hard against his hand. His lips continued to work on her neck, soothing
her as she drifted back to earth. He eased his fingers from her swollen flesh
and she instantly missed his touch.

“Ready for some waffles?” The sexy smirk on
his face made him look more handsome and devilish than she’d ever seen him. She
was ready for whatever he had to offer.

Eric couldn’t keep the grin off his face as
he watched Jessica get the juice out of the fridge. Her legs were clearly still
wobbly. He returned to making waffles. The sugary toasty smell filled the air,
tempting but not enough to distract him from the demanding presence making itself
known beneath his jeans. He wanted this day to be about Jessica but he was
already looking forward to finishing breakfast so he could whisk her upstairs
to finish what they’d started. What he’d started. Round one of a day full of
what he hoped would be a whirlwind of fun.

“Not that I’m complaining,” Jessica said,
coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist. “But what brought
all this on?”

He leaned his head back and kissed her
cheek, his lips brushing against her hair. She had the sweet, sleepy scent she
always had after she came.
God, she smells good.
“I told you. I wanted a
day to celebrate you.”

He placed a waffle on the cooling rack and
poured more batter onto the hot pan.

Should I tell her or will she think it’s
stupid?

“What?” she asked, reading his mind as
usual.

“I saw an ad in one of your magazines, for
the Spice Rack.”

Her dark-brown eyes bugged. “Seriously? The
‘spice up your love life’ jars?”

“Yep. Ordered a set last week. Thought it
might be fun.”

“And it suggested waffles?”

Eric chuckled. “Not exactly. There are
three rows to choose from. I opened a jar from the ‘sweet’ row and it said
‘Spend a decadent day with your lover, indulging all your senses.’ Sounded like
a good idea.”

“Which sense is this? Taste or smell?”

“The waffles are taste. But you smell
fantastic.” He burrowed his nose into her hair, breathing deeply.

“Sweet talker.” She looked up at him
through her thick, dark lashes. Bedroom eyes. The thing that had drawn him to
her the first time they’d met.

“You’re what’s sweet,” he said, going in
for a kiss.

This hiss of the waffle iron made him pull
away, though it was the last thing he wanted to do. Pulling her down onto the
kitchen floor was more what he had in mind, but he reminded himself to take it
slow. They had all day and he planned to use every second to its fullest
potential.

With a plate of waffles in each hand, he
gave her another quick peck then headed for the table. “Let’s eat.”
We’ll
need our strength to make it through the rest of the day.