Full Circle (4 page)

She got the feeling there was something he
wasn’t saying, but this was Mark. There was always something he
didn’t say. It was part of what made him so exciting.

“You’re evil.”

He chuckled then gazed into her eyes for
several seconds before asking, “Do you know what today is?”

It was the twentieth of December. Thursday.
But she knew he wasn’t interested in what any old someone off the
street could simply pull off a calendar.

“We’ve been back together for one month.”

His grin widened, and a spark lit in his eyes
as if he were delighted she already knew the answer. As if she
could forget.

“Yes, it’s our one-month anniversary.” His
arms tightened around her, and he kissed her temple. “One month.
One month with you again, when a year ago, I feared I’d lost you
forever.” He sighed, tipping his forehead against hers. “I’m so
grateful I got this chance again. So grateful to have you back in
my life. After a month together, it feels so perfect.”

“Perfect except for the fact my dad is still
being an ass.”

His posture slumped slightly. “I know. I’m
sorry. That’s part of the reason why I’ve planned this little
getaway.” He leaned back and gestured toward the inside of the
limousine.

“Trying to make me forget about my family’s
crappy behavior?”

He nodded. “Now that I’m your man, it’s my
job to keep you happy.”

She shook her head. “You do make me happy,
but it’s not your
job
.”

He broke away and opened a small refrigerator
beside them. “Well, I think of it as my job. After hurting you so
badly two summers ago, I have a lot to make up for.”

He reached inside the fridge then pulled out
a bundle of ornate chocolate rosebuds on white lollipop sticks that
looked like stems. Some of the rosebuds were made of dark
chocolate, some were white, and some were a combination of both.
But the colors and delicately curled petals blended seamlessly, as
if they were real.

“What’s this?” She’d never seen such a
beautiful treat.

He shut the refrigerator door and turned
toward her. “The short answer is chocolate-covered
strawberries.”

There were strawberries inside all that
sculpted chocolate?

“Okay, so what’s the
long
answer?” She
took the one he held out to her as if he were handing her an actual
flower. And just like a real rosebud, the texture was smooth and
silky, almost fragile, curving like a woman’s hips from the bottom,
narrowing in the middle like a corseted waist, and arcing outward
at the top as if to accommodate a full bosom.

Pride softened his expression. “The long
answer is that they are tokens of my affection, handmade with love,
so I could show you how much you mean to me.”

“Wait, what?” She turned unbelieving eyes to
the masterpiece in her hand, then to the eleven he was still
holding. “Are you saying you made these?”

He’d made her a dozen chocolate strawberry
roses? With his own hands? They were exquisite enough to be made by
a professional chocolatier, not a sexy businessman who dabbled with
food as a hobby.

He placed the remaining roses in a small vase
secured in the console then took the one he’d given her. “My dad
makes these for my mom every year on Valentine’s Day, and then
again on their wedding anniversary and her birthday.” He gently
tugged the berry from the stem, which he discarded, then held the
treat toward her over his palm, tempting her to take a bite. “He
taught me how to make them when I was a kid. And now I’m carrying
on the tradition by making them for you.”

“But it’s not Valentine’s Day or my
birthday.” She didn’t mention the whole wedding anniversary thing,
though. She knew how Mark got when he heard the word
wedding
. After what had happened to him eight years ago, he
couldn’t even think the word without having a mini nervous
breakdown.

“But it’s our one-month anniversary, which is
just as good. Take a bite.” He tilted his head toward the rosebud
as he lifted it to her mouth.

She sank her teeth into the treat. Sweet
strawberry juice burst over her tongue, and the thin chocolate
petals melted in her mouth. The flavor was exquisite, with hints of
orange, vanilla, and almond, as if he’d melted the chocolate and
added flavored extracts before letting it solidify again.

Mark’s culinary abilities never ceased to
amaze her. His homemade meatballs and marinara sauce were swoon
worthy, and without his help, she still wouldn’t be able to make a
decent truffle. And now here he was presenting her with handmade
chocolate-covered strawberries that looked like actual rosebuds. If
he ever decided to leave his life in the corporate world to open a
restaurant, it was sure to be a hit.

“How long did it take to make these?” She
swiped the last bite of rosebud from his hand and set it on her
tongue so she could savor it a moment before chewing.

“That’s not what matters.” He picked up
another one and plucked the bud off the stem. “What matters is that
I made them for you, so that I could take pride in watching you
smile as you eat them.”

“Well, you need to have a taste of what you
created. These are incredible.” She took the treat from his fingers
and lifted it to his mouth.

Without argument, he slowly sank his teeth
into it, holding her gaze in a way that made her wish she were the
strawberry sliding over his tongue.

“I love you.” She took the rest into her
mouth.

“You’re easy,” he said with a slick wink.

“Easy?” She arched one eyebrow.

He nodded, brushing back her hair as he
rested his head on the back of the seat, which only served to make
him look even sexier as his eyelids slid halfway closed. “All it
takes is a dozen chocolate-covered strawberries to win your
heart.”

She took another from the vase and bit off
the end before feeding him the rest. “Trust me, it takes a lot more
than chocolate and strawberries, Mark. But that’s a good
start.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I think we’re well on our way, don’t
you?”

He licked a piece of chocolate from his lip.
“What do you mean?”

She peeled a white petal from another rosebud
and slid it into her mouth. “Haven’t you noticed how chocolate
seems to follow us into each phase of our relationship?”

He grinned and scooped her onto his lap so she
straddled his thighs. His hands rested on her hips, his fingers
drumming her bottom through her jeans. “Please explain.”

His amused, playful grin, combined with the
way he tilted his head to one side, made her heart skip.

She nibbled on another rosebud. “Well, for
starters, when we met, you used a chocolate chunk brownie and a
piece of Dove chocolate to teach me about orgasms.”

He chuckled and dropped his head against the
cream-colored leather again. “That’s right. I did, didn’t I?”

“Mm-hm. Then on Thanksgiving, right after we
got back together, you helped me make my first batch of perfect
chocolate truffles.”

His eyelids lowered and one brow lifted
slightly, putting him halfway to
The Look
. “Mmmm, I think my
favorite part was when we let the ganache set.”

“I think that was my favorite part, too.”
They’d ended up in bed having some of the most intense sex they’d
had to date.

She lifted the rosebud in her hand. “And now
you’re wooing me yet again with more chocolate. I’m beginning to
think this is part of some chocolate conspiracy.”

His hands eased around her rump and he pulled
her farther up his lap. He was hard, and all that hardness pressed
against her in the most lascivious way. “I just know how much you
like chocolate.”

“Uh-huh,” she said doubtfully.

He grinned, but the gesture did nothing to
make him appear amused. Steam-up-the-windows sexy, though? Yeah. He
definitely looked like he was one degree shy of boiling.

His gaze dropped to her mouth as she teased
her lips with another strawberry.

“Have I mentioned chocolate is an
aphrodisiac?” he said.

“Isn’t that just a rumor?”

“Absolutely not. It’s a bona fide fact.”

“Who says?”

He smirked, eyes narrowing. “Let me ask, are
you sexually aroused right now?”

“Is this a trick question?”

One thick, dark eyebrow rose contemptuously
even as his smirk evolved into a smile. “Yes or no? Are you
aroused?”

She sighed, sinking more fully onto his lap.
“Yes, but I think that has more to do with you than the
chocolate.”

“I rest my case.”

She gasped. “What do you mean? That does not
prove that chocolate is an aphrodisiac.”

“Of course it does. You’re aroused. Chocolate
is an aphrodisiac. Case closed.”

Sharply drawing in her breath, she smacked
his shoulder, making him cringe and laugh. “The case is
not
closed. Your logic is seriously flawed here, Mr. Strong. I’m
aroused, yes, but not because you’re feeding me chocolate. I’m
aroused because you’re the damn sexiest man I’ve ever met. You just
look at me and I get turned on. And that has nothing to do with
chocolate unless you melt it, pour it over my naked body, and lick
it off.”

“Mmm, now there’s an idea.” His hands skimmed
firmly up her back, pulling her forward. “Melted chocolate instead
of wax. Nice.”

Warmth filled her cheeks, and she hid her
face against his shoulder, realizing she’d gotten a little carried
away.

He made an affectionate noise deep in his
throat then kissed her cheek. “You do the same for me, you
know.”

She lifted her head and drew away a few
inches so she could look at him. “What do you mean?”

His eyes searched hers, skipping back and
forth. “Just that you walk into the room, and I get excited. You
look at me, and my heart stops. And sometimes when you touch me,
I’m not sure I can contain myself enough not to scare you.” He took
a long, deep breath, his gaze raking her body. “Because, baby, now
that you’re mine, I want to claim you in every way imaginable. And
when I say every way imaginable, I mean it.” He paused, letting the
gravity of his words fill the empty space. “You say you’re ready
for all of me, but are you really? Do you really know what you’re
saying you’re ready for? Because sometimes I’m not even sure
I’m
ready.” His body shivered, and he quickly pulled her
against him, tucking his face against her neck. “You make me want
things I haven’t wanted in a long, long time, Karma.”

They’d gone from playful to profound in less
than a minute. But this was how Mark was. He was a study in
extremes. He could shift gears faster than a racecar driver.

For Karma, the personality fluctuations were
invigorating. She felt they were part of Mark’s spiritual
evolution, as if the more he vacillated from one extreme to
another, the more it meant he was finding his way back to who he
really was. To the man he’d been before Carol left him at the altar
all those years ago.

She took comfort in the sharp turns his moods
took. As long as it meant he was, indeed, finding himself, she was
more than fine to endure his severe swings.

And, clearly, he was still finding himself.
She wasn’t sure what he meant when he said that sometimes he wasn’t
even sure he was ready, but, obviously, there were still things he
hadn’t shared with her. Things that, for whatever reason, he still
withheld.

“We’ll get there together,” she whispered,
combing her fingers through his short, thick hair. “There’s no
rush. But when you’re ready, I’m ready.”

“And that’s why you have my heart.” His lips
brushed her skin as he spoke. “You don’t push.” A gentle breath
escaped his mouth as his cheek rose against the bottom of her jaw,
so she knew he was smiling. “You take me as I am and make me
stronger without expecting me to open up too fast.” He pulled back
so she could see his eyes. “Which makes me want to open up more.
So, I have to wonder if it’s you and not me engaging in some kind
of conspiracy. Some kind of magic that makes me addicted to you.
Because . . . I am addicted.” His gaze danced over
her face as if he were looking at a mystical faerie and couldn’t
quite believe it.

“No conspiracy here, Mr. Kidnapper. I assure
you, I’m innocent on all counts.”

Unadulterated joy broke over his face, and he
leaned back in his seat again, pulling her with him. “You are most
certainly not innocent, Miss Mason. If you were, I wouldn’t be so
captivated by you.”

“And here I thought it was my innocence you
found captivating.”

“It was . . . in the
beginning. Now, though . . . ?” He brushed his palm
down the side of her face. “Now I’m captivated by the way you make
me feel. Just being around you makes me feel . . .”
His gaze searched the air past her shoulder as if he could find the
word he sought there.

Mark always presented himself so eloquently
that to see him floundering for the right word was somewhat
amusing. “What?” she teased. “How exactly do I make you feel?”

Their eyes met a split second before he said,
“Powerful. You make me feel powerful.”

“Powerful?” That wasn’t what she’d
expected.

The way his eyes narrowed and his mouth
quirked thoughtfully made it clear he still wasn’t sure that was
the right word, either, but he was sticking with it.

“Karma, you make me feel like there’s nothing
I can’t do, as long as you’re with me.” He frowned. “I’ve never
felt that before. I’ve never felt like the definition of who I am
relied so heavily on another person. It’s like I’m rediscovering
myself with you.” The idea seemed to baffle him. His gaze drifted,
and a hint of confusion crossed his expression before he smiled it
away and locked gazes with her again.

“Well, you are rediscovering yourself, aren’t
you? At least, that’s the way it sounds to me.”

He nodded tightly, gaze lowered. “Yes, I am.
You’re right.” He pulled her down so her head rested on his chest.
His heartbeat thumped heavily against her ear.