He’d really been looking forward to that donut, he thought, licking his lips as he watched his uncle finish off the last morsel. Shit! He glanced back at the house where he had Marybeth exactly where he wanted her and then back to the three boxes of donuts that his uncle was guarding and then back again. Definitely the girl, he decided with a nod, heading towards the house even as he decided that he’d celebrate Marybeth’s surrender with a box of donuts later.

*-*-*-*

Five Very Long Hours Later…

“This can’t be happening,” she muttered, shaking her head in disbelief while she watched as the bastard that she suddenly couldn’t get away from parked his car and climbed out.

She briefly considered climbing back in her truck and going somewhere else, but thanks to her association with the Bradford boys this was the only grocery store in a twenty-mile radius that she wasn’t banned from. Although she wouldn’t mind a long drive to clear her head, she was too exhausted to put in the extra effort tonight. All she wanted to do was get her shopping done, go home, make a couple of grilled cheese and ham sandwiches and eat them in front of the television while she tried to figure out how the bastard walking towards her had managed to drive her crazy without saying a single word to her all day.

“Doing a little grocery shopping?” he asked with that cocky grin that had her foot twitching to stomp the hell out of his instep.

“Yes,” she bit out, seething with rage as she moved past him and headed towards a carriage left abandoned two spots over.

“Want me to push that for you?” he asked, catching up to her as she shoved the carriage towards the store.

“No,” she said evenly while she ignored the jarring motion of the rickety old carriage as it bounced around on wobbly wheels that locked up every few seconds and forced her to shove it harder to get it moving again.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!” she snapped as the wheels locked up again, forcing her to shove the carriage and when it didn’t move she pulled it back and shoved it again and again until it finally rolled forward.

“Ready to give in yet?” he asked, chuckling when the carriage jerked to another sudden stop.

“No,” she bit out, refusing to look at him as she prayed that she was able to get through the next hour without killing him for doing this to her.

She was on edge, frustrated and so desperate to feel him inside her that there was absolutely no doubt in her mind that she was going through withdrawal. For the past six years she hadn’t gone a single day without experiencing an orgasm, usually three or more. Even those times when they were apart for a few nights he’d always called her, teasing and enticing her with his incredibly sexy voice, telling her exactly what he wanted to do her.

God, she loved phone sex….

“Just say the word, baby,” the sneaky bastard said in the same sexy drawl that he normally used when he whispered in her ear while he took her from behind just as she walked through the automatic doors and stepped inside the large grocery store, sending a delicious shiver down her spine.

Manipulative. Bastard.

“Go to hell, you bastard!” she bit out in a strangled whisper as she shoved the carriage and picked up her pace, desperate to put some much needed space between them before she did something foolish like rip off his clothes and demand that he bend her over the Charmin Toilet Paper display by the door and put her out of her misery.

Chapter 16

“I was thinking New Hampshire,” he said, reaching past Marybeth’s trembling hand and grabbed a box of Cinnamon Life Cereal and tossed it in the carriage. After a slight hesitation, he grabbed two more boxes and tossed them in as well.

With a heavy sigh, Marybeth reached into the carriage, grabbed the two extra boxes of cereal and placed them back on the shelf before she started pushing the carriage only to come to an abrupt halt near the boxes of Lucky Charms when the wheels locked up again. Muttering a vicious curse, she shoved her side into the carriage to get it moving again only to curse again when the stubborn thing remained locked in place.

Grinning, because he really couldn’t help himself, he closed the distance between them, picked her up and gently set her aside. As she stood there, glaring at him and trembling with unspent rage, he pulled the rickety old carriage back a few inches and then simply pushed it forward with one hand as he reached up and grabbed two boxes of Lucky Charms and tossed them in as well. Then just for the hell of it, he decided to whistle a jaunty tune as he continued to push the carriage down the aisle, pausing only long enough to toss a few boxes of granola bars in the carriage before he continued on his way, feeling oddly triumphant.            

“What about New Hampshire?” Marybeth asked through clenched teeth a minute later when she reluctantly joined him in the snack aisle.

“Hmmm?” he murmured as he grabbed three packages of chocolate chunk cookies and tossed them in the carriage before continuing down the aisle, enjoying this probably more than he should.

Then again, after six long years it was nice to know that the wait was almost over. The days of pretending that she was only his best friend were at an end. He loved her more than anything and couldn’t wait until he could do all the things that his cousins and brothers took for granted. Just the thought of holding her hand or wrapping his arms around her as she sat on his lap in public made his cock twitch with anticipation.

“New Hampshire,” she reminded him, fumbling with a package of Oreos and tossed them in the carriage, looking incredibly sexy with her cheeks flushed, her bottom lip swollen from where she’d been nibbling on it and her large nipples hardened against her Bradford Construction tee shirt, giving anyone that saw her the impression that she’d just been thoroughly fucked.