Total Temptation by Alice Gaines

settled into an easier rhythm as she coasted back to reality.
    When she finished, he released her hips and moved up beside her to pull her against his body. “Now, that’s dessert.”
    â€œThis is certainly the most interesting meal I’ve ever had.” She opened her eyes to look at him.
    â€œAnd I’ll bet you’ve eaten in the finest restaurants in the city,” he said.
    â€œAnd in France and anywhere else my husband and I traveled.”
    â€œYou should come over to Oakland some time,” he said. “We know how to barbecue.”
    â€œOakland? Is that where you’re from?”
    â€œOaktown, Bump City, that’s me. You ever been to Oakland? It’s just across the bridge.”
    â€œI’ve been to Piedmont a couple of times.”
    He laughed. “You would.”
    Everyone in the bay area knew that Piedmont was an enclave of the wealthy and the even wealthier surrounded by the grit that made up Oakland. Of course, he’d practice some reverse snobbery. Still, given the fact that the city lay only about ten miles away from where they now sat, she might have visited it a few times.
    â€œI attended public schools, but I got most of my education on the streets, namely East Fourteenth.”
    Now renamed International Boulevard, East Fourteenth Street was regularly featured in murder stories on the news. He got his education there?
    â€œYou could have gone to college,” she said.
    â€œYeah, sure. If my mom had had a bunch of money and someone had taken the entrance exam for me.”
    â€œNo, really. You seem very smart.”
    â€œIt’s okay, princess. I like where my life is now.”
    â€œBobby . . .” She glanced up at him and broke into laughter. He was an absolute mess: his face was a disaster area of berries and chocolate. Instead of the bad biker dude, he resembled a kid in a high chair who’d been playing with his food.
    She covered her mouth with her fingers. “You should see yourself. I’ve never seen anything so funny in my life.”
    â€œI wouldn’t talk,” he said. “You look like someone’s been making mud pies in your pussy.”
    â€œSomeone has.” She absolutely couldn’t stop laughing. After Howard’s death and her very real grief, the army of lawyers and the interference of her stepsons, the detectives following her around, and the paranoia that had her looking behind every bush, laughter felt like medicine. She let it come, rolling over her in waves. Each time she got a breath, she kept right on laughing.
    â€œAll right, Miss Giggles. Time to hit the showers.” Before she realized his intent, he hauled her upward and tossed her over his shoulder. As if she weighed no more than a pillow, he carried her into the bathroom.
    Once there, he pulled open the glass door to the huge shower and set her onto her feet inside. She’d hardly caught her breath when he turned on all the faucets. The water held a chill for a moment, and she yelped, but then the sprays heated, and steam rose all around them.
    The shower had heads on all four walls, so beads of water pounded into her from all directions. What a sensual massage, far more than anything necessary to clean a person. She stretched and turned, letting the currents sluice all over her. Luxury! Just like everything else here, including the man who was teaching her the true meaning of sex.
    The man in question had tipped his head up under the nearby spray. When the mess had washed away, he rubbed his hands over his face and then shook himself like a dog. He was a marvelous specimen, all sleek muscle. His hair clung to his head, and droplets of water nestled into his eyelashes. His eyes shone crystal blue as he watched her.
    â€œTime to clean you off,” he said as he reached to the soap dish. He selected a bar and removed the wrapping, dropping the crumpled paper to the floor. After working a healthy lather between