Chapter 28

They watched as molds traversed the conveyor belt to be coated in chocolate, filled with ganache, sealed with more chocolate, and finally expelled at the end. Brian had seen the process before but it took on a whole new meaning as he watched Cassie take it all in.

“What flavor are these?” she asked as another batch was knocked out of their mold.

“Tequila Shots,” Jonathon replied.

“What?” Cassie asked and Brian smiled.

“The ganache is flavored with tequila, lime, and a hint of salt,” Jonathon explained, “It’s one of my more adventurous flavors.”

“Who comes up with these recipes?” Cassie asked.

“Me, mostly,” Jonathon replied.

“He has been known to spend days in his test kitchen,” Brian added, “but it’s always worth it.”

“Can I try one?” Cassie asked.

Jonathon picked one up off the line and handed it to her. She popped it in her mouth and closed her eyes and the noise she made sent Brian’s blood south, hardening his ever-ready cock.

“It tastes just like a tequila shot,” she said when she opened her eyes, “but with chocolate. I need to buy some of these.”

Brian chuckled as Jonathon beamed. She was adorable and he couldn’t help but think that the taste of tequila reminded her of the night they met.

“I’ll buy you whatever you want,” Brian said, pulling her close and kissing the top of her plastic-covered head, “as long as you save those noises for when we get home later,” he whispered in her ear.

She shivered and he chuckled. Jonathon cleared his throat.

“Seen enough?” he asked, and when they nodded he led them back to the airlock where they stripped off the protective gear.

Once they were back in the showroom, Brian hung back with Jonathon while Cassie perused his glass display cabinets.

“I like her,” Jonathon said, nudging Brian with his elbow. “She’s sweet.”

“Yeah,” Brian said with a sigh, “she’s fucking adorable and I can’t get her out of my mind.”

Jonathon laughed, “Not a bad problem to have,” he said.

“I suppose not if she feels the same.”

“You doubt her?”

Brian shrugged. “I just don’t know if Nathan is out of her system or not. They were together a long time.”

Cassie looked over at them then and smiled, her eyes alight with joy and an impish grin on her face.

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Jonathon said.

Brian wanted to believe him, but he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that she hadn’t fully resolved her feelings for his stepbrother. And if that was the case then he needed to take a step back and gain some control. He knew he was already falling in love with her, but he refused to give her his whole heart until he knew where things stood with Nathan. If he had to walk away, he would.

“Oh my God,” she squealed and Brian looked over at her. “I have to get some of these!”

He walked over to see what she was looking at and nearly choked. “What the hell, Jon?” he asked, looking over at his friend.

Jonathon smirked at him. “It’s part of our ‘Too Hot to Handle’ line.”

“They’re chocolate cocks,” Brian blurted out.

“They are,” Jonathon confirmed, “with chili-flavored cream centers. Very popular with the Hen’s party crowd.”

“They’ll be perfect for tonight,” Cassie insisted. “I’ll take two dozen, please.”

Jonathon boxed up her purchases and Brian handed over his credit card, but Jonathon waved him away.

“You’ll owe me,” he said with a shrug.

They shook hands and said their goodbyes and Brian led Cassie back out to the car.

“Where to now?” he asked.

“What’s the time?”

“Nearly lunchtime,” he replied.

She bit the corner of her lip and he couldn’t help but lean over and kiss it. “I’ve been wanting to do that for ages,” he whispered.

She sighed and kissed him again before he pulled away.

“The bridal shower is at four,” she said, “and I don’t have a gift yet.”

“Okay, so gift shopping it is.”

She turned and beamed at him. “You know it’s a mixed shower, right?”

“What?”

She laughed. “So you need to get a gift too.”

He rolled his eyes as they drove out of the car park. Fabulous. A fucking mixed bridal shower. At least he’d get to spend the time with Cassie and he was sure there would be alcohol.

They wandered hand in hand through the department store, but nothing remotely interesting jumped out at Cassie and screamed ‘The perfect gift to get your ex and his fiancée’. Nathan and Ainsley had a bridal registry set up for both the shower and the wedding, but it was all the usual boring shit like towels and china and glass. The last thing Cassie wanted to do was spend her money on something so generic. She was over Nathan and she didn’t really like Ainsley all that much, but gift-giving was a serious business to her and she was determined to find them the exact right gift.

“What about this crystal vase?” Brian asked picking up a Waterford Crystal cut vase.

“Too tacky,” Cassie responded.

“Tacky?” he scoffed. “It’s eleven hundred dollars.”

“Exactly,” Cassie said. “Who would be tacky enough to put something that expensive on their bridal shower gift registry? They’re tacky, not the vase. I refuse to indulge their tackiness.” She sniffed and moved on.

She couldn’t believe some of the stuff that Ainsley had included on her list and it made her even more determined to get something that wasn’t on the list and wasn’t returnable.

“There’s nothing here,” she complained turning to Brian with a pout. He leaned in and pressed a sweet kiss on her mouth and she let her eyelids fall shut. She loved his unabashed public displays of affection. After being with Nathan in a secret love affair, it felt nice to be shown off in public.

“All right then,” he said, slinging an arm around her shoulder and directing her towards the exit. “Then where do you want to go?”

They walked out of the department store and into the shopping mall. Crowds moved around them as they stood and took in the rows of shops. Cassie saw a Body Shop and suddenly had an idea.

“I know the perfect gift,” she said, “But we can’t get it here.” She grabbed his hand and started pulling him to the escalator.

“Wait. Where are we going now?”

“We need to drive there,” she said impatiently. “Come on, I’ll direct you.”

They took the escalator down to the parking garage and he paid for the parking before she dragged him to the car.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” he asked.

Cassie smiled at him mischievously and shook her head. “Just follow my directions.”

They drove out of the underground garage and she guided him through the traffic. They headed back towards the light industrial area near Ashby Chocolates but turned into a different precinct. When she told him to pull over, he gave her a shocked look and she giggled.

“Come on,” she said with a wink. “Don’t be such a prude.”

He followed her into the showroom reluctantly, but Cassie couldn’t help grinning.

“You’re buying them a bridal shower gift from a sex he whispered in her ear.

“No,” she replied, buying them a gift from a sex shop.” She raised up on her tippy toes and kissed him on the tip of his nose.

“And what exactly are we buying?”

“A couples pamper pack,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “It’s really not as kinky as you’re thinking. It has his and her intimate massage oil, candles, bubble bath, lingerie, and…you know, other stuff.”

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her close and she could smell the scent of his sandalwood aftershave which seemed to have a dizzying effect on her.

“What other stuff?” he whispered.

She shrugged. “Just some, ah, marital aids.”

She expected him to get angry, but instead, he chuckled.

“Marital aids?” he asked, cocking his eyebrow in that way that always made her hot. “Is that what they’re calling them now?”

She grinned at him. “Ainsley seemed a marriage with Nathan. I thought I’d be a pal and help her out.”

Brian dragged a hand through his hair and shook his head, a wry smile on his lips. “Okay, I’m in,” he said.

Cassie clapped her hands and then pulled him into the aisles, grabbing things off the shelves and putting them into a basket. She had made one for a friend of hers just recently and it had been a hit. Ainsley would probably be too much of a goody-two-shoes to get many benefits out of the ‘marital aids’ she’d included, but she knew Nathan would get a kick out of it. Nathan wasn’t opposed to getting dirty on occasion and if this little basket of goodies freaked Ainsley out a little, more’s the better.

Cassie picked up a particularly shiny little piece of merchandise and grinned.

“A butt plug?” Brian asked in surprise.

“A butt plug with a great big rhinestone on the end,” she said. “Now, that’s classy.”

Brian chuckled and Cassie shivered at the sound. She’d noticed a few little treasures in here that she wouldn’t mind getting for herself…things that she thought Brian might get a kick out of too.

“Why don’t you go and choose some edible underwear,” she said, sending him off to the other side of the store.

While he wasn’t looking she slipped some intimate massage oil and a nice little vibrator into the basket that she would surprise him with later.

She walked over to where Brian was standing, perusing the available edible underwear choices.

“Strawberry or Passionfruit?” he asked turning to her.

“I think Ainsley would definitely be a strawberry girl,” she said, plucking off a packet and slipping it into the basket.

“And what about you, Blue, what flavor would you be?” he said, his voice low and husky in her ear, his hot breath on her neck.

“Tequila,” she replied. “Definitely tequila.”

He laughed, throwing his head back, his mouth open wide and she couldn’t help laughing with him. Tequila would never be the same and she was glad she’d bought some of those tequila shot truffles from Ashby Chocolates…she had plans for them later.