For the Love of Sin. Leanne Banks

the chair.

      Apparently, the man had mixed alcohol with his medication. He would need medical attention but would be okay. By the time the ambulance arrived, Mr. Rodriguez was awake but groggy. Senada and Troy left while Mrs. Rodriguez read her husband the riot act in Spanish.

      “I appreciate your help,” she told him as he followed her inside her house. Her antipathy toward Troy had faded. How could she hate him when he’d allowed Mrs. Rodriguez to blubber all over him?

      “For a minute there, I didn’t know who was going to need medical treatment more, Mrs. Rodriguez or her husband.”

      Senada grinned. “She’s very emotional.” She glanced at the table. The candle was gutted and the music had stopped. The lone cupcake, however, remained.

      She shook her head. “Well, this has been an exciting evening.”

      Troy nodded. “Yeah, I’m starvin’.” He picked up her cupcake. “You don’t mind, do you?”

      Senada watched in horror as he took a bite. “Wait!”

      He paused, glancing at her, then the cupcake. “It’s okay,” he assured her. “A little stale, but nothing’s wrong with it.”

      Senada bit back a whimper. She’d only bought one cupcake because she couldn’t stand the temptation of having several around the house.

      Troy swallowed another bite. “I apologize about the conversation with Juan, but I had to get him off my back.” He didn’t like explaining himself but had concluded it was necessary if he didn’t want any more beer dumped on his head. “And this way, I figured I could get him to leave you alone too. Sort of kill two birds with one stone.” He took another bite and polished off the cupcake.

      He glanced at Senada. She was wearing a strange expression. If he didn’t know better, he would swear she was going to cry. “Something wrong?”

      She stared at the empty paper cupcake liner.

      “Sin?”

      Her gaze met his. “I want my cupcake back.”

      Troy blinked. “Your cupcake?”

      She nodded. “I want it back. I’ve waited over four weeks to eat that cupcake, and I want it back.”

      “Four weeks,” he echoed. “It wasn’t that stale.”

      “I want my cupcake.”

      Troy shot her a wary glance. The woman was loony. She must be on some strange kind of diet that was affecting her brain, he thought, then assessed her curves with masculine appreciation. “You don’t need to be on a diet. Why don’t you eat some of the chocolate candy I brought you?”

      She hesitated, then sighed. “Let me see them.”

      Troy lifted the lid off the box and presented them to her.

      Senada closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. She looked as if she were having an erotic experience. “They smell wonderful,” she whispered.

      The sensual expression on her face tugged at something inside him. Her whisper heated his skin. He pulled at his collar.

      She carefully selected three pieces of candy and set them on a napkin in front of her. He expected her to put one whole piece in her mouth at a time. Instead, she took a small bite of the first chocolate and rolled it around in her mouth. He could practically imagine her tongue working over the morsel.

      He watched her throat ripple when she swallowed.

      “I know this makes no sense to you, but it’s been over a month since I’ve had chocolate, so I’m not reasonable about it.”

      He watched her lick a chocolate buttercream center, and his gut tightened. He cleared his throat. “Lisa mentioned you have a, uh, weakness for chocolate.”

      “She wasn’t lying.” Sin took another tiny bite and closed her eyes. “I can give up a lot of things, but this one’s tough.”

      “Then why deprive yourself?” He was feeling a little deprived just watching her.

      She shrugged. “Necessity.” She picked up the second piece. “And this has got to last a week.”

      Troy watched, mesmerized, as she sucked the cherry from the center. His body grew warm at the sight of her pink tongue skimming over her lips. If her mouth did that to a little piece of chocolate, then what would she do to a man? He stifled a groan at the intimate image.

      “You mind if I get some water?” he asked. When she absently shook her head, he headed for the refrigerator. Her attention was fixed on the chocolate with such intensity that he wondered if the rumors about her past lovers being carted off to the hospital were true. Troy pressed the cold glass to his forehead, then took a quick gulp.

      Senada glanced up at him. “Could I have just a sip of that?”

      “Sure.” He set the glass in front of her and watched her drink. He swallowed when she swallowed.

      She gave him a wry smile. “Last one.”

      Troy nodded. “You want me to light the candle for you?”

      She sighed. “No.”

      Her eyelids fluttered downward, and an insane idea struck him. He went with it even though he questioned the wisdom of it. “Well, you should do something special since it’s your last one for a week.”

      She glanced up. “Think so?”

      “Yeah.” He picked up the last chocolate. “You should let me feed it to you.”

      Senada shook her head and shot him a skeptical glance. “Oh no.”

      “Yeah, you should. It’ll be memorable.”

      “No.” She reached for the chocolate, but he moved his hand.

      “Yeah.”

      “No,” she said more forcefully, reaching again.

      Troy zigged. She zagged. And the truffle was smushed.

      She looked at him in disgust. “You smashed my truffle.”

      “Sorry about that.”

      “You ate my cupcake.”

      He nodded. “You want another one?”

      “No, I want that one. That truffle.”

      He lifted his fingers to her mouth. “Then take it.”

      “I should get a knife,” she said, frowning at him.

      “I don’t think I trust you with a knife,” he said, wary of the gleam in her gaze.

      Senada rolled her eyes. “Okay, I’m not wasting that truffle.” She pulled his hand closer and looked at him again. “I hope you’re enjoying this.” Then she took her first lick.

      Troy felt the sensation of her kitten-soft tongue in every erogenous zone of his body. It was a bizarre form of torture, watching Senada Calhoun lick chocolate from his fingers.

      He never would have suspected his fingers were sensitive. He never would have suspected he could become completely and totally aroused by such a simple action of a woman’s mouth on his finger. Especially when that woman didn’t even like him. But her spicy scent combined with the bittersweet smell of chocolate and liquor made him take short, shallow breaths because he feared intoxication.

      Her single-minded attention and overtly expressed pleasure made him sweat. Her exotic eyes were hooded as if she were overcome with desire. Her full lips pouted as if she’d been kissed and wanted more. When her tongue skimmed the inside of his middle finger, it was all he could do not to groan.

      Still holding his hand, she gave him a considering glance. “You know, if I bit, it would really hurt.”

      He met her gaze and tried to hide his arousal. “Maybe,”