“Not so much. Maya is a little younger than we are, Caleb a few years older than Gabriel. Their mom died when they were really little and I think their aunt tried to get custody but Tobias wouldn’t let them go. I remember my mom saying he might not have done them any favors since the boys ran pretty wild. He used to travel a lot, and sometimes he took the kids, but mostly they stayed home on their own.” She frowned, sopping up oil with her bread before picking it apart in tiny little bites. “They had a few minor brushes with the law, teenage things, but nothing major. I remember they were scary smart in school, though. Like they didn’t even have to study to ruin the curve, you know?”

Mulling this over, Pandora nodded.

“Why? Are you selling bed-y-bye snacks to old man Black? Now, that’s a guy who’s aged well. Talk about a hottie. I’d think he’d have little need for a chocolate-coated pick-me-up.”

Mr. Black? A hottie? Pandora wasn’t sure what to say to that. It wasn’t that she didn’t agree with Kathy, because Tobias Black was definitely a good-looking man. But it was kinda creepy thinking about him that way when she was nursing a serious case of the hots for his son.

“If he’s as good a kisser as his son, I’m sure he doesn’t,” Pandora agreed, nibbling at her own piece of bread and nervously waiting for the reaction. Once upon a time, she’d have relied on her own ability to read a person, to gauge their body language, and had trusted her own judgment. But now? Now all she was sure of was that she couldn’t be trusted.

The question was, did that mean she shouldn’t trust her lust for Caleb? Or her fear of him?

Kathy gave a gratifying gasp, tossed what was left of her bread on her plate and leaned forward to grasp Pandora’s arm. “Spill. All the details. Which brother, how was it, where’d you do it and were you naked?”

Pandora giggled.

“Caleb. It was amazing. In the café, and oh, my God, of course not.”

“But you wanted to be?”

“Absolutely,” she admitted with a sigh. Her smile softened as she remembered his lips again. The taste of him, male, hot and just a little chocolaty. Their bodies hadn’t even touched, yet she’d been more turned on than the last time she’d had full-on, two-naked-bodies and real-live-orgasm sex.

More turned on than she’d ever been in her life, actually.

“In the café?” Kathy said, a naughty look dancing in her green eyes. “Had you shared one of those sexy treats?”

Pandora opened her mouth to say no, then closed it.

She hadn’t put much thought into it, but he’d had a few big bites of the Foreplay cake. So had she, for that matter. But their lust had been the real deal. At least, hers had.

Doubt, always lurking somewhere but now painfully close to the surface thanks to Sean, reared its ugly head.

“A couple bites is all,” she admitted with a frown. “But a lot of the power of an aphrodisiac is in the mind, isn’t it? My grammy always said that most magics require belief to work. The power of suggestion and all that.”

“Kinda like a low-cut dress, huh?”

Pandora grinned, acknowledging Kathy’s point with a wave of her fork. “A little.”

Then her smile fell away. “Do you think that’s why he kissed me? Of course it is,” she answered herself. “I mean, he just got to town, he’s so gorgeous he probably has women throwing themselves at him. Why else would he kiss a perfect stranger?”

Why had she thought he’d found her special? That was crazy. She wasn’t the type to inspire uncontrollable lust. Heck, she rarely inspired a second look.

Seeing where her mind was going, Kathy shook her head and gave Pandora’s forearm a chiding tap. “Stop that. You’re counting yourself out before you even consider the situation.”

“What’s to consider?”

“The details, of course. Start at the beginning.”

Pandora arched one brow. “When the dinosaurs roamed? Or back further than that?”

“Smart-ass. When did you first meet Caleb Black?”

Pandora picked at her slice of bread again, wishing she’d never brought the subject up. For just a while there she’d been riding high on the idea that a man so sexy he made her toes curl had been attracted enough for a kiss at first sight. But now? Now she figured she should raise the prices in the café, since her aphrodisiacs were that strong.

“Deets,” Kathy prodded. “Has he been in town long? When was the kiss?”

“Two days ago,” she finally confessed. “He came into the store. There was this big confrontation between him and his dad, then I gave him a piece of cake and he kissed me.”

Just remembering gave her shivers. It’d been so incredible. For a guy who came across as a total hard-ass, his lips had been so, so soft.

She took a shaky breath and brushed the bread crumbs off her fingers.

Maybe the why didn’t matter. She’d had an incredible kiss. Wasn’t that what counted?

“Wow, talk about a lot going on. I’ll want the details of all the rest later. But for now, how was the kiss?” Kathy asked, her eyes huge. “Was it amazing?”

“It was…special,” she decided with a soft smile.

“Uh-oh.”

“What uh-oh?” Pandora saw the concerned look in Kathy’s eyes and shook her head. “No. No uh-oh. I’m not getting romantic ideas. That’d be crazy, considering he only kissed me because of the cake. I’m just saying, it was a hot kiss that didn’t follow the standard moves, you know?”

“Standard moves?”

“Yeah. You know how usually the first kiss with a guy is more about the anticipation and, well, introduction to his style?”

Kathy nodded.

“There was no anticipation because, I mean, who the hell kisses a complete stranger in a café while sneaking out the back door?” Kathy’s brows creased, but before she could ask, Pandora continued, “And he wasn’t so much introducing his style as he was…”

“Was…what?”

“Making me melt?” Pandora admitted with a helpless little laugh. “Honestly, I have no idea why he kissed me. I just know that it was amazing.”

“Once again, uh-oh,” Kathy worried, apprehension clear in her eyes.

“What?”

“Be careful. Those Black men are heartbreakers. They went through girls like crazy. They always left them smiling, sure. But they never stuck around. Still, you don’t need that,” Kathy warned.

“I know he’s off-limits,” Pandora said with a bad-tempered shrug. “I didn’t say I was crazy enough to think one flirty little kiss-especially one that didn’t include tongue-means I’m in for some hot and wild bad-boy sex.”

“He’s not off-limits. He’s just trouble. But if all you’re thinking about is getting naked and doing the horizontal tango, then maybe you should. Just as long as you’re clear from the start that it’s just sex. Nothing more.”

Caleb Black. Naked. Oh, man, she’d bet he was deliciously built. Those wide shoulders would have the kind of muscles she could cling to as he moved in her, his long torso and slender hips arched over her straining body. She knew he had a sweet little hiney, but it’d look even better bare than it had covered in denim. She’d bet it was firm, so hard she’d barely make a dent if her fingers gripped it. Heat washed over Pandora so fast she had to take a sip of her wine before she combusted.

“That is all you’re thinking about, isn’t it?” Kathy prodded.

“Well, now I’m thinking about Caleb naked and can’t remember your question,” Pandora said with a pout.

“You’re only looking for sex, right? Not a relationship? Not a wild time that might turn into something special once he realizes how great you are?”

“No,” she protested vehemently. This was a stupid conversation. All she’d wanted was to share her little bit of sexy news and suddenly she was defending a fling with a guy who probably kissed every woman he met. That didn’t mean he had any interest in actually getting naked and slippery. “I’m not going to do anything stupid. I’d have to be crazy to fall for a guy like Caleb Black. I’m not his type and that kiss was probably the last contact we’ll ever have.”

Kathy leaned back in the booth and gave her a long, searching look. After a few seconds, Pandora squirmed. She didn’t like people looking that close, or that deep.

“Okay, I’ve changed my mind. I think you should go for it.”

“Go for what? It wasn’t like an invitation to a relationship. It was more like a hit-and-run.”

“Maybe. But maybe not. I’m just saying if he hits again, you should take him up on a little ride. I’ll bet he’s the kind of guy who’ll make you see stars.”

Stars. Pandora wasn’t a virginal prude. She liked sex. Especially if it was good sex. She read the how-to articles in women’s magazines and erotic books, she knew her body and wasn’t shy about giving directions when necessary.

But, typically, the guys she’d been with weren’t big on directions.

Which was probably why she’d never seen stars. With Sean, she’d seen a flicker or two but never full-oh-my-God stars.

“So?” Kathy prodded.

“So what?”

“So, are you going to shoot for the stars? Or are you going to take the route of avoidance?”

Avoidance. All the way.

After all, the last time she’d given in to a sexy fling, she’d paid. Big-time. And Sean hadn’t been anywhere near as hot, gorgeous or tempting as Caleb. Getting involved with him was crazy.

The last thing she needed was to get herself all upside down over a guy. Even a just-sex-and-nothing-more kind of guy. A more confident woman might be able to handle a sweet fling with someone like that, but her? She wasn’t that kind of woman.

For once, though, she wanted to be. She wanted to have a purely sexual fling based on nothing more than physical satisfaction and excitement. She wanted to be exciting and dynamic. Fun and maybe a little wild. No expectations of anything long-term or emotional.