Eden’s pocketknife sliced easily through the thick, black plastic covering the strawberry bed. She reached for another runner and positioned the tender, young plant into the dirt beneath the opening she’d made, firming the soil around the roots and then topping it off with a soaking spray from her nearby watering can—that was four new plants for next year’s harvest. She continued down the row planting four offshoots for every mother plant and severing the additional shoots and tossing them into the wheelbarrow. She’d been hard at work for a couple of hours and she still had a dozen rows to go. Strawberries were always a favorite of her customers and this particular strain would ensure her stand had an abundance to sell.

No matter how hard she tried to concentrate on the task at hand, her mind kept slipping back to last night. The feel of Rico’s firm mouth moving over her own, the smell of him, the warmth and strength of his body. Just the thought of him made her body feel alive and vibrant and needy—almost desperately needy.

“What do you have to offer me today?” Rico’s baritone voice cut through her thoughts like a warm knife through butter. He stood just a few feet away looking relaxed and confident with his thumbs stuck into the pockets of his snug fitting jeans.

“What do you want?” Eden asked, her voice and manner direct. She felt rewarded by Rico’s quick flush. Obviously they both wanted the same thing, and it would only be found in her garden if they were both naked and rolling in the dirt.

“Well…” he hedged, “What do you have to inspire decadence?” Rico smiled. Now this was a sport he not only understood, but enjoyed. Sexually charged verbal sparring—he’d always been good at this game.

Eden unfolded her long limbs and dusted the dark earth from her knees. Her cool, green eyes assessed him and a slow smile spread across her face. The gauntlet was thrown down and the challenge had been accepted.

She stepped over several long rows of new sprouts and Rico admired the way the large muscles in her thighs and buttocks flexed and expanded as he followed her along. He knew years of experience allowed him to appear outwardly calm, but inside he worked to control both his physical desire for Eden and the insistent voice telling him to let his heart reach out for hers. She stopped beside a row with lush, green, mature plants. They were covered with a combination of small, white flowers with sunny yellow centers, and deep red strawberries.

Rico was surprised by the abundance of the fruit he saw. “How is it that you have such perfect strawberries this late in the season?”

“These are ever-bearing plants,” she explained, “Once they get started they don’t stop until they become too exhausted to continue.” Her teasing smile and expressive eyes made it impossible for Rico to miss her meaning. “They always leave the gardener satisfied.”

“Lucky strawberries.” Rico answered softly, his dark eyes roaming over her slender frame, pausing on her breasts for a long moment then returning to meet her eyes.

Eden felt like she’d just been touched. Her tingling nipples pushed outward into the soft fabric of her bra in response. She felt breathless and a little dizzy with his nearness, and she secretly wondered if he would kiss her again. She certainly hoped so. If there was one thing she was sure of after last night’s encounter, there was a place of steadiness and warmth under the surface of his simmering sexuality and she wanted to find her way to that very spot.

As he watched, Eden bent from the waist offering him a delectable view down the curving neckline of her tank top. The creamy flesh of her breasts hung like heavy fruit suspended from the trunk of her body. He could see the rounded tops of each exquisite package, but the beauty of them didn’t stir him as much as the plain cotton bra she wore. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate a display of delicate lingerie, but the glimpse of everyday underwear was somehow more intimate to him—it was never meant to be seen. He watched the two beauties swing with her efforts to pick a handful of ripe berries and his mouth felt parched for a taste of her fruit.

As if she’d read his mind Eden stood to her full height and held a large, fragrant berry up to his lips. “You have to try them to know how perfect they are.”

Rico’s eyes were still pinned to her big breasts. They strained the fabric of her shirt as the two firm mounds shifted back into place against her now upright ribcage. “Perfect,” he said softly and looked up again into her eyes. He could see his own passion reflected back from their green depths.

The sweet, loamy fragrance of the berry pulled his attention to the hovering morsel she held for him. He bit halfway into the strawberry and the tangy flavor exploded in his mouth. Both ambrosial and sharp his sense of taste was almost overwhelmed with the intensity of it. He rolled the bite of fruit around on his tongue and sampled the wonderful satin and seedy texture before taking the berry from Eden’s hand and offering her the other half. He watched as she savored the juicy bite, feeling his groin tightening. When she reached up to catch a fat drop of strawberry juice that had leaked out of the corner of her mouth, Rico beat her to the task. He slid one tan finger up her cheek and captured the errant drop on the tip. Holding her gaze he painted the red liquor onto her full lips.

Eden held her breath as Rico held his finger to her mouth. She met his eyes and tentatively reached for the crimson remains with her tongue.

It was a mere moment of time. Her tongue darted out and cleaned up the strawberry juice in less than a second, yet he felt like he’d had the wind knocked out of him. His breath stilled and his surroundings dimmed as he followed the pale pink tip when it drew back and brushed her top lip before returning to the moist recesses of her mouth. Raising his hands to her shoulders, he leaned in to follow it.
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