Bonbons and Betrayal: Book 3 in The Chocolate Cafe Series by Valley Sams Page A

stopped half way across the sitting room to turn back to her. His smile was broader, all teeth and shallow beauty. This is what the wolf in all those fairy tales looked like, Deena thought. Why didn’t I see this before?
     
    “Don’t be silly, Ms. Shelat. I’ll see you Monday.”
     

CHAPTER ONE
     
     
    The chocolate, folding over itself in the bowl, was a deep, velvety brown. It glistened and rolled, pulsing like a living thing, reveling in its own magnificence.
     
    Of course it wasn’t nearly as magical as the way Sabrina’s wrist, thin but powerful, deftly manipulated the mixing spoon. She was deeply focused, her long, loose hair swaying in front of her face with every turn of the bowl. In the subdued light of his kitchen, Paul marveled at how it was almost the exact same shade as her magnificent bowl of melted chocolate.
     
    He leaned over the granite island and breathed deeply. It was an intoxicating combination – the milky sweetness of the chocolate and the scent of Sabrina’s skin. He wanted to bottle it like a fine wine.
     
    “So what’s next?” Paul asked, “Now you put the chili in?” He reached over to the small bowl of crushed chilies on the counter. Sabrina, barely breaking her mixing rhythm, slapped his hand away.
     
    “Not yet!” She chided, peering out at him from her curtain of chocolate waves. “You need to get the right texture first…”
     
    She was unbelievably beautiful to Paul. Of course, he’d had his share of gold digging models and pseudo actresses over the years, but this one…she made his old t-shirt look like a designer evening gown. Sabrina was different. She was without shame or self-consciousness - Sabrina was a woman completely comfortable in her own skin.
     
    He leaned over the counter again and pushed her hair out of her face. She looked up from her work for just long enough for him to plant a kiss on her full lips.
     
    He managed to distract her for a few seconds, but it wasn’t long before she pushed him off of her playfully.
     
    “Seriously?” She smiled, “These need to be done by tomorrow. Your award ceremony starts at 5 and it’s going to take at least twelve hours for them to set properly.”
     
    Paul rolled his eyes in mock frustration.
     
    “But you’re here, you’re in the city, with me…isn’t there other ways we could be spending our time? Why don’t you…?” He moved to her side, his sleek body – honed by hours of expensive personal training - as graceful as a predatory animal.
     
    He wrapped his arms around her from behind, burying his face in her neck and breathing in deeply. He couldn’t tell what was her scent and what was the smell of chocolate any more. Over the last month the two had become inexorably linked in his mind. When he’d wandered into her chocolate shop four weeks ago, he’d had no idea he’d become so instantly attracted to someone so completely different than his past girlfriends. He had nothing to gain from her. She wasn’t a stepping-stone to something better. She had no money, no connections, no significant education…she was as much of a delicious treat to him as the incredible confections she was so skilled at making.
     
    “Look out there.” He said, attempting to draw her attention to the panoramic view of the city that his penthouse apartment afforded. She looked up momentarily, unimpressed by the sparkling vista. “We could get dressed, we could go out, and I could show you off. You never let me do that. “
     
    “I don’t need to be shown off.” She giggled as Paul began to kiss her neck. “I need to get this done by tomorrow. I need you to be proud and enjoy your accomplishments.”
     
    “Let me pay someone else to make them.” He mumbled into her hair “Let’s just be together tonight.”
     
    Sabrina stopped stirring and turned her head to look at him. Her brows were furrowed, but something about the look in her eyes made it evident she could never be truly angry with him. She was