by Linzi Basset
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Say Please
Their Command Series
Book 2
A Novella
By
Linzi Basset
Copyright © 2018 Linzi Basset - All rights reserved
Say Please
Copyright © 2018 Linzi Basset
Edited: Anumeha Gokhale
Proofread: Marie Vayer, Melanie Marnell
Published & Cover by: Linzi Basset
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, business establishments, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Linzi Basset has asserted her rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this eBook only. No part of this eBook may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Warning: This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults only, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase.
Disclaimer: Neither the publisher nor the author will be responsible for any loss, harm, injury, or death resulting from use of the information contained in this book.
Contents
Author Note
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Excerpt: Say Now
More Books by Linzi Basset
About the Author
Stalk Me
Author Note
Dear Reader,
Their Command series, is my second Dominant/sub novella series, following Their Sub Series.
If you haven’t read it yet, why not take a look on Amazon. It’s free on KU.
On AmazonCom: http://amzn.to/2lYoQor
On AmazonUK: http://amzn.to/2zu8vgr
Their Command series is about three besties,
Alexis Moore, Rachel Cooper and Shanna Lovett became involved with the owners of Silverstone Resort in Colorado—Noah Harris, Logan Chance and Mason Walker. But, were the three friends ready for the kind of lifestyle the three men envisioned in their future?
In Say yes, Book 1, Alexis Moore meets the formidable and somewhat frightening ‘mountain man’, Noah Harris.
Alexis Moore is between a rock and a hard place. Literally.
After her car wraps itself around a tree (blame Dora, the GPS), Alexis is looking for shelter in the woods. While running from plenty of sinister things, she runs smack into the most dangerous thing in these woods—a wild man, no less.
Okay, so he isn’t exactly wild. He lives in the woods; is built like an oak; has long, luxurious hair; a killer beard and too many abs to count. The only thing standing between Alexis’ lust and his modesty is a tiny towel wrapped around his sinful body.
Somebody needs to save this guy.
Not a chance in hell.
Noah Harris doesn’t need too much persuasion to offer his beguiling guest a bed—his bed, for the night; although, there isn’t much sleeping involved.
In the light of the day, things get even more convoluted. But nothing is going to stop Noah from claiming this gorgeous wood nymph for himself . . . and his best friends, Mason and Logan. Alexis is in for one of hell of a debauched ride, to say the least.
But Alexis is wary of love and commitment. A lifetime of neglect and distrust is a hard habit to break. Will she learn to trust Noah and take a leap of faith into the future, or will she be relegated to a lifetime of loneliness?
Will Alexis say yes?
In Say Please, Book 2, Rachel Cooper returned after a brief visit a couple of months earlier. The reason? Mason Walker.
Mason Walker is a man of refined tastes. He’s the part owner of the luxurious Silverstone Resort, a brilliant businessman and a gorgeous male specimen. He may appear civilized, but underneath the suave veneer, is a man raging to run wild. He’s ravenous, and on the scent of a delicious prey.
Rachel Cooper is a celebrated two-star Michelin chef, making a fresh start in Colorado, at the resort. She’s quirky - a mixture of sense and sultry. She’s the happiest when concocting recipes and feeding people. She has an excellent job and wonderful friends. Life is good. Until she crosses paths with Mason, who seems hell bent on making a meal out of her!
Lord, have mercy.
Mason is torn between devouring his prey in one bite or savoring her essence piecemeal. One thing is for sure, Rachel was his. To eat, prey or love?
As the two of them combust between sheets, an avalanche of emotional demons threatens to annihilate everything in its path. Will Rachel be able to deal with past baggage and find that perfect recipe for love?
I hope you’ll enjoy this highly emotional and super-hot story as much as I did writing it.
Warm regards.
Linzi Basset
Chapter One
“Chef, you better get out there,” the maître d' announced as he marched into the kitchen. The grimace on his face gave away his annoyance.
“I warned them against appointing a city slicker in this kitchen but no, they didn’t listen,” he grumbled under his breath.
“Excuse me, did you say something?” Rachel prodded. Her voice vibrated with a chilled warning. She stopped deboning a piece of fish and straightened, holding the knife in front of her as she turned to confront the insufferable man.
He jumped back, his eyes the size of saucers.
“Are you threatening me, Chef?” he asked in a shrill voice, hands raised protectively in front of him.
Rachel was tempted but suppressed the desire for violence. He’d been testing her patience since the first day she’d set foot inside the Silverstone Resort’s massive kitchens, as the newly appointed Chef de Cuisine.
Enough is enough. It’s been three weeks and I don’t have to suffer his boorish behavior.
“What’s the problem, André?”
His cheeks puffed up. Rachel did her best to curb her smile as she watched his chest expand in preparation for his upcoming expose. He slammed his index finger into his palm.
“First, his oyster starter wasn’t to his satisfaction. Second,” he seethed, adding a second finger to his palm, “you served him overdone steak and now,” he held up three fingers, “you sent him a cold, hot toddy pear dessert. He’s about to explode,” he finished with relish. “And that is the third evening in a row that you have messed up his orders.”
“That does it. If that . . . that old timer thinks he can intimidate me by continuously criticizing my food, he has another thing coming,” Rachel snapped.
The knife trilled as she planted it with furious intent into the wooden cutting board. The sous-chefs started chattering excitedly as she stormed through the kitchen and s
lammed past the swinging doors, into the restaurant.
Rachel didn’t have to search for him. She knew where he usually sat because she’d been peeping through the round windows in the kitchen doors. She stomped to his table, her eyes flashing fire.
“You have a problem, sir?” Her sharp voice could’ve cut through steel.
He continued to cut the succulent pears into bite-size pieces and popped one into his mouth, before he sat back and looked at her. And, wouldn’t you know it, he managed to look down his arrogant nose, even though he was sitting and gazing up at her.
Rachel swallowed hard when her gaze was caught by a look so intense, it took her breath away. Her eyes followed the rhythmic flex of his jaw as he chewed lazily while his brooding look raked up and down her body in a deliberate perusal. He licked the sweet juices from his lips, which caused a shiver to rally down her spine. The memory of that very appendage lashing at her womanly bits that one night—
Focus, Rachel. You’re supposed to be angry with the dratted man, not drool over his sexual prowess.
“Well? I’m waiting,” she prodded. She shifted her weight in an effort to curb the tremor in her stomach.
Why the devil does he arouse me so easily? Damn it, I don’t even like the man.
Ever heard of opposites attract, Rachel?
Opposites my ass. He’s the devil incarnate!
“Do I need to spell it out, Rachel?” Mason Walker drawled in his deep, guttural voice. He gestured around. “Here, in the middle of a packed restaurant?”
Rachel’s lips pinched. Her fists slammed on her hips. She leaned forward and growled into his face, “That’s what this is about? You dare criticize my food for no other reason than to force me to acknowledge . . .”
Her voice trailed off. A spark of anger, at her continued denial, ignited his gray eyes, twirling with heat. The color of his eyes drew everyone to stop and stare. His eyes could go from a smoky gray to luminous silver in seconds.
His head had been completely shaven before, but he’d let his hair grow lately. Her gaze moved to the stubble enhancing his chiseled jaw. This was the new him. He appeared tough and composed, which added to the compelling charisma that had drawn her to him all those months ago. There was a rigidity to his shoulders that warned her he was done with the cat and mouse game.
“Yes? Or do you need a reminder?” Mason prodded; a slow smile turned his wide mouth up; the anger at her denial dissolved in a blink of an eye.
She frowned at the obvious amusement in his gaze. Almost like he knew how much she’d been suffering over the past five months. How his promise had hounded her for more nights than she could remember.
“Mr. Walker, let me make this as clear as I possibly can, especially as it seems that your decrepit old brain takes a while to compute what I’m saying. I. Am. Not. Interested.”
She swallowed when his ropey muscles rippled as he sat forward. His broad shoulders flexed under the perfect fit of his dinner jacket when he rested his chin on his fists. The smirk on his lips turned into a pleasant smile.
Rachel tried to deny how much his rugged good looks affected her; how she longed to delve into his rough exterior and animalistic persona that was hers for the taking.
“It seems the lady doth protest too much, I’d say, mate. Or am I wrong?”
Rachel’s back went ramrod straight but she refused to acknowledge the man behind her. Mason’s gaze turned to molten steel.
“No, Logan, you’ve hit the nail on the head. It makes me wonder what our little chef is trying to hide from us. Could your sexy little pussy be craving this old timer’s cock, my sweet?” Mason taunted her in a soft whisper meant only for her ears.
The rivulets of red wine were already dripping over his face, staining his pristine white shirt before she realized that she’d upended a glass of wine over his head. The collective gasp from nearby diners sounded explosives to her ears.
She took a cautionary step back as Mason pushed up from the chair. His tall body towered over her as he stared at her through slitted eyes.
“Shouldn’t have done that, little chef,” Logan Chance, Mason’s friend and co-owner of the resort, thought to enlighten her in her ear.
“No shit, Sherlock,” she mumbled and then, she turned tail and ran. Her breath came in small puffs, hot and nervous as she forced her legs to move faster, imagining the heat of his body close on her heels.
His long legs kept up with her without effort and she suspected Mason had deliberately allowed her to tear through the dining room and into the kitchen.
“Don’t you dare touch me, Mason Walker,” Rachel cried breathlessly, putting the first counter top between them. Her heart thumping, she sprinted left and right around the different workstations in an effort to avoid his grasping hands. The sous-chefs gawked at them. She began to panic. She’d seen the wicked amusement in his gaze and it was beginning to worry her.
“Shit!” Rachel cursed when she reached the back of the kitchen. The only exit from there was into the short hallway leading to the staff restrooms and her office. “You bastard,” she puffed, realizing he’d deliberately been pushing her into a corner.
She forced her legs to move faster in an effort to reach her office and lock the door before he caught her—all to no avail. He slammed the door back and her in the process.
Rachel stumbled backward, her hands held out protectively in front of her.
“Stay away from me,” she warned, sounding a lot braver than she felt. If only she’d had the foresight to grab one of her knives!
“You upended a glass of wine over my head, Rachel.”
“Well, of course I did. What did you expect after making such a . . . a vile comment?” The words came out in a breathless wheeze as Mason finally pushed her back against the wall with his hard body pressed into her soft curves.
“Vile? Or the truth, my sweet? At least I’m honest about what I feel, unlike you, who keeps running away.”
“I’ll have you know, Mason Walker, there is a vast difference between feelings and what you’re experiencing,” she clipped while desperately trying to wiggle her hands between their bodies to push him back. His closeness was slowly chipping away the iron control she’d managed to lock around her heart and her libido since she’d arrived in Colorado.
It wouldn’t do to give this man an upper hand. Not after what he made me suffer through! No, he has to put in some effort to get me.
“Hm. Do tell, Rachel. I’m all ears,” Mason drawled. He was enamored by the flashing heat in her eyes, searing at him while her lithe body molded into his. Almost like it was sculpted to fit his.
“Lust. And in case you’re still unsure, let me enlighten you what it means. It’s an intense sexual desire or insatiable appetite for sex. In your case, lecherousness.”
“Ah, I see. According to you, these,” and he pointed between them as he gazed at her with raised eyebrows, “feelings between us, are one sided?”
“Look—”
“So, you’re going to deny that you . . . or shall I say, your delectable body, has been craving my cock sliding deep inside your pussy, claiming it and demanding you to accept what it makes you feel?”
Rachel’s irritation was evident in the pout of her lips. Mason couldn’t resist. He caught her mouth in a passionate kiss. Slanting his lips back and forth, he drank deeply from her sweetness. His thumb gently brushed the softness of her cheek. He tilted her head back with a gentle touch beneath her chin and studied her beauty. For once she returned his intense gaze and didn’t lower her eyes.
“Time is fleeting, Rachel. It’s something I’ve learned the hard way. I won’t make the same mistake again.”
His expression turned somber and he appeared lost in thought for a moment, but with a shrug he forced himself back to the present.
“I see the same ghosts in your eyes that Alexis had when she first arrived here and like her, I won’t allow you to bury yourself in the tarred remains of your past—or whatever it is that’s chasin
g you. I travelled a long and hard path to find myself, Rachel. I was close to erasing the man I was inside; on the verge of self-destruction. Be who you are meant to be. Don’t be misguided by other’s pretense. If you do, it will consume you like an invisible flame.”
“How did you know?” Rachel managed to croak. She was amazed at the insight this man had into her soul, her deepest fears and desires. “Did Alexis—”
“No, Rachel, she would never abuse your confidence. I know, my sweet, because I can sense the emptiness darkening the edges of your soul. I was there too, perhaps for different reasons than yours but unless you fight for the person you want to be, that false sense of stability will eventually cost you your soul.”
“You’re suddenly very philosophical,” Rachel swallowed hard, trying to bury the despondency she’d been living with for so many years. The loneliness had slowly been edging away at her soul, caused due to the neglect and abuse from her parents; so similar to Alexis’, yet so much worse.
“There’s more to me than a big dick to fuck you into oblivion, my sweet,” he said with glittering eyes. His chuckle rumbled from deep within his chest at the cold glance she slanted at him.
“Spare me the vanity, if you please,” she snapped in a cold voice.
“If you please? So formal, aren’t you always, luv. Not that I mind, especially when I recall your hot, sultry promises and cries for more. And you know what, Rachel?”
“I’m sure you’re about to inform me,” she sulked at the reminder of the uncontrollable passion he’d unleashed that one night, months ago.
“I’m going to hear them again. And soon, very soon.”
Mason ignored the negative response he saw flashing in her eyes and treasured the warmth of her body instead. Her fresh, sweet aroma beguiled his senses; sparking the familiar craving he felt whenever he sensed her presence. It was a feeling he thought he’d never experience again. This time, he wouldn’t allow anyone or anything to stand in the way of his happiness. Not even the little snippy chef herself.
