by Lia Lee
“I’m good, but thank you, momma.” He winked. “How about you clean the mushrooms and start chopping them while I change into something comfortable.”
“I can do that.” She moved toward the counter and picked up the packet of fresh mushrooms. “However, you need to wear a shirt. I’m too tired to pretend that you’re not incredibly attractive. Save me the energy of acting like it doesn’t faze me.”
His hands slid down her arms from behind, and his touch caused her to stiffen. The warmth of his breath just beside her ear caused goose bumps to race along her skin.
“You find me attractive?” He brushed his nose by her ear softly.
“Who doesn’t?” She turned her face and gave him a cheeky grin, putting them far too close for comfort. His sapphire eyes moved down to her lips, and he gave her a sound of appreciation before moving away.
“I’ll wear a shirt, but only because you asked for it.” He walked from the room, still wearing his chef outfit.
Dammit. Should have requested that he cook butt-naked with me. Never quick enough on the uptake.
She finished washing the mushrooms and had begun to cut them when he walked back in.
“No. Let me show you a better way to do it, Mariah.” He moved in behind her and slid his hands over her, gripping the knife over her hand, and pressed his chest to her back. “If you angle the knife just so, you can move much faster.”
He worked through the mushroom quickly, leaving her a little stunned by both his talent and his ability to steal her breath with nothing more than his strong presence.
“Nice. Thank you,” she whispered, unable to find the volume of her voice.
“I’ll start on the chicken. Tell me about your day. Did you get your new clients taken care of?” He released her and moved up to work beside her. The thin white T-shirt and jeans that hung low on his waist were almost too casual, but he pulled it off beautifully.
“I did, and I tried to find a replacement for you as well.”
“And?” He stopped his preparation and glanced over at her.
“And I’ve not found the right woman yet.” She shrugged and worked to apply his technique to cutting the rest of the mushrooms.
“That’s because she’s already here.” He wagged his eyebrows playfully, which seemed so out of character and yet not.
“Oh yeah? You’ve decided to keep me? You realize I’m mouthy, and I don’t put up with much.”
“Yes, I do, but your ability to impress me, coupled with your beauty has left me thinking you should be a permanent fixture here.” He wiped his hands on napkin and turned to face her. “Too much?”
“No.”
“Good. I didn’t think so.” He chuckled and walked toward the fridge, leaving her to sort through the barrage of emotions that rolled through her at a frightening speed.
Was he teasing her or did he feel the same strong pull that she did?
Chapter 6
Darren
She was incredibly sexy standing in his kitchen next to him, cooking and flirting as subtly as he’d ever seen a woman do. Her little white cotton dress hit her mid-thigh, leaving plenty of dark smooth skin on display. He was dying to know what type of panties a strong woman like her wore. Something told him she went for something more conventional than sexy, but he couldn’t help but hope that there was a side to her he’d yet to see.
Every night he’d come home later and later, and the one regret he had was not getting to know his new companion more. Sure she was only there to provide a much needed service to him, but there was the possibility of something more laying between them. He wanted to explore it, but was willing to go at whatever pace she wanted to.
His stunt to touch her while she chopped the mushrooms only backfired violently, leaving his cock hard and balls incredibly tight. He’d have to wrap up dinner and take care of himself in the shower if their night ended with her in the wrong bed.
She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who would follow him to the bedroom, but stranger things had happened. She was sensual and aggressive, which was the exact combination he wanted when he thought about making love to a woman all night. That was hopefully to come, but for now, he wanted to know her a little better.
“So tell me about your entrance into the restaurant business. I hear it’s one of the top industries that people fail out of in the first year, but you’re doing well, I assume?” Mariah turned her face toward him as she continued to chop.
Worry sprouted in his belly, and he almost barked at her to watch the cutting board when she was actively chopping, but he forced himself to let her be. She was a grown woman and had proven herself more than capable in many ways.
“I was dirt-floor poor and lived in the slums in Italy. After working a thousand odd jobs, my uncle brought me into one of the restaurants there and taught me to cook. I fell in love with it immediately, and thankfully, I’ve always been business minded. I’m doing quite well, I guess, but my passion is starting to wane. The drive is soon to follow, I think.” He surprised himself with his openness around her. He hadn’t told anymore of his concern for himself and the future. He had more than enough money to never lift another finger and live an overly extravagant life for the rest of his days, but it had never been about money.
He put the chicken in the frying pan and moved to the sink, washing his hands quickly. “Your turn.”
She finished up her job and joined him by the sink.
“Same story to some degree. My mother raised me and my brother in a one-bedroom trailer in the shitty side of town. I started cleaning houses for money to help feed us, seeing that my mother turned to liquor to heal her heartache.” She shrugged. “My company was founded six years ago, but for three years before that, I killed myself, working non-stop.”
“I’m impressed.” He moved to the counter and picked up one of the yellow cherry tomatoes she’d bought earlier that day. “These are like the candy of the vegetable world. Did you know that?”
“I’m not too into tomatoes.” She turned and leaned against the counter, her hands beside her clasped to the countertop, which accentuated her large breasts.
“You’ll like these.” He moved to stand in front of her and lifted it to her lips.
She reached up to take it, and he pulled it back. “No. Let me feed you. I want to watch you enjoy it.”
From the heated look in her dark eyes, he had no doubt that she felt at least a fraction of what he did in her presence. He was beyond exhausted, and yet he knew that if she would let him, he would stay awake all night, working hard to hear her moan his name.
“Okay,” she whispered sensually and reached out, touching his side as she submitted to him.
“Good girl.” He smiled at the look he got and lifted the tomato to her perfect lips, pressed on it slightly as she sucked it into her mouth. “God, you’re beautiful.”
She bit down on the small offering and gave a sound of appreciation. “This is good. Delicious.”
“I told you.” He reached out and slid his hand into her long dark locks before moving in toward her. “I can’t help myself. I need to taste you.”
She pressed her hand against his chest. “I’m not sleeping with you, Darren. I like you, and I’m insanely attracted to you, but I have standards.”
“I understand. It’s just one kiss.” He moved quickly, pressing his lips tightly to hers as she let out a long shaky moan. Her hand moved around to his back, pulling him in closer. He didn’t need an additional invitation.
He pressed himself to the front of her, thrilled to hear her surprised gasp against his lips as he let her feel how hard she made him.
His tongue pressed to the crease of her lips, sliding back and forth until she opened up for him, but only a little. Never being one to shy away from something he wanted, he pressed his tongue into her mouth and lapped at her as he continued to kiss and suck at her.
She gripped his back tightly and panted softly as they continued to explore each other’s mouths.
She broke the kiss and pressed her forehead to his, panting as she closed her eyes.
“God, that was so good.” She lifted to her toes, pressing her lips back to his as he ran his hands over her shoulders, down her sides and cupped her hips. He lifted her easily and sat her on the empty counter next to them before moving up to press himself against her.
She let out a whimper, and he almost came. If she had been without sex as long as he had, they were in for an explosive first time. Where he believed her promise about not sleeping together that night, it was going to happen soon. He couldn’t imagine not tasting the most intimate parts of her while she shook and cried out beneath him.
He rocked his hips forward and moved down her neck, licking and kissing slowly as he held her tightly to him.
“We’re supposed to be making dinner,” she mumbled as her fingers ran through his hair, tugging a little every so often. The dominance in her actions left him with little choice but to push their make-out session farther.
“We’re going to, baby.” He licked at her ear. “I’m just much hungrier for you than anything we might be able to whip up. Let me taste you, and then we can finish this up.”
“Taste me?” She moved back, forcing him to glance up at her.
“Mmhmm.” He brushed his fingers down the side of her face. “I’m a chef, Mariah. My tongue is my greatest asset.”
He licked his lips and let his eyes move down the length of her until they rested on the swell of her sex. The dress she wore was pushed up a little, and her panties were white and lacy, with a patch of wet silk over the center of her. She wanted him. He could smell her arousal, see it and damn if he didn’t need to taste it.
“No. If we start down that path, I’ll come unglued.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” He slid his hands up her thighs as his heart worked to beat its way out of his chest. “Did you know that I’ve been totally taken with you since you got here? I’ve seen a lot of beautiful women in my life, but you take the cake.”
She blushed and pushed at his chest before sliding down the front of him and forcing him back.
“You’re just flattering me so that I’ll sleep with you, which I’m not.” She smiled and moved back to work on the salad just beside them.
Darren watched her closely, deciding on one more attack before letting her be. She would eventually come around and when she did, he would be more than ready to explore every fantasy she’d ever had.
He slid his hands around her waist from behind and pressed himself against her ass before leaning down and leaving soft, wet kisses up the side of her neck. He sucked at her ear and dug his fingers into her full hips as he spoke quietly.
“I’m not trying to flatter you at all. I wanted you to know how I see you. You should understand what you do to me.” He brushed his ear by her nose. “I’d never ask you to do something you’re not comfortable with, but my bed is quite open to you anytime you want in it. Whether that means you let me make love to you, or just snuggle up to you for the night… I’ve been alone a long time, and I was fine with it. I’m not so much anymore.”
She reached back and pressed a cherry tomato to his lips as she watched him over her shoulder. “Stop talking. I want you more than I should already. You’re a client, and I’m your maid. That’s all we’re supposed to be, which is safe.”
Mariah turned in his arms and slid her hands up his chest to clasp them behind his neck. “I like the idea of sleeping with you, but it would turn into sex, and I’ve had my heart handed back to me too many times in pieces. I’m not interested in a billionaire chef who’s here for a few weeks and then leaving.”
He chuckled and moved down, brushing his lips over hers softly and tugging from her hold. “I understand completely. Of course… the offer still stands.”
She turned and started working on dinner again, changing the conversation, which was probably for the best. He wouldn’t survive much more of their simple teasing.
She would end up in his bed sooner or later. He had no doubt about it. Until then, he would simply take more care to work the tension from his own body with her on his mind. It wouldn’t take much more than working himself in and out of his own tight, soapy grip as he envisioned her wet and pressed against the shower wall in front of him.
Just the thought of sliding into her from behind and holding onto her thick ass as he gave her orgasm after orgasm left him weak in the knees. He turned from the stove and let his eyes run down her just before she turned and did the same to him.
“After dinner, we should indulge.” He licked at his lips.
“Are you going to make everything about sex?” She gave him a cheeky grin and an eye-roll.
“Sex? I was talking about dessert. Damn, woman. You’re tainted and going to steal my innocence, obviously.” He winked and turned back to plate their dinner.
She moved in behind him, and her hands slid over his stomach, just under his shirt before moving down to cup his cock. It took both hands to hold his package properly, and she was a little breathless due to the fact it would seem.
“I bet your innocence got stolen a long time ago. I’m just making sure you don’t steal mine.” She squeezed softly and left him there, stifling the need to tremble with untapped lust. She played a dangerous game, and yet he adored her all the more for it.
Tease me, Mariah. Tease me until I can’t stand it, and then get ready, baby. I’m going to do a lot more than steal your innocence. I’m going to bind you to me with need and desire that only I can reach and fulfill. It might take a few times to get your body to accept me, but once you do… you will be lost to me.
Chapter 7
Two Days Later
Mariah
The rest of dinner had gone off without much more than casual flirting. The heat was there between them, but Mariah set her resolve to leave it as dying embers and walk away. She was a business woman first and foremost. Her own desires had long been set on the shelf, and one sexy client with a huge package to offer wasn’t going to change that.
He’d been incredibly busy the day before, which left her with time to herself to think through things. She’d used the morning to clean the house and the afternoon to read a good romance novel, which left her needier for something that he could provide than she wanted to be.
After a few glasses of wine, she fell asleep on the couch, but woke the next morning in her guestroom bed. She rolled onto her back and groaned, sliding her hands up above her head and wishing like hell she hadn’t started the process of falling for her new client.
His dark hair and strong physique left her tight with need, his size left her panting. How a man could be so large and still find someone to willingly take on the challenge of fucking him was a great quandary. If he found someone, why the hell didn’t he keep her?
“Could I handle him?” She closed her eyes and sunk her teeth into her bottom lip, trying to imagine how he might look naked.
The image of him in her mind couldn’t have done him justice, and yet she needed to move away from her fantasy world and ground herself quickly.
“In a minute,” she mumbled and slid her hands down her tight stomach, shoving her T-shirt up as she did. Her heart beat increased as her hands became his.
“Tell me what you want, Mariah…” He glanced up from between her thighs, his eyes hooded with need, his voice gravelly.
“I want you.” She reached down and slid her hands into his hair, pushing at his head a little as she opened her thighs widely.
He glanced down and licked at his lips. “You’re already a little wet, so very messy. Need me to clean that up for you, baby?”
She whimpered and nodded, unable to force her voice to
come from its cage. The idea of him pressing his tongue to the most intimate part of her body left her nerves on edge.
Darren moved down and swiped his tongue across her sex, toying with her a bit before fully licking at her again. Her back lifted from the bed in a sharp arch as pleasure shot out across her center. The tight grip of his hands on her thighs and hungry sounds coming from him left her dizzy.
“Come for me,” he growled against her wetness and sucked at her clit just before letting his teeth carefully press into her.
She cried out and came up off the bed as her body exploded with ecstasy.
He licked and sucked as if trying to drain every drop of her for himself.
He was greedy and didn’t wait another second to crawl up the length of her and plunge into her roughly.
Mariah groaned loudly as her fingers sunk into her mound. Not willing to wait for penetration, she lifted her hips and took in as much as she could give herself. He was so much bigger and more powerful than she could ever be, but she would fuck herself good enough for a morning alone.
It didn’t take long before her body clenched in orgasm and stars burst behind her closed eyelids. Panting loudly, she pulled her fingers from her body and lay spread-eagle on the bed, trying to still her beating heart.
She had to have him. Standards were great, and she was going to try like hell to stick to them, but as intrigued as she was about his size, about him… she had to push things a little.
After a few more minutes in the warmth of her bed, she got up, showered and got to work on the house. Not having him there for the last few days meant that nothing was too out of place. Within a few hours, she was done with her chores and had changed for a long run on the beach.
She texted Darren before heading out to see if he would be home in time for dinner, but got nothing back from him.
After lacing up her tennis shoes, she walked out into the chilly spring air and jogged down toward the waterfront. There were a handful of people who had the same idea as her, but the rest of the world seemed to still be asleep.
