by Tami Lund
“Why not? It’s what you do every day, except tonight, you’re doing it for one person, instead of hundreds.”
But that’s just it.
Before she could argue further, the manager slapped the piece of paper onto the counter in front of her. “Write down the ingredients you need. I’ll have everything here, ready to go, at four o’clock. Come to the employees’ entrance. Pick up the bags and then hightail it out of here. Otherwise, you know you’ll get sucked in. None of those kids in that kitchen think they can function without you.” He sounded annoyed, yet Carley was flattered.
I need to be needed.
It was a surprising thought, one she hadn’t really considered until now. Yet, she realized it was true. It was the reason she’d felt so comfortable here, in this restaurant, and living in the cramped house with so many human roommates. Because they all needed her, for one reason or another. And that was what Carley thrived on.
And why Reid was so attractive.
Well, Reid was attractive all on his own, in a purely aesthetic way. His obsession for her—that was simply icing on the proverbial cake. Tasty, delectable, sweet-cream icing. And she was about to get a taste. Tonight.
If she wanted it. If she was brave enough. There was something strangely…tempting about the idea.
And yet, even as she reluctantly listed the ingredients and equipment she would need to create her signature steak dinner, she recognized her own fear. Fear of what would happen, if Reid kissed her and they were not standing in the middle of a park teeming with people. Miguel had kissed her once, the day they were mated, a quick peck on the cheek to prove to the king and her parents that he really was thrilled with the union. It had been a lie, of course. And it was the one and only time he’d ever done it.
Reid’s kiss hadn’t felt like a lie. It had felt honest, open, stark, real. It had felt like he wanted more, but was holding himself back because, while she hadn’t told him anything at all, he knew. He knew she had a poor experience. He knew she was skittish. He knew if he pushed too far, too soon, she would bolt.
That awareness was what propelled her to go through with the meeting, to pick up the supplies at the appointed time, to show up at the address he’d given to her manager.
Chapter 4
“I’m honestly surprised you kept the appointment,” Reid said when he opened the door. He wore a pair of worn jeans and a simple navy-blue T-shirt. His feet were bare. His cheeks were smooth-shaven. She blinked bemusedly at the rare sight of him without facial hair.
He pulled the two heavy bags of food and cooking supplies out of Carley’s arms. “I would have met you at the restaurant and helped carry all of this, but I suspected you needed to do this on your own.”
Carley rolled her shoulders after he took the weight of the bags away, and then let her gaze peruse the interior of his apartment. It was different from the ancient home in which she lived with her fellow restaurant employees. Reid’s living space was sleek, all black and gray and white, with contemporary decor on the walls. The floor was Italian marble, the furniture was leather and glossy wood. She found herself anticipating her first glimpse of the kitchen. If the living area was this nice…
“You know me well after such a short period of time,” she commented as she slipped her coat off her shoulders and waited for him to hang it in a hall closet. She hoped her black leggings, white lace camisole, and sage-green sweater with fat buttons running up the front was appropriate attire for this sort of thing. She had never provided a private cooking lesson before, not even when she lived in the coterie.
She leaned over to unzip her boots, and he said, “Leave them.” His voice held a faint hoarse quality.
She straightened again and warned him, “Vivian is expecting a call by eight.”
He nodded. “I suspected the only way you would agree to be alone with me was if your human shields were aware, and there was a distinct end time to the encounter.”
“They aren’t human shields,” she reminded him crossly. “And you could do a lot in three hours’ time, you know.”
“Yes, I do,” he replied, and she knew they were thinking of far, far different activities.
Or maybe not. Despite her best efforts, her mind had strayed into uncharted territory the moment he opened the door and she saw him standing there in his bare feet, looking comfortable, casual, and ridiculously sexy. She hadn’t dated at all before her parents mated her off to Miguel, and the lights above knew her mate had never looked like this.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and followed him through the apartment.
“So am I really here to show you how to cook? Lights above, look at this kitchen!” Carley gaped, taking in the perfect, shiny, stainless steel equipment, the smooth black-and-gray swirled granite countertop, the brand-new set of Henkel knives lined up on the counter, next to an assortment of bowls and measuring cups and other sundry supplies that would be necessary for a cooking lesson.
Reid smiled his lazy smile as she wandered around the room, touching everything, admiring what he’d provided for her use. He pulled a bottle of Brunello out of the wine chiller tucked under the counter and poured two glasses while she continued to fawn over the kitchen.
As he offered her one of the glasses, she said with accusation in her voice, “If you own all of this already, you can’t possibly need a cooking lesson.”
His eyes sparkled when he spoke. “Your manager was kind enough to give me a list of supplies that would be helpful for the cooking lesson. It’s all new. For you.”
She gaped anew. “You bought all of this—for me?”
He sipped his wine and nodded. His eyes glowed faintly.
She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a defiant look. “I can’t be bought, you know.” Which wasn’t entirely true. She’d been bought once. But that time, she hadn’t had a choice. And now, she vowed it would never happen again. No one controlled her actions, her destiny, except her. She didn’t live in the coterie any longer. Even the king of the lightbearers had no control over her life anymore.
It was a heady revelation.
“I don’t want to buy you,” Reid assured her. “I just want you.”
“Oh…” She lifted the glass and took a hearty swallow. She rarely drank and figured she should keep a clear head for this encounter, but she needed a little liquid courage at the moment. She had no idea how to handle the obsessive, overly attentive shifter. She didn’t have the first clue what to do with a man who seemed to genuinely want to be with her. Who genuinely wanted her. She suddenly wished she had a fan to wave at her heated face.
When a fan popped into existence in her hand, she and Reid both burst out laughing. The laughter managed to ease the tension that had been steadily building since she stepped into his apartment.
“Are you ready?” he asked, and for a moment, the tension returned, until he reached into the bags and began pulling out the ingredients her manager had assembled for this private cooking lesson.
“This steak rub is a secret,” she warned him, as she chopped fresh herbs and added them, along with a variety of spices, to a steel bowl.
“There is something you should know about shifters.”
“What’s that?” she asked, eyeing him warily.
“We are exceedingly loyal. If you show me your secret recipe, you can rest assured that I will share it with no one.”
“Why?”
“Because you wouldn’t want me to.”
Magic flared around her hands as she clumsily unwrapped two large steaks and kept her gaze downcast. She had the most ridiculous urge to confess everything, to tell him why she was living in Chicago instead of in the coterie. To her knowledge, no other lightbearer had ever lived outside the magical, protective wards surrounding their village. She hadn’t meant to be a pioneer. She had only wanted to live.
“Besides, I’m not a very good cook. Hence, the cooking lesson.”
She briefly wondered if maybe a cooking lesson was all he hoped to
get out of this encounter, but then she dismissed her own foolish thoughts. Of course he was hoping for more.
Odd, but she wanted him to want more. She hadn’t yet determined if she was brave enough to give in, but the idea that he wanted her, craved her, was obsessed over her, made her feel stronger. She could do this.
If she wanted to.
And if she didn’t—or couldn’t go through with it—that would be okay, too. He might be disappointed, but she was confident Reid would not push her to do something she wasn’t quite ready to do. Nor would he give up on her, either. She couldn’t say precisely how she knew all of this—or maybe she could, given the amount of time they’ve spent together over the course of the last month. When she wasn’t working or sleeping, Reid was there, walking her to and from the restaurant, hanging out at the house, in her life, all the time.
She had become used to his presence, had come to expect it. She wanted him in her life, she realized. She too wanted…more.
She washed her hands and set to mincing garlic. She glanced at Reid, who sipped wine, watched her work, and looked so incredibly sexy, she was surprised at her own willpower for keeping him at arm’s length for this long.
“Do you always work this hard to try to impress women?” she blurted.
He leaned his hip against the granite counter and crossed his feet at the ankles. “Not usually.”
Of course he didn’t. The man was gorgeous, stunning, sexy as sin. As scarred as she was, her mind had taken a very provocative slant over the last few days, as she lay in bed alone and tried to fall asleep each night. Considering her experiences with sex, she’d never been one to have fantasies. Now she couldn’t seem to turn them off.
“I’m, ah, flattered,” she said, feeling flustered. She still did not understand why he would be so obsessive over her, of all people.
“I suspect, initially, it was your magic. I’ve heard it said lightbearer magic is ‘happy magic.’ Apparently, to me, that means arousing magic. But now, I am utterly intrigued by you, as a person. Magic or not,” he commented, as if he’d read her thoughts, and knew she needed his reassurance.
Oh my. Carley’s heart rate increased. He was so charming. So starkly honest. So…sincere. She placed the knife on the counter and wiped her hands with the towel she’d slung over her shoulder. Then she turned to face him.
“Kiss me,” she said in a breathy voice. “A real kiss, I mean.”
*
Reid froze. The smile slipped from his face. “If I kiss you, Carley, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to stop.”
“I really want you to kiss me,” she whispered, watching him with eyes that were wide with anticipation mixed with the faintest tinge of fear.
He wanted to take the fear away. He wanted her to look at him with anticipation mixed with lust. He decided there was only one way to fix the situation.
He reached out and slid his fingers into her soft blonde hair. She automatically lifted her chin. He wrapped the other hand around her waist, and then gently pulled her to him, until they were not quite touching. He bent his head and brushed one of those almost painfully innocent kisses across her sweet, lush lips. He wanted to devour those lips, but he needed her fear to be erased first.
He was rewarded when she parted her lips slightly and a faint sigh escaped. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she instinctively leaned forward, silently asking for more. Her body melted against him. She wanted this. He leaned in and gave it to her.
He pressed his lips against hers, let his tongue flick out to tease her plump bottom lip. She automatically opened her mouth and he licked his way inside. She tasted like wine and magic and need. She tilted her head and pressed closer, her own tongue tentatively touching the tip of his.
The hand tangled in her hair closed into a fist as he struggled with his own self-control. He needed to go slow, for her sake, and it was killing him, because all he wanted to do was tear off those leggings—while leaving the sexy as hell knee-high boots on—and lift her onto the counter and take her with an urgency he hadn’t felt since he was a youngling experiencing his first sexual encounter.
The problem was, she responded to him so wantonly, she was more enticing than any female he’d ever bedded before. She was completely open, utterly honest. She let him take the lead, but made it abundantly clear when she liked something he did. And so far, she liked everything he liked.
When he took the chance and lifted his hand to brush it across her breast, she thrust out her chest and pulled him yet more tightly against her body. He tugged his other hand out of her hair and dropped it to squeeze her ass. And was rewarded when she mocked his movement with her own hands.
“Carley,” he mumbled against her throat. She’d tilted her head and let her hair fall to the side, giving him full access to the curve of her neck. He nipped gently. “I want you.”
She made an erotic noise in her throat, not quite a word.
“Bedroom?” he suggested as he scraped his teeth over the shell of her ear.
She mumbled something incoherent, but did not stiffen, yet he did not want to assume he had her assent. He needed her to say it. She had obviously been violated at some point in her past, and he did not want her to associate his intentions with that experience.
He kissed a trail from her ear, down her neck, and up to her lips, against which he murmured, “Tell me, Carley.”
“Yes.”
It was the sweetest word he’d ever heard uttered. He swept her into his arms and carried her down the hall to his bedroom. She curled into him, one arm holding tightly to his neck, the other clutching his shirt, while she burrowed her face against his chest.
He walked over to the bed and laid her down on her back. She immediately tensed. He felt her close up on him, as if he could sense her emotions. Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him. He dropped to his knees next to the bed, an attempt to be less intimidating.
“Talk to me, Carley. What am I doing wrong?”
She twisted her head to the side. “Nothing. I just…It’s just…I thought I could forget,” she whispered as tears welled in her big blue eyes.
“Is it the bedroom? The bed? We can go into the living room. Or back to the kitchen. What do you need?” Anything. It wasn’t even about the promise of impending sex. He wanted her to feel safe. To trust him.
He watched her face as she struggled to come to terms with her fear. He wondered about the fear, wanted to press to determine the root, but now was not the time. If he asked, he would lose her completely, at least temporarily, and neither his body nor mind was ready to let her go just yet.
“This,” she finally said, indicating herself. “This position. Me, lying on my back. It’s…This is how—” He cut her off with a shake of his head.
He pushed to his feet and dropped onto the bed, lying on his back. “Here,” he said. “I can be subservient. Do what you will with me.” He smiled, trying to lighten the mood. Trying to ensure she did not close up entirely, and change her mind about where they were headed.
She sat up and smiled. “I’m not sure I even know what to do with you. But this does make me feel more comfortable. Thank you.”
Thank the gods, fates, and lights. Reid blew out a breath. “I’ll guide you.”
She looked dubious.
“Take off my shirt. Just the top one. Leave the undershirt.”
“Oh,” she said, understanding blooming on her face. She pulled off his shirt.
“Now take yours off.”
She hesitated and then unlatched the buttons on her sweater. He sucked in a breath, and his eyes dilated as she slipped the sweater over her shoulders, revealing the lace camisole underneath.
“Your eyes are glowing,” she commented.
“That happens when our emotions are heightened.” He watched her with eyes he knew were filled with stark hunger. Hell, he wasn’t surprised they were glowing. His emotions were certainly running high at the moment. Everything was running high at the moment.
“Oh. This
one too?” she asked, referring to her camisole.
“Come here,” he said gruffly.
He held out his hand, and she placed her smaller one into it. He gave it a tug, and she climbed onto the bed and straddled his hips. She kept her weight on her knees, instead of sinking onto his groin like he wanted her to. But that was okay. All in good time.
“Let me,” he said, his voice gone hoarse with need. He placed his hands on the leather boots, ran them up to the tops, then trailed his fingers up her thighs. She shivered, and he continued upward until his hands rested on her waist, at the lacy hem of her camisole. “May I?” He would do nothing she did not want him to do.
She lifted her arms over her head.
He pushed his hands up her side, taking the camisole with him, and then he tugged it over her breasts and over her head. They jiggled as the material released them. Her nipples peaked instantly, and she sucked in a ragged breath and stared at him as he stared at her chest.
“You can—can you touch me?” she whispered.
Reid groaned as he lifted his hands and cupped her breasts. “So beautiful,” he murmured as his thumbs brushed over her sensitive nipples. She arched into his touch, making a sexy noise that he was quickly learning meant she approved. He did it again and then pushed himself up onto one elbow so he could take one of those delicious-looking, rosy buds into his mouth.
Carley cried out and thrust her hands into his hair, holding him there. He obligingly laved at her breasts, more than happy to give her this pleasure.
He took as much control as she would give him, while he remained on his back and she straddled his hips. And slowly, gradually, they removed their clothing, until he wore only his undershirt, and she sat astride him, utterly gorgeous in all her natural, naked beauty. When she’d tried to pull off his undershirt, he stopped her with his hand covering hers, and distracted her with a kiss, possessive, thorough, until she panted with need and forgot what she’d intended to do in the first place.
But then the tension began to ratchet up again. He sat up and hugged her to him. He could feel the wetness between her legs. She was so ready for him, and yet she was suddenly hesitating again.