O’Connell knocked on the far end of his work table to grab his attention. He looked up at her. “There’s some chick at the back door asking for you. Chef is going to have a fit if he finds out.”
She was right. Chef hated when girls who thought they were his girlfriend showed up looking for him. Of course he wasn’t as bad about it as Stevens was. Stevens apparently lied to every girl he slept with, telling them he was the head chef here. Les made sure to not let his one night stands know where he worked. At least this one approached the back door and didn’t pass through the restaurant.
He wiped his hands and dropped the small towel on the table before walking around back to confront this woman. Who was it? He hadn’t hooked up with anyone for a while now. He would have to tell her sorry not sorry, because he was taken.
There wasn’t some chick hanging out by the back door. It was Tori. He stopped and let a grin spread across his face as the rest of his body flooded with warmth.
Chef towered over her as they discussed something. Les approached. Tori’s smile went straight to his cock. Chef grunted at him and walked off.
“Mi amor, what brings you here?” Les leaned over and let his lips slide across her mouth.
“I couldn’t wait to see you.” She blushed along with her confession and threaded her fingers into his.
“I like the way you think.” He nuzzled his nose into her hair. His shift seemed like it was going to last a hundred more hours.
“Hernandez, stop wasting Tori’s time, and get back to it!” Chef’s voice rang out from deep in the kitchen. Les checked but Chef wasn’t in his line of sight, so that meant he was just yelling because he liked to yell.
“Yes, Chef!” He turned to Tori, “Let me set you up some soup to go. I can at least make sure you have dinner since you came to see me.”
Les squeezed her hand and left her to put a to-go container of the soup of the day together, along with some crusty sour-dough bread.
Chef picked up the to-go containers, “I’ll give these to her. I need you to plate up cheesecakes and get them delivered.”
“Yes, Chef.” Les’s chest compressed. He wanted another kiss from Tori’s soft lips, but it would have to wait.
Les knocked lightly before twisting the knob and pushing into Tori’s apartment. She had said it would be unlocked and to come on in. He wasn’t sure what to expect. Would she be laid out on display for him or snuggled up in bed and asleep?
The small living room and kitchen area were empty. “Tori?” he called out, loud enough that she should be able to hear from the back half of her small apartment, but not so loud to wake her if she was indeed asleep. This morning he’d noticed she kept a tidy house, and now it was cleaned up even more. The coffee table was cleared off. Only an arrangement of pillar candles on one end was left. Perfect, as if she knew his plans.
A door creaked. “I’ll be right out, Les.” Her voice brought a wicked grin to his lips. Why hadn’t he realized how sexy her voice was before?
There were a lot of things about her he was kicking himself over this past week. Add her voice to that list. His list of atonements was growing by the hour. As long as she accepted him and his apologies, he would spend years making up for the lost time of these past few weeks of being an idiot.
He placed the paper grocery bag he carried onto the kitchen counter and lifted out a DeLuca brand sparkling white wine. The local vintners were the best, and for a sweet dessert wine perfect for seduction none came more highly recommended than this one. The expression on Chef’s face when Les had asked for a recommendation and he’d realized Les intended to share the wine with Tori was priceless, and then a bit intimidating. Chef had gone from trying to mask his disbelief to protective guard dog in a flash.
It hit entirely too close to home that Les understood Chef’s confusion. Tori was not the kind of girl self-professed playboy asshats went for. She required special adoration—too sweet, too funny, and too ample for a regular guy. To think he had come so close to missing her because of that one superficial idealization and his own idiot status. It didn’t take long to convince Chef that he was earnest. Apparently he understood that love could deliver an unexpected broadside.
Next from the bag came a collection of small, lidded sauce cups and then a to-go box. Les opened a few cupboards before he found the plates and wine glasses. He smirked. You couldn’t live in Napa Valley and not own wine glasses. Tori’s were stemless. Trust her not to be traditional.
He carefully plated the large slice of pale purple and soft yellow cheesecake. From the first sauce cup he drizzled lavender syrup, and then he left a pool of golden honey on the side. He placed a curl of candied lemon zest next to the cake. With great care, he transferred the cake and the bottle of wine to the coffee table. The stemless glasses were stylish, but not efficient when one needed to carry a bottle and two glasses with one hand.
The long fire lighter rested next to the candles. Tori had known, or at least had planned, appropriately for this. Squatting down, Les focused on lighting the candles and arranging them just so. Les switched off the overhead light.
“Hi, Les.”
Hearing his name, the smile spread across his face involuntarily. He turned to look at the woman he could no longer imagine his life without. She leaned against the corner where the hall opened into the living room. Wrapped in a silk Japanese print kimono with flat ribbon curls in her hair, Tori took his breath. He stopped moving in case he stumbled and ruined his reputation of cool.
Slowly Les stood, his gaze hungrily taking her in. Bare feet, butterfly tattoo by her dimpled knees, short robe hanging open, black mesh lingerie, cleavage. Her angelic face with pointed little chin, full lips, and eyes that looked even bigger in the candlelight. And those damned curls that he always wanted to play with.
“Damn, you’re sexy, woman. Please tell me you plan on seducing me tonight.”
Tori giggled. It was a shy little sound. The tightening in his chest told him he was as nervous as she was, maybe more so.
Les held out his hand to her. The butterflies in Tori’s stomach went into overdrive. What happened to that calm collected demeanor she’d projected earlier today when she’d seen him at work? There had been a stillness of knowing deep in her heart when he’d kissed her, but now she felt like a riot of uncertainty.
She slid her hand into his and felt a fuzzy electric shimmer across her skin. He backed up and perched on the arm of the couch, pulling her into his personal space, so that his knees brushed her legs.
“You dressed up for me.” His eyes didn’t leave hers.
“I want tonight to be special.” She slid a strand of his long damp hair behind his ear. “You’re the one who dressed up.”
“I know how much you like it when I wear the kilt. And I wanted to look good for you, you know, show off a little bit.” Les nodded behind him.
Tori let her gaze follow his gesture. Perfectly displayed on the coffee table was a slice of the promised lavender and honey-lemon cheesecake. “Oh Les, you brought some of the lavender cheesecake.”
“One way or another, I want tonight to be orgasmic for you.” He slid a hand into her hair and pulled her to his lips. Tori wrapped her arms around his head and held him tight. Focusing on the feel of his lips against hers, she worked his lower lip between her teeth.
Les eased the pressure against her mouth before returning the kiss with more force. His hands slid around her waist, and he palmed her butt.
He moaned softly as the kiss broke off. “Come here.” He pulled her until he could sit on the couch properly, guiding her into his lap. He held her, cradled so she could look into his eyes. They were deep and fathomless and black. She felt as if she fell into them forever.
She tentatively reached out and brushed her knuckles down the side of his face, grazing her skin on the spare stubble of his cheek. “It looks like we had similar plans for tonight.” A small smile played across her lips. She was sitting in Les Hernandez’s lap. He was here with plans of se
ducing her, and she was going to allow it. How had she gotten so lucky?
Les clasped her fingers and held them to his lips. “Yeah, we do.” His voice sounded low and raspy.
He nudged against her leg and shifted her weight. For a moment Tori thought he was going to complain about her size and push her off his lap. Her stomach lurched in that brief second of weightlessness before a crash, but the crash never happened. Instead he resettled her into a different position, face away from him. He wasn’t rejecting her. Her stomach settled back to the regular butterflies of excitement, no plummeting of despair.
Light fingers lifted the kimono from her neck. She gasped as the tickle was followed by a pair of cool lips. Les continued to peel the silk fabric from her and leave barely there kisses against the skin of her shoulder. The tingle left goose bumps on her flesh.
“What made you change your mind?” Her stomach began to twist into a knot as she asked, but she had to know. She had been hurt in the past, and while she trusted Les, she needed to hear the words.
“Change my mind? I’ve been thinking about this all day,” he answered between kisses.
“About me. What changed your mind about me?”
Les lifted her right arm and slid the robe completely off her shoulder. His other hand grazed the fabric from her other side. She felt his touch on her skin deep in her core. “I don’t think it was so much a change of mind as a realization.” His lips began kissing with more pressure. She was trapped in his embrace with one arm wrapped around her waist and the other holding her hand out, as if they danced.
“I have always thought you were beautiful. That was never a tease. But I didn’t realize exactly what you meant to me until it all hit me one night. I saw you all dolled up with these ridiculous curls.”
Tori began to grumble a protest but was stopped by Les’s face burrowing into her hair. He rubbed his cheek against the back of her head. “These wonderful, ridiculous curls that make me want to act like I have a little boy crush on you. And I realized.” He returned to trailing kisses down her neck. “This isn’t some crush.”
His teeth scraped the nape of her neck. The shivers it created ricocheted over her body and through her toes. “Did you just bite me?” she asked in shock.
“Hm hmm. I’m claiming my mate, like other mammals do.”
Tori shifted, turning to peer at him. “Are you some kind of secret werewolf or something?”
Les pushed her thigh over, wrapped an arm around her back, and repositioned her so she lay beneath him. “No, nothing like that, but I do want to lay claim to you. Mark you as mine. I don’t want any other man to look at you.”
“I don’t think that’s much of a problem.” Tori reached up to rest her hand against Les’s shoulder.
“Nonsense. Men do look at you, you just never see them.”
His eyes bore into her. It was as if he could see into her innermost insecurities and all her faults. Why wasn’t he running away? When would he pull the rug out from her and say it was all a joke? “I think you have that backward. I look at men, and they don’t see me.”
“Men are stupid beasts. We don’t know what we’re looking at until its too late. I was almost too late for you. Tell me I’m not too late.” Les lowered himself to Tori. He stretched his full length against her and pressed into her starting with his lips.
She snaked her arms around his neck and held on, afraid that if she let go something would happen and he would no longer want to kiss her.
Les’s strong hands held her face in place. The kiss deepened and they shifted. He scooped a hand under her thigh and pulled her knee up to his hip. His other hand sank into her hair, his fingers flexing as he tugged.
Her leg slid against his, nudging the kilt out of the way, until she felt skin. Tori didn’t know how to pull him any closer.
“Tori.” He was breathless. “Let me make love to you. Let me show you how you make me feel.”
Tori couldn’t find her own breath. Twice in one day Les had kissed her until she didn’t know night from day, and now he wanted her the way she wanted him. It wasn’t a joke, and though it may be too good to believe, it was true.
She pushed against his chest until he sat up and away from her. “Yes, but not in here.”
Silently Les leaned over and pinched out the candles. When Tori stood, he took her hand and led her down the short hallway to her bedroom.
He stopped inside the door and closed it behind her. How did he know she would need complete privacy, even in her own home? Les guided her to the edge of the bed and gently sat her down. His eyes never left hers.
Her eyes widened in appreciation when he pulled his black T-shirt over his head. Wide shoulders, defined muscles, not too skinny, not too bulky. He had that same serene expression from this morning as he studied her face. Calm, peaceful. His height changed as he leaned over and undid the laces to his boots before kicking them to the side.
He stopped, half undressed, and reached for her. She followed his hands with her eyes as he removed her short robe the rest of the way. She grinned in response as a smile pulled at his lips as he took in her racy mesh lingerie. She’d purchased the frillies on a whim one day in Sacramento, a slightly tipsy shopping spree after lunch. Sam had convinced her she would need sexy underthings for a man at some point in her life. Here was her man, and this was the time. Les said nothing, just slipped the thin strap from her shoulder and kissed the skin where it had been, as he had with the kimono.
His kisses trailed up her neck and tickled behind her ear. “How does this thing come off?” he whispered.
Tori laughed, she twisted. “There are hooks in the back.”
Les reached around her and unlatched the garment.
Tori placed her hand against Les’s chest. She breathed deeply, trying to calm her nerves. There were things that needed to be said. “Last night.” She took another deep breath. “You said something and I don’t think I responded.”
Les stroked the back of her hand. “I said I was falling in love with you.”
“Yeah, that.” Tori swallowed. Why was this so hard? He was standing right there. His intensions were clear, and he’d even said the words. She lowered her gaze to his bellybutton. His perfect, oh my God I’m going to have sex with that body, bellybutton.
He dropped to his knees in front of her, so she was forced to look him in those deep dark eyes. “Tori, you don’t need to be in love with me right now. My hope is that you will be someday.”
“I think I already am. But I’m afraid.” Her words were small, her fear very real.
Les lunged forward, his lips landing on hers. The momentum pushed her down onto the bed. Les broke the kiss and held himself above her.
“You have nothing to be afraid of. You’re mine. I will protect you.”
She shook her head. He didn’t understand that she was afraid of him. More specifically, she was afraid of losing him. “Will you still be around after I fall in love with you?”
Les pushed off the bed, his body shaking with laughter. “Mi amor. I shouldn’t laugh, but I have a hard time thinking about anything that’s not you. I want to savor every second of tonight, so I’m trying to be romantic and go slow. I don’t plan on going anywhere.” He reached out to her, twining his fingers in her springy curls. Then he rolled on to his back, his head resting on his hands, to stare up at the ceiling. “I’m nervous as fuck tonight, Tori.”
“Why are you nervous?” He could walk out of here and get any woman he wanted, while she had to work hard for a guy to notice her. How could he not see the inequality in their sexual appeal? Yet he was here with her.
He shifted so he was on his side and facing her. “I know how badly I messed up. That night I kissed you, I never wanted to let you go. No one had ever felt so right in my arms before. And in typical Les Hernandez fashion, I treated it like it meant nothing. The next day you weren’t smiling, and I realized how badly I fucked everything up. That’s the night I realized how important you were to me, the night I a
lmost lost everything.” He sighed heavily.
“I want to make love to you, Tori, but not if you are uncomfortable with it. We can just lay here and talk all night. That’s cool, too. I want to see you naked, but I will get up and turn out all the lights if that’s what you want. Tell me what you need and I will do everything in my power to make it happen.”
She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. “Stay with me.”
“For as long as you’ll have me.” His words eased her fears. He wanted her, he actually wanted her, and she almost let fear get in her way. All of that faded away in a twinkling of dust as she tasted his lips.
Tori gripped Les’s shoulders and rolled him onto her. She melted under the pressure of his weight. He pinned her to the earth and kept her from floating away on a cloud of bliss.
Les’s fingers bit into her thigh and grabbed at the sheer fabric on her back. “Get rid of this thing. I need to feel your skin on mine,” he growled as he began tugging at the garment.
Tori pushed him back and wriggled it over her head. Les’s hungry gaze quelled any lingering fears she might have had about him seeing her nude. He pressed back against her, crushing her to his chest. The hand that had been gripping her thigh was now firmly kneading her breast.
His skin was warm, his touch masterful. Tori wrapped a leg over his hips to pull him closer. “Two things.”
Les hummed in response as he began kissing along her jaw.
Tori found it difficult to focus on what words she needed. “Kilt.” He needed to take off the rest of his clothes. What was the other? Right. “You need a thing.”
Les chuckled. “I have a thing, and it’s pretty hard, too.”
Les reached a hand between them and slid his fingers into her minuscule panties. He found flesh.
Tori’s vocabulary disintegrated. “You need a thing, for the thing. Oh God.”
As Les stroked Tori’s delicate sex, she thrust her hips to meet the motion of his fingers. She cried out as he sucked a pert nipple into his mouth. The warmth and the moisture made Tori forget her own name.
St. Helena Vineyard Series_Sweet Satisfaction Page 10