The Competition

by Riley Rollins

  My knuckles grazed her thigh and my body tensed in hard, hot response. Her fucking boots stopped, not below… but just above the bend of her knee.

  Fucking hell… was what I thought…

  “Just trust me,” is what I said.

  12

  Emily

  Le Prix was more perfect than I’d ever even dreamed.

  The entire dining room was a study in understated elegance. The walls, the floor, the crystal chandeliers… everything was the soft, creamy color of candlelight. But the room simply set the stage for the view of the ocean. We were set up on a cliff and the glass windows formed a floor to ceiling wall. Transom windows along the very top opened to allow the sound of the crashing waves inside. On the other side of the glass was a narrow balcony where diners could sip their drinks and take the fresh, salty air. I felt almost as if we were dining at the top of a lighthouse, at the very edge of the earth…

  We were seated in a quiet corner, near the windows, champagne and caviar cold and already waiting for us. The waiter seemed to move invisibly around us. The perfect meal appeared as if by magic, with little more than a nod and a bow. Every moment was as orchestrated as a symphony, but as effortless and comfortable as a cozy evening at home. The chef inside me was busy taking mental notes… The woman inside me responded only to the man across the table.

  “You shouldn’t have done this,” I said, putting down my fork after the last exquisite bite of crab souffle. “But I’m so glad you did.” I sighed, content. “Tonight has confirmed what I’ve always suspected..”

  “And what is that?” he shot me a dark, tantalizing look.

  “That heaven really does exist,” I grinned back, feeling foolish and a little lightheaded from the richness of the meal. “For a price, anyway… And speaking of that…,” I opened my purse to take out the envelope of cash…

  “No, Emily,” he said, stilling my hands with his. It was large and warm and slightly roughened. I felt a tiny muscle pulse between my thighs and I crossed my legs unconsciously… tightening my thighs and heightening the sensation.

  “There was no mistake in payment,” he went on, keeping his hand where it was. “Five more wasn’t enough… I simply paid what you earned.” He squeezed my hands and finally let go. He gave a subtle nod to the waiter who disappeared. “But the money wasn’t the reason I asked you here tonight… I wanted to speak to you about Boothe…

  I owe you an apology for his behavior at the party,” he went on, watching me carefully as he spoke. “Sutton is a man who likes his pleasures… and tends to overindulge on occasion.” He swallowed without breaking his gaze. “It happens… we say no more about it, and we move on.”

  “I promised discretion, Mr. Chase,” I replied in a low voice. “And I meant it…”

  “Chase… please,” he smiled, and I felt that slow pulse building faster inside. “I trust you,” he continued. “It’s Sutton I’m not so certain about. Amelia mentioned he was thinking of using your services again.” His eyes flickered, briefly and for the first time. “He can lean toward… extremes… when he hosts some of his own affairs. It didn’t seem right not to tell you, before he officially hired you again…”

  I reached across the table and put my hand on his. The pulsing sensation reached up higher in my belly, stopping my breath. “I can take care of myself,” I answered, trying to focus my attention away from the throb. I inhaled sharply. “Maybe you underestimate me, Chase… Maybe I’m not quite as easy to shock as you think…”

  Except that I was shocking myself. My voice had been too low, my words a little too seductive. I’d only had one glass of wine… I could hardly blame my behavior on that.

  It’s the way that he looks at you, my desire whispered in my ear. Like he wants to taste you from head to toe… like he wants to strip you of every secret, tease you into giving up to the pleasure of his hands… and his mouth and his…

  The waiter appeared with something dark and velvety. The scent of chocolate rose up, along with something spicier… earthier. It made me think of Chase’s scent… the first time I’d met him.

  He gave a nod to the waiter and took my arm. “Outside is better, I think,” he said against my ear. He led me onto the balcony. Several tables sat nearby, a single candle lighting them. As soft and light as the restaurant had been inside, this place was the perfect contrast. Darkness enveloped us. Starlight touched the crests of the rolling waves and disappeared… reappearing again, like light on the shifting facets of a diamond. The waiter put the dessert down and disappeared. Chase sat down across from me, and his dark eyes glistened and danced with the candle’s flame.

  “There’s something about darkness, don’t you think?” he asked smoothly, sitting down beside me. “We feel like we can give in to the darkest of pleasures… and no one will know… no one can see…”

  He dipped a tiny silver spoon into the chocolate and held it to my lips. I opened my mouth for him without thought and he smiled. I could see the tip of his tongue, caught between his teeth. His body was huge next to mine, and heat radiated from him through the cool night air. I licked my lips and stared into his eyes…

  “Again,” he said, watching my mouth. He brought another mouthful of chocolate to my lips and I opened obediently. But I tasted salt, not the metal of the spoon. This time, he’d put the cream in my mouth with one thick, long finger…

  “It’s better like this… isn’t it?” he asked, his mouth aching close to mine, his voice dark and deliciously seductive. “Chocolate is made to be eaten this way.

  It’s the salt of the skin, you know… making the sweet almost more than we can bear…”

  13

  Chase

  I told myself I knew what I was doing. I was wrong.

  When her lips parted beneath mine, something deep inside me shifted. I tasted chocolate on her tongue… and that mysterious, sweet spice I could smell on her skin… in her hair. But something shifted again… when I felt her pull back.

  “It’s late,” she said, knowing full well that it wasn’t. “My grandmother’s not well… I should get back…”

  Her lips were still only inches from mine, but I reached into my jacket and tossed a handful of bills on the table. A war was raging inside me… part of me unable to deny the best thing would be to take her home and forget all about her. But the other part of me, the part that could never resist a fucking challenge had already been aroused… as powerfully as my desire.

  “Walk with me...down on the beach…

  A meal at Le Prix is hardly complete without a moonlight walk.” I took her elbow lightly and guided her to her feet. “I’ll have you home within the hour…”

  I followed her down the long, narrow stone steps that led to the sand below. A couple was walking with their dog in the surf, another couple stood by the rocks, the man leaning his hips into hers. I caught Emily’s hand in mine, and drew her toward the water’s edge.

  “How is it you decided on your… unusual line of work?” I asked over the gentle rushing sound of the waves. “You mentioned at the party that it was the largest event you’d done so far…”

  “It was,” she answered. “At least since we made the shift from full catering to just bakery and bar.” She gave me a sidelong look. “The erotic sweets are meant to keep the bills paid, and to make sure Gran has the medicine she needs. But I was trained as a proper chef.”

  “Is she alright?” I asked, surprised at my own sincerity. “Your grandmother… it isn’t serious…?”

  “I think sometimes that she might not be quite as bad as she makes out,” I replied. “She gets lonely, I think… And she needs to stay calm and rest, most of the time. It’s always been my job to take care of her… She doesn’t exactly approve of the jobs we’re taking on now.” She reached up to brush the hair out of her eyes and I watched the swell of her breast lift with the movement. I wanted to reach out and take her, right where we stood.

  “Thank you, Chase,” she said, turning to meet my eyes. “For dinn
er, for listening to me… Especially for the work you and your partner have sent our way. I’m not sure where Gran and I would be right now, without it. It’s like you came to our rescue… right when we needed it most.”

  She was close now, not because I’d closed the gap, but because she had. She was standing so close I could see the moisture on her lips, shining in the moonlight. Her scent mixed with the salt of the sea and formed an earthy musk that made me wonder again how she tasted, between those slender, curving thighs. I watched her and she didn’t back away. Not this time. Not from my body… not from my gaze. She could be mine for the taking… I knew it in my core.

  But she was sweet and kind… and in way over her head, with a man like me. I cursed myself for kissing her even once, for going against my own fucking better judgement. For putting her at risk… and for making her want what could only be wrong in the long run.

  But when she stood up on her toes to drop a gentle kiss on my cheek, the demon inside was freed. I gripped her and pulled her soft, yielding body to the forceful hardness of my own, and kissed her long and deep. In that kiss was both warning and promise, equally met. She lifted one foot off the ground and I caught her thigh in my hand, lifting it up, pulling her into me demandingly. When she wrapped her ankle around the back of my leg, I groaned into the sweetness of her mouth and plunged deeper. Her thin knit dress offered little protection against the raging, heated erection I ground into her belly. I slipped my hand under the hem of her dress and touched smooth, hot thigh. The jolt of such delicate flesh against my palm shocked me into pulling back. I saw, just over her shoulder, the couple from the rocks… watching us…

  “I promised to take you home,” I said, my voice ragged and breathless. I caught her face in one hand and forced her to look at me. “Forgive me, Emi. I never should have… I don’t want to hurt you…”

  She blinked, her mouth looking swollen and bruised, her lips still parted invitingly. “You didn’t,” she said softly, quietly. “You didn’t hurt me… I wanted it too…

  and I want it again…”

  I stared down at her, barely able to hold back. I wanted to drag her down onto the sand with me and I despised myself. Instead, I took her hand and led her back up the stone stairs, almost faster than she could keep up.

  “No, you don’t, Emi…,” I said, too harshly. “Trust me…

  You have no idea… what you’re asking for…”

  14

  Emily

  He drove me home in silence, gripping the wheel until his knuckles were white. I held the strap of my handbag, wishing I could be as invisible as I felt. Clearly, I’d done something wrong… I just had no idea what...

  When we reached the bakery, he parked on the street and came around to open my door. He didn’t touch me. I didn’t dare touch him. Somehow, the confident, smooth gentleman was gone. And Chase ran a ragged hand through his own tousled hair. He took the key from my hand and unlocked the door. He handed it back without letting his fingers even brush mine.

  “Thank you for tonight,” I said, uncertainly. My skin was still crying out for him, but it was clear he had no intention of reaching for me again. ‘I’m sorry if I overstepped… I didn’t mean to shock you… I don’t make a habit of behaving like that.”

  I wasn’t sure what had me the most frightened… That he found me so forward and so unprofessional that I might lose Amelia’s party, and maybe Sutton’s too… or that I’d come across as so wanton that he’d never touch me again. Truth was, I was wanton. The entire evening, not just the kiss on the beach, had left me wet and aching inside. Chase had awakened something in me I’d never felt before. And it was sweet and exciting… and demanding…

  “I know that you don’t, Emi,” he said, flicking his eyes up briefly to mine. My pussy pulsed with the intimacy of hearing him say my name. “The last thing a sweet girl like you needs is a man like me.”

  “I’m not that innocent,” I answered back, shocked again at my own boldness. I imagined my grandmother overhearing our conversation and felt a quiver of excitement run down my spine. He watched me and his eyes darkened. His lower lip moved sensuously and I held my breath…

  “No,” he said softly, his deep voice setting off a trembling in my legs. “No… not a virgin… not quite…,” he said slowly, contemplating my face. It was like he could see inside me. “It was something too hurried, too inexperienced… with a boy who couldn’t wake the woman inside you… The woman aching to learn…” He leaned close, refusing to give me the touch my body screamed for. The passion in his deep voice touched me instead.

  “But you’re every inch a virgin to the kind of pleasures I offer, Emi…

  And it may be better for both of us, to leave you that way.”

  Tammy didn’t even seem to notice… the flush in my cheeks, the denied desire I was certain showed on my face. She gathered up her college textbooks and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before she left. “She’s sleeping soundly,” she whispered on her way out. “She didn’t wake at all while you were gone.”

  “I can’t thank you enough, Tam,” I said. “You’ve always been there for me, for Gran too… and she’s not even your responsibility.”

  “Forget it,” she smiled. “You hardly ever take any time for yourself. Was dinner nice? Did you get a chance to give him that money back?”

  “It was amazing,” I answered simply, my mind still spinning. “He wouldn’t take the money… He said we earned it…”

  “Holy crap,” she said too loudly, clapping a hand over her mouth. She blinked and grinned. “Two thousand dollars… extra?” Tam was studying journalism, with a minor in social sciences as well as working part time. I knew just how much any extra income meant to her.

  “And I’m splitting it, between your paycheck and Reese’s,” I said, grinning back. “No arguments either. Now, get out and go get some sleep. I want you fresh first thing tomorrow morning.” I scooted her out into the street, her mouth open and her eyes huge. I watched until she was safely inside her car. Then I headed upstairs. The closer I got to my room the faster I moved. I was desperate for the privacy and the darkness of my room, before I forgot the feel of his hands on me, his thick, hard cock pushing against my belly. I locked the door and kicked off my boots. A second later and my dress and panties were in a heap on the floor. I reached back to unhook my bra, and gasped as their weight swung free. Chase was right… In the dark we can give into secret pleasures… and no one will ever know…

  I ran my hands lightly over my breasts, and shivered violently. The air was chilly, but my flesh was damp… overheated… I touched my belly and pressed with my fingers where his cock had pressed. I was hot, wet… slippery with the pleasure and pain of a hungry pussy left empty too long. I reached between my legs and felt the sudden shock of sensation on bare flesh. And although my fingers weren’t the flesh I needed, there was no stopping until I’d done everything in my power to satisfy what I could. My lips were thick and swollen, waiting for the cock that wasn’t there. I slipped my fingers in instead, folding my legs underneath me on the bed. I spread my knees and straddled my hands, thrusting and rubbing… imagining his body underneath me and his cock buried high inside me. I thrust with my hips, wanting frantically to be riding him, driving him to the edge along with me.

  “Don’t leave me this way,” I begged in the softest of whispers. “For god’s sake, Chase… don’t leave me this way…”

  “Where were you last night?” It was a rare morning that Gran came to the kitchen for her breakfast instead of waiting for her tray. “I heard voices downstairs...and the front door.”

  “Just dinner with a friend,” I replied, as casually as I could. I dropped a teabag into her mug and pushed the sugar bowl closer. “You were already asleep… But Tammy was here. And I was home before midnight.” I poured my own coffee and bit my tongue.

  “You know I expect to meet your friends, Emily… Or was this something more than a friend...?”

  I sighed, digging deep for pati
ence. “It was just business over a meal, Gran,” I replied. “I’ve been asked to do a bridal shower… the cake, plus a real buffet.” I sat down and took her hands in mine. “I’ll get to cook again, just like it used to be. And a lot more work could come from this.” I reached up, smoothing her greying hair. “I want to make you proud of me…”

  ‘You’re a good girl,” she said, taking her hand out from under mine. “I just want to make sure you stay that way.

  Now help me get my bath before you run off to work. I want a shampoo today… and don’t forget, we have the doctor at two-thirty. And tell me next time, before you stay out so late. I don’t sleep soundly until I know you’re home safe…”

  I cleared the table dutifully and left her with her tea. I gathered an armload of clean towels and sat on the edge of the tub, adjusting the temperature of the water carefully. As it ran, I caught sight of myself in the old mirror. The silvering was disappearing in places, leaving me looking spotted and strange, older than my years. The conversation between me and my grandmother hadn’t changed since I was fourteen years old. Be good… be responsible… try harder… don’t forget…

  I flashed back to last night, Chase’s mouth on mine, his hand under my dress and caressing my thigh. I was tired of being good and being responsible. I wanted more than a life of endless work, always trying harder… and forever falling short…

  I wanted to be the girl in the silver dress behind the bar. I wanted to be myself, wrapped in Chase’s arms on the beach, pulling up my hem and baring myself for him in front of the whole world. I was still young and I wanted so much more than life seemed to ever offer. There was so much out there to experience… and I wanted it all.

  Whether I could have it or not, I didn’t know. I only knew that Chase had awakened something inside me. I had no idea where these feelings might lead. Of if it was wrong to be wanting more. I only knew I wasn’t the same girl I was before he had touched me.