The Moon Rises (Gigi Monroe)

by Angela Horn

  Instead of focusing on a male she shouldn’t want in the first place, Gigi waited to give Roger her opinion. The first chef brought food which tasted fine, but Gigi wouldn’t pay money for it.

  “Why not?” Roger asked.

  “Because I could eat a TV dinner that tastes just as good.”

  “Ooh, harsh,” Roger said with a grin.

  “Not really. Some TV dinners taste good. Still they only cost like three dollars. Why come here when I could eat at home for less?”

  Roger nodded then gestured for the second chef to bring out his food. Gigi took a bite then wondered if there was any polite way to spit it back out. Noticing her discomfort, Roger laughed and handed her a napkin. Even Kyle smiled, though he refused to look at her.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty bad.”

  “Why kind of food are you trying to sell here?” Gigi asked after she drank a soda to get rid of the bad taste in her mouth.

  “New American cuisine.”

  “Do people eat that around here?”

  Roger smirked. “Obviously not.”

  “Maybe you should find out what they want to eat then cook it for them?” Gigi said, standing.

  “Why don’t you cook something then?” Kyle muttered as he stared at the menu.

  “I don’t really want to cook what this place serves.”

  Roger gestured for Gigi to sit back down. “What do you like to cook?”

  “Soul food, Cajun, you know, southern food.”

  “I heard you’re a good cook. Can you make something you would personally pay money for so I’ll know what sort of stuff we could serve here?”

  Gigi did like the idea of being in a kitchen as a real chef. At The Moon Rises, she just cut vegetables and did other preparations while the head chef actually cooked the food and picked the menu. Still Gigi wasn’t sure how she felt about Roger, plus Kyle confused her. Even with her heart set on Finn, she couldn’t help feeling a pull towards Kyle, even more than she did for Anton. While this Were made her uneasy, she thought cooking for them would be fun.

  “I could cook, but I don’t know if you have the kind of food here I would need and it takes time to prepare.”

  “What are you doing tomorrow?”

  Gigi thought about her ongoing search for the master and how she would be back in the area anyway.

  “Nothing particular until my shift starts at the club.”

  “Can you come here and make lunch for me and Kyle?” Roger pulled out his wallet and handed her a hundred dollars. “Is that enough for two lunches?”

  “I don’t need that much.”

  “Take it and here are the keys to the place. Come when you want and use as much time as you need.”

  Gigi frowned at him. “Why me?”

  “Because if I can’t get customers in here, I’m closing this place. I don’t want to lay off all these people, just because my chefs have no vision.”

  “Lay off means fire them, right?”

  “Yep.”

  Gigi eyed Roger who was grinning like he already knew her answer. Taking the money and keys, she agreed to return the next morning. Gigi would have stayed and had lunch with them, but the food was yucky and Kyle still refused to look at her. She even sensed he only suggested she cook as a way to make her look bad.

  Back on the street, Gigi assessed the restaurants which competed with Roger’s. She even went inside and tried some of the food. The only place which didn’t make her gag was the Mexican restaurant. Feeling a bit more confident, since she could definitely cook better than most of the chefs on the block, Gigi left the neighborhood with three goals for the next day - find the master, give Roger ideas to save his restaurant, and put Kyle in his place.

  Chapter Forty Five

  Not only did Gigi get Finn’s pants off, but her own pants were off, along with every other stitch of clothing. Having worn a work uniform which left her almost naked, she wasn’t shy about nudity. Gigi knew her body was nice because males were always drooling over her. Yet when Finn watched her, drinking in all her flesh, she felt beautiful in a way she never had before.

  Finn liked her breasts. Gigi knew this much because he kept touching and kissing and sucking and licking them. Until he gave them all that affection, she hadn’t cared one way or the other about her breasts, but now she loved them too.

  When Gigi ended up naked in bed with Finn only wearing a pair of boxer shorts which strained against his erection, Gigi was certain they would have sex and she was ready with all the ideas she learned from reading the sex book. Once Finn’s fingers slipped inside her while his mouth latched onto her nipple and sucked softly, Gigi was lucky to remember her name. By the time he kissed her thighs and gazed at her with a naughty smile, Gigi had lost the ability to speak.

  “Remember that I’m not going to eat you,” Finn said with a sly look on his face.

  Gigi smiled at the idea of her thinking he would eat her, but then his tongue slid between her legs. While the younger dumber Gigi might have been alarmed by his presence there, the older slightly wiser Gigi just closed her eyes and enjoyed the ride. Oh, and made noises similar to what the kittens purred when she pet their tummies.

  Sweat broke out along every inch of Gigi’s body, bathing her in electric heat. Whimpering at his every caress, she worked hard not to sob when the orgasm overwhelmed her. She wasn’t ready for this kind of intimacy or this much love. Finn might have been horny as hell, but he didn’t rush and instead brought her to an orgasm twice before he finally relented and let his tongue slide up her stomach, to her nipples, and finally settling on her neck.

  “I love you,” Finn whispered, his eyes so full of need and warmth.

  Feeling peaceful, Gigi reached up to touch Finn’s face as he slid inside her. Closing her eyes, she just let herself feel as Finn pressed deeply, pulling out just enough to panic her, before thrusting back inside. His rhythm felt unbearably slow and made her whimper for relief. Finn wasn’t quite the dorky kid everyone pegged him for because the result of all the building need was worth it.

  Gigi’s made a noise which frightened the kittens from the window where they were watching the night. Finn leaned down and his mouth covered Gigi’s, devouring all those pleasured cries.

  “Finn, it’s so good,” she muttered, ready to cry because she wanted him to stay and for some reason she thought he was leaving. It was an odd thought since he was still sliding in and out of her, pushing her towards more cries of pleasure.

  “I love you,” Finn whispered again, his face calmer than she had ever seen it.

  “I love you too,” she cried as she wrapped her legs around him.

  His steady rhythm sent Gigi into another climax and her body’s reaction to the pleasure forced Finn to relent. Gigi had trouble calming down as he leaned on his elbows over her, still deep inside her, their sweaty bodies warm and relaxed. No matter her body’s state of bliss, her mind raced.

  “Are you okay?” Finn whispered as he caressed her damp face.

  “You love me.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “I feel nervous.”

  Finn frowned. “Why?”

  “Don’t leave me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Gigi nodded, but she felt her eyes growing moist.

  “Did I do something wrong?” he asked, starting to pull away.

  Gigi gripped him with her arms and legs, keeping him stuck inside her.

  “Don’t leave me.”

  Finn watched her as the worry on his face faded. “Everything is okay. I’m staying the night. If you let me, I’ll stay every night. I still love you. Nothing’s changed. We made love and it felt really good. When you’re ready, we’ll do it again and I’ll still be here. I promise I’m not going to leave you.”

  Gigi took a deep breath and nodded. “I thought it would just feel good in my body, but it made me love you more. I feel scared that you’ll leave and I’ll lose this feeling.”

  Finn nodded and kissed her softly then with
more heat. “Let me go just enough so I can get off you.”

  “No.”

  “I’m going to squish you.”

  “Stay.”

  “I’m just going to lie next to, not leave the bed or the room. Just let me pull up the covers and we’ll cuddle.”

  Gigi eased her grip, tense about him grabbing his clothes and running out. Maybe some part of her did think sex would make things permanent, yet another part was certain that once a male slept with her, he would no longer need her. Finn though just rolled to his side and pulled her against him as he yanked the covers over them.

  “Was your first time like this?” Gigi asked as he brushed hair away from her face.

  “You don’t want to know about my first time. It was pathetic, but no one was injured so it wasn’t a total disaster.”

  Gigi smiled and leaned her face against his hot skin. “You definitely got better at it. That was so good. I think it was too good.”

  “I’ll try to be a little worse at it next time.”

  Gigi laughed even as her face stayed pressed on his chest. “I’m sorry I got freaked out.”

  “Freaked out because it was good, I can live with. After all the begging you’ve done for sex, I was worried you’d be disappointed.”

  Gigi looked up at him and kissed his chin. “I only begged once and it was so good. Did it feel good for you too?”

  Finn cocked an eyebrow. “Don’t take this as a criticism, but you really get into your head during sex, don’t you? Just ignore everything around you,” he said then added with a grin, “It was the best.”

  “Yeah, because I did such a good job ignoring you during sex.”

  Laughing quietly, Finn kissed her softly. “You ignore me better than anyone else. You’ve got a talent, Gigi Monroe.”

  Gigi felt calmer once she realized how sex wasn’t a prize Finn wanted and having attainted it, he would abandon her. What happened with Anton hurt and confused Gigi who thought she understood the Were. Part of her had expected something similar with Finn, but he wouldn’t leave. He was hers and she was keeping him.

  Chapter Forty Six

  Gigi couldn’t help going overboard with the lunch for Roger and Kyle. Whether it was to put Kyle in his place or because she wanted to be a chef so badly or maybe she just wanted to show off, but Gigi made way too much food and spent more than the hundred dollars Roger gave her.

  Serving the food, Gigi tried not to seem overly excited, just in case they didn’t like her cooking as much as Finn did.

  “I made a little bit of Cajun, a little bit of soul food, and some regular southern cooking.”

  Roger beamed at her and Gigi was happy he wanted to have sex her because it made him nicer and less likely to make fun of her cooking. Kyle still refused to make eye contact as if she was beneath the effort.

  “Okay, I was thinking you could serve seafood gumbo because people like seafood and it’s not as expensive as it sounds to make. I also made you dirty rice and chicken fried steak. Oh and I wanted you to try a soup because you had some soups on your menu. I made hkatenkwan which is a spicy chicken soup from Ghana. Oh and I really like crawfish pie so I made that. I also made my favorite cake, Mississippi mud.”

  Roger looked at all the food before him then frowned. “You didn’t have to make all this, Gigi.”

  “I’m sorry. I got excited. They don’t sell this kind of food around here and you could be different that way.”

  Roger grinned. “Luckily I’m a big eater and Kyle is a pig.”

  Kyle looked at all the food and his face seemed unhappy. Maybe he was upset to learn she could actually cook and now he wouldn’t be able to make fun of her. Gigi also hoped the food would force Kyle to acknowledge her standing there in front of him, but he didn’t look at her.

  Roger started trying everything and made lots of approving noises. Kyle only tasted the gumbo then closed his eyes and held his head like he had a headache. Gigi worried the food wasn’t good and Roger was just being nice.

  “What’s up?” Roger asked Kyle who just shook his head, his eyes still closed.

  “If it’s not good, tell me what you don’t like?” Gigi asked, hoping she wouldn’t cry if he started criticizing her food.

  Roger was digging into the crawfish pie when Kyle finally looked at Gigi. His gaze held hers and she saw such pain in his expression. Gigi felt his pain too and it startled her because she didn’t understand. She also didn’t understand why her body betrayed her so completely. The moment Kyle’s gaze met hers, her panties grew moist and she had to cross her arms to cover how hard her nipples had become.

  Ashamed by how aroused she was, Gigi waited for Kyle to say something. Maybe mock her because she knew Weres could smell arousal. He didn’t mock her though, didn’t say a word to her. Based on his gaze, he hadn’t used his Were ways to get her riled up either. He looked so unhappy as if being in the room with her for a second more was intolerable. Finally he looked away and stood up.

  “Just tell me what you don’t like?” Gigi said quieter now, bothered by this stranger’s ability to torment her so easily.

  “It’s all good,” Kyle said, without looking at her. “Roger, I’ll be back later.”

  Gigi watched Kyle leave and felt like crying even though he didn’t criticize her. Her food made him sick or sad or something, but he didn’t even try more than a few bites before leaving. She shouldn’t care what any male besides Finn thought, but Kyle mattered even if she didn’t matter to him.

  “Ignore him,” Roger said. “He’s not used to the Circle and all the magic and noise gets on his nerves.”

  “You can tell me if the food isn’t good.”

  “Hell, it’s better than the stuff they serve at the club. You should cook for Silas and have him put this on the menu,” Roger said then frowned. “No, scratch that. Cook for me instead. You can be my head chef, pick the menu, everything.”

  Gigi knew the rules in her head dictated she had to work at The Moon Rises, but she wanted to cook like Mamma Celeste. Whenever Gigi cooked, Mamma was with her, giving her comfort. Tobin said Gigi would suffocate Finn if he alone was her only source of love. Cooking made her happy and she could cook what she wanted here, but Gigi didn’t trust Roger.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Think about it and let me know,” Roger said, looking ready to eat both his and Kyle’s servings. “I don’t want to shut this place down. I worked here when I first came to the Circle, but the food’s always been iffy and I don’t know how to make it better. I own the place, but I don’t cook. It’s why I eat at the club every night.”

  “You really like it? You don’t have to be nice because I’m not going to have sex with you just because you say nice things.”

  Roger laughed. “I heard you and Anton were together.”

  Frowning, Gigi shook her head.

  “Doesn’t matter. This would be business and business only. If you and I hook up one day, it’ll have nothing to do with your position here. You think about it and let me know.”

  Returning to the kitchen to clean up and get the leftovers for Finn, Gigi wasn’t sure what to do about her job. Aware if she found the master she might not be around to work anywhere, Gigi felt the lure of a life with Finn and working as a chef. This new direction for her life tempted Gigi to let someone like Tobin deal with the master.

  After she packed the leftovers into her car, Gigi made another quick pass through the day’s designated section. Not a single tingle, so she returned home wondering if she was selfish enough to leave Sara’s safety to someone else.

  Chapter Forty Seven

  Finn was happy his work day was over. All afternoon instead of focusing on work, his mind wandered to the life he wanted to make with Gigi. He also mulled over how he could get his mom to back off. By the time he headed to Michael’s for the poker game, he had no answers regarding his mother, but was feeling pretty optimistic nonetheless.

  Sitting at a light, Finn’s phone rang and he smiled when the
caller ID said Gigi Monroe.

  “Is it okay that I call you?” Gigi asked and Finn couldn’t help grinning at her overly serious tone.

  “No one checks my phone. It’s safe. How did it go with Roger?”

  “Kyle didn’t like the food, but Roger did and he wants me to be his head chef.”

  “Of course he does.”

  “Should I work for Roger though? What if he’s just pretending to want me as a chef to have sex with me?”

  Finn grinned because Gigi always used the most serious voice for things which weren’t all that serious.

  “I suspect he wants you to be head chef because you are an excellent chef. I also suspect he wants to have sex with you. Those two things aren’t connected though.”

  “But the rules in my head say I have to work at the club.”

  “So you work there part time and work the other half at Roger’s place. Technically you’d still be following the rules, plus you would get to do what you want.”

  “Can a head chef work part time though?”

  “I don’t know, but my old neighbor was the executive chef at a bunch of places. He sort of oversaw everything, but he wasn’t there every day. Maybe you could work out a flexible schedule with Silas and Roger?” Finn said as he neared Michael’s apartment.

  “Silas won’t like that though.”

  “Screw him. He doesn’t even try your cooking because he wants you as a waitress. He’ll be mad, but it’s not like he can fire you. Too many customers like having you around.”

  Gigi fell silent then sighed. “I’m nervous I’ll make a bad decision.”

  “Then don’t make your decision yet. Give it a few days. Did Roger give you a deadline?”

  “Not really. He’ll want to know soon though.”

  “Make him wait. I don’t want to sound biased, but you could get a job in a better place than Roger’s. I eat out all the time and your cooking is better than any place I’ve been to. Roger knows this so he’ll give you time to decide.”