Malted Milk

Chapter 2

“Your hot man is here again, Maya!”

Maya winced at the sound of her mother’s shrill voice. Did the woman have to be so loud that everyone in the restaurant and the neighboring businesses could hear her?

As usual, Maya was hiding in the kitchen, helping Guille, their head chef, chop vegetables.

Her mother hurried to the other side of the counter, planted her hands on the surface, and leaned forward, smiling. “How many days in a row is that now? Four?”

“Mom…” she groaned. It was five. Five days since Deke had helped her pick up all the cups, declared his intentions, and then left her standing in the middle of the dining room with wet panties and mounting concerns. She’d secretly begun to worry he wouldn’t come in tonight. It was almost seven. She never knew if he’d show up for lunch or come in for dinner. He’d never been this late. What if he’d grown tired of waiting?

“He’s not going to give up,” her mother said cheerfully. “Go take his order. Talk to him. He’s such a nice man.” She leaned even closer and whispered, “Just your type.”

Maya rolled her eyes. She wasn’t about to ask for clarification about what her mother meant. She knew exactly what the woman was saying. Her mother knew she was Little. There were no secrets from Maria Rodriguez. She was omniscient. Sometimes it was downright eerie.

Maria Eugenia Rodriguez was a formidable matriarch. Maya’s father had passed several years ago. Maya had not been aware of the dynamic that had existed between her parents, but lately she suspected more and more that her mother had been in an age-play relationship with her father. She certainly hadn’t balked or flinched at the obvious dynamic between Mateo and Nora—her brother and his Little girl. And lately, she’d been hinting that she knew Maya identified as Little, too.

“Maya!” Her mother snapped her fingers.

Maya realized she’d gone into her head, as usual. “What?”

“Go take his order. He’s going to starve to death.”

Maya rolled her eyes again. “I don’t wait on tables, Mom. I’m not good at it. I’d end up getting his order wrong, and then he’d never come back.”

Her mother chuckled. “I don’t think you can do anything wrong with that man, Maya. He’s smitten.”

Good grief. Smitten?

Her mother rounded the island, took the knife out of Maya’s hand, and pointed toward the door. “Go. Bring a notepad so you can write it down.”

Realizing she wasn’t going to get out of this, Maya sighed. She removed her apron, hung it on the wall, and snagged a pad of paper and a pen from the shelf.

Taking a deep fortifying breath, Maya shuffled into the dining room. It wasn’t difficult to spot Deke. He had a regular table now. He was staring right at her with a smile on his face as she approached.

Heart racing, she slowly made her way toward him, stopping a few feet away. “Hi. You’re not tired of Cuban food yet?”

His grin widened. “Nope. I’ll never tire of your family’s restaurant. I love Cuban food. There’s plenty to choose from. I can eat something different every day if I want. If I stick with the special, eventually I’ll find out how many different dishes your chef, Guille, has up his sleeve.”

Yikes. This burly man knew her chef by name, his nickname even. Not just Guillermo, but Guille.

Deke held out a hand. “Come sit with me for a bit, Precious Girl.”

She licked her lips. “I can’t. I have to work.”

He pulled out a chair. “I bet no one minds if you take a break.”

“I should take your order,” she hedged, lifting up the pad and pen.

“You don’t need to write down my order, Maya. I’m going to have the special, but I’m sure Mateo already let Guille know I’m here. Sit, Little one.” His tone was caring and soft, but the command was still there.

She glanced around. Shoot. Her mother was watching her from the back of the restaurant, Mateo was grinning at her from the hostess stand, and her cousin, Enrique, was spying on her from the register. Great.

Maya felt like everyone was ganging up on her as Deke rose to pull out the chair next to him. He took her elbow to help her sit, pushed her seat in, and then returned to his. His knee rubbed against hers as soon as they were seated.

“My family is meddling,” she murmured.

“Yeah, but they mean well. At least you know I’m well-vetted,” he joked. “Do you know how many conversations I’ve had with your mom, your brother, and your cousin this week? I’ve shared darn near everything but my social security number with them. Mateo even has me programmed into his phone for emergencies, and I haven’t even convinced you to go out with me yet.”

Her eyes widened. She hadn’t realized how much her family had bothered this man. All of them needed to back off. They were sticking their noses in her life.

She could feel her face heating as she grew angry. It wasn’t an emotion she usually felt. Most of the time Maya was pretty easygoing. She was never short tempered.

Deke set his hand over hers. “Hey…”

She met his gaze.

His brows were furrowed with concern. “I’m sorry, Precious Girl. I hate to see you upset. Tell me the truth. If you are truly not attracted to me and have no interest in going on a date with me, I’ll stop coming in.”

She swallowed hard. Panic seized her. She liked Deke. She didn’t want him to go away. She wished she was the sort of woman who could throw caution to the wind and accept what he was offering easily.

He picked up her hand, gently turned it over, and threaded his fingers with hers. His voice was soft when he leaned closer and spoke again. “You don’t date much, do you?”

She shook her head.

“Are you attracted to me, Little one?”

She nodded, her face flushing.

“So, you’re being cautious.”

She nodded again.

“How about this. I’m certain the waitress is going to bring me way more food than I could possibly eat. How about if I ask for a second plate and you dine with me. It would be like a date in a safe place where you know everyone around.”

She scrunched up her face. “That sounds awful. My family is all watching me. I can feel their eyes on me.”

He chuckled. “So maybe the first part of this date will be a bit stressful, but you can tell me more about yourself, and I’ll tell you about me, and then we can go across to Little Cakes and get a cupcake. How does that sound?”

She sat taller. Now he was talking. “I love cupcakes.”

He smiled broadly and blew out a breath. “Perfect. What’s your favorite flavor?”

“The special this month is Malted Milk. It tastes just like a chocolate malt. My father used to make them for me when I was a kid.”

“That sounds delicious. If you share my dinner with me, neither of us will be too full for cupcakes.”

She bit her lower lip, considering his proposal. She was scared out of her mind for reasons he didn’t understand. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him. It was the opposite. She really, really liked him. Everything about him.

Deke was sexy and big and gave off the strongest Daddy vibes she’d ever seen in a man. She wanted to climb onto his lap, curl up, and let him rock her. Her sex clenched and her panties grew damp just sitting next to him. Her body was humming from the simple fact that he was holding her hand and stroking her skin.

“Be brave for me, Precious Girl,” he encouraged.

“Okay,” she relented. But don’t hurt me.

Mateo himself showed up at that moment to set a huge plate of food in the middle of the table before placing two empty plates in front of them as if he’d planned this. “You’re off the clock, Maya,” he declared. “Enjoy dinner.” He was gone as fast as he’d arrived.

Maya stared after him. Meddling brother. Taking a deep breath, she turned her full attention to Deke. She owed it to herself to give him a chance. He was the first man she’d ever felt so googly-eyed about in her life. What if he really did like her enough to put up with her insecurities and shyness?

“This looks and smells delicious,” he said.

“It’s my favorite meal,” she admitted.

“Tell me what it’s called, Little one.” He released her hand to pick up the plate in front of her before reaching for the serving spoon.

“Picadillo.” She pointed toward the aromatic main dish. “It’s made with beef, raisins, and green olives. Plus all the delicious spices. It’s served with rice and beans, and I see Guille went overboard with all three servings.”

“It looks and smells delicious,” Deke said as he served her before himself.

“Thank you.” Her stomach grumbled. She realized she hadn’t eaten since lunch, and she was starving. Her nerves for the past few days had made it difficult for her to eat.

She watched Deke as he tried the picadillo, loving the way he enjoyed his food. He moaned around every bite, his eyes rolling back. His noises made her squirm. Does he moan like that when he has sex?

Her breath hitched at that thought. Why on earth was she thinking about what Deke might sound like in bed?

“I don’t know what you’re thinking about, Precious Girl, but I like it.” There were wrinkles in the corners of his eyes as he chuckled lightly. He also lifted her fork, scooped up the perfect bite, and brought it to her mouth.

Embarrassed, she accepted the bite and quickly took the fork from him. “I can do it.”

“I know you can, Little one. I have no doubt you can do anything you set your mind to, but I’m going to enjoy doing things for you, too. It’s instinctive. I want to take care of you. Will you let me, Precious Girl?”

She swallowed the bite and took a drink of water. “I don’t know. It’s scary.”

“New things are always a bit scary. I’ll do my best not to frighten you, and I’ll try hard not to rush you. My heart tells me you’re mine, and my brain wants to swoop you off that seat, settle you on my lap, and feed you from my plate.”

She stared at him, heart racing. Her nipples stiffened, making her grateful she was wearing a padded bra and La Havana polo. “I don’t think that would be very appropriate here in the restaurant. Customers might find it odd.”

He chuckled in that sexy voice of his she was growing to love. “True. I probably shouldn’t openly Daddy you in public. I’ll do my best to be discreet unless we’re around like-minded people at Blaze or Little Cakes. Warning, I won’t hold back when we’re in my home, though.”

She chewed and swallowed another bite. “I’ve never been to Blaze. My brother and Nora go there.”

“I’ll take you there sometime. You’ll love it. Until I joined I had no idea there were so many Littles and Daddies in this town.”

“I’m starting to notice that, too.” She decided to address the last thing he’d said. “I don’t think I’m ready to go to your home,” she whispered.

“Don’t worry, Precious Girl, we won’t ever do anything you’re not ready for.”

She glanced around, making sure no one was listening before leaning closer to him to admit, “There are a lot of things I’m not ready for.” Hopefully he would read between the lines. She thought it was important for him to know how inexperienced she was upfront, but it was awkward talking about it. She was proud of herself for managing to say even that one sentence.

Deke took her hand in his warm one again. “Precious Girl, don’t you fret. Daddy will know when you’re ready to try new things.”

She thought she might swoon. It was like living inside a book. Was he for real?