Tick Tock, Chef
five
My stomach is folding in on itself as I’m separating out my curls for the finishing touch on my look for tonight. I went with a casual western-type look: dark washed denim bell bottoms and a long sleeve white blouse with a plunged neckline filled with straps.
I added some classic silver hoop earrings along with Grams’s wedding ring that I wear as a good luck charm. It’s got a slim band with four diamonds on each side of the opal in the center. Paired with dress boots, and a cute bandanna as a headband, I think I’m ready to go.
Physically anyway. Mentally? That’s a different story. Just as I’m debating on canceling the whole thing, there’s an excited knock on the front door. Is it too late to run? Jump out the bathroom window? Probably.
I open the door to find an equally casually dressed Charlie that instantly makes me salivate. He’s wearing a plain form-fitting black tee, nice blue jeans, boots, and an Oakley hat turned backward that makes my eyes feel like they’re about to pop out of my head if I don’t look away soon.
Without knowing what to do to make my brain turn back on, I turn back toward the living room to search for my purse.
“Well hello to you, too,” Charlie says as though I offended him. It’s only then that I realize I didn’t actually greet him.
“I’m sorry. I’m rude. Hello, Charlie. Are you ready to get this show on the road?”
“Ready when you are.”
Instead of responding, I squeeze past him and hurriedly make my way toward my truck.
“What makes you think I’m going to let you drive?”
“Maybe the fact that I don’t feel like getting stranded somewhere if this date goes terribly wrong?”
“I’ll make sure you get home safe, darlin’. It’d be awfully rude of me to not drive my woman around, especially on a date.”
Rolling my eyes at the thick gentleman act he’s slathering on, I relent and head to his truck.
“Here, let me,” he says as he rushes to grab the door handle on the passenger side. Resisting the urge to shove him away, I reluctantly thank him instead. It’s not his fault that I’ve never had someone try to give me the princess treatment.
He closes it and rounds the front of the vehicle to slide into the driver’s seat. His left hand holds the top of the steering wheel as he places his right hand on my headrest and turns to back out of the driveway. Why did it make me drool in more places than one? My god, I need to get laid. Get a grip, woman. Jesus.
The trip to his restaurant was spent silently enjoying the local country station on the radio, which I didn’t mind because I needed a minute to recollect myself. When we pull into the back of the lot, he wastes no time shutting off the engine and racing around to beat me to opening my door and leading us inside. The place is fancier than I would’ve thought with it being located in such a small town. Then again, Jolie is slightly bigger than Dovehaven, and neither had a place like this close enough to frequent.
“I hope you like steak.”
“I’m a vegetarian,” I grumble as I shoot him a menacing glare.
“That might put a damper on our relationship. What can I make you to eat then?”
“You’re saying you’ll cook for me and then leave me high and dry just because I don’t eat meat?”
“What? No. I was just joking. Calm down.”
“Well that’s good because so was I. Of course I like steak.” I don’t miss the drop of his shoulders or the slight smirk that lands on his lips at my response. “So what am I supposed to do while you’re cooking? Sit by the fire and knit?”
“You are one of a kind. I’ll give you that. I figured you’d hang out in the kitchen with me. Ya know, keep me company? Engage in meaningful conversation? Like couples do when they’re on a date.”
“One, we’re not a couple. Two, conversation sounds like work. Three, my feet hurt; where will I sit?” Damn, I need to chill. Apparently, my bitch switch gets flipped when I’m nervous.
“Yet. We’re not a couple, yet. Don’t worry, I’ll make you fall in love with me eventually. If not with my divine culinary skills, then with my sexual prowess.”
“Better cool it, cowboy, or you’ll be ending the night sooner than you think.”
“Why? I didn’t say I was expecting you to go to bed with me tonight. I just said I have skills; when you experience those skills is entirely up to you, little mule.”
“You’re quite the charmer, you know? Did you seriously just call me a fucking mule?”
“Caught that, did you? Yes, I did. You’re stubborn as hell, but I’m sure when handled properly, you turn into the biggest sweetheart.”
“And how would you know?”
“Just a hunch I’ve got.”
“I’ll let it slide, for now, but I’m getting hungry.”
“Alright. Alright. Point taken. Kitchen’s this way.” He leads us out of the small mudroom at the employee entrance and through a set of swinging doors on the right.
The kitchen is decent sized, and it’s honestly one of the cleanest I’ve seen from a restaurant. Not that I’ll tell him that, of course. Before I have time to look for a chair, Charlie grabs my waist and hoists me onto the marble counter top in the center of the room.
Startled, and slightly impressed, I squeal, “Hey! You can’t just go around throwing people where you want to, asshole!”
“Well, how else was I supposed to get a feel of you? Lord knows you’re too wound up to make the first move.” He’s standing between my spread thighs with an arm on either side, blocking me in.
“That was you making a move? If so—” I’m cut off mid-sentence when he grabs the back of my neck and pulls, stealing my words with his kiss.
It takes less than two seconds for me to begin to melt under his caress. His uses his other hand and places it under my chin, pinching slightly with his thumb and pointer finger in order to deepen the kiss. I know it’s stupid of me, but I let him, peeking my tongue out to taste his bottom lip just before his tongue pushes mine back into my own mouth.
All rational thought is lost on me. The only thing worth comprehending right now is how extraordinary this kiss is. Because. Wow. He releases my chin only to glide his thumb down my jawline and spread his hand out over my cheek.
I don’t know how long we spend making out like lustful teenagers, and I don’t even care. I could kiss this man until my lips turn blue, and it still wouldn’t satisfy.
He whispers against my lips, “Do you still have an attitude, or can I start cooking your dinner?”
“Depends, do I get more of this for dessert?”
“Only if you’re a good girl until then.” He winks at me as he squats in front of me to grab a skillet from the cabinet directly beneath me.
Why can’t I get the raunchy visual of him between my legs for other reasons out of my head? He twirls it in his hand as he stands and gives me his back, turning on the stove. I’m dumbfounded. He broke me. That quick. I’m completely speechless.
“Words would be nice, yes?” All I can manage is a meager nod until I realize he’s not looking at me.
Clearing my throat, “I think I can manage that.” I hear him chuckle to himself as he heads toward the walk-in freezer.
Watching this brute of a man finagle his way around the kitchen is doing something to my insides, and I’m not sure if I like it or not.
***
There is no reason the meal had to taste that good. The steak was cooked to absolute perfection, melted in my mouth; the baked potato and sauteed mushrooms were exquisite. I’m a little pissed honestly. Now I’m going to be craving his cooking. He did this shit on purpose to make me come back for seconds, or thirds.
“How was your meal, beautiful?”
“I shouldn’t even dignify that with a response because you know damn well that you’re a masterful chef.”
He shoots me a sinful smirk, and all I can do is roll my eyes and smile. He stands from the table and reaches for my empty plate, stacking it atop his own. When he turns toward the kitchen, and I can’t stop myself from ogling his toned ass. It fills out those jeans perfectly.
I’m assuming he’s going to wash the dishes, so I take the opportunity to explore the place. In the hallway leading to the back exit, there’s a cracked wooden door with a nameplate that says Charles Womack on it. I push it open further to discover a cozy office. His desk is neat, no random papers scattered across it. There’s one lone frame that showcases his parents and him in front of a beautiful natural stone fireplace. They look like a picture-perfect family.
He’d mentioned during dinner that he’s close with both of his parents, though his dad isn’t too well off now. If he feels anything like the way I did when Grams got sick, my heart goes out to him because it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to watch, and she wasn’t technically my parent.
I’m torn from my thoughts when I hear Charlie clear his throat behind me. When I turn to him, he’s leaning a shoulder on the door frame in that seductive way men like to do. The things I would let this man do to me should be illegal.
“I don’t know that I would consider snooping as being a good girl,” he says as he lifts an eyebrow, looking up at me through his lashes.
I sashay myself over to him and fist his shirt in my hand to pull his ear all the way to my lips saying, “if you expect me to obey just because you’ve got some kissing skills, think again, chef. You have to earn it.”
I release him and back away with a wicked smirk on my face before he has the chance to grab me. He doesn’t move, though. He just licks his bottom lip and lets out a breathy chuckle like he knows something I don’t.
We stand there, staring, each challenging the other to do something. The moment is broken as he stands to his full height and stalks toward me. I instinctively start stepping backward, trying to keep some distance between us. He’s faster than me, though.
Before I realize it, he’s trapped me. The next step I try to take makes my ass bump into his desk. I can feel his cock on my inner thigh when he removes all space between our bodies. My arms fly behind me to grab the edge of the desk to ground myself. He grabs my hip and leans down so his mouth is hovering over my ear, the same way I did to him. Except with his breath floating over my skin, I lose all sanity. Goosebumps travel up my arms as my own breath hitches.
His other arm comes up to feather his fingers over my shoulder as he says in a low growl, “Honey, I don’t know who you think I am, but a patient man I am not. When I want something, I take it.”
The gasp that leaves my mouth is completely involuntary, and I immediately want to suck it back in. Charlie abandons my ear as he stands upright, looking down at me with a burning intensity.
“I think you’d like for me to take what I want, wouldn’t you?” He doesn’t wait for an answer before his mouth is back on mine, his hand that’s on my hip fists the bottom of my shirt to keep me glued to him.
The kiss escalates quickly into a sloppy mess as we explore each other. I moan into his mouth as his hands reach underneath me to grab my ass and hoist me up. Instantly, my legs wrap around him, trying to get some friction where I need it. Holding me up as if it’s the easiest thing in the world, he turns and starts walking to the back corner of the office. I release his lips to turn my head behind me where I see a closed door. Butterflies are assaulting my insides as I try to think of where he’s taking me.
The thoughts don’t have time to manifest as he slams my back into the closed door and releases his hold on my ass, the weight of his body keeping me exactly where he wants me. One of his hands comes up and wraps around my throat lightly as he dives in for a quick punishing kiss before his lips move down to my chin, the exposed parts of my throat, settling at the junction of my neck and shoulder as he bites down. Hard.
“Ow. Damn,” I bark at him, but he doesn’t let up. Instead, he grabs both of my hands and pins them above my head, intertwining our fingers.
“Don’t go soft on me now. You can take a little pain with your pleasure, can’t you?” The mouth on this man. Holy shit. I’m panting like a bitch in heat.
Shock jars me out of the trance he must have put me in when my feet fall to the floor as he takes a step away from me, still holding my hands above me. He’s looking directly at my chest that’s rising and falling at an embarrassing pace.
Bringing his gaze back up to my eyes he says, “This door leads upstairs to my loft. I’m going to take you up there and make you beg for mercy if you don’t tell me to take you home right now. You have five seconds to decide what you want, Haedyn.”
He starts counting down slowly as he tightens his fingers around mine that are still smashed to the door above me. It’s making it hard to concentrate. My clit is practically begging with each pulse running through it for me to answer him already. Tell him to do his worst.
“Four.” He leans down to rain kisses along my jawline and throat while I try desperately to keep my wits about me by admiring the ceiling. I tilt my head to the side to give him better access, failing at my mission of remaining sane. I have to bite my lip in a desperate attempt to hide the moan that tries to escape my mouth. Though I notice that it doesn’t escape his attention as he pulls away to look me in the eyes and smirk.
“Three.” Kiss.
“Two.” Bite.
“One.” Lick.
“Time’s up, little brat.”
I grin and yank my hands down to pretend that I’m trying to get out of his hold, but he’s a quick one. As soon as my hands are free, he bends to wrap his arms around my waist and slings me over his shoulder before he heads up the stairs.
I’m trying to stop laughing as he opens the door at the top of the stairs and steps inside, closing the door behind him. He sets me down, and immediately pins me against the door so hard that my back screams a little. A breath of air escapes my mouth before its captured by his.
His mouth is more demanding than before, hands searching for something to grab until they reach the hem of my shirt, lifting just enough to let me feel his rough fingertips on my skin. It sends a chill up my spine and heat to my core. This time I can’t hold back my moan.
I fist his shirt to pull him in closer as I whisper against his lips, “Tick tock, chef.”
The darkness that fills his eyes is almost intimidating. Too bad I don’t scare easily, and I’m ready for a little bit of a fight. I stab him with a glare of my own that screams come and get me fucker, right before I push him away and run to the next room I see with a door.