Chapter 6 - Maya
I can't believe what I just heard.
My brain stutters to a complete stop, replaying his words on loop like maybe I misheard, like maybe this is some kind of exhaustion-induced hallucination.
*I can't stop thinking about you.*
Levi Harper, my boss, the talented chef I've been quietly crushing on for two weeks, the man who's barely acknowledged my existence beyond professional necessity, just told me he can't stop thinking about me.
This has to be a prank. Any second now, someone's going to jump out with cameras, and I'll realize I've been set up for some cruel joke. I actually reach up and rub my ears like that'll somehow help me process what I just heard.
He's still staring at me, waiting for an answer, his expression vulnerable in a way I've never seen before. Those tired eyes are wide with something that looks like fear and hope mixed together, and his hands are clenched at his sides like he's physically restraining himself.
I open my mouth.
Nothing comes out.
Say something, Maya. Anything. He just confessed his feelings and you're standing here like an idiot, gaping at him.
But I can't form words because my heart is hammering so hard I can feel it in my throat, and my hands are shaking, and every single fantasy I've had about this man over the past two weeks is suddenly crashing into reality.
He feels the same way. He wants me too.
"Maya?" His voice is rough, uncertain. "Say something. Please."
He's not wrong about the complications. He is my boss. There is an age gap, twelve years, which isn't nothing. People will judge us. They'll think I'm sleeping my way to success, that I'm using him, that this is inappropriate and unprofessional.
But looking at him right now, at the raw honesty in his expression, at the way he's looking at me like I'm something precious and terrifying all at once...
None of that matters. Nothing matters except him.
I force my feet to move, closing the distance between us until I'm standing close enough to feel the heat radiating off his body. My voice trembles when I finally manage to speak.
"Do you... do you really mean it?"
"Yes." No hesitation. "I should have told you already.
I thought I could deal with it, thought I could just push it down and focus on work, but it's getting harder every day.
Every time you walk into this kitchen, every time you smile at me, every time you challenge me or create something beautiful...
" He takes a shaky breath. "If you don't feel the same way, I'll respect that.
And I promise it won't affect your job. You're too talented to lose because I can't keep my feelings in check. "
My hand moves to my chest, pressing against my racing heart. "I do," I whisper. "I like you too. God, I'm so glad you told me because I would never have been able to confess."
"Really?"
"Really." A breathless laugh escapes me. "I've been losing my mind trying not to notice how attractive you are, trying to focus on work when all I can think about is—"
"For someone so confident in the kitchen," he says, his mouth quirking slightly, "you really aren't confident in the rest of your life, are you?"
Heat floods my face. "Shut up."
"With pleasure," he murmurs, and then he's moving toward me.
The whole world slows down.
I watch him close his eyes, watch his handsome face lean forward, and my own eyes flutter shut. But my body won't move. I'm frozen, paralyzed by the magnitude of this moment, by the reality of Levi Harper about to kiss me.
His lips press against mine, soft and warm and perfect, and suddenly I can move again.
My hand comes up to cup his bearded cheek, fingers sliding into the rough texture, and he makes this low sound in his throat that sends heat straight through my core.
He leans into my touch without ever stopping the kiss, and I melt against him.
This is happening. This is really happening.
His mouth moves against mine with a confidence that makes my knees weak, and I kiss him back with everything I have. Two weeks of desire, of dreaming, of lying awake at night thinking about what this would feel like, and it's better than anything I imagined.
His beard scratches against my skin in a way that makes me think about how it would feel elsewhere. Against my neck. My breasts. Between my thighs.
God, I want that. Want to feel that rough texture against the softest parts of me, want to know what his mouth would feel like on my pussy, want to feel his cock inside me, thick and hard and claiming me completely.
But I have no idea if he wants to take things slower. If this kiss is as far as we're going tonight. If confessing was enough and the rest will wait. We finally break apart, both of us breathing hard, and he rests his forehead against mine.
"You good?" His voice is rougher than before, strained.
"Better than good," I manage, my chest heaving.
His eyes are dark when they meet mine, pupils blown wide with want. "I don't want to stop," he says, his hands coming up to frame my face. "I've been dreaming about this moment for weeks. I want to kiss every inch of your beautiful body."
Beautiful. He called my body beautiful.
No man has ever said that to me. Ever. I've gotten "cute" and "sweet" and occasionally "pretty," but never beautiful. Never said with that raw hunger in his voice like he means it, like he can't wait to prove it.
How could I ever resist that?
"Then do it," I breathe. "Kiss whatever you want, however you want."
His smile is pure sin. "We should probably take these clothes off you first."
He reaches for the hem of my shirt and I raise my arms, letting him pull it up and over my head. The fabric catches on my braid for a second before coming free, and then I'm standing there in just my bra and pants, my breasts rising and falling with each quick breath.
Levi's eyes drop to my chest and he goes completely still.
I fight the urge to cover myself, to make some self-deprecating comment about being overweight, about how I'm not what he probably expected. But the look on his face stops me.
He's staring at me like I'm the most incredible thing he's ever seen.
"Fuck," he breathes. "I can't believe you're single when you look like this."
"You can see I'm overweight, right? That's not exactly what most guys are looking for."
He shakes his head slowly, his eyes never leaving my body. "I don't care about 'most guys.' I care about what I want. And what I want is you, exactly like this, soft and gorgeous and so fucking beautiful it hurts to look at you."
Before I can respond, he's moving. His mouth finds my neck, kissing and sucking at the sensitive skin there, and I gasp at the sensation. His hands slide around my back to unhook my bra, and then that's gone too, falling to the floor.
My breasts are exposed now, heavy and full, and he pulls back just enough to look at them.
"Perfect," he murmurs, then leans down to kiss the upper curve of my breast.
I thread my fingers through his hair, holding him to me as he works his way across my chest. He takes his time, kissing every inch of skin he can reach, and when his mouth finally closes around my nipple, I make a sound I've never heard myself make before.
"Levi," I gasp.
He hums against my breast, the vibration sending sparks through my entire body, then moves to give the other the same attention. By the time he pulls back, I'm trembling, and we haven't even gotten to the good part yet.
But he's not done. He kisses down my belly, and I tense slightly. This is the part of my body I'm most self-conscious about, the roundness that won't go away no matter how much I work out.
He must sense my hesitation because he looks up at me, his hands still on my hips.
"You're gorgeous," he says firmly. "Every single inch of you."
He continues his path downward, dropping to his knees in front of me, and I’m speechless. He's on his knees, looking up at me like a man starving, like a man who needs to feast on my pussy or he'll die.
His hands move to the button of my pants. "Can I?"
I nod, not trusting my voice.
He undoes the button, slides down the zipper, and slowly pulls my pants down my legs. I step out of them, and then I'm standing in front of him in nothing but my underwear.
Levi sits back on his heels, just looking at me, and I have to resist the urge to cover myself.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted this," he says quietly. "How many nights I've lain awake thinking about you, about touching you, about tasting you."
"Levi..."
"Tell me what you want, Maya." His hands rest on my thighs, thumbs stroking gentle circles against my skin. "Tell me how far you want to take this tonight."
The question grounds me, reminds me that this is real, that I have a choice, that he's giving me control even as he kneels before me.
I reach down and cup his face, feeling the rough texture of his beard against my palms. "I want everything," I tell him honestly.
"I want to feel your mouth on me. I want to know what you taste like.
I want you inside me." Heat floods my face but I push through.
"I want all of it, Levi. I've been dreaming about it for weeks. "
His eyes go darker, if that's even possible. "Everything," he repeats, his voice rough with promise.
"Everything."
He hooks his fingers on the waistband of my underwear and looks up at me one more time, silently asking permission.
I nod.
He pulls them down slowly, and then I'm completely naked in front of him, exposed and vulnerable and more turned on than I've ever been in my life.
Levi's hands slide up the backs of my thighs, and he leans forward to press a kiss just above my knee. Then another, higher. Then another, working his way up my inner thigh with agonizing slowness.
"You smell so fucking good," he murmurs against my skin. "I can't wait to taste you."
My legs are already shaking and he hasn't even touched me where I need him most. He spreads my thighs wider, positioning himself between them, and looks up at me with those beautiful hungry eyes.