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you need? Will you be a lady of leisure while you’re not making
01
us awesome food? You’re welcome to sit in while we work. You
02
may not want to. It gets . . . intense sometimes. You’re welcome
03
to ride horses or whatever too.”
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“I’m going to spend the time when I’m not with you all work-
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ing on recipes for my book.”
06
“Awesome. In my kitchen? Even better.”
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“We’ll see. I don’t know if it’ll sell. But it seems to me a great
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opportunity to work on it while I’m getting paid.”
09
She was practical. It was an attractive quality.
10
“I’ll drive down Sunday night after the supper club and come
11
home Thursday night.”
12
“No, you won’t. I’ll fl y you up and back. No, don’t argue. I
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will worry about you the whole time if you drive. You can leave
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your car here and use mine when you’re at the ranch. Consider
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it part of your pay.”
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It would be nice not to have to face a long- ass drive after
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supper club or on Thursday night up to Bainbridge.
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“Okay. If you’re sure it won’t interrupt your work schedule.”
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“So we have a deal?”
20
“Yes.”
21
He took the pad and pen, setting them aside, and then shook
22
her hand. Then he sat back and gave her the look. Oh, that look
23
of his. She was in trouble, but it was the good kind.
24
“So, I was thinking about how the traditional handshake
25
really seemed boring.”
26
“That so?”
27
“Yeah. I think sealing the deal in a whole ’nother way would
S28
be much more fun.”
N29
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“Why do I get the feeling your idea involves nakedness?”
02
“Because you know me really well. I’d like to know you even
03
better. In a carnal sense.” He crawled over her as she lay back
04
on her couch.
05
“I’m perfectly all right with that.”
06
He kissed her lazily because they had time.
07
He kept from lying totally against her, holding himself away
08
because the lure of her body would have rushed him and he
09
wanted to cruise around the kiss. Wanted it to be a lazy, Sunday-
10
afternoon drive instead of a race.
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She sighed into his mouth, her palms sliding up his arms, up
12
over his shoulders. It made him hot that she dug his body the
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way she did. Made him feel invincible to be desired by a woman
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like her. Not just for his talent and his personality or whatever,
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but that sort of raw greed for his body.
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She opened to him easily, nipping his bottom lip, laving the
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sting enough to chip away at his resolve.
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He managed to hold on until she pushed on his shoulders.
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When he pulled back, breaking the kiss, she scrambled up, pull-
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ing her shirt up and off, bending and tossing her underpants off
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to the side, leaving her in a skirt and her bra.
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Struck dumb, he kept motionless until she tossed the bra over
23
her shoulder. Then he moved to sit and she straddled his lap.
24
“Are you going to ravish me?”
25
She nibbled on his earlobe and then down his neck. “Yes, I
26
think so.” Then she grabbed his belt and made quick work of
27
getting his jeans open and his cock out.
28S
“I think you should be nice and ready fi rst.”
29N
The smile she gave him sent shivers through his system.
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“That so?”
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She traced his lips and then he sucked her fi ngers into his
02
mouth. She leaned in close. “Get them wet.”
03
He groaned and she caught her lip between her teeth. Which
04
was hot enough to watch until she fl icked her fi ngertips over her 05
nipples, which hardened under her touch.
06
One hand slid down her belly and up under her skirt. He
07
couldn’t see what she was doing there, but he knew. In his head,
08
he knew her fi ngers played against her pussy, dipping inside and
09
then back up to her clit.
10
Imagining it may have been as hot as watching it. And he
11
liked to watch plenty well. The peekaboo nature of her hand,
12
out of sight, and the fi ngers on her nipple made him so hard he
13
ached.
14
“Are you wet?”
15
“Mmm hmm.” She hummed, her head falling back, spilling
16
that mass of dark curls all down her shoulders.
17
He surrounded her fi ngers on her nipple with his own, and
18
then moved to the other nipple. He tugged the way he knew she
19
liked. Knew she got hotter and wetter.
20
One of his hands followed the path she’d taken earlier, fi rst
21
suiting up because when she came he planned to get in her cunt
22
as soon as possible. And then he slid up under that skirt and to
23
her pussy. He traced circles around her gate as she worked her
24
clit, slowly easing in and back out. Over and over until she came
25
in a hot rush against his palm, her head dropping on his shoul-
26
der as he embraced her.
27
“Now then.”
S28
All her post- climax lethargy wisped away when he pressed
N29
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into her in one quick, hard thrust, fi lling her in a way that was
02
familiar and yet exciting. She knew his shape and size and her
03
body adjusted as it welcomed him.
04
But he wasn’t content to let her set the pace. Instead, he kept
05
controlling hands at her waist, holding tight, guiding her up and
06
down at
his
speed.
07
Not that she had any complaints. There was something so
08
incredibly hot about the way he did it, about the way he moved
09
her exactly how he wanted. All that laid- back sexuality sort of
10
exploded into something else. Something harder and more raw.
11
And that worked too.
12
It really, really worked.
13
What worked even better was the way he walked his fi ngers
14
over to her pussy and made her come twice more until she was
15
nearly boneless, totally wet and sensitized. Then he began to
16
thrust up as he pulled her down. Harder and harder, sending her
17
breasts to bouncing and a fl ush working over her skin.
18
And then he came, her name a snarl, his teeth fi nding her
19
shoulder, sinking in until she gasped. Not from pain.
20
“That’s what I call sealing the deal.” He kissed her chin, then
21
her lips.
22
23
24
25
26
27
28S
29N
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01
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S
16
o starting November fourth I’m going to be in Hood
17
River four days a week. I’ll be back for supper club fi rst
18
thing Friday or late Thursday and I’ll leave again Sunday
19
night.”
20
Daisy looked over from where she’d been hanging a new piece
21
of art to replace the one she sold the day before. “Wow.”
22
“I told you he asked me to be their personal chef while they
23
worked on their new album.”
24
“You did. And you said you were trying to fi gure out the
25
catering gig thing too. What about that?”
26
Daisy didn’t word it in an accusatory way at all.
27
“Local jobs are good. I earn plenty at them. But when I have
S28
to go to Seattle it costs me more in time and gas, travel, all that N29
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01
stuff. I’ve been looking over my numbers and for most of my
02
jobs, like dinner parties and that sort of thing, I’m only barely
03
making more than even. And with traffi c and the ferry and all
04
that, it eats up a lot of time. Plus, you know, I’m sort of sick of 05
people like Kathy Bonebright.”
06
“I can’t even with that woman. Such a bitch.”
07
“Yes, but your life now means you have to deal with people
08
like her more often. And you soldier on. Because you love Levi.”
09
Daisy blushed. “Honestly, with the exception of a few, mostly
10
people have been nice. It’s probably because they’re afraid of
11
Levi’s mom and Jonah. Levi told me Jonah cut this woman who
12
he overheard talking about me to her knees. Not literally of
13
course, he’s way too smooth to need to resort to that. He’s got
14
such a way about him. If you think Levi is an alpha male, you
15
just need to spend a few minutes with Jonah Warner to know
16
the true meaning of alpha male.”
17
Jonah Warner was indeed one hunky alpha male. That Levi’s
18
older brother had Daisy’s back made Mary happy.
19
“Anyway, so I spoke with those two folks who had approached
20
me about being their personal chef. I’m going to be doing pre-
21
pared meals for them. They’ll come pick them up here on Sat-
22
urdays. I’ll make a week’s worth in advance. I’m holding off on
23
non- Bainbridge catering gigs for now. And trying to stick to
24
weekends only.”
25
“So do you foresee this personal chef thing as a long- term
26
goal?”
27
“I don’t know. I love making food. I love the supper club but
28S
I don’t know if I’d want to do it every day like with a restaurant, 29N
you know? And I like catering, but there’s not a huge margin of
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profi t for me once I deal with staff and all that stuff. Being a
01
personal chef would be interesting, but I don’t know if I’d want
02
it in the long term. But I’m trying it both ways. Down in Hood
03
River with Damien and then up here with the pre- prepared
04
meals. I have the time and the opportunity to try things out. I’m
05
going to take that gift.”
06
Daisy nodded. “All right, that totally makes sense.”
07
“And while I’m not working for Damien, I’ll be working on
08
the cookbook.”
09
Daisy’s eyes lit. “So exciting!”
10
“We’ll see. I want to do it either way. If my agent can’t sell it,
11
I may do some small print runs and sell it here at Tart and via
12
mail order. I have no idea if it’ll fl y. People may not care a bit 13
about my recipes. But I have the time so I’m going for it. When
14
it’s a little more defi ned I’m going to talk with Gillian about
15
some marketing and logos and stuff.”
16
Gillian was an amazing graphic designer. She’d done the
17
branding for Tart and Mary loved it. She’d done some stuff for
18
Luxe when Mary had run the truck so it was natural she’d go
19
back for the cookbook.
20
“And this will give you an idea if this thing with Damien can
21
work. I mean if you’re down there more. Living with Levi is a
22
new challenge. I mean it’s good, don’t get me wrong, but seeing