A Feast of You (18 page)

“Hello, William.”

The two shook hands, and William glanced down, taking in the food and the table for two. “Morrison. Catherine.”

God, everything was so awkward. The easy atmosphere between Hutch and me was gone, replaced by a stress I could see William also held in his shoulders. He wore a tense expression, his face like chiseled granite, his jaw tight, and his eyes a hard, cold blue

“We were just having a bite to eat before the first seating,” Hutch said, still standing. I wondered if I should stand, but what I really wanted to do was sink onto the floor and crawl under the table. “Care for some shrimp and grits?”

“It’s really good,” I offered lamely.
Way to go, Cat.
Maybe it was better to stay quiet.

“No, I’ll take a rain check. I’m just here to pick up my girlfriend. How much longer will she be?”

I felt like I’d just been caught stealing and the guilt washed over me again. I glanced at my watch.
Shit
. It was already after five. How had I so easily lost track of the time?

Hutch picked up on William’s meaning and took his question as a cue. “We were just finishing up,” he said easily. “In fact, my first service is in an hour, and I still have some prep to take care of.”

I rose awkwardly. “Thanks for the meal, Hutch,” I said.

“Anytime, Cat. I’ll see you soon. William.” Hutch gave us a nod then was back through the doors of the kitchen. He knew how to make a quick exit, and I was happy he was gone.

I walked past William and fumbled for all of my equipment. I took way longer than I wanted packing it up. William stood silently, watching me with his dark-lashed, turbulent blue eyes. Was I in trouble? I felt like I was being put in place by my boyfriend, which I did not appreciate at all...though maybe I did deserve it a little.

By the time I was done, Asa had the restaurant door open. William led me to a waiting black SUV and still hadn’t said a word. The sedan I had arrived in had apparently been replaced by the SUV while I was working. I slid into the back, catching Anthony’s eyes in the rearview mirror. A moment later, William slid in beside me.

* * *

I
wasn’t quite sure how to act on the ride back to the penthouse. Was William pissed or just reminding Hutch that I was
his
girlfriend? I might have asked him about it if Asa and Anthony hadn’t been within earshot in the front seat. The SUV was spacious, but with three hot, muscled men in it, it was like I was drowning in testosterone.

“Sorry I lost track of time. I was working,” I finally said when Anthony had us underway. “You didn’t have to come to the restaurant. You could have called.”

William took my hand. “True, but I wanted to see you.” He pulled me close and kissed me lightly. My frustration melted away. Maybe William didn’t have any ulterior motive for coming to get me. “I missed you.” He kissed me again, and I wished Anthony and Asa could disappear. If William and I kept kissing, things would be even more awkward. William must have read my mind because he reached into the center console and the privacy divider came up. We were alone now, and William resumed kissing me,

Finally, he pulled back. “How was the baby shower?”

“It was lovely. Absolutely perfect. They had it in the Palm Court, and the decorations were just adorable.” I reached in my bag for my digital camera. “I’ll show you.”

William leaned close as I clicked through shots of the décor. “Aren’t these little booties cute? They had them on all the tables. And this is the diaper cake.”

William frowned. “A diaper cake?”

“Not those kind of diapers. Cloth. It’s so Lauren will have a slew of cloth diapers on hand. They’re good for whatever.” I glanced at William. “She loved our presents, by the way. She really appreciated the diaper service and the food processor.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Oh, and here’s Lauren. She hardly even looks pregnant. And she was glowing the whole time. Here’s another shot.”

“Mmmhmm.”

I realized William probably didn’t really care about pictures of onesie cookies or baby-rattle centerpieces, but it was sweet that he was taking an interest for me. I knew this was kind of a chick thing, but it was also his family, and I wanted him to be a part of it. “These are some shots of Lauren opening the gifts. That’s a breast pump.”

“Just what I needed to see.”

“Hey, Zach got some stuff too. This is a baby carrier just for men.” I tilted the camera. “See, he can carry the baby snuggled against his chest, or when he or she gets older, on his back.”

“I can’t wait to see Zach in that.” William laughed. “I can’t imagine wearing one of those, much less having a kid.”

I froze. My finger kept clicking to bring up new pictures, but I was remembering the last time William and I had talked about Lauren and the baby. He’d said something similar

My heart sank a little bit more.

William was saying something, obviously clueless about how his random comment had affected me, and I tuned back in just as I slid to another picture. This one was of Zoe.

“She looks almost respectable,” William joked.

I hesitated for a second, then decide to tell him about Zoe. “We were actually seated next to each other,” I said.” I don’t think she likes me, but I can’t figure out why.”

“Don’t take it personally,” William said, putting an arm around my shoulders. “She doesn’t like anybody.”

Traffic was at a standstill, and I really didn’t want to talk anymore about Zoe, so I changed the subject and asked William what he’d been up to all day. He elaborated on projects he’d been working on and then asked about Hutch. I clearly wasn’t getting out of talking about my afternoon. “I didn’t realize you were making a stop at Morrison Hotel today.”

“It was sort of unplanned. Hutch wanted some candid behind-the-scenes shots. I had my stuff with me, so I figured, why not?”

“I’m not comfortable with you being there.” His gorgeous face was expressionless but his voice was tight and clipped, which belied the turmoil I knew he was feeling.

“William,” I pleaded softly, “we talked about this already. Asa was there the entire time and nothing could have happened. And I was there to work, nothing more.”

“And did you get the shots you needed?”

I leaned back into my plush, heated leather seat. “I think so. I’ll have to take a look in the morning.”

“Are they all shots of the man himself?”

I raised a brow. “No. Some are of him and some are of the line chefs and the sous chef. Angie is the sous chef, and she’s really great.”

“So you did spend time with someone other than Morrison today. When I arrived you looked pretty cozy.”

I glanced over at William and saw that his eyes were a stormy grey. He was worked up, and it was over me spending time with another man. I felt instantly guilty. Yes, Hutch had shamelessly flirted with me, and I had flirted right back until I knew we had taken it too far. William never needed to know about that, and I would make sure it never happened again. I loved
him
and I wanted to be with him—only him.

I responded carefully. “Hutch had to eat before the first serving. And we weren’t cozy. Asa was right there. William,” I asked quietly, “are you worried about me working with Hutch?”

“No.” He answered a bit too quickly.

I shifted and moved closer to him. “Are you sure?”

“Very sure.”

I slid my hand in his hair and leaned in. “Because if you were jealous, I’d probably think that was pretty cute.”

“Catherine, I’m not cute, and I’m not jealous.” His voice was still tight and controlled, and I didn’t hear a bit of playfulness in his response.

I needed to make this right. I stroked a hand down his chest. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I think you’re a little of both, and that makes me pretty hot.”

William looked down at my hand and then into my face. “Does it?”

“Yes,” I cooed. “It makes me want to show you that you have nothing to be worried about.” My hand slid lower, wrapping around the hardening bulge in his trousers.

“I’m not jealous,” he said, his voice gritty.

“Of course not.” I flicked the button on his trousers open. “Because there’s nothing to be jealous about.” I slid his zipper down and freed his erection from his black boxer briefs. “There’s only one man I want to be with.” I stroked his cock, admiring the way the veins stood out, the way it seemed to pulse in my hand. “Only one man I think about. Only one man I belong to.”

I slid out of my seat and onto the floor, then made my way over to William. I knelt in front of him and pushed his legs apart, settling between them. My hand never stopped sliding up and down that hard flesh.

“One man who makes me wet.” I licked the tip of his cock, and he groaned. I swirled my tongue around the tip again.

William watched me, his gaze hungry.

“Only one man I want inside me. One man I want to do this to. Only one man I love. And that’s you.”

With that, I swirled my tongue around his tip then slowly, deliberately slowly, I took the rest of him in my mouth and sucked. William groaned again. By the time he’d filled my mouth, William’s head had fallen back against the headrest. His hands were clenched at his sides, and his breathing was rapid.

I slid him in and out of my mouth, finding a slow rhythm I liked. I pulled and sucked, pulled and sucked, and when he tensed, ready to come, I pulled back, lightly scraping my teeth along the sensitive underside of his member.

“I love you, William.” I had my hand wrapped around him now, sliding up and down.

His hot grey eyes locked on my face. “And I love you, beautiful girl.”

I took him in my mouth again. This time there wasn’t any tenderness or slowness. I gorged on him, taking him to the hilt, working his flesh with my hand and my tongue. He liked it fast and tight.

William’s response was immediate. He grabbed my hair and pushed me down, and I let him control my movements, let him bob my head up and down in the rhythm he wanted. I loved that I could pleasure him this way. Shivers ran down my back as his fingers tangled in my hair and his whole body tensed in response, poised for pleasure based on what I would do next. Finally, I gripped William’s hips and sucked hard, moving my mouth up and down over his swelling flesh until he pulsed against my tongue.

“Yes,” William rasped. His hips arched, pushing him to the back of my throat, and his hot, sweet release threatened to choke me. I quickly swallowed and swallowed, milking him and sucking until he had nothing left to give me.

From under heavy eyelids, William gazed at me. “You’re mine, Catherine. Only mine.”

M
onday morning I lay sprawled in bed in the penthouse’s master suite. I was naked, alone, and trying to psych myself up to get ready for work. Easier said than done.

William and I had spent all day Sunday in bed. We’d woken up to a cloudy morning and a forecast for more snow, so when William had peeled off my T-shirt and panties and suggested we not even bother getting up, I’d been happy to comply. Maybe he’d still been feeling the effects of Saturday’s meeting with Hutch or maybe my actions in the back of the SUV had inspired him. Whatever the reason, to say William had been particularly
creative
in his ministrations was an understatement. Another all-day sex-travaganza had ensued and by lunchtime, I’d lost count of how many orgasms William had given me.

William had left for the office early this morning, so I had the big bed all to myself. I stretched wantonly and all of my muscles ached, like I’d worked out too hard. I
had
worked out too hard—the kind of sex we’d had qualified as strength, endurance,
and
cardio training, I was certain. My nipples felt permanently erect, chafed even, from William’s continuous attention yesterday. And yet I still wanted more. I couldn’t stop thinking about the man I loved, about his body over mine, his tongue and his hands on me everywhere. If he were here now, I’d try to convince him to call-in sick—if billionaire business moguls ever did such things.

Saturday replayed over and over in my head and I couldn’t believe I had actually gone down on William while Anthony and Asa were mere inches away, separated from us by only the privacy divider. Did they have any idea what we were doing back there? Did they hear William moan as he writhed under me and then came in my mouth? I started to blush at the memory. It just went to show the effect my gorgeous man had on me. When I was with him, I couldn’t think straight. I wanted him so much, I would do
anything
, including giving him a blow job in the backseat of his chauffeured SUV in rush-hour traffic with his security team at the wheel.

I looked at the clock. It was just past nine and I had a meeting at eleven with the creative executives at Fresh Market about the summer campaign. I needed to get moving. I forced myself out of bed and into the shower, then hurriedly dressed in a dark grey, long-sleeve wrap dress with black opaque thigh-highs and cute ankle boots, then grabbed a quick bite and a huge mug of coffee. I was ready to head out by ten-fifteen.

“Good morning, Miss Cat.” Anthony was all smiles when he met me at the elevator and traveled down to the building’s garage with me where Asa waited by the car. “I’ll be driving you today, and Asa will be accompanying you.”

“Sounds great,” I said. “I have a meeting at eleven at Fresh Market’s corporate offices at Franklin and Wells.”

“I know,” he replied. “We’ll get you there on time, I promise.”

“Punctuality has never been my strong suit, Anthony. Thanks for making me look good.” Asa held open the door for me and I slid in the back of the car. I was relieved we’d be riding in the black Mercedes sedan today.

On the drive over, I tried to get my thoughts straight about the next Fresh Market campaign, which made me miss Beckett again. I checked my phone and he hadn’t responded to my text from Morrison Hotel on Saturday, which was not like him. I shot him another quick one:
Miss you. Drinks soon?
We’d had so much fun putting together our shots of phallic asparagus and glistening cherries for the ‘Fresh for Spring’ campaign, which had been a big success. The plan now was for strawberries and peaches for the summer campaign.