Delicious (4 page)

she loved Deke. Still, Luc had hoped to marry her, that Deke would get her

pregnant, and they would all live as a happy family. All too soon, they‟d

paired off and left him alone. Possibly his last chance to raise a child with

even a drop of his blood walked out the door with them.

He hesitated, then hedged. “She‟s still special to me.”

It wasn‟t a lie, but not the complete truth, either. Kimber and Deke

didn‟t need anyone but each other, and Luc had only been in their way.

He‟d accepted that because, while he‟d adored Kimber, he hadn‟t loved

her. He had, however, wanted the one thing they could have given him,

wanted it so bad sometimes that yearning clawed a deep crater of longing

out of his chest.

He wanted a child. And he couldn‟t father one.

“You all right?” Alyssa asked. “Can I get you a drink?”

No. What he had to do was get out of here before he let his dick lead

him to stupid acts, like forgetting the fact that he needed to find an

acceptable woman who wanted a child as badly as he did. Alyssa . . . She

was sexy, determined, all woman, giving and mind-blowing in the dark. But

she wasn‟t anyone‟s ideal mother material. If he ended up going the

adoption route, case agents would take one look at her and run screaming.

Even if she wanted children now—and why would she?—he didn‟t think

she‟d agree to dash to the nearest sperm bank or sit through rounds of in

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Shayla Black

vitro fertilization. She‟d want a man who could father his own children the

normal way.

At thirty-five, Luc should be way beyond this blinding sort of

adolescent urge for sex, the kind that obliterated all logical thought. Alyssa

wasn‟t going to help him obtain what he most wanted in life. Somehow, he

had to get the news flash to his dick.

Hell, he‟d never before wished he were impotent, rather than sterile.

Here was a fun first.

“No, thanks. Alyssa, I can‟t stay.”

“Right now? I‟m sure you‟re tired. No problem. I‟ll give you a tour of the

restaurant and kitchen tomorrow morning. It‟s just a few blocks from here. I

ordered all the food your assistant indicated and—”

“I meant this week. I can‟t do it.”

“Another commitment?” Her sharp tone would have told him she was

pissed off, even if her starchy expression didn‟t.

Luc wanted to lie, but he was already bailing on her. Lying would add

insult to injury, and she deserved the truth. “It‟s what‟s between us.”

“We had sex, and now you can‟t cook for me? What, exactly, does one

have to do with the other?”

Luc shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Shit, this wasn‟t going

well. “Look, I‟m sorry for what I did to you—”

“You‟re sorry for making me orgasm so many times I lost count? I‟ve

got to hear the reason for this.”

How the hell could she not get it?

Raking a stiff hand through his shoulder-length hair, he growled,

“Damn it, I was in a frenzy. I plowed into you. I couldn‟t possibly have been

gentle or considerate. And I apologize. I‟m sure I didn‟t ask your permission

before I . . .” God, he couldn‟t even talk about having anal sex with her

without getting hard as concrete again. “It just wouldn‟t be a good idea if I

stayed.”

Alyssa pulled the lapels of her little jacket together in a useless attempt

to cover her breasts. All she did was provide better shots of cleavage. And

give him a harder cock.

“Did I seem like I minded that night?”

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Shayla Black

He swallowed. “Don‟t you understand? You probably begged me to

stop. And I didn‟t. I don‟t remember hearing you. If I stay this week, I can‟t

guarantee that I won‟t lose my head again. I don‟t want to hurt you.”

“I‟m not made of glass,” she assured him, her whisper shivering right

down his spine.

“There‟s someone else.” Sort of.

Three dates didn‟t constitute a relationship. Looking at Alyssa‟s lush

features and centerfold body, Luc could not summon up a vision of Emily‟s

face to save his life. But he was going to marry her. Or someone like her.

Alyssa simply wasn‟t the kind of woman he could see willingly playing

mommy when he finally found a way to become a dad.

“Kimber? Still having ménages with your cousin and his wife?”

No, and he‟d never go down that path again, but admitting that to

Alyssa would only make her more determined. “Does it matter?”

She shook her head. “Whoever she is, I hope she can understand that

you‟re here to do a job. I can put the past behind me and focus on work if

you can.”

Luc‟s hungry gaze skimmed down her body. “You haven‟t touched me,

and I‟m already unfocused.”

He stormed across the room, grabbed her hand, and fitted it over his

aching cock. Instantly, it was better—and worse. God, he wanted her to

move on him, strip him bare, put his cock inside her mouth, her body.

Before he got carried away, he pulled her hand away. “You‟re a very

sexy woman, and I am not myself around you. I can‟t stay.”

Alyssa drew in a deep breath, and her chest expanded. Hell, he didn‟t

need to see that. But he couldn‟t walk away as she slipped off the edge of

her desk and sidled closer. “First, for your concern to be valid, I‟d have to

say yes to sex with you. Today, I haven‟t. Don‟t assume I would tomorrow,

either. Second,
you
came to
me
three months ago, remember? In

exchange for hooking up with you and your cousin, you‟d cook for me

during opening week. Even though Deke left before things got hot, I lived

up to my end of the bargain.”

“You more than lived up to your end. It‟s one reason I can‟t
not
think

about you and sex in the same sentence.”

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Shayla Black

In an attempt to show his cousin Deke that his now-wife was the

perfect woman for them, Luc had arranged a threesome with himself, his

cousin, and Alyssa. It had backfired on Luc. Deke left before the party

started, which Luc had expected. What he hadn‟t anticipated was needing

every sort of sex he could think of with the strip club owner—repeatedly.

“I‟m sorry,” he murmured. “I‟ll send you someone else who‟s totally

qualified.”

“I‟ve already publicized the fact you‟ll be here. I have a year‟s worth of

work and my entire savings riding on this place. I‟d rather not have this

restaurant fail and force me to dance around a pole again for a living. You

gave me your word, and I trusted you. Are you really going to bail on me?”

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Shayla Black

M
USIC pounded through Luc‟s ears. As the closing notes thumped

and Alyssa struck a suggestive pose around the stripper pole wearing a

thong—and nothing else—Luc‟s steel-hard cock stiffened again, now

bordering on pain.

The moment the music died, the all-male crowd, squeezed into the

upscale club, erupted into thunderous applause. Luc gritted his teeth. Every

man in the room had a hard-on for the woman he was dying to get into bed

again. And again. The woman he shouldn‟t touch.

After a full two minutes of standing O, the patrons finally sat again.

Wearing a mischievous smile, Alyssa grabbed the microphone,

halfheartedly slapping that little red sequined jacket on so that it covered

her nipples—barely.

“Thank you for coming tonight, y‟all,” she breathed, still panting. “Your

enthusiasm for the past five years has made Sexy Sirens a truly special

place. I‟m thrilled you came to spend your evening with me.”

She batted her black lashes over her baby blues, working the crowd.

Luc wanted to vomit. No, that wasn‟t true. He wanted to pick her up, throw

her over his shoulder, and forbid her to ever return here or take her clothes

off in public again.

He sighed. The caveman thing was Deke‟s style. And Alyssa wasn‟t

his. Never would be.

Why the hell had he agreed to stay here and cook for the week? Oh,

yeah. Guilt. She had agreed to help him three months ago. It wasn‟t her

fault he hadn‟t—and still couldn‟t—keep his dick under control. Also not her

fault that Deke had walked away and left her alone with Luc‟s regrettable

dark side. Given how much of her life and savings she had tied up in her

new restaurant, he‟d be seven kinds of scum to skip out on her now. Her

amazing breasts, her sharp, sugar-dipped questions, and his combustive

memories had all worked against him. He hadn‟t stood a chance in hell of

leaving.

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Shayla Black

After making a few more announcements, she sashayed her way off

the stage and into a waiting throng of male admirers. Tyler, her bouncer,

pulled out a chair for her and hovered protectively. With arms crossed and

a menacing expression, he looked every inch a badass. Still, that didn‟t

deter her ardent admirers. They fawned close. Some slipped bills right into

her thong. She slapped hands away with a naughty smile . . . but that really

didn‟t stop them.

A guy in an LSU shirt shoved his way through the crowd to Alyssa‟s

side and planted a kiss right on her mouth. She didn‟t pull away, just placed

gentle hands on his shoulders. A few seconds later, Tyler yanked the guy

off her, shoved him toward the door with a mean motherfucker look, then

hovered even closer to Alyssa. His stance screamed,
Mine!

Refusing to watch a second longer, Luc cursed and swallowed a bitter

truth. He‟d been suckered. The night he‟d spent with Alyssa, she‟d sworn

she hadn‟t let a man in her bed or her pussy for nearly two years. At the

time, he‟d believed her. She had been incredibly tight.

Faced with this foaming-at-the-mouth crowd, he didn‟t see how it was

possible that her bed had been empty for even two days.

It didn‟t matter if she slept with her bouncer, all of her customers, and

most of Louisiana‟s male population. He had made an agreement with her,

and he would honor it. Furthermore, he‟d keep his hands off of her for the

week, no matter how alluring she was. He had a future—God willing, a wife

and a child someday soon—to think about.

THREE in the morning. With the doors to the club shut and the

dancers and waitstaff cleared out, she and Luc were alone. Finally.

She took a moment to savor the fact that, if all went well, she‟d

performed her last pole dance. Never again would she fill her belly by

exposing her body. She‟d done it to survive for the past fourteen years. The

restaurant represented her future, her path to a better life. She‟d work hard

for a successful opening just to avoid showing complete strangers her tits

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Shayla Black

again. Luc was a big part of her recipe for success. Thank God she‟d

convinced him to stay.

For her restaurant‟s sake—and her own.

Beside her, he stood tall, and so tense she could have bounced a

quarter off him. Alyssa smiled. The scrumptious, skittish chef had no idea

what was about to hit him.

“You sure you want to tour the restaurant now?” she asked.

He nodded. “Seeing your setup will allow me to plan stations, feel the

flow of the food. Tomorrow I need to meet your staff. I‟ve spoken on the

phone with your sous and pastry chefs, as well as your assistant manager.

They‟ve all completed the training I sent along. We have the week‟s menu

set. You said someone purchased the quantities of supplies I requested?”

Alyssa nodded and cast him a saucy glance. “You have expensive

taste, Mr. Traverson.”

“You‟ll make your money back, Ms. Devereaux.”

Of course he‟d make that promise. He wanted to be sure he didn‟t owe

her a damn thing when he walked out that door. And she was dead

determined otherwise. At the end of a week, Alyssa swore she‟d own him,

body, heart, and soul.

In separate cars, they drove the few blocks to her new endeavor. She

refused to look at the fact that he‟d declined to ride with her as a setback.

Once they arrived, Alyssa took the keys from her purse and unlocked

the door. Just inside, she walked around the corner and flipped on the

lowlights overhead. There was a brighter set . . . but why kill the mood?

Alyssa looked out over
her
creation. Simple elegance. A wall of floorto-ceiling windows. Dark wood accented by walls of taupe and earthy gold,