INFERNO (The HEAT Series Book 4) (7 page)

"If I offered you that vacant senior chef job at Nova what would you say?" His brows pop up as he smiles.

"I'd say that it's too little and it's too late." I tap my hand against the counter of the makeshift kitchen on my set at the morning show. "You know I like this job. I can't come back to Nova now."

"I know." He leans on his elbows as he watches me clean the vegetables for the dish I'll be preparing on air today. "I had to ask. It's been tough filling that position."

I know it has been. It's been almost three weeks since he sent Maribel packing.  He's spent that time getting his life back in order, including filling out a police report about the accident and finally getting his smartphone back. Once that happened he showed me a few photographs that he'd taken the night of the accident. They were joy filled pictures of him and Sergio, side-by-side as they both stared into the lens of the phone's camera.

Nova's official opening went off without a hitch. I was there, next to Tyler, as he greeted the first of the food critics. I actually put on an apron and handled some of the sides. I wanted everything to be perfect for him and as the reviews for new Nova started popping up, it was obvious that people were impressed. It hasn't just been the critics, reservations have been filled and the wait list for a table at dinner service is now months long.

"Pamela was telling me that she's considering going to culinary school." I motion to where she's standing with Percy on another set ready to smile as soon as the camera starts rolling. "You could hire her."

"Speaking of Pamela," he says as he reaches for a baby carrot. "Did I tell you that she sent me a picture of her ass? It was one of the first things I saw when I powered my phone back up after the accident."

"You're not serious, Chef." I offer him a snow pea. He pops that into his mouth with the carrot. "Why would she do that?"

He shrugs as he chews. His tongue slicks his bottom lip before it flicks over the top. He's almost completely healed now. His face is back to the way it was, the bruises have disappeared, and the swelling is all gone. The only reminder of the accident is the tremor in his voice when he talks about it and the occasional nightmare that yanks him from my arms.

I've spent every night since I told him I loved him at his place. Sophia's been joking that she's going to rent out my bedroom. I'm beginning to think that it might not be such a bad idea.

"She's staring at you now." I raise my brow. "Pamela's eyes are glued to your ass."

He shakes his jean covered ass before he stands upright. "I don't want that woman's eyes on my ass. I sure as hell didn't want my eyes on hers. I deleted that picture straightaway. I think I need to change my number."

I laugh. "I'll tell her to quit sending nude selfies to my boyfriend."

"You'd do that for me, Chef?" He reaches to cup his hand around the nape of my neck. "You'd tell her to back off for me?"

"You belong to me," I whisper against his mouth. "There isn't a nude selfie in the world that will change that."

"You've got that right." He smiles before he slides his lips over mine for a deep kiss.

***

"You want me to interview my dad for the segment?" I look at Barbara, the producer of Rise and Shine, before I look at Tyler. "He's still recovering from the accident. I'm not sure he's feeling up to being on television."

"We realize that he was just discharged yesterday, Cadence." Barbara leans her hip against the counter. "His story is one that needs to be told and we feel that there's no person better for that than his own daughter."

My dad and I have gotten closer with each day that's passed since the accident. I visited him at the hospital daily. Sometimes we'd talk about the future, more often the past. His trips down memory lane are always punctuated with tears and hugs. He's been trying to make up for the past few years.

After the surgery on his leg I joked that the car accident had saved our relationship. He told me it had. It's given him time to remember what we'd lost. As his body has healed, our connection has to.

Asking him to share that process with the world is too intrusive. It might not feel that way to him, but it does to me.

"Sergio loves the camera." Barbara smiles brightly. "We can set it up for his apartment or if he's feeling up to it, we'll film it at Magari or one of his other restaurants. It'll be on his terms."

"I'll ask," I say quietly. "I can't promise more than that."

"That's enough." She taps her fingers on Tyler's shoulder. "We're going to want an exclusive when the two of you tie the knot."

"We're not…"

"I think I can speak for us both," Tyler interjects as he stares at me. "I think I can safely say that the day this woman becomes my wife is a day that we'll only be sharing with the people we love. It's going to be for us and only us."

"If I knew you'd be all over me like this, I would have talked about marriage sooner." Tyler laces his fingers through my hair. "When you suck me all I want to do is come all over your face."

I moan because how seriously fucking hot is this man?

I'm on my knees completely naked. He's still dressed. His jeans pulled down just enough to free his cock, the hem of his shirt bunched into his fist. He's fucking my mouth with long, leisurely strokes as he tells me how good it feels. How good it all feels.

I lick the length, gliding my tongue over the thick veins. "You have a beautiful cock, Chef. Have I ever told you that?"

He smiles at the gentle reminder of the phrase he says to me every single time his face is buried between my legs. It was there this morning as he licked me to an orgasm before we left for my segment on Rise and Shine.

In the taxi on our way there, I promised him I'd return the favor. I stroked his thick swollen cock through his jeans as I shielded the driver's view with a copy of the Post. By the time we got to the studio, he was carrying the newspaper in front of him, his face flushed, perspiration dotting his forehead.

"If I could spend every single fucking day in this apartment with you on your knees I would."

"Me on my knees?" I grin as I lick the lush head of his dick. "You'd fuck me from behind right here? Right on this floor?"

"I'll do it right now." He growls as he pulls the T-shirt he's wearing over his head revealing even more of his body.

"I want to taste you," I whine before I lick him again, this time with soft, fluttering lashes of my tongue. "I want you to come in my mouth."

"No." He's on his knees in an instant. "Tell me I can fuck you like this, Cadence. Tell me you're on birth control. I'm clean. I know you are."

I turn quickly, scrambling to get on my hands and knees in front of him. "I'm clean. It's safe. Please, Chef."

The sensation of his tongue against my folds drives me to my elbows. I cry out as he licks my pussy softly, his teeth grazing over my clit. "You're wet but I could eat this every single day for the rest of my life."
              I squirm against the pressure of his hands on my hips. "Don't tease me. Fuck me."

He laughs, his breath rolling over my flesh. "I'll give you everything you want."

He does. As he pushes into me, I tell him again, and again and again how much I love him.

***

"You should move in with me," he says as he hands me a glass of water. "Or we can move into your place."

I look around his bedroom. He carried me in here after he fucked me in the living room. It's the first time I've ever made love without a condom. It was intense, so intense that I cried after as I clung to him. He didn't mistake it for regret. He knew that it wasn't about that at all. It was about the depth of our connection, the honesty that exists between us now. We're as open as two people can be and I never want that to change.

"Sophia has been joking about renting out my bedroom." I bring the water to my lips and drink half. "I think it might be the best idea."

He takes the glass from me and finishes the water before he places it on the nightstand. "I'd kill to have you with me here. It would mean everything to have your stuff in the closet. We can cook together when I'm not working."

"I'd love all of that." I reach up to cup his cheek in my hand. "I don't have a lot of stuff. It would only take me a few hours to bring it over here."

"You're saying you'll do it." He slides up to his knees. "Are you saying you'll live with me, Cadence? You'll share your life with me?"

"We can start today." I press my lips to his. "Let's do it."

He kisses me again before he pulls back to stare into my eyes. "Today is the start of our forever."

"I might never run the way I once did."

I look at where my dad is sitting next to a large window that overlooks Central Park. It's a stunning view. It's his favorite. He's told me that three times since I arrived at his condo an hour ago.

"You don't need to run, dad." I adjust the thin blanket that is covering his legs. "You can walk. This is New York City. Some people rush. Other people don't. You'll move at your own pace, the way the rest of the city does."

"What if my grandson wants me to play soccer with him?"

I perk up at the words, my eyes locking on his. "What if your granddaughter wants you to play soccer with her?"

He laughs. "You'll marry him someday, won't you? He loves you. You'll have babies and happiness."

I study his face. He didn’t escape the accident without any outward signs of the trauma the way Tyler did. My dad has a scar on his chin and another on his forehead. Dr. Reynolds mentioned plastic surgery but my dad wanted no part of it. He told her, as I listened, that the scars are a reminder of his second chance at life. He'll see them every morning when he looks in the mirror and they'll push him to live the life he's always wanted, which includes devoting his time to me, and to cooking again.

He's started doing that already with the aid of the nurse I hired for him. He's adjusting to his new normal which includes months of therapy to get him back on his feet again. He's determined to succeed. I'm here to help.

He glances down at the watch on his wrist. "I like this new watch more than the old one."

I smile. I'm glad. The old one was lost forever in the chaos of that night. I tried to locate it but it was futile. It was never registered as evidence. There was no trace of it after the police officer took it from me.

The day before the surgery on my dad's leg he told me that the old watch was our past and the new one is our future. He says that it moves with every beat of both of our hearts.

"I need to talk to you about something." I reach for his hand. "They were asking if you'd feel up for an interview at work. I told them I didn't think that's something you'd want to do."

His brows perk. "An interview about the accident?"

I nod softly. "My boss thinks you want to tell your story and that the best place for that to happen is during my segment."

He lifts my hand to his lips, holding it there. "There is one girl who I want to tell my stories to. That girl is you. My life is different now. Family is what matters to me."

I reach forward to kiss his forehead. "Family is the most important thing, daddy."

"It's the only thing, my girl. It's the only thing."

***

"I never gave you the gift I got you for graduation." He points at a folder sitting atop a desk. "Hand that to me."

I pick it up, its weight obvious the moment I do. It's filled with papers, some yellowed, others not. I rest it carefully in his lap, being mindful of not putting any pressure on his leg. "What is it?"
              He fumbles with his left hand as he tries to sift through the papers. His right is still in a cast but he's been using his fingers more and more. "This is it."

I look down at the stack of papers he's pulled out. "What is it?"

"The first restaurant I ever opened was a disaster." He chuckles. "I told you that. You know it."

I nod. "I remember those reviews you showed me in the paper. It wasn’t good, dad."

"It wasn't good but it was the best thing that happened to me," he pauses. "Second best. You're the first."

I touch my hand to my chest.

"Anyways, I never sold the place. I own the building. It cost next to nothing when I picked it up. It's worth a trillion dollars now."

"A trillion?" I cock both brows as a laugh. "You might be exaggerating a bit."

"A few million." He taps his hand on his leg. "I signed that over to you, Cady, when you graduated. It's empty now but one day you can open your own restaurant there. The location is better now. You're smarter than I was."

I pull in a heavy breath, steeling my emotions. "You're giving me that place?"

"All of my restaurants will be yours one day." His gaze drops to the folder. "You'll take over it all when I'm gone. You'll make me proud. You'll be the best chef this city has ever seen."

I let the tears fall as I speak. "You'll help me when I open my first restaurant, right? You'll help me every step of the way."

"I'll be right beside you." He wipes a tear from my cheek. "I'll stay with you until my time ends."