Steamed (Steamed #1) (4 page)

I sighed with relief, loving Sarah even more. “Sure,
thanks.”

My friends walked away leaving me with Link by my side. I turned
to him and he smiled.

“Come with me,” he said.

Chapter Seven

Link took me up to the bar and we sat down. Aside from the
private booth areas it was the only seating available in the place. There was a
good mix of men and women at the club and everyone seemed to be having a really
good time. The club was a hit so far.

“What would you like to drink beautiful?”

I smiled, “An Old-Fashioned.” I liked that he called me
beautiful. It made me feel sexy.

“A whiskey girl, I'm impressed. I didn't take you for a hard
liquor girl.”

“Well maybe that's because you don't know anything about me.
I am partial to wine, but this is not the place for wine.” I winked at him.

“No it is not.” He said looking at me intensely. He only
broke his gaze so that he could order us the drinks.

I watched as he talked to the bartender. They high-fived and
Link put in our drink order. The bartender was quick and efficient, which I
liked to see in the food industry. The business was only as good as the people
that helped make it run properly. If your staff was useless you were doomed.

He handed me my drink and I took a sip. “Delicious, thank
you.”

“Anytime.” He smiled. It looked like he had a standard rye
and ginger, which I knew a lot of guys tended to drink. It was a no-nonsense
kind of drink.

“So tell me something Gemma...”

“Yes?” I asked curious. I took another sip of my drink,
enjoying it immensely. There was just something rough about whiskey that made
you feel like you were a complete badass for drinking it, especially if you
were a woman. There weren't too many female whiskey drinkers out there.

“What kind of lawyer are you really?”

I almost spit out my drink when he asked. Oh god, what was I
going to say? I didn't know anything about being a lawyer. I didn't even know
what cool lawyers did…probably corporate work but then why would I have
anything to do with someone in the restaurant business? Ugh! I could just about
kill Jared for getting me into that mess.

I blanched. “Well actually, it's sort of -”

“Gemma?” He said while chuckling.

“Uh...yes?”

“I know you're not a lawyer. I also know that you are
Jared's sister.”

“Oh thank god,” I breathed out with relief. I wasn't
disappointed at all that the flimsy charade of mine was over. It had been a
rather pathetic attempt to say the least.

He chuckled, “Excuse me?” He was surprised that I hadn't
even tried to fight it.

“I was getting a little tired of that ruse.”

“Is that right?”

“Yup. But how did you know? I thought I had pulled off a
rather convincing lawyer impression.”

He smiled, “Oh I don't deny that at all. You really gave it
to me there.”

I grinned; I liked that he was playing with me. “So how did
you know then?”

“Well I think your brother forgets that I used to work for
him and that he has a gorgeous sister that not one of his staff could ignore
even if they wanted to.”

It was my turn to say, “Excuse me?”

“I saw you coming and going many times when I worked there
as a chef. We all knew you were his sister and you're pretty hard to forget.”

I blushed deeply. “I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't
notice you. I could have sworn I knew all his staff.” How did I not notice
Link, especially if he had obviously seen me at some point?

He laughed, “No one ever notices the kitchen staff, so don't
feel bad.”

I shrugged sheepishly. But it was time to get straightforward
with Link. “So now that you know my real identity, do you want to explain to me
why you would steal Jared's recipe and then sell it to a food manufacturer?
It's pretty low.” I took a sip of my whiskey and waited to hear his side of the
story.

His brow furrowed, “What are you talking about?”

“Jared told me that when you left you took one of his secret
recipes and then sold it. He said that’s where you got the money for your new
restaurant.”

“You have to be joking.”

“No, I'm not. I'm willing to hear your side of the story
though.”

“My side? I didn't steal anything Gemma, I can promise you
that. Your brother is lying to you. That was my secret recipe. And yes I did
use it a few times while I worked for him but it was not his recipe, he didn't
own it. So when I left I was taking my own recipe, not his. I wasn't about to
leave it there for someone else to use. He just didn't like the fact that I
owned something popular and he couldn't have it anymore; he can no longer use
it on his menu. I'm not the crook here. You didn't get the real story, and
that's pretty sad considering he's your brother.”

I nodded. I didn't know what to say. I definitely believed
him; he really had no reason to lie to me. I was shocked that my brother had
got me caught up in all of this. Why did he involve me in the first place,
especially if he was going to lie to me? He could have left me out of the
situation entirely. Instead he involves me to the point where I have to pretend
to be a lawyer and for what? A lie?
Just one big huge lie?
I couldn't imagine why he would do something like that to me. It just made no
sense.

Would he really lie to me? Why? He could have just told me
the truth and it wouldn't have mattered to me. I don't involve myself in drama
that my brother gets into, so he shouldn't have felt like he needed to lie to
me. He would always be my brother no matter what, so why lie to me? I would
need to get to the bottom of things but I needed to talk to Jared first before
I formed any real opinion on the situation. If Link was telling the truth then
Jared and I would be having it out for sure, but I didn't want to say anything
in front of Link out of respect for my brother. I at least wanted to hear his
side of the story before coming to any conclusions. I hardly knew Link and I
needed to be loyal to Jared until he gave me a reason not to be. My loyalty in
the situation would end if I found out that he lied to me. But I wasn't willing
to take Link's word for it without talking to my brother first. What a mess...

“I am impressed that you were willing to do that for your
brother though, you guys must really be close.” Link smiled weakly. He must
feel bad that he broke the news to me about my lying brother...okay I wasn't
sure yet...he could still be innocent. I needed to hold onto that thought.

“We are…I love him a lot. I would do anything for him. But
at the time I didn't even know the full story. I just thought it would be fun.
And I didn't expect that you would be the owner either so things got a little
out of hand.”

“Well if it helps, as soon as I saw you I thought you were
breathtaking - definitely the best part of my day was having you walk in and
yell at me. I don't normally talk to customers unless there is a complaint made
but when I saw Lisa talking to you I just had to come over and see you. I
thought it was my lucky day. I never got a chance to talk to you while I worked
for Jared, which was my mistake.”

I laughed, “Oh really? I guess I wasn't very terrifying as a
lawyer then.”

“Oh I was completely terrified. Don't worry.” He winked at
me and I laughed. He had a great sense of humor and seemed very good-natured
about everything. He didn't seem to care that I made a fool of myself
pretending to be my brother’s lawyer. Nor did he seem fazed that I had a
brother that might be lying to me. He just went with the flow, not a care in
the world. I was really starting to like Link a lot and I was glad I didn't
have to go around pretending I was something that I was not. That would make
things very complicated between us and they were complicated enough. Jared
would probably be furious if he found out I was there with Link. But I couldn't
help myself; I was drawn to him. We just had such a strong connection for two
people who had never met before. It was something that I just wanted to give
myself up to and see where it took me. I didn't want to ignore Link just
because my brother was feuding with him. Jared should have left me out of it
from the beginning. It wasn't everyday that you met someone that made you feel
alive and that was how I felt every time that I was around Link.

“What do you say we go do some dancing?” He asked.

 
I nodded; I
loved the idea. Especially since it meant that we could get nice and close. The
idea of Link's hands on my body sent chills up my spine. I wanted him close to
me.

We got up from our seats and we headed to the dance floor.
Sarah and Lisa were already out there dancing with some guys so I made sure to
steer clear of them. I knew I was in for a barrage of questions from them, but
it wasn't going to be tonight. I wanted Link all to myself, even if it meant
avoiding my friends for the time being. I wasn't sure when I would get another
opportunity like this. When we got into the middle of the dance floor, Link
grabbed me suddenly and slammed my body against his, causing shivers to run up
my spine as I looked up into his eyes. He had beautiful brown eyes and I could
just get lost in them. I smiled up at him, feeling incredible in his presence.

Link brushed my hair out of my face and pressed me up
against him, breathing me in. I felt a little dizzy being that close, but I
wouldn't have it any other way. He bent down and nipped my neck with his teeth.
I gasped as electricity went through my body. I was so surprised that he had
acted so aggressively. I didn't expect that from him at all. I smiled up at him
and wished he would do more to me. His hands found my hips again and he held me
to him. I could feel his excitement for me pushing against me. I was beginning
to get turned on knowing that
he was becoming aroused just by
dancing with me
. We were so close together. The music was throbbing
around us and I was having trouble breathing. The moment was so sexy and I
longed to kiss Link. I wondered if there was a chance that I would be kissed
that night. I would take full advantage of it if it happened. I wanted to put
my lips against his and feel the heat between us. He didn't look at another
woman all night; he had been focused solely on me.

“Do you have any idea what you're getting into with me
Gemma?”

“Oh? And here I thought you were some responsible business
owner. Are you trying to tell me that Link has a dark side to him to?”
Please say yes, I always loved a dark side.

He laughed.

I was surprised by the forcefulness of his voice when he
spoke to me. He was so close to my face that he was almost kissing me and I
felt light headed.
Kiss me,
I
thought. I just wanted to be kissed. He was driving me insane and the feelings
were not familiar to me. No man had ever made me feel so crazed before, like if
I didn't have him I would lose my mind totally. I no longer cared about
anything or anyone else in the room; it just felt like the two of us there. I
just wanted to be possessed by that man who seemed to be able to thrill me with
very little effort.

He laughed, “I don't know about a dark side, but I'm not all
innocent either.”

“I think I do know what I'm getting into, thank you.” I
thought for a moment that he would kiss me, and I ached as I waited for it. I
had been longing to find out what his lips would taste like up against mine.

Chapter Eight

“Come with me.”

Link grasped my hand in his and he pulled me off of the
dance floor.
 
I followed him through
the crowd and up a red staircase. He was leading me to the VIP lounge. I hadn't
realized that he had a booth; he must have arranged it before he arrived. When
we got upstairs it was far fancier than the reserved booths downstairs. It was
a special VIP area. I had no idea that they had that extra room for VIP
customers; I had assumed that it was just the booths below. I wondered how many
people were aware of this part of the club. I guess with enough money you knew
where the special places were. Link must have a really good friend to be able
to lock in one of the luxury booths. Some of the booths had curtains to allow
for private parties, in case you didn't want to be disturbed by other guests.
There were a few other people up there having their own private parties.
 
It looked incredible and it was the
perfect place for someone who enjoyed the finer things in life.

Link took me to one of the private booths and we went
inside. It was so elegant that I wanted to live in there, if only it were big
enough.

“Wow these are nice booths. This club is bound to be
successful with these for sure.” I really was impressed by everything I saw.

“Yeah, it's a nice place isn't it?” He was looking around
the booth.

A waitress peeked in with a smile on her face. “Hi guys!
What can I get for you?”

She was a busty blonde with a bright smile but Link barely
paid her any attention. It was really refreshing to see a guy not check out a
girl’s rack.