“Starving,” she said, realizing she was. She’d been tired until he mentioned food. Now it was hard to think of anything else.
“I’ve got something Eric sent over.” He pulled what looked like Bento boxes out of the refrigerator and popped open the lids to peer inside. “I’m not sure what it is, but it smells good.”
“If it came from Comme Ci, I’m sure it is.” Not many people referred to celebrity chef Eric Auxtres as just Eric or had a refrigerator full of food the world renowned chef had made. But Luke and Eric had been friends for years. Apparently close friends if Eric’s reaction when he’d met her had been any indication. She liked the cocky chef, and she’d gotten the impression he liked her and would like to know her much better. He hadn’t acted like he expected Luke to have a problem with that, but it could have just been harmless flirting. It probably was.
She shook her head to clear it. Her fuckfest with Luke had obviously turned on the sex obsessed center of her brain.
“Can I help?”
“You can grab the wine if you want. There should be a bottle of du Martray Chardonnay in the wine fridge. That would probably go with this,” he said, sliding the containers into the microwave.
She couldn’t hold back the laughter that bubbled out. They were going to eat Chef Auxtres’ food from the microwave. It was kind of like printing the Mona Lisa on the backs of playing cards.
“What’s so funny?” he asked. “Eric’s sommelier keeps me stocked.”
“It’s not that,” she said, stifling a giggle. “Nothing really. It’s just the microwave.” She rested her hands on her chin and grinned.
“You can’t tell him. The cocky French bastard won’t let me forget it. I’ll hear about it forever. Or worse, he’ll cut me off for disrespecting ze food.” He said the last bit with a horrible over the top French accent and Claire laughed out loud.
“I won’t say a word. But if he does cut you off, I could probably get you the goods.” She narrowed her eyes appraisingly and then gave him a wink.
“Sweetheart, I don’t doubt that for a moment,” he said, shaking his head. “The wine?”
She squeezed past him to get to the wine fridge and when she bent to retrieve the bottle, he smacked her ass.
“Hey!” she said with a yelp.
“Just trying to get my hand on the goods,” he said with a grin. “I like you in my shirt. I like it even better because that’s all you’re wearing.” He let his fingers dip under the soft cotton and cupped her naked butt. “Much better.” He hauled her against him and kissed her, all heat and hunger.
“Uncle,” she said when he finally let her go. “I’m calling uncle. I can’t have another orgasm.”
His grin was wicked, tightening something low in her belly. “Oh yes you can. I never did get out the Hitachi.” He leaned closer, tugging on her earlobe with his teeth. “I could tie you open, press the round head against your clit and make you come so many times you’d forget your name.”
His words and the way his hot breath fanned her tender skin sent a shiver running through her body. God help her, but with the effect he had on her she didn’t think there was anything she wouldn’t let him do. Being that much at the mercy of his pleasure and hers when her heart was already so vulnerable scared her, more than she was comfortable admitting.
“Maybe I’ll tie you up for a change,” she said knowing full well he’d never let her do it. She may not know everything about Luke Masters, but she knew he was a man who controlled every situation. She wouldn’t be surprised if the weather answered to his commands.
“Not likely, sweetheart,” he said, letting her go with a soft press of his lips to her temple.
She scooted around the counter, taking the corkscrew from him when he offered it. By the time she’d cut the foil and pulled the cork, Luke had set wine glasses in front of her. She poured the wine and then eased herself onto the barstool, tugging the T-shirt down to cover her naked butt. She caught him smiling at her as she wrestled to stay covered.
“It’s not funny,” she said, shaking her head.
“Yeah, it kind of is.” He set the boxes with Eric’s food on the counter in front of her and took his place on the stool beside her.
“It doesn’t matter. I can’t put my panties back on and I don’t have anything else here to wear.” She let the statement hang in the air between them. She wasn’t about to ask him if she could leave some clothes at his place, but this was the time when he could offer.
He didn’t. Instead he dug into the food with such enthusiasm, she wondered if he was deliberately avoiding meeting her gaze. They shared a fantastic ratatouille which hadn’t suffered much in the microwave and a chicken dish which had. But even reheated and turned into rubber, Eric’s food was so much better than most of what she ate. By the time they’d emptied the containers and their wine glasses, Claire was struggling to keep her eyes open.
“Tired?” he asked when she couldn’t hide her yawn any longer.
“Multiple screaming orgasms will do that,” she said with a nod.
“Go ahead to bed.” He cleared the dishes, dropping everything in the sink. He came back around the counter and pressed a kiss to the center of her forehead. “I’ll be there in a little while. I’ve got some work to do first.”
Knowing how much time he’d already taken away from work made her feel guilty. He hadn’t built his empire working part time, and for as hard as he played, she didn’t think he did it often. And now there was the trouble at the jobsite. God, the funeral felt like days ago instead of hours. She thought about Pete and about Maria going to bed without him and she had to blink hard to keep from crying again.
“Are you okay?” he asked, lifting her chin to force her to meet his gaze.
“I’m fine,” she said, willing away the tears. She didn’t want to cry anymore. Not tonight. Not after everything they’d done. All the pleasure he’d given her. But she was feeling raw. “I think the day is finally catching up with me.”
“Go to bed. I won’t be long,” he said, brushing a kiss over her lips.
She went down the hallway to his bedroom, but when she climbed into the bed where he’d had her screaming as orgasm after orgasm rolled through her just an hour earlier, she couldn’t help but feel a little sad. For as hot and physically overwhelming everything they’d done together had been, it had left her nowhere near emotionally satisfied. If anything the stress of the day had left her longing for a deeper connection.
But as her head hit the pillow and sleep claimed her, she worried that she was the only one.
