Consume Me (Master Chefs #3) Read online

  “Grab them, Tar. Squeeze them tight. Lift them up so that you’re almost choking on them. Can you feel how luxurious they are?”

  Reveling in the sensation of her firm flesh in her hand, she groaned her pleasure. “I want you to slide your dick between my tits. I want you to cum and slather my tits.” Being so far away from Errol, Taryn talked as naughty and sexy as she could, wanting the words to convey her lust for Errol. In phone sex with Errol, it was either go strong and hard or don’t bother at all.

  “Is anyone passing by?”

  “In the distance, there’s a guy coming. Hold on, there’s a girl with him, too.”

  He hissed a deep breath. “Can he see you?”

  “No. Not yet.”

  “Are they getting closer?”

  “Yes. Now. I think he just spotted me.”

  “Does he see your tits?”

  “Um… Yes.”

  Errol sucked in a deep and jagged breath. “Lucky bastard.”

  “He’s staring at me.” Her own breath was difficult to control. “His girl doesn’t seem too happy, though.”

  “Put your hand down your pants.”

  Fully aroused by the sound of Errol’s voice in her ear and the stranger’s eyes on her, she hurried to unzip her jeans, pull them open and pull them down just enough to give the passers-by a peek. Shoving her finger deep inside the heated moisture and rubbing herself where she was heated the most, she gasped, surprised by the intensity of the long-distance orgasm that Errol was giving her.

  “He just slowed down,” she said through raspy breaths.

  “Are you about to cum, Tar?”

  “Yes.”

  “And I’m about to explode. Are his eyes on you?”

  “Yes. He’s looking straight at me. His lips are parted… He just licked his lips.”

  “Look directly in his eyes.”

  “I am.”

  “Do you see his hunger? His desire to have you?”

  She growled. “Yes.”

  “Do you see my hunger for you in his eyes?”

  “Yes.” Staring into the man’s eyes, she could see his burning desire in them, and he stopped to move a hand down to his cock, where there was an unmistakable large bulge in his pants.

  “Can you feel me, Tar?”

  “Yes,” she shouted as her orgasm took control, and she began to shake.

  He growled in her ear deeply and she knew he’d also reached that climactic moment.

  Tar closed her eyes, her last vision that of the hot and bothered young man being tugged along by his angry and flustered girlfriend.

  “As great as that was,” Errol whispered, “it can’t beat having you here in person. I want you here, Tar. I need you… bad. I want to feel you wrapped around me while I go deep into you. Why don’t you take the weekend off? Go straight to the airport, get on a plane and come be with me.”

  Taryn considered his invitation. She couldn’t deny how she longed to see him, to feel him, to hold him. The sound of his voice, and making love to him over the phone only emphasized how she missed him. Added to that were Matt’s words. If she were to speak to Errol about the whole fire situation, she thought it best to do it in person.

  “You know, I think I’d like that. I could just run in, see my mom a bit, pick up a few things and head straight to LaGuardia.”

  “I’ll call right away to make sure there’s a ticket waiting for you,” he said.

  “That’d be great.”

  “But, Tar…” There was a strange hint of shame and embarrassment in his voice.

  “Yeah?”

  “Look, since the whole thing with the fire…” He cleared his throat. “The insurance money didn’t come in like I’d expected and the remodeling is almost more expensive than building the place to begin with and it’s busting the bank. And… well… First class is a little pricey, so do you mind if…”

  “Errol, of course I don’t mind. I don’t care whether I fly first class, coach or economy. Hell, I’d fly in the baggage compartment if it meant I could be with you for a few days.”

  “Baby, you're amazing. That’s one of the things I love about you. You find pleasure in the simple things.”

  “Well, I find a lot of pleasure in you, but you're far from simple,” she teased.

  He chuckled. “Just get your ass over her as soon as you can.”

  “Will do.” She hung up, euphoric at the thought of seeing him. Then the wave of dread hit her.

  What if Matt was right?

  Chapter 2

  “Is that you, Tar?” Samantha called from her bedroom.

  “Yes, Mom.” Tar kicked off her shoes as her mother came out to meet her. “I brought you a little something for dinner. A bit of salad and a few grilled shrimps.”

  “I’m not really hungry.”

  “Mom, you know what the doctor said. You have to start eating a bit more.” She walked to the kitchen and pulled containers of food out of a paper bag.

  “I know. I will. How was everything at the restaurant?” Picking up a container of plain noodles, she took a whiff.

  “Great. Everything went smoothly.”

  “And…?”

  “And what?”

  “You have that expression on your face; the one that appears whenever you have to tell me something, but don’t want to tell me anything.”

  Taryn chuckled. “Will I ever be able to hide anything from you?”

  “Maybe when I’m old and senile. So, what’s on your mind?”

  She turned to her mother, a confident fist propped up on her hip. “Okay, let’s make a deal then. You eat a bit more than just a few mouthfuls and I’ll tell you what’s on my mind.”

  “You drive a hard bargain, daughter of mine.” Sam grabbed the wide and flat platter of salad at sat at the little dinette table. “Well, you lose, honey, because I was ready to dive into this salad anyway.”

  Taryn pulled up a chair and sat facing her mom. “Errol is in Paris.”

  “Taping his cooking show. Yeah, I know honey, you told me.”

  “For the past weeks we’ve called each other a few times. It’s great hearing the sound of his voice and…”

  “Go to Paris, honey.”

  “Huh?”

  “That’s what you really want to do, right?”

  “Yeah, but…”

  “But what, honey? I’m out of commission? Bobby is in school?”

  “Well, yes.” She reached out to pick a piece of lettuce.

  “Look, Errol or not, you need a vacation. You’re not going to do anyone any favors if you collapse from exhaustion. You’ve been running the show on your own long enough. I’m finally back on my feet and I’d fully intended to go back to the restaurant Monday morning anyway. The timing couldn’t be more perfect.”

  “Mom, Bobby is in school full time now. He’ll hardly be there to help you… maybe a few hours on the weekend if you're lucky, but that’s all.”

  “You still have Errol’s crew helping us out, don’t you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And they’re doing a terrific job, aren’t they?”

  “They sure are.”

  “So where’s the problem?” Sam speared her fork through the salad and took a big mouthful of vegetables.

  Taryn smiled.

  “Hmm, really good.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Your vinaigrette?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Nice.”

  “Thanks.”

  After a few more mouthfuls, Sam looked her daughter in the eye. “You know what, honey… Errol is the kind of man who won’t just sit around waiting for the next phone call. I mean phone sex can only take you so far. He’ll get bored, he’ll get restless, he’ll get needy and he’ll get laid somewhere else.”

  Taryn’s jaw dropped open as she gaped at her mother. “Mom!” she whined.

  “Don’t look at me like that, sweetie. I’ve been around the block a time or two. I do know what men want, you know.”

  “I
know, but…”

  “Look, all I’m saying is… don’t neglect him. Don’t take him for granted. Don’t forget that he’s a strong, rich and powerful man, who needs a woman like you at his side.”

  Taryn nodded.

  “But also make sure you don’t forget the sensitive soul that he is.”

  “There’s so much to do here,” Taryn whispered. “I can’t imagine leaving you to…”

  Sam reached out to take her hand. “You managed to do what I’m sure hundreds of women have attempted; you broke through Errol’s hard exterior and melted his loving interior. But I have a feeling that if he’s away from you too long…”

  “The hard exterior will come back,” Tar finished.

  “If he has abandonment issues, he could come to feel abandoned by you if you ignore him too long. I assume he’s the one who asked you to go see him.”

  “He asked me to get on the next flight out.”

  Sam threw her fork into the salad and shot out of her chair. “Then what the hell are you doing here talking to your ole ma over a salad? Get packing and get out of here.”

  Taryn stared at her mother, amazed with her strength and wisdom. “Are you sure, Mom?”

  Not wasting another second, Sam grabbed Taryn’s arm, pulled her out of her chair and led her to her bedroom. “I’ll help you pack.”

  Giggling, Tar sat on the edge of her bed and watched her mother. With more efficiency than she would have thought her mother capable of with her injuries, Sam pulled a small suitcase off the top shelf of Taryn’s closet.

  Suddenly solemn, she whispered, “Mom?”

  “Yeah, sweetie.” She threw the suitcase open on Taryn’s bed.

  “What happened to Dad?”

  She froze for a moment and simply stared into the empty suitcase. “Your father had a lot of demons,” she finally said. “He didn’t really have the makings to be a father to anyone. Not that I’m defending him, but he didn’t have an easy childhood and he was constantly haunted by his past.”

  She turned to open the drawers of Taryn’s dresser and pulled out various articles of clothing. “I did my best to hold up my end of the bargain. I tried to raise you guys, keep you guys happy, all the while keeping you quiet… keep you out of his hair. I had to make sure he got enough rest so he wouldn’t complain too much. I worked two jobs to make sure there was food on the table. Meanwhile, he drank and gambled his paychecks away.”

  “I remember seeing you go off to work a lot.”

  Sam nodded. “Your father did try. I’ll give him that. For a while he had a really good paying job, not that it changed anything for me. I still had to work my butt off. Anyway, after working for this drilling company for a few months, he got a lucrative contract. He’d been invited to train a whole crew down in San Antonio. I was ecstatic. It felt like everything was finally coming together. We moved you guys down there and I thought we were finally on our way to something special.”

  “I think I vaguely remember that. We’d gone to visit one of the missions there, didn’t we?”

  Sam chuckled. “All of them… San José, Espada, San Juan de Capistrano, and your favorite, La Concepcion,” she said with Latino flair. “You loved it all. The architecture, the history, the beauty.”

  “What happened? Why didn’t we stay there?”

  “We were only supposed to be there for eight months. That’s how long they gave your dad to train the crew there. The money rolled in. His paychecks were huge. I could hardly believe it. We were housed and they even gave him a gas and grocery allowance, so we had little expenses. I started dreaming of everything we could do with those big paychecks.”

  She turned to look at Taryn. “I wanted a house. I had never even dreamed of the possibility before, but as the money rolled in… I didn’t want anything big and ostentatious, just a cute little bungalow with a nice yard, in a nice area.”

  “I guess that would have been nice. So what happened then?”

  Sam shrugged. “The minute we got back here, your dad went out and paid the rounds for his buddies. Then there were the late night poker games and of course the casino. I think there may have even been a few women involved in his escapades. Anyway, within two months there was nothing left; not even enough to pay the next month’s rent. For all that work, we were back to square one.”

  A long lingering silence hung over them.

  “Is that why I don’t really remember much about him? I don’t ever remember opening Christmas presents with him, or going to a ballgame or the park.”

  “He was relatively good with those things when you guys were really young, but before you turned five he’d lost interest in playing the daddy role. For the next few Christmases, he promised to be there, but would either arrive hours after you guys had opened your presents and gone to bed, or worse still, he’d arrive early but he’d be so drunk, he’d ruin everything for everyone.”

  She threw a few things into the suitcase then ran her fingers through her hair.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up…” She turned her attention to packing her own things.

  “That’s okay. It’s probably time you knew a bit more about him anyway. You’re a grown woman now. It’s only normal that you wonder about him, but I have to admit, it’s no walk through the park talking about it.”

  “He hurt you, didn’t he?” Taryn pulled a few things out of the suitcase and when her mom didn’t answer, she turned to hug her.

  For a brief moment of weakness, Sam leaned into her daughter and gave way to the pain of the past.

  “The important thing is,” she said as she pulled back, “I got back on my feet and came out stronger than ever. I never wanted you kids to feel the effect of an absent father.”

  “You succeeded, Mom. And I’m sure Bobby would agree.”

  Sam patted Taryn’s cheek. “Now enough of this talk and let’s get you off to Paris.”

  Tar looked at the almost full suitcase and reached in to pull a few more things out. “I think I have more than enough. I’m only going for the weekend.”

  As she started to pull items out, Sam grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

  “Bring more. You never know.”

  “Mom, I’m not going to leave you alone for an entire week. Bobby is so preoccupied with school. He’s become so ambitious lately and all he thinks about is developing new ideas, and new recipes. I would hate to see him have to take time out from his classes to be here because you're alone.”

  “I told you sweetie, I’m back on my feet. I’m back to my old self. Bobby can go to his classes, work on his recipes and plan his future all he wants. In fact, I want him to. I think he’s going to make a great chef one day.”

  Taryn grinned. “I think so, too. Who knows? Maybe one day he’ll even come to the Culinary Institute in Paris.”

  “Can’t say I wouldn’t like to have an Errol King in the family,” Sam said with an amused giggle. “He has all the makings to give Errol a run for his money. I just don’t want the restaurant to hold him back. Sam’s is my baby and I’ll handle it. Bobby is smart enough to end up in Harvard or Oxford, if he chooses, and I’d rather see him there than wasting his days in my little restaurant.”

  “You're right. He can go as far as his imagination takes him, but still…”

  “Honey, did you ever stop to consider… maybe I’d like to take care of things on my own after being on my back for so long?”

  Stunned, Taryn looked at her mother.

  “I’m eager to get back to Sam’s. I’m eager to have those long and tiresome days that leave me exhausted, but so satisfied. And with Errol’s crew… what a dream.”

  “If you're sure.”

  “Sweetie, if I see you walk through that door before the week is over, I’m going to spin you around and send you right back out.”

  An immense weight was lifted off Taryn’s shoulder and her lungs filled with sweet and fresh air like it hadn’t in a long while. Her mother’s push out the door was exactly what she needed. />
  She clipped her suitcase shut, took a quick shower and grabbed her passport and purse.

  “Take care of that man of yours, honey,” Sam called from the door.

  “And you take care of yourself.”

  “I will. Now scoot.”

  With a giggle and a skip in her step, Taryn hurried out to grab a cab to the airport. Once on the plane, however, she was dogged with uncertainty and questions. While her mother had made it clear she approved of Errol, Taryn couldn’t help but wonder if she’d be able to keep his demons at bay. They’d been so present when she’d first met him in Paris, so much so, she’d feared staying with him could destroy her.

  But now she wondered; were his demons really gone, or were they simply dormant, just waiting for the opportunity to come back?

  And when they did come back, could she handle them?

  Chapter 3

  Taryn was a jittery pack of nerves as she arrived at the television studios in Paris. Seeing Errol again after two weeks of aching for him, hungering for him, and dreaming of being in his arms, she wondered if she’d be able to keep from jumping all over him. This was his professional stage, after all, and she didn’t want to look the fool in front of his crew.

  With a broad smile on her face she reached the kitchen set where they taped his show. A clean-up crew was busy washing dishes, wiping off counters and occasionally picking in the platter of appetizing croque monsieurs set in a platter.

  “Pardonnez-moi,” she said in a halting accent.

  Three sets of bright, brown eyes turned to her.

  “Oui,” the smaller woman said.

  “Where is Errol King?”

  “Errol?” She turned to the taller woman and the young man cleaning the kitchen with her. “Est-ce qu’il est toujours ici?”

  The only word Taryn picked up was ‘ici’, ‘here’. Could he be gone already?

  Three sets of shoulders shrugged as they looked apologetically at her.

  “Monsieur King a presque fini pour aujourd’hui. Heez almost finish for today.”

  Taryn turned to the sound of the booming male voice.

  “I’m the stage manager, so my eyes are everywhere, all the time,” he said with a strong French accent. He walked up to her carrying a tray laden with various ingredients. “He is in his dressing room getting ready for the next taping.”