Luscious(6)

Macon stilled, as though processing his good fortune. He nodded slowly, but there was a satisfied gleam in his eyes. “I can do it.”

“Good because that’s the last time I hire some dude from France.” His eyes trailed to her. “Can you handle her? She’s shaky.”

“Yes, Chef. I’ll take care of her.” Macon reached out a hand.

She wasn’t getting fired? She wasn’t getting fired. The knowledge seeped into her like a warm blanket. She really should have tried harder. She would have liked to have been the reason Timothy had turned that peculiar shade of purple.

She looked at that big hand of Macon’s. It was callused and rough and it had defended her. Maybe he’d been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but it seemed like years in the Army and hard work in the civilian world had toughened him up. He wasn’t the guy she’d thought he was.

“You don’t have to be scared of me, sweetheart,” he said quietly. “Let’s go and I’ll get you a drink and you can settle down. He’s not going to hurt you. No one’s going to hurt you here. Not while I’m around.”

She put her hand in his and the minute that massive slab of flesh closed over hers, she felt warmer, stronger than before. Safer.

She followed him inside, her fingers tangling with his.





CHAPTER TWO





“That wind is picking up,” Sean said as he stepped out into the alley. “Has anyone checked the weather?”

Macon hadn’t worked at another restaurant, but he was fairly certain most head chefs didn’t take out the trash. Sean dumped the bag and let the lid close with a crash.

“We’re under a watch until two a.m. Both tornado and flashfloods.” It wasn’t raining yet, but there was a heaviness to the air he didn’t like. Dinner service was long over and the rest of the staff had done their jobs. It was just him and Taggart and Ally.

“Okay, let’s clean up and then I’ll come in and do the books tomorrow. I don’t want to risk getting cut off. The road into our neighborhood floods sometimes and I don’t want Grace and Carys alone if we’ve got tornados to worry about.”

“I’ll do it.” It seemed a shame to make the man come in on his day off when Macon didn’t mind. “I wasn’t doing anything else tonight anyway.”

Except maybe talking to Ally. Since that moment he’d opened the door and realized she was in trouble, something had taken root in his chest. She needed someone to look out for her. She’d made a single, pitiful attempt to protect herself, but he hadn’t missed how her eyes had slid away after he’d clocked Timothy the Ass. She’d expected to get fired. She’d been surprised when it didn’t work out that way. She would have walked out with her head hung low if Taggart hadn’t proven to be the man he was.

“Are you sure?” Taggart asked. “Because I was really looking forward to the day off. My stepsons are in town and I’d like to spend some time with them. I would owe you, man.”

He shrugged. “If it gets really bad, I’ll sleep on the sofa in your office. I’ve slept worse places. And besides, you don’t owe me a thing. I appreciate how you handled Asswipe today.”

Arms crossed over his big chest. “Yes, about that…I was planning on talking to you. Now seems as good a time as any. That girl is in trouble.”

Well, Eric had warned him. He’d already made his decision. He’d made it the minute she’d put her trembling hand in his and laced their fingers together. He was an idiot but somehow she’d become his in that moment. “I’ll take care of her.”

Taggart’s eyes narrowed and Macon was reminded of a dad looking out for his daughter. Taggart gave a damn about his employees. “Really? How much care are we talking about?”

“I don’t know. I’m not declaring my love for her or anything. I barely know her. I’m attracted to her. It’s not simply physical. I like her. She’s a sweet kid.”

“She’s twenty-six. She’s not a kid. And she’s got some issues. I think she thought I was going to blame her for the incident.”

Macon nodded. “Yeah, I caught that, too.”

“Look, I’ve talked to Adam. I know you’re not completely settled in. If you want, I’ll find a way to take her home with me. She can stay in our guest room.”

What was left unsaid was the fact that she wouldn’t stay there for long. He’d been training at Sanctum for a few months now and even he recognized that Ally would likely enjoy D/s. It was all there in the way she deferred to those around her, the way her eyes slid away the minute someone she admired put some bite in his or her tone. As a long-term Dom, Sean wouldn’t have missed any of that. Sean would introduce her to friends who would pick up on the highly submissive streak she had and before Ally knew it, she would be some well-meaning Dom’s sub, taken care of and protected.

Fuck that.

“I said I’ll take care of her.”

Sean’s lips curled up and he chuckled. “Damn, that’s quite a look on your face. Okay. You’ll take care of her. Let me know if you need anything. And service went well tonight. You did a great job.”

All his doubt came back, needling him. “I don’t have the education Timothy had.”

Taggart shook his head. “You’ve got the skill. Practice a lot. Send anything you work on over to my brother’s house. Ever since the twins were born my brother drowns himself in sweets. Seriously, he’s getting fat. Fatherhood is putting a nice spare tire on the old boy. Big Tag is going to mean something totally different soon.”

Were they talking about the same Ian Taggart? There wasn’t an ounce of fat on that man. He was all muscle and sarcasm from what Macon could tell. Ian was his brother’s favorite sparring partner. They could trade jibes all day long.

“Will do. I’m really thankful for the opportunity, Chef.”

Sean put a hand on his arm. “Make the most of it. If you think you’re in over your head, let me know. I’ll be honest, I would rather go with you than find someone else. You’re family. So we’ll cook what you know for a couple of weeks. Practice at home and we’ll expand the menu. We’ve got strawberries coming in Thursday. A big case of them. I’ll expect something good.”

His mom had a great recipe for strawberry pie and shortcake. He could tweak it, elevate it. He could make a shortbread cookie and whip his own cream with an infusion of vanilla that would truly show off the flavor of the berries.

“And you’re off in your own world already figuring out how to use those berries. I told you, you’ll be fine. You were born to do this job.” Sean headed for the door. “And thanks for filling in on the paperwork. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. There are pillows and blankets in the closet in my office. There’s also a bottle of excellent Scotch you can dip into. And don’t mind the other things you might see in there. They’re only for play.”

Dear god, that could mean anything coming from Sean or his friends. Macon had accidently walked in on Jake and Serena testing some sort of suspension thing Serena assured him was all for research. He’d seen way more of his sister-in-law than he’d ever expected to see and way, way more of his…well, of Jake.

He knocked now. He knocked a lot.

A raindrop fell, hitting him squarely in the forehead. It looked like one of those nights, but at least he wouldn’t toss and turn. Doing the books would give him something to do. He stepped back into the kitchen and walked toward the front of house.

He would get right on that paperwork after he dealt with the problem of Ally Jones.

He strode through the door that separated the kitchen from the dining area as Sean was waving good-bye to Ally. Chef Taggart ducked out into the rain.

And they were alone.

“Sean said you’re working on the books so he could head home before the storm.” She glanced at the doors Sean had gone through.

He needed to lock those suckers. He made quick work of it and pulled the blinds closed.

When he turned back around, she was clutching the broom she held like it was a lifeline. Maybe this wouldn’t be so easy. “Do you want to hold the keys?” He placed them on the hostess desk and backed away. “That way you know you can leave when you want to.”

She sighed. “God, am I that much of a scared mouse?”

He wouldn’t put it that harshly. “It’s obvious you don’t trust men.”

“It’s not like that. I’m jittery from earlier. I’m sorry. It’s nothing personal.”

“I won’t take it personally, Ally. We’ve all got scars. Some of us wear them on the outside and some of us got ’em buried deep. You don’t feel comfortable being alone with me, but I promise you have nothing to worry about. How can I make you feel better? You got a phone on you? You can keep it close. There’s an emergency button on most phones. You can call it without having to unlock the phone.”

Her eyes rolled. “Fine. You’re not the big bad wolf.” She walked up to him, putting her feet in front of his. She had to turn her neck up to see him. “I’m not scared of you. You’re a big old teddy bear, but you’re not like a lot of the men I grew up around. They were a bit more like Timothy.”