Deep Autumn Heat (7 page)

Lexie could barely breathe, and she didn’t care. He felt so good, holding her, possessing her, that she didn’t hear the kitchen door open.

The next thing she heard was Buster loudly clearing his throat. She opened her eyes, realizing with a thrill of horror that they were no longer alone. Within seconds, her brain regained control of her body and rational thought returned. She shouldn’t—no, she
couldn’t—
be doing this. Not now, not ever. She tried to push Seb away from her, but he was having none of it. He didn’t budge, and he leisurely, almost lazily finished their kiss.

Slowly, he unwound his hand from her hair. He was staring at her in surprise. As if he couldn’t believe she’d responded to him like that. She stared back at him, shocked at her own response. At how long it had taken for her to come to her senses. And how quickly she’d taken leave of them. He took his time stepping away.

As soon as she was free, she jerked back out of his reach, her eyes darting from him to Buster. She was breathing heavily, and she knew all too well that her hair was tousled and her cheeks were bright red.

Seb deliberately ignored Buster and gave Lexie a slow, sensual smile that reached the depths of his eyes. “Game on,” he said, his voice roughened with lingering passion.

“This is no game,” Lexie whispered.

“We have a deal. I’ll be back to make the arrangements.” He grabbed his motorcycle helmet from the back of his bike and adjusted it on his head.

As Lexie stood there gaping at him, he swung one long leg over the side of his motorcycle, thrust the key in the ignition, knocked the kickstand out with a booted foot, and revved the engine. His strong, lean thighs gripped the bike, accentuating both it and his large figure.

Lexie had never seen anything more sexual in her entire life.

The roar of the bike filled the alleyway as he eased it toward the main street. Lexie simply watched him go.

* * *

As he pulled down the alleyway, it was all Seb could do to stay on his bike. He was still throbbing from the need coursing through him. Lexie’s image was burned into his brain—her flushed cheeks, her berry-red lips, her bright eyes. He was glad he’d goaded her into losing her cool. She looked utterly gorgeous when she was furious.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such a visceral reaction to a mere kiss. She’d tasted like ripe plums. He’d felt the strength beneath her softness, and her body had melded to him as if she were made for him. When she’d slipped her arms inside his jacket, he’d nearly come undone.

Then he realized that he wasn’t just reacting to the kiss. He was reacting to her. To the way
she’d
reacted to him. It had stunned him. Sure, he’d kissed other women. More than he cared to count, actually. But he never knew if they wanted him as a man or as a famous chef.

It was obvious that Lexie had responded to him in spite of his celebrity, not because of it.

And it wasn’t just lust. He was certain of it. Enough women had thrown themselves at him for him to recognize that particular drive. It was passion. Pure, unbridled passion. She’d opened to him, welcomed him.

His body throbbed harder, his groin pressing uncomfortably against the vibrating, speeding bike.
Damn it
. He didn’t need this right now. He was here to think about his plans for the future, not to get mixed up with a woman who skittered away from him, even after he’d kissed them both to oblivion. But he just couldn’t control himself. She was so ready, so ripe for his touch. Their coupling would be fiery, intense.

Then he sobered. His brothers had warned him. Lexie wasn’t like one of his usual conquests. She wasn’t the type of woman who went for a casual fling. Unfortunately, that was what
he
liked—no strings, no complications, just down-and-dirty sex for as long as was mutually agreeable to both of them. Problem was, he was usually the one to break things off. He knew he would hurt Lexie if they became involved. He knew this with the utmost certainty, just like he
knew that cooking was what he was born to do. And he didn’t think he could do that to her.

For some reason, this tiny woman stirred up a protective instinct he hadn’t known he possessed. What was he thinking, kissing her like that? When he thought about the possibility of hurting her, a twinge of guilt ran through him.

He probably should have just walked away. Hell, he shouldn’t even have shown up at the LMK today. His brothers would kill him if they knew how he’d spent his day. He’d pretended to be reluctant to miss their fishing expedition. In fact, he’d even told them he was handling an important business decision. The truth was less than honorable. Damn, he felt even guiltier now. He needed to clear his head.

Reluctantly, he pushed the vision of Lexie’s sweet, shocked expression out of his mind. Steeling himself against the quickening wind, he leaned forward onto the bike, opened up the throttle, and sped into the black night.

* * *

Sebastian Grayson was nowhere in sight when Lexie arrived at the LMK the next morning. He didn’t show up while she and the line cooks were preparing breakfast. He didn’t appear for lunch service. Lexie half expected him to come waltzing through the door at five as she was closing up for the evening, but there was still no sign of him.

And at the end of the workday, Lexie was annoyed with herself for even thinking about him. The fact that she was thinking about him at all worried her more than she cared to admit.

Giving a small sigh, she checked the clock. Five on the nose. She locked the front door and flipped the small placard around so that it read “closed.” Lexie gave the nod to Dennis to start the final cleanup. Since the restaurant was closed on Mondays, they shut down early on Sunday nights for a top-to-bottom cleaning.

“Are you going to the movie showing on the Green, Lexie?” Dennis asked.

“Buster and I are heading over later. Isn’t that right, Buster?”

Buster gave a low grunt, indicating his assent.

“Super!” Dennis exclaimed. “I’m going with my parents. Maybe I’ll see you there?”

“You bet. But if I miss you, say ‘hi’ to your folks for me.”

“Will do. By the way, I want to thank you again for taking a chance on me with this job. My parents are really grateful, too. I need to save all the money I can for college next year. Things are a little tight at home and every bit helps.”

Lexie smiled at him and patted his arm. “Your mom was really kind to me when I first moved here. I’m happy to repay the favor. Besides, you’re doing a great job. It’s hard work, and I know you could’ve found something easier to do. We’re happy to have you on for as long as you can stay. And I’m holding open a position for you for next summer, if you want it.”

Dennis’s young face broke into a huge grin. “Really? That’d be awesome!”

“You don’t have to tell me now. I can hold it open for you until spring.”

“Wicked! Wait till I tell my mom. This’ll really help for school.”

“No problem. Now let’s finish cleaning up so we can get out of here and down to the Green.”

“Sure thing.”

Lexie, Buster, and Dennis worked in silence for another hour. At six-thirty, Lexie pronounced everything clean, and Dennis went home to join his family. There was still some time left before the movie, so Buster went upstairs to his apartment and Lexie planned out the week’s specials in the dining room. An hour or so later, Buster came back down with his jacket and some warm blankets and did a final sweep of the restaurant.

With his head, he gestured to the top of the file cabinet where they’d been keeping the packet of threatening notes from Paige. “Getting pretty full up there. Want to take them home?”

“Sure,” Lexie said, slipping them into her bag. “Why not? It’s not like they’re doing me any good here.”

They stepped onto the street and Lexie locked up the LMK behind her.

“You talk to Art?” Buster asked as they were walking toward the Green.

“No. I called, but I ended up speaking to some guy named Tony who apologized for the missed deliveries. Honestly, he seemed kind of distracted. I’ll try to reach Art, but I’m seriously wondering if we should consider a new supplier. We’ve been having problems with them for a month and it’s getting frustrating.”

Buster grunted his approval. “And the lawyer?”

“I’ll try to deal with that later this week.”

Soon, Lexie felt the crisp grass under her feet as she and Buster walked through the park to the field where the movie would be screened. In the dimming light, she could make out dozens of colorful blankets already laid out on the ground, families and friends gathering together to enjoy the first official holiday weekend of fall. Shining gas lamps surrounded the Green and a few scattered lamps were positioned throughout the park, too.

Lexie skirted the crowd, scanning for familiar faces, but at first glance she didn’t see anyone she knew. Buster set their blanket down close to the trees on the left side of the crowd, about twenty yards from the large screen that had been set up on the edge of the Green. Lexie was about to pop open their small cooler to get some hot cocoa when something rustled in the grass behind them. She turned expectantly, ready to make pleasantries with their temporary neighbor, but when she looked up, her greeting died in her throat.

It was Sebastian.

Lexie tensed and started to rise.

“Don’t go,” he said quickly. “At least, not on my account.”

Lexie sat there awkwardly, torn between leaving and staying. Buster tensed beside her, obviously ready to assist her however she needed.

“Seb?” another voice sounded in the evening air. Val Grayson suddenly appeared beside his brother. Lexie was well aware that Val was considered to be extremely handsome, but next to Seb, he seemed to fade into the background. She nodded hello to Val.

“Please, just sit down,” Lexie said before turning back around. Val snapped a blanket open and arranged it on the ground. Within moments, everything went dark.

“What are we seeing tonight?” Seb whispered.

“
Casablanca
,” Val responded.

“Isn’t this the one where she goes off with the wrong guy at the end?”

Lexie gave a loud sniff of disapproval as the opening credits began to roll.

Seb chuckled in the growing darkness.

The crowd grew quiet once the dialogue started. Lexie tried to relax and enjoy the movie, but soon she felt an uncomfortable prickling sensation at the back of her neck. She rubbed it gently, but the feeling wouldn’t go away. It was almost like someone was watching her.

Lexie stiffened and her eyes narrowed.

It was
exactly
like someone was watching her.

Slowly, very slowly, she turned her head around. Sebastian’s face was bathed in the dim glow from the large movie screen and a nearby lamp. His panther eyes were trained directly on her and he had a hungry expression on his face.

He wasn’t even pretending to watch the movie.
Stop it
, she mouthed.

Seb raised an eyebrow.
No
, he mouthed back.

Lexie’s brow furrowed slightly.
Why not?

Instead of mouthing back a response, the corners of Seb’s mouth curled up into the wickedest grin Lexie had ever seen. The look in his eyes changed from a challenge to one of sensual promise. The man was sex personified. Lexie’s mouth dropped open and she snapped her head back to the movie screen. As if she could actually concentrate on the film now.

Lexie didn’t trust herself within two feet of that man. She had to get away from him. “Buster,” she whispered urgently. “Buster, I have to go now.”

Buster gave her a questioning look, then immediately turned to look at Seb. “I’ll come with you,” he said gruffly, as he returned his gaze to Lexie.

“No, no. I’m just going home. I brought my car today. I’ll be fine walking back to the restaurant by myself.” Buster gave her a searching look. “Really. I’ll be fine,” she said firmly. “Can you bring the cooler back to the LMK after the show?” Buster nodded his assent, but he
didn’t look happy. Lexie ignored his expression. “Great. I’ll see you on Tuesday, okay?” He nodded again.

Lexie stood up from the blanket and quickly walked away without looking at Seb. She’d made it thirty yards away from the Green when she heard footsteps coming up fast behind her.

Whirling to confront Sebastian, she realized too late that it wasn’t him. A stranger wearing a black ski mask bore down on her. Caught off balance, Lexie stumbled in surprise and the stranger shoved her back hard. She fell to the ground and within seconds, the figure was on top of her, gripping her shoulders. Then, the stranger’s gloved hand began to reach for her throat.

When Lexie stalked off into the night, Seb rose to follow her. He didn’t want to ruin her movie night—
that
certainly hadn’t been his intention. As he walked, he saw someone emerge from the shadowy trees and he immediately sensed that something was wrong. His concerns were justified when the figure started to advance on Lexie. He was too far away to prevent Lexie from getting tackled to the ground, but not too far to try distracting her attacker with noise. “Get away from her!” he yelled, racing forward.

Seeing that Seb was larger and more muscular, Lexie’s attacker sized the situation up in an instant and chose to run. By the time Seb reached Lexie’s side, the stranger had disappeared into the darkness. Seb’s shouting had attracted the attention of the other moviegoers, who were now turning around to see what all of the commotion was about. It was too late for anyone to pursue the attacker; it was dark and he was long gone.

Lexie sat up slowly, still slightly stunned. Seb held out his hand. When she didn’t immediately take it, he bent down.

“You okay?” he asked softly.

Lexie swallowed and moistened her lips before speaking. “I … I think so,” she said somewhat dazedly.

Seb breathed a sigh of relief. “Any idea why that guy was after you?”

“N-no,” she stammered. She shook her head and winced. “No.”

“Can you stand?”