Delicious (15 page)

He looked furious enough to spit nails.

Tyler’s preservation instinct must be nonexistent because, instead of backing off, he tightened his arms around her. She pushed against his chest and nudged him away. Reluctantly, he let her go, muttering a vile curse.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Luc asked him.

Crossing his thick arms over his wide chest, Tyler looked pumped up on fury. “My job. You?”

“Since when is your job trying to get into Alyssa’s panties?”

“She only wears thongs, actually.”

Alyssa gasped. “Tyler!”

Luc ground his jaw, fists clenched. This situation was headed for the toilet unless she diffused it.

“Stop it, both of you. Tyler, can you leave us alone for a few minutes?”

“I’m not budging if there’s any chance he’ll hurt you.”

Spine stiffening, Luc stalked across the room. “I’d never hurt her. Ever. You, I’d pound just for fun.”

“Bring it on, asshole.”

“No more!” Alyssa yelled. “We have things to do today that don’t involve you two beating the shit out of each other.” She looked at Tyler, eyes pleading. “I’ll be fine. Please . . . You’d be doing me a big favor if you’d pick up my dress from the tailor.”

Tyler clenched his teeth and seethed, ripping his keys from the pocket of his jeans. “If you need
anything
, if he harms one hair on your head, call me. You know I’m here for you.”

She nodded. His devotion nearly brought her to tears. Why couldn’t she love him the way he wanted her to love him? Life would be so much less complicated.

But easy was never her lot.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

He drew closer, his face solemn, communicating both his dedication and concern. Then he cupped her face in his hands and placed a tender kiss on her lips. A second later, he was gone.

Now she was completely alone with Luc. The silence was deafening.

“You’re here early,” she said to break it. “The others have already done most of the prep work in the kitchen, so you should—”

“Stop it.” He stalked to her, unnervingly close. “When I woke alone, I worried about you, but you left before the bed was even fucking cold so you could run to
him
?”

Alyssa paced across the room. How
dared
he imagine, after what they’d just shared, that she could possibly jump from his arms to Tyler’s? Here she was, terrified that she’d lost her heart to a man who might never be able to truly love her back, and he imagined she’d run to another lover. That alone confirmed that, no matter how intimate last night had seemed, no matter how much her feelings had grown, his hadn’t changed. She could not lose her heart to someone who didn’t respect her. Someone likely to leave her in five days and never look back.

“Aren’t we just fucking?” she challenged.

He stalked after her and grabbed her arm. “Goddamnit, answer my question.”

“You think I’m
capable
of jumping from your bed to his? That I’m so insatiable, what we did last night and this morning wasn’t enough?”

Luc didn’t say anything for a long moment, just stared with blazing eyes. “I don’t want to think that. God, woman. You singed my skin off. It was amazing. I looked forward to waking up this morning and having you again. But you never slept next to me, did you? I rolled over a few minutes ago, and you were gone. Now I find out now you’ve been with Tyler for the last . . .” He glanced at his watch. “Three hours. I walk in, and he’s holding you. He kissed you, for fuck’s sake.”

“A friendly peck!” she argued.

“Friendly, yeah,” Luc grunted. “I’m sure everything on his mind is platonic.”

“I don’t control his thoughts, just mine. What’s on my mind
is
platonic, whether you believe it or not.”

“Give me a reason to believe it.” His dark eyes beseeched her. “You look exhausted. The first words I hear out of his mouth are a plea for you to give him
more
because he’s dying. Which implies that you were giving him something in the first place.”

Alyssa closed her eyes. Maybe it was Luc’s jealousy talking—at least in part. The other part . . . He was just never going to change his opinion of her, and no matter how much she cared, how sincere she was in expressing her feelings, how chaste she was with every other man, he’d never believe she was anything but a whore.

“I can stand here in perfect honesty and say that in the last three months, I’ve had sex twice, both times with you. Can you say the same?”

Luc paused, swallowed. His dark eyes flashed with guilt. His silent answer gouged her with pain. Bitterness flooded her mouth.

“Three months ago, I was in a relationship.”

Helping his cousin fuck the man’s pretty wife. It burned her to know that Luc had jumped from her bed to Kimber’s and never looked back until Deke had cut Luc from the action.

Suddenly, Luc paused, then frowned. “Are you and Tyler . . . dating?”

It didn’t matter what she told him. He’d never believe the truth. “Tell you what—you give me all the details about your relationship with Kimber, then I’ll spill my secrets. Deal?”

His face closed up. “There’s nothing to tell.”

Alyssa didn’t have to know the whole story to know he was lying through his teeth.

“So you didn’t fuck her after you left my bed?”

Luc closed his eyes, the uneasy tightening of his face making her insides bleed.

“This isn’t about what I did or didn’t do with Kimber.”

“Then why is it about what I did or didn’t do with Tyler?”

“Three months ago, we didn’t make any promises or demands,” he pointed out.

“We didn’t make any last night, either,” Alyssa flung back at him. “A night of sex doesn’t entitle you to the details of my relationship with Tyler. And after this chat, spending last night with you was a mistake I won’t be repeating.”

His eyes flared with fury, and he stomped across the room. “Like hell. For whatever reason, you went to a lot of trouble to seduce me. Mission accomplished. Just because last night is over doesn’t mean we’re done.”

Luc’s words were spoken like a vow, and Alyssa’s insides quivered. As much as she still wanted him, they couldn’t continue like this. Even last night she’d realized that the longer she stayed in his arms, the more likely he would break her heart.

For months, she’d been romanticizing the connection between them. She wanted him for more than sex. Now she knew beyond all doubt that the yearning didn’t run both ways.

“Wrong, Romeo. Last night was great, but you’re already in another relationship and I don’t ‘fit into your future.’” She shrugged. “Itch scratched. Moving on.”

“No way in hell,” he snarled. “Are you saying that you have a new itch, this one for Tyler? Is that what this morning was about?”

Alyssa got how he might think that. If a man had disappeared so quickly out of her bed and she’d found him in another woman’s arms, even if it was to be consoled, she’d be confused and hurt. Despite Luc’s jealousy and whatever feeling he had for her, it didn’t add up to anything lasting. And if she kept sharing her body with him, she’d never get her heart back. Anything less than full reciprocation on his part would crush her.

“This isn’t about Tyler. Yes, I spent a lot of effort to seduce you, but you said when you arrived that sex between us wasn’t smart. Allow me to admit that you were right.” She checked her watch. “Misa will be here in five minutes and she’ll be expecting direction. The rest of the staff will arrive in an hour. You’ll need every minute to prepare. We’re expecting a full house tonight.”

A moment later, she heard a car door slam. Tyler was back in record time. She breezed past Luc, headed for the restaurant’s front door.

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close. “Where are you going?”

She jerked free and lunged for the door. Luc didn’t want her . . . but he didn’t want anyone else to have her. Alyssa refused to play that game. Hopefully, dishing back some of his own medicine would put some distance between them.

Smiling tightly, she quipped, “Maybe it
is
time I let someone else scratch me.”

THE mock dinner service was winding to a merciful end. The evening had been flawless. The muggy afternoon had given way to a cooler evening, and Alyssa had thrown open the doors to the patio, bringing the outside in. The food had been impeccable, the help she’d hired perfect. Not a hint of an undercooked steak or overcooked vegetables. The waitstaff had been deferential and efficient. Patrons all around smiled—and Bonheur had secured lots of future reservations.

Professionally, Luc couldn’t be happier.

Personally, swallowing nails would be less painful than forcing down the fury inside him.

He stood just outside the kitchen, loitering in the hall, looking for a certain gorgeous blonde . . .
There
. She drifted from one table to the next in a graceful sway, her elegant black dress tastefully draping her gorgeous body. She’d swept up her hair in something classic and feminine. Understated diamonds winked at her ears and her wrist. Sophisticated, refined. A perfect match for her atmosphere.

And she still gave him a raging erection.

Smiling graciously, Alyssa paused at the next table, visited with guests, accepted a hug from a couple. Their toddler fisted her hands into the long sway of Alyssa’s hair, and she smiled, kissing the little girl’s forehead.

The sight of her affectionate gesture jolted Luc. He swallowed down a sensation he could term only pure longing. God, what an impossible wish. Just because Alyssa liked that child didn’t mean she wanted any of her own. Or would be the sort of dedicated mother his own had been. Besides, even if she ended up having a huge maternal streak, she wasn’t what he needed, and the road to parenthood with him wouldn’t be easy.

Besides, Tyler was scratching her itch now. And Luc was alone—trying not to feel the confusion and pain crushing his guts.

A moment later, Alyssa drifted outside, under the external lighting, pausing to greet an older couple. Not five feet from her, Tyler watched her unblinkingly.

What had they spent the afternoon doing? If it was what Luc feared, that was his fault. Had he pushed her away with his accusations and behavior? Why the hell hadn’t they just enjoyed their time together and had a week of uncomplicated sex?

Because nothing between them was uncomplicated. He couldn’t touch Alyssa and feel nothing.

That scared the shit out of him.

Someone waving caught his attention, and he looked up to see Kimber standing with a hesitant smile and an upraised hand.

Resentment jabbed him. Deke was living the life Luc wanted with a wonderful wife who would never refuse him her body or tell him that she had someone else to scratch her itch. She understood Deke’s hang-ups and been patient until he learned to overcome them. Alyssa . . . What would she think if she knew he could not father children? Would she shrug—or think him less of a man?

With a sigh, Luc made his way over to Kimber and his cousin.

Deke stood and held out a hand. “Good work. Food was incredible. You always cooked fine meals when you lived with me, but you outdid yourself on this.”

“Super delicious,” Kimber added with a dimpled smile.

Luc shook Deke’s hand, then slipped an arm around Kimber. “Thank you. And congratulations.”

He forced himself to look at Kimber and mean the words. He
was
happy for her. For Deke. Somehow, someway, he’d find this ideal future for himself, and maybe he could get over the choking envy.

“Thanks,” she murmured. “We’re thrilled.”

“As you should be.”

Deke beamed with joy.

“I’ll do my best to be a very committed uncle and spoil the tyke like mad.”

Kimber smiled and hugged Luc close. “You’re such a wonderful person, I have no doubt you’ll succeed.”

“Are you done cooking?” Deke asked.

Luc nodded. “The last ticket went out about ten minutes ago.”

“Good. Sit. We’ve got hardware to discuss.”

“On that note, I’ll run to the ladies’ room. I already spent three hours looking at the equipment on the trip over. Nice stuff. I hope Alyssa will be okay.”

Without thought, Luc’s gaze sought the woman in question. She was winding her way across the patio, the night breeze stirring the pale tendrils at her neck. Making him ache for her.

But he had to get his mind back on the present.

As if their sex life wasn’t fucked-up enough, Alyssa had some prick threatening her. In that respect, Luc was glad Tyler was doing his job so diligently, even if he didn’t like that the other man watched her as if she were dinner and dessert all in one.

Deke looked at him, then Alyssa. He brought his gaze back. “What’s up with you two?”

Luc started to evade the question. But he stopped. Avoiding this . . . thing between him and Alyssa wasn’t making it go away. And it needed to; he knew that. Why couldn’t he work it out?