Seduction and Surrender (The Billionaire's Temptation Series) (8 page)

“Such a polite little thing. So proper and obedient, and yet so fucking sexy.” Holding her to him with a firm arm across her chest, he cupped her breast and pinched her nipple, as his other hand pushed the lace of her panties aside and he slipped his fingers against her slick folds. “Oh, sweetheart…you’re already so wet. All those times you told me that you didn’t want me… Such a naughty girl for telling lies when you promised me honesty. I think you might need to be punished…”

“
Bastard
…” And yet her hips tilted towards his hand, clearly wanting more.

Impatiently, he grabbed at the delicate lace and tore it free of her body, loving the gasp that escaped her lips. Now free to easily explore, he dipped two fingers in past her slick opening as his thumb circled and pressed her clit, teasing her as he started to fuck her with his fingers. She was so responsive, like liquid heat in his hands. “You’re so tight…and so ready… Do you like that, kitten? And please, be honest with me, seeing as the evidence is literally at hand. Your silky wetness...all for me.”

“Fuck…
Yes
.” When he started to pick up the pace, curling his fingers inside her with each thrust, she let out a needy whimper as if struggling to get the words out. “More, Quinn…I’m so close. Harder…”

Pinching her nipple, he bit her neck and slipped a third finger into her—and just like that, her body tightened around him. She cried out and quivered in his arms as her orgasm tore through her in an intense release, his name on her lips.

Still holding her to him, he pulled his fingers free of her and brought them to his lips, his tongue flicking out to taste her. “You taste so sweet, Emma. Next time I’m going to have you properly. I’m going to spread you out on my dining room table and make a meal of you.”

She spun in his arms and fisted her fingers in his hair, dragging him to her and kissing him, her mouth hard on hers as her tongue clashed with his. His cock ached for release and wild as she was, there was little chance Quinn would be able to resist her for long.

Yet he managed to bring their kisses to an end, though he hadn’t a clue as to how the hell he pulled that one off. And as much as he wanted her, he knew it was what he had to do. “It’s time I brought you home.”

“Why?” She shook her head, her brow furrowed in confusion as she started to pull away from him. “What the hell, Quinn? You can’t just make me come like that and then take me home minutes later.”

He held onto her a moment more, not ready to let her go just yet. “I can and I will, sweetheart. This arrangement of ours is on my terms.”

“How could I possibly forget?”

Chapter Seven

Emma didn’t know what had gotten into her last night, but after her date with Quinn, two things were clear: the man was dangerous and she could not be trusted to act rationally around him. She’d expected him to be an arrogant and cocky bastard and he’d been just that. But worse still was that he’d been damn sexy—enough to leave her incapable of denying him. The way she’d reacted to having him close had totally blindsided her. He may have been far sweeter and more considerate than she’d expected, but it still didn’t warrant letting him get her off.

“You haven’t said much, Em, and you’re looking miserable and distracted. What the hell ended up happening between the two of you?” Jake was filleting some salmon with a scowl on his face, his knife-work getting quicker the more annoyed he became. “Do I need to pay Ryker a visit?”

“No. It’s fine. Besides, I don’t want to talk about my stupid date—I want to know how things went here last night with Chef Scott. How was it? Was he amazing?” She’d probably have gotten more out of last night if she’d stayed at work. Not that Quinn hadn’t given her a mind-blowing orgasm. She had to give him credit, even if begrudgingly so. The man was damn good with his hands.

“Em…” Jake shook his head with a smile, his scowl long gone at the first mention of Finn Scott’s name. “Chef Scott was amazing. I mean, to have him here for dinner service? I wish you’d been here. You’d have really liked him.”

“I’m sure I would have. He may end up having to cover for me again—if Quinn has any other events he needs me to attend.” After the way things had gone down, she had no doubt Quinn would want to see her again, if only to gloat. He’d said he’d have her screaming out his name as she came in his arms, and she’d done just that.
Damn him.

Normally she could get a pretty good read on people, but Quinn left her baffled. He just didn’t make any sense. He’d flirted, touched, and teased; made her come, even. Yet when she’d tried to reciprocate, he’d put a stop to it.

What she couldn’t figure out was
why
.

“You’re going out with him again? You can’t be serious, Em.” With an angry huff, Jake got back to his prep work.

“What am I supposed to do? If you like your job here, then I have no choice but to keep this up until he gets bored of me. And frankly, he’s not exactly what you’d expect.” Though why the hell she was defending Quinn, she hadn’t a clue.

He pinned her with those deep brown eyes of his, so that the flecks of gold stood out, making her want to analyze the color closely. “Then why the hell do you look so miserable?”

She shook her head with a shrug, not quite sure how to answer him.

“Chef?” Emma turned to find Bobby, one of her prep cooks, standing there, his gaze not quite reaching hers as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “It’s the walk-in fridge—the big one in the basement. Something’s wrong with it.”

Crap…this was
not
a complication she needed. She quickly washed her hands and her knife, and followed Bobby down the steps into the well-lit basement. She opened the door to the walk-in to find it cool but definitely not as cold as it should be. A quick glance at the thermometer verified her suspicions, and a look at the easy fixes, like the plug and the fuse box, didn’t help matters any. “We’ll need to transfer all the vegetables to the other walk-in, but the meat…” She cursed under her breath. “We can’t take that sort of a chance.”

Having been gone yesterday, she didn’t know how long the temperature had been off, and couldn’t risk anyone getting sick. Luckily, most of the meat was kept in a different walk-in by the kitchen, since it was the most convenient for service, with the basement walk-in housing just the meats that were getting marinated or treated with a dry rub. It was a big loss, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse if it had been her main unit.

With everyone’s help, they got the food moved from one fridge to the other, but the repair technician was still several days out. With frustration gnawing at her insides and stress knotting her muscles, she got back to work by Jake’s side, trying to make up for lost time.

“Is it just me, or does it feel like we’ve had shit luck as of late?” It wasn’t just the lease, and the walk-in, but all sorts of other issues. Her accounting files had gotten fried, a shelving unit where they kept their bottles of wine had given way, and her fryer completely died. She’d been lucky that she kept a backup of her files online on a secure cloud server, and most of the wine bottles had still been in crates, so they lost only a few, but she ended up having to replace the fryer at a major cost.

“Plenty of shit luck. I hate to say it, Em, but you just can’t catch a break as of late.” Jake stopped his prep and turned to her with his brow drawn and a pout on his lips. “I know you’re going to say no, but you know I have money for the repairs. It’s not a problem. Really.”

She shook her head no. Emma knew that Jake had inherited a sizeable chunk of money from a great-uncle who’d recently passed away. Probably didn’t even need to work, if he didn’t want to, yet she didn’t feel right asking him for money. It was her responsibility.

“I appreciate it, but I think I’ll be okay. I’ve got a bit stashed in my emergency fund.” Not that there’d be anything left in that account if this ended up being a costly repair.

A few hours later, she was nearly ready for service when she spied a familiar form walking towards her. It felt like she had the wind knocked out of her, as she was overcome with a wealth of emotions. “What the hell are you doing here—and who let you back here?”

Quinn’s mouth kicked up into a crooked smile, his eyes bright and lit from within. “Such a warm welcome…” He tipped her chin up and kissed her, his lips lingering with unspoken promise. “I’m meeting my brother here for dinner, so I figured I’d check in with you and make sure things were okay between us after last night.”

She felt like a jerk for yelling at him, but she could also feel all sorts of eyes watching them—especially Jake’s. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do this—not now and definitely not here. Things are crazy, and we’re getting ready for service. Plus it’s already been one hell of a day.”

“If I can help in any way…” His brow furrowed with a look of genuine concern, making her think once more that there was a sweet side to him, and perhaps she was mistaken about him.

“Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do. Not unless you have a walk-in fridge strapped to the roof of your car. Mine’s decided to die on me.” The fridge wasn’t even old. Just long enough to be out of warranty. She just had some shitty luck.

He ran a finger down her cheek and gave her a smile. “I can have someone take a look at it—and if not, I can have a new fridge here by tomorrow.”

He had to be kidding. “No one’s going to come out here on a Friday night to fix my fridge. Not even for you. And I do
not
want you buying me a new one. That’s insane—even if I’m grateful for the offer.”

He pulled out his phone, swiped his finger across a few screens, and then ignored her when she started to protest the call he was making. She listened to him, so casual, so cool, as he made arrangements to have some poor man drag his butt to her restaurant on a Friday night. Quinn hung up and gave her a smile. “Ryan will be here shortly, sweetheart.”

“Thanks.” She didn’t know what to say or how to feel. “And I really do appreciate it, but…I’m just used to dealing with things on my own. I can’t have you rescuing me every time something goes wrong.”

“Why the hell not? It’s not like it’s of any consequence if I buy you a new fridge or help you get your old one fixed. It was just a phone call, Emma. And if I want to help you, I’ll do just that. Are we clear?” He raised his eyebrows in question, a challenging look on his face as if daring her to turn this into an issue.

“No, we’re not. You may own the building, but I’m still the one in charge of my restaurant. I’m not some charity case—not yours nor anyone else’s.” She let out a ragged breath and glared at him. “And why do you make me want to argue with you over the smallest thing, when I
do
appreciate your help, Quinn?”

He brushed her cheek, as his eyes darkened and his lips pressed together in a kissable pout that made her want to forget they were being watched. “You’re far too stubborn for your own good.”

“That may very well be the case, but I don’t have time to debate the matter further. I’ve got to get back to work.” Okay…so she was the world’s biggest coward. But she couldn’t have any sort of conversation with him if it involved him touching her, especially when her staff could see her. She had to maintain professionalism—and work was not the place for this sort of thing.

“I’ll be here when you’re done for the night.” Quinn ran his hand down her arm and linked his hand with hers. “I need to talk to you, Emma, and I won’t take no for an answer.”

“It’ll be way too late. I don’t usually get out of here until midnight, and by then I’m going to be tired, cranky, and smell horrible.” And she sure as hell wouldn’t have the wherewithal to think clearly around him—or resist him for that matter. Last night was evidence of that.

“Midnight it is, then.” He leaned in and stole a quick kiss before turning and heading out towards the dining room.

Damn him.

***

With Quinn sitting in the dining room of her restaurant, Emma started the night feeling distracted, sensing his gaze drift towards her as he watched her work from a distance, their eyes meeting whenever she chanced a glance over at him. And damn but the Ryker boys were hot, the two brothers looking far too much alike with their striking good looks to be anything but family. Yet as they slipped further into dinner service, she no longer had the time to think about Quinn as the orders came in, one table after another.

“What the hell is he still doing out there, Em?” Jake scowled as he glared in Quinn’s direction. He’d been in a mood all night. “He can’t just sit there.”

“He can sit there as long as he likes if he’s eating and drinking, and at least the walk-in is getting fixed.” She hadn’t expected Quinn to hang out as long as he had, but he certainly seemed determined to do just that, and with his brother for company, they at least seemed to be enjoying themselves, no doubt running up a huge tab. That said, if he was expecting her to be bright and chipper after such a busy night, he’d be sorely disappointed. “Let’s wrap up this service, yeah? Then we can all get out of here.”

Emma had just another few tables to complete, when Ryan, the repair guy, came looking for her. They stepped out of the kitchen and into one of the hall areas near the bar. “I got it up and running, so you should be all set. But…I’m not sure that the issue with the walk-in was due to a defect or wear and tear. Maybe it was an accident and someone didn’t want to take the responsibility, but I can’t imagine any sort of scenario where you’d accidentally get that kind of damage.”

“You mean someone did this on purpose?” The betrayal stung worse than a hundred beestings.

Ryan shrugged. “Look, I can’t say that. But if it were me? I’d start wondering who I’ve pissed off.”

Her brow furrowed with worry and confusion. She truly couldn’t think of anyone who disliked her enough to do something so malicious, though there was another restaurant just down the road that had not been happy about her opening her doors. The owner was certainly a prick, and there were even rumors he had ties to the mob, but it’s not like she gave the guy access to her kitchen. That meant it was one of her employees, which would make perfect sense given the other “accidents” that had occurred. “Thanks for coming out on such short notice. Let me get my checkbook, and I’ll wrap you up some food and dessert to go since I no doubt ruined your evening.”