Soul Sweet (8 page)

“How nice of him,” Serene said when he’d turned away to talk on his phone.

Misha kept her eyes on Cameron. “Very nice.” Her gaze ran over the sweat-drenched cotton shirt that hugged the contours of his back.

Very nice indeed.

Serene cleared her throat and Misha shifted her attention back to her sister, deftly ignoring the ‘I see you looking, girl’ look she was giving her as Cameron came back over to them.

“All right. You two are good to go. Jerry, my driver, is about to pull up. Let’s go out front.”

Misha and Serene followed Cameron when he took hold of her sister’s suitcase and proceeded to wheel it outside to the already waiting limo. The two sisters greeted Jerry when he took the suitcase from Cameron.

“Thank you so much, Cameron.”

Misha nodded. “Yes, we appreciate your help.”

“No problem, ladies. There’s nothing more stressful than getting to the airport late.” He opened the limo door and they got into the back seat. “Serene, now you’ll have plenty of time to get through security and to your gate. It was nice meeting you. I hope you have a safe flight back home.”

Serene buckled her seatbelt and leaned her head back. “You’ve greatly reduced my stress level.”

“Good.” Cameron glanced at Misha. “I’ll see you later.”

Serene waved as he started to close the door. “Bye, Cameron.”

“And, there’s your taxi.” Misha pointed out of the window as the limo slowly pulled away from the kerb.

Both sisters watched Cameron walk up to the cab. Misha could tell from his body language that he was dismissing the driver.

“Chef Sexy is very helpful.”

Misha gave her sister a bright smile. “Mm-hmm… He is.”

“Mm-hmm… And from what I can see, for you…distracting as hell.” Serene popped a piece of gum in her mouth. “Wait until I tell your girls you’ve got your eye on a white guy.”

“Don’t you dare.” Misha glared at her sister.

Serene held up her hands laughing. “Relax. I’m not saying a word until you do.” Her sister wagged her finger at her. “And you will.”

“No, I won’t because nothing is going to happen between me and…and…Chef Sexy.”

“I think you actually believe that.”

Misha sighed. “I believe you’re getting on my nerves.”

“Only because you know I’m right.”

“Wrong.”

Serene shrugged with barely concealed amusement. “Okay, Mish.”

“Let’s just get you to your gate on time.”

Serene nodded and thankfully changed the subject.

* * * *

Forty minutes later, her sister was at her gate and Misha was in the limo heading back to the hotel. She answered the incoming call when her cell rang with a smile. “Hey, Kaden.”

“Hey, yourself.”

“I can’t believe you took time out of your busy schedule to call your little sister.”

“Mom told me Serene had to come back early. I had to make sure you were all right being out there alone.”

Misha pressed her fingers on the window. “I may be your little sister, Kaden, but I’m a big girl. Besides, this is the Emerald City, not New York City.”

“Speaking of New York City… Isn’t that where that new chef is from?”

“He’s actually from Chicago.” Misha grasped her cell tighter at the mention of Cameron. “He moved to New York when he opened his restaurant there.”

“Oh right, that’s right. I’ve heard good things about his spot downtown. Maybe one of these days I’ll make it over there with Aimee.”

“Serene’s already been and she said it was great.”

“Well, Chef Banner makes
Celeb Chef
interesting. I love how he carefully chooses the right words to completely school your sub-par competitors.”

“Sub-par? They’re here for the same reason I am, because we’re damn good chefs.”

Kaden chuckled. “Calm down. You know there can only be one chef standing after the flour settles, right?”

Now Misha giggled. “Yes, I know that.”

“I want you to flatten the competition with your spatula.”

“Enough with the kitchen metaphors.” Misha grinned at the sound of Kaden’s deep laugh. “How’s Aimee doing?”

“She’s busy as usual too. She told me to tell you she’s rooting for you all the way and so am I.”

“Aww… Thank you. Please tell Aimee I appreciate that.”

Her brother exhaled. “I will.”

“Kaden?”

“Yes?”

“Is everything okay? I’m getting this weird vibe from you. Something’s off.”

“Ahh… So, you’re tapping into your psychic abilities now like that crazy friend of yours.”

“Hey, I’m going to tell Ava you called her crazy.”

“Go ahead. She’ll take it as a compliment.”

“Probably. No, seriously, Kaden, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Stop worrying about me. You’ve got enough on your plate.” Kaden laughed. “Kitchen metaphors just come so easily when I’m talking to you.”

“You’re a mess.”

“You just make a mess in that kitchen and bring that win on home.”

“I’ll do my very best.”

Misha ended the call just as Jerry pulled the limo up to the entrance of the hotel. She moved to unfasten her seatbelt when her door opened. Glancing up, she blinked in surprise when she saw Cameron leaning down to look into the vehicle.

“Please tell me your sister made her flight.”

Her stomach dipped and bobbed at the warmth in his voice and smile. He’d showered and was dressed to entice wanton thoughts from any mortal female, wearing dark jeans and a sand-coloured sweater that complimented his sexy green eyes.

“She did. Thank you again.” Misha tried to keep her eyes on his face when she wanted another quick look at his freshly shaven jaw line.

“Before you get out, I want to invite you to join me for brunch.”

His invitation thrilled her more than she’d be willing to admit to anyone.

Misha’s eyes widened. “Now?”

“Right now. You’re already in the car. I can whisk you away unseen.” Cameron glanced around. “In fact, I should get in, guarantee no one accidentally sees us together.”

Misha envisioned sharing a meal with Cameron as he got into the limo then closed the door, effectively sealing in his tantalising scent with him. His leg brushed against hers and she scooted over in an attempt to avoid any further physical contact. He smelt so damn good and his proximity made it hard for her to think rationally. She wanted to grab hold of his denim-clad thigh and squeeze, test the hard muscles she knew lay beneath.

“So, Misha, what do you say?”

The amusement in his voice mortified her as she whipped her gaze up from his thigh. She attempted to play down her discomfort with a cool smile. “I’d say I might be a little underdressed for brunch.” Misha ran a hand over her own worn jeans.

“You look perfect.” Cameron rapped on the partition, turning to her as the limo moved away from the kerb once more.

Tiny tendrils of awareness teased Misha’s senses as his gaze trailed up from her heels to her face. “There’s nothing sexier than a woman in a pair of nice jeans.”

Cameron
wanted
to see Misha underdressed.

Hell, he wanted to see her naked, covered with sweat in his bed, but that didn’t mean he didn’t appreciate the way he’d seen her jeans hug her juicy ass. She’d paired the denim with a black, short-sleeved cowl neck sweater and a sexy pair of matching slingbacks. He’d taken a chance ambushing her. For a moment, he’d thought she was going to refuse his invitation. She had some reservations where he was concerned—he could see it in her eyes every time she looked at him—and he intended to find out if that was because he was a judge on the show or because she felt the electric chemistry between them too. He couldn’t wait until they’d reached their destination, where they’d have total privacy. Something he’d been wanting for the two of them since he’d laid eyes on her.

“You do realise I didn’t actually say yes to this unexpected brunch invitation.”

Cameron watched Misha push the button on the door to crack her window. He resisted the urge to reach out and wind his fingers through her crinkly, ebony tresses. “So, say yes and make this brunch date official. I know you don’t want to say no.”

“It’s hardly a date.”

Cameron grinned as Misha broke eye contact to rummage around in her purse for her cell. “Does the idea of going on a date with me make you uncomfortable?”

“Why would it?”

“I can think of a few reasons.”

He expected her to ask what reasons he spoke of, reasons he wanted to explore and discuss, but she remained silent while she fiddled with her phone. She felt the spark between them, Cameron was sure of it, no matter how hard she tried to play it off.

“Where are we going?”

Her voice sounded a little breathless to Cameron as she placed the device back in her purse. He wondered how she’d sound moaning for him if he was buried deep inside her slick warmth. Cameron shifted in his seat to hide the evidence of his stiffening cock.

Damn.

What was it about this woman? Why could he think of nothing more than tasting and taking her?

“Cameron?”

Her brown eyes held his and Cameron knew he wouldn’t be satisfied until he’d heard his name falling from her lips in a sing-song of pleasure wrought by him. “Say yes to my invitation officially and I’ll tell you. Otherwise, I’ll have Jerry take you back to the hotel. Is that what you truly want?”

Misha gave him an exasperated sigh. “No.”

“Good.” He smiled, realising how hard admitting she didn’t want to go back must have been for her. “You’ll be glad you came with me today.” His unintentional choice of words sent more blood rushing to his cock.

Something flicked in Misha’s eyes and Cameron wonder if the same illicit images of the two of them erotically entangled had popped into her mind too.

“We’ll be there soon.” Cameron lowered his window. “Is that too much air?”

“No, it feels good.”

Fuck.

Cameron needed the crisp air to clear his head. It was important to him that Misha enjoyed this impromptu date and he didn’t think she’d appreciate the hard-on he was somehow getting under control.

“So where are we going?”

Cameron glanced at his watch. “You’ll find out in about four minutes.”

Misha sighed. “You said you’d tell me if I officially said yes to this.”

“I did, and I will if you really need to know right now. We’re so close. I want it to be a surprise. Cool?”

“I suppose.”

“Great, thank you.” Cameron returned her smile. “Are you hungry?”

“I am. There was only time for coffee this morning.”

“I always make time for a cup.”

“Me too. My sister says I act sub-human without it.”

Cameron looked out of the window, noting that they were almost at their destination. “Not a morning person?”

“I’m not one of those super chipper chatty chicks in the a.m., if that’s what you’re asking. Are you?”

“Am I super chipper and chatty? No. I prefer to start my mornings as slow as possible. I will purposefully wake up a little bit earlier to make sure I have extra time before I have to get out of bed,” Cameron said as the limo came to a stop. “We’re here.”

Misha turned away from him to peer out of the window. “We’re at a dock.”

“Yes, we are.” Within a minute, Jerry opened Misha’s door and Cameron got out and walked over to where Misha stood. “Shall we?”

“This is a surprise, not what I expected at all.” Misha followed him across the short boardwalk to the yacht. “Very nice.”

“A friend of mine is letting me use it while I’m here in Seattle.” Cameron helped her step aboard. “I have one in New York, but I rarely get a chance to take it out.” He watched her move to the railing to stare out over the water.

“So you know how to handle this boat?”

Cameron chuckled as she looked at him. “Yes, I do. I have many talents besides cooking. Come this way.” He led them over to a beautifully set table alongside the rail overlooking the ocean.

“This”—Misha gestured at the elegant spread of fruit kabobs, breakfast burritos, and thick slices of bacon—“is amazing, Cameron.”

“I’m glad you approve.”

“Is that regular orange juice?” Misha pointed to the decanter of juice next to the crystal glasses.

“Pineapple orange mimosa.”

Misha nodded approvingly. “You’ve outdone yourself.”

Cameron lifted her goblet, poured the mimosa, and handed it to her before filling his own glass. “Let’s have a toast.”

Misha raised her glass and gestured towards the breakfast table. “To delicious experiences?”

“I like that.” Cameron elevated his glass, thinking of several different ways to give her exactly that with no food involved. “To delicious experiences.”

“Mmm… This drink is really good.” Misha took another sip. “I should tell you I’m a bit of a mimosa connoisseur. I think this”—she lifted her glass—“is my new favourite.”

“Thank you. It’s my recipe and I wish I could say I prepared the rest of this, but there wasn’t enough time. Next time, I’ll cook for you.”

Misha raised an eyebrow. “Next time? That’s presumptuous.”

“Is it? I don’t think so. You haven’t tasted that burrito yet. I know the chef and it is incredible.” Cameron poured more mimosa into her glass. “Why don’t you have a seat while I take us out on the water?”

“No way. I want to see you pull this baby away from the dock.”

“All right, follow me.”

Cameron moved into the main cabin of the yacht and turned on the motor. “First things first…” He grabbed a life jacket out of a cabinet. “I need you to put this on.”

“Oh, lawd.” Misha took the vest from him. “I’m feeling even more butterflies in my stomach now.”

“No need to be nervous.” Cameron waited for her to slip the life jacket on. “I know what I am doing and I won’t let anything happen to you under my care.”

“I think this thing is too small.” Misha glanced up from the closures she struggled to snap on the vest, pulled taunt invitingly over the swell of her breasts.

“Let me help you.” Cameron walked over to her. “You just need to adjust it to fit you properly.”

“Oh.”

Cameron took his time loosening the proper straps, savouring their close proximity and the alluring scent of her perfume as he carefully cinched each closure. “Okay?” he asked upon hearing Misha’s slight intake of breath when he had finished the one beneath her breasts.