The Night Off (20 page)

Deb studied her face carefully. “A lot less money in a culinary career than sex work, I imagine.”

“Very true.” Money didn’t matter much to Nat. It never had. That made it easy to save most of what she earned—enough to handily accommodate a major decrease in income. “I don’t need a lot of money to make me happy. Cooking is my real passion, and I want to pursue it even if it means harder work for less pay.”

“It does.” Deb nodded, as though she’d made a decision. “I’ve never told you what I do for a living.”

“No, you haven’t.” Deb had always kept the details of her personal life closely guarded, preferring to speak only in generalities, except when she confided in Nat about how badly she missed Laura. Curiosity piqued, Nat said, “Are you going to tell me now?”

“Talk about serendipity—I happen to own and manage a restaurant. Right now we serve breakfast and lunch only, but I recently decided to extend our hours to include dinner service as well.” Deb’s voice rang with pride. “I’m actually looking to hire a new sous chef. It wouldn’t provide the kind of pay you’re used to, but I can promise you’ll get good, solid culinary experience. My head chef Armando has high standards, and he’s an excellent teacher.”

Nat’s heart pounded and all her insecurities flooded back. “That would be an amazing opportunity, Deb, but you don’t even know if I can really cook or if I’m just delusional.”

Deb chuckled. “Come by the restaurant next week. You can prepare a couple of your favorite dishes for me, and we’ll talk.” She waggled her eyebrows. “If you’re even half as good at cooking as you are at fucking, you’ll be just fine.”

Anxiety took hold. “I’ve never worked in a kitchen before. I’m not even sure I’ll know what to do.”

Deb sobered. She scooted closer, taking Nat’s hand between her own. “Do you know how much you’ve done for me over the past seven years? Every three months, you’ve reminded me what it’s like to
feel
again. What it’s like to pleasure a woman. It may seem like a little thing, but it’s not.”

Nat shook her head, caressing Deb’s handsome face with her hand. “It doesn’t seem little.”

“I’d be honored to have the chance to do something for you now. I’m sure I’m not the only client you’ve made happy over the years. Frankly, it’s long past time for you to be happy, too.” Deb kissed Nat’s palm. “If working in a restaurant would make you content, well, I’m just pleased I happen to own one.”

Nat laughed. “Me, too. Assuming you decide I’ve got what it takes.” She hesitated. “I don’t want you to give me a job out of pity, okay? If my cooking sucks, I want to know. If I need to work on my skills, I will. Whatever it takes.”

“I promise to be honest with you. But I’m not worried. I have faith.”

Nat wished she could say the same. “Whether or not you end up being able to offer me a job, it would be great to get some feedback from someone in the industry. That would mean a lot.”

“Good.” Deb smiled. “So does Emily know about your upcoming career change?”

“She knows I want to cook, but I haven’t told her it may be sooner rather than later.” Nat hadn’t dared speak to Emily about her growing unease with her job. She didn’t want Emily to read more into her feelings than she was ready to reveal. “I figure I’ll wait until I have something to tell her. When it’s not just an idea anymore.”

“Well, hopefully it’ll be more than an idea soon.” Deb shifted so she could withdraw her wallet from her back pocket, then fished out a business card with a flourish. “Here’s my number at the restaurant. Call me tomorrow and we’ll set something up for next week.”

Nat took the card, humbled by the offer. “Thank you.” She studied Deb’s face. “You’re sure you wouldn’t feel awkward working with me?”

Deb waved off her concern. “I trust you to be discreet. You can expect the same from me. If I do ever become your boss, I assure you that our sexual history will be nothing more than a distant—albeit pleasant—memory.”

It was sweet for Deb to be concerned, but honestly, it hadn’t occurred to Nat to worry. She was a teenager the last time she had a job that didn’t involve occasionally sleeping with her boss. “I appreciate that.” She had a sudden thought. Sheepish, she said, “So…maybe it’s time I tell you my real name.”

Amusement deepened the lines at the corners of Deb’s mouth. “You’re not really ‘Sean’?”

“Nat Swayne.” She offered her hand in greeting. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Tell me something you’d like to do with me. One of your own fantasies.”

Nat sighed as Emily’s sultry tone washed over her. She wished they were acting out their fantasies together instead of simply talking about them on the phone. It had been a week and a half since she’d last touched Emily, a week and a half of calls like this one. As much as she cherished their conversations—falling in love a little more with each one—she craved Emily’s physical closeness so keenly it hurt. Tonight marked the end of their lengthy separation, as Colleen had an overnight college-orientation session. Unfortunately, Emily wanted to wait until Colleen called to confirm that she’d reached campus before they met.

Waiting for a teenager to check in was torture.

At least talking served as effective foreplay. Nat considered Emily’s question, then said, “I want to restrain you—with rope. I know a number of different bondage positions. We could experiment to find which you like best.” Hearing an almost imperceptible hitch in Emily’s breathing, she paused to allow her imagination to take over.

After a brief silence, Emily murmured, “What would you do to me once I was restrained?”

“Touch you everywhere. Lick you. Put my fingers inside you. Use a vibrator to tease and torture your pussy until your entire body is shaking.” Nat slipped her hand into her boxer briefs but didn’t dare touch her clit. She wanted to save herself for tonight. “I would force you to come over and over again, all while you’re powerless to stop it. I would only stop when you literally cried out for mercy.”

The only sound from Emily’s end of the line was heavy breathing. Then a shaky exhalation. “Put that on our list.
Definitely
.”

Nat grinned. One pleasant result of all these phone calls was “their list”—an ever-expanding collection of sexual fantasies they wanted to try together. Given the length of the list and the diversity of its contents, she doubted their sex life would ever be boring. “Done.”

“I expect Colleen to call or text any minute now. She should be there already.” Emily let out a frustrated whimper that raised the hair on Nat’s arms. “I’m sorry.”

“I understand.”

Nat
had
to understand. Emily had been devastated about Colleen’s solo drinking party during their last date, and when she’d called to tell her about it, her internal conflict over where Nat fit into her busy life had been plain to hear. Sensing that the only way to convince Emily to give their relationship a chance was to demand absolutely nothing from her, she had decided to do just that.

Colleen’s three beers had resulted in Emily taking a step back from their contact, only initiating phone calls when Colleen wasn’t home or had already gone to bed. She’d also announced that until Colleen left for school, their dates would be few, only scheduled when Colleen was away—for more than just an evening with a friend. It was painful not to be with Emily when her very existence consumed Nat’s waking thoughts and invaded her dreams, but she couldn’t ask Emily to choose time with her over time with her sister. She could only hope that come August and Colleen’s move onto campus, Emily would decide to turn her attention toward satisfying her own needs. And Nat’s.

Emily exhaled. “You have no idea how much it means to hear you say that. I never thought I’d be able to date because I didn’t think I’d find a woman who wouldn’t want more than I could give. But you’re perfect, Nat. You really are.”

Hearing those words from Emily reminded her why she endured the pain of separation. Nobody had ever called her perfect—not in a way that made her actually believe it. She wanted to be perfect for Emily, because she believed that despite the complications, Emily was perfect for her. She wanted so much more from Emily than secret phone calls and occasionally meeting for sex, but she was willing to wait.

Nat allowed the full scope of her growing feelings for Emily into her tone. She didn’t want to scare Emily away, but at the same time, she had to let Emily know how much she cared. “I just want to be with you, Em. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make that possible. Whatever makes you feel comfortable.”

“I just want to be with you, too.” Emily’s voice wavered with emotion. “In bed and out. Desperately.”

Nat closed her eyes and allowed her fingers to roam closer to her clit. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so content and hopeful for the future. Her crazy-intense feelings seemed to be reciprocated. Tonight she was going to be with Emily, and on Tuesday she had an interview with Deb and her head chef Armando at Deb’s restaurant. For the first time in her life, things might just be falling into place. As scary as that possibility was, it also thrilled her.

Eager to get Emily even more excited for their date, she murmured, “Would it turn you on if I made you come where other people could watch? There’s a club in the city where I’ve taken clients before. One woman had me fuck her with a strap-on while a crowd of men and women watched. Another client preferred to have me lick her pussy—not for an audience, but in a corner of the club where we were visible but not easily seen.”

Emily giggled nervously. “I don’t know if I’d like that.” She inhaled sharply. “But judging from how wet you just made me, it’s entirely possible.”

Nat groaned. “
Don’t
touch your pussy. That belongs to me.”

“But it feels
so
good.” Emily made a quiet, keening noise, signaling her disobedience. “And you aren’t here.”

“Emily.” Forcing a note of stern admonition into her voice, Nat secretly hoped Emily would give her a reason to deliver a swift punishment later. “Consider this your warning. If you don’t stop fingering your pussy right now, I’ll make you very sorry when I see you later.”

“How will you do that?”

Nat loved the coy challenge in Emily’s tone. “I’ll have to take you over my knee, darling. And I won’t be as nice about it as I was the last time.”

Emily released a shuddering whimper. “Good.”

Nat broke down and dragged her fingertip over the length of her slick labia, careful not to let Emily hear her reaction to the sheer pleasure the touch elicited. “I’m warning you, stop. Take your hand out of your panties.”

“I’m not wearing panties.”

Groaning at both the admission and the pleasure from her own hand, Nat said, “You are in
so
much trouble.”

Emily gasped. “Hold on a second.” Nat stilled her fingers, listening to a slight commotion on the other end of the line. “Colleen just texted. She’s at campus and checked into her room.”

Nat removed her hand from her briefs. “Excellent. Do you want to come over here?”

“No, I want you to come to my place. I want you in
my
bed tonight.” The sudden emotion in Emily’s voice caught her attention, and she listened intently to what Emily was telling her. “When we’re apart I want to remember you here, in my space. With me.”

Gooseflesh rose on Nat’s arms. “Okay. Give me your address and I’ll be there soon.”

“You’d better. I’m not sure I can wait much longer to have you.”

Pleased by the urgency in Emily’s words, Nat rolled off her couch and stood, buttoning her jeans with one hand. “You’ll have to wait. That’s part of your punishment for disobeying me.” She walked to the kitchen and lifted the lid of the slow cooker on the counter, inhaling the savory aroma of the minestrone soup she’d prepared earlier. “Also, I’m bringing dinner. We’ll eat first, then deal with your transgression.”

Emily let out a quiet, frustrated noise. “As much as I can’t wait to try more of your food, I was kind of hoping we could—”

“Nope.” Nat made sure Emily couldn’t hear her smile as she transferred the soup into her favorite Dutch oven. “Remember when I told you not to play with your pussy? And you did anyway?”

“It’s been a week and a half, Nat.
A week and a half
. You must want me as much as I want you.”

Delaying sex would only make the end result more pleasurable. Besides, she wanted to reduce Emily to mindless desire, begging for release. It would drive Emily crazy, but Nat knew she would love every second of it. “Of course I want you. And I’ll have you. But first we’ll eat dinner.”

Emily sighed. “Just get over here.
Now
.”

Nat suppressed a chuckle. “Yes, ma’am.”

While Emily couldn’t believe that Nat actually made them sit down and eat a meal instead of running directly to the bedroom, Nat’s homemade minestrone soup blew her away. Paired with crusty sourdough bread, it was comfort food of the highest order, and once again, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten so well. The only thing that kept her from going back for a second helping was the knowledge that overeating would be a colossal mistake. This would be their only chance to be together for who knew how long, and Emily didn’t want anything to spoil the mood.

Pushing her empty bowl aside, Emily reached over the table and took Nat’s hand. “That was amazing. I know you’re shy about cooking for other people, but you shouldn’t be. You are
definitely
a bona fide chef.”

Nat flushed with obvious pride. “That means a lot. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“It’s a real turn-on,” Emily said, rubbing her thumb over Nat’s knuckle. “Actually.”

Nat pushed her own bowl to the side and captured Emily’s hand between her own. “You’re dying for me to take you to bed, aren’t you?”

As though Nat had to ask. Emily had greeted her at the door with a searing kiss, dressed only in a black satin-and-lace babydoll. She’d purchased the lingerie the previous weekend, specifically to appeal to what she knew of Nat’s tastes. It had been her hope that the sight of her wearing the form-fitting lingerie would prove too much for Nat’s resolve, and she’d decide to forgo dinner and take her straight to the bedroom. Instead Nat had kissed her forehead, fondled her ass, then asked her to fetch two bowls for their soup. Emily had eaten the entire meal barely clad while Nat sat across the table looking just as delicious as the food in a pair of blue jeans and a thin army-green T-shirt that pulled tight over her chest.