Bite Me (The Transfigured Ones Book 2) (12 page)

Magnus spoke, breaking into her thoughts. “I won't allow you to do this. Not today. Your daughter is a beautiful woman and yet you insist upon saying things that make her feel like crap about herself. She doesn't need a diet, or shape wear, whatever the hell that is. She needs a mother that isn't a bloody shrew. Caroline might let you get away with being unkind but I won't.”

“Excuse me, young man? How dare you talk to me like that,” her mother cried, voice raised.

“Lower your voice, Joan,” her father hissed. “I told you we shouldn't have come here.” Turning to Caroline, he said, “Leave it to you to make a scene at your own party.”

              “That's enough,” Caroline said quietly. “Mother, there's no apology coming. If that's the only reason you came, then feel free to go. You were mean. And hurtful. There were a million times before that I would have been justified in walking out. My only shame is in the fact that I didn't. And you,” she continued, turning toward her father. “You're either too blind to see what a bitch she is or too spineless to do anything about it. In any case, I don't want you here, either. Can you please just both leave? This is a celebration and I don't want to waste any more of it than I already have.”

“You're going to choose your
bloodsucker
boyfriend over your family?” her mother asked, her angry voice now back to a whisper.

Caroline flinched at the slur coming from her mother's mouth. Her voice was icy when she said, “Yes. I am. And it's no contest because, once again, you missed my entire point. We're done here. You need to leave or I'm going to have you physically removed.”

“Caroline,” her father said in hushed tones. He held a hand out as if trying to placate her.

“I'm not kidding,” Caroline said, through gritted teeth. “Don't make me call security.”

A little pale, her father wordlessly took her mother's arm and steered them toward the door without another word. Caroline watched until they left, then let out a sigh of relief.

Turning to Magnus, she said, “Jesus Christ. I am so sorry about that. I knew they'd been given an invite, but I didn't think they'd actually show. My mother...”

“Are you okay?” he asked, interrupting her. “Because, I'm fine. Their behavior has no reflection on you.”

With that one sentence he'd managed to settle the largest part of her nerves. She let out a sigh of relief. “There are things to talk about, but, not here. I'll—”

“Not here,” he agreed. “It can wait. We should be celebrating my magnificent food.”

“And my drinks, too,” she reminded him dryly. “But let's celebrate the food first. I skipped lunch.”

Fueled by several cocktails and a lot of fake smiles, Caroline managed to make it through the remainder of the party. She'd gotten enough sympathetic looks to know that at least part of her argument had been overheard. She'd been embarrassed at first but that had quickly turned to anger. Her parents had a lot to answer for. They had, in less than five minutes, managed to fuck up a night that was supposed to be exciting. Magnus was the only bright spot.

By the time they made it upstairs the happy glow, however fake, had worn off. She was exhausted. Even though she knew Magnus would want to talk, she didn't want to. She just wanted to sleep until she didn't feel like crap anymore.

When she kicked off her shoes, he tugged her toward the bathroom. She leaned against him, too tired to argue when he began to pull the pins from her hair. When it tumbled down, he picked one hair sprayed strand and said, “A shower might be in order.”

She turned and looked in the mirror, then blanched. Her hair was a strange combination of curly and crispy straight. Completely disheveled. “Good call,” she agreed.

“So how do I get you out of this fantastic dress?”

Caroline smiled and said, “Carefully.” She reached under the arm to unzip, slid the dress up over her head.

He eyed her lingerie approvingly. “Under the circumstances, I'm calling a rain check because, wow.”

“Rain check absolutely noted,” she said, relief filling her. He was so sweet.

Magnus started the shower and quickly shucked out of his dress clothes as she stripped away the remnants of the evening. When the water warmed, he stepped under the spray, bringing her with him. “Are you okay?”

Like a dam broke, she shook her head no and leaned against his chest as she sobbed. They weren't tears of sorrow or loss. It was all anger. She didn't even realize how much she'd buried. It felt like she cried for days.

Magnus just held her, stroking a hand down her back until finally, she calmed down. “I'm sorry, love,” he murmured against her hair.

Wiping her face, which was silly because she stood under the spray, she looked up at him and said, “I'm sorry. That was... embarrassing. I can't believe my mother called you that.”

“Shh. That's not your apology to make.”

“Thank you for speaking up. I was trying not to make a scene but I knew it was going to happen the moment I heard her say my name.”

Magnus nodded. “She didn't really start things out on a bright note. And, why was she there again?”

“Oh, yeah. That. The planner emailed me for a guest list but it ended up in spam, so Lilly gave her my list from the last party. They had already gone out by the time I found out.”

“I'm sorry,” he murmured, pressing his lips against the top of her head. “I think your hair has been de-crisped. Ready for bed?”

“Yeah,” she said, feeling completely wrung out. “I feel like I could sleep for days.”

“Let's try it out for a night and see where we end up first,” he suggested, smiling.

Grudgingly, Caroline agreed. “Fine.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were settled in bed. Caroline was tucked into his side. “Thank you again for being so understanding,” she said. “I really don't know how I got so lucky.”

“I'm the lucky one,” he answered, brushing his lips against her forehead. “I love you, Caroline. Madly.”

“I love you too, Magnus,” she replied, a warm glow settling over her. It wasn't just because he'd said the right things. It was because she absolutely believed he meant them.

Chapter Thirteen

Magnus watched as Caroline burrowed under the covers and he couldn't help but smile. She seemed so peaceful. He didn't have the heart to wake her because he suspected, after last night's events, her hard won peace would dissolve into thin air.

His smile faded at that though. He didn't consider himself a violent man. Nine times out of ten he found his words could hurt more than fists. He'd been tempted last night though.

Caroline's mother was bloody awful. That type of open cruelty was easy to combat though. It had been her father's indifference that had really pushed his buttons. To let his daughter be spoken to in that way, then to try and pass blame on to her? Caroline had been right. The man was spineless.

Instead of acting on the anger, he fed her and got her a drink. She held on to him like a bloody lifeline. He'd been worried that she was going to fall apart. She hid it fairly well, but he could feel the tension rolling off of her in waves.

Caroline had been inches from a meltdown when Lilly stopped in to check on her. She'd tried to blurt out an apology but Lilly had waved it off and given her a hug. When she'd pulled back, he could see the tears in Caroline's eyes. He'd been quick to intervene, demanding that they go talk to his adoring fans. It was the silliest, most over the top way he could come up with to change the subject. Luckily it had been effective.

Caroline had given him a smirk and made some catty comment about his ego. She'd also held his arm in a death grip and given him a grateful look when Lilly walked away. Honestly, he'd rather her think him a giant egomaniac than watch her cry. Last night had nearly done him in.

As he made his way down to the small conference room where he was supposed to meet the last reporter, he acknowledged that he had a genuine soft spot where she was concerned. It was difficult not to, though. She was one of the most independent, self-reliant people he'd ever met. It was part of the reason he wanted to take care of her so much. He suspected few people had ever bothered.

When he walked through the partially open door, he was startled to see Kathleen Church waiting for him. They'd briefly worked together years ago. She'd been decent on the line but not much of a leader. After being passed over for several promotions, she'd quit on him in the middle of a shift, which had only proved his point. This should be interesting.

“Magnus,” she said, rising from her chair, and extending her hand. “Long time.”

He took it, mystified. “Kathleen. The years have treated you well.”

“You too, but I guess that's to be as expected. Have a seat?”

“You've gone to the dark side, then?” he asked, gesturing to the notebook and tape recorder as he settled in.

She snorted. “The dark side pays much better. Besides, being on the line night after night takes its toll.”

“That it does,” he agreed, glad to see she didn't seem to have any ill will toward him. “So how long have you been doing the writing thing?”

“Oh, a few years now. But, enough about me! We're here to talk about you. And also Caroline Lundquist. Is she on her way?”

“Unfortunately, she's been held up and sends her apologies. We worked closely on the drink and food pairings. I might be able to give you some insight.”

“Perfect. This is more about the actual product than you guys. I mean, how many times can you possibly answer the question about who your influences are?”

Magnus laughed, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Yeah. I've gotten that one quite a bit over the last few days.”

“So. Let's dive right in. What inspired your dishes?” Kathleen asked.

“Honestly, the pairing wasn't even my idea. Caroline had been working on a line of gin drinks for the bar. She realized that, while some women like it, Scotch is a predominantly male thing. The bar was missing one important demographic, if you know what I mean. I was approached with the idea and I dug in my heels a bit. My thoughts on the front of the house haven't changed all that much.”

At her nod, he went on. “I wasn't sure what to expect but when I sat down to try the drinks, I was blown away. Caroline has an incredibly refined palate. Gin, by itself, is pretty bloody awful in my opinion. It takes a truly great combination of flavors to downplay the somewhat caustic flavor and turn it into something good. She definitely succeeded in that. It made my job easy. She'd already chosen some great flavor profiles to work with.”

“That's a level of modesty we seldom hear from Magnus Corbett,” she commented, eyebrow raised.

Magnus shrugged. “I've been doing this for a long time. It's hard not to buy into the hype when people constantly tell you that you're doing something well. I definitely don't mind giving credit where credit is due, though.”

“The drinks were pretty fantastic,” Kathleen said. “Particularly the gin and thyme sparkler with the spritz of orange in it.”

Grinning, he said, “That was my sole contribution to the drink menu. The spritz of orange. It was an interesting experience for both of us, though. During the trial and error process, she gave helpful feedback on my dishes. The raspberry sauce that paired with the venison is much better than it was, based on her suggestions. It was collaborative, and... we know I don't normally play well with others. I feel as though I learned a bit.”

He had no idea why he was being so chatty this morning. Maybe it was a combination of knowing Kathleen or the way that she kept waving him on as she scribbled notes. It was hard to tell. After all that Caroline had accomplished, he wanted to make sure that the world understood how much a part of this endeavor she really was.

His phone rang, bringing him out of his reverie. Digging it out of his pocket, he saw Caroline's face. He looked apologetically at Kathleen and said, “I'm sorry. I should get this.”

Waving him on again, she continued to scribble.

“Good morning, love,” he answered.

“I missed our interview, didn't I? Why didn't you wake me up?”

“Because you looked so peaceful. I figured the least I could do was to handle the last interview.”

“You're a sweet man, Magnus,” she yawned. “I'm going to make some coffee and wait for you in our bed. Very naked.”

The mental image of her naked paired with the fact that she'd referred to it as their bed had him going rock hard. “I'd be happy to discuss that at length with you once I'm back upstairs.”

“I hope that's secret code for 'you're coming upstairs to fuck me until we both pass out',” she said, her voice hopeful.

“Count on it,” he promised. “I'll be up soon, Caroline. Love you.”

“Love you too,” she said. “Bye.”

He hung up the phone, and turned back to Kathleen, who was watching him openly. “Sorry about that. I'm back now.”

She raised an eyebrow. “It was hard not to overhear. It sounds like there's a collaboration of a more personal nature between you two.”

“Off the record?”

“Of course. This is about the food and drink. I don't do human interest stories.”

“Then yes,” he admitted. “It started with the menu and grew from there.”

She gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, and then said, “Just a few more questions and then I'll let you get back to your lady love.”

****

It was nearly an hour later when he finally made it up to his apartment. It had been nice to catch up with Kathleen, but he was glad to be back upstairs. He'd overdosed on the whole 'dealing with people' thing. Caroline probably would have liked her though. Then again, Caroline seemed to be able to find the good in almost everyone. Even a cranky, sometimes self-absorbed chef. And for that, he was truly grateful.

When he walked through the door, Caroline immediately raced over with her phone, wearing a long t-shirt. It wasn't nude. Nor was she in bed. He could work with that though.

“Guess what?” she said, her voice almost a squeal.

“What?” he asked, mimicking her squeal and then laughing.

She raised a middle finger and said, “We had a couple of reviews come in on the new menu!”

“That's nice, but,” he said, frowning at her, “I
really
hate to bring this up but... I see no nudity or coffee, Caroline. You can't promise things like that and then not follow through. It's cruel.”

Smirking, she said, “You were gone for almost an hour after we talked. I assumed you forgot about me. So I drank your cup and then I took care of myself.” She gave a little shrug.

“You did, did you?” he asked, his cock stirring to life. “In what's soon to be our bed?”

“No. I didn't,” she said, confessed, laughing. “I did drink the coffee though. Then Lilly called me to tell me about the reviews and I got caught up in that.”

“New rule,” he ordered, his focus single minded. “You don't get to play with your pussy unless I'm supervising.”

Caroline made a pouty face. “Not even a litte bit?”

“Not at all, sweetness,” he corrected. “And I never said you could borrow my shirt, love. I'm going to need it back now.”

“Sorry,” she replied, giving him an unrepentant grin. She pulled the shirt up inch by tantalizing inch until he realized she wasn't wearing anything under it.

“That's it, love,” he said scooping her up and setting her on the edge of the island counter top.  Then he picked up the hand that held her cell phone and suggested, “Read me a review. One of the longer ones because we're going to be here a while.”

Caroline set the cell phone down and leaned back, watching as he shifted her thighs apart. When he ran the tips of his fingers along her damp folds, she let out a shuddering sigh.

“Someone's a little needy this morning, isn't she?” he asked, kneeling so that he was eye level with her pussy.

“Yes,” she agreed. “I'm always needy for you.”

“And I am for you too. Always,” he promised. “Why aren't you reading?”

Caroline narrowed her eyes. “You're serious?”

Magnus nodded, and then blew a gentle stream of air against her heated flesh. When she started to wriggle, he murmured, “Hold still, love. Let me...”

Gently he pulled her labia apart with his thumbs and swiped his tongue from her opening to her clit and back again. “God, love. You taste so fucking good. It's a shame I won't be able to continue until you start reading.”

Caroline moaned, balancing herself back on one arm and picked up her cell phone. A few taps on the screen later, she gave an annoyed huff.

Magnus resumed his task, swiping his tongue against her inner thighs, nipping gently at the sensitive skin there.

Caroline's voice was somewhat broken when she began to read. “I had the— distinct pleasure of spending my evening at Usquebaugh. As always, the atmosphere lively, the food amazing, and the drinks sub-sublime. Magnus!”

He took his time, moving his mouth to her pussy, drawing slow circles around her clit. He periodically dipped his tongue down to fuck her with it until she was panting.

“Magnus, please,” she whined. “I need...”

He buried three fingers inside her as far as they would go, fucking them in and out of her slowly, then lifted his head and said, “I need you to keep reading for me. I'm very interested to know what they thought of the individual drinks.”

“Owner Lilly Ferguson put together the ultimate—” she broke off, gasping.

He stilled his tongue and fingers and waited until she began to speak again.

Her voice almost a high pitched, needy wail, she continued, “—dream team of chef Magnus Corbett and bartender Caroline Lundquist. The dishes display the usual competency and flare that Magnus Corbett has always been known- been known for. However, the real surprise of the evening was the new line of...”

She could have been saying anything. He'd stopped paying attention the moment he'd buried his tongue in her wet heat. Every time she grew more slick around his fingers, he moaned. Her cream was the sweetest he'd ever tasted. If he had his way, he'd to keep her here, hips pinned to his counter, cumming until she couldn't bear it anymore.

Above him, the phone clattered to the counter top as Caroline cried out, grinding her pelvis against his seeking tongue. “Magnus,” she cried. “Fuck!”

His fingers massaged her inner walls as his lips clamped down on her clit. Licking soft, gentle strokes directly against it, he drew out her pleasure until she was mumbling incoherently. Her internal muscles clamped down on his fingers so tightly that his knuckles began to ache from the pressure.

She bucked wildly against his mouth, shuddering, “Oh god, it's too much.”

The hand that had been tightly holding his mouth against her now pushed him away in earnest, so he gentled his hold on her hip and backed away. Her sleepy eyes and flushed face never failed to move something inside him. It was a face he knew he wanted to see for the rest of his life, however long that may be.

Out of breath, she panted, “You are so fucking good at that.”

He stood up, wiping at his mouth and asked, “Bedroom?”

“No,” she said, sliding down off the island. Steadying herself against counter, she added, “I don't want to move that far.”

He trailed behind her as she pulled him into the living room, slightly confused. “The living room? Okay.”