Heat Vol. 5 (Heat: Master Chefs #5) (5 page)

“You could go on all night with the ‘should have’.  Truth is, you were
duped.  But the important thing is the men responsible for all that have been
caught and they’re going to spend a long, long time paying for what they did…
to you, to your company… to Lilly.”

“And to you,” Eugene added.

“And to me,” Rial echoed softly.  “I’ve spent so much of my life being
angry… angry at you.” 

He looked up at my father with so much emotion, it touched my heart. 

“But you suffered just as much as I did throughout the ordeal they put
you through,” Rial went on.  “Because of them you lost everything… Lilly, your
business, this grand chateau…”

“I also lost you.” Eugene’s eyes glistened with tears.  “You were like
a son to me, Rial.  You still are.  It broke my heart to have to…”  He fell
forward and went limp in Rial’s arms.

Alarmed, I ran up to them.  “Dad.  Dad.  What’s happening?”

Rial lowered him gently to the ground and I join him as he knelt down
before my father.

“Lilly,” my father whispered.  “I’m so sorry for everything I’ve put
you through.  All of it.  I should have suspected Godfrey instead of Rial’s
father.  He always was a little too greedy; always with a devious plan or
another.  I should have seen it.  I was blinded.  I was stupid.  I was hard-headed.”

“Dad, stop talking such nonsense.”

“No, Lilly.  I want you to know…  I want you to know just how much it
pained me to leave you at that convent, and how I prayed for you every night. 
I want you to know I only did it to protect you.  It was the only way I could
think of.  If there’d been another way...”

“I know all that now, Dad, and I don’t blame you for what happened.  I
know you did your best, and I love you.”  Tears blurred my vision and when I
glanced up at Rial, I could see the tears in his eyes as well.

“And, now I want you to relax until we can get help out here.”

He sat up and looked at me with tenderness as he pulled me into an
embrace.  “All the help I need is right here, my darling daughter.  Help me
up.”

I gave him a tug, and with Rial’s help we got him on his feet, but he
still clung to me.  I held onto him, remembering all the nights I’d longed for
a hug, a goodnight kiss and the comfort of knowing he was in the next room.

“After all these years,” he said.  “How wonderful it is to finally have
you back in my life, Lilly.”  He looked to Rial.  “And, son, you have my
blessing.  You always have… of course, that is, if Lilly will have you.”

Chapter 6

“
W
hat a beautiful and charming
couple you two make,” Eugene said as he pulled away from our embrace and straightened
his shoulders in a show of pride and strength.  “Hopefully you won’t wait too
long before giving me beautiful grandkids.  I’d love to spoil a little Lilly or
Rial while I still have the chance.”

Rial and I smiled at each other, and I could feel the rush of a blush
redden my face.

“And, on that note,” he went on.  “I’ll leave you two lovebirds and
head out to visit the stables.  I hear you’ve got some magnificent beasts out
there.”

“Want me to show you the…?”  Rial started.

“No.  I can find my way on my own.  It might take a long time since
I’ve strolled the grounds, but I think I remember how to get around.”  Eugene
turned and scurried away faster than I would have thought him capable of.

Rial wrapped his arm around my shoulder and turned me to the terrace. 
“I think we’d better get to work on those grandkids.  I’d hate to disappoint
your father.”

I laughed and leaned into him.  “I’m happy to see you and my father
getting along so well.

“I thought it would please you, though that’s not my sole motivation.” 
His touched was gentle and loving as he guided me back inside.  “I needed that
reconciliation as well.  It was long overdue.”  Inside the grand chateau, he
led me up the stairs and turned down the hall that led to the bedroom, our
bedroom.

“Where are you taking me exactly?”

He grinned.  “You heard what your father said.”

“I’m far from ready to offer him a grandchild.”

“Fine, but there’s no harm in practicing.”

I stopped at the threshold.  “I guess I do owe you a debt of
gratitude.  The car is wonderful.”

“Oh, you like it?  I wasn’t certain if you’d go for something small and
sporty, or something grand and elegant.”

“It’s perfect.  I’d almost think you had it custom built for me.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the bedroom.  “Well then, by all
means, pay your debt, my love.”

He leaned in to kiss me, and as he pulled back, his eyes grew dark and
solemn.

“Are you all right, Rial?”  I knew the distress of the events of the
past days had taken its toll on him. I could see the strain in his back and
shoulders, as well as feel the tension.

 Transfixed, he stared at me a long while, as if fearing I’d disappear
if he so much as blinked.

“A part of me died when those men took you away,” he finally said.  His
voice shook, and when he pulled in a long, shuddering breath, I knew the extent
of the pain he suffered during my ordeal.  “Those first few hours before we
were able to get a signal indicating your location, I thought I’d go mad.  I
couldn’t breathe.  I couldn’t think.”  He grasped my shoulders and pulled me to
him.  “I couldn’t live.  I’d lost the only thing that mattered to me.”

“But that’s all over, Rial.”

“Is it?” he said with a shake of his head.  “Even as we arrived at that
packing plant and I saw you were safe, I feared for your mental condition.  I
could only imagine what those men forced you to endure.”  He pulled away and
looked at me.  “The last time you saw those men, you were traumatized for
years.”

“I’m not traumatized, not at all.”  Running my hand down his cheek, I
was stunned by the pain in his eyes.  “I’d say you were more affected by what happened
than I was.  I can only imagine how it must have been for you.”

“It was insane… for all of us.” He shrugged, trying to shake off the
emotions that still haunted him.  “Your father collapsed not long after you
were taken away.  We’d been asking him questions about the men; did he know
them?  Who were they?  Where could they have taken you?  I think it was all too
much, and for a minute I thought he’d have a heart attack.”

I pulled away from his embrace and turned to head to the window,
looking out at the great expanse of the grounds.  It was so beautiful; almost
surreal.  But in my mind’s eye, all I could see were the faces of Horace,
Godfrey and Constantine. “I’d seen those men before… when I was little.”

“Yes, that’s what we came to suspect… that they were the same men who’d
taken you as a child.  It’s difficult to fathom… that they would come after you
after all these years.  The only good thing to come out of this is my view of
your father.  It was a relief to find out that your father hadn’t simply and
coldheartedly kept you away from me, but that he’d had a very good reason for
hiding you away.  Those men…  He knew they were after you.”  He shook his
head.  “All these years they’ve been waiting to get their hands on you.  You
should have seen your father, so guilt ridden.  He was a demolished man.  All
for the greed of money, those men brought pain and suffering to all of us.”

For a moment, I considered telling him what I’d heard Godfrey say. 
Should I warn him that this might not be over, that Godfrey intended to end the
Cooke bloodline with me?

I turned to Rial and saw the love in his eyes, love that mingled with
lust and hunger, and the savage desire to tear me apart.  My body responded,
eager to shake off the remnants of my ordeal and put them behind me for good. 
I needed him; needed him to erase the bad and replace it with something good.

He came to me.  “I never want to lose you again.  Never.”  He tenderly
laid his lips over mine, soft… so soft… almost too soft.  His kisses lacked the
determined passion I’d become accustomed to and were filled with a gentleness
that bordered on overly cautious.

I pressed against him, urging him to kiss me with the passion his eyes
had promised.  Still, he remained cautious, his hand soft as it ran down my arm
and his lips barely touching mine.

“I want you to ravage me like I know you can,” I said.

“I want to make love to you.  I want to show you just how much I love
you.”

I pulled away, eager to break him out of his cautious mood.  “Then tie
me up, Rial.”

His eyes grew dark with concern.  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.  I
mean, after what you’ve been through.  I wouldn’t want to…”

“Traumatize me?”

“Lilly, I just want to be sure you're strong enough.  I don’t want to
risk…”

“I am strong enough.  Rial, I’m not going to let those men dictate how
I live my life, not this time.  They destroyed me once, but I won’t let it
happen again.  I’ve always loved how you’ve ravaged me, fucked me like a man
possessed, and that’s what I want you to do.”

His eyes darkened, but this time there was only hunger and no concern. 
He reached for the tie around his neck, unknotted it and slipped it off. 
Grasping my wrists, he pulled them behind my back and quickly bound them
together.

With a firm tug, he led me to the bed and pushed me, sending me face
first in the pillows.  He tore off my jeans, pulling them and my sandals off
and tossing them aside, but when he saw the pale green thong, he slowed the
pace.  Running his fingers along the thin strap of fabric, he aroused me with
the lightest touch.

I wanted him.  My whole body did.  “Fuck me, Rial.”

“Don’t rush me.  I’ve been thinking of nothing else these past hours
and now that I know you're okay, and I have you all to myself…”  He bit the
firm flesh of my ass and slowly peeled away my thong.  “I want to savor it.  I
want to savor every single inch of you.”  Running his tongue along my tingling
skin, he groaned in hunger, and my own cry joined him, urging him on.

But instead of relieving the aching need I had for him, he turned me
onto my back, spread my legs apart and bound each ankle to the bedpost. 
Getting to his feet, he stood at the foot of the bed and looked at me, his eyes
traveling over my body, lingering over my breasts, dipping into my waist and
going down to the tips of my toes before riding back up to finally stop where
my thighs met. 

With slow, unhurried moves, he removed his jacket and set it on the
back of the chair then unbuttoned his shirt, slowly revealing his strong
powerful chest.  The white panels of his shirt hung loosely about his torso,
giving me a glimpse, but not allowing me a full view of him.

I licked my lips, eager to see all of him.

His lips set in a smoldering grin, he kicked off his shoes and pulled
off his trousers, briefs and shirt, then proceeded to set each article of
clothing in a neatly folded pile on the dresser drawer.

“Stop torturing me,” I said in a deep guttural growl.

“The hungrier you are for me, the better it will be.”  His large, hard
shaft was just as ready and as hungry as I was. It stood erect and pulsated as
he spoke. He crawled onto the bed and prowled up between my legs, his eyes
steady and intent on my sex.

I knew I was wet and ready for him, and I wondered if he could see just
how wet I was.

If he did, it didn’t change his pace.  He took his time.  Releasing one
ankle from its tie, he brought my foot to his mouth and gently sucked on my
toe.  It tickled at first, but as he moved his warm mouth over my heel, up my
ankle and onward to my knee, the tickling sensation subsided and a deep sense
of arousal took over.  His lips and tongue worked in perfect harmony, tugging
and licking my skin in a way that was pure delight.  Not only did my sex
pulsate in anticipation, but my entire body.

Licking my thigh, he sent his fingers up ahead to tease my sex, and
when his lips finally caught up and settled on my clitoris, I couldn’t hold
back.  Almost instantly, he brought me to an outrageous orgasm that obliterated
everything else in my mind.  On and on, my orgasm pounded and throbbed while he
maintained just the right amount of pressure.

I thought I’d die.

I cried out like an animal, assuaged and satisfied, but as the
throbbing finally subsided, I realized I was not quite sated. I wanted more.

After a few moments of reprieve, he worked his fingers over my clitoris
again, slowly building up the next soft and delicious orgasm.  As my sex
throbbed in anticipation, he climbed up and slowly nudged his cock inside.

“I love you, Lilly,” he said as he pushed all the way in.  “I love
you.  I love you.”  He stopped and grimaced, as he regained control.  Letting
out a long, slow hiss, he resumed with thunderous strokes that left me gasping.

Reaching behind my back, he released my wrists, and I eagerly wrapped
my arms around him, pulling him to me as my hips jolted up to meet him again
and again, until his orgasm spilled the seed I was so hungry for.

“I love you, Lilly,” he whispered as he fell over me.

For a long moment, only the sound of our heavy breathing filled the
air.  Sweaty and satisfied, we held each other, as if breaking the embrace
would tear us apart.

“Does that give you a hint of just how much I missed you?” he said with
a smile.  He squeezed me tight.  “I never want to let you go.”

“And I never want to go.”  I playfully ran my hand through his hair. 
“Despite everything that’s happened, we have so much to be thankful for, so
many blessings, and I’m so grateful for all of it.”

He nudged up onto his elbow and looked down at me.  Clearing his
throat, he ran a finger down between my breasts and back up to my chin.  I’d
never seen him so unsure and hesitant.

“What is it, Rial?”

“Well, speaking of blessing.  I asked your father for his blessings… to
marry you.”

“But my father had already agreed to the engagement.  Isn’t that what
you told me?”

“Yes, all those years ago, when you and I were both children.  But,
today…  I wanted…”  He got up and walked to the large dresser at the far end of
the room.  Reaching into the top drawer, he retrieved something… something
small enough to fit in his hand.  With solemn steps, he returned, but instead
of getting back in, he knelt beside the bed.

I sat up.  “Rial, what are you…?”

“Lilly, I want to make it official.  I want to make it real.  This is
no longer an arrangement made by our parents.  This is me, a man, asking you, a
full grown woman, to be my wife.  With all my heart, I want you, the most
beautiful and precious person in my life, to marry me.”