Soul Sweet (22 page)

“Misha?”

She heard his voice from somewhere close, felt his fingers skate over her cheek, but her eyelids were too heavy to look at him.

“I think I love you.” Misha smiled, stretched languidly on top of the sheets and fell asleep with the feel of Cameron’s hand on her face.

Chapter Fourteen

Misha heard her cellphone alarm go off and groaned as she snuggled closer to Cameron. She smiled when he pressed a kiss to her temple.

“Good morning, gorgeous.”

“It’s too early to be a good morning yet.”

“It is God-awful early. The sun has barely made an appearance.” Cameron wrapped his arm around her waist. “That’s the reason I try to avoid doing morning interviews.”

Misha shifted her body to look at him. “I’m a little nervous.”

“It is a bit nerve-racking”—Cameron twisted a finger in her thick tresses—“but it’ll go by in a blink and you’ll walk away wondering what you were so anxious about.” He kissed the top of her nose. “You’ll be great. You’re a natural in front of the camera.”

Misha smiled. “I guess I’d better get up. I’m going to need every minute before I go to make it look like I wasn’t up all night being ravaged by an insatiable lover.”

“I won’t apologise, but I should’ve warned you I have huge appetites for great food and amazing sex. Are you sore?”

Misha ran her fingers through the spattering of hair on his chest, still a bit shocked by everything they’d done yesterday. “A little.”

“I am sorry for that.”

She shook her head. “Don’t be. I’m okay,
better
than okay. Last night, you gave me the most intense orgasms of my life. Cameron, last night was incredible.”

Her words seemed to melt away the concern on his handsome face. “I’m glad.”

Misha paused a second from dragging her nails across his pecs, thinking about what she’d told him before drifting to sleep. She wondered what he’d thought, wanted to ask as he pulled her on top of him.

“I want to give you many more nights of unimaginable pleasures.”

“I like the sound of that.” Misha rubbed her leg against his hard thigh and her heart hammered in her chest as his cock thickened against her belly.

“I’m going to like the sounds of that too.” Cameron shifted them so she was beneath him.

Misha giggled. “I don’t have time.” She parted her legs, inviting him in.

“I’ll make you come fast this time, I promise.”

Misha whimpered as he filled her, still tender from last time. Cameron immediately stilled, giving her time to adjust to him before moving slowly again. She clung to him, enjoying the sweet stirrings he created with each gentle thrust, trusting him to do just what he’d said.

* * * *

“You’re on in three minutes.”

Misha nodded at the production assistant rushing past her as her cell rang. She lifted it to her ear with a smile. “Good morning, Serene.”

“Finally, you answer your phone. I’ve called you several times.”

“I’m sorry. What’s up? I can’t talk long.”

“I know. You’re about to do the interview with Rachel on
Morning Talk
.”

“Yup.”

Misha frowned when she heard her sister sigh. “What’s wrong?”

“You know how I like to check the tabloids, celebrity gossip and whatnot?”

“Yes, who doesn’t that knows you?”

Serene sighed. “Well, I just discovered video footage of you and Cameron on
Entertainment Live
dot com.”

Misha’s stomach hit the floor. “Footage of what?”

“You two were kissing. It was dark, but it looked like you two were in a gym?”

“Oh, my God.” Stunned, Misha gasped. Her heart thumped against her chest as flashbacks of the fiery kiss she’d shared with Cameron in that place raced through her mind. Her blood boiled at the knowledge of that kiss floating around in cyberspace for anyone to view. “H-how long is the footage?”

The whirlwind of activity around her faded into the background as she envisioned all of their naughty sexcapade caught on tape and shared with the world.

“Enough time to quash any doubts that something isn’t cooking between you and Chef Sexy. I was hoping to catch you before you went live. I didn’t want you to be blindsided by Rachel’s questions.”

Misha squeezed the bridge of her nose, wondering how she was going to get through the interview. The production assistant waved her over and Misha drew in a deep breath. “I’ve got to go.”

“I know. Stay calm and smile. Politely dodge any question you don’t want to answer. You’ve got this, Mish.”

Misha ended the call then made sure her phone was silenced before she put it back into her jacket pocket. She walked past the frazzled production assistant and took her seat next to Rachel, one of the co-hosts for the show, as a cameraman counted down the seconds until they were live.

“Welcome back to
Morning Talk
.”

Misha forced a smile as Rachel turned to her. “I’m thrilled to have
Celeb Chef
winner Misha Ryan. It’s a treat having you here today.”

“Hello, Rachel, I’m thrilled to be here.”

Stay calm and smile.

Her sister’s mantra replayed in her head as Rachel dazzled her and the cameras with a huge grin. After taking part in the show, she was accustomed to being beneath bright lights with her full attention directed towards whatever dish she’d been scrambling to make. It felt weird to have no distractions, except the dreaded feeling that Rachel would ask her about the leaked footage online.

Rachel touched her arm. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you so much.”

“Has winning sunk in yet?”

“You know it still feels a bit surreal.”

“I’m sure. I’m a huge fan of the show and I’ll admit you were one of my chef favourites from the start.” Rachel gave her a conspiratorial wink. “I was rooting for you to win the entire time.”

Misha gave her another generous smile as she tried not to fidget in her seat. “Being a part of
Celeb Chef
has been an incredible experience.”

Rachel nodded, her playful air turning serious. “What do you think gave you the edge over Jackson?”

Misha gave a gracious shrug. “I couldn’t have won without the camaraderie and professionalism of my crew. I’m sitting here because of a team effort. Jackson is a fantastic chef and I enjoyed the way we challenged each other during the show.”

“What would you say about the rumours flying around concerning you and Chef Banner?”

Misha felt her face heat up as she tried to keep her expression neutral. “I make it a rule to never chat about rumours.”

“Fair enough.” Rachel grinned into the cameras. “Apparently she lets her
lips
do the talking.”

Misha pushed her nails into the palm of her hand to keep from yanking the perfect bun out of Rachel’s hair.

Stay calm and smile.

It took considerable effort to remain nonchalant, happily engaged as she continued to answer Rachel’s questions about her favourite moment on the show and her future plans. She answered on autopilot, grateful when her segment ended and the red light above the camera went black.

“Thanks for coming on
Morning Talk
.” Rachel held out her hand.

Misha shook her hand and offered a tight smile. “Thank you.”

She walked off the set, barely speaking to anyone as she left the studio. Misha breathed a sigh of relief once she was back inside the quiet confines of her limo. Only when the driver had pulled away from the kerb did she take out her cell to go to the website her sister had mentioned. She pushed play to hear the new voice message she had and cursed as she listened to Shawn Rill coolly asking her to meet him in his office before the photo shoot got underway. Exhaling, she deleted the message then checked out the vid of her and Cameron.

Misha sucked in a quick breath, shocked by the sight of them together—the erotic intensity of the moment could not be denied. Despite being upset, her body reacted as she watched Cameron kiss her. She was viewing it a second time when his name popped up on her phone.

“Did you see the video?” Misha asked, skipping the hello.

“I saw it. I left you, like, ten texts trying to catch you before you went on that show.”

“Serene got a hold of me minutes before I went on. Thank God. I keep thinking this is just a sick joke.” Misha shook her head. “But it isn’t. I just can’t believe this happened.”

“Neither can I.”

“I’m humiliated, publicly humiliated. Did you see Rachel’s expression when she said I just let my lips do the talking? I wanted to strangle her. I guess I should be grateful she didn’t come right out and ask me about that online gem.”

“Misha, take a deep breath.”

“Deep breath? There’s a video of the two of us plastered all over the Internet in the most compromising position ever.”

“I know you’re angry.”

“I’m furious.”

“I am too. Misha, I hate like hell this happened. I would’ve never let things go as far as they did had I thought about security cameras.”

“I don’t blame you for that. I didn’t think about it either. Cameron, we had sex in that gym. What if
that
is leaked over the next few days?” Misha shook her head. “This is unreal.”

“I have my lawyers working on this now.”

Misha snorted. “Even if they can do something, the video is out on the World Wide Web—there’s no getting it back.”

“Where are you?”

“On my way to the
Celeb Chef
studio for the winner’s photo shoot. Are you there already?”

“I’m about to get out of the limo now. I’ll see you when you get here.”

“Okay.”

“Misha?”

“Yup.”

“No matter what happens we’ll face it together. All right?”

Tears clouded her vision as she shifted on the leather seat. Tiny twinges between her legs reminded her of all they’d shared last night. Misha blinked and a single tear fell down her cheek. “All right.”

Misha tried to push back her feelings of trepidation as she walked into the building
Celeb Chef
had been taped and headed towards Shawn Rill’s office. She heard voices and recognised Cameron’s as she approached the semi-closed door.

“Our deal still stands, Cameron. Think about it.” Shawn’s voice was cajoling.

“I already have and my decision will not change.”

The barely concealed anger in Cameron’s voice stunned her as she paused by the door.

“Well, once Jackson’s announced the winner—”

Jackson announced the winner?

“What did you just say?” Misha busted into the office before she could think better of it.

Cameron and Shawn both looked at her with surprise.

“Good, glad you’re here, Misha.” Shawn gestured towards a chair around the round table. “There are some things we need to discuss.”

“Did I hear you correctly concerning Jackson?” Misha cast a quick glance at Cameron and saw the anger she’d heard in his voice on his face.

“Look, as executive producer of
Celeb Chef
, I have to make sure the integrity of the show comes first. After all, that’s what our viewers want.”

“Integrity?” Misha shook her head. “What are you talking about?”

Shawn drew a circle around some figures on the papers in front of him. “I’m talking about that steamy little video of you and Cameron kissing splashed all over the Internet. Already, there are bloggers and tabloid magazines hinting at possible favouritism, wondering if you won because of your involvement.”

“I won because I worked hard to create the best dishes possible with my team.”

“And although that may be true and there isn’t a specific rule concerning the issue at hand, there are very definite guidelines on what can be done if I feel the final outcome of the competition was somehow unfairly tilted in a contestant’s favour.”

“Misha would have won regardless of my vote, Shawn. I told you before and I’ll say it again—I consistently judged the contestants on their creativity, skill and presentation. I even voted against Misha at a crucial point in the show.”

Shawn stood with a shrug. “Again, I’m inclined to believe you, but what I believe doesn’t matter. What matters is what
Celeb Chef
viewers might perceive as unfair. I’ve made an executive decision to name Jackson the winner. I’m sorry.”

Misha cleared her constricted throat. “I don’t believe this.” She hardly noticed when Cameron took a step closer to her.

“You’re making a mistake, Rill.”

Shawn wagged a finger at Cameron. “You’re the one about to make the biggest mistake of your career if you don’t seriously reconsider my offer.” He looked at Misha without the slightest hint of empathy. “Don’t worry, just being on the show has changed the course of your career as a chef for the better. You made it to the top two. You’re walking away with fifty grand—all is not lost.”

Misha bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming with frustration. What she’d lost had nothing to do with the Celeb Chef title and everything to do with her reputation. It was incomprehensible. She watched Shawn open and close the door behind him through the sheen of tears.

The look in Misha’s eyes twisted Cameron’s heart. He went to her and wrapped his arms around her.

“Oh, my God.” Her voice wavered as she struggled not to cry.

“Take a deep breath. Misha, it’s going to be okay.”

He heard her inhale, felt the slight tremor run through her body before she pulled away.

“I don’t even know what to think or do right now.” Misha paced the floor as she shook her head. “I was just on television talking about how surreal it felt to win. How embarrassing is this?”

“I’m not even sure he can get away with this. I have my lawyers looking into it as we speak.”

Misha stood still and looked at him. “What offer was he asking you to reconsider?”

“Before the final show, Shawn discussed his concerns about the bad publicity of our alleged relationship.” Cameron paused as Misha stared at him. “He offered me a multi-million dollar deal if I voted for Jackson.”

Misha gave him a wobbly smile. “But you voted for me.”

“Of course I did. I don’t give a damn about his deal.”

“Yet, it stands because Jackson wins by default thanks to my involvement with you”—Misha crossed her arms beneath her breasts—“which means your multi-million dollar deal remains on the table and you can still sign on the dotted line.”