Taste of Love (23 page)

He couldn't handle it anymore. The look of sheer bliss on her flushed face and her contractions around him sent him over the edge. He came so hard that his mind went cloudy and he saw stars behind his closed eyelids. He held her hips tight against him, so tight that she would have little love bruises there the next day.

When the cataclysm was over, she let her weight go and her sweaty body dropped onto his. She lay perfectly still for a moment, reveling in the feel of his heart pounding against hers. In that moment, she felt truly and completely connected to him, in a way that she had never been connected to anyone else.

His fingers ran up and down her back, causing her to shiver.

"Think we can make it to the shower?" she asked. "I have to pee, and it's only a step away."

"Are you sober enough to walk?"

She giggled. "I can lean against the wall."

"Think you can stand up in the shower?

"Dude. I have to pee, like, right now."

He grinned and playfully pushed her out of bed. She stumbled once but regained her balance admirably, and sure enough, she leaned on the wall all the way there.

Once she flushed the toilet, Cameron joined her in the shower. They both rinsed off quickly, then got out before either one of them suffered the indignity of their knees giving out on them. Cameron wrapped Madison in one of her large fluffy towels, glad that she hadn't washed her hair. He didn't want to wait for her to dry it; he just wanted to be back in bed with her.

Once they were dry, they climbed between the sheets and cuddled together. They barely had a chance to say goodnight before they were both sound asleep.

The next morning, Madison woke up alone, with a bottle of Gatorade and a few ibuprofen on her nightstand. Even though her hangover wasn't too bad, she took the pills and drank the whole bottle of the refreshing liquid. On the kitchen table, she found a note telling her that he had an early morning radio show to attend, but he hoped to be back with some breakfast before she woke.

She jumped in the shower again, ridding herself completely of any hangover that she may have had. By the time she was dressed and ready for the day, Cameron was just getting back with a bag of fresh bagels and an assortment of cream cheese.

As they sat at the table eating, Madison had a thought. "You know, if you're going to stay over here a lot, you should bring some of your things so you don't have to go home and change before appearances." When she realized what she had said, her face reddened.

"I mean, if you want to," she amended. "You don't have to, if it's too soon for you."

Cameron smiled. "Well Ms. Drew, I didn't realize we had reached that level yet," he teased, making her blush even more. He reached over and put his finger under her chin and lifted it, making her look into his eyes. "I'm glad we are finally on the same page with our feelings. I thought you would never get there." He stroked her shoulder. "So how many drawers do I get?"

She smiled, relieved she hadn't made a total ass of herself. "Well, I guess I can clear out three drawers and part of my closet as long as you don't continue buying me stuff to fill it. And you can also have half of the medicine cabinet in the bathroom," she told him with a sigh, as if she was making a huge sacrifice.

"So I take it we'll be here most of the time?" he asked, not really caring one way or the other, as long as he was with her.

"It's just so close to the restaurant. When you have to do things, it's all over the city. It just kind of makes sense, right?"

He leaned over and kissed her. "Yes. And just for the record, I would be wherever you wanted to be."

She smiled again, blushing as she at the clock. She really needed to get in early, to make up for not being there the night before. "Well, thanks for breakfast, but I really need to run or else I'm going to be late."

"Do you want my driver to take you?" he offered.

She laughed. "It'll take longer to drive than to walk, but thanks."

"Fine," he said, getting up from the table and pulling her up with him. "Let's go then." She gave him a confused look and he gave her a wide grin.

"I'm going to spend as much time with you as possible right now. I know work is busy, and I'm going to have to travel a little for promotional appearances, so just humor me, please? Let me walk you to work."

She kissed him before grabbing her purse and held his hand as they walked out of the apartment. On her walk to work, she greeted all the people that she normally spoke to, but this time she was smiling just a little bit more.

Once they got to The TigerLily, she was glad that none of her employees were there yet. She pulled Cameron into the restaurant and gave him a searing kiss. When he tried to go for more, she pushed him away with a laugh and told him she had work to do. He groaned, but accepted it. With another quick kiss, he left her to her work. Madison stood there for a moment, watching him walk away, feeling happier than she ever had in her life.

Soon after finishing her paperwork, she went to inspect some shipments that had come in. It felt like things were finally returning to normal after her vacation, and it only took a couple of weeks to get there. She swore she would never take a vacation like that again, because it took way too long to catch up.

And it wasn't just about how much work she had to make up. The truth was that she missed Austin, too. He'd been on his vacation for a few weeks, and she hadn't heard from him at all. In all honesty, it was worrying her that he would come back and tell her that he was done, that he didn't want his job anymore.

Madison understood he had wanted to protect her from Cameron, but he also needed to trust her and her decisions. And if he was a true friend, he would let her make her decisions, then be there as her friend at the end, no matter what happened. That was how friendship worked. It was the way things worked with Chase, why couldn't it be that way with Austin too?

She decided to have Abby come in and start as soon as possible. Even though Madison didn't really have the time to train her, she needed to be prepared just in case Austin was a bonehead and quit on her. Fortunately, Abby was able to start that night.

Abby showed up around four that day, giving them plenty of time to acclimate her to the restaurant before the dinner crowd started to filter in. She familiarized herself with the menu and met the chefs, and even sampled some of their food. She was pleased with their cooking and raved that it was much better than the last restaurant she worked at.

Since Abby wouldn't be working in the kitchen at all, she was going to be dressed in a black shirt with white pinstripes and black pants. Madison had already ordered her uniform, so it was ready for her when she started.

When the first few customers came in, Abby shadowed one of the best waiters, learning the seating chart and how the guests were placed. When things started to pick up, she went back to the kitchen. Madison showed her how she prepared the desserts when the kitchen was busy.

Once she was sure the chefs were keeping up, Madison took Abby out to the dining room to greet the guests. She took great pride in introducing Abby to the patrons. She was wonderful with them, and they really seemed to like her. Madison was sure that she had made the right choice in hiring Abby.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of her favorites and couldn't wait to introduce Abby. On their way over to the table, Madison gave a quick rundown of who she was going to meet. In a way it excited Abby, but in another way, it made her nervous. She realized the people at the table were very important to Madison, and she wanted to make a good impression.

"Good evening ladies!" Madison greeted the two women with sincere enthusiasm.

"Madison darling!" Sasha smiled.

Bunny stood from the table and embraced Madison in a hug. "He is so smitten," she whispered, making Madison blush. Bunny sat back in her seat and looked at the other woman. "Who's this pretty girl?"

"Ladies, I want you to meet the newest addition to The TigerLily family. This is Abby, my new Assistant Manager."

They both said hello and spoke to her a bit about how much they loved the restaurant.

"I don't think these two eat at home anymore, I think they eat here every night," Madison laughed. She looked at their table. "Speaking of eating, you haven't even started. Has one of my waiters dropped the ball on you?"

"Oh, no, no. We sent him away. We're waiting on someone." Bunny patted Madison's hand. She turned her head towards the door. "Finally!" she said when she saw the third person of their party.

Madison turned to look, and a smile lit her face. "Couldn't stay away from me, huh?" she asked as Cameron leaned in for a soft kiss.

"Actually, I have a date tonight with these two beautiful women," he teased as he kissed Sasha and Bunny's cheeks. "I hope you're not jealous."

"I think I can make an exception," she teased back.

Once he sat, she remembered Abby standing to her side, taking it all in. Abby was watching the new arrival with unconcealed awe. With a chuckle, she introduced the two.

"Abby, this is Cameron Rome, Cameron, this is my new Assistant Manager, Abby."

He stood and shook Abby's hand. "Nice to meet you Abby. You must be pretty special if my Madison trusts you with her restaurant."

Abby looked back and forth between Madison and Cameron, trying to make the connection between her boss and one of her favorite rock stars. She stammered out a polite thank you, still in shock to be speaking to THE Cameron Rome.

Madison would explain it to her later. "Well, I'll let you get to your dinner," she told them, turning around and gesturing for their waiter. "I'll see you all later. Enjoy, and let me know if you need anything."

Before she could walk away, Cameron grabbed her wrist. "I need something," he told her and pulled her down for another kiss. "I'll see you at home tonight."

She blushed as she left, and directed Abby to their next table.

Once the incredibly busy night was over, Madison sat in her office with Abby going over the closing procedures. She was surprised by how fast Abby had picked up on everything, and was glad she had made the decision to hire her.

Finally they were getting ready to leave, and she couldn't help but notice Abby staring at her. "What? Something in my teeth?" she asked, wiping her mouth.

Abby laughed. "No, but I think you can guess what I want to know."

"Oh! Yes, Cameron and I are dating. Well, I guess it's more than that. Cameron is my boyfriend."

"Oh my gosh...really? Really?"

"Yeah." Madison grinned. Her grin grew wider as she thought about it. "Yeah. Really!"

Even though the women didn't know each other well, they embraced hands, and let out girly squeals. For the first time, Madison felt like she had a girlfriend to share things like this with. They hadn't known each other long, but they had clicked right away, and both felt that there was going to be a strong friendship between them.

W
hen Madison walked out of the restaurant that night, Cameron was there waiting for her. "What are you doing here?" she asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Well, I didn't want you to walk home all alone this late at night." He waited for her to lock the doors before he took her hand.

"You know I've made this walk alone many times before and nothing's happened to me."

"I know, but I worry," he told her. "Just let me be a man, alright?"

"Fine, fine, fine." She turned to where Abby was hailing a cab. "See you tomorrow Abby?" She was hoping that the new employee liked it enough that she'd be returning.

"Without a doubt!" Abby smiled as she got into her cab and drove away.