Crista McHugh - The Sweetest Seduction

Her eyes appeared to be a softer green than before, more like new spring grass rather than emeralds. She held his gaze over the rim of her glass as she took a sip, and all thoughts of the meal before him vanished. There were far more tempting things to taste—like her lips. But then he remembered the first words out of her mouth when she arrived, and pushed those thoughts out of his mind. As much as he wanted her, he didn’t want to cross that line unless she initiated it.

He cut into his steak while she asked him questions about what it was like to grow up in a house with six brothers. He answered them, sharing stories of some of his exploits and earning a few chuckles as a reward. But it wasn’t until their plates were almost clean that he realized the entire conversation had revolved around him. He hadn’t learned a single thing about Lia, but there was still time to rectify the situation.

“You mentioned last week that you didn’t always want to be a chef. What did you do before?”

She choked on her wine and covered her mouth with her napkin, making him wish he could take his question back. Lia cleared her throat. “I, um, have a degree in business.”

Not what he would have expected at first, but the more he thought about her success with La Arietta, the more sense it made. “From where?”

She rolled a carrot across her plate with her fork. “From Harvard.”

It was then he realized he’d only begun to scratch the surface of the mysterious and complicated Lia Mantovani. “And that led you into cooking how?”

She poked her polenta, scooping up a bite before laying her fork on her plate. “I really don’t want to bore you with—”

“I said I wanted to get to know you better, remember? That’s the reason I wanted to have dinner with you, not because I was hoping to get you in the sack.”

His words had the effect he wanted, and a few chinks appeared in her armor. “My dad died when I young, so Ma always had to work two jobs to support us and make sure I went to a good school, had decent clothes on my back, setting aside a little money for college. You know?”

He nodded, fearing that if he said anything, she’d lock back up inside.

“So when I was looking at careers, I decided getting an MBA would a good choice to have a solid future and maybe pay her back for all she sacrificed for me. I worked hard, got into Harvard’s MBA program, graduated with honors.”

Her story slammed to an end, and when she didn’t continue, he said softly, “Go on.”

“I met a man when I was at Harvard. George Augustus Hamilton, III, also known as Trey. One of those guys born with a silver spoon in his mouth who never had to work hard for anything.” She didn’t look at him as she spoke, but the tips of his ears still grew warm. “We got engaged right before we graduated and bought a little house in Connecticut.”

Her voice cracked, and she ran her finger along the stem of her wine glass. “Trey was old money, you see, and he wanted me to be like his mom and sisters. A society wife. And I was stupid enough to think that sort of life would satisfy me. So, I stayed at home and did volunteer work and had lunch with the ladies down the street while he worked at a trading firm in Manhattan.”

He didn’t need to hear how the story turned out. He already heard the pain behind her words.

“A few weeks before we were supposed to get married, I learned the truth. He wanted to keep me in my gilded cage while he had his flings in the city.” Her fingers curled up into her palm. “After that, I swore no one would ever keep me from doing what I wanted to do. I sold my engagement ring and used to the money to go to Italy. That’s where I discovered my true passion.”

She raised her eyes to him, the fear and uncertainty shining from their jade depths. Now he understood why she clung so desperately to her restaurant.

And he was the son of a bitch threatening to take it all away from her.

Adam laid his fork down, his stomach too tied in knots to enjoy the meal. “I hope Amadeus finds one of my other properties suitable.”

“So do I.” She reached over and covered his hand with her own. “I know I’ve put you in an awkward situation, and I appreciate the fact you’re trying to work out a solution that meets both our needs.”

If she’d been any other woman, he would’ve expected her to play a sympathy card to get her way, but there was nothing fake or manipulative about Lia. And he respected that.

He flipped her hand over and examined her palm. There were calluses and scars from burns she must have sustained in the kitchen, but they matched her character perfectly. Lia was someone who’d worked hard to get where she was, so different from the spoiled little rich girls he’d known his entire life. And maybe that explained part of his attraction toward her.

He laced his fingers through hers. “He was a fool to treat you that way, to not realize what a treasure you really are.”

Her lips parted, the lower one trembling ever so slightly. “Thank you,” she whispered before unraveling her hand from his and picking her fork back up.

* * *

Lia didn’t know what else to say. For the last four years, she’d thrown herself entirely into her work, ignoring the one event that had started her journey to find herself. And then, just like that, she spilled her guts to Adam, a man she barely knew, and told him things only her mother had been privy to. Oddly enough, though, she trusted him.

But as soon as one burden had been lifted from her shoulders, a new one strapped itself to her. She hadn’t expected him to react the way he did. For those few blissful moments while he held her hand, she forgot about the restaurant, Trey, and everything else that had been keeping her up at night. Her body relaxed from the warmth that spread through her. However, when he called her a treasure, her heart jumped, and that gentle warmth turned into uncomfortable heat that made her breath quicken and her body long to have him touch her in other ways.

No doubt about it—she was in over her head when it came to Adam Kelly.

Lia glanced down at what was left on her plate, her appetite for food had vanished. Adam’s plate remained mostly untouched, too. Their brief moment of intimacy had now become awkward, a signal that she probably needed to leave. She took both plates without asking if he was done and cut a straight path to the kitchen. “I’ll get started on the dishes.”

The rushing water from the sink soothed her rattled nerves. There was peace here within her domain. The kitchen had been her place of refuge whenever she was troubled, and menial tasks like washing dishes or chopping vegetables had always allowed her mind to drift far away from her worries.

Until now.

Adam came up behind her and shut the water off. He pulled her hands from the soap suds. “I can do the dishes later.”

She let him turn her toward him, staring at the way he cradled her wet hands as though they were delicate and precious to him. Her pulse doubled, and a fine tremor worked its way into her bottom lip.

“I said something that made you uncomfortable, and I’m sorry,” he said as he brought her hands to his chest, cupping his hands around them.

“No, it’s not that. I’m just feeling a little....” Confused? Uncertain? Frightened to acknowledge that I could be falling for you? “Overwhelmed.”

“That was the last thing on my mind, Lia.” His breath bathed her forehead as he spoke, drawing her to closer and closer to him. “I only wanted to express my admiration.”

She took the final step to close the space between them. Her body melted into his embrace, her hands still over his heart. Time faded as she breathed his scent in and out, still unable to come to terms with her conflicted emotions. Her mind cautioned that she’d only get hurt by him, that he was no different than Trey.

But with every breath, those thoughts grew further and further away. She found a new peace in the solid lines of his body, from the firm touch of his hands as he ran them along her back, from the steady beating of his heart. This could easily become her new home.

“As much as I’m enjoying this, I’m going to have to let you go soon.” He tilted her chin up, the hunger in his eyes barely contained as pressed his lips against her forehead. He ran his thumb along her lips, sending shivers deep into the lowest recess of her stomach. “I’m just a man, after all, and you are a very beautiful, very tempting woman.”

He was holding back on her, restraining the desire he obviously felt for her.

The warning bells went off in her mind again, telling her to back away slowly while she still could, but her body refused to listen. She wanted Adam. She needed to feel his lips on her once again, to have him worship her as the treasure he thought she was. Yes, it would be considered crossing the line, but she’d rather enjoy one night in his arms than kick herself for letting fear hold her back.

Keeping her body still pressed against his, she reached up and lowered his lips to hers.

Adam sucked in a sharp breath, his muscles tensing as she kissed him. A needle of doubt pierced Lia’s mind. Had she misread him? Had she gone too far?

Then a moan of defeat came out when he exhaled, and his resistance faded. His tongue swooped into her mouth, intertwining with hers in a seductive dance. His hands were everywhere—her hair, her back, her hips. When they finally settled on her ass, he pressed her against the hard evidence of his desire.

I should stop now before I get hurt.

Easier said than done as his kisses grew deeper, hungrier, so very much like her own. The increasing pressure of his hands against her buttocks begged her to give him permission to take the next to step. Before she knew what was happening, she had jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. By the time they’d reached his bedroom, she’d removed both his shirt and her own. They fell back on his bed, her lips never breaking contact with his as the insatiable need consumed her.