Their Love

Chapter 4

5 YEARS LATER

I was up early this morning doing my daily workout when I got a call from the assistant of the chef I want to work with. She told me there was a potential position open for me and Mr. James would like to take the time to meet me as soon as possible. We decided on 9 before they opened.

I rush to get ready. Fix my hair in a casual braid, finish my makeup. After finding my favorite suit, I put on the silky red button-up shirt, the black thigh-length pencil skirt with cute ruffles at the bottom and the black blazer with a satin red sash tied in a bow around the waist. I look at myself in the mirror and decide on red tights and my black leather booties with the dragonfly chain on them. It’s a little chilly out today, but it’s nice.

I check myself again. My chest and hips are framed perfectly, my waist looks tiny. At only 5”2 with an ass and boobs it’s hard to find clothes that fit well and don’t look trashy. The red shirt is a bit low-cut, but it works with the outfit to look sexy and classy. I love the look and head out of my room.

“Jacob”, I holler to my best friend and roommate.

“What?” I hear from the bedroom. With a smile, I ran in excited.

“Kettle Rose” just called. I tell him, “Ryker James wants to meet me for an interview.”

“Kitten, calm the f**k down. It’s early. You’re amazingly talented and creative. " The man would be making the worst mistake of his life letting you get away.” He tells me with a hug.

“I just want this so badly.I need a wardrobe check. OK or too much?”

He looks at me from head to toe. “Damn. You’re sexy as f**k. Go grab that Beauty and the Beast jewelry set and that will finish the look off. Good luck. Love you.” Then he rolls over and goes right back to sleep.

I rolled my eyes, grabbed my keys to my motorcycle and headed out. I’ve got a matte black Harley Davidson sportster 883. It’s my most prized possession. I grabbed my helmet and my leather jacket and ran out the door. I drive the 5 minutes to the restaurant and have to park down the block. I'm rushing down the sidewalk with a wall of muscle steps in front of me. I'm waiting for the fall when I feel strong arms around my waist. I feel heat rush through my body.

“Jesus freaking Christ, ever heard of a cheeseburger? Nobody should be that hard” I mumbled. I looked up to the breathtaking gray eyes of the mountain in front of me. He's clearly amused if the sexy smile is an indication. I stared for a moment. “Damn, he’s gorgeous.” I thought till the man laughed, and I realized I was speaking out loud.

"Well, thank you. You’re damn gorgeous yourself. Why don't you let me take you out for an apology drink?" he asks.

My body was tingling and on fire I looked up at him. "I'm sorry I have somewhere to be. You should watch where you're walking. Someone could get hurt."

"Can i get your name?"

"Rayna, I have to go, excuse me" I say, ducking my head slightly. Then I turned and rushed to the next building. I met the assistant at the front. “I’ll go, let Mr. James know you are here. You should take a moment to run to the restroom to freshen up. You have a little blood on your nose, Ms. Larsen.” The woman kindly told her.

“Thank you so much," I ducked my head embarrassed, and ran to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. What is wrong with me? He’s a stranger, and I’ll never see him again. That man was dangerous, my body reacted instantly. I can still feel the flutter in my stomach at his smile. I have a job to get. Maybe Lu is right and it’s time to get laid, he would be perfect. But right now i have a job to get.

I finish making myself presentable when I'm happy with how I look and take a deep breath and walk back out to the host stand. Luckily, it’s only been a few minutes since I ran in there. “Ms Larsen, right this way please. Mr. James is ready for you”, the assistant informs me. I follow her up the stairs and try not to let my nerves get the best of me. This place is intimidating. I’m confident in my skills and abilities. It’s still nerve-wracking.

Walking up to a big wooded door, the pretty woman knocked and opened the door. “Mr. James, Ms. Larsen is here. May I grab anything for either of you?”

“Coffee” he replied. Not looking up from his computer.

“Ms. Larsen?” she asked.

“No, thank you so much” I politely replied. With that, she walked out to retrieve his coffee. He looks up to me and time freezes for a moment.

“Sit.” I sat quietly waiting for him to start when his phone rang. He grabbed the phone and held it to his ear without a word. I saw his entire body stiffen slightly, and he looked over at me with a very slow, intense once over. “Agreed” and he hung up the phone.

As he started me down, I saw the wheels in his mind turning. It took all my willpower not to squirm under his gaze. There has got to be something wrong with me today. Do women go into heat? Goodness, this is the second time in 20 minutes a man’s gaze has made me lose all sense. If I was still standing I’m sure my knees would have given out with the heat in his stare.

His hazel eyes burned into me, assessing my very soul. I looked into his eyes, nervous, confused, and completely turned on. His mahogany hair falling over his eyes, gentle waves framing his face, I slowly took in his masculine features. High cheekbones, chiseled jaw, a scar above his eyebrow begging to be touched. I swallowed hard when I glanced at his huge hands still holding the phone. Who would have thought a man’s hands were sexy? I suddenly wondered what it would be like to have them on my body, wrapped around my throat. My mouth went dry and my brain short-circuited. Where did that thought come from?

The tension was broken at a knock on the door. “Mr. James, your coffee. Ms. Larsen, I know you declined a beverage, but I gave you some water, in case you change your mind. " I hope that’s alright,” the kind woman said, handing us both our drinks. “ Thank you, ma’am.” Then she walked back out with a nod of her head. I’ve never been more happy to have water. My throat was dry, my body was on fire, the tingling in my stomach making me more anxious. I’ve never reacted so strongly to anyone before except for the gorgeous mass of muscle 15 minutes ago.

For the second time today, I had to give myself a shake and focus, “Mr. James, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Rayna Larsen. Thank you for meeting with me today, I’m sure you’re very busy.“ I say in my best professional tone, hoping he doesn’t know how much his presence affects me. I offered my hand for him to shake.

The second his hand fits into mine, I feel sparks shooting up my arm straight to my core. My breathing is erratic, and I feel a slight tremble in my body. Maybe a handshake was a bad idea I think… or so I thought. Once again I humiliate myself by speaking out loud. His full lips quirked up, and an eyebrow raised slightly, Mr. James lets out a low chuckle. He looks at me like a predator ready to pounce on his prey and want to run, but I’m frozen under his perfect hazel eyes. “Do you always say your thoughts out loud Ms. Larsen?” He asked with obvious amusement.

I groaned “unfortunately. It seems to be a defect I can’t shake” I tell him with a small laugh. Be professional and ignore the s****l tension. “Mr. James i have experience working with chefs all over the world. I love learning all the different styles people have. Professor Williams informed me you needed someone, and he felt this would be a good option for me to learn more. I did some research on your restaurant and I feel like there is so much you can teach me. If, of course, you’re willing to give me the opportunity to learn under you,” I finally end my speech and look him in the eyes. The look he gives me takes my breath away. His eyes burned into me.

“ You want the opportunity to learn under me? " There are many things I can teach you." I feel like he's talking about more than food. "Your resume is impressive. You’ve traveled a lot to learn the trade. I do have one question, Ms Larsen. Why did 6 months in South America get cut short?” he asked me.

“Because my overprotective friends are psychos and lost their minds when I lost my phone, and they couldn’t reach me for two weeks. Once I got to where I could reach out, they were already in South America searching for me to bring me home. My best friends husband brought a small army demanding I return home where its safe. He had my contract and all my travel plans canceled, then kidnapped me." I couldn’t stop the slightest pout, still upset about it.

"Kidnapped you?" he questions.

"Yep, he had Jacob literally throw me over his shoulder and cary me out, then had the audacity to threaten to tie me up and tape my mouth shut if i didn't behave. Arrogant Bastards, I never even got to try the llomo saltado."

He let out a soft chuckle. “They sound protective”, I softly smiled. "What about the one year with no college classes?"

I stiffen "A mistake."

He nodded. "I understand, we don't have anything at the restaurant open, but i do have another position if you're interested. You would still be working under me and I would be able to give you one-on-one attention to teach you everything I know. It would just be a little more personal.” His words set my body on fire and the way he carefully watched my reaction with his heated gaze made me squirm in my seat.