My Heart's Passion (13 page)

“Ever thought to be a cook?” he greeted her. She stepped back and smiled.

“Nope. I couldn’t bear to work in a boiling hot kitchen day in, day out. That and it’s too cutthroat working your way up. Far too many secrets, and tempers, and jealousy in a kitchen. You know the saying—too many cooks and all that.”

“Mmm…I brought the game.”

Chloe waved a hand to the small coffee table. “Just leave it there, I figured you’d want to eat first. I cooked up a huge amount, I know you so well.”

She was startled when he bent over her, carefully holding her chin still so he could lean down to kiss her. The tenderness she felt in the kiss, the gentle, almost sweet exploration of her mouth had her flush with surprise.

This wasn’t a simple hey-there-good-to-see-you sort of kiss. No. This was more of a missed-you-like-crazy-why-did-you-take-so-long style of kiss. An affirmation of the night they had spent together as well as an indication of more to come.

Chloe felt quite dazed as he pulled away. Blinking, she tried to gather her thoughts. She had planned to feed the man, make sure he was comfortable and then tell him her plan to talk to the local school principal and submit a request to teach in the local school. As their relationship was barely a weekend old, she hadn’t thought it much of his business whether she left or stayed.

That kiss, however, showed her he was more than interested in what her plans were, as well as his intention to stay in her life. She had had every intention of continuing their relationship—but it seemed as if he was moving a little faster than she had anticipated.

She had thought of maybe renting a cabin in the region somewhere, dating the man for a few months. Having a normal, ordinary courtship to see if they worked well together.

What was it Mona had said?

Ah, yes. “
We feel the mateship bond a lot more intensely than you humans do. We can’t just put it off or talk ourselves out of it.
”

For a split second, Chloe worried that Samuel was moving too fast. She was brought back to reality, however, when he pulled her ponytail gently.

“Hey there, little girl! Don’t freak on me, it was just a kiss.”

Chloe laughed and shook her head. She was being silly. “Go and sit down before my goulash burns. I’d never forgive you for that. It would be so embarrassing.”

Samuel grinned cheekily. “Hey, it wasn’t me staring off into space, looking ready to bolt, and chewing on my lower lip.”

Chloe shrugged off his teasing and went to serve the dinner.

* * * * *

When Samuel finally rested his fork on his plate and sat back with a satisfied sigh, Chloe breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment there she had worried he would want fourths, and while there was a small amount of the goulash left, there wasn’t enough to
fill
his plate a fourth time. He had inhaled his huge first serving, automatically checking if she wanted seconds and heading back into the kitchen to replenish his plate.

After a second serving of both the goulash and salad, mopping up the remaining gravy with the last crust of the French roll she had bought them, he had held up his plate in an imitation of Oliver Twist.

“Please, miss. I would greatly appreciate some more.”

Chloe had taken in her own empty dish, leaving it to soak in the sink, and heaped his plate a third time. Thinking to teach him a lesson, she had filled the plate, as full as she had the first time, nearly—but not quite—emptying the large pot.

Seeing his eyes light up as she placed the plate in front of him, she had marveled how such a lithe, slim man could pack away such a vast quantity of food.

She had debated for a moment if she should warn him of the ice cream and cream puffs she had picked up for dessert, but as she wouldn’t be able to squeeze a bite more in, she figured to leave it for later.

They had talked politely over dinner. She had explained about her previous careers, how nothing had really grabbed and held her attention until she had found teaching. But far more interestingly, Samuel had opened up about his work as a private investigator.

She found it so interesting, the security work he did with his brothers, how in the beginning when he had been building his reputation and starting out, he had followed around cheating spouses and proving false claims.

He insisted much of it was incredibly boring—paperwork, research, and very little action. But she was still entranced by the work. He had laughed when she divulged she had learned to pick locks from a former boyfriend back in high school.

“Finally full?” she teased as she grinned at him.

He patted his totally flat stomach. “Gotta keep my energy up. You certainly wouldn’t want me to falter and run out of energy at a critical time, would you?”

Chloe laughed as she picked up his plate. “No. I certainly wouldn’t want you to deflate at the wrong moment.”

Chuckling, she rinsed his plate and placed it in the sink to soak with the other dishes.

Walking back into the main room, she was surprised to find him already sitting on the couch, arm spread out, inviting her to sit right beside him.

“Eager tonight, are you?” she laughed.

“Come on, we have stuff to do. Don’t want to waste all that warmth and energy that delicious meal gave me.”

Laughing, she sat next to him and relaxed into his warm chest. When his arm gently curved around her, she felt as if she had finally come home.

“You mentioned how much you enjoyed teaching. Are you going to continue it, even though your subbing is finished?”

She leaned back to look up to him.

“I met this really wonderful old woman at the café today. Mona. She said there was a need for an elementary teacher in the local school back in the main town. It’s a fairly short distance from here, only about an hour. I might rent an apartment in the city, or maybe a cabin halfway between here and the town, so I can be closer to Mary. Matthew is already in town, and will be heading back off to college again soon.”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure they’ll even hire me, but I really think I’d enjoy it. I think I’ve finally found where my passion lies.”

Samuel started nuzzling her neck. She giggled as he growled and gently nipped her neck.

“Surely not
all
your passion is in teaching kids?”

Giggling, she wriggled, trying to escape out of his arms. He tightened his hold and continued nipping her neck, insisting on a response.

“Well, I seem to have a lot of other passion for one long, thick, warm object. But at the moment the teaching is looking really promising.”

Laughing outright as he growled and rolled them both onto the floor, she wriggled as he trapped her body underneath his own much larger one.

“Only teaching is looking promising, huh? What do you say we go back to playing Dominic’s card game?”

Without lessening the pressure on her, he lifted one arm up, felt around until he held the small box of cards, and pulled off the lid.

Only a single card was inside the box. It had a red border, with “Advanced: for those who
dare
” emblazoned on it.

Chloe sobered up, her laughter dying away. She had a funny feeling about this.

Samuel sat up, sitting on his knees on the floor and offered her the box, looking incongruous with its solitary card inside.

Chloe reached out to take the card, idly noticing her hand shook very faintly as she reached for the card. Picking it out, she turned it over.

I love you. You are my heart’s passion, Chloe. Marry me. Please
.

The script was not the typed print of the other cards. Obviously the game had come with a number of red-rimmed cards that were blank, for the man or woman to fill in themselves.

The bold, masculine script could only be Samuel’s.

Chloe looked up to the man who sat opposite her. Opening her mouth, she tried to form words. Nothing would come. She was so totally shocked.

Samuel stared at her, his beautiful blue eyes piercing her with his intensity.

“It’s simple, Chloe. I love you. I think I fell in love with you at Dom and Mary’s wedding. I just didn’t want to admit that such a young, willowy woman could bring me to my knees. I want to help you reach your dreams, want you to realize all your passions, particularly those of your heart. But most of all, I want to be your heart’s passion.”

Chloe felt a tear trickle down her face. Sitting up she threw her arms around Samuel.

“Oh my, that was the most beautiful proposal. You
are
my heart’s passion, Samuel. Your fantasies make me so hot I want to bring each and every one true. I want to come home from school to see your smiling, cheeky face. Yes. I’ll marry you.”

With a groan, he swept her close for a soul-searing kiss. Plucking the card from her hand, he let it drop to the floor and rolled them over so she was astride him.

“Ride me, baby,” he groaned. “Ride me until we both burst.”

Eagerly, they stripped each other until they were both naked. Chloe pumped his cock with her hand, once, then twice. As a tiny pearl of pre-cum squeezed out of his tip, she murmured and bent down to lick it up. Rolling it around in her mouth, she reached up and kissed him firmly on his mouth, letting him taste their mingled essence.

“Please, baby,” he groaned, tilting his hips suggestively at her.

Grinning, she teased his nipple.

“Patience,” she intoned.

“Fuck patience,” he muttered, bending his head to take her nipple in his mouth. She gasped at the shock that ran through her body. She felt the world moving, and realized it was only Samuel rolling her underneath him, pushing aside the coffee table with a loud
thunk
, so they didn’t hit their heads at a busy moment. Laughing, she caressed his shaft and balls.

“What happened to me riding you?”

“Next time,” he promised.

With one, fierce thrust, he was inside her, both of them moaning in pleasure. Chloe stroked the delicate skin between his shaft and balls, and he lightly fingered her clit. She was amazed at how quickly she felt herself spinning out of control. Before she could even catch her breath she felt her head arch back into the rug, her back bow out and the climax tear through her.

A split second later, Samuel was shouting, thrusting even deeper inside her, his seed erupting deep inside her.

He collapsed on top of her and they panted, catching their breaths. Chloe resolved to turn him over as soon as her lethargic muscles would move.

The air was pierced by the shrill ringing of the phone. Chloe frowned.

What the hell?

She looked at Samuel, who shrugged.

“No one knows I’m here. It’s not for me.”

“But no one knows I’m here either.”

Lifting himself up on one arm, cursing at the coffee table, Samuel looked around until he saw the phone on a small table by the window. Getting up, uncaring of his nudity, he picked it up.

“Hello?”

Chloe could hear a feminine voice on the other end. She sat up, wondering who on earth it could be. Before she could wonder and begin to panic, Samuel laughed out loud.

“Really? What were the two of you doing this time?”

More talking from the other voice.

“Ahh…I understand. Yeah, she’s here, hang on.”

Samuel crossed back over to her, taking the cordless phone with him. He sat back down on the soft carpet and handed her the phone. He mouthed the word, “Mary”. Understanding dawned, and then embarrassment set in.

“Uh…hi, Mar. How’s the dirty weekend going?”

“Pathetically. Never make love out in the rain. It’s romantic, but messy as hell and now Dominic has a bad cold. We’re coming back tonight. I take it you’ve had an interesting weekend yourself?”

Pretending to misunderstand, Chloe agreed.

“Oh yes. I’ve decided to do elementary teaching. There’s an opening back in town. It’s not that far from you, and Matthew is back there after all.”

Mary laughed. “Fine. Be that way. Can you spend the night at Samuel’s?”

Chloe looked over at him, and drew a quick breath as he started sucking her nipple again, waggling his eyebrows in a comical manner.

“Umm…probably. I think we’re going to get married a little later.”

Mary laughed.

“Just wait until I tell Dom. He owes me twenty bucks now.”

Chloe frowned.

“Huh?”

“We knew something was up at the wedding. I said it was love, Dominic insisted it was lust and Samuel would forget it. I gave you both ten months to work it out, so I win the money. I’ll split it with you. If you get married within six months, I get a further fifty.”

Chloe laughed.

“I’ll think about it. We haven’t set a date yet, but it’s a pretty safe bet to be within six months. You owe me a night on the town, maybe something new and exotic for the Hen’s Night.”

Samuel jerked his head back and frowned menacingly, waggling his finger in a comical manner. Just to tease him, Chloe continued over Mary’s voice.

“Maybe we can call in a few favors. I hear there are some fantastic strippers in town. We can work out the details later.”