Some Like It Spicy (19 page)

Ashton forced her feet to move, placing herself in the middle between Jin and Duffy.

“Let’s start with Duffy,” Ty said. “While your bread pudding was very good, I didn’t get much of a chocolate taste from it. Did you add cocoa?”

Ashton could feel Duffy tense beside her. “Yes,” Duffy said through gritted teeth. “Apparently, I could have put in more.”

“Ashton,” Andrea said. Ashton’s breath stuck in her throat.

“I loved your dessert.”

Ashton smiled as she let out a stream of air. “Thank you.”

“But I think it is the type of dessert only a depressed woman could appreciate.”

Her smile fell as her pulse began to race.

“I agree it was very rich,” Claude said. “Also, although the girls liked the minty center, they didn’t care for the dark chocolate.”

Ashton looked to Ty, waiting for him to comment, but he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he moved on to Jin.

“Jin, while your concept was interesting, your cake was dry and flavorless.”

Even Jin, who was as calm a person as Ashton had ever met, squirmed under the criticism.

Ty walked up and down the table, stopping in front of each of them.

Ashton’s heart pounded so loudly, she wouldn’t have been surprised if her microphone picked it up. The world began to get fuzzy.
Please don’t faint
, she repeated over and over in her head.

When Ty’s hand raised, she had to grip the table. But the flame he put out wasn’t hers.

He covered Jin’s flame. “Jin, you can’t take the heat. Get out of the kitchen.”

Ashton closed her eyes.

And fainted.

…

“Ashton!” Ty dropped to his knees beside her. “Get an ambulance.” He bent forward, putting his head near her mouth and nose to see if she was breathing. To his relief, he could feel warm air hit his cheek. He put two fingers against her carotid artery to check for a pulse.

“Is she okay?” Jolene asked. She’d knelt beside him and held Ashton’s hand.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “Ashton, can you hear me?”

Sally appeared at his side. “Ambulance is on the way.”

“No ambulance,” Ashton groaned.

Ty let out air he didn’t know he was holding. He put a palm on her chilled cheek. “Are you okay? What happened?”

Her eyes were still closed and her skin colorless. “I don’t know. I don’t even remember falling. How long was I out?”

“Just a few seconds,” Jolene assured her.

“You’re going to the hospital,” Ty said firmly.

“No!” Ashton struggled to sit up. Ty put a hand to stop her as Jolene tried to help her on the other side.

“You need to be checked out by a doctor,” Ty insisted. Seeing her fall like that had scared the life out of him. He wasn’t going to let her stubbornness risk her health.

Despite his attempts to stop her, she’d risen to her feet with Jolene’s help. “I’m fine. I promise.”

“Then why’d you faint?” Ty asked.

Her pale cheeks tinged pink. “I don’t know. I’m probably just dehydrated or something. I don’t want to go to the hospital.”

Ty opened his mouth to argue, when Sally intervened. “We have a location shoot tomorrow. You want to be a part of it?” she asked.

“Of course,” Ashton said.

“We can’t have you getting sick when we’re out in the middle of nowhere. Will you at least let the paramedics check you out? If they say you’re fine, we’ll drop it. But if they want to take you to the hospital, either you go or you don’t participate in the next challenge. Agreed?”

“Fine,” Ashton grumbled, clearly knowing she didn’t have a choice.

“You can lie down in my office until they get here,” Ty said. “I’ll take you.”

He put an arm around her, inanely noting that her being sick was the only reason he would ever be able to touch her in public, and helped her down the hall. He set her on the couch and closed the door.

He sat next to her, lowered her head to his lap, and stroked the top of her head. “Are you really okay?”

Her eyes stayed closed as she nodded. “I honestly don’t know what happened. I think, maybe, it was a panic attack.”

“About getting eliminated?”

“I wasn’t scared of getting eliminated as much as…” Tears slipped from the creases of her eyes. She lifted her lids. “As much as going home and never seeing you again.”

He didn’t know what to say. If he admitted he was scared of the same thing, she might think he’d kept her from elimination for that reason. The truth was, her dessert had been overly rich, similar to Morgan’s disastrous breakfast. And a few of the kids hadn’t liked the dark chocolate. If Jin hadn’t made a bigger mistake, she
would
be going home. And although he truly believed Jin made the worst dish, part of him had considered that if she went home, he might never see her again.

To hell with it. He had to tell her what he was feeling. What he’d
been
feeling. That this was more than just a fling, that he saw a future together, if only he could untangle himself from this damnable mess he’d created of his life.

He cleared his throat. “Ashton—”

A commotion coming down the hall stopped him. He could hear Jolene, in a loud, high-pitched voice so unlike her usual soft drawl, say, “Ashton is lying down in the office. I can run ahead and have her come out here.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Ty heard a deep voice reply, “But we’ll take it from here.”

Ty had just enough time to slide Ashton’s head out of his lap and stand beside her before two men in paramedic uniforms, Sally, and Jolene crowded into his office.

“I’m fine.” Ashton struggled to sit up before anyone touched her.

The short, stocky paramedic put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “Let us just check your vitals, make sure everything is okay.”

Sally’s pointed glare had Ashton slumping back on the couch.

Ty tapped his feet against the cement floor as the paramedic took Ashton’s pulse and checked her blood pressure. When he felt a soft arm on his shoulder, he jerked his head to the left. Jolene stood beside him, a sympathetic smile on her lips.

“She’ll be okay,” Jolene whispered, her eyes knowing.

He should have felt panic or fear or anger that Jolene knew his and Ashton’s secret. But at the moment, his concern for Ashton overrode all other emotion. He didn’t acknowledge Jolene’s suspicions, except for a slight nod of appreciation.

As he turned his attention back to Ashton, the paramedic stood, brushing off his dusty knees.

“She’s fine,” the man announced. “Heart rate and blood pressure are normal, and her color is improving. My guess was a panic attack. Given the situation, that isn’t unlikely.”

Ty was caught between the need to blow out a huge sigh of relief and the desire to throw his arms around Ashton and beg her never to scare him like that again. He settled for thanking the paramedic.

“So, I don’t have to go to the hospital,” Ashton said.

The paramedic shook his head. “Just take it easy tonight. You’ll be fine.”

Sally walked the paramedics out and Jolene followed behind them. She turned to Ashton from the doorway. “I’ll wait outside while you…recover.” She stepped over the threshold, closing the door behind her.

Immediately, Ty fell to Ashton’s side, picking up her hand and putting it to his lips. “Don’t do that again, okay?”

She chuckled softly. “I’ll try.”

“You’re coming home with me tonight. Someone needs to look after you.”

“You have the book signing,” she reminded him.

“Fuck!” He ripped his hands through his hair.

Ashton tsked him. “What would your mama say if she could hear you now?”

“I don’t fucking care,” he said hotly, making sure to keep his voice down so no one in the hall could hear. “I don’t want to go to the fucking book signing. I want to fucking be with you.”

“Sometimes you don’t fucking get what you want.” She leaned her head against his chest and he wrapped an arm around her. “Seriously, I’m just going to go home and get into bed. There is nothing you could do for me anyway. You have a contract, I assume.”

“Yes,” he said through gritted teeth. Fuck Vic and his contracts.

“Then you have to do it,” she told him firmly. “Besides, I want to be fresh for tomorrow’s challenge, and after a week apart, I don’t think we could sleep in the same bed without ripping each other’s clothes off.”

Heat flared in his body at the image. She was right about that. The next time they made it to a bed together, neither of them would be sleeping.

His phone beeped in his pocket. It was a text from his driver, saying they had to leave now or he’d be late. “Fuck!”

“Stop saying that,” Ashton scolded, putting a finger over his lips. “It doesn’t sound right, coming from your mouth.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled against her finger.

“I forgive you,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “As long as you fuck me later.”

He laughed. “I can guarantee it.”

Chapter Eighteen

Ashton awoke the next morning refreshed and ready for the day’s challenge. Last night, Jolene had fussed over her, bringing her chicken noodle soup (that Jolene had made from scratch) and hot tea, and making her a cool, lavender-scented compress for her forehead.

Although two rooms were now empty in the house, neither of them moved. They’d both decided not to jinx themselves by changing their pattern. Besides, Ashton had come to enjoy having Jolene as a roommate. She’d miss her when Jolene went back to Texas and she to Chicago. She would make a point to keep in touch.

Without so many people, the kitchen was quiet. Duffy read the morning paper at the counter, a half-eaten omelet in front of him. Jolene sat at the table with a pea-green drink and an English muffin with turkey bacon and cheese.

When Jolene saw her, she pointed to her plate. “Want one? I made an extra.”

Ashton shook her head.

“Yes, you do,” Jolene said, her own head nodding. “I was being polite by asking. You’re just going to have to get over your breakfast thing. Do you want to faint again?”

“No.” She felt like a child being scolded. Of course, it wasn’t worth arguing about, since Jolene was right.

“Eat up.” Jolene pushed the plate to her.

She ate the sandwich, which wasn’t too bad, and downed a cup of coffee, for which Jolene flashed a disapproving stare.

“Let me at least have one thing to feel normal.” But she drank a glass of water to appease her.

Across the house, they heard the door swing open and footsteps approaching. Ashton craned her neck to see Clint, a camera on his shoulder, and Sally behind him.

“Hello, chefs,” Sally said. “We’re about to leave for our location shoot. This is an overnight trip. Everyone have their bags?” Ashton, along with Duffy and Jolene, nodded.

Sally stepped over to her. “You feeling okay, Ashton?”

God, she couldn’t believe she’d fainted in front of all these people. She prayed it would end up on the cutting room floor, but she doubted she’d be that lucky. “I’m fine. Ready to get going.”

“Good. Then let’s roll. We have a long two days ahead of us.”

There was only one van at the curb. The three chefs climbed in the backseat, while Clint sat in the front and Sally drove.

“Any clue where they’re taking us?” Duffy asked.

“Hopefully another place like the bed and breakfast,” Jolene replied dreamily. “I could handle another night on the softest bed I’ve ever slept in.”

Ashton’s lips curved as she thought of that soft bed and all the things she and Ty had done in it. The timing of this location shoot couldn’t have been better; if she didn’t get Ty naked soon, she was going to spontaneously combust. Another night, rolling around in a soft bed with soft, decadent sheets suited her purposes.

But after driving an hour, they seemed to be on the road to nowhere. They left the city behind, and the highway went from six lanes to four lanes to two lanes. She watched as high-rise buildings gave way to houses and then trees. And then they drove another hour past that.

“Now I’m getting nervous,” Duffy said, when they passed a caravan of motor homes. “We’re not doing a crossover with another show, are we? If we end up on
Survivor
, I’m gonna be pissed.”

From the driver’s seat, Sally laughed. “No crossover, although it isn’t a bad idea. Maybe next season.”

Twenty minutes later, Sally turned onto a dirt road and drove a few hundred feet before pulling to a stop. “We’re here.”

Ashton stepped down from the van and looked around. They were in a clearing, surrounded by trees so tall, they must have outlived several generations. A large campfire decorated the center of the clearing, and surrounding it were two tiny tents and a small trailer.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Duffy cussed.

“No,” Jolene said drily, her gaze on the tents, “they’re shitting
me
.”

Ashton agreed with their assessments. She’d never been camping in her life; her father would have starved before eating something cooked over a pile of tree limbs.

She eyed the tents with disgust. She and Jolene would probably share one and Duffy would get the second to himself. The trailer would house the crew? However they were divided, this pretty much killed her plans with Ty. Dammit.

A limo pulled up as Ashton set her bag down near a tent. Andrea stepped out first, then Claude, and then Ty.

Ty’s gaze landed on her, and he strode over, without acknowledging Sally or anyone else. “How are you feeling?” he asked. Concern and frustration filled his eyes. She could understand the frustration part; it would be difficult to throw herself in his arms with a dozen pairs of eyes on them.

“I’m fine,” she said. “One hundred percent.”

“Good.” He looked like he wanted to say something else, but Sally clapped her hands together.

“We need to start filming. Judges, we have your mark over there.” She pointed. “Chefs, stand across from the judges.”

Ashton took her mark. Her heart rate sped up as she waited to hear the challenge. If she got through this, she would be in the final two. Unless they decided to change the procedure of every other season, that meant a visit home. Thus far, she’d managed to avoid talking to her father, although her mother had left a few messages saying they “
loved
the show.” More likely, if her father had watched at all, he’d picked apart her dishes and lamented that she was his daughter. It was a story she’d heard too many times before.

“Chefs,” Ty said, and her head snapped to attention. “Today we have another Medium Heat challenge.”

Instead of relief, her chest dropped. She’d been ready for the elimination challenge, and now she had an extra obstacle to beat.

“As you can see,” Ty continued, “tonight, we’ll be camping out.”

He paused for effect, which usually gave the contestants the opportunity to cheer or applaud. Today, they remained silent.

“There is one dish that is synonymous with camping,” Ty said. “S’mores!”

With this, Duffy grinned, and she and Jolene both managed to crack a smile.

Ty pulled out a box of graham crackers, marshmallows, and candy bars from a bag he’d been given. “Your challenge is to make us the best s’more we’ve ever tasted. You have five minutes. Your time starts now!”

Ashton dove for the marshmallows and pulled three out of the bag, before realizing they hadn’t been given sticks to cook them on. Frantically, she raced to the tree line and fell to her knees, searching for a stick.

She found one more than two feet long and raced back to the fire. She had to make three s’mores, one for each judge. If she put all three marshmallows on one stick, they wouldn’t cook evenly. If she made them one at a time, the first two would be cold by the time the judges ate them.

Making a snap decision, she broke her stick in thirds, and then used the bottom of her chef’s jacket to wipe off any dirt before she placed one marshmallow on each stick.

Before holding them over the fire, she placed two squares of chocolate on three graham cracker halves. When there was a minute remaining, she held the sticks over the flame. When thirty seconds remained, the marshmallows hadn’t even browned yet. Panicked, she dropped the sticks closer to the flame.

Oh, shit!
One of the marshmallows caught fire, turning the white puff black. She blew on the flame until is fizzled out.

“Ten seconds,” Ty called.

With no time to remake the s’more, she quickly dropped the marshmallow on the chocolate piece and put a second graham cracker on top.

“Time!”

Utterly disgusted with herself, she stood on her mark, her burned, disgusting s’mores on the plate in her hands.

Ty, Claude, and Andrea started with hers. They each took a bite of her s’more, before moving on to Duffy.

After tasting all three, they conferred briefly and then lined up in front of the chefs.

“Ashton,” Ty said. “Your marshmallows were a bit burned, and you didn’t leave enough time for the chocolate to melt.”

Nothing she didn’t expect to hear.

“Jolene, your attempt to create a healthier s’more by just flaking on the chocolate left it dry and tasteless.”

Jolene nodded grimly.

“Duffy, we all enjoyed the double layer of chocolate you used on your s’more. The marshmallows were also perfectly cooked. Congratulations, you’re the winner.”

“Yes!” Duffy pumped his fists in the air.

“As the winner of the challenge, you will have the exclusive use of the trailer tonight,” Andrea told him. “Including a queen-size bed and bathroom facilities. Ladies, I’m afraid you’ll be roughing it with the tents and nature’s outhouse.”

Ashton turned to look at Jolene. “This sucks.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ty, looking so hot in his khaki pants and crisp white shirt, the top two buttons undone and showcasing a tanned chest. “
Really
sucks.”

“For lunch tomorrow, we’ll be inviting the campers in the surrounding areas to join us for lunch, as you cook a gourmet meal over the campfire,” Andrea told them.

“I don’t remember passing a grocery store,” Duffy joked.

Andrea smirked, sending waves of fear down Ashton’s spine. “You’re right,” she said. “There are no grocery stores within twenty miles of here. So, first thing in the morning, you will have to ‘shop’ in the surrounding RVs for anything you might need.”

Ashton sucked in the warm air. They wanted a gourmet meal out of camping food? Holy crap. Well, at least when she was eliminated, she’d be able to skip the home visit. That was one silver lining in this whole mess.

Sally yelled cut before addressing the group. “We’re going to do a few interviews today,” she told them. “Then you’ll have the rest of the evening off.” She turned to Ashton and Jolene. “Sorry, ladies, but you really do have to sleep in the tents.”

“What about a bathroom?” Jolene asked, looking a bit green at the realization they’d actually be camping out.

Sally pointed toward the line of trees. “Twenty yards that way, and don’t forget to dig a hole. Ashton, I’ll interview you first.”

As Ashton followed Sally to where they’d set up an “interview” chair, Ty passed her, bumping her in the side. He reached a hand to steady her, apologizing, and she felt him slip something in her jacket pocket.

As he moved away, she put her hand in the pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

Fallen oak, one hundred yards west of camp. Midnight.

“Where are you going?”

Ashton stopped dead in her tracks as she heard Jolene behind her. Hoping a guilty look wasn’t plastered on her face, she whirled around. “Bathroom.”

Jolene tilted her head sideways. “Don’t you mean hole in the ground? Seriously, though, you shouldn’t walk around by yourself. I’ll go with you.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine,” Ashton answered quickly. “Really,” she added, when Jolene looked as if she was about to protest.

“Okay,” Jolene agreed reluctantly. She thrust something in Ashton’s hand. “Take this, just in case.”

Ashton looked at the whistle in her hand, the silver gleaming in the reflection of the full moon.

“It’s a rape whistle,” Jolene explained. “A girl can never be too careful.”

“No, she can’t,” Ashton murmured.

Great. Now, not only was she walking around blindly in the dark, she was completely freaked out. Her ability to navigate was somewhere near her ability to fly. She’d watched the direction the sun had set—that was west, right? If she got lost, Ty was going to owe her the world’s best oral sex followed by the biggest orgasm.

The rape whistle in hand, she took tentative steps toward what she hoped was west. Her heart thumped like a bass drum as the light from the campfire got dimmer and the trees got taller. The only sounds were the crickets and her brain screaming this was a bad idea.

Just as fear got the best of her and she’d decided to run back to camp, whistling as loud as she could, she caught sight of Ty, lounging on the fallen oak.

She raced over and flung herself into his arms as he stood.

“Whoa,” he said, tightening his embrace. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m running through the freaking forest at night,” she said, her voice muffled in his shirt. “That’s what’s wrong.”

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. “You weren’t scared, were you?”

She backed out of his arms. “Of course not,” she scoffed, but she knew he could tell she was lying.

“Next time,” he said, pulling her back in his arms, “win the challenge and we could have a nice, soft bed right now.”

She wacked him on the shoulder. “Are you trying to start a fight?”

“No, sorry. But your s’more was pretty awful.”

“I’m leaving now.” She backed away.

He grabbed her hand and yanked her to him. “I’m just kidding. You know I’m just kidding. Besides, this might be kind of fun.”

“I’m not having sex with you out here,” she informed him. “Anyone could walk by.”

“No one will,” he promised. He lowered his mouth to her ear and nibbled gently on the lobe. “All the RVs are setups. The ‘campers’ are really friends and family of the crew.”

Ashton relaxed against him. “Thank God. So there will actually be more than junk food to choose from tomorrow?”

She could feel Ty nod as he moved his lips to her collarbone. “Mmm-hmm. Mmm. We planted some good stuff. Don’t worry.”

Her head fell back as his lips continued to move downward. “Can’t we go to your room? They hooked you up in a hotel, right?”

“I wish,” he mumbled against her rapidly beating heart. “I’m sharing an RV with Claude.”

She couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled within her from escaping.

Ashton hadn’t realized he’d unbuttoned her shirt until it slipped from her shoulders. She hadn’t bothered to put on a bra, a fact that he appreciated with a sharp hiss between his teeth. “Are you sure no one will see us?” It was hard to even care when his lips surrounded her nipple.

“Promise.”

Suddenly, he swept her off her feet and laid her gently on a flannel blanket. “You were pretty sure of yourself, weren’t you?” Ashton palmed the soft blanket beneath her.

Leaning above her, Ty smiled, more sweetly than she’d ever seen. He put his palm against her cheek. “I’m sure I need you. And I think you need me.”