Chapter Eleven

Two weeks after arriving in Hawaii, the need to work was getting under Cynthia’s skin. As she sipped at her Lava Flow, she looked out over the beach and watched the sun set. Chris was running late, mainly because Lee was late for her shift again. Not wanting to wait, she’d grabbed one of the Tropics waiters and ordered her preferred drink since arriving on the island. Now, she was staring out over one of her favorite locations thinking that she had been waiting too long to begin the rest of her life.

Her relationship with Chris seemed to be moving along, but the restlessness that had started a week ago was now taking over most of her thoughts. It surprised her how much she missed working at Anna’s restaurant. Of course, a lot of it was the companionship of the customers and her coworkers there, but a part of her missed the regular duties that had filled her day.

If someone had told her six months earlier that she’d miss getting out of bed at four in the morning, she’d have called them insane. Who would’ve thought she’d yearn to spend her mornings up to her elbows in dough? She’d lived a life of privilege. In high school, she’d put out feelers with her parents about working. Both of them denied her the right. She hated feeling useless and had for so many years. That all stopped when Anna had hired her. That job had given her a purpose in life, something she could be proud of. It proved that she was worth more than a marriage to further the family’s interests.

“Sorry I’m late,” Chris said, interrupting her thoughts. In a gesture she had come to expect and love, he leaned down and gave her a quick, hard kiss before taking the seat opposite her. “Lauren called to complain about Mamma, and I had to wait for Lee. I have a feeling that woman isn’t going to be late again for a while.”

She smiled at him and had to fight the urge to pinch herself to prove that she was really there with him. He was dressed casually, as usual, but was just as delectable in the loose white cotton shirt and jeans as he had been the first time she had seen him dressed in a suit. Of course, she preferred him wearing nothing at all.

“Did you lay into her finally?”

Before he could answer her, the waiter stopped to ask for Chris’s drink order. Once they were alone, he smiled at her. “No but May did. That girl can be ruthless when it comes to showing up on time.” He shook his head. “So many people underestimate her because of her age and because she has a soft heart.”

“Not you.”

He reached across the table and took her hand in his. This was another gesture she’d gotten used to. Well, almost. She’d never thought of herself as overly demonstrative. Her family shunned displays of affection…even in private. The simple act of handholding was more than she ever got from her parents. Even now, surrounded by a rowdy crowd of tourists on a Friday night, heat scorched her blood. The familiar tide of lust slowly wound its way through her. Tenderness from Chris had the ability to make her want to jump his bones right there in the middle of the restaurant.

“No. Not me. I knew from the time I hired her when she was still in high school that she would make a fantastic manager. She’s been spending enough time herding that group of men she lives with, little catty waitresses are child’s play to her.”

May lived with her grandfather, father, and her two brothers. Cynthia had yet to learn the whole story, but Chris had told her that May’s mother died when May was a teenager.

“Hmm, so Lee still has a job?”

He nodded and then thanked the waiter for his drink. “Yeah, but probably not for long. May doesn’t have much patience for her. And then there’s the problem with Evan.”

“Evan?”

“Apparently he’s dating Lee and I tend to lose my staff when he does that.”

Cynthia frowned, thinking of Chris’ friend. She liked him well enough but something about Evan made her uncomfortable. It wasn’t uncommon for her to act reserved when she first met someone. With Evan it was different. He wore charm as a shield, using it to keep people from looking too closely at the man beneath. It was that man who worried her. “Why are you friends with him?”

Chris didn’t answer right away, as if carefully choosing his response. “When I was heavy into the BDSM scene, I wasn’t always accepted. Many see a switch as unacceptable, not a true player. Evan always accepted who I was and what I was. Even being a true Dom like he is, he had no problem with me.”

“Still, I just don’t see you two as friends. Well, I do, but it is odd. Max seems more like you.”

“No, you think that because you’re comfortable with Max. Our view about life is very different.” He took a sip of his drink. “I’d like for you to get to know Evan better.”

She frowned. “Why? I mean, I don’t mind talking to him, but—”

His burst of laughter stopped her. “Lord, you’re sexy when you put on that lady-of-the-manor attitude.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“That tone.” His tongue darted out over his bottom lip. Anticipation hummed between them. “It turns me on.”

“It does?”

“Yeah, ’cause I know exactly how hot you can get. I know what you sound like when you moan.”

His voice dipped into that New Orleans accent she loved. It slithered down her spine, brushed over her nerve endings. But she wouldn’t be deterred.

“Stop that.”

The grin he offered told her he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

She wasn’t going to let him change the subject. “I just wondered how you two became friends since you’re so different.”

“Opposites attract?” He shrugged. “Odd, but true, especially friends. You may think Max and I are alike, but we aren’t, not in our personal tastes. Same with Evan. But all three of us are accepting of other people, of their choices in life. For Evan, I think it comes from his childhood. There are things, things from his past, that explain his behavior.”

She really wanted to know what those things were but knew better than to ask. Chris would never reveal those secrets, not without Evan’s permission.

The waiter interrupted them once more for their food orders. Once he left, Chris said, “I can’t believe you made me come to a rival for dinner.”

She chuckled. “Count it as a busman’s holiday. Besides”—she gestured toward the opened window—“I love the view.”

He followed her direction and smiled. “I have to agree with you there.”

Neither of them said anything for a bit, just taking in the sight of the sun sinking below the horizon, the dinner cruises going by.

“I’m thinking of opening a bakery.” She didn’t look at him, but she sensed his focus was now completely on her.

“Here in Honolulu?”

“Or up on the North Shore. I thought I’d look around for a shop that was reasonably priced.”

He didn’t say anything, so she gathered her courage and glanced across the table at him. “What do you think?”

“Hmm. I think that it’s hard to start a business, especially in the food industry.”

She pursed her lips and tried to fight back the wave of disappointment that swept through her. Cynthia had been so sure of his support.

“Oh, don’t look like that. I just wanted you to think about what you’re getting into. It isn’t easy.” When she didn’t say anything, he tugged on her hand. “Stop thinking I’m going to condemn you for every thought. I happen to think it’s an excellent idea.”

“Really?”

He smiled. “Yeah, with your talent, you could probably do very well.”

The excitement that gripped her every time she thought about opening her own bakery bounced back to life. “I wasn’t thinking of anything big. Just a little shop, something in a good location with a lot of morning traffic.”

“I have a great real estate agent who can help you scout locations. He’s excellent with negotiations and if you find a place in need of some renovations, I’ll blackmail Evan to help. I can also hit up Drew Franklin. His family is big in the food business here in Hawaii and he always seems to know if there are any openings.”

She bit her lip, trying her best not to let her emotions bubble over and embarrass both of them. No one, other than Anna, had ever pushed her, believed in her ability. To have the one man who meant the most to her encourage her, well, it was almost too much. He squeezed her hand. The simple gesture reassured and calmed her. It was as though he knew exactly what she needed.

“Thanks, Chris.”

“It’s no problem.”

She couldn’t allow him to dismiss it so easily, as if it meant nothing. “No, it isn’t, but thank you for the support.”

He said nothing for a second, then reached across the table to give her a long, slow, sweet kiss. “Anything for you, love,” he whispered against her lips. She leaned into the kiss, slipping her tongue between his lips, and taking his face into her hands.

Someone cleared their throat, breaking into the private moment, and Chris pulled back. The waiter had returned with their salads. Instead of the normal embarrassment that usually held her tongue-tied in these types of situations—not that she had been caught kissing a man in the middle of a restaurant on a regular basis—she just smiled at the young man while he did his duty.

“That was a first.”

“Just wait.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Before long you’ll be a regular wild woman.”

She laughed and thought that it sounded like a good thing to be.

Several weeks later, Chris was busy trying to finish off a day’s work to get to his wild woman. He closed his eyes and massaged his temples. The throb that had been there most of the day refused to go away. Even the pain reliever he’d taken hadn’t eased a bit of the pain. A surprise health inspection, troubles with scheduling conflicts with some of the waitstaff’s new school schedules, his mother’s concern over some problems with his sister Jocelyn, and May informed him money was missing.

Opening his eyes, he looked at his computer. The screen showed the proof that someone on staff had been skimming a dollar here and there…at first. In the last few weeks, the amount had grown, causing May to notice it in the books. Anger and disappointment burned into his gut. He hated to think one of his own was stealing from him.

The knock at the door interrupted his depressing thoughts.

“Come.”

The door opened and May poked her head in. “Ready?”

He nodded, the weariness of the day weighing heavy on his mind. She slipped through the doorway and sat in front of him.

“I did some research. Seems that every night we lost money, Lee was working.”

“And?”

“She has to be the one.”

He studied the young woman for a second. May’s feelings about Evan and Lee dating were known to him. The attraction she had for Evan was hard for most people to miss. That was one of the reasons Chris was sure Lee went after Evan. She’d hated dealing with May from the beginning of her employment.

“I know what you’re thinking, boss, and you’re wrong.”

“Prove me wrong.”

She rose and came around the desk, handing him some papers with schedules and payroll on them. “I went back through all the days we lost money. You know at first it wasn’t much, one reason neither of us caught it. But then here,”—she pointed at the computer screen, indicating the date two weeks ago that a little over a hundred dollars went missing—“is where she started getting careless.”

“I know that. But how do you know it was her and not just someone else who worked those days?”

“She was the only one who worked every one of those days, Chris. No one else was scheduled and clocked in those days the money went missing. Not every single day.”

He looked over the papers she handed him, then up at the screen where the days the money went missing were highlighted. “Hell.”

“Yeah.”

He glanced up at her, surprised to see the look of regret on her face. “What?”

“The fact that I found the information isn’t going to sit well, and it will have a lot of people talking.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that. Besides, you aren’t firing her. I am.”

Her shoulders sagged with what appeared to be relief. She leaned down and brushed her lips over his cheek. “Thanks, bra.”

“Just remember you owe me one.”

She headed to the door but paused and turned to face him. The seriousness shimmering in the depths of her blue eyes stunned him. He often forgot just how young she was because she took on so much responsibility. “I appreciate you listening to me, Chris. Most employers wouldn’t, considering.”

He nodded, not saying what they both knew. She was infatuated with Evan, or had been, and a lot of other people might assume she zeroed in on Lee because of her crush. Chris knew better. No matter what her personal feelings were, May was a professional, through and through.

“Send Lee back when you go out there.”

When she left him, he mentally prepared himself to fire Lee as fast as possible so he could get home to Cynthia.

By the time Chris pulled up to his house, most of his anger was just a memory. A little still burned his gut, along with a healthy dose of worry. Lee had not been easy to get rid of. Before she left, she made accusations that would never hold weight, but could hurt both Dupree’s and May. Things about him, things that weren’t true, but that didn’t matter. If she filed charges of sexual harassment, it would hurt him in the business community. She’d never win in court because everyone who worked there knew of her pursuit of him—and knew he turned her down. But the attention would not be good, and May didn’t need more stress in her life.

He turned off his car and stepped out of it. Just being here, knowing Cynthia was waiting for him, caused his body to relax. The stress of the day dissolved with the anticipation of seeing her.

As he walked up the steps to his front door, he thought of the last couple of weeks and the changes in Cynthia. She was gaining more confidence every day. When he’d talked to her earlier, she’d been reading her favorite book of late, Sensuous Magic . Chris had suggested the classic BDSM guide.

More than once he’d felt something else simmering beneath her surface, a hunger she wasn’t fulfilling. Chris knew better than to push or prod. Cynthia needed to take the steps in her development without feeling forced and one of those steps was to take complete control of the situation. He sensed her desire for it, wanting to command his every action, but she didn’t feel ready to take that last step. Knowing he had to wait until she understood her true Domme personality before he could take her under his control was driving him out of his ever-loving mind. Each step she took pushed him a little closer to the edge of sanity. He could feel it slipping from his fingers.

When he reached the top of the stairs, the door opened. Cynthia moved into view, an understanding smile lighting her face.

“May called.”

He nodded but said nothing as he slid his arms around her body and pulled her close to him. The warmth of her, her unique scent, wrapped around him, draining the rest of the irritation from the day. Even the simple touch had his body reacting. His cock hardened as he leaned into her.

She hummed at the contact, then nipped at the sensitive flesh just beneath his earlobe. He shuddered. She skimmed her fingers down his back, allowing him to feel the bite of her nails through his cotton dress shirt. Cupping his ass with one hand, she squeezed. His dick jerked in response, eager for the same attention.

“Let’s get inside before I strip you naked and jump your bones with Mrs. Fukisamo looking on.” Her breath was warm against his skin when she spoke.

He released her with a grunt. Cynthia threaded her fingers with his and led him into the house. Gladly, he followed her, wanting nothing more than to fall into her arms and into bed.

They dined on the lanai, watching the sun set on the horizon. He didn’t often get dinner at home, only one or two times a week. Owning a restaurant made it hard to break away, so he truly treasured these times. The light supper of Caesar salad topped with grilled salmon was just the right thing. As they chatted about mundane things—her day, his, the new recipe she found—a rightness warmed his heart. Chris wanted to demand that she accept him, and the kind of relationship he wanted for the two of them. That she see how perfect this was—and could be. But he kept those things locked inside of him, waiting for the cue from her that she was ready.

The easygoing feeling of the evening drifted away as they finished the dishes, and she led him to the bedroom. Tension crackled between them. His blood hummed through his veins, his hunger for her growing with each step.

They entered the bedroom where she had set the stage for their evening of pleasure. Cynthia had taken time to place candles around the room, beside the bed, on his dresser, in various places. She released his hand and picked up a lighter.

With careful movements, she went from candle to candle, lighting each. There was no sound but the rustle of her clothing and his breathing. Anticipation had his pulse escalating, but he waited. He understood they were taking another step in their relationship. On every level—sexual and emotional—she’d methodically taken more power. It was her decision on what came next.

She turned to face him, her features cast in the wavering shadows produced by the candlelight. Her gaze raked over him as she sank onto a bench he had placed beneath the window.

Her lips curved when she asked, “Is there a reason why you’re still clothed?”