Hello, readers! In my first book Cooking Up Love, I had plenty of rewrites, mind changing and times when I wanted to toss my lap top down the stairs. One chapter in particular had me stumped. It just wasn’t working for me or one of my critique partners. I try to make sure that every scene has some kind of purpose and chapter six honestly felt like fluff the more I read it. So I took it out but was able to save some scenes and conversations of importance to the plot and placed them in other chapters in the book. Chapter six is actually the original way Bria and Rasheed, the heroine and hero from my newest release, The Game of Seduction, met. I was able to savage the best part of their conversation. Check out chapter six below. If you’ve read Cooking Up Love, some of the scenes may be familiar to you.

Disclaimer: The editor never read this version, so this has not been professionally edited. Also, there is a slight rated R scene at the end.

Chapter Six

            Justin rushed through his shower.  He had just arrived home from the restaurant ten minutes ago.  He’d surprised his employees by leaving earlier than usual, but he didn’t care.  He was due at Shelbi’s apartment in a few minutes for movies and her homemade veggie pizza. Justin hated to be late, especially when he wanted nothing more than to cuddle on the couch with her to watch the movies she had rented.  More than likely girlie movies, but he didn’t care what they watched, he just wanted to hold her and kiss her supple lips until he needed a bucket of chap stick.  Her kisses and sweet symphony of moans nearly did him in against the refrigerator the other night.  If Bobby hadn’t returned for his book bag, Shelbi really may have felt the bulge in his pants up close and personal.  The thought of being in her sweet center of paradise, made his shaft awaken, even though the water had turned cooler in the shower.

He rinsed, dried off and threw on some jeans with a light sweater.  Glancing at the clock, he needed to be on the River Loop trolley in ten minutes.  A bottle of white zinfandel from the wine fridge and a bag of healthy snacks, waited for him in the go-green shopping bag on the island.  He grabbed it and headed out the door.

An hour later, Justin was satisfied cuddling with Shelbi on her comfy sofa eating her pizza and drinking wine.  He wanted time to stand still when he was with her.  He had never been so relaxed and at peace than when he was with her.  Long hours at the restaurant making sure everything was in order, had become draining at times along with worrying about his grandparents and his independent baby sister who lived a hundreds of miles away from him.

He took off this evening to spend it with Shelbi.  Even though he had only known her a short period of time, he was mesmerized by her inner-beauty and laid back nature.  Most women he dated would’ve demanded him to take her out on the town, but not Shelbi.  When she texted earlier saying she wanted to see him tonight, he thought about treating her to dinner at the Peabody.  But before he could finish typing his idea, she texted back saying she would make a veggie pizza and salad for him if he brought the wine, preferably white zinfandel, and movie snacks.

Justin smiled down at the beautiful woman resting her head against his shoulder and with her arms encircling his waist.  He stroked her hair tenderly, kissing her forehead every now and then which drew pretty smiles on her face or a kiss back on his nose.  She was adorable and sexy in a pair of pink velour sweat pants and a green t-shirt that stopped right at her navel, showcasing her flat stomach and a diamond stud in her belly button.

“I’m glad we decided to watch the Top Culinary Masters marathon,” Shelbi said, looking up at him with soft brown eyes he could get lost in.

“Me too.”

“You want some more pizza or salad?” she rose from his embrace to take their empty plates to the kitchen. “I also made strawberry short cake, but I have to save some for Bria, along with some shrimp bisque I made for her.”

“You know, I’m thinking about adding shrimp bisque to the menu for the winter months.  Nice of you to make it for your sister.”

“I don’t have a choice.  If I don’t cook, she doesn’t eat.”

“Too busy?  Always on the go?”

“No.  She simply doesn’t know how to cook and has no intention of learning as long as I live three doors down.  I’m surprised she hasn’t come in here yet, but I told her I had company.  It still won’t stop her.  She’s nosey and hungry around this time of night.  Besides, she loves my shrimp bisque.”  Shelbi returned with two slices of pound cake topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberry halves.

“That’s only because she hasn’t had mine.”

Shelbi cut her eyes at him and gave him a boy-please look.  “Is that a dare?” she sassed slamming the plates on the coffee table and giving him her undivided attention.

His manhood stirred as she tried to look mad standing in front of him with her hands on her hips.  The sassy side of her was down-right sexy, and if he wasn’t ready to challenge her to a shrimp bisque cook-off, he would kiss the sassiness out of her.

“Dare?  You’re on.”

*****

Shelbi stared at Justin while eating her strawberry shortcake.  She had just challenged a well-trained master chef to a cook-off.  Sure, she knew her bisque was on point, but her mind kept going back to what Sean had observed—her fear of failure.  He was right.  She had succeeded at everything, winning first place at competitions since elementary school.  If Chef Justin Richardson wanted a shrimp bisque cook-off, she was going to win, and it didn’t matter if he was a master chef.

“You know Justin, to be fair, we should have a taste tester from your side as well.  Have anyone in mind?”

“Rasheed.”

“Cool.  When are we going to do our cook-off?”

“Rasheed and I are off this Sunday.  We can cook in the upstairs prep kitchen at the restaurant before the dinner crowd.  How about your sister?  What’s her schedule like?”

“Ha!  For good food she’d take off work, but she just returned from a medical convention this afternoon and is free unless she has an emergency with a patient.”

Justin stopped eating his cake and sat staring at her with a weird expression on his face. She wasn’t sure what she said that would cause such a change in his up-beat spirit five seconds before.  Was it something I said?  Perhaps he’s nervous about the cook-off and is having second thoughts.

“Are you throwing in the white dish towel, Chef Richardson?”

“What kind of doctor is Bria?” he asked seriously.

Shelbi wasn’t sure why the serious shift in their conversation happened.  Did he need a doctor?  Is he sick?  She knew of six wonderful doctors who could help, well four since Raven was a gynecologist and Cannon was a pediatrician.

“She’s an allergist, but she also focuses on holistic options for her patients such as acupuncture and herbs.”

A look of relief washed over his face and he began eating his cake again.  Was that the kind of doctor he needed?  She didn’t want to ask him.  Some people didn’t like to feel pressured about going to see a doctor and discuss their medical issues.  Besides, she had just met the man. Asking about any health issues would seem out of place at such an early stage in their relationship.

“I like holistic doctors.  You never know about those other types of doctors.  Patients dying and what not and they move on like nothing happened.  You know what I mean?”

Shelbi knew exactly what he meant and was glad she didn’t blurt out— I’m a doctor as well.  Oh and I lost a patient during my internship which is why I’m a contributing food critic making barely enough to pay my rent.  She wasn’t ready to discuss that part of her life with him yet or at all, considering she was trying to forget it.

“Well, Bria loves talking about alternative methods, so if you have any questions, I’m sure she will happily answer them for you.”  There, that way if he has any health concerns, he could ask Bria.

“Baby, it’s getting late and I have to be at the restaurant at five in the morning to wait for a delivery truck.”

Disappointed, she gave a little sexy pout to convince him otherwise.  She crawled toward him on the couch, placed her hands on his legs and climbed up his body until she straddled him.  She leaned her head down over his and kissed him softly on the lips.  She could taste the sweetness of the whip cream and strawberries on his lips and she forced her lips more aggressively on his.  He wrapped his arms around her waist matching her heated kisses with his own.  He pulled her tongue further into his mouth, setting off a series of breathless moans from her.  She removed her lips and placed sensual kisses on his neck that held the intoxicating cologne he always wore, engulfing her further into his realm.  She had been taken out of her world and was in his, with his controlling hands roaming over her body.

Shelbi had never been kissed before from a strong, virile man like Justin.  He was passionate, tender and commanding.  She was sexually charged and had the urge to unbuckle his belt and send it flying across the room to get to the hard instrument which she wanted to play over and over until she was out of breath.  She began to slowly grind on his swollen manhood, eliciting unsteady breaths and a few curse words from him.

Shelbi liked Justin more than any other man she could remember, as far back as college. High school boyfriends didn’t count, because they were boys, even the ones in college had just been boys.  Justin made her feel like a real woman for the first time in her life.  The way he roamed his hands over her body wanting her as much as she wanted him, caused a sensual warmth between her legs to escape.

She still considered herself somewhat of a virgin.  When she attempted to have sex with her college boyfriend, a virgin at the time as well, she screamed so loud they stopped after barely a minute.  She vowed never to have sex again until she knew it was the right time and with the right man.  Staring down at Justin, she knew in her heart she had found the right man.

“I want you, Justin.” Her breath was heavy as she sucked and licked on his neck to emphasize her words.  She moved her hand down to his erection, which hardened even more as she massaged it through his jeans.

When Justin stopped the moment of passion, she was too dazed to hear what he said.

“What, baby?” she asked, not caring, pulling up his sweater and placing hot kisses down his ripped chest while gyrating her hips slowly on him.  If he had said the apartment was on fire, she wouldn’t have been surprised because his kisses had ignited a fire all over her that could’ve very well exploded and set the place ablaze.

“I said,” he held her face tenderly in-between his hands, “It’s getting late, and I need to go.”

“You can spend the night here, with me.  I have a very comfortable goose-down comforter.”  She kissed him seductively on the lips.  He ran his hands through her stresses and kissed her back passionately.

“I want you too, Shelbi,” he said placing hot kisses on her neck.

“I know you do, Justin.  Let’s go upstairs.”

“Baby, if I spend the night, I can’t promise to be a gentleman and for some reason I want to be a gentleman with you.  If you were some random chick, I would’ve slept with you the first time we kissed.  Let’s take it slow.  I want our first time to have no time restraints and no thoughts of regret from you.  I need you to be sure because once we make love, you’re all mine, no turning back.”

His tone was so serious and direct, her breath escaped her.  Shelbi was enthralled by what he had just said, and it made her desire him even more.  She loved the chivalrous attitude.  Most men would’ve been trying to get into her panties by now.  But he was right.  She wanted to take things slow as well, but being in his arms and kissing him, had thrown the idea out the window.  However, if he felt strongly about waiting until the right time, she could wait too.

*****

Justin sampled his shrimp bisque one last time before it was time to serve it to Bria and Rasheed in the closed dining area of the second floor.  He glanced back at Shelbi sampling her bisque as well.  She had just finished pureeing hers and added extra seasoning and sautéed shrimp.  The way her skinny jeans hugged her cute butt and hips, made it hard for him to concentrate on his own masterpiece.  He didn’t know how she to managed to cook in skinny-heeled pumps.  He could barely manage to cook just from gawking at her in them.  Her sexy red halter top exposed her back and made him want to run his hands and tongue over her smooth skin until she forgot her own name.

“Stop peeking.  I know you want to sample this.  But you’ll have to wait.” She gave him a seductive wink before turning back toward the stove.

He chuckled deeply.  He was seriously going to lose his mind in a minute if she kept taunting him, swaying her hips back and forth on purpose as she moved around the prep kitchen.

“I could care less about your shrimp bisque, baby.  I would rather sample you wearing nothing, but those red pumps.  It’s distracting me from cooking.”

He hated to admit that to her.  Of course, it didn’t mean that Rasheed and Bria wouldn’t like his dish.  He knew it was perfect, but Shelbi still had a slight chance.  He had watched her prepare her bisque like a professional chef using fresh ingredients, measuring everything.  Plus, she impressed him by not following a recipe in front of her.  It was all in her head.  His mouth watered at the aromas coming from her side of the kitchen, and he wanted a bowl of her bisque as well.

“I know,” she said, glancing down at her shoes. “Why do you think I wore them?  Trust, I would rather be in tennis shoes.”

Rasheed walked in smacking his lips and rubbing his stomach.

“Bria and I are hungry.  Could you two stop flirting long enough to feed us?  Then you can come back in here flirt and kiss or whatever you want to do on the prep counter.”

Shelbi let out a sarcastic laugh even though those were Justin’s exact thoughts.

“Rasheed, you’re a hot mess,” she said, swatting him with her apron she had taken off.  “Are you being a gentleman with my sister?”

“Your sister is hella fine.  Make a brother wanna turn in his player card,” Rasheed said before stepping out.

Justin spooned out his shrimp bisque in two bowls and garnished it with parsley.

“Let the games begin, Shelbi.”

*****

Shelbi and Justin watched Bria and Rasheed intently as they sampled both bowls of their bisque, chatting back and forth as if they had been best friends for years.  They all sipped on white zinfandel and nibbled on Texas styled toast Justin had his prep chef bring up to go along with the meal.

Shelbi slowly nursed her glass of wine, growing impatient at the scene in front of her.  The competitive streak in her wanted to know right now, this very instant Bria and Rasheed’s opinions.  They were so busy chatting about the Tennessee Titans chances in the upcoming season and possibly going to the Super Bowl, the two of them hadn’t said anything about the meal.  Didn’t they realize this was a cook off?  A competition?  Didn’t they watch Chef Masters and Iron Chef?  Well this was similar, except no cameras and apparently two judges without a culinary background discussing sports.

“Um…hate to interrupt your new found friendship, but how is the shrimp bisque?” Shelbi asked.

Rasheed’s mouth was too full to answer, so he just nodded and took another swig of his wine like it was beer.  Bria dabbed her mouth with a napkin before answering.

“They’re both good.”

Rasheed intercepted once his mouth was empty.

“Yep.  They’re both good.  Different in taste.  Shelbi, yours is spicier with extra shrimp that I can appreciate, but Justin, yours has a creamier texture.  Personally, I think it’s a tie.” He turned to Bria who had emptied both bowls and had sat back to sip on her wine.

“I have to agree with Rasheed.  Shelbi, you know I’ve been eating yours for years, but I like Justin’s as well.  Have you two even tasted each other’s bisque yet?”

Shelbi looked at Justin and realized she was so concerned about beating him, she neglected to taste his.

“No, we haven’t.”

Rasheed stood, placing his napkin from his lap on the table. “Well, while you two sample each other’s bisque and whatever else you plan on doing, Bria and I are going down to the back bar room to watch the game, drink beer, eat hot wings and cheese sticks.  It’s football Sunday.  No offense, but sipping wine and eating properly with a spoon is not a Sunday ritual.  I need my fingers in something, you know what I’m saying, Bria.”

“Watch yourself.  I’m not the average girlie girl.  I can throw you over the banister and have you crashing on the table below.”

“Damn, she’s feisty, too.  I like that!” Rasheed ran his tongue over his lips and blew Bria a kiss.

“Let’s get one thing straight,” Bria started, tapping Rasheed’s chest with her finger, “I’m not some floozy, groupie you’ve been used to.  Now, let’s go watch the game so I can win the bet.”

“Can I add handcuffs and blindfolds if I win?”

Bria rolled her eyes at him and placed her hand on her hips wearing a boy-please expression on her face.  “Do you want to get slapped?”

Rasheed grinned devilishly, grabbing Bria toward him. “Are you adding that if I win the bet?”

“Sure why not, considering you aren’t going to win,” Bria answered as she walked down the stairs with Rasheed following like a stud panting after a female dog in heat.

Justin and Shelbi took the empty dishes back to the kitchen.

“We don’t have to clean up.  I instructed one of the line cooks to come up later to do so.  So, how about I make you a bowl of my shrimp bisque and we go eat it in my office.”

“Cool, I’ll make you a bowl of mine.”

Moments later, they sat on his couch listening to the blues band in the dining area through the speakers in his office.

“Shelbi this is good.  I can honestly say I like it better than mine.”

“Really?”

“Yes.  I really like the extra shrimp and spiciness of yours.  I do like the creamier texture of mine though.  How about I combine both our recipes and call it Sassy Shelbi’s Spicy Shrimp Bisque and place it on the menu for the winter months?”

“What?  Really? You would do that?  It’s really that good!”

“Yes.  It’s spectacular.”

“Sure.  I’ll email the recipe to you tonight.”

“So what else can you make that is slamming like this?”

“Red beans and rice with andouille sausage sautéed with onions and bell peppers with corn bread.”

“My mouth is watering for some of that!”

“Too bad,” she playfully pouted.  She straddled him on his lap and placed her hands around his neck.  “I hoped it was watering for me.”

*****

Justin positioned her on his lap so she could feel the bulge he had thanks to her and those damn red heels.

“Oh, you’re definitely next on the menu.” He grabbed Shelbi to him, kissing her pouty lips, sucking them gently while running his hand along her soft back.  He reached one of his hands to the top of her jeans and unbuttoned and unzipped them.  She moaned in feral anticipation and stood to ease the jeans over luscious hips and thighs revealing red, lacy boy shorts.  She stepped out of the jeans carefully over her shoes and tossed them to the floor.

“Wow,” he said admiring her in her heels, accentuating her sexy legs.  She sat back on his lap and began to undo his belt buckle.  But he had other plans.  He flipped her over so she was on her back.

“Jay?”

“Shh, baby. Just lay back and relax.  Let big daddy do all the work.”

“Well, I need to tell you something before you “get to work, big daddy.”

“What’s that,” he said placing kisses down her neck.

“I’ve only been with one man before.”

“Good,” he said, still kissing her neck, while running a hand over one of her soft legs.  He definitely wasn’t going to tell her how many women he’d been with.  He had lost count sometime after culinary school.

“One time.”

“I heard you.” He kissed her on the lips to shush her.  He really didn’t feel like hearing about some other dude.  She stopped kissing him and held his head in her hands looking up at him with seriousness in her wide doe eyes.

“I mean, one guy, only one time for like one minute, if that.”

“Oh. I see.” Even better. “Well, I promise to take things slow with you.  We don’t have to have sex right now.  In fact, that wasn’t my attention.  Our first time isn’t going to be in my office on my couch with a restaurant full of customers.  However, I wanted to give you a sample of another course.”

“Well, proceed on, big daddy.”

He moved down to the end of the couch and pulled her panties off.  He sat on his knees and admired her beautiful trimmed triangle.  He rubbed his finger on her clitoris before replacing it with his tongue, drawing soft moans from her.  He sucked and teased it with his tongue, sinking further into the folds of her delicate pink softness as she spread her legs further apart allowing him more access.  He held onto her hips as she started slowly gyrating them as his tongue prodded in and out her.  Hands held onto his head tightly as she shivered and cried out his name over and over.  The more she panted and moaned his name, the more he probed deeper into her to give her the pleasure her body begged for.

She raked her fingers through his hair, holding him in place as he licked her ambrosia-filled center.  Her breathing became more rapid, her beautiful breasts heaved up and down as she surrendered herself on his dancing tongue.  Her cries of moans mixed in with hints of his name, aroused him so much, he had to restrain himself from going any further.  He slowly raised himself up and reached out to seize Shelbi in his arms.  She came willingly, her breathing still raspy from the orgasm he bestowed on her.

“Mmm…you were amazing.” She rested her head deeper into his chest and closed her eyes with a sigh of satisfaction.

“I’m glad you enjoyed this course.”

“I did, but I think you enjoyed it even more.”

He ran his tongue over his bottom lip.  I did.

Copyrighted by Candace Shaw, March 2012

If you haven’t purchased Cooking Up Love or The Game of Seduction yet, check out the bookshelf link for purchase links and chapter 1 from both books.  https://candaceshaw.net/bookshelf/

CS