Consume Me (3 page)

She turned to open the drawers of Taryn’s dresser and pulled out various articles of clothing.  “I did my best to hold up my end of the bargain.  I tried to raise you guys, keep you guys happy, all the while keeping you quiet… keep you out of his hair.  I had to make sure he got enough rest so he wouldn’t complain too much.  I worked two jobs to make sure there was food on the table.  Meanwhile, he drank and gambled his paychecks away.”

“I remember seeing you go off to work a lot.”

Sam nodded.  “Your father did try.  I’ll give him that.  For a while he had a really good paying job, not that it changed anything for me.  I still had to work my butt off.  Anyway, after working for this drilling company for a few months, he got a lucrative contract. He’d been invited to train a whole crew down in San Antonio.  I was ecstatic.  It felt like everything was finally coming together.  We moved you guys down there and I thought we were finally on our way to something special.”

“I think I vaguely remember that.  We’d gone to visit one of the missions there, didn’t we?”

Sam chuckled. 
“All of them… San José, Espada, San Juan de Capistrano,
and your favorite
, La Concepcion
,” she said with Latino flair.  “You loved it all.  The architecture, the history, the beauty.”

“What happened?  Why didn’t we stay there?”

“We were only supposed to be there for eight months.  That’s how long they gave your dad to train the crew there.  The money rolled in.  His paychecks were huge.  I could hardly believe it.  We were housed and they even gave him a gas and grocery allowance, so we had little expenses.  I started dreaming of everything we could do with those big paychecks.”

She turned to look at Taryn.  “I wanted a house.  I had never even dreamed of the possibility before, but as the money rolled in… I didn’t want anything big and ostentatious, just a cute little bungalow with a nice yard, in a nice area.”

“I guess that would have been nice.  So what happened then?”

Sam shrugged.  “The minute we got back here, your dad went out and paid the rounds for his buddies.  Then there were the late night poker games and of course the casino.  I think there may have even been a few women involved in his escapades.  Anyway, within two months there was nothing left; not even enough to pay the next month’s rent.  For all that work, we were back to square one.”

A long lingering silence hung over them.

“Is that why I don’t really remember much about him?  I don’t ever remember opening Christmas presents with him, or going to a ballgame or the park.”

“He was relatively good with those things when you guys were really young, but before you turned five he’d lost interest in playing the daddy role.  For the next few Christmases, he promised to be there, but would either arrive hours after you guys had opened your presents and gone to bed, or worse still, he’d arrive early but he’d be so drunk, he’d ruin everything for everyone.”

She threw a few things into the suitcase then ran her fingers through her hair.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to bring up…”  She turned her attention to packing her own things.

“That’s okay.  It’s probably time you knew a bit more about him anyway. You’re a grown woman now. It’s only normal that you wonder about him, but I have to admit, it’s no walk through the park talking about it.”

“He hurt you, didn’t he?” Taryn pulled a few things out of the suitcase and when her mom didn’t answer, she turned to hug her.

For a brief moment of weakness, Sam leaned into her daughter and gave way to the pain of the past.

“The important thing is,” she said as she pulled back, “I got back on my feet and came out stronger than ever.  I never wanted you kids to feel the effect of an absent father.”

“You succeeded, Mom.  And I’m sure Bobby would agree.”

Sam patted Taryn’s cheek.  “Now enough of this talk and let’s get you off to Paris.”

Tar looked at the almost full suitcase and reached in to pull a few more things out.  “I think I have more than enough.  I’m only going for the weekend.”

As she started to pull items out, Sam grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

“Bring more.  You never know.”

“Mom, I’m not going to leave you alone for an entire week.  Bobby is so preoccupied with school.  He’s become so ambitious lately and all he thinks about is developing new ideas, and new recipes.  I would hate to see him have to take time out from his classes to be here because you're alone.”

“I told you sweetie, I’m back on my feet.  I’m back to my old self.  Bobby can go to his classes, work on his recipes and plan his future all he wants.  In fact, I want him to.  I think he’s going to make a great chef one day.”

Taryn grinned.  “I think so, too.  Who knows?  Maybe one day he’ll even come to the Culinary Institute in Paris.”

“Can’t say I wouldn’t like to have an Errol King in the family,” Sam said with an amused giggle.  “He has all the makings to give Errol a run for his money.  I just don’t want the restaurant to hold him back.  Sam’s is my baby and I’ll handle it.  Bobby is smart enough to end up in Harvard or Oxford, if he chooses, and I’d rather see him there than wasting his days in my little restaurant.”

“You're right.  He can go as far as his imagination takes him, but still…”

“Honey, did you ever stop to consider… maybe I’d like to take care of things on my own after being on my back for so long?”

Stunned, Taryn looked at her mother.

“I’m eager to get back to Sam’s.  I’m eager to have those long and tiresome days that leave me exhausted, but so satisfied.  And with Errol’s crew… what a dream.”

“If you're sure.”

“Sweetie, if I see you walk through that door before the week is over, I’m going to spin you around and send you right back out.”

An immense weight was lifted off Taryn’s shoulder and her lungs filled with sweet and fresh air like it hadn’t in a long while.  Her mother’s push out the door was exactly what she needed.

She clipped her suitcase shut, took a quick shower and grabbed her passport and purse.

“Take care of that man of yours, honey,” Sam called from the door.

“And you take care of yourself.”

“I will.  Now scoot.”

With a giggle and a skip in her step, Taryn hurried out to grab a cab to the airport.  Once on the plane, however, she was dogged with uncertainty and questions.  While her mother had made it clear she approved of Errol, Taryn couldn’t help but wonder if she’d be able to keep his demons at bay.  They’d been so present when she’d first met him in Paris, so much so, she’d feared staying with him could destroy her.

But now she wondered; were his demons really gone, or were they simply dormant, just waiting for the opportunity to come back?

And when they did come back, could she handle them?

Chapter 3

T
aryn was a jittery pack of nerves as she arrived at the television studios in Paris.   Seeing Errol again after two weeks of aching for him, hungering for him, and dreaming of being in his arms, she wondered if she’d be able to keep from jumping all over him.  This was his professional stage, after all, and she didn’t want to look the fool in front of his crew.

With a broad smile on her face she reached the kitchen set where they taped his show.  A clean-up crew was busy washing dishes, wiping off counters and occasionally picking in the platter of appetizing
croque monsieurs
set in a platter.

“
Pardonnez-moi
,” she said in a halting accent.

Three sets of bright, brown eyes turned to her.

“
Oui
,” the smaller woman said.

“Where is Errol King?”

“Errol?” She turned to the taller woman and the young man cleaning the kitchen with her.  “
Est-ce qu’il est toujours ici
?”

The only word Taryn picked up was ‘
ici
’, ‘here’.  Could he be gone already?

Three sets of shoulders shrugged as they looked apologetically at her.

“
Monsieur King a presque fini pour aujourd’hui
.  Heez almost finish for today.”

Taryn turned to the sound of the booming male voice.

“I’m the stage manager, so my eyes are everywhere, all the time,” he said with a strong French accent.  He walked up to her carrying a tray laden with various ingredients. “He is in his dressing room getting ready for the next taping.”

“Thank you,” Taryn said looking around for a clue as to where that would be.

“Just down the hall.”  He jutted his chin out to the right.  “It’s the first door on the right.”

“Thanks.”

She walked down the hall, eager to surprise him, but as she approached his door, she heard his voice.

“I told them to rebuild it just as it was,” he said.

Taryn stepped silently closer and tried to peer into the room.  The door was ajar, but all she could see was an empty sofa and the shadow of Errol pacing.

“Suzanne,” he went on.  “I told you, I don’t want them to  make any changes.  La Benicoise was perfect as it was.  Why change it?”

Silence.

“Okay,” he said more gently.  “I hadn’t looked at it that way.”

More silence, and Taryn realized he was on the phone.

“Yeah, I know.”  His voice was unusually warm and understanding.  “I can’t.  Things are really busy here.  We’ve been having some technical problems, so we only have four episodes in the can.  Yeah, thanks, Suz.  I really appreciate it.”

Taryn’s heart skipped a painful beat.  Hearing Errol speak so intimately to Suzanne, and calling her Suz… it was all too cozy.

“Yeah.  I think they’re going to need a month or so before everything is set to go again.”

While she understood his need to speak to his sous-chef about the progress of the rebuilding his burned down restaurant, she couldn’t understand the almost loving tone he used.  It was a tone she’d heard him use with her, when they were alone together, when he let his guard down, when he allowed himself to be vulnerable.  She’d naively thought that tone was reserved for her, not for this vile and wicked Suzanne who hid nothing of her desire to get Errol back into her bed.

Disgusted by the conversation and the fact that Errol would have to continue to work with a woman who obviously intended to seduce him, Taryn spun around to leave.  She couldn’t face him like this, not when she was so distraught by what she’d heard.  But her departure was brutally halted when she ran into the young stage manager.

“Ah,” she cried out as she was splashed with hot coffee.

“
Ah, mon Dieu
,” he said.  “
Est-ce que vous allez bien
?”

The door to Errol’s dressing room opened wide and Errol stepped out.  “What’s…?  Taryn!”  His smile was wide and genuine, and his eyes sexy and starving for her.

“
Je suis désolé
,” the stage manager stammered, reaching out to wipe Taryn’s pristine white blouse with a paper napkin.  “So, so sorry.  I do apologize.”

“That’s all right.  I’m fine.”  She tried to pull back from his brushing hands. 

In his attempts to wipe her off, he repeatedly touched her breasts.  And as she glimpsed down, she could see the coffee had seeped through her blouse as well as her thin and translucent bra, leaving her nipples virtually bare.

Despite her attempt to back away, he persisted.

“Jean-Pierre, that’s quite enough,” Errol said.

“I did not expect her to turn around,” Jean-Pierre said in defense.  “Look, I ruined her blouse.”

Feeling too many eyes on her breasts, Taryn blushed.

Errol reached out to physically stop Jean-Pierre’s hands from groping his fiancé.

“
Ah, oui
. 
Désolé.
”  Jean-Pierre finally got his roaming hands under control.

“Jean-Pierre, this is Taryn,
ma fiancé
.  She just flew in from New York.”

“Ah,” he said with wide and impressed eyes.  “You are very lucky.”

“Thank you.”

“The set will be ready for the next taping in twenty-five minutes.”

“I’ll be there.”

Jean-Pierre left them, but not before casting a final glance at Taryn’s piercing nipples.

“You okay?” Errol asked.  “Was the coffee hot?”

“Just very warm.  I’m fine.  Really.  I think this blouse might be ruined, but I’m fine.”

Errol’s glance dipped to her coffee stained blouse.  “Doesn’t look all that ruined to me,” he said with a wicked smile.  “In fact, it looks damned fine.”

She let out a heated laugh.

“Come on,” he said, pulling her inside his dressing room.  “You heard the man.  We only have twenty-five minutes.”

Chapter 4

“
I
think I should go wash this off first.”

“Don’t worry.  I’ll wash you off all right.  I’ll lick every aromatic drop off your sumptuous breasts.  Talk about
café au lait
.  It’ll be the best damned coffee I’ve ever had.”  He trailed his finger down her cleavage.  “Oh, yeah, and sticky sweet as well.  Come on.  Hurry.”

He tore through the buttons and peeled the dirty garment off her.  Before taking off her bra, he dipped his tongue between her breasts and traced the edge of her bra with his tongue.  Her breasts swelled with desire and her nipples perked up, eager for his attention.  Wasting little time, he reached around, unclasped her bra and quickly filled each hand with a heavy breast.  His thumbs each took possession of a nipple as he groaned his pleasure.

“Damn, I want you, Taryn.”  He dove between her breasts, his tongue running over one swell of her breast and quickly dipping into the valley before tasting the other.  He couldn’t get enough of tasting her, of holding her and sucking on her.

With brash and urgent hands, he jacked up her skirt, exposing the delicate white panty adorned with soft baby blue lace.

“Beautiful,” he whispered as he wrapped his fingers around her tiny waist and sat her up on the small desk strewn with recipes, notes and lines.  He pried her legs wide apart then ran a finger along the blue lace.