Huddle With Me Tonight (21 page)

“Lean back,” Torrian said.

Unsure of his plans, she nevertheless followed his orders. She arched her back on the lower half of the marble bar, the robe falling completed away from her breasts. Torrian stepped between her spread legs; the towel still wrapped around his waist brushed her inner thighs. He ran his hand from her neck, down her chest, to her stomach.

Paige closed her eyes, anticipating his hand reaching the spot that had become addicted to his touch. But his fingers never reached her core. Instead, a trickle of hot, silky chocolate fell upon the valley between her breasts. Paige hissed at the contact, then groaned as Torrian’s tongue licked a wide path along her skin.

His erection pulsed from behind the towel, hitting Paige just where she needed it. She clamped her thighs around his waist, imprisoning him.

She heard the clank of the spoon as Torrian swirled it in the pot of chocolate. She opened her eyes to find the look on his face intense as he lifted the spoon and drizzled a swirl of chocolate upon her breast. His tongue cleaned the chocolate from her skin, twirling from the base of her breast, and going around and around, ending at the erect nipple. He sucked it into his mouth.

Paige groaned. Her body bowed, pushing her breast up even higher into Torrian’s warm mouth.

He set the pot of chocolate next to her on the bar and wrapped his free arm around her waist. He lifted her from the bar stool, and kicked the stool to the side.

“Turn around,” he ordered again.

Paige looked into his eyes. His stare was so determined, so full of intent; all she could do was obey.

She turned and Torrian grabbed the robe from her shoulders and dragged it down her arms. He placed his hand on the small of her back and gently pushed her face down onto the cool marble. His tongue licked a path up her spine to the spot between her shoulder blades.

The chocolate followed.

Paige arched her back, the sensation of the cold marble on her breasts and the hot sauce on her back wrenching another moan from her. Torrian ate more of the chocolate from her skin, licking and nipping his way along her back.

Paige’s body tensed in eager expectation when she felt the towel fall from Torrian’s waist, putting them skin to skin. He used his legs to spread her thighs apart, gripped her hips and entered her from behind.

Paige gasped, her entire body growing taut as he plunged his full length into her over and over and over again. She gripped the edges of the countertop with both hands to steady herself as Torrian pushed deeper and higher, stronger and faster, in and out, with breath-stealing power.

Her orgasm hit with remarkable speed, the intensity nearly blinding her. Paige’s stomach clenched against the hard marble. Her muscles tightened as a second orgasm spiraled throughout her body.

Torrian collapsed onto her back, his heavy breathing evidence of the tumultuous roller-coaster ride they’d just been on. For long moments there was no sound other than their shallow, frantic pants of breath renting the air.

Paige stared out the window of Torrian’s bedroom, watching the hypnotic rhythm of the waves crashing upon the beach. The illumination of the moon offered just enough light to see the gentle rush of water as it rolled in, then back out. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been staring, but figured it was at least two in the morning.

Torrian’s softly whispered “Are you okay?” confirmed that he was awake.

“I’m fine,” Paige answered. His hand settled at her waist. “You still want this to continue when we get back to the city?” she asked.

“If you think I can just walk away from you, you haven’t been paying attention,” he said. He captured her chin in his hand and stared down into her face. “And I’m tired of hiding. I want people to know we’re together. You know you’re going to get that syndication deal on your own merit. That’s all that should matter.”

He was right, Paige realized. But then another thought occurred to her. “What about the show? Don’t you think news of us together will undermine it? I don’t want anything taking the spotlight from our charities.”

“We can wait until after the show,” he said. “In fact, why don’t we have our coming out the night of the restaurant’s grand opening? I want you to be my date.”

She gazed into his eyes. “I can’t think of anything I want to do more.”

One of his brows quirked. “I can think of one thing.”

Then he proceeded to show her.

Chapter 16

T
raffic was at a standstill. It had been that way for the past two hours as the paparazzi and onlookers alike descended on the Fire Starter Grille. Everyone wanted a glimpse of the star-studded guests who’d been lucky enough to score a handcrafted invitation to the opening night/book launch bash.

Torrian sat behind the wheel of his BMW two blocks away from the restaurant’s entrance. He and Paige had been parked here for the past forty-five minutes. Torrian wasn’t scheduled to make his big appearance for another half hour. He’d come here early for this very purpose, to see the mass of bodies clamoring around the Fire Starter Grille.

Excitement pulsed through the city like a living, breathing thing. The restaurant opening and book signing had been the talk of the town. On the heels of his big win of the
Playing with Fire
competition, it had not been hard to keep the buzz going.

“You’re not upset about how the show turned out, are you?” he asked Paige.

She lolled her head to the side and rolled her eyes at him. “How many times do I have to tell you no? Your dessert was awesome. You deserved to win. I’m just happy I had the first sample,” she said with a wicked smile.

Just the mention of that night in the Hamptons when he’d licked spiced chocolate from her body caused his heart rate to spike. It was physically impossible for him to do anything but lean over and connect his lips to hers. God, this woman was sweet. She tasted like everything that was good in life.

“Thanks for sticking to your bargain and splitting the last of the prize money with me,” she said.

“My pleasure,” Torrian answered, going in for another kiss. It’s a good thing all the attention was focused on the restaurant. Even though his windows were tinted, an observant passerby would have been treated to quite a show had they stopped long enough to peer into his car.

When Torrian finally released her lips, Paige expelled a lazy, satisfied sigh. “We can do this all night, but believe it or not, there are more important things to do.”

“What could be more important than making out in my car?” Torrian asked.

She grinned, grabbed his hand and placed a kiss across the ridge of his fingers. “This is your night,” she said. “It’s show time.”

Torrian drifted from one table to the next, personalizing the cookbooks that had already been autographed and placed on the seats of each table.

“You want this made out to you?” he asked the young girl from the New York Boys and Girls Club. The publicity department at the publishing company had glommed on to his idea of inviting not only celebrities but underprivileged kids as well to the opening night celebration. Other than his teammates, Torrian could have done without many of the A-listers on tonight’s guest list. They would forget about this party after the night was over and they were onto the next big celebrity powwow. For the kids at this table, this was probably the biggest thing that would ever happen to them.

Torrian personalized the other books and made promises to drop in at the after-school camp where many of the kids spent their evenings.

Every single table in the main dining room and the private one was filled. The special invitation for tonight’s grand opening was the most coveted item in New York. There had been several reports of fakes being sold on eBay, but thanks to the hologram photo of licks of fire on the back of each invitation, counterfeits were easy to spot.

The fact that so many people wanted in caused a rush of excitement to pulse throughout his body. Everyone was talking about this restaurant being New York’s newest sensation. It’s everything he’d wanted to give Deirdre. And his sister was eating it up.

Torrian sought her out in the sea of tables. Dee had pulled out all the stops, dressed in her executive chef’s uniform, complete with the traditional pleated chef’s toque atop her head. Seeing the animated smile on Deirdre’s face as she talked with guests and accepted their praise made every single cent he’d pumped into this place worth it.

“You look as if you’re enjoying yourself.”

He turned and his heart constricted in his chest as he looked at Paige.

Even better than the feeling he got when he saw the joy on Deirdre’s face was the pleasure he’d experienced when he’d walked through the smoke glass doors of the Fire Starter Grille with Paige on his arm for all his guests to see. The entire restaurant had erupted into applause at the entrance of the stars of
Playing with Fire,
but when Torrian grabbed Paige and kissed her, the crowd went absolutely wild.

Apparently, he and Paige had not done a good job of hiding their true feelings for each other. Speculation about their off-camera relationship had become hotter than the stoves on the set of
Playing with Fire
. Everyone he’d talked to tonight said their chemistry on camera was undeniable.

“So?” Paige asked. “
Are
you enjoying yourself?”

“The question is, are
you
enjoying yourself?”

“Why is that the question of the night?”

“Because I want you to be happy,” Torrian replied. “More than anything. What will make you happy, Paige?”

Her beautiful brown eyes looked directly into his. “I couldn’t be any happier than I am at this moment,” she answered. “I’m here with you, sharing one of the biggest nights of your life. I’m adoring all my fans who are just fawning over me,” she said with a dramatic fluttering of her lashes.

“Oh, yes, I’ve witnessed the fawning. I don’t know how you stand it,” Torrian teased.

“And,” she continued, “I just received word that my column will be syndicated.”

Torrian’s mouth dropped open. “Are you serious?”

“Yes,” she said, her air of nonchalance replaced with an excitement that rivaled any he’d ever seen.

“Baby, congratulations. How? When?”

“Angela just called. She said the managing editorial director from the Cambridge Group called Jory over two hours ago. Can you believe he was going to wait until I got in tomorrow to tell me?”

“He’s going to be upset with Angela for spilling the beans.”

“As if either Angela or I care.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Torrian, this feels so amazing. I’ve wanted it for so long.”

“Feels pretty good to have your dreams come true, doesn’t it?”

“You would know,” she answered, placing a sweet, gentle kiss on his lips.

God, it felt good to kiss her out in the open, without having to worry about who may be coming around the corner. It was pure heaven.

Playful clapping behind him pulled Torrian from Paige’s lips. He turned to find Latoya standing a couple feet away.

“I won the pool.” She did a little happy dance. “We’ve had one running between the doctors on my floor since the second week of the
Playing with Fire
show.” She turned to Paige. “I’m Latoya Stokes. It’s wonderful to meet you. You were absolutely amazing on the show.”

“Thank you,” Paige answered. “Did you say your last name was Stokes?”

“Yes, I’m Theo’s sister,” she answered.

“Oh,” Paige said. “Oh,” she said again with more meaning, looking between Torrian and Latoya.

“Yes,” Torrian confirmed. “She’s my doctor.”

Latoya opened her mouth to speak, but Torrian stopped her. “It’s okay,” he said. “Paige knows.”

“Wow. Really,” she said slowly, her eyes widening. “Maybe I didn’t win the pool after all. I figured you two realized you were meant to be together by the end of show four, but it must have been a lot earlier than two weeks ago if you’ve managed to share that,” Latoya said in a lowered voice. She gave Torrian a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so happy for you, honey.” She stuck out her hand to Paige. “Great meeting you. Take care of him,” she warned.

“I will,” Paige answered. “So—” she wrapped her arms around Torrian’s neck “—is she an old girlfriend I should be jealous of?”

“Not in a million years.” Torrian chuckled. “Latoya doesn’t really go for the Sabers football players. Now, the cheerleaders maybe.”

“Ah,” Paige said with understanding. “Well, that’s good, because I don’t want any other woman calling you honey.”

“A jealous girlfriend.” Torrian smiled, nodding his head. “I like that. Any chance I can get you to fight with a woman over me?”

“Nope.” Paige laughed. “And just for future reference, I do not fight like a girl. I punch.”

“Figures.” Torrian laughed. “Come on, let’s finally have some of this food everybody’s been enjoying. We’re letting the press in at nine o’clock, and I want to eat without them scrutinizing the way I chew my steak.”

“The press cannot be that bad.” Paige laughed.

“Yes, they can,” he replied.

“Hey, wait a minute. Should I remind you that I’m a part of the press?”

“Present company notwithstanding,” Torrian said, wrapping an arm around her hip and leaning in for yet another kiss.

“Smart answer, Fire Starter. Smart, smart answer.”

When she was younger, Paige had never had aspirations of being prom queen—that was always her sister’s thing. But after tonight, Paige could certainly see the appeal of being the girl at the center of attention.

This was the Fire Starter Grille’s night, but her and Torrian’s relationship had taken center stage. It’s all anyone wanted to talk about. Once the talk moved from what happened behind the scenes of
Playing with Fire
, it quickly turned to her column in
Big Apple Weekly
.

Not in a million years would Paige have thought that simple, four-paragraph review of Torrian’s book would have led to her being on the lips of the most celebrated people in New York City. After writing for years about the city’s newest
it
—newest “it” writer, newest “it” Broadway star—
she
was the “it” on everyone’s list.