The Innocent (18 page)

The older man returned with a steaming cup of coffee.  “Voila.”

“Oh, no.  You don’t have to…”

“You should take that” Errol whispered.

Taryn glanced at the man then back at Errol who nodded.

“This is Dr. Philippe Emanuelle, Head Administrator at the Institute.”  He turned to the man.  “Dr. Philippe, this is a new American student at the Institute, a Mademoiselle…”

“Taryn, Taryn Cummings.”  She extended her hand to greet the prominent Frenchman.  “I’m so pleased to meet you, Doctor.” In the far reaches of her mind, a few French words came to her.  “
Heureuse de vous connaitre, Docteur.”
 

“I think he wants to make sure you have your dose of caffeine before you get to the Institute.”

“Oh.”  She accepted the cup of coffee.  “Thank you. 
Merci
.”

“After all, the Institute is the toughest culinary school in the world.  We churn out the best… we’re that good, but we do want to make sure everyone is well prepared to succeed… so, if caffeine is what you need, well, caffeine is what you’ll get.”

“I appreciate it, but it’s not that dire a need.”  She held the cup up to show the man her appreciation and gently patted the dog on the head.

“Dr. Emmanuelle is very fond of taking Javier for a walk on his break.  Every Friday he brings him to school then takes him to the park at the end of the day.”

“I can understand why.  On the taxi ride over I saw a beautiful park, and it’s such a lovely day.”

“A tout a l’heure.” Dr. Emmanuelle nodded and led his dog out of the café.

Errol stepped closer to Taryn, his blue-eyed gaze intense and heated. “I suggest you take advantage of this lovely day while you can.  Classes can be very challenging and demanding.”

“You make it sound so hard.  I love to cook and I’m sure I won’t have any trouble keeping up.”

“A passion for culinary arts is admirable and much needed, but you need more; determination, perseverance… stamina.  This isn’t fun and games.  It’s serious.”

“I fully expect it to be… and I’m very serious about it.  I want to come out of this a top chef.

“Good.”  He licked his lips while his gaze dipped down to the coffee stain of the front of her dress and down to her exposed legs.

The heat was suddenly more than she could handle and she stepped out into the fresh air. The moment she turned around to face him again, the heated intensity of his gaze sent a wave of arousal over every inch of her body. Her clothes seemed inadequate and she felt nude and exposed before him.

She knew the fabric of her bra was thin, as was the cotton of her dress.  In addition to that, the thin cotton of her dress was plastered to the thin fabric of her bra with brown coffee. She didn’t even dare to look down at the picture she presented him.

Could he see through all that thin fabric and see how aroused she was?  Could he see the glow of perspiration on her skin, the sensual flush of her cheeks or the pulpy flesh of her lips?

“You know, you have the kind of passion I like seeing in my students.”  His gaze trailed over her body again.  “I’m sure you’ll do fine.”  He lightly touched his fingertips to her shoulder and leaned in closer.

For a moment she thought he’d kiss her and she didn’t know is she should be shocked or elated.

“The first year’s tougher than you think. The best way to ace your classes is to pay attention to everything the instructor does, and make sure you know what he or she wants.”

A few short, sharp breaths escaped her lips before she could speak.  “You don’t say.”  She took a step back.  “I had kind of planned on that.”

Unable to endure his intoxicating presence any longer, she turned to walk away, but he pulled her back.  “You have all these bags to bring up to your apartment?”

“Yeah, and I’m not really sure which entrance I’m supposed to take.”

“I wish I could help you, but…”

She nodded her understanding.  “It wouldn’t be appropriate…”

“No,” he said as he flashed a magnificent smile worthy of a Hollywood close-up.  “I guess it wouldn’t.”

“Right.”  Taryn snapped out of the daze that had taken over her brain.  He was to be her teacher for the next semester and here she was already drooling all over him.  She put her hand to the handle of her large suitcase and dreaded lugging it around all alone.

“I’ll see you in class.” He turned to walk away.

“Mr. King,” she blurted out before she could stop herself.  “As inappropriate as it may be, I really do need your help.  I could walk through this maze of apartments for hours and I have all these bags to…”

“Say no more.”  With a warm smile that seemed to say so much, he slipped his hand over hers and took her suitcase.

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About the Author

A Texan at heart, she currently lives in California and Nevada, but spent part of her young adult and new adult years in England. Kailin Gow is a full-time author, a mother of an active little girl, and the founder of the social site, the Saving You Saving Me Project. She has worked with other women such as singer Caitlin Crosby and actress Kristin Kreuk (Beauty and the Beast, Smallville on the CW and ABC Television)in helping women and girls develop self-esteem. Kailin Gow has over 100 fiction books published with a handful of non-fiction books and is busy working on her next novel. She'd love to hear from her readers and invite them to contact her at kailingowbooks (at)aol (dot)com or friend her on Facebook, where she is a Facebook junkie.

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