The Protege (21 page)

“For
now,” Serena said. “I’m technically Price’s, but…”

“You
are not going back to that man,” Sebastian growled angrily.

“But
if he doesn’t get what he wants, he’ll make sure you and your family pays
dearly. I’d better go back,” Serena said.

“Not
if I can help it, Serena, not if I can give you the sun and the moon. I’m
prepared to do so.”

Serena
fought back tears, as she gazed into Sebastian’s determined eyes filled with
such love and passion for her.

He
was about to kiss Serena again when his phone rang. “What is it?” he asked,
frustrated yet aroused. That expression wasn’t there long, replaced by shock.

His
facial expression changed again, displaying calm collectiveness.

“What
is it?” Serena asked, never seeing Sebastian like that at all.

“My
father’s deal, the merger of Granite Gyms…something happened. It was formally
cancelled seconds ago.”

“Don’t
know how that’s possible,” Serena said.

“Why
would it be canceled?” Sebastian asked.

“He
knows I’m with him now. He’s got what he wants. Why would he cancel the
merger…unless he thinks he doesn’t really have me,” she said.

“This
meeting with me,” Sebastian asked. “Did he know about it? Could he have known
about it?”

“Just
that I did call you from my cell phone to meet with you.”

Sebastian
checked her phone and took it with him. “I’ll have your phone checked to see if
it’s been tapped. Anything else?”

“I
don’t know,” Serena said. “Maybe my laptop or emails. Price can be very
possessive. He did go through all my things once when I went on a weekend trip
with some girlfriends while he was away on business, and found him fuming and
outraged when I returned.”

Sebastian
took Serena’s hand and pressed it to his lips. “I would never do that to you,
Serena, no matter how much I want you as mine. I still do. I don’t know if I
can ever stop wanting it.” He kissed her knuckles and held her hand tight
against his chest.

Serena
leaned over and kissed Sebastian on his lips before he pulled her closer to
kiss her thoroughly. “I have to go back to him, Sebastian. I can’t explain it,
but I care for him, too. I know he’s obsessed with me, but I have to see what
else is he planning. Don’t worry about me, Seb, I know Price so well. I know what
makes him tick. I’ve learned so much from him, now’s my turn to turn things
around…” She kissed him again before stepping out of the car. “I’m going to
assume my studies at school, Seb. And if you could, I’d like for you to become
my formal official adviser on paper. We can’t be lovers, we can’t have a secret
advisership or whatever it’s called. Everyone, especially Price, should know
you and I are strictly student and teacher.”

Seb’s
mouth fell. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yes,”
Serena said. “For Price to accept that I’m truly his, we must do this. It’s a
small sacrifice to pay for the long term. I love Price, and I will do whatever
I can to help him get over this hold on me, but I need my freedom, too.
School’s given me a second chance, and I’m not going to quit because someone’s
supporting me.”

“Good,”
Sebastian said sadly. “I’ll at least get the satisfaction of being able to see
you and help you along in your studies.”  He sighed, before pulling her to him,
his hands in her hair as he held her tight, his lips roving along her cheeks
and throat before moving to her lips. “I’ll get to see you again, and that’s
what matters now.” He pulled back and got into his car. “I’ll be seeing you on
campus, Miss Singleton.”

“Take
care, Professor Sorensen,” Serena said, a single tear flowing down her cheeks.
Good-bye
Sebastian.

The
Innocent (Volume 2, The Protege)

July
2013

Excerpt from
BOOK 1 of the

MASTER CHEFS
SERIES ™

Devour Me

For Age 18 and up

kailin
gow

Prologue

J
essica Cummings bit her lower lip as an
excited thrill shot through her.  Her taxi pulled up in front of the apartment
building she`d be calling home for the next little while… if all went well.

Just
around the corner was the International Institute of Culinary Arts, and her
future, her dream of joining the ranks of top chefs.

“Jess? 
Are you still there?”

“Oh,
Mom,” Jessica shouted gleefully into her phone as she pulled a few Euros from
her wallet.  “Yes!  Yes!  Oui! Oui! I’m just now arriving at my apartment.  I’m
so excited, Mom. Paris, can you believe it? This is more than I ever dreamed
of.”

“I
know,” Samantha said.  “And I’m happy for you, honey.”

Jessica
heard the strain in her mother’s voice.  While she knew her mother was indeed
happy for her, she also knew she desperately needed a helping hand back home.

“Mom,
I won’t let you down.  When I`m through here, I’m going to come home a great
chef and you’ll see what I’ll do with our little East Side restaurant.  I’ll
turn it into the greatest place in all of New York City.   Errol King is the
best chef in the world and I hear he’s a pretty good teacher, too.  I’m going
to soak up all the knowledge he has to offer.  ”

Samantha
chuckled. “Yes, I’ve heard he is quite the teacher.”

“Mom,
just because the guy is young and good looking doesn’t mean he can’t be a good
teacher.”

“No,
but it does mean a lot of young and impressionable young female students are
going to have a hard time concentrating on cooking… a meal, that is.”

Jessica
grinned. Chef King was certainly charming.  He’d even taken to showing off his
charms in a recent print add wearing only his very brief briefs.  Fanning her
face, Jessica tried to put the heated image aside.  “I’ve seen cute guys
before, Mom.  I’m here to work and nothing else.”

Samantha
let out a warm laugh.  “That’s funny.  I could have sworn I saw a few magazines
that talked about the young chef; a lot of interesting photos, too.”

The
sexually charged photos came back to Jessica’s mind.  “There were some very
interesting articles with those photos, Mom.”

“Hmm,
yes, I’m sure there was.  Look, don’t worry about the restaurant for now,
sweetie.  I’ll do just fine.  You have fun in Paris and call me once you’re
settled in.”

“Oui,
oui!” Jessica paid the fare, grabbed her coffee and stepped out of the taxi. 
“I’ll call you tonight.”

She
slipped her phone into her purse as the taxi driver pulled her bags out of the
trunk and set them on the curb.  He nodded and mumbled as he made his way back
into his cab.

“Thank
you,” Jessica called out.  “Merci!”

As
she turned to negotiate getting her bags up into her new apartment, a
rambunctious chocolate Lab came around the corner and slammed into her.  With
her warm and sweet coffee splattered across the front of her dress, she looked
at the dog with affectionate reproach.  “And where are you going at such a
speed?”

The
big dog sat and looked woefully at her, his big, dark eyes begging her
forgiveness.

“
Ah,
mon Dieu. 
Javier, mais que fait tu la
?” 
An older man came up to Jessica, an
empty dog collar hanging from the end of a short leash.  “
Milles pardons, Mademoiselle
.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean any harm, sir.”  Though she understood
little French, it was easy to see he was dismayed by his dog’s behavior.

“
Mais, il à tout renverser votre café
.” 
He quickly slipped the collar around the dog’s neck then took Jessica
by the elbow. 
“
S’il vous plait. 
Laissez-moi-vous acheter un bon café chaud.
”
 

Jessica politely disengaged herself, but the man persisted.  He took
her by the arm, chattering all the way as he led her to a nearby café. 

“
Le moindres que je peut faire c’est de remplacer votre café
.”

Frustrated
by her inability to understand him and confused by his actions, she struggled
to free herself.  “I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t really understand French very
well, but I’m fine.  And my bags… my luggage is there on the…”

The
gray haired man relented and released her arm, but put his hand to the small of
her back and gently pushed her toward the coffee shop. 
“
Vous
aller voir.  Ici c’est le meilleur café du quartier
.”  The man
pointed to the waiter.

“Really,
sir, I have to get my things into my apartment and I have to register at the
Institute.  Please…  What do you want from me?”

“He
just wants to buy you a cup of coffee.”  The deep, velvety voice held a hint of
humor.

Jessica
turned to face the source and instantly blushed as she faced the young man who
smiled at her so many times in all those magazines.  In person, he was even
more impressive; tall, strong and imposing.

He
glanced down at her soiled dress.  “I imagine he feels bad for his dog’s faux
pas.”

“Oh.” 
Jessica could think of nothing else to say.  As the blush that heated her face
intensified, she hoped he’d simply think she was embarrassed by the situation
and not flushed by his horribly, terribly, debilitatingly excruciating
proximity.  He stood so close to her, she could smell him.

Damn,
she thought.  He even smells good; like a man who worked hard, but took
meticulous care of himself.  His sultry smile exposed perfectly aligned teeth
that gleamed.  His dark hair fell in thick curls to his shoulders and it wasn’t
hard to understand how he’d landed the brief brief’s ad campaign.  Dark, sexy
and talented… perhaps even a spark of danger in his eyes; tempting danger.

Without
realizing it, she’d leaned in closer to him and when her knees buckled
slightly, he quickly took a hold of her arm and held her steady.

“You
okay?”

“Yes,
I’m fine.”  She got control of her emotions and straightened up.  “I’m sorry. 
I should have studied a little more French, but…”

Errol
looked at the older man.  “Ca va aller, Monsieur.  Merci.”

“Il
n’y a pas de quoi.”  The gentleman nodded at Jessica and turned to speak to a
waiter, while holding his dog close to his hip.

“American,
I take it.”  Errol looked pointedly at Jessica.

“Maybe.” 
Taken aback by his question, she looked at him with a slightly defensive
scowl.  “What of it?”

“Nothing,”
he said with a chuckle.  “I heard you mention you’d be a student at the
Institute.  It’s been a while since an American has studied there.  Most
students are from Europe, some from Asia a few from Africa and the Middle
East.  We barely get a handful of Americans, and they’re mostly men.”

“Oh.” 
For a moment she wondered if her American status was an asset or a bad
disappointment.

“Having
an American woman at the Institute is a delightful surprise.”  Heat smoldered
in his gaze as he took her in.  “I’m Errol, Errol King.”  He shook her hand. 
“I’ll be teaching a class this semester.”

“Really?”
Jessica said, sounding more surprised than she ought to.

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

“Oh,
no.  You don’t have to…”

“You
should take that” Errol whispered.

Jessica
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…”

“Jessica,
Jessica 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 Jessica, 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.