Close Contact (Clarke Brothers Book 3) Read online

  It was a small operation, started with my savings from a ridiculous corporate job. I didn’t know how to handle the lines, how to make sure the kitchen was keeping up with the demand, how to keep the servers happy under so much stress, any of it.

  I had the money, just not the knowledge.

  So I hired someone with the knowledge.

  He took the money, and his knowledge, and left me with neither.

  And I couldn’t help feeling like I should’ve known better.

  Should’ve known better than to trust some unproven slick-talker, and definitely should’ve known better than to sleep with him too. I never did feel great about it, even before I’d agreed to giving him the level of access he had. I’d just been so enamored with the big plans he talked about for Tigress, the bigger place, the updated kitchen, a cooking show, all these things he’d talked about to put stars in my eyes.

  And my stupid ass had gotten blinded.

  This deal with the Clarkes though… it was different, from inception.

  They’d encouraged me to hire a lawyer to help facilitate negotiations, been transparent about all the numbers throughout the process, making sure everything was above-board. Plus, their name was well known around this city – their family had the Midas touch in the restaurant business.

  It was a good deal for me.

  It was saving me.

  But at every turn, with every new thing they taught me that felt like basic knowledge… it all just seemed to deepen my feelings of… inadequacy.

  I could accept that in almost every area, since my relative success had been pretty accidental.

  I would not – could not – accept it about my food.

  I wasn’t trying to be bothered with award-winning, internationally renowned, fine ass Aiden Clarke.

  Not even a little.

  So, I’d put it off as long as I could, pushing the scheduled meeting date out until I couldn’t anymore without it being obvious what I was doing.

  I couldn’t avoid it anymore.

  And now… he was at my door.

  “It’s not that big of a deal – we can schedule it for another time,” he offered, already backing away.

  Hell no.

  I was ill-prepared for this right now, but him having to carve out a second evening for this, after I’d put it off so long already?

  That wasn’t happening.

  “No!” I insisted, shaking my head. “Um… come in, we can… it’s fine. We can do this now.”

  Aiden’s thick eyebrows went up, as his gaze raked over me in a way that didn’t feel entirely professional.

  It didn’t feel bad either though.

  “Are you sure? You look like you were expecting… company.”

  His words made me glance down, remembering the little shorts and flimsy top I had on – with no underwear. I fought with myself to not let the mortification show on my face, playing it off as I stepped aside to let him in.

  “Nope. Just me, myself, and I.”

  “So either way, I’m interrupting,” he said, not moving. “I don’t want to impose.”

  “It wouldn’t be an imposition,” I lied. “Seriously… just come in. The hall is kinda cold.”

  As soon as I said that, his gaze fell to my breasts – specifically, my nipples – which were kinda proving my point right now about the temperature.

  It was only briefly, because he wasn’t – presumably – a creep, but still.

  It made my face hot.

  Among other places.

  Inside, Aiden took one glance around my place – my music playing, my candles, my drink - and turned back to me, shaking his head.

  “Ms. Nolan, I—”

  “Kima, please,” I interrupted to correct him.

  “Okay, Kima,” he said, in a deep rumble that vibrated in my chest. “It’s pretty clear you had plans for what you wanted to do tonight, that didn’t include me. We can do this another time.”

  I planned to stuff myself on sushi and then cum until I fell asleep. That definitely could’ve included your fine ass.

  I lifted my gaze to meet his, to respond to his insistence that we reschedule.

  Only… his expression had changed now. Now, his eyes were wide in wonder, a dazed grin on his lips as he blinked.

  And I realized, aghast, that… I hadn’t thought that.

  I’d said it.

  Out loud.

  “Ms. Nolan,” he started, again, and again, I interrupted.

  “Kima.”

  “Fine,” he growled, stepping closer – close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his body as he peered into my face. “Kima… is that an invitation to participate, or just to watch?”

  With him so close to me… it was hard to breathe.

  Hard to think.

  Hard to do anything other than just being wrapped up in the molten intensity of his eyes, the panty-wetting appeal of his scent, and the burning need to feel that stubble against my hands.

  My neck.

  The insides of my thighs.

  “Which would you prefer?” I asked, barely recognizing the sound of my own voice asking that bold ass question as he backed me toward my kitchen counter.

  Aiden stared at me, his bottom lip pulled between his teeth, giving me the distinct aura of a man who was only barely keeping his hands to himself.

  “I want you right here on the counter,” he said, finally, and then easily placed me there himself. He grabbed a barstool and took a seat. “I’d very much like to watch you cum.”

  Um.

  Okay.

  Wow.

  This entire evening had taken an abrupt, confusing turn.

  Was I seriously about to play with myself in front of this man who was, mostly, a stranger to me?

  … yes.

  When Aiden Clarke was looking at me like the first meal at the end of a long fast… I sure as hell was.

  I started by tuning him out.

  Counterintuitive?

  Maybe.

  But I wanted to go with what felt the most natural, and in this moment, that was… the things I’d just learned today.

  I breathed deep.

  Without any of the sounds, because I didn’t want him to think I was crazy. With the music still going though, and his presence making me feel hot, it took no time to work through the process of timing my breathing with the kegels, eyes closed.

  And then taking off those little shorts.

  And the top.

  Leaving me completely naked on my kitchen counter – not even a little how I’d expected my night to go, but… here we were. When I opened my eyes, Aiden was literally on the edge of his seat, his keen attention stuck to me as I opened my legs, showing him my pussy.

  He licked his lips.

  And… that was really all it took.

  I needed to put my hand between my legs, needed to grip and squeeze my nipples – the same things I’d done to myself in the shower, only repeated here without the benefit of the water.

  That was fine – I was okay just like this, my thumb on my clit as I pushed two fingers into myself as Aiden watched me.

  The added layer of stimulation I didn’t know I needed.

  “Fuck,” I heard him curse as I hit the exact right level to have myself writhing and moaning atop the cool stone surface of the counter. I kept at it, harder, faster, and then I was granting him his wish to watch me cum – hard.

  Really hard.

  So hard it brought static to my ears as I squeezed my eyelids tight, my thighs clenching as the orgasm wracked my body.

  A moment later, I felt his hands on me – on either of my thighs – and I peeled my eyes open from my prone position on the counter to look between my legs.

  He’d pulled the barstool closer.

  “May I?” he asked, his eyes on my pussy instead of my face.

  “Yes,” I answered, immediately, with no idea what he was even asking.

  My response brought his gaze upward, to meet mine, as he pressed his lip
s to the inside of my thigh and said, earnestly, “Thank you.”

  It didn’t even take a full minute for me to understand that I should’ve been the one offering thanks, for the gift of Aiden’s tongue between my thighs.

  It was… quite a revelation.

  I certainly wouldn’t have avoided this meeting for so long if I’d known it would turn out like this, with my thighs around Aiden Clarke’s head as he lapped me up until it was nearly impossible not to scream.

  And then, fully impossible.

  He unhooked my legs from his shoulders to spread me even wider apart, licking me from asshole to my pussy, then back, then again before settling the attentions of his teeth and tongue on my clit.

  Yeah… that shower sprayer wasn’t about shit.

  Not when compared against the skill of Aiden’s tongue, driving me swiftly – too swiftly – toward my third orgasm of the day.

  He pushed two fingers into me, just like I’d done to myself, only his were bigger, longer, and the angle he was pushing from just… fuck it was good. Since he had my clit covered with his mouth, he coated a third finger in my juices, using them as the necessary lubrication to push it into my ass.

  That was where I came unglued.

  One moment I was feeling good, moaning along with the pleasure of everything he was doing. The next? I was falling off a cliff of euphoria, unable to hold back my keening cries of bliss as I twisted and writhed on the counter.

  He didn’t stop eating my pussy until the orgasm had completely exhausted me, leaving me a motionless heap. When he finally pulled his fingers out, I thought he was done with me.

  Instead, he pulled me upright by the back of my neck, holding me in place as his mouth crashed onto mine.

  Soft lips and a firm grip, sex flavored, and trying his best to swallow me whole. All over again, it was hard to breathe, hard to think, hard do anything except be right in the moment.

  Pulling his shirt over his head.

  Undoing his pants, pushing them down with boxers.

  Seeing his dick.

  All of that passed in what felt like a few seconds, and then he was inside me, impossibly stretching the limits of my pussy as he buried himself to the root.

  His mouth came back to mine, swallowing my whimpers that perfectly straddled the line of pain and pleasure as he stroked me, slow and deep. My legs wrapped around his hips, my fingernails raking into his firm ass cheeks as he pushed into me so hard I could feel it in the depths of my stomach.

  It was too much.

  Way too much.

  Exactly what I fucking needed.

  Aiden hooked my thighs over his arms to open me wider, to fuck me deeper.

  Faster.

  Harder.

  I hung on to his shoulders for dear life, or at least that’s what it felt like, as he slammed into me, so perfectly intense that it brought tears to my eyes. I didn’t even bother trying to wipe them away, just let them drip as that familiar pressure built in my core until it bubbled over and I came again, the sensation hitting me so hard that for a moment I was paralyzed by it.

  Just… stuck there, with him driving into me, prolonging the waves of orgasm until I… imploded.

  Or at least… it sure as hell felt like it.

  His own eruption was shortly after.

  This time, neither of us moved when it was over. We stayed wedged there together, trading breaths back and forth before our eyes finally met.

  What the fuck did we just do?

  Before I could freak out about it, a knock sounded at the door – I freaked out about that instead.

  “I thought you weren’t expecting anybody?” Aiden asked, cringing as I suddenly pulled away from him.

  I missed his dick immediately.

  Shaking my head, I reached for my top to pull it on. “I wasn’t expecting company. I had ordered food, and forgot this place always takes a long time.”

  “Roll Play?” he asked, tucking his dick back into his boxers, then closing his pants.

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  “That’s my favorite sushi spot. I’ll get the door. You… can’t answer it looking like that.”

  “Like what?” I asked, hopping down from the counter. “I’m putting my shorts back on, I wasn’t going naked.”

  He smirked. “That’s not what I mean,” he told me, then went, like he said, to answer the door.

  While I went to see what I looked like.

  As soon as I got in front of a mirror, I knew exactly what he meant.

  “Damn,” I whispered, taking my own damn breath away.

  I looked… really sexy.

  Lips flushed and swollen, nipples poking right through my flimsy top, hair wild, pure lust still in my eyes.

  It could’ve been quite the show.

  It seemed like forever since I’d felt this way, all… unburdened and well-fucked.

  Never mind that it was a huge mistake.

  I heard my front door close, and knew I was going to have to face Aiden either way. So I pushed out a deep sigh, pushing away any thoughts that might want to come through and take this good feeling away.

  And then… I called on all the courage of a woman who’d just fucked a man who she didn’t really know, and was kinda technically her boss, and… stepped back into the main living area to see Aiden back at the kitchen counter, picking up his discarded shirt.

  “Hey,” I asked, catching his attention. “We… haven’t eaten the sushi yet. And I’m still awake.”

  He gave me this hungry grin that made me wet all over again as he tossed the shirt away. “Right. We do still have the rest of your plans, don’t we?”

  2

  Aiden

  Honestly?

  What happened between Kima and I was an inevitability.

  I’d known it since the first time I tasted her food, and then seeing the woman simply further cemented my certainty.

  I definitely hadn’t expected our first face to face encounter since signing the deal to go like some… terribly scripted porno.

  And yet, here I was, currently unable to get her off my mind as I struggled to create the next menu for 81C. I liked to keep it fresh by creating a new one every month, incorporating new flavors and inspirations as I went along.

  The problem?

  My senses were still flooded with Kima Nolan.

  Her flavor was still embedded in my taste buds, her heady aroma still buried in my nose. Her moans were like a song I couldn’t get out of my head, the memory of her nude body taunted me when I closed my eyes. The feel of her deep cacao skin… of her pussy.

  Shit.

  Just the thought gave me goosebumps.

  And I wasn’t supposed to know any of this shit.

  “You look… stressed?” Dre called out to me from the kitchen doorway, and I looked up to find him and Addison standing there, both looking confused.

  It was late – well after service had closed, and all the staff had finished cleaning up and headed home. I was a night owl though, and preferred to do this work at this time of night.

  Preferred the solitude.

  My brothers weren’t about to give it to me though.

  “Seriously, you good?” Addison asked, feeding off Andre’s unnecessary concern as they both stepped into the kitchen, flanking me. “I know it takes a lot to kill your vibe, so something must be really fucked.”

  “My vibe is perfectly fine,” I answered, looking between the two. “What makes either of you think there’s a problem?”

  “That vein at the side of your head.”

  “You’ve been hella quiet all week.”

  “The expression on your face.”

  “You haven’t tried to make me drink a smoothie or come to yoga once.”

  “You’re gripping that pen like you might stab somebody with it.”

  “Your chakras are all the way off.”

  That was the one, after letting them take turns detailing why they thought I had an issue, that made me laugh, and hold up my hands to s
top them.

  “Really bruh?” I asked Addison, eyebrows raised. “My chakras?”

  He shrugged. “Seems like some crunchy granola shit you’d say. Anyway – you gonna tell us what’s up?”

  Honestly?

  I wanted to say “nothing”, but I tried to make a policy of not lying to my brothers. It was one thing to just simply not tell them every little thing that went on in my life, but I wasn’t about to blatantly bullshit them when they already seemed to have picked up that something was off.

  So…

  “It’s about Ms. Nolan,” I said, then was immediately hit with a flash of her telling me not to call her that – and then, what happened after.

  Shit.

  “Ms. Nolan meaning Kima, from Tigress?” Addison asked. When I nodded, it was Dre who reacted first, blowing out a harsh sigh.

  “Okay, lay it on me,” he insisted. “I know you had your debrief with her a few days ago, and you’re on your softy shit when it comes to her. So what is it this time? Another change in terms?”

  Instead of an immediate answer, I simply stared at Andre until Addison chuckled, taking a seat at the barstool beside me. “Here you motherfuckers go,” he muttered.

  “Yeah, here Dre goes with the damn assumptions,” I grunted, and to Dre’s credit, he had enough discretion to look a little contrite. “She didn’t ask for shit, cause we… didn’t do the debrief,” I admitted, looking anywhere except at either of my brothers.

  Again, Andre was first to speak up. “Wait… I thought y’all had an appointment? It was even on my calendar, for you to meet her at home.”

  “Yes. We definitely had appointment. And I went to it. Only…we… didn’t do the debrief.”

  I looked up at Dre to see that he was still looking confused, but as soon as I turned to Addison… baby brother’s eyes went wide.

  “Shit…you’re not saying you…?”

  “Not saying what?” Andre asked, brows furrowed. “It’s late, y’all. Can we get to the po—oh. Oh.” The crease between his eyebrows deepened as his mouth dropped open in shock. “Are you saying you… and Kima Nolan… didn’t do the debrief?”

  “Nah, Aiden was too busy getting to know that pussy to talk about food!” Addison cackled, clutching his stomach as he damn near laughed himself off his barstool.

  “You’re shitting me, right?” Dre inquired, propping his hands on top of his head as he started pacing. “I cannot believe you crossed that kinda line!”