AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Translation: not in front of the staff.
At the woman’s movement of her fingers to enter, Jillian walked into the room as Cole broke his hard stare with Phillip Senior to return his attention to his phone. The wealthy playboy was always quick with a joke or sardonic comment and seemed to relish being the rebel in his family. She doubted he took anything seriously.
And thus why, for her, their connection was all about really great, super-spontaneous, hot sex. Cole was beautiful with his muscled body and sexy as all get-out. And he knew how to please her—in fact, he seemed to thrive on it.
Damn.
Jillian fought the urge to shiver in desire. That was the Cole effect. Just the very thought of his lovemaking was enough to awaken her privates. “Okay...” she began with a lick of her lips. “We have a nice selection of ingredients for omelets along with Lyonnaise potatoes. Also, there are fresh seasonal fruit cups in a light honey and your choice of toast.”
“Just egg white with spinach and a little mozzarella for me,” Lucas said before reaching for the citrus juice to pour himself a small glass.
That wasn’t surprising. The youngest Cress brother had shed fifty pounds and seemed dedicated to keeping the weight off—and his string of pliable women on.
As she took everyone’s choice, Jillian’s eyes kept going to Cole. She could tell from the stiffness of his shoulders that he was annoyed. He’d always spoken highly of her pan-fried potatoes sautéed with caramelized onions and butter. She served them for breakfast or dinner, along with a steak.
He won’t be ready to eat, though.
“Cole, what type of omelet would you like?” she asked.
He looked up at her. His shoulders softened and he smiled. A new switch from night to day. “I’ll pass on breakfast. Just coffee is fine,” he said with a seemingly polite smile.
Jillian’s knowledge that she was right about his eating habit being affected by his mood surprised her. With a nod, she turned and walked back across the vast space to the eight-burner Viking stove to heat and oil eight omelet pans straight from the Cress, INC. line of cookware. Quickly she cracked two eggs into each of eight ceramic bowls, added salt and black pepper with heavy cream before whisking each swiftly then pouring them into the pans.
Leaving the eggs to set and cook on low-medium heat, she opened her leather case to reveal her engraved all-metal knife set...and a note card monogrammed with the Cress, INC. logo. She held the card to her nose and inhaled the subtle scent of Cole’s cologne still clinging to it. Like her sheets after he spent a night at her apartment.
She opened the card and mouthed the words as she read them to herself. “Last night before I left you, I kept the panties you were wearing. I want to enjoy the smell of you.”
The thrill she felt was addictive.
She looked over into the dining room and caught his eyes on her. He patted the pocket of the leather jacket he wore before raising his cup of coffee in a toast. She flushed with warmth. But, forcing herself to focus on flipping the omelets and adding the ingredients atop one side of each, she was unable to slow the pounding of her heart at the thought of Cole in possession of her sheer red panties.
Over the rim of his cup, Cole surreptitiously eyed Jillian as she left the dining room. She was a tall and slender bronzed beauty with her auburn curly hair pulled up into a topknot. The glasses she wore while cooking couldn’t hide the long, thick lashes that framed her round brown eyes. Her cheekbones were high, and her chin narrow, giving her face a heart shape that lent emphasis to her full pouty, perfectly kissable mouth. The back and forth movement of her buttocks in her black leggings enticed him. He smiled into the cup. It was an even more glorious sight free of clothing and gripped in his hands.
Damn.
Jillian was beautiful and curvy. Funny and feisty. Sexy. Insatiable. And not searching for her happily-ever-after.
Perfect.
He thoroughly enjoyed flirting with her before they found hot moments to relieve the sexual tension that pulsed between them. But he was not looking for love.
Been there. Done that.
When he’d met Traci Mason during his senior year at culinary school, Cole had believed he’d found a stunning, intelligent, loyal beauty with whom he could plan a future. He’d even purchased a ring and planned a huge engagement surprise via hot-air balloon. Then his brother, Gabriel let him know Traci was quite vocal with her friends that she had landed a big fish from the wealthy Cress family and planned to ride the wave to her own successful career.
Any doubts Cole had had about the veracity of the gossip were erased when Gabriel played him a video, taken without Traci’s knowledge, of her saying just that. And more. Much more.
It was clear that she’d seen Cole as a pathway to success and not as a man to truly love.
That had been his last serious relationship and he’d preferred no strings attached ever since. His sexy, secretive dalliances with the family’s beautiful chef for the past year had been his escape as his family had become unrecognizable. His father’s announcement that he was stepping down as the chief executive officer of Cress, INC., and would name one of his five sons as his successor, had put the brothers at odds with one another. Gone was the notion of loyalty. Each was in search of Phillip Cress Senior’s deeming him meritorious of the throne.
Cole couldn’t deny that it was a worthy empire.
His parents had devoted more than fifty years to build a reputation as celebrated and well-respected chefs, won Michelin stars and James Beard awards, established many successful restaurants, and written more than two dozen bestselling cookbooks and culinary guides. In a calculated move that had paid off, they’d shifted their focus to establishing Cress, INC. And, within just a few years, had successfully diversified into production of their own nationally syndicated cooking shows, cookware, online magazines, an accredited cooking school and a nonprofit foundation.
Like their parents, the five Cress brothers had become chefs—all acclaimed, as well. Four years ago, upon their parents’ earnest request, each son had left behind his career to claim a full-time role as a member of the business’s executive team. The eldest brother, Phillip Junior, ran the nonprofit, the Cress Family Foundation. Gabriel had stepped down from overseeing the restaurant division to fulfill his dreams of owning and operating his own eatery. Sean supervised the syndicated cooking shows. The youngest, Lucas, was head of the cookware line.
And Cole served as president of Cress, INC.’s digital marketing and global branding, overseeing a small team that managed publicity and marketing as well as the company’s websites and online presence. He’d taken the position at his mother’s urging to participate in something along with his beloved brothers.
