Page 1 of Sensuous

CHAPTER ONE

Alex

The usual racketin the kitchen at CK on a busy Saturday night nearly drowns out my thoughts about what I should do after work tonight. Cade practically begged me to drop in at the club, but that’s only because now that he’s a committed man, there’s nothing there for him other than actual work, and he’s never been a big fan of that.

Unlike me. Not that I don’t enjoy a good night out, but there’s nothing I love more than being here in my kitchen doing what I do best.

Lost in thought about Cade and his desperate pleas to get me to go to Club X tonight, I don’t hear Kane talking to me until he taps me on the shoulder. Confused for a second, I turn to look at him and shake my head.

“What’s up?”

“I called your name twice. You looked like you were a million miles away there, Alex,” he says with a smile.

Shrugging, I shake my head. “Nothing terribly deep. Just what I plan to do after work. Did you need something?”

Kane points toward the kitchen doors that lead out to the dining room. “You’ve got someone to see you. They’re sitting at eighty-six.”

I set down my knife and slip off my gloves, more than a little curious. “Someone to see me, huh? Any clue who it is?”

My uncle wouldn’t necessarily know since he’s not expected to keep a running catalog of the women I see, but he tends to slyly notice things like that. He shakes his head, though, which could mean a perfect stranger is out there waiting for me or just someone who knows me who hasn’t come around the restaurant before this.

“Well, do you know what they want?” I ask with more than a hint of impatience as he stands in my way of getting to the sink.

With a shake of his head, he says, “Nope. They just asked for you. I assume they loved the salmon?”

Sometimes I can’t tell when Kane’s joking and when he’s dead serious. Like at this moment as his blue eyes stare into mine, I honestly don’t know if he’s taking a shot at my cooking or genuinely thinks a customer wants to speak to me about the salmon.

Either way, I guess I’m going to find out when I meet them.

As I step around him, I slip off my hat and run my hands through my hair. “I guess I better get out there then. My adoring public awaits.”

That makes him laugh, giving me the hint it’s probably a woman waiting for me. Still, I have no idea who it could be. I don’t recall inviting anyone to the restaurant for tonight.

I wash my hands and then make my way across the kitchen and head out into the dining room, my attention focused on the best table in the house. Eighty-six. The maître d’ only sits important people at that table, unless someone asks for it specifically. Nestled next to the far wall of windows that lookout on the water, it’s the most secluded and intimate spot in the restaurant.

I’m surprised to see not a woman or even a couple but two men and a woman seated there. For a second, I imagine maybe they’ve got some ménage thing going on after dinner. It’s not out of the realm of possibility.

But as I approach the table, I dismiss that idea as improbable based on the way the three of them are dressed. Both men wear dark business suits, while the woman is dressed in a black skirt and silver silk blouse with a bow. Attractive, they don’t look like they’ve ever gotten freaky a day in their lives, which makes my ménage idea unlikely. Possibly, since you can never truly tell a book by its cover, but unlikely.

The three people appear to be in their mid-to-late forties, I’m guessing. The woman has nearly jet-black hair that just barely hits her shoulders and big brown eyes, the kind that seem to swallow you up. The two men have what I call business faces—they look like they spend too much time making money instead of doing anything. The hint of gray I see at both their temples makes me wonder if they might be a few years older than my initial guess.

What they could want with me I have no idea. Maybe Kane was right. Perhaps they did like the salmon.

I stop next to the man seated closest to the window and put on my nicest company-man smile. “Hello, I’m Alex March, the head chef here at CK. I’m told you wanted to speak to me?”

For a long second, all three of them stare up at me like they’re examining every inch of my face. Did Kane get the table number wrong? He’s usually good about remembering things like that, though.

I notice the woman’s gaze trail down my body and wonder what the hell is going on, but then the man sitting next to me smiles and nods, followed by his two friends. Whatever theywant, it has nothing to do with the salmon since a quick glance at their plates tells me none of them had that entrée for dinner.

“Alex March, it’s great to meet you!” the man says with far more enthusiasm than I expected. Extending his hand to shake mine, he continues, “Please let me introduce myself and my colleagues. I’m Shane Kimball, and this is Jonathan Ridge and Maria Sanchez. Do you have a few moments to talk?”

Maria continues to scan my body like some horny schoolgirl, which makes sitting down with these people nothing I really want to do, but out of the corner of my eye, I see my father and Kane looking at me from across the room and know I have to be nice.

Forcing a smile, I nod. “Sure. I have a few minutes. Was there something wrong with your entrées?”

The three of them shake their heads, and the woman who’s been checking me out so hard I half expect her to cop a feel on me at any moment says, “Oh, no! Everything was incredible. That’s part of why we wanted to speak to you.”

What the other part could be I instantly wonder since she’s returned to giving me the once over, but I take the empty seat at the table and force another smile for them. “I’m happy to hear that. So what can I do for you tonight?”

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