Chapter 6
Adrienne rolled over in bed, the sun filtering through the curtains blinding her. Why is it so bright already…
“Shit!”
She popped up in bed and glanced at the alarm clock. It was 8:12 in the morning and they were due to be at the cooking school for their class at 9:45. Throwing the blankets off herself, she slid off the bed, wincing when she remembered her sore ankle. A small smile formed on her lips as she remembered everything that happened last night. Despite the broken heel, she actually enjoyed herself. She didn’t talk about Miguel to others often, especially strangers, but it came out so effortlessly with Myles. He was comforting and supporting and the nice things he’d said made her feel better after talking about it as well.
Limping to the bathroom, she looked at her reflection in the mirror with a sigh. “Why does he have to be in the military?” she mused out loud, running her fingers through her hair. Her mind and body were on different pages and it frustrated her. When he’d walked in on her changing, she didn’t miss the desire harboring in his beautiful brown eyes. She saw his eyes move along her body in appreciation before he got a grip on himself and turned around to allow her to change. Her body wanted him to touch her and make her feel things that she hadn’t in a long while, but her mind convinced her he’d done the right thing by turning away. What she said to him the night before was true. He was such a nice guy; she didn’t want to lead him on and hurt him in the process.
As soon as she finished showering, a solid knock on her room door startled her. She wrapped herself with a towel and slipped on a bathrobe, slowly making her way to the door.
“Who is it?” she called out. No one responded. She looked through the peephole and didn’t see anyone there. Without removing the chain from her door, she cracked the door open and was met with an empty hallway. That’s weird, she thought to herself, starting to close the door until she noticed a single rose on the floor. A small smile touched her lips as she removed the chain from the door and opened the door, retrieving the room. Looking down the hallway, she noticed Myles looking at her from his door. He smiled at her before disappearing into his room. She picked up the rose and held it to her nose, inhaling deeply. Even though she had her rule, it looked like he was going to give her a hard time about keeping it.
***
“Okay, class, listen up,” Adrienne said, clapping her hands. The students quieted down and turned their attention to her. “In our last few club meetings, we’ve talked a lot about different types of French cuisine.” She gestured toward the cooking academy. “So today we’re going to take a couple of cooking classes at L’Académie de Cuisine de Paris.”
Excited chatter erupted through them as they entered the cooking school. Adrienne noticed that Myles’ demeanor had changed since they’d left the hotel. She wasn’t sure what was wrong, but she figured something was going on with Josephine, as she didn’t look too happy either.
“Bonjour, étudiants!” a tall man with salt and pepper-colored hair said as he approached them. “Welcome to L’Académie de Cuisine de Paris, which is basically The Cooking Academy of Paris. I am Carlisle, and I’ll be your instructor today.”
His accent was thick and his hand gestures were animated, causing a few students to giggle as he spoke to them.
“Did you teach Gordon Ramsey?” one of the students asked. The instructor chuckled and shook his head.
“I’m afraid not,” he answered and clasped his hands together. “Well, we shall get started. First, we will head down the street to the local farmer’s market to gather our ingredients.” When the students groaned at the prospect of walking, Carlisle clapped his hands together. “No, no, no! It’ll be fun! Besides, you’ll get to experience the real deal when it comes to cooking in Paris.”
“That’s right, class. The point of this trip is to indulge in French culture. I think you’ll learn a lot,” Adrienne added and Carlisle nodded.
“So, if you’ll follow me, we can get our food party started!” Carlisle exclaimed and headed for the door. Josephine pushed past Myles and grabbed Pia’s arm, moving ahead with the rest of the group.
“Is everything okay?” Adrienne asked as she walked alongside him.
He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Josephine’s a little upset because I gave a guy she was having breakfast with this morning a hard time,” he answered.
Adrienne giggled. “Such a protective big brother. It’s okay to let her live a little.”
Myles shook his head. “No, there’s something off about that guy. She claims he told her that he was 18, but he looks older than that. Not to mention,” he looked over her head and across the street, “that he’s coincidentally also across the street. I don’t have a good feeling about him.”
Adrienne followed his gaze and sure enough, a tall, blond-haired guy stood across the street smoking a cigarette, occasionally looking at them across the street while trying to be discreet.
“I’ll admit that is kind of weird,” Adrienne finally said. Myles sighed.
“She doesn’t understand now, but I just want her to be safe. Who’s to say this guy isn’t some kind of creep?”
“She’s a teenager; she may not understand now, but that’s okay. Not everything will make sense as it’s happening, but I’m sure she’ll realize it one day,” Adrienne said, giving him a small smile.
“How’s your ankle?” he asked, noticing she was still limping.
She shrugged. “It’s still pretty sore, but I’ll live.”
“If it becomes to much to walk on, I don’t mind carrying you again,” he joked.
Adrienne giggled and shook her head. “Thank you for the offer, but I think I can manage.”
They arrived at the farmer’s market and Carlisle gave everyone a list of ingredients they’d need to get. “Explore everything that the market has to offer. Taste things, smell things, and feel things. Use your senses to choose the freshest ingredients and we’ll meet back here in thirty minutes. Run along now,” he said to the students. The students all scattered around the farmer’s market, picking up different vegetables and fruits and testing them out.
Adrienne looked down at her list and then looked to Myles. “I guess we should start on the list,” she said. He nodded and followed her around the market, his eyes darting around the area.
“Hey, relax,” Adrienne murmured, giving his arm a comforting pat.
He cleared his throat. “So, um, what exactly are we supposed to be making?” he asked as she squeezed a couple of lemons.
“Lemon tart, foie gras, croissants, and chocolate, I believe,” she answered idly. “I think these lemons are soft enough. What do you think?” She passed him the lemons and watched as he squeezed them a bit.
“I’m not sure how soft it should be, but it seems good enough to me,” he said, handing them back to her. He seemed as if he was lightyears away, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings and looking in Josephine’s direction.
Adrienne picked up another lemon. “What do you—”
“I’ll be back,” Myles said flatly and walked away before she could say anything. Adrienne looked in the direction he’d left in and saw that the guy from earlier was now accompanied by a tanned, older man with dark hair and they were both talking with Pia and Josephine. She sighed, put the lemons down, and hurried behind him as fast as her ankle would allow.
“You’re so cute,” she heard Josephine tell the blond as she smiled flirtatiously.
“I thought I told you to stay away from my sister,” Myles stated firmly, stepping between the guy and Josephine.
“Seriously, Myles?” Josephine shrieked. The blond held his hands up.
“I mean no harm, monsieur,” he said, his accent thick, but not sounding local. “I just wanted to talk and get to know her.” He peeked around Myles and winked at Josephine. “She is very pretty.”
“And if you don’t back away, you won’t have eyes to be able to know how pretty she is,” Myles growled. Josephine sighed dramatically and turned on her heels, stomping away. The men slowly backed up, a sinister look in their eyes as they smirked at him before they turned and walked away.
“Geez, Ghost. Even when you’re off duty, you’re still protecting and serving,” someone said behind them. Adrienne turned around to see another man and woman walking toward them.
Myles rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “Little sisters,” he said, shaking the man’s hand. “What are you doing here in Paris?”
“I could ask the same about you,” the man said. “But Caroline and I wanted to take a couple of days of vacation, so here we are. You?”
“Chaperoning a field trip for my sister’s French club,” he said and then looked to Adrienne. “I’m sorry. Adrienne, this is Matthew and his wife Caroline. We occasionally work together. Wolf, this is Josephine’s French teacher, Adrienne Barrera.”
“Nice to meet you,” Adrienne said, shaking his extended hand as well as Caroline’s.
Matthew and Myles exchanged a look and Caroline giggled. “Well, I’ll let you kids finish what you were doing. And Ghost, we should meet up for a beer or something while we’re here or maybe go on a…double date.”
Myles chuckled. “We’ll chat later,” he said and guided Adrienne away from the couple.
“Why does he call you Ghost?” she asked when they were alone again.
“It’s my call sign in the military,” he answered.
“Does it mean anything?”
“I’m very good at not being seen. Almost invisible, even.”
“Oh.”
He looked into her eyes and sighed. “Look…I know you have your thing with men in uniforms and I understand. I just…I don’t want you to count me out, I guess.”
She cleared her throat and shuffled a bit in front of him. “Like I said last night, I don’t want to lead you on. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”
“And I understand. But you can’t deny that there’s some kind of spark between us,” he said, his voice low. She looked around and saw the other students gathering their ingredients, laughing and talking amongst each other. “Adrienne?”
“Myles…I don’t know. I’m not saying that I didn’t enjoy last night because I did. I just don’t think either of us should get caught up in something we’re not ready for. I mean we hardly know much about each other, right?”
“I don’t know about you, but who says I’m not ready?” he asked. His face was wiped of any emotion, making it hard to read him. His tone told her he was serious, which was unnerving.
“Myles—”
“In all honesty Adrienne,” he interrupted, taking a step closer to her. “Last night when I came back with the ice, it took everything in me not to not strip the rest of your clothes and worship every inch of your body. I’ve wanted you ever since I laid eyes on you and if it takes a lifetime to break all of these barriers you’ve put around yourself, then so be it.”
She looked at him in disbelief, confused on whether to be appalled by his admission or in awe. Could she really be appalled when she thought just this morning that she wished he’d made a move on her? She couldn’t deny the attraction; he was incredibly sexy and a perfect gentleman. The only thing that bothered her was the fact that he couldn’t seem to grasp that he was off limits, even though they’d talked about it a few times.
“Why?” she asked, taking a step back.
His brows furrowed as he narrowed his eyes at her. “Why what?”
“Why do you want me? You don’t even know me to want me,” she replied, her voice sharper than she intended. Multiple emotions flickered across his face, but he didn’t say anything. Adrienne sighed. “We should just get the rest of the things we need.”
As they moved around the market in silence, she started to feel bad. She didn’t feel as if her question was wrong; she was genuinely curious to know how a man she didn’t know much about before this trip could claim that he wanted her.
Her phone rang in her purse, jerking her out of her musings. She retrieved her phone and saw Melody’s name and picture on the screen. “Can you grab the rest of the things on the list really quick? I have to take this call,” she said to Myles. He nodded and took the list from her without a word, leaving her feeling even more guilty than she already was.
“Hey, Mel,” she said when she answered.
“So I’m assuming good things happened since you didn’t bother to call me with an update,” Melody said sarcastically. Adrienne sighed and looked back at Myles, who was tasting a sample of chocolate made from the cocoa beans he needed to get.
“The date itself was great,” she said.
“And?”
“And what?”
“I feel like there’s something more after that statement that probably isn’t going to be good,” she said. “Are you having any regrets right now?” Adrienne sighed. Melody knew her a little too well.
“Not necessarily regrets. It’s quite the opposite, really. It’s doesn’t matter if I had a good time with him or not; he’s still off limits,” Adrienne said.
“Adrienne, I know this can possibly be scary for you, but being afraid could be keeping you from someone who just may heal your heart. It doesn’t matter if he was in the military or a clerk at the gas station. There’s danger everywhere, not just jobs that require a uniform. I’m pretty sure Miguel didn’t go to work thinking he was going to be killed. He, along with anyone else with a dangerous job, makes it their mission to make it home at the end of the day. What happened to Miguel was awful, but it’s not something that’ll happen all the time. Same with this military guy. I’m pretty sure he’d do everything he could to make sure he came back in one piece. I think you should just give him a chance,” she said.
Adrienne bit the inside of her cheek as she watched Myles gather more of the ingredients. “I don’t know…”
“Just take it a day at a time. Just don’t rule him out just yet. And talk to him; I’m sure he’ll understand where you’re coming from and maybe he can offer you a little comfort in that aspect,” she said.
“I’ve told him a couple of times and it doesn’t seem like he grasps it. He says he understands, but then we come back to the same conversation later,” Adrienne said.
“I mean it does kind of suck to feel like you’re being punished for something out of your control,” Melody said. Adrienne sighed. Now that she mentioned it, Adrienne couldn’t necessarily disagree. She looked back over at him to see him standing with their basket, his eyes still watching over his sister as a slight frown settled on his lips. She wasn’t sure if he was upset about their conversation or the encounter with the men and Josephine. It didn’t make her feel any less guilty, though.
“Oh, and did you get laid last night?” Melody asked, her voice laced with excitement. Adrienne laughed.
“Go to bed, Mel; I’m sure it’s late. I’ll talk to you later,” she said and hung up before her friend could object.
“Okay, students, I hope you have all your ingredients,” Carlisle called out with a clap of his hands. They all gathered around him, checking their baskets once more.
“Did you find everything?” Adrienne asked Myles. He nodded, still not saying anything. She’d have to make a note to continue their earlier conversation once they were alone again. Even though she knew she was doing the right thing, it still didn’t feel right in her heart.
***
“Oui, trés bien,” Carlisle complimented as he passed Myles. “Pretty soon you make perfect croissant in no time.”
“You hear that? Perfect croissants in no time,” Myles said to Adrienne, playfully elbowing her in the ribs. She giggled and gave him a small shove.
“Oh hush, you’re distracting me,” she said as she formed her croissants on the baking tray. Here he was still being a perfect gentleman and being nice to her after the way she’d reacted to his words at the farmer’s market.
“You know…I’m sorry about snapping at you earlier,” she finally said. He gave her a small smile and shrugged.
“It’s all good.”
“But it’s not.” She sighed. “I just…I’m scared.”
He stopped fiddling with the dough and looked around the room. The other students were practically making a mess of their tables as they goofed around instead of focusing on the task at hand. One student was even slapping the dough and dancing around, causing the instructor to slap his palm against his forehead with a sigh.
“Guys, this is supposed to be a cooking class, not a prep room for a food fight,” Adrienne called out sternly. Everyone ignored her and continued what they were doing.
“I got this,” Myles said and whistled really loud. Everyone became silent immediately and looked in their direction.
“Thanks,” she whispered to him and turned her attention to the students. “Your behavior right now is completely unacceptable. We’re here to experience the things we’ve learned about in French club and you’re taking this as a joke.” She looked around at their guilty faces. “You guys should be embarrassed. You’re almost adults and yet you’re in here acting like children. And since you’re acting like children, we will no longer have lunch on the town, as I can’t trust you to act your age.” She turned to Carlisle. “I’m so sorry for their behavior, monsieur.”
“Merci, madame,” Carlisle replied with a nod.
“Please apologize to Carlisle,” she said to the students.
“Désolé, monsieur,” they murmured, returning to their work stations and continuing their dishes quietly.
Adrienne release a sigh of relief and turned back to her own croissants.
“I know,” Myles said suddenly. She looked up at him with a raised brow.
“Know what, exactly?”
“That you’re scared.” He placed his hand dangerously close to her, his pinky brushing against her own. “And I get that.”
She forced herself to look away. “Do you?” she asked softly.
“I do. It probably doesn’t seem like it considering that I’ve still been actively pursuing you. It’s just…there’s something about you that pulls me to you and I can’t shake that feeling.” He sighed. “I’m not going to make any promises I can’t keep or give you false reassurances. I’m sure you already know how dangerous my job can be. All I can do is try my best to come home to the woman waiting for me.”
She swallowed hard, trying to push down the lump forming in her throat. “Yeah,” she croaked and cleared her throat. “I’m sure this all seems silly. It’s just really hard for me to let go, I guess.”
“I don’t think it’s silly. I’ve never experienced it, but I can only imagine how devastating it can be to lose someone you love.” He paused a moment. “And I’d do everything I could to make sure you didn’t experience it again if given the chance.”
She nodded, unable to speak as she busied herself with putting the last croissants on the baking tray. She could feel him staring at her, but she couldn’t look at him. Already feeling fragile and vulnerable, looking at him would do nothing but pull her into his words. Only she knew what was best for her and she didn’t think he was it. Or maybe I’m just using Miguel’s death as an excuse. Was she really keeping up with her rule because she was truly afraid or was it because she felt as if she’d be betraying him somehow?
There were plenty of instances where she’d meet “safe” guys but found one reason or another to not date him. Maybe she was just sabotaging herself, afraid that she’d lose her love for Miguel if she fell in love with someone else. That had to be the only logical reason, as nothing else she tried to comfort herself with made sense.
“I’m going to go put these in the oven,” she finally said, grabbing a tray. She needed a moment to breathe and steady herself, which seemed impossible with Myles so close to her.
“I should put mine in there, too,” he said, grabbing his tray and following her to the back of the classroom. So much for a moment to breathe.
“I thought they would be pre-heated,” Adrienne mumbled when she opened the oven. She stretched, standing on the tips of her toes to try the reach the buttons to turn it on.
“I got it,” Myles said, moving to stand behind her. “What temp?”
“190,” she murmured.
He looked down at her, his brows furrowed. “190? Won’t it take forever to cook them that low?”
“It’s in Celsius,” she said, pointing to the C on the chart on the wall. “That’s 375 Fahrenheit.”
“Oh,” he simply said and started pressing a few buttons. The heat radiating from his body made her feel warm with desire. She glanced up at him and noticed the small smirk on his lips. He knew exactly what he was doing.
“You know…it’s taking everything in me right now to not kiss that frown off your lips,” he murmured.
She cleared her throat, surprised when a tingling sensation settled between her legs. It seemed as if he was becoming more bold with his words since his admission at the market, not that she was complaining. “I didn’t realize I was frowning.”
“If we were alone and you were mine, you wouldn’t be frowning for long.”
Her breath hitched in her throat. “And why is that?” she dared to ask.
He slowly pressed the up button on the oven, stalling their time. “Well, if we were alone, I’d have you bent over our table and pounding that sweet little pussy of yours until you come all over my cock. And then?” He lowered his head so close to hers that she could feel his warm, minty breath tickling her earlobe. “Lick every drop of you until you come on my tongue.”
A shudder rolled through her as he chuckled. Thoughts of his tongue on her flashed in her mind before she could even stop it. God, this man was sexy. She almost wanted to be disappointed that the students were here because at that moment, she wanted nothing more than for him to do what he’d just said. Better yet, she’d rather ditch the rest of this class and have him take her back to her hotel room where he could show her everything he’d do if she were his.
“But…that’s only if you were mine,” he whispered in her ear before stepping away. “Oven is set.”
He placed his tray of croissants on the counter next to the ovens. “I’m going to go start on the other dishes. I’m sure you’d rather wait here for the oven to preheat,” he said with a smirk. She tightly clutched the tray in her hands and took a deep breath. She needed more than a moment to deal with the desire burning through her.
She’d been pretty strong on her stance, but she’d official met her match with Myles Richards.