Cooking Classes Ch. 02

Jacob pulled him closer, tightened his grip around his waist, and kissed the throat, from where those sweet little moans were escaping.

Sam pulled Jacob's head up and their lips met again. They were kissing like hungry teenagers in the parking lot of a grocery store.

Jacob had thought time would have muted the attraction that drew him closer to Sam. But it hadn't. One taste and all he could to think was...he wanted more.

One kiss, that's all this was supposed to have been. A small preview of things to come. To get Sam thinking about him. Dreaming about him.

But it was so much more.

Sam Parker.

Parker—

The name lit up his mind like a shock of neon and that was enough to have him ending the kiss, however reluctantly. Jacob pulled away, though his every instinct clamored at him to hold Sam in his arms. He took one long breath and then another, hoping to steady himself.

This wasn't the time for instincts. Or urges. This was a time for logic and cool thinking, and damned if he would risk his plan by seducing Sam in the parking lot of a damned grocery store.

Somewhere close by, a car's engine fired up, and Jacob took a step back from him, deliberately putting some distance between them. He could still taste him. Feel him.

Shoving one hand through his hair, Jacob thought that maybe Kyle had been right. It had been too long since he'd been with a man. That's why Sam had gotten him so completely. Hell, he was practically a starving man now. Was it any wonder that a tender steak looked good to him?

Jacob's gaze was locked on Sam.

Sam leaned against the car closing his eyes, his senses now returning, lifting one hand to his mouth and holding the other hand up as if to warn Jacob to stay away. Not really necessary, Jacob thought, but got the message.

Sam was as shaken as he.

And that was a good thing, he told himself. At least he knew now that Sam would be thinking about him. Remembering their kiss, just as—he hated to admit it—he would.

"That was—"

"Sam—"

"—not something that's going to happen again," Sam finished, surprising him.

Sam straightened up, smoothed his hair and took another breath. After a second or two, opened and met his eyes with Jacob's and gave him a smile that was so forced it was more of a grimace.

"I can't say I didn't enjoy it, but Jacob, you should know that I'm not looking for a relationship."

Stunned, Jacob could only stare at him. He was giving him the-don't-expect-anything-from-me speech? Had the world gone completely crazy? His eyes were soft, his expression kind but remote, and Jacob was at a loss for something to say. This kind of thing didn't happen to him.

Men didn't turn away from Jacob Knight. They generally chased him down and did whatever they could to hang on to him.

"Excuse me?" he finally managed to say.

"Look, I'm sorry. I should have said something the minute I agreed to work for you." Sam inhaled and rushed on before he could speak. "I noticed right away that there was an...attraction between us, but I didn't think anything of it. It's my own fault; I should have said something sooner. But the truth is, I'm not looking for another man in my life—"

He wasn't—

"I don't remember offering," Jacob said hotly, his voice tightly controlled. Anger and disbelief warred in the pit of his stomach, kicking up an ugly brew as he felt the sting of rejection for the first time in his life.

Sam ignored the jibe. "And if I were considering getting involved with someone," he continued, "it wouldn't be with you."

Completely shocked now, Jacob just stared at him, too amazed to speak for a moment. This was not how he'd seen this little chat going. He'd expected to have to talk him down from their passionate kiss. To ease him gently into the seduction he had planned. What he hadn't counted on was being insulted.

"What do you mean it wouldn't be me? What the hell is wrong with me?" Jacob finally shouted.

Sam winced and looked past him at the brightly lit grocery store as if checking to make sure no one else had come out and was listening.

Then he turned his gaze back to him. "Nothing's wrong with you, Jacob. You're just...not my type."

"Type?" Jacob echoed. This was not happening, he told himself sternly. No way was he standing in a grocery store parking lot, looking at beautiful guy and hearing that guy tell him to buzz off. This was so far out of his universe; he didn't have a clue how to handle it. But his temper was on the rise and a sudden, pounding headache erupted behind his eyes.

Crossing his arms over his hard chest, he glared at him. "What type am I then?"

"Bossy."

"Bossy isn't a type," Jacob argued, because he couldn't argue with the word itself. Sure he was bossy, but he preferred to think of that trait as confidence. All of the Knights were confident in themselves and their abilities, and they didn't suffer fools, either. They took charge, got things done and steamrolled over whomever might be dumb enough to stand in their way.

Jacob was no different.

Yeah, he had been called arrogant before, and unrelenting. And even, on occasion, egotistical. But it was a small price to pay for getting what he wanted, when he wanted it. And he wasn't about to apologize to Sam Parker—or anyone else for that matter—being the man he was.

"Just when exactly have I bossed you around?" Jacob challenged, his eyes locked with Sam's.

Sam sighed. "You haven't, in so many words. Not yet, anyway."

"Oh, so you're a fortune teller, too? You can read the future and so you know I'm going to start giving you orders?"

"I don't need to read the future," Sam told him, stiffening his spine and lifting his chin in defense against his tone. "All I have to do is look at the past."

"That makes no sense, either." Jacob told him.

"It does to me." Sam said simply.

Jacob shook his head and tried to rein in the million and one thoughts churning through his mind. Then he gave it up. How could he find logic in what was unreasonable to begin with? Was his plan for revenge going to end right here, beneath a flickering, ready-to-burn-out parking light?

"I can't believe any of this," Jacob muttered, more to himself than to Sam.

"I know. You probably don't hear it often."

His eyes narrowed. "Try never."

Sam winced. "I am sorry, but Jacob, I really need this job and I don't want us work together under false pretenses"

A part of him relaxed a little. Sam wasn't walking away at least. He was just trying to put him on notice. "Uh-huh."

"That kiss notwithstanding, I really think we should just keep our relationship to teacher and student. Okay?"

Man, Jacob thought, if Kyle were here listening to this, his brother would be laughing his ass off. Hell, if it were happening to one of his brothers, Jacob would be doing the same thing. But it was damned hard to see the humor in the situation from his perspective.

On the other hand, Jacob mused as he watched him, Sam was the one to initiate that steam inducing kiss—and he would have kept on kissing him if he hadn't called a halt and taken a step back. Say what he wanted now, he had tasted his desire, felt his need wrapping itself around him. Sam Parker wanted him as much as he wanted Sam—which would only work in his favor as he went about seducing him. Good to know that beneath his cool, prim, good-boy demeanor, Sam was burning with the same fire that was licking at his insides.

So...fine. He'd play along. Let him think he was in charge. Eventually, the game would shift in his favor. Jacob was thinking.

Things always did.

Sam was watching him warily, waiting for his response, and damned if Jacob wasn't tempted to tell him to take his rules and get lost. He'd never before had a man turn on him like this, especially after a kiss so hot—his lips still burned. And swallowing his "rules" was going to be hard to do, he knew. Yet, if he wanted his plan to work—and he really did—then he was going to have to go along with him...at least for now.

It grated, though, Jacob thought, as irritation spiked within him. He wasn't used to sublimating his own wants to anyone else's and if this is what it felt like, he had no interest in getting any better at it.

He looked at Sam and wanted him, in his arms. He looked at him and wanted to turn and walk away. He looked at him and remembered his brother stabbing him and the rest of the Knights in the back and knew without a doubt that he wasn't willing to give up on his plan. Not yet.

So he'd go along. He'd let Sam think he had won this round, because winning a battle didn't mean winning the war. When this was over, it would be him standing up and taking a bow. And it was that thought alone that had him nodding.

"Fine," Jacob growled. "We'll do this your way."

Sam blew out a breath and flashed him a grin. "That's great. You'll see, Jacob. This will all work much better now that we both know the rules."

Jacob watched him go to passenger side door and climb inside the already unlocked car. Alone in the flickering light of that lamp, Jacob clenched his jaw and promised himself that when this seduction ran its course and his payback had been achieved, he would be the one giving the not-my-type speech to Sam Parker.

That realization had him smiling all the way home.

To be continued...