Inferno Anthology by Jessica Sorensen, Aleatha Romig, Kailin Gow, Cassia Leo, Lacey Weatherford, Liv Morris, Vi Keeland, Kimberly Knight, Addison Moore, Laurelin Paige Read Free Book Online Page A

the lack of physical reaction from her. She didn’t grip his fingers or show any sign of welcoming more of his touch. Cool and aloof, she pulled away, stood and cleared the dishes. Did she not have any desire for him?
    “Wait until you see what I concocted for dessert.”
    She returned a minute later. “These are caramelized tangerine slices on a bed of a secret crunchy cereal mix, drizzled with a buttery citrus coulis .”
    “Humm,” he mumbled as he chewed on his first bite. “An interesting touch of saltiness that embraces that tartness of the tangerine. Excellent.”
    Errol was genuinely impressed by the creative boldness of the young woman in front of him so much so that he finished off the evening sitting back and enjoying Taryn’s culinary creations, relegating his sexual urges to another day.
    Taryn’s lack of response tonight puzzled him, yet frustrated him. He was ready to show this innocent beauty all the pleasures her body could take, but instead, her passion was for the culinary dishes she created tonight. He was proud of her bold choices, but frustrated. He didn’t want a woman in his bed, who did not want to be there. Yet, he was so certain, she wanted him as badly as he wanted her.
    *****
    The weeks’ classes were a blur of knife skills, storing methods and the preparation of dough and sauces. Every day, Errol was surprised and impressed by Taryn’s keen palate and her ability to see what few students saw. She was focused on her studies, and as serious as the most promising students already working professionally at prestigious restaurants were.
    Her questions were always straight to the point and her answers articulate.
    But what caught his attention was the simple beauty she brought to his class every day. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, nor could he help wanting to get close to her and touch her when he could. While many of the other young female students, and even a few males, tried desperately to gain his attention, his eyes constantly returned to Taryn who continued living under his roof, so close yet so far away. Her sudden indifference to him frustrated him, yet he bid his time. He savored the challenge she posed, knowing when the time came for him to make her his, it would be worth it.
    More often than not, her eyes were on Henri, smiling, affectionate and kind. She often helped him where he fumbled, but Errol had to admit, the young man from the countryside had talent, if not a certain boyish charm.
    The two together were a powerful force; something that had not gone unnoticed by the rest of the class. It was also clear to any man, the boy was besotted with Taryn, sneaking glances are her when she wasn’t looking, finding any excuse to touch her hand or shoulders. Had not Taryn responded so strongly to him that first day they met, Errol would have been concerned about the innocent flirtations Henri shared with Taryn. But Errol, nevertheless, kept his eye on him. And Taryn. Always on Taryn.

Chapter 5
    “I loved your class today,” Taryn said as she leaned into the counter to watch him clean the oysters, mussels and clams he’d just brought home.
    “Really? It was just a revision of what we looked at last week. I was surprised to see the number of students who couldn’t handle skinning and filleting a salmon.”
    “You’ll think I’m childish and petty, but I think that’s part of the reason I liked it. So many students have been mean and nasty to me. It was kind of nice watching them stumble their way around that poor fish.”
    Grinning, Errol looked at her. Childish innocence hung around her like a golden aura. It wasn’t hard to see why so many of the girls in class disliked her. She was beautiful, smart and talented. As for the boys in the class, obviously Taryn hadn’t noticed the way they always looked at her, sneaking a peek whenever she wasn’t looking.
    Without her even noticing, her rear end always seemed to attract a large amount of that attention from the