Free Heat in the Kitchen by Sarah Fredricks

of her dress.
    She moaned as she felt a liquid heat pool at the juncture of her thighs. She shifted her body to seek relief from the mounting tension and felt his hard erection nudging her through the soft folds of her dress.
    Matt groaned as he stilled her. 'You're killing me here Ella,' he managed to gasp as he took a deep breath. 'I haven't come in my pants since I was a teenager lusting after my first date. Feeling your body rub against mine is making me so hard, so close.' He studied her face, her eyes heavy with her own arousal, her hair all mussed up. 'I want to bring you to orgasm Ella. I want to sink myself into you until we both scream our release.' He took her mouth again with a hard, drugging kiss that had Ella breathing heavily against him with near-fulfilled release.
    A knock at the door had them both jump apart. Only Matt's strong hold prevented Ella from falling from his lap.
    His chef called through the door. 'We're done here Matt. See you Monday.' His footsteps echoed on the tiled floor as he walked away.
    Ella pulled away from Matt's embrace and stood up. 'Sweet heaven Matt! I never even heard his footsteps. How could I not have done? We were nearly caught. There's a wedding going on!' She put her head in her hands at the shame of being caught making out. Her thoughts threw her back to the shame she'd felt as a child when one of her mother's boyfriends had sought her out.
    'I don't do this! What was I thinking?' She groaned. That was the problem. It was hard to think when Matt was anywhere near.
    Matt stood and brought her into his embrace. She struggled to move away but he held her tight.
    'Shhh. The door's locked and no-one would have walked in anyway. I asked them to just shout out when they were finished.' He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her hair.
    Ella looked up at him. His heart sank. Apart from slightly swollen lips, all traces of the passion they'd shared were gone. She'd shut herself away again behind her barrier.
    'Ella, please, don't shut down. We did nothing wrong. I admit the timing could be better but we want each other. You can't deny that.'
    Ella pulled away and this time he let her go. Without a word she started clearing away the plates. Matt sighed and gave her a hand.
    As he saw her to her car he tried one more time to get through to her. 'You'll talk to me eventually Ella. I'm not going to let this drop. I've never wanted a woman more than I want you. I'm sorry if that scares you in some way, but it's mutual. I'd stake my career on that.'
    The look of fear mixed with longing confused him. He pulled her to him and gave her one last, long, hard kiss before he let her go. He whispered in her ear. 'Something to remember me by Ella.' He opened her car door and helped her inside.
    'Remember what I said about Prince Azzam. He's a terrible flirt but he won't make a hit on you unless he believes it's mutual. Other than that he doesn't understand 'no'. He only invites the best and keeps on and on until he gets the best. When he calls again, you're safe to accept. It'll be a great gig for you.'
    Ella gave him a blank look.
    'Prince Azzam? From the Principality of Quinaard? You told me at the piano he'd been phoning you for the last couple of weeks to go and play for his summer banquet at his royal palace. You should accept the invite.'
    'Oh. Yeah.' Ella shook her head. 'Maybe. I'll see.'

Chapter 5
    Ella woke with a start, breathing heavily. Her body was caught up in the quilt as if she'd been struggling to get away. But then she had - in her dreams. It had been years since her sleep had been disturbed by that episode in her past. She glanced across at her bedside clock - five a.m.
    She'd been asleep for seven hours yet she felt drained and restless. Unable to get back to sleep, she got up and made herself a hot drink.
    Sitting in an armchair, sipping her tea, her thoughts crowded her, confused her. Recent thoughts of yesterday mingled with old memories of when she was fourteen. Memories that