A Chef For All Seasons

With my eyes half-opened I watched the expressions flit across his face, exasperation, surprise and triumph as he managed to free me of my jeans. I couldn't remember the last time someone had taken care of me the way he was, but it felt good. As he pulled my t-shirt over my head, I wrinkled my nose as the smell of stale smoke filled my nose, but soon it was gone and I was lying in front of him in the only matching underwear that I possessed.

"I don't know what to make of you at all Kate, all feminine curves from the neck down and topped by a face that looks as though it's gone a round with Mike Tyson." He laughed softly and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, using his fingertips to smooth away the strands of hair that lay across the bruised side of my face.

"Well thank you for the compliment, Chef, it's been duly noted." I mumbled sleepily and made no effort to cover my yawns as his fingers continued to stroke lightly over my cheek.

Finally I closed my eyes as he brought his head close to mine, fully expecting him to try and kiss me, unfortunately he didn't and I felt his lips brush against my forehead in an almost brotherly fashion.

"Sleep angel." He whispered as I tried to open my eyes, but it was useless and I gave in to a wave of sleep that carried me away.

It felt as though I had just closed my eyes, but the rude jangling of my alarm clock told me that it was seven o'clock in the morning and I had been asleep for six hours, it just didn't seem possible. I stretched my arm out and swept it off the bedside table, smiling with a degree of satisfaction as it clattered to the floor and went silent, just a few more minutes then I would seriously contemplate getting up, after all it wasn't my turn to cook breakfasts that morning... was it? I decided that it couldn't possibly be and stretched out slowly beneath the heavy comforter. I quickly realised that the last thing I remembered from the previous night was that I had fallen asleep above the quilt and I had been wearing all my clothes, but, right at that moment, judging by the way the soft cotton material was sliding over my body, I was completely and utterly naked. I gulped hard, slid down under the quilt and tried to ignore the red tide of heat that was flooding my aching face.

There was a chance that Alex wouldn't refer to what had happened the previous night, but it was only a slim one. Minutes later I gave up on hiding and slunk into the bathroom to survey the damage I had sustained in my fall, judging by the colourful bruising there was no way I would get away without a grilling from the rest of the staff. There were no sounds coming from Alex's room so I assumed he had either slept in or he was already in the kitchen, helping Donald. After showering quickly, I covered the bruise on my cheekbone and the side of my nose with a liberal layer of concealer and went back through to my bedroom to change into my chef whites. This morning I would wear a slightly more flamboyant pair of chef's trousers than the normal checks that Alex favoured wearing; hopefully the broadly striped black and white trousers would divert some of the attention away from my face. As much as I would have liked to wear my long hair down to hide at least part of the bruise I could not and had to tie it back firmly.

I slid my feet into my kitchen clogs and aimed a kick at my traitorous boots on the way out the door, steeling myself mentally for any comments that might be cast in my direction. Even though it was still early, the clatter of pots and the shouts for orders reached my ears before I went inside, and by the sounds of it, Alex was in a less than jovial mood, which was completely unlike him.

The waiting staff barely spared me a glance as I made my way to the back of the kitchen, all their eyes were on Donald, more orders for breakfast clutched in their hands as he struggled to cope under Alex's watchful eyes. I drew in a sharp breath as Donald fluffed an order, watching with surprised eyes as Alex pushed him unceremoniously out of the way and took his place behind the hotplates. In all the weeks we had worked together I had never seen him come even close to losing his temper and it was apparent that the rest of the staff were just as surprised as I was, to say nothing of Donald who made his sorry way over to where I was emptying the dessert fridge.

"What's bothering him this morning Donald, did he say anything when he came in?" I asked, concern filling me as I saw the young lad struggling to hold back tears.

"He's said nowt Kate, don't think he got much sleep last night by the looks of it; he's been like a bear with a sore head since he came in, Mr Adamson is keeping well clear in reception." He shook his head and together we worked in silence until Alex had finished the breakfast service and had sent through the leftovers to the staff-room for the house-maids and waiting staff, I shooed Donald away, telling him to go eat while I had a quiet word with Alex. Much as I didn't want to, there was no way we could carry on working in such a tense atmosphere.

He hadn't even looked me in the eye since I had entered the kitchen but there was no way he could ignore me if there was no one else around.

"Alex?" He had his back to me and was looking out the largest window in the kitchen that overlooked the small herb garden we used and on towards the cabin where we both stayed.

"What's up with you this morning? You nearly had the lad in tears and you've been biting everyone's heads off from what I've heard, so what gives?" I went to stand by his side and put my hand on his arm, waiting for an explanation.

"Where would you like me to start Kate? Perhaps it would please you to know that I didn't get any sleep at all last night, or maybe you want to hear how horny I got just by helping you out of your clothes. Or that when you were lying there in just your skimpy little bra and panties that I found it impossible to leave your room after you fell asleep." He shook his head slowly and I saw the whites of his knuckles as he gripped the edge of the worktable.

I felt myself go red but at the same time, I could feel the stirrings of triumph as I realised that he was not totally oblivious to me.

"I did wonder this morning why I was completely naked and I can't say I relished the prospect of working with you after everything... well you know." I stumbled.

"I couldn't stop myself, I just wanted to touch you; and when I should have walked away, it was impossible. Seeing you just lying there, did me in hun and when you started moaning I just had to see what was underneath those little scraps of underwear you were wearing." He gave a harsh laugh and turned to face me, placing both of his hands on my shoulders.

"I don't know what to say Alex..."

"You don't have to say anything Kate, it's my problem to deal with, not yours. I just wish to God you weren't a ... Oh, never mind, we can't undo what's already been done, but it would have been interesting to find out if we fit together as perfectly in bed as we do in the kitchen." I was stunned.

"What was that? You wish to God I wasn't a what?" I pulled out of his reach and held his eye.

"Shit, it's nothing, forget I said anything." He turned towards his worktable and began to sharpen his boning knife quickly, but his attempts at distraction failed.

"Tell me what you were going to say or I'm going to go through to reception and tell Mr Adamson exactly how well you looked after me last night!" I planted my hands on my hips and waited.

"Okay, okay, I was going to say, that I wish to God you weren't a lesbian. Satisfied now Kate?" He stared out the window and shook his head slowly.

I felt my jaw drop and for a moment I was too shocked to say anything, but seconds later I let out a screech of fury which had him jumping back with fright.

"A what? I'm not a bloody lesbian, not that I have anything against a persons right to live their life the way they want to, but I'm not one of them." I ignored the sound of footsteps coming through to the kitchen from the staff-room and walked slowly towards Alex who was looking around, possibly for a means of escape.

"Whatever you say sweetheart." He said, but I could see that he clearly didn't believe me.

"Who told you I was? You better tell me right now before I really lose my temper!" I was already angry.

"Umm... it was Mr Adamson actually, he told me at my interview. He said you were so butch that it would be like working with another man, you can imagine how surprised I was when we first met and I found out just how utterly feminine you were." He had his hands up in a defensive gesture, much to the merriment of the staff that had gathered round the doorway.

I would have to have this out with the boss himself and he had a lot of explaining to do. Ignoring Alex and the rest of the staff, I marched out of the kitchen, into the restaurant and through to the reception area where the last of the residents that were due to leave were making their way out to the car park.

I stood quietly for a moment, watching as my boss busied himself with the weekly staff rotas, when he was done I gave a small cough and he spun round on his chair, a guilty look on his face.

"A butch lesbian Mr Adamson? Does that ring any bells at all?" As angry as I was, I decided that shouting at him was going to achieve nothing whatsoever.

"Well, I ... Kate, I only had your best interests at heart, after the hard time you had last year I thought the last thing you needed was another chef falling for your obvious charms."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I was confused.

"David, our last head chef was in love with you, I'm surprised you never guessed and even more surprised he said nothing but then I'm sure his wife wouldn't have appreciated the sentiment. That's why he wasn't invited back this year, I didn't want to warn him off you, telling Alex you were a lesbian was my feeble way of protecting you."

"Do you have any idea how long I've loved him and now I know why he showed no interest in me and when the end of the season comes in a month it's unlikely I'll ever see him again."

"Hell Kate, I had no idea you had any feelings towards him, other than friendship, I can only apologise, if you want I'll have a word with him." Give the man his due, he did look suitably sorry.

My heart sank in my chest, there was so little time left for us; that was if Alex believed Mr Adamson, there was always a chance he wouldn't.

"It's okay Mr Adamson you don't have to say anything, I heard it all, I think Kate and I have some talking to do later, for the moment though, these starters and desserts won't prepare themselves I want your ass back in the kitchen right now." I felt my ass being lightly slapped as I walked past him and in the same instant my anger lessened considerably.

At the mention of preparing food my stomach, which up until that point had been behaving itself, turned over and my hangover kicked in. I shot them both a shaky smile and made my way slowly back to the kitchen which was quiet save for the sound of the fans and Donald's lilting voice humming along with a song on the radio.

It had to be said that after finding out that I wasn't a lesbian, he was much more relaxed and offered Donald an apology for giving him such a hard time that morning. The rest of the day was spent preparing the food for evening service, and with the help of painkillers, I was able to ignore my hangover, but I could not ignore the fluttering in my stomach or my shaking hands.

As we worked in a companionable silence I caught him looking at me more than once but instead of turning away, his eyes held mine until I was forced to turn away from the look of naked want I saw there. The rest of the house staff, after judging it safe to come back into the kitchen, cornered me, curious to know how I had managed to acquire such wonderful bruises and to find out just what was going on between Alex and me. I told them I had tripped over the step and omitted the part where Alex stripped me naked while I slept and pleaded ignorance on the latter subject.

Eventually the housemaids left for the day and Donald headed back to the village for a few hours until he was needed for evening service. However, if I thought that Alex would use the quietness as an opportunity to make a pass at me then I was to be sadly disappointed, but I could feel a small ball of excitement start to grow inside me as I thought of what might happen after we were finished for the night.

Neither of us took a break that afternoon, the day would pass quicker if we kept ourselves busy, it was like an unspoken agreement, and it was working; I barely noticed the time and was surprised as I heard Donald coming back into the kitchen. The waiting staff were back and busying themselves with setting the tables, it was as though nothing notable had happened, well I guess it hadn't, not for them at any rate.

It was nearly eight o'clock in the evening and service was in full swing, the noise in the kitchen was at a deafening level as pots and pans were thrown in a steady stream to the huge double sink where David stood cowering to one side. I almost felt sorry for him, almost, only because I could not spare the time for sympathy. Alex was holding court behind the hotplates while keeping his eye on numerous main courses that had to be cooked to perfection and garnished to within an inch of their lives. I was tucked away in the furthest corner of the kitchen, trying my best to avoid eye contact with anyone other than the waiting staff who seemed to be coming in a never-ending stream in my direction demanding desserts.

"Kate, get your ass over here and help me out with these bloody main courses, the waiting staff have fucked up again!" Alex's roar silenced the staff who were standing patiently waiting for plates to take out to the restaurant.

"Not a chance, I've got at least twenty sweet orders to do, sort out your own mess." There was no way I was going to go over there willingly.

"The waiters can help David put them together, make him earn his wages, we aren't a charity." His voice was scathing to say the least.

"If we aren't a charity Alex why the hell did Mr Adamson employ you?" I replied cheekily.

"Because I'm the only one that would put up with you Kate, now move that butt!" His eyes caught mine and I laughed.

After showing David how to present the sweets that I had prepped earlier, I left him in the very capable hands of the waiting staff and washed my hands before joining Alex by the stoves.

"Okay Katie, I need to do six mussel with hot coconut sauce starters and four wild mushroom stews, the filo baskets are on the tray over above the hot-lamps, then you can get started on some main courses." The sweat was beginning to trickle down the side of his cheek and it took a lot of willpower to stop myself from going over and wiping it away with my tongue.

"Would you like me to slide a broom up my ass and brush the floor at the same time?" I raised an arm, defending myself from the rolled up tea towel that was sure to be sailing in my direction. Sure enough, the balled up towel hit me softly before falling to the floor where I kicked it under the stainless steel workbench where I was setting out the starters.

My joking had helped put everyone in the kitchen at ease once more and together we worked, clearing the backlog of orders until I judged it was safe to return to my own corner. The rest of service passed in a blur and it wasn't long before we were wiping down for the night and the excitement that I had managed to keep a lid on since the morning was threatening to spill over. Alex shooed me out of the kitchen so that I could grab the shower first while he took care of the menus for the following day and I was more nervous at that point than I had been at any point in my life before. I hadn't stopped to think about how far things might progress between us, or even what he would expect from me. I was still trying to make sense of my thoughts as I stepped beneath the hot spray of the shower and no closer to any answers; hopefully they would come when Alex was finished for the night.

It was a relief to loosen my hair from its tight confines and I shivered as the silky red strands tickled their way down my back. Quickly I worked a glob of shampoo into my scalp and sighed with pleasure as my fingers massaged away the last vestiges of my headache. There was no telling how long Alex would be so I rinsed my hair and finished showering, wanting at least a few minutes on my own to figure out what I was going to wear. Wrapping a towel around myself, I padded through to my room and drew the curtains on the night outside before turning to my wardrobe, which was sadly lacking in 'fuck me' clothes. In fact, thinking about it, I had never made a big deal of buying those sorts of clothes, there had never been anyone in my life that I had ever wanted to dress up for; up until this point.

It would have been nice to wear some sexy lingerie, but after foraging around in my underwear drawer, I could find nothing but sports bras, the one and only skimpy one I owned was now languishing at the bottom of the dirty washing basket. In the end, I decided not to wear any sort of underwear, with any luck it would save some time later. I was still trying to decide what to wear when I heard the bang of the kitchen door and Alex's cheerful whistling as he made his way along the path to the cabin. Quickly I dropped the towel and pulled a pair of sleep shorts out of the wardrobe along with a tit hugging t-shirt. I was dressed in lightning quick time and was towelling dry my hair as I heard the shower being turned on in the bathroom.

There was no point in putting on any make-up; he had seen me at my worst already. I began to take slower breaths as I heard the shower being turned off and I could feel my nipples begin to harden and poke against the soft material of my t-shirt, a sure sign of how turned on I was.

I had made myself comfortable on my bed when he knocked on the door and it was while I was rubbing my slightly sweaty palms on my quilt that I shouted for him to come in. He was dressed similarly to myself, and didn't look nervous at all.

"Well, we got through today without jumping on each-other, only just on my part I might add, and now there's nothing to stop us. Do you want to spend precious time talking or will we save that for later?" His fingers were caught on the bottom hem of his t-shirt, waiting for my answer.

"There will be plenty of time to talk later, I think I've waited long enough Alex, don't make me wait any longer." I was already off the bed and stood in front of him, eager to see him completely naked, my nervousness starting to disappear.

"I was never much of a conversationalist anyway." He grinned briefly before pulling his t-shirt up and over his head.

My hands went automatically to his chest, my fingertips tracing the outlines of his muscles, circling around his flat nipples until I felt them start to bead under my attention. As my fingers moved lower he flung his t-shirt to a corner of the room and pushed my hair back off my face, keeping his fingers speared through the strands, tilting my head back a little way, moving in close to me, his breath merely a whisper against my mouth. For a long moment there was nothing but this, and ever so gently he captured my mouth with his, gently exploring, coaxing my mouth to open under his. I sighed as his tongue slid against mine and submitted. As we kissed his thumb brushed back and forth over the bruise on my cheek, his movements taking my mind off the dull ache with more effectiveness than the painkillers that I had taken earlier

I felt slightly dizzy as we broke off the kiss, and realised that I had probably forgotten to breath; it was the only explanation I could think of, but I needed to explore, taste and touch all of him. For months I had only been able to look, now there were no barriers. I stepped back a little way and bent down, flicking my tongue lazily back and forth over his nipples while my hands pushed his shorts down and over his manhood. As he stepped out of his shorts I brought myself in close to him, feeling the thick length of his erection pressing against my belly.