Sizzling Seduction Read online

  “We?”

  “That’s right— we. I’m in it for the long haul, love. You just try getting rid of me.”

  She broke out laughing and took a sip of her wine. “Oh, I gave up trying to do that a week after I met you. It became very clear to me that you had no intention of going away. So I figured I’d let you hang around.”

  “That’s right, smart girl. I like my women smart.” He got up and started clearing off the table.

  “And you came in handy, too. Just look at this delicious meal you prepared.” She got up to help him.

  They worked together to clean up the kitchen and put away the dishes. Then he poured them each another glass of wine and led her into the living room. He turned on the CD player and Luther’s “Take You Out” fil ed the room. He took their glasses, placed them on coasters and pul ed her into his arms.

  “You know this is my theme song. You had a man begging for a date for a long time before you said yes. I felt like Luther…” He sang along with the lyrics. “Can I take you out tonight?”

  She grinned and swayed with him to the mel ow beat and Luther’s soulful crooning. “I didn’t make you beg that long. And al those outings we went on with Dil on felt a lot like dates to me.”

  “A brother had to do what a brother had to do. I had to take any opening I could, because I couldn’t let you get away.”

  “Aw…That’s the cutest reason for stalking and using a woman’s kid to get at her soft spot I ever heard.” She laughed when he frowned.

  “I’m not a stalker. That’s my brother, Lawrence.” He spun her around.

  “I’m going to tel him you said that when we see him tomorrow.”

  He gave her another whirl. “Tel him. I tel him that al the time.” He chuckled and pul ed her close when another of Luther’s greatest hits came on.

  “I love how close your family is, how tight that family bond is…. Everyone is just so nice and so close. I’m glad Dil on is seeing this. I wouldn’t mind at al if he grew up to be the kind of man you and your brothers are.”

  His heart became so ful he almost stopped moving.

  Hearing those heartfelt words from her almost did him in. It almost made him tel her how much he loved her and never wanted to let her go. It made him want to tel her that he would be proud to be a role model for her son; that he wanted to be a second father to her son if she’d let him. But she wasn’t ready to hear any of that. Even though he had made more progress with her in the past few months than he ever could have imagined, there was no way she was on the same page as he was.

  “Dil on is a great kid and I know he’s going to grow up to be a fine and upstanding man.” I’m going to make sure that he and the rest of our children are all the best people they can be, love. Since he couldn’t tel her what he was feeling, he figured he would show her.

  he figured he would show her.

  He swooped down, captured her lips in a kiss and poured al the love his heart was feeling into it.

  Aisha swore that she had never been kissed like this before—ever. Every time he kissed her he almost made her believe that he was real y hers forever, but this time she did believe it. The kiss gave every single doubt in her mind a run for its money.

  His tongue moved forward as if it were on a mission. It cased the perimeters of her mouth with deliberate and decided probing. He flicked the roof of her mouth, caressed her inner cheeks and trailed her teeth. He seemed to be getting to know every part of her mouth and she was more than wil ing to let him.

  His hands tightened around her bottom, squeezing and pul ing her forward. The closer she got to him, the more she could feel his heated arousal for her. She moaned because the memories of each mating they had shared were just that good and the anticipation of what was to come was just that unbearable.

  They moved together to the music for a while, tongues and bodies tangled in a heated connection that neither wanted to break. It was only when their desire had sizzled over to the point of almost short-circuiting and exploding that he broke the kiss and slowly, methodical y begin to undress her. He removed her cream sweater set first, leaving the pearls and her red lace bra.

  She stepped out of her brown pumps, unbuttoned her pants and let them puddle on the floor. He watched her as he, too, removed his clothing.

  She stood in her bra and thong and watched the mahogany god that appeared when he took off his clothing.

  Each muscle on his body was so wel designed, so wel placed, she thought he must have been a work of art. She reached out her hand and let it glide down his chest. The man could have been one of those Chippendale dancers.

  His body was that rock solid. His erection was standing at attention, covered in prophylactic, bold, strong, ready and waiting.

  She licked her lips. “You’re beautiful, Patrick. Absolutely gorgeous.”

  He pul ed her close and she felt her nipples pebble when they brushed against his granite chest. He unsnapped her bra and walked her over to the love seat, bending her over as he went. When he reached the love seat, he gently spread her legs, leaned her over the side and entered her.

  The strength of his stroke had her grabbing the cushions and holding on for the ride.

  He leaned into his thrust, clearly trying to reach depths he hadn’t reached before. And she pushed back into him, wanting him to feel every single part of her. For some reason the Luther Vandross song that he jokingly said was his theme song came on again and the words made her heart burst.

  As he moved in and out of her, she heard Luther singing,

  “I wanna know you, I think I could show you good love…”

  and tears fel from her eyes.

  She couldn’t for the life of her figure out why she’d had such a hard time giving him a chance when he’d been so up-front and so sincere from day one.

  They moved together, soon making music al their own, the background music altogether forgotten.

  He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “You’re the beautiful one, love. From the moment I saw you I knew you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen and the woman that I would judge every other woman against for the rest of my life. You are the one for me, Aisha. The only one.”

  He nipped her ear, causing a sharp jolt to run down her spine to her core. His hips did a deep piston, pressing her farther into the sofa. Each thrust made her pelvis rub against the leather, adding to the friction he caused inside her until she found herself screaming out at the top of her lungs. She felt herself tighten around him, so tight she didn’t think she would ever come undone. But then he sped up and pushed her even further to her limit and she experienced a release more powerful than anything she had ever felt before.

  He kept moving in and out, over and over, until he, too, found release with a deep-from-the-gut grunt and groan that seemed to speak to something deep inside her.

  Her heart throbbed out of control and just like that she went from the rigid throes of orgasm to an almost Jel -O–

  like existence where she was thankful for the sofa in front of her. Without it, she knew she would have flopped on the ground.

  Aisha couldn’t move. So she figured she’d just hang out there until she could feel her legs again.

  Then Patrick picked her up and swooped her into his arms. He planted a kiss on her forehead as he carried her back into the bedroom. She wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled her head into his chest. The deep, woodsy, masculine smel of him made her want him al the more.

  “You ready for round two, love?”

  Round two? Oh. My. God.

  She looked up at him questioningly as he placed her on the bed. “I’m ready if you are…”

  “I’m more than ready, love. It’s al about serving you this weekend.” He then eased down her body and parted her thighs, readying her for the most intimate of kisses.

  She tried to calm her shaking thighs and prepped herself for the second round of loving. But there was no way she could prepare herself for the orgasm that rocked thro
ugh her as he spread apart her already love-slick folds and pressed against her already overly stimulated clitoris.

  She screamed and took the ride, knowing that it would most certainly be worth it in the end.

  Chapter 13

  Aisha looked in the ful-length mirror and could hardly believe her eyes. The little red dress she had picked up for their Valentine’s Day evening looked amazing on her. She had been a little leery about buying it. But Toni went with her to look for something to wear and she had let the wild child talk her into buying something she normal y wouldn’t have even considered.

  She was a sweater-set-and-pearls kind of a girl at heart.

  But tonight…tonight she was a diva! The low-cut, red-and-white-sequined bodice of the dress fit her form perfectly.

  The skirt stopped just a few inches shy of her knees, showing plenty of leg. The red-satin strappy stilettos she wore set everything off nicely. Now al she needed was someone to zip her up in the back and they could be on their way.

  As if summoned by thought, Patrick came into his bedroom at that very moment. “You ready—” he started and paused. “We’re going to be late.”

  “No, we aren’t, sil y. Al I need you to do is zip me up and we’l be on our way.” She reached behind her and wiggled to point out the zipper.

  She glanced at him through the mirror and noticed him standing there, staring at her with his mouth open and his eyes hooded. She turned around then. “What’s wrong with you? Come on and zip me up.”

  He walked forward, slowly, deliberately and looking like he was on the prowl. “We’re going to be late,” he repeated.

  “You’re looking too damn good in that dress. And if you want it taken off without it being ruined, you should probably go ahead and take it off yourself.”

  He took off his suit jacket, laid it on the bed and started unbuttoning his shirt as he walked toward her.

  She took a few steps back. “Are you serious? We made love al night last night and al morning and afternoon!”

  “Do I look like I’m playing?” He took off his shirt and undershirt and she got a good look at his rippled chest.

  “The dress, love…I don’t trust myself not to ruin it, so take it off, okay?”

  She careful y stepped out of her dress and placed it to the side. Before she could step out of her shoes or slip or anything else he pounced, lifting her up and carrying her to the wal . He had already taken off his pants and put on protection in the time it took her to take off her dress and he had entered her just as quickly.

  There was something about having the plaster wal at her back and the ful y formed wal of muscle at her front that sent sexy, wanton chil s up her spine. His hips moved forward deliberately and precisely. His movements caused him to hit spots in her that she hadn’t even known existed.

  “That dress is amazing, love. It’s not my fault that we’re gonna be late. That dress made me do this.” He kissed her hard and long and she couldn’t think.

  She could only feel and it felt so darn good.

  She bounced up and down his shaft, bounced on and off the wal , bounced from his right thigh to his left; she just bounced until she thought she might turn into a bouncing fool.

  “Mmm…So no more dresses—”

  “Oh, hel , yeah, more dresses! I can grow to love taking those things off you. In fact, tonight when we come home from the club, I’m taking it off you. And I promise I’l be gentle with it.”

  She melded her pelvis into his and ground down. She used the wal behind her as her base and proceeded to work him, moving her hips with gusto and zeal.

  “That’s right, love. Put it on me, girl.” He thrust forward and gave as good as he got.

  The frenzy they created must have been a sight to behold and she wished she could see them together. She was certain she would see that magic Patrick had been talking about a few months back when he was trying to convince her to go out on a date with him. In fact, as she felt herself tighten, release and explode, fol owed by his pulsing pumps and grunts of completion, she felt the magic for herself and her heart swel ed.

  When they final y made it to the supper club after a quick shower together and a quickie in the shower, she wasn’t even sure she’d be able to dance the night away in Patrick’s arms as she had planned. She was already pleasingly sore from his loving, even though the hot, steamy shower helped ease her aches a little.

  Al three of his brothers were already there with their wives, along with two other people she hadn’t met yet. She would have thought that they were a couple, except that they were seated way across the table from one another.

  The guy had the most intense hazel eyes she had ever seen. He had a golden-honeyed complexion and a megawatt smile. The woman had the most beautiful long black curls hanging down her back and Aisha figured she was Latina. Since Aisha was sitting by her, she figured she decided to introduce herself.

  The woman seemed too busy glaring at the man at the other end of the table to pay much attention to Aisha’s introduction, though.

  “Oh, girl, I’m sorry. You feel so much like a part of the family already, I didn’t realize you hadn’t met my best friend, Maritza Morales, yet. She and my other best friend, Terrel , are visiting from California because little Jason Jr. has his christening tomorrow and they are the godparents.” Penny smiled at Aisha. “So they were nice enough to give up their Valentine’s Day plans and hang out with us the entire weekend. They’re taking a much-needed break from each other right now, though, before someone gets hurt.”

  “Lovers’ quarrel?” Aisha asked.

  “Ooo…don’t let her hear you say that. She wil probably go off. They technically can’t stand each other.” Penny made quotation marks with her hand.

  “Oh…” Aisha nodded, even though she didn’t understand at al where Penny was going. Did the two people glowering at each other like each other or not?

  Were they a couple or not?

  Oh, wel , she couldn’t be bothered. She turned to Patrick and he smiled at her.

  He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “It’s complicated when it comes to Terrel and Maritza. I’l explain it al to you later.”

  She nodded and smiled. This group certainly had its share of drama. She just hoped Valentine’s Day wasn’t nearly as exciting as Thanksgiving had been.

  The food in the supper club was superb. It was nuevo soul and the chef had made al kinds of cool twists on traditional soul food favorites. They took a diaspora approach to the food and sampled flavors from al across the Caribbean and the African continent.

  The couples had a private dining room and the appetizers, entrées and desserts had already been prese-lected. Everything was amazing, from the food to the company.

  The décor was breathtaking, as wel . The rich earth tones of brown, green, rust, tan and orange were highlighted with little pops and splashes of jewel tones from purple to emerald to ruby and topaz. A live jazz band played in the main dining room and the music was piped in, softly playing in the background of their room.

  At first she didn’t see how the evening was going to be romantic with so many couples. But the ambience was undeniable. And with the private room, it was almost as if they were having their own little Valentine’s party.

  And when they needed time alone, couples took to the smal dance floor in the other room and moved to the jazz.

  “Are you having a good time, Aisha? Feel like dancing a little?” Patrick reached over and covered her hand with his.

  “I am stuffed. I need to dance for a little bit. How many courses did they serve us? Oh my God, that food was so-oo good. I’m gonna try that African peanut stew-style soup they served us. That was hearty.”

  “So I have an announcement, everyone.” Maritza spoke to the group, but she seemed to be looking, or rather glaring, directly at Terrel as she tapped on her glass with her fork.

  Al the talking stopped and everyone looked at Maritza.

  “As many of you know, I have been seeing Andrew<
br />
  ‘Speedlo’ Macgregor. And…wel …he asked me to marry him yesterday and I’ve decided that I’m going to tel him yes.” Maritza smiled, but it seemed very forced to Aisha.

  “The white rapper, Speedlo?” Joel asked. Then he said,

  “Ouch” when Samantha elbowed him.

  “You…ahh…you didn’t say yes, right when he asked you?” Jason kept glancing back and forth between Maritza and Terrel .

  Aisha leaned forward and glanced from one end of the table to the other, as wel . Just when she thought there wasn’t going to be any drama that evening, there appeared to be some brewing.

  “No. He gave me the weekend to think it over. He knew I was coming to the christening and I wouldn’t be in California on Valentine’s Day, so—”

  “So, seems that if you real y wanted to marry him you would have said yes as soon as he asked. What’s this you need to think? Either you love the man and want to marry him or you don’t.” Lawrence shook his head as he spoke and Aisha suddenly felt sorry for Maritza.

  “Getting married is a big decision. Of course she wanted time to think it over before saying yes—” Aisha started and stopped when she got a poke from Patrick.

  “What?”

  She looked at Patrick and he shook his head.

  “Isn’t Speedlo known for being kind of crazy? I mean really crazy. Half the lyrics on his first album had al this off-the-wal stuff about him wanting to kil his mother and his ex-wife. And you’re saying you’re gonna marry this guy?”

  Jason stared at Terrel as he spoke to Maritza.

  “You ever heard of creative license, Jason? God. It’s an act. He’s not real y crazy. He’s real y sweet.” Maritza rol ed her eyes. “You guys are worse than my brothers. I can just imagine what they’re gonna say when I tel them.”

  “Wel , I think it’s wonderful. Love is a wonderful thing,”

  Samantha said cheerful y.

  “But does she love him?” Patrick asked, and it was Aisha’s turn to poke him.

  “Yeah. I can’t wait. I know there wil be al kinds of superstars at the wedding. I hope we’re al invited.” Minerva was ful y showing now and she rubbed her medium-size baby bump as she spoke.