Sizzling Seduction Read online

  Penny, like Jason, just looked from Maritza to Terrel and seemed as if she wanted to say something, but said nothing instead.

  Terrel got up and walked out of the room without saying a word and every eye in the room, including Maritza’s, fol owed him out.

  Drama! Carla was right. There never fails to be something popping off in this group.

  Patrick clasped her hand. “Let’s dance for a little bit.”

  She was torn between hanging out at the table to see what else happened and going to dance with the man she found herself increasingly growing to care for more than she was ready to admit.

  Her need to be in Patrick’s arms won out over her need to see how the drama unfolded, so she fol owed her man to the dance floor. Plus, she knew that Minerva and Samantha would have a blow-by-blow for her at the book club meeting.

  She gently swayed to the mel ow jazz music with Patrick and she couldn’t fight it anymore. It was just becoming harder and harder to try to hold back everything that she was coming to feel for him. So she just let herself feel it, even though she doubted that she would ever be able to voice it.

  She stopped by the restroom on the way back to the private room and on her way out she heard angry voices just outside the women’s restroom door. She listened careful y, because if it seemed like it was an abusive situation she was going to run and get the Hightower cops.

  She listened at the door for a minute to see if she needed to make a dash and get help.

  It sounded like Maritza, at least the accent sounded like hers, and a man’s voice she couldn’t quite make out.

  “You are not going to marry him and you know it, Maritza,” the male voice snapped.

  Yep, Maritza. I knew it.

  “I am so going to marry him, Terrel . And it’s none of your business anyway,” Maritza hissed.

  Hmm…Terrell. I probably should have guessed that one.

  “You’re not going to marry him because you love me, Maritza. And I’m done playing with you, girl. You’re not marrying him.”

  Aw…sweet! I wonder what Maritza’s going to say about that.

  “I—” Maritza started.

  The voices stopped and for a minute Aisha didn’t hear anything. She leaned farther into the door but stil heard nothing. After waiting a few minutes so that it didn’t seem as if she were being rude and eavesdropping, she came out of the restroom and was shocked by what she saw.

  Maritza and Terrel broke free from an embrace after what looked like a pretty hot and steamy kiss.

  “Oh, sorry…Excuse me…” Aisha stumbled over her words. She certainly hadn’t been expecting that at al .

  Drama! I bet Maritza won’t be marrying that Speedlo guy now. Not after the way she was liplocked with Terrel .

  “You aren’t marrying him, Maritza.” Terrel gave her one more pointed stare and then left the two ladies standing there.

  Aisha figured she’d make her awkward exit, but Maritza grabbed her arm.

  “Please don’t say anything to the others about what you saw. No matter what they al think, I am marrying Speedlo.

  So you can see why I wouldn’t want this to get out.”

  Aisha just nodded at the woman. And went to find Patrick. She had a feeling that whatever was going on between Maritza and Terrel was far from over.

  Drama!

  Chapter 14

  Her relationship with Patrick seemed solid; certainly more solid than any relationship she had ever had before. A month after the wonderful Valentine’s Day weekend he’d arranged for her, she was stil swooning. And even though she knew she needed to come down from cloud nine, she didn’t want to. She just wanted to soak up as much of his caring and good loving as she possibly could. They had worked their way into a nice groove. When he had weekends off, he spent every single moment with her.

  She was waiting for him to come back with some videos for their Saturday night in, when her ex showed up with Dil on a day early.

  “I’m not going to babysit your brat while you screw around with another man. And if you keep this up, I’m going to take my son out of this environment.” Bil bit out his angry and bitter words.

  She took a deep breath and remembered the pep talk that Patrick had given her about why she should give Bil and Dil on a chance to bond and Dil on a chance to get to know his father.

  “You need to leave my home, Bil . I would feel more comfortable meeting you at a neutral and public space for drop-offs and pickups from now on if you’re so determined to have your visitation rights. Even though we both know that my parents are doing more visiting with Dil on then you are anyway.” She turned to her son. “How are Grandpa and Grandma these days, Dil on?”

  Bil leaped toward her and shoved her against the wal .

  Pinned between the wal and Bil , she started to say her prayers that Patrick would hurry up and come back with the DVDs he’d gone out to rent.

  “Get off her, Dad. Leave my mom alone!” Dil on latched on to Bil ’s leg and tried to pul him off.

  Bil shoved Dil on away and then raised his hand and curled it into a fist. There was a knock at the door and a frightened Dil on answered the door without even asking who it was.

  Luckily it was Patrick. Patrick pushed Bil off Aisha and flung him into the wal .

  “Are you crazy, man? Don’t you ever put your hands on her again! Is this the way you behave in front of your son?”

  Patrick spoke between clenched teeth as he grabbed Bil by the col ar and shook him.

  “Get your hands off me or I wil sue you,” Bil threatened as he tried to wiggle away from Patrick’s grip.

  Patrick lifted Bil with very little effort and tossed him out the front door. “If I ever…If I ever catch you with your hands on her again, you’l more than regret it!” Patrick slammed the door.

  First he went to Dil on and checked him out. “Are you al right, little man? You okay?”

  Dil on nodded his head, but Aisha could tel that her child was badly shaken.

  She looked at her own hands and saw that they were shaking horribly, and she cursed herself. Why did she al ow him to get to her like this?

  “Love, are you okay? Did he hit you or hurt you at al ?”

  Patrick checked her for bumps and bruises and pul ed her into his arms. She pul ed away and took deep breaths to calm herself.

  “I’m okay.” She shut her eyes and counted to ten, al the while tel ing herself to hold it together.

  When she opened her eyes she plastered on a smile.

  “What do you say we get some Chinese takeout and rent another DVD, since Dil on is back to join in on our movie day? Dil on, the new ninja mutant spider movie is out. We can rent that.” She walked over to her child and ruffled his hair.

  Patrick eyed her cautiously and she could tel that even though she didn’t have him fooled by a long shot, he was going to give her a pass.

  Dil on nodded and the three of them left together to get food and rent movies.

  The entire evening she had to make herself stay on top of her shaking hands. They were a definite tel that the altercation with Bil had gotten to her. And she didn’t want to bother Patrick with al her drama.

  She caught him glancing at her several times through dinner and the movie, even though she tried to keep it upbeat and take everyone’s mind off what had happened.

  Patrick was such a strong man and she wanted to be strong, too. She didn’t like that he’d had to basical y step in and save her from Bil . She felt as if she should have been able to save herself.

  But how did she tel Patrick that? He probably wouldn’t understand it. She barely understood it herself.

  Once they put Dil on to bed, Patrick snuggled up to her and pul ed her close to him in her bedroom.

  “How are you feeling, love? Talk to me.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You’re not fine. I can tel .” Patrick pul ed her close. “It’s okay to feel a little shaken up. It’s okay to feel a little scared.

  I’m scared
, too. I’m scared of what might have happened if I hadn’t gotten here in time—”

  “That’s just it. I should have been able to handle it. I shouldn’t have needed you to step in and get him off me. I never wanted my son to have to see that kind of crap. I should have been able to defend us better.”

  “Maybe you should get a restraining order on him, love.

  I’m thinking you need to have a safe drop-off spot for Dil on, too. Maybe you could drop Dil on off with your folks ahead of time and he can pick Dil on up from there after you leave.

  Dil on spends his visits there anyway.” Patrick rubbed his hand over his face. She could see how worried he was for her, how much he cared.

  “My father probably wouldn’t agree to it. But I’l ask.” She knew her father would side with his so-cal ed son, Bil . But at that point she would have done anything to ease Patrick’s worry. She owed him that much for stepping in and doing what she should have been able to do herself—

  protect herself and her child.

  She sighed. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

  She knew of other things they could do besides talk and she intended to do them until she wasn’t afraid anymore.

  She needed to forget what had just happened. She needed Patrick to love away the hurt.

  She straddled his hips and slowly began to take off his sweater. The thick, warm material felt good under her hands as she lifted it over his head and tossed it aside. But his skin felt even better.

  Staring at him, she sucked her bottom lip as she contemplated what she would do next. His rippled chest with pectorals that looked like twin mounds of deep, dark chocolate cal ed out to her. And she wanted to lick every muscle, examine every ridge.

  But then there were the jeans he was wearing and what she knew awaited her once she got them off. Her fingers went to his buckle and she pul ed off his belt. Once she got his pants unzipped and released him from the confines that held him, she stroked him until he grew large in her hands.

  She eased down his chest, licking and sucking and nibbling the wal of muscle al the way until she reached his penis. She took him deep in her mouth and relished the salty, sweet taste of him.

  “Oh…Love…” he groaned as he knotted his hands in her hair.

  She took him deeper and found herself groaning, too.

  Soon he lifted her and she reluctantly got up. He quickly undressed her and covered himself in protection. When he came back to the bed, she made him lie down on his back so that she could straddle him again.

  As she lowered herself onto him, she could feel her muscles stretching and pulsing to fit him in. She loved the way he felt with her on top.

  She lifted herself up and swirled her hips before dipping back down. She let her hands get their feel of the bold ridges of his chest before bending down and covering his mouth in a kiss. She pointed her tongue in an attempt to mimic the way he felt inside of her. She thrust into his mouth repeatedly, curving to touch the roof, bending to tangle with the tongue. She made a point of reaching every corner and crevice just as he seemed to be touching every part of her.

  He cupped her behind and began to orchestrate her movements. He pul ed her up and down his slick shaft with a precision matched only by his own moves in and out.

  “You feel so good, Patrick. So…Good…”

  Her back arched and she threw her head back, fighting the urge to scream because she knew her child was sleeping in the other room. She swal owed instead and moaned and sighed and moved, always she moved.

  His hands could no longer contain her hips so he let go and cupped her breasts instead, holding them and gently stroking the nipples as they went up and down, up and down.

  “What would it take to soundproof this room, love? I miss your screams…” He caught her nipple between his thumb and forefinger and squeezed gently as his buttocks lifted from the bed and he thrust powerful y. He had a seductive and slightly cocky smirk on his face.

  Her eyes popped open and she groaned.

  “You hear my screams al weekend and every time at your place.” She pul ed up, swirled and bounced back down. She got a rhythm going that kept her focused, on a mission. “Maybe I miss your screams, too…”

  She worked him and soon his smirk disappeared.

  “You don’t look so good. You’re not enjoying this?” she whispered as she pul ed up, swirled and bounced.

  “Don’t…Okay…I give up…Uncle…” He moaned with a pleading and contrite expression on his face.

  “Make that Auntie.” Up. Swirl. Bounce. Down.

  His eyes widened and he grabbed hold of her hips on the downstroke, holding her stil as he made a powerful thrust upwards. He sat up as he pul ed her closer, holding her and caressing her as he fil ed her almost impossibly ful .

  He planted a demanding and powerful kiss on her lips, forcing them open. And, as completion found them both, neither of them could scream. They shook in each other’s arms and panted their release. Then he wrapped her in his arms and they both drifted off.

  The last thing Aisha wanted was for him to go. But she didn’t know if she were ready for her son to find a man waking up in their apartment. Even though they had been dating for a while, they only stayed the night at each other’s places when Dil on was with his dad.

  “Patrick, wake up, honey. You probably shouldn’t stay the night. We don’t want Dil on getting the wrong idea.”

  Patrick groaned, but he sat up and rubbed his face before looking at her. He seemed to study her for several minutes before he spoke.

  “I don’t feel good about leaving you. What if Bil comes back? I’d feel better if I was here with you.”

  “I think you scared him…for tonight anyway…. He won’t be back. And you can’t be here 24/7. So I’m going to have to learn how to handle Bil on my own at some point.”

  “Okay, love. But I just want you to know that I am serious about both you and Dil on and I want to be a permanent part of your lives.” He reached out and cupped her chin, softly stroking her cheek with his thumb.

  “Patrick, you see al the drama I have going on with my ex. We have such a long way to go before we can real y start talking about permanence.”

  He shook his head. “Do you want to know why I have been cal ing you love since almost the very moment I met you?” He peered into her eyes and waited patiently for her answer.

  “I don’t know. I figured it was some guy thing.” You know how you guys use baby and queen and shorty as the everywoman moniker so you won’t slip up and mistakenly cal someone the wrong name. Don’t worry, I’m not mad at you, playa.” She tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but he stil wore his serious expression.

  He shook his head. “No, love, that’s not it by a long shot.

  I have cal ed you love because that’s what I felt from the first moment I set eyes on you. It caught me by surprise and I knew you weren’t ready to hear that. You would have run for the hil s and I would have never gotten that first date.” He caressed her cheek again.

  “But me being me, I had to verbalize it, I had to find a way to say what I felt, even if I couldn’t actual y tel you. I hope I’ve been showing you al this time, as wel . But every time I cal ed you love I’ve been tel ing you that I love you.”

  Her mouth dropped open. He couldn’t real y be serious, could he?

  “I love you, Aisha, and that is permanent. I love you and I love Dil on.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Sleep on that, love.”

  She got up and walked him to the door, knowing she would probably be up al night thinking about what Patrick had said to her.

  Chapter 15

  Aisha started a pot of chamomile tea, hoping it would relax her mind and help her go to sleep so that she could get some much-needed rest. Just as she sat down on the love seat with a blanket, her tea and this month’s book club selection she heard a knock on the door.

  “Who is it?” she asked. She looked through the peephole and saw Bil .

  Oh. Hell. No. />
  She swal owed and her heart played the conga in her chest. She patted her chest to try to calm the beating, but it was no use. She nibbled at her lip and stepped back from the door.

  “It’s me. Open the door. We need to talk, okay? This is getting ridiculous.”

  She could hear the barely control ed anger in his voice and she tried to figure out the best words to use to try to get him to just go home and leave her alone. Her hand went to her neck as she thought about the way he had used a hold on her neck to slam her into the wal today. Just as she’d known when he’d punched her in the face that he would hit her again if she stayed. She knew that if she opened the door to talk to him he would use his hands and not his words.

  She wished that Patrick were stil there.

  “Go home, Bil . I’m not letting you in here. Go home.” She hated how shaky her voice sounded, despised the slight chatter in her teeth. But she was afraid.

  He started pounding on the door and kicking it. Soon she saw the door rattling and moving and shaking. She knew it would be only a matter of time before he knocked the thing off the hinges.

  Aisha ran into Dil on’s bedroom and locked the door.

  She grabbed her sleeping child and they hid in the closet while she cal ed the police and then Patrick on her cel phone.

  Before she could finish tel ing Patrick what was going on, Bil had already made it into the apartment and was trying to break down Dil on’s bedroom door.

  Aisha kissed her son on the cheek. “Stay in the closet, sweetie, and don’t come out no matter what. Okay, sweetie? Promise me, okay?”

  Dil on alternated between nodding and shaking his head. “Okay, Mommy.” He grabbed her arm. “Don’t go, Mommy. Don’t go.”

  “Here, sweetie, take Mommy’s cel phone and use it in case the police or Patrick cal s back, okay?” She tried to be strong and put up a front for her child. He was shaking and so was she. Her chest felt as if it was caving in and her throat was so dry her words croaked out. She figured she wasn’t fooling anyone trying to be brave. But she had to try.