“Petra,” Lauren said seriously. “The only thing keeping you from realizing your dreams is you.”
Petra met her sister’s eyes. Eyes quite like her own. Big and honey-colored. Lauren’s experience with love had mirrored her own, too, in some respects. Her former husband had cheated on her. Then he’d lied about it and had tried to hang on to her when she’d wanted a divorce. She’d had to fight for her freedom from the narcissistic creep. But she’d not only fought, she’d won.
Lauren got down on the floor with her and reached out to grasp her hand. “I know you’re getting ready to go to New York and start a new phase of your life. Promise me that when you get there, you’ll live in the moment and try to appreciate the love that a certain male might want to give you. With love, you sometimes have to risk getting hurt. But when it works, it’s really worth the risk. If you keep running from love, it’ll never catch you, and that’s a fact! Be brave, sis.”
Petra squeezed her sister’s hand reassuringly. “I promise to give it my best shot.”
“That’s good enough,” Lauren said positively. “You’ve always achieved anything you set your heart on.”
* * *
Chance was exhausted when he got home from work Friday night. Tired and lonely. More lonely than tired, really. The tiredness he could cope with. It was the loneliness that ate at him and made him feel as if his life were incomplete. He supposed everyone felt this way at some time in their lives, as if no matter what they did, happiness was always out of reach.
As he exchanged his business attire for a comfortable pair of well-worn jeans and a short-sleeve gray T-shirt, and slipped his feet into a pair of slides, he wondered what his playboy brother was doing tonight. He probably had another beautiful woman to wine and dine and then make love to. Brock was not cruel in his pursuit of women, but he was fully committed to it and sometimes left a trail of broken hearts in his wake. Chance believed his brother immersed himself in beautiful women to avoid feeling lonely. Brock stayed so busy that his loneliness never caught up with him.
Chance couldn’t live like that. He didn’t have the time or the inclination. To him, loneliness was worth it if the reward was true love in the end.
He went to the kitchen to warm the Thai takeout he’d picked up on the way home, and as soon as he popped the food in the microwave to nuke it, his cell phone rang.
He’d left it on the counter next to the take-out bags, and he glanced down at the display now. Petra. His heart thumped excitedly. They’d been talking regularly since they’d parted in Raleigh about a month ago. Sometimes they would use Skype to chat for an hour or more. The excitement never lessened when he spoke with her, though.
“Pet! How are you?”
“I’m good,” she said sultrily. “How are you?”
“Missing you,” he said.
“Are you alone?” she asked teasingly.
“Yes, are you?”
“Yes. Would you like some company?” Her tone was getting sexier.
“Are you jerking me around?”
“I would never do that. Open your door.”
Chance hurried to the door and looked through the peephole. For a moment, he thought his eyes were deceiving him. But sure enough, Petra stood on the other side of his door wearing a cheeky smile. He couldn’t get the door open fast enough.
* * *
Petra was so nervous, she was prancing in place waiting for the door to open. Against her better judgment, she’d gotten on a plane and come here, hoping Chance had missed her as much as she’d missed him. She hadn’t waited for his promised call after he’d done all the preliminaries on the show. She wasn’t here because of the show. She was here for him. Yes, their phone conversations and Skype sessions made her feel as though she would be welcomed. But the proof would be what kind of expression he wore on his face when they saw each other again.
So it was with great anticipation that she met his eyes when he opened the door and, thankfully, saw the sheer joy on his face. She dropped her shoulder bag and carry-on bag and suitcase (she had extra luggage due to Desiree’s generous shopping spree) onto the foyer floor and flew into his arms.
Chance laughed and picked her up—something she could get used to—and spun around with her. She clung to him, inhaling the heady male scent of him and reveling in the warm, hard feel of his body against hers.
“Pet,” he murmured against her neck, in turns kissing her and nuzzling her there. “God, I missed you so much.”
His honesty and lack of guile bewitched her. He wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable, and that touched her. “I missed you, too!” she said and turned her head to kiss his mouth.
She kissed him deeply and with all the pent-up desire she’d saved up for this moment. There had been so many times when they were apart that she imagined kissing him, touching him, making love to him. In the midst of their passionate clench, he loosened his grip on her and she slid down his body until her feet were touching the floor and he was bending down in order to avoid breaking off the kiss. When they came up for air, he was smiling contentedly, his gorgeous eyes filled with tender amusement. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I would have picked you up at the airport,” he said.
“And ruin my surprise?” she asked. “Turnabout is fair play.”
He laughed. “You got me back.”
“Actually, that never crossed my mind until this moment. I had to come up with some reason why I’m just showing up on your doorstep.”
“Babe,” he said, looking serious, “you don’t need a reason. You’re welcome in my home anytime.” He glanced over her shoulder and noticed the door was still open, and walked over and secured it.
Turning back around to her, he grinned. “I see you still have your carry-on bag with you. Does that mean you came straight here from the airport?”
“It does,” she confirmed.
“Did you make reservations anywhere?”
“Nah, I figured NYC had at least one room available somewhere,” she said nonchalantly.
“Sure,” he said. “And it’s right back there.” He pointed in the direction of his bedroom.
Petra laughed shortly. She walked up to him and placed both hands on his muscular chest. “I didn’t come to seduce you.”
“My sweet Pet,” he said, his arms going around her. “You did that the moment you showed up.” He began pulling her jacket off.
Their eyes met and held. “I want to take a shower,” she said.
“With me,” he replied. His frank, sensuous stare made her weak in the knees.
“Of course.”
The bathroom was sleek and modern with a floating vanity, subway tiles in the glassed-in shower, which had plenty of room for the two of them, and beautiful marble mosaic floors.
After shedding her clothes, Petra piled her hair up and put a clip on it to keep it out of the way, then she joined Chance in the shower.
His gaze roamed over her with lascivious delight, which made her feel ironically shy on one hand, and deliciously wanton on the other. She found herself comparing Chance’s open admiration to Gareth’s manner of looking at her. As if he were entitled and he took her presence in his life, and in his bed, for granted. Why hadn’t she paid more attention when she’d been with him?
Chance made her feel as though she were the prize, and he was the lucky winner. That was the difference.
* * *
Chance was glad he’d had nonslip tile put in the shower. He’d never dreamed he’d be making love to a Bohemian beauty like Petra in here, though. The woman was a goddess. She was taking his thrusts with gusto, her firm, wet, brown body responding to the demands of his. Her moans of pleasure fed his enthusiasm and sexual potency. The more she gasped, the more he wanted to give her something to gasp about.
Her back was against the shower wall, her legs wrapped around him while he held her firmly and
thrust deeply. She was looking at him with her pleasure reflected in her eyes; her lips, a little swollen from feverish kisses, were delectable. He’d never known a more responsive lover.
Their coupling became so explosive at one point, he thought the condom might break. So he slowed down, and that was when she screamed as an orgasm ripped through her. He felt it the moment she came, her vaginal walls pulsating, loosening, tightening and quivering. He came a few seconds later. He held her in his arms, her legs still firmly wrapped around him. Their breaths came in short intervals then stretched out until they were breathing normally. Still, he held her as warm water from the shower head fell on their bodies.
At last, she gave a languid sigh and said, “I love the way you make love to me.”
He smiled as he loosened his grip on her and let her slide down his body until her feet were on the shower floor. It was the best compliment she could have given him, seeing as how he felt the same way about her. “Ditto,” he said.
She gazed up at him as they stood with their arms wrapped around each other in the shower.
“Sam Wheat in Ghost.”
He laughed. “You do know something about movies.”
“The old ones,” she said. “It’s the newer ones that stump me.”
“It’ll be my pleasure to introduce you to some newer ones, then,” he said softly. “We’ll begin with what I think is the best film in the last ten years, 12 Years a Slave, directed by Steve McQueen. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2014. It’s based on an 1853 memoir by Solomon Northrup who was a violinist and a free man of color with a wife and children living in Saratoga, New York but was abducted and forced to become a slave. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong’o, among others. It’s intense, passionate and you won’t be able to take your eyes from the screen.”
She smiled appreciatively up at him. “Sounds wonderful.”
He couldn’t help thinking that he could describe their relationship in the same way: intense and passionate.
Chapter 7
“It’s sweet of you to want me here. But Susie’s invited me to stay with her until I find a place. Her parents gave her their house in Queens when they retired to Florida. I think she’s a little lonely, and it’ll be fun catching up with her,” Petra said while they devoured the sweet and spicy Thai chicken later on. He looked relaxed across from her as they sat on stools in the kitchen at the island. He’d gotten a bottle of white wine from the refrigerator and filled their glasses before sitting down.
His hair was still damp from the shower. Hers was, too, and was curlier now as opposed to its usual wavy when it was dry. She’d taken the clip out and let her hair fall down her back. She was wearing his robe. He had pulled his jeans and gray T-shirt back on.
He smiled at her and said, “Okay, now for the hard question. What made you change your mind and decide to come back to me?”
She laughed shortly. “My sisters wouldn’t let up on me. If one wasn’t encouraging me to be brave and risk my heart, another one was.” She looked straight into his eyes. “You know about Gareth. Before Gareth, my focus was entirely on my career. I started college at 16 on a full scholarship. My mother’s an educator, so she knew where to find grants and scholarships for hardworking students. And I was motivated. I knew what I wanted to be at an early age. I wanted to be an advocate for animals. Protect them. I earned doctorates in zoology and anthropology back-to-back. That takes a lot of work and you don’t really have time for a personal life. Gareth was the first man I ever loved. He was also the only man I ever made love to.”
“You mean I’m your second lover?” he asked softly. She had a feeling he was trying his best not to gawk at her after that revelation. That endeared him to her even more.
“You are,” she confirmed.
“That puts a lot of pressure on me,” he joked. He peered deeply into her eyes. “I’ll try my best not to disappoint you.”
She laughed delightedly. “You goofball!”
He just smiled at her, crinkles showing at the corners of his eyes and his beautiful mouth looking so tempting.
She carried on more seriously. “You called it right when you came to Raleigh. I was running away from you because I was afraid you were like Gareth, a spoiled rich boy. But I came to my senses and realized you’re nothing like him. You’re really mature and hardworking and from all indications, someone who loves his family. All things I want in a man.”
He grasped her hand, brought it up to his mouth and kissed her fingers. “And you’re smart and caring and devoted to your loved ones. That’s what I want in a woman.”
His gaze held hers. “And it doesn’t hurt that you come in a smoking hot package!”
She snatched her hand from his and playfully slapped his face. “You animal!”
“Damn right I am,” he said, apparently unashamed. He got up and pulled her into his arms. “I want you again.”
“A girl could starve around here,” she joked as she accepted his very passionate kiss, which led to a short sprint to the bedroom where they made love in the bed this time.
* * *
The next morning, Chance awoke and almost experienced déjà vu when he felt Petra’s side of the bed and found her gone. But then he heard water running in the adjacent bathroom, and he let out the breath he’d been holding. Petra had not run out on him again.
It was Saturday, and he could think of many things they could do together today—and not all of them involved making love. But he had to admit, that was at the top of his list.
He was sitting up in bed, naked with the sheet covering him from the waist down when Petra strode into the bedroom wearing his robe. She had obviously combed her hair, which was no longer in its “wild woman” style that he loved so much. It now fell down her back in tame waves. She smiled at him, her golden-hued eyes sparkling with pent-up laughter. “Good morning, C. Did you sleep well?”
She bounced onto the bed beside him and kissed his cheek. He hoped the relief of still having her there didn’t show on his face. It wouldn’t be good for her to decipher that he’d grown so attached to her already, this early in their relationship. It would make him seem needy. Or would it? God, he was rusty. Out of practice at relationships. He felt like that nerdy boy he used to be in high school and college, just hoping that some girl liked him enough to allow him to hold her hand.
“I slept like a log,” he told her. “I had the best sleep aid last night—making love to the most beautiful woman in the world.”
She grinned and got up on her knees. “I know I’m not, but I’m glad you think so.”
He pulled her into his arms. Their faces rubbed, and he hoped his stubble didn’t scratch her lovely skin too badly. She showed no signs of being turned off by a day-old beard. Quite to the contrary, she seemed to enjoy it. “Pet, you are the most natural beauty I’ve ever met. Look at you now. Eight o’clock in the morning and you’re glowing without any makeup on at all.”
“I’m not wearing any because I never took the time to learn how to apply it correctly,” she said softly. She peered into his eyes, her own shy. “I may be a disappointment as a reality star for your network, C. Someone will have to take me in hand and teach me how to wear makeup, dress appropriately, smile for the camera. I’m not star material.”
“The hell you aren’t,” Chance scoffed, kissing her forehead. “You’re a brilliant scientist. You think fast on your feet, you’re physically imposing...”
“At five-three?” she asked incredulously.
“You exude physical strength and good health. It’s how you carry yourself. I could spend all day just watching you move.”
“That’s probably because of the judo,” she said. “I’ve been training since I was seven. I earned a black belt at eighteen. Which reminds me. I’ve got to phone Yoshi and set up a time to visit his dojo. He’s who I practiced with when I lived
here.”
Chance smiled at her, his admiration no doubt shining in his eyes. “That just turns me on.”
“Oh, yeah?” she teased as she leaped from the bed and ran out of the room. “If you can catch me, I might help you with that morning problem you have.”
She had obviously felt his erection he’d covered with the top sheet. That girl could move when she wanted to. He threw the sheet off and gave chase.
* * *
Petra moved into Susie’s guest room in her house in Flushing, a neighborhood in Queens, New York. When she arrived on Sunday, the day after she’d gotten back to the city, Susie met her at the door of the two-story home with a warm smile.
“Welcome back,” she said, hugging Petra and pulling her inside at the same time.
Petra had set her bags on the portico before ringing the bell. “That’s right, I came here once for a pool party when we were in college. Your parents were so nice to me.”
Susie was wearing yoga pants and a loose-fitting blouse over them. She was barefoot. Her blond hair was pulled back in a smooth chignon. Petra looked into her eyes. “Thanks so much for asking me to room with you. I promise not to overstay my welcome.”
Susie laughed as she helped Petra bring her bags into the house. She shut and locked the door after they’d put the bags on the foyer floor, and turned to regard Petra. “There are four bedrooms and three baths in this place. I walk around here listening to my voice echo most days. I’m happy you’re here.”
She picked up Petra’s heaviest bag. “Let me show you to your room. I gave you the one with its own bathroom and sitting area. I think you’ll be comfortable in there.”
Petra gathered her other things and followed Susie upstairs. As she walked, she noticed that the house looked about the same as when she’d visited years ago. The furnishings were of good quality, but out-of-date.
Love in New York ; Cherish My Heart Page 22
