by Siera London
"I'm sorry, Zari."
"You should be. Whatever I decide to do with a man is none of your business."
"And if I'm that man? Would that change your answer?"
"I'll sleep on the floor," she said chin raised high in open challenge.
Aron narrowed the distance between them and scooped Zari off her feet. Her cries of outrage did not deter him. He dropped into the lounger, stretched his body out on the chair, keeping her pinned to him. When she tried to wiggle out of his hold, his control snapped.
"I'm going to kiss you, now." Her struggles ceased. Their eyes met. Flames dancing beneath her lashes called to him. Aron palmed the back of her head, and covered her mouth with his. He seduced her mouth with a series of playful nips and bites until she softened in his arms, matching his heat with vigor. When a soft moan escaped her lips he broke the kiss reining in his rising libido. His breath was ragged, rushing in and out in big sweeps.
"Rest, Zari." Pressing her head to his shoulder, he stroked the soft flesh of her arm, praying the rapid beat of his heart would slow to a reasonable pace.
"I'm not sleepy," she replied.
“Good,” he said raising his head and gazing down to regard her. "Then you can tell me why you need money."
“Money?” she snapped.
He could feel the pounding of Zari's heart against his chest at his question. The bite of her nails against his chest as she pushed away had him grinding his teeth.
"What makes you think I need money?"
Fully erect in his hold, Zari twisted out of his arms. The sense of loss was immediate. The answers could wait. He pulled her back into his arms, unwilling to damage the fragile truce they’d formed. When his nosed buried in her hair, he inhaled her sweet, feminine scent.
"It’s strange that you are out in a hurricane on Christmas Eve."
"Tropical storm," she corrected him.
"Come on, Z," he ran his fingers over his head trying to make sense of her actions. Nothing added up. "You gunned your Prius through rising water to meet a blind date you have no interest in. Why?" Aron needed to know what or who compelled her to brave the storm.
"I never said it was a blind date."
He smirked at her then.
"I noticed what you were wearing when you came through that door." He pointed to the front of the store. "That's your sister's fashion handy work." Zari's sister was at the root of their problem. Tabia Okoro was selfish and jealous.
Of course, he would know if she were dating. His mom worked at the same school. She would've kept her only son informed if Zari had mentioned another man.
"You brought condoms for some guy you don't even know. And you need money? What's going on here, Zari?"
"Your accusation is less flattering than your tone."
"I'm still your friend. I want to help."
Zari glanced at her watch. "It's too late for that now."
"Tell me any way." He held her closer, positioning her head underneath his chin.
"I lost a bet. Technically, I lose the bet at the stroke of midnight."
His jaw tightened. Tabia at work again. He knew without Zari’s admission that her sister was somehow involved.
"What was the bet?" The competitive nature of her relationship with Tabia was old news to Aron. He wondered why Zari had agreed to another of her sister’s wagers. Zari had been on the losing end of most of their not too friendly bets.
"She wins my last paycheck of the year."
"And for your part?" He gently stroked her arms encouraging her to continue.
"I needed to get a date to Christmas dinner." This was his opportunity to mend the damage of the past.
"We'll go together," he suggested.
Zari leaned back, staring at him.
"No, you can't."
He didn’t miss the anxiety in her voice.
"Make a wish, Zari." She hesitated to close her eyes. A twinge of unease skirted through him at the thought of losing this moment of intimacy between them because he'd pressed for more information. Her eyes popped open and her reassuring smile eased his fears.
An image of Zari, two years in the past filled his mind. Everything he ever wanted stood before him. He could see himself happy and in love with Zari by his side. Then pain, sharp and deep, pierced his chest.
"What's wrong?"
Her palm warm against his cheek had him staring into her eyes.
"Aron...?"
He pulled her elegant fingers away from his face, slowly brought them toward his lips, and then kissed each fingertip as she looked on. She shivered in his hold. Feeling her visceral reaction to his touch, Aron swore that no other man would ever have her.
"My turn," he whispered in her ear.
* * *
Zari's entire body tingled with awareness from his touch. She knew he'd felt the first tremor through her body and she was powerless to stop the subsequent tremor.
"Aron, I can't be with you." She had to think about more than herself. Her family would never accept him. Not after what happened with Tabia. They would be the center of gossip and whispers.
"Look at me."
Zari refused to lift her head. Instead, he pressed deeper into his chest, burying her head in the material.
"Please baby, see me."
She felt strong fingers lifting her chin. He didn't utter another word until their eyes met.
"I didn’t do what you think I did."
God, she wanted to believe him. Believe that her eyes had deceived her, but there were at least twenty pair of eyes that gave witness and credence to her vision. Guilt gnawed at her since that day. She should have recognized a sign or a trait. Something...anything.
"I can't talk about this," she said. Zari twisted her head away.
"We have to, Zari."
"I can't hear this." She needed him to stop. She couldn't bear to revisit the most painful day of her life.
"I didn't kiss your little sister. She kissed me!"
At the mention of her sister, memories of that day came flooding back. Her entire family had been there to witness her then boyfriend kissing her twenty year-old sister. Images of the ensuing chaos and threat of violence came at her unbridled from the confines of their mental storage space. There was no way she would put her family through the trauma of seeing Aron again. She hadn't so much as uttered his name since that day. She would not allow anyone to talk with her about Aron. It was as if he never existed in her life until today.
"I believe you," she said in a soft tone.
His wide-eyed expression spoke volumes. He'd expected her to accuse him. In her heart, she never believed Aron capable of seducing her sister.
"You do?" His tone was one of utter disbelief.
"It doesn't change anything, Aron." She felt a shame filled heat cover her face. He pulled her closer, there a sliver of dancing light between them. Why had she complicated the feelings between them by telling him the truth? Because she loved him, easing his hurt lightened her heart.
"If you believe me, then why didn't you come back to me? You didn't fight for us."
She shook her head against the truth of his words.
"Why did you run?"
"What would you have me do? My entire family saw you with her Aron,” she accused.
“Half the town saw the two of you together."
"It doesn't matter what your family thinks or every person in Shell Cove."
"Of course it matters. She's my sister and this is my home. How would it have looked for her and for me? If I allowed you back into my life, she would've been labeled a tramp and me a pathetic excuse for an older sister."
"And what about my branded label, Zari?"
She hung her head then. She had heard the whispers when her friends thought she was out of earshot. That Aron was a player, liked fooling around with sisters.
"Hey."
Aron lifted her chin. His hold tightened when she refused to look at him.
"It doesn't matter. Nothing matters more to me than yo
u."
That got her attention. Zari searched the depths of his eyes. Was it possible that they could overcome all the mistakes and failures of their shared past?
"Do you want to be with me, Zari?"
Could he deal with her answer? He had to hear her say the words of her heart.
"Tell me...please."
"Yes...I–I do," came her barely there whisper.
His chest shook with her revelation. The warmth of his joy and laughter poured over her skin, bathing her in soothing light.
"Then we will be together, Zari."
Yes. The words she had waited to hear the last twelve months apart had her heart leaping in her chest. She marveled in the sereneness of the moment, until warm lips captured her mouth. A kiss. The kiss. No, not the kiss, it always came back to that kiss. The kiss that connected the man she loved to her sister. She tore her mouth away. A ragged breath escaped.
"It won't work." Her brain had finally decided to make itself of use. Who would accept them being together? Not her family. Not her friends. Probably not even the town.
"We can and we will. Rest now." He cradled her face in his strong hands. The weight of his warm fingers against her skin was comforting. Then he pressed a kiss to her forehead and settled her against his chest. The moment felt like an authentication seal on his statement. Zari had fallen in love with Aron, all over again. Her breath hitched as she accepted the truth. The bell and chime of Silent Night from the musical tree echoed the sanctity of the revelation.
* * *
Zari couldn’t rest surrounded by Aron’s arresting scent. Her mind reeled from his warm wood essence and her body ached for everything naughty and nice he could give.
“Zari?”
“Yes,” she said nestling into the hardness of his chest.
"There's something I want to give you before this night is over."
Aron shifted her higher, so that they were face to face.
“An early Christmas gift?”
“Something like that,” he said before lowering his head.
Aron covered Zari’s mouth in a full on oral assault. An array of bright lights flashed behind her lids, before a series of bells dinged in her ears. Aron slowly ended the kiss with a drawn out suckle to her lower lip.
"Oh yeah," she grinned.
"Yeah," came his sure response.
His half lidded chocolate eyes held promise of a night full of surprises. Well, she had one of her own.
"I thought you wanted me to go to sleep." Unable to contain her joy that Aron had made the first move she sealed her lips to his. She poured every ounce of her love for him into their kiss.
Zari had dreamt about kissing him like this. She fantasized about what would happen next. She curled his hands around the collar of his shirt, holding him closer, reaching deeper into the pleasure of his touch.
Abruptly, Aron pulled away. His absence was stark and unwelcomed. When she tightened her hold on him. Aron shook his head.
“Zari...we have to stop.”
“Why?” She searched his face for the answer, but all she saw was a hunger that matched her own.
“You are making this hard for me," he said, tension underlying his normally melodic baritone.
She giggled a giddy, over the moon, under the mistletoe kind of laugh.
"I hope so," she said, pulling back to reach into the bodice of her dress. Aron's brow furrowed. She realized how unsexy she must look, hunting around in her bra. Her fingers brushed her small treasure and she pulled it free.
"Ta da," she beamed. The gold foil wrapper twinkled in the dancing light from the Christmas tree.
"Ta da...seriously, Zari."
A look of pure irritation shone on his handsome face.
"You want this,” he asked while gesturing with his hands to their surrounding, “to be the place where we make love?"
"What? I snagged a condom off the counter after we finished dinner. I thought...I thought you wanted to have sex with me," she stammered on, “that you’d be happy.”
Embarrassed, Zari watched as Aron dropped his head low, but not before she saw a stupid smile cover his lips. How could she have misjudged his intentions to the tune of a surprise bosom prophylactic?
"I'm so sorry, Aron."
He raised his head, searching her face for something. She stiffened in his hold. Did he want her to leave?
"You should be."
Zari’s heart plummeted to her feet. She released her hold and tried to separate herself from him and her actions. Aron held fast, not allowing her the retreat she sought.
"Zari.”
Zari averted her gaze. How could she look him in the eye when she’d forced herself on him.
Aron grabbed her chin and didn’t let go until she met his eyes. Fine. She’d stare humiliation in the face and accept his reprimand without comment. When she focused on Aron, a boyish smile covered his handsome face.
“The day that we make love, we'll need more than one condom."
Wait? Had she heard him right? He wanted to make love to her.
"So...you're not angry?"
His laughter filled the room.
"A man never gets angry when the woman he loves offers to make love with him."
Aron said he loved her. No hesitation, no stutter, just a casual conversation that associated her and him and love.
"You love me, but you're not going to have sex with me."
Zari felt the frown lines form on her face. The whine of the trees turning in their motorized bases grated like steel on steel. She was confused, embarrassed, and needy.
"No, I'll never have sex with you."
Never. Oh, she had really messed this up. Tears swelled in her eyes, she closed them to keep the tears from falling. Defeated, she lowered her head. She hadn’t even had sex and it had ruined everything.
Zari felt the warmth of his fingers at her chin. Resisting the nudge to lift her head, she curved her spine away from him. The attempt to put space between them failed.
"Look at me, Zari."
She didn't budge.
It happened so fast she didn't have time to react. Strong fingers slid into her hair, his large palm caressing her nape, and then her world tilted backwards. His heated body covered hers from chest to hip. His weight pressed her into the lounger, and though she was panting, she could breathe easily.
Everything about him seemed bigger at that angle. In fact, he was growing by the second. Had she done that to him? Zari ‘Virgin Christmas’ Okoro made a man hot for her.
"Look. At. Me." Her eyes came up to meet his.
A mix of desire and sensual heat swam in his half-lidded eyes. He was so close that his exhale became her inhalation. She gave a hesitant lick across her bottom lip. She could still taste him on her skin. The scent of them together had her mouth watering and when she saw his nostrils flare, she knew he shared the experience.
"The first time we make love will be as husband and wife."
Her breath stilled at the mention of marriage.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. "You want to marry me?"
His answer was to capture her lips, invade every corner of her mouth, and then proceed to purge every intelligible word from her vocabulary. When he ended the kiss she was blind to everything, but him.
"I am going to marry you."
Nestled against Aron's chest Zari settled into a companionable silence. Being in his arms was the best Christmas gift she'd ever received. She tightened her grip on the folds of his shirt, wishing that it would last forever. The jingle of bells signaling she had an incoming call jarred her from her revelry. Pivoting on Aron's supine form she reached for her phone as it began to vibrate and dance across the plastic table.
"Hey Tabia," Zari spoke in a hushed tone.
At the mention of her sister's name, Aron's body went taunt beneath hers. The sensation of feeling carefree instantly evaporated. A dark, dank film clung to her, weighting her down in memories of a love lost. This time with Aron had been an illus
ion, a mirage, one that would not endure the light of day.
Chapter 6
Thunder shook the building rousing Aron from sleep. He inhaled Zari's faint scent, a slow smile formed on his face while his eyes remained closed. Shifting his arms, he sought her warmth to settle him back into the most restful sleep he'd had in months. They couldn't have slept long the windows were still blanketed in darkness, but the familiar sound of water crashing against stone was gone. The worst of the storm had passed during the late night hour.
"Zari?"
Unnatural stillness greeted him and his heart started to pound. Each breath raced in and sawed out with the heaves of his chest.
"Answer me," he yelled.
Silence.
Scrambling to his feet, Aron raced to the rear of the store. He called her name again. He knew she wouldn't respond. The door leading to the break room and restrooms stood open. Her red dress that had hung from the door hinge dripping water like an old bed sheet on the clothesline was gone. Two damp stains were barely visible where her shoes had been. Zari was gone.
This was the final straw with this woman. He had given Zari ample opportunity to handle things between them the right way. He was done with waiting for her to choose him. Aron had made a wish last night, too. Time to make his dreams come true. Taking long strides back onto the shopping floor, Aron scooped up his phone from their temporary nightstand and dialed Zari's number. No answer. He tried three more times before wanting to throw the thing across the room. A repeat of the past year was unacceptable. He took a deep inhale grasping for a calm he did not feel. With his eyes closed he said a prayer.
“Please show me what to do,” he pleaded.
Once more he opened his eyes and in a moment of clarity he did not possess before he called out for help, Aron knew which number to call.
She answered on the first ring. The woman on the other end of the line would never refuse him anything.
* * *
True to form, when her lithe voice came through on the receiver, Aron’s heart started to beat with renewed hope.
