by Tracy Reed
“The others said it, but they never showed it.” She covered my hand. “Talk to her before you do something that will break your heart.”
Chapter Ten
Alex
* * *
I SLOWLY OPENED MY EYES and saw I was naked. I pulled the sheet up and looked around the room. It was just as beautiful in the daylight as it was last night by candlelight. As I raked my fingers through my hair, I noticed I was alone.
I looked to my right and held up my hand to block out the bright sunlight. When my eyes adjusted, I noticed my husband was standing outside on the patio. His tall, muscular frame uncovered from the waist up, sent my mind back to last night, remembering how sweet and spicy his skin tasted. I immediately felt a smile on my face, thinking about some of the things we did last night and this morning.
I think we finally fell asleep just before the sun came up. That last time wore us both out. I’m glad Moses didn’t let me see him until after the first time we made love. Otherwise, we may not have had the amazing night and morning we had. He truly is an abundant blessing from God. My first husband was physically impressive. However, he in no way compares to the physicality of Moses. Being with him is like being with a gladiator. My God, his body is incredible. Looking at him, I’m surprised I was able to handle…
I leaned to the right looking for my robe and slippers, but I didn’t see either. I climbed out of bed and could barely stand up. I took my time walking to the bathroom. I didn’t stop to look at myself. I needed to empty my bladder. I walked back to the sink, washed my hands and looked in the mirror. I felt sexy and beautiful in spite of a serious case of bedhead.
I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and dragged the comb through my hair. My entire body ached. I needed a cup of coffee, a couple of pain killers, and a kiss from my husband. I started back to the bedroom and saw my robe hanging on the hook. I pulled it down and slipped it on. Now, if I only knew where my slippers were.
I walked out to the patio, eased up behind Moses and wrapped my hands around his waist. His skin was soft and he smelled like tobacco, musk and exotic spices. I kissed his back and rested my head against his back. He lifted my hands to his mouth and kissed them before covering them with his hand.
“Good morning, Beautiful.”
“Good morning, Handsome.”
He turned around and kissed me. “I’ve been waiting for that.” He kissed me again. “Coffee?”
“Yes.” He handed me his cup and I took a long sip. “That’s good.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. “How long have you been up?”
“A couple of hours.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Because you needed the rest.” He brushed his lips against mine.
“But I wanted us to have breakfast together.” I took another sip from the large mug. “Did you eat?”
“I had some fruit.”
“And…”
“That’s it. I was waiting on you.” He kissed me again.
I placed the cup on the table, wrapped my arms around his neck and crushed my lips against his, kissing him like we did last night. I pressed my body against his, forgetting how sore my breasts were. He lifted me up, gently placed me on the table and pushed his hips between my legs. How could I be so frisky already? We spent all night and most of the morning making love, and yet, I was sitting on the table eager for him to make love to me.
He pulled back and brushed his finger along my bottom lip. “That was nice.” I smiled.
“Nice…” He hummed and nodded.
I felt a gentle tug on my belt. I looked up and those incredible light brown eyes were black and that sweet smile that greeted me just minutes ago, had been replaced with a wolfish grin. He opened my robe, cupped one of my breasts in his hand and a deep moan escaped me as his finger brushed against my hard nipple. Then he took my mouth in a deep, hard kiss. The feel of his tongue exploring and mating with mine, was exciting. His hand continued to make love to my breast. It was a mix of pain and pleasure. I didn’t want him to stop. I could barely breathe as I held on to the edge of the table with trembling arms.
He eased my robe down, placed a hot kiss on my shoulder and moved his mouth up my neck to my trigger spot behind my ear. When his lips connected with that delicate spot, my breath caught. I eased my hands around his waist, down the inside of his pyjama bottoms groping his tight behind.
“What do you want for breakfast?” he asked.
I was on the verge of being served some steaming hot chocolate. “Uhmmm…”
He brushed his lips across mine as he teased my nipple. “Tell me what you want.”
“I want…I want…” I tried to swallow.
He kissed the wet spot between my breasts and I tossed my head back, moaning. He took one of my hard peaks in between his thumb and forefinger, pulling and tweaking. I knew what I wanted for breakfast, but I couldn’t get the words out. He laved his tongue across my neglected breast and I almost came undone. Oh man, this…he uhm…I felt a wave of pleasure starting to rise.
I lifted his face and looked into those gorgeous black eyes. “I…”
“I know what I want.” His large fingers traveled the length of my body to that warm place reserved for him and I gasped hard. His fingers inched closer to my sweet spot. “What…do…you…want…for…breakfast?” he asked as his fingers continued to tease me.
I swallowed hard and looked at him. “Get naked.”
He removed his fingers, leaned back and looked at me with a wicked smile. “Excuse me?”
It was my new aggressive personality. I leaned back on my hands and repeated my order. “Get…naked.”
He stepped back and I watched as his large hands untied the drawstring on his white silk pajama bottoms. My eyes followed the luxurious fabric as he pushed it down his hips before landing on the cement deck.
My breath caught as my eyes traveled the length of his beautiful, hard, dark chocolate body. My God, he’s incredible…legs like large sculpted tree trunks. A chest like carved, solid marble. My eyes stopped mid way up his body, and I almost exploded just looking at him.
“Will there be anything else?” he asked.
I tilted my head, licked my lips and beckoned for him to come closer with my finger. He stepped to the edge of the table and I dragged my finger along the center of his chest, past his navel, grabbed him, and his breath caught.
“I want you for breakfast.”
“I think I can handle that request.”
He stepped closer, pulled me to the edge of the table, slid inside me, and served up a rhythm that led to an orgasm so powerful, I collapsed against the table taking him with me.
It’s beautiful out here. I got deeper into Moses’ side and wrapped my arms around him.
“Are you warm enough?” he asked.
“Yes.” I squeezed him tighter. “It’s so quiet.”
“That’s why I bought it. It’s the perfect place to think, pray and yell.”
I sat up. “Yell?”
“Yes. Haven’t you ever just gotten so angry with God that you yelled at Him?”
I searched my mind for an answer. The only time I remember being that bold with God, was when Moses left me. The thought of his not being in my life was painful. I closed my eyes trying to shake off the bad memory. “Uhm...” I felt a tear trying to surface.
“Baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He gently brushed the tear rolling down my face. “Come here.” He pulled me back to his side. “I’m sorry, I’m sure you’ve probably yelled at God a few times.”
“Actually, it was Him doing the yelling.”
“When?”
“When you left me.”
“I thought it would have been when your son...”
“No, when Terrence died, I was more sad than angry.” I sat up. “When you left, God and I had quite a few yelling matches. Neither of us was willing to give in. After a few weeks of barely sleeping, I realized He was right. And so were you.”
<
br /> “Me?”
“I didn’t want you to leave, but I understood why you left. I didn’t mean to hurt you. It’s just...I had been waiting so long for Terry to apologize and when he did, it...”
“Confused you?”
“No, it shocked me. He was finally owning up to his choice. God showed me that being married to him wasn’t His best for me. For years, I wondered why Terry never contacted me. He knew where I was.” I looked into those light brown eyes reflecting love. “The bottom line is, he didn’t want to.” I inhaled. “After God and I patched things up, He reminded me of something I had asked for.”
“A man like me,” he teased.
I smiled and tucked my hair behind my ear. “I told God if marriage was part of His plan for me, then He needed to prepare me…emotionally, spiritually and financially.” I chuckled. “He went way above what I asked for. All the emotional scars I was hiding were exposed, which led me to get closer to Him. And I told Him I wanted to be completely debt free. I refused to have my husband take on my debt.”
“Is that why you didn’t want me to pay off the house?”
I nodded. “I didn’t want to be a liability. It’s important that I carry my weight in our relationship.” I blinked and felt tears trying to come. “I meant what I said in my vows, I’m sorry it took me so long to get ready. I fell in love with you that weekend in New York, but I was too scared to tell you.” He gently kissed me. “Please forgive me.”
“No.”
I just bore my soul and he said no. “Excuse me?”
“I can’t forgive you because you weren’t the only one not ready. Neither was I. I needed that time to completely get over Natalie and Allegra. I didn’t realize I was still hurting, and when it looked like you were torn between me and your ex, I couldn’t handle it. I came here and God and I had a few days of yelling. When He finished with me, it felt like I had just gone twelve rounds with Mike Tyson. He kicked my butt good. Then He told me why He wouldn’t allow me to stay and fight for you.”
“Why?”
“In order for us to make it as a team, you needed to finish it. I didn’t understand what ‘it’ was, but hearing your confession, I understand. You needed to get closure and if I stayed, that wouldn’t have happened.”
“Is that what you think?” I smiled.
“Baby, I would have been all up in your business.” He laughed. “As it is, I called Bas everyday to see how you were doing.”
“What?”
“And after Mom Connie had lunch with me, she called every other day to check on me. She’d say, ‘Son, I’m praying for you. Hold on, she’s almost ready.’” He stroked the side of my face. “I can’t forgive you, because neither of us was wrong. We just weren’t ready.”
* * *
Kendell
* * *
“I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE married.” I smiled.
“Me either.” She smiled and sipped her wine.
“What happened? I remember you saying you were never getting married again.”
She dabbed the sides of her mouth. “Jason. It wasn’t so much I was anti marriage. I could have been married several times. I just didn’t see how it was going to enhance my life…until Jason. He was the only man to show me where I fit into his life.”
“I don’t understand.” I sipped my wine.
“He laid it all out. He showed me how my being in his life affected him and Zach. Then he showed me how he had impacted my life. When he finished, I had to admit he was right.”
“You’re kidding.” I laughed.
“No. I think the thing I like the most, is that he didn’t mention his son until he was sure where we were headed. Then he allowed Zach and me to develop our own relationship.” She started laughing. “Girl, I did carpool, PTA, cheered him at baseball, parent teacher conferences, chaperoned dates and secretly gave him driving lessons.”
“Are you kidding?”
“Zach and I had a great time getting to know each other. Then Jason sat us both down and made it clear he was trusting me to discipline Zach.”
“What?”
“I think what really confirmed that he trusted me with Zach, was when he got sick at school and Jason asked me to pick him up.” She shook her head smiling. “I forgot Zach goes to an all boys school.”
“Oh no. What were you wearing?” I know how my cousin dresses and even on her most professional day, she’s likely to have on something not considered “mommy appropriate.”
“A little Alaia mini that highlighted every curve. Girl, I got cat called by a bunch of horny teenage boys.” We laughed.
“What did you do?”
“I held my head high and owned it.” She laughed harder. “I was voted unofficial homecoming queen.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. Needless to say, that didn’t go over too well with the PTA, but it made me a hit with my son.”
“Your son?”
“I know, I’m still wrapping my head around that. I have a teenage son.” She took another sip from her glass. “So how are things with you and Bas? I’m surprised you two aren’t engaged”
I scratched the top of my head and sighed. “He keeps trying to bring up marriage.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” she asked.
“It is, if you’re not sure.”
“What do you mean? Being a wife and mother is all you’ve talked about. What changed?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Me, I guess.”
“You…that’s a bunch of crap. What’s the real reason?”
“I’m not sure if I can trust him.”
“What do you mean? This is Bas we’re talking about, not one of those losers you normally…no offense.”
“None taken, and you’re right. He’s not like any other man I’ve been with, he’s…his reputation…”
“I remember someone calling me at the crack of dawn telling me how surprised they were to discover he’s a regular guy.”
“I know.”
“So, what changed?”
“Maybe it’s all of this with Alex.”
“Alex…what does she have to do with it?”
“Did you know she was seeing someone?”
“No.”
“Bas did and he didn’t tell me.”
“So.”
“Don’t you think it’s strange he didn’t say anything to me?”
“No.” My mouth dropped open. “Wait a minute. Is that the reason for the apprehension or attitude change?”
“Yeah…how can I trust a man that doesn’t trust me?”
“Did you ask him why he didn’t say anything to you about Alex and Moses?”
“He said she asked him not to.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“I’m his girlfriend…”
“Exactly. Honey, I’d have a problem with anyone I confided in that would betray me. It’s the same as you asking me not to tell anyone about you and Bas.”
“That’s different.”
“Is it? I knew long before you told the other girls, and I never said anything. Not even when Bas and Alex were in Atlanta.”
“But—”
“But, nothing. If you don’t want to marry him, then tell him. Let him go and find someone that does.” She finished her wine. “I’ll say this, whoever gets Bas, is going to get a wonderful husband. If he’d been a little younger and richer, I may have gone out with him.” She laughed.
“Moses is rich.”
“Yes he is. He’s also way too old and settled for me.”
“Excuse me?”
“Moses is the perfect guy for Alex. He wanted someone to give the fairytale to and Alex wanted a fairytale. That’s why I introduced them to each other.”
“What?”
“Don’t make this about Alex. If you have doubts or questions about your relationship, then talk to your boyfriend.”
Chapter Eleven
Alex
* * *
“WE’RE BACK,” MOSE
S SHOUTED. We walked inside the house looking for everyone, but there was no answer. He shouted again, “We’re back.” Still no answer. “I’ll check upstairs, and you check down here.”
He went up stairs, and I started searching the first floor. I walked down the hall towards the parlor and heard voices. I stood in the doorway for a few moments.
“Grams, be careful, my mother likes to make up words.”
They looked up. “Baby girl.” Mama jumped up and hugged and kissed me.
“Hi, Mama.”
Grams smiled, walked over and hugged me. “Hello Alexandra.”
“Hi Grams.”
“Sweetheart where’s Moses?” Mama asked.
“You mean my husband,” I asked smiling. “He went upstairs. It was so quiet, we weren’t sure anyone was home.”
“Sit down.” Grams insisted.
I had started to sit, when I heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall towards the parlor. Moses stepped into the parlor.
“What’s going on?”
Both women looked in the direction of the deep, familiar voice.
“Moses,” Grams’ smile got wider.
“Hi, son,” Mama said.
“Hi, Grams. Hi, Mom Connie.” He walked over and hugged and kissed both of them before standing next to me. I felt his hand land on my behind as he stood next to me. We looked like two grinning fools. “Where is everyone?”
“The kids went to lunch. They thought you weren’t coming back until later this afternoon,” Grams answered. “And I’m not sure where Otis and Naomi went. It’s their day off.”
“Do you want to go meet up with everyone for dessert?” I asked.
“No, I’ve got a lot of packing to do. Maybe we’ll take them to dinner tonight.”
“Connie and I thought we’d have a small family gathering tonight.”
“Sounds good to me,” Moses looked at me. “What about you, Mrs. Adair?”
“That’s fine with me, Mr. Adair.”
Moses walked me to my room on the second floor, so I could get my things and move up to his room. “Here you are, Mrs. Adair.”
