She pressed a kiss to his ear. “Thank you.”
No further words were spoken as Graeme took his time undressing her and then himself. There was enough waning daylight coming through the glass on the doors leading to the veranda for Kayana to discern the silhouette of his body. There wasn’t an extra ounce of fat on his tall, lean physique. She hadn’t realized she had been holding her breath until he placed a condom under the pillow next to hers. More than two years of celibacy had prepared her for this moment with a man who’d managed to scale the fortress she’d constructed to keep men out. But Graeme Ogden, with his infinite patience, modesty, and reserved humility had worn down her resistance to not only become her friend, but one with benefits.
The side of the bed dipped when he got in and covered her body with his, supporting his weight on his elbows. She sucked in her breath when he suckled one breast and then the other. His mouth and tongue worshipped her body as waves of pleasure raced throughout Kayana’s body and she was jolted with intermittent volts of electricity. The shocks, although strong, weren’t enough for her to beg him to stop. At least not yet. Not until she gave him as much pleasure as he gave her.
Her fingers dug into his biceps, and she couldn’t stop trembling uncontrollably as a rush of moisture flowed down her inner thighs and onto the sheets. Graeme reached down, stroking her clitoris as he continued feasting on her breasts. Kayana was losing control and didn’t want to climax without him inside her.
“Please,” she pleaded shamelessly, her body on fire.
Heat, followed by chills, then more heat singed her sensitive flesh. Graeme pulled her lower lip between his teeth. He kissed her again, this time on the hollow in her throat, his mouth charting a course down her body, lingering between her legs to taste her essence, then retracing his path as he explored every inch of her. Now she didn’t want him to stop. He’d discovered erogenous zones on her body she hadn’t known existed. Her heart pumped so hard she was certain it could be seen through her chest. She was offered a respite from his sensual assault when he reached under the pillow for the condom and slipped it over his erection.
Holding his hardened flesh in one hand, Graeme parted her legs with his knees and positioned his erection at the entrance to her sex. He pressed into her body, she watching as his penis finally slipped inside her. She was tight but managed to take all of him. They’d become the perfect fit.
Kayana gloried in the hard body atop hers, his erection sliding in and out of her wetness. A shiver of delight washed over her, as a moan slipped past her lips and she feared climaxing. She attempted to think about anything except the exquisite pleasure coursing throughout her body. However, she finally had to let go, and the first orgasm took over, holding her captive for mere seconds before another earth-shattering release shocked through her core, taking her beyond herself.
* * *
Graeme released his banked-up passions, ejaculating and sharing free fall with Kayana as her pulsating flesh closed around his, squeezing tighter and tighter until he was unable to hold back. He could not believe the selfless passion she’d offered him. He loved everything about her and unintentionally had come to depend on her emotionally. He went to bed thinking of her, woke looking for her.
“You are so incredibly beautiful,” he whispered in her ear as her body calmed from her release. It took superhuman strength for him to move off her. Reaching for her hand, he cradled it gently, his thumb making tiny circles on her inner wrist. Making love with Kayana was more than he’d hoped for. “Are you all right, my love?”
Kayana sighed softly. “Yes.”
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No, sweetheart. You didn’t hurt me. In fact, I can’t remember when I’ve ever felt better.”
He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. “You know that I love you, Kay.”
“You don’t have to say it, Graeme.”
He released her hand, his tightening into a fist. “Please, don’t ever tell me what to say, Kayana. You can tune me out or not respond, but don’t tell me what I don’t have to say.”
“You misunderstood me, Graeme, but if you’re spoiling for a fight, then you’re not going to get one from me. Not tonight. Not when I’ve had the time of my life with a man who went above and beyond to prepare an incredible dinner for me, then followed that up with making the most exquisite love I’ve ever had.”
Graeme felt properly chastised. He had misinterpreted her comeback. “I’m sorry, babe. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I—”
“Stop apologizing and kiss me,” she said, interrupting him.
“Yes, ma’am.” He complied, kissing her mouth, hair, ear, nose, and then her mouth again. In a moment of madness, he’d blurted out that he loved Kayana, and she probably believed it was because she’d allowed him to make love to her when he would’ve said the same even if she never let him touch her.
After all, he wasn’t some sixteen-year-old randy boy who needed to jerk off several times a day. He was middle-aged man who was still virile enough to get and maintain an erection at this time in his life; it wasn’t about sex but having a person with whom he wanted to share not only his current life but also his future.
He nuzzled her neck. “Let me know when you’re ready for dessert.”
Kayana giggled. “I’ve already had dessert. You were my dessert.”
“Nah, babe. I’m the entrée, and you are dessert, because you taste a lot sweeter than I do.”
“That hasn’t been proven, Graeme, because I still have to taste you.”
He went completely still. Making love with Kayana was the opposite of what he had had with Jillian because she wouldn’t allow him to do more than kiss her mouth or touch her breasts. Everything below her bellybutton was forbidden, and she would only agree to the missionary position.
Graeme knew he had to stop comparing Kayana to Jillian. It wasn’t fair to her. He kissed Kayana again. “I’ll be back as soon as I throw away the condom.”
He left the bed and walked into the bathroom to discard the condom. Staring at his reflection in the mirror over the vanity, he realized that although he looked the same, he wasn’t the same, and he had to thank the woman in his bed for that.
Graeme returned to the bedroom to find Kayana asleep, her breasts rising and falling under the sheet she’d used to cover her nakedness. He got into the bed beside her, and it wasn’t long before he also fell asleep.
* * *
Kayana’s initial apprehension about spending nights with Graeme was belied because he did not disturb her whenever she retreated to the porch to read. She’d come over in the late afternoon; sometimes she brought dinner, or they’d cook together. He always insisted on cleaning the kitchen while she settled into a rocker with Barley stretched out beside her, to read.
They’d waited a day before making love again, where she’d assumed the dominant position; she sat atop Graeme’s body, slowing and quickening the rhythm, stopping him from ejaculating by pressing her thumb under the shaft of his penis until he begged her to stop, but she didn’t, until her orgasms overlapped one another and they climaxed together. As she lay there, attempting to catch her breath, Kayana knew that she had fallen in love with Graeme. She’d let her body tell him what she refused to verbalize and would remain her secret. And she was also looking forward to the end of the season when he would leave the island and she would have time to assess her feelings about him.
Kayana hadn’t known what to expect when Graeme asked her to come and stay with him because she didn’t want a repeat of what she’d had with James; she’d felt smothered by his presence and did his personal bidding whenever he invited hordes of people to their home. Looking back, she wondered how she had put up with it for so long, why it had taken his cheating for her to say no more.
The cellphone on the cushion vibrated, startling Barley, who stood up. Kayana set him on his feet before answering the call. “Hey, Mariah.”
“Hey, yourself. It’s been a while since we’ve chatted. H
ow are things with you?”
Kayana smiled. “Wonderful,” she admitted. She’d met a wonderful man and had had wonderful sex, so all was right in her world.
“Good for you.”
She heard something in Mariah’s voice that indicated all wasn’t right with her friend. She and Mariah called each other every couple of months, but Kayana hadn’t heard from Mariah since early June, and she hadn’t called her because of the therapist’s heavy caseload.
“What’s going on, Mariah?” A pregnant pause greeted her query.
“Haji and I decided to split.”
It was Kayana’s turn to become temporarily mute. Mariah had dated her CPA boyfriend for seven years. Haji had gone through a tumultuous divorce, and he finally was able to share custody of their children with his ex-wife; every other weekend, Mariah played stepmother to his son and two daughters.
“What happened?”
“One of his daughters called me a bitch because I wouldn’t let her boyfriend hang out in her bedroom with the door closed.”
Kayana’s jaw dropped. “What!”
“I told Haji there was no way I was going to allow a thirteen-year-old to talk to me like that.”
“Good for you. What did he say?”
“I don’t know what the lying little heifer told him, but he had the audacity to say that Asia has a mother, so he would appreciate it if I didn’t discipline his kids.”
“No, he didn’t!”
“Yes, he did. That’s when I told him I was through. I know you’d complained to me about being the help whenever James invited folks to your home, while unsuspectingly I’d become a nanny to Haji’s kids. He didn’t have to pay someone to look after his children whenever he had to work his designated weekends during tax season, because yours truly was there.”
“Didn’t he realize you were trying to protect his daughter?”
“I suppose he didn’t. There’s one thing I know for certain, and that is that I will not counsel him or his daughter if she ends up pregnant.”
Kayana had counseled clients in Mariah’s practice facing the consequences surrounding a teenage pregnancy and its impact on the entire family. “Well, she does have a mother.”
“You ain’t lying,” Mariah drawled. “I’m putting off seeing clients for the next two weeks. Would you mind if I drive up and spend some time with you?”
“Of course, I don’t mind.” How could she turn down her friend? When she had needed a shoulder to lean on, it had been Mariah who’d supported her once she’d decided to divorce James. “Just let me know when you’re coming.” Kayana knew she wouldn’t be able to spend the night with Graeme once her friend arrived.
“I’ve already contacted my backup to alert him of any emergency. I still have to stop my mail and pack, so look for me either Saturday or Sunday.”
Kayana smiled. “I want you to know that I’m part of a book club with two other women. We meet Sunday evenings, along with a light repast and beverages, to discuss a particular title.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“It is. So, if you come early enough, you’re more than welcome to join us.”
“By the way, are you cooking?”
“Yes.”
“If that’s the case, then I intend to be a spectator while eating and drinking until I burst.”
Kayana laughed. Her friend was proud of her rounded body, which she referred to as fluffy. “Most times we manage to discuss a book in depth despite eating and drinking too much.”
“I’m going to hang up now and put up several loads of laundry before I begin packing. I promise to let you know when I’m coming. And thanks, Kay, for putting up with me.”
“Bite your tongue, Mariah Hinton. How many times have you listened to me bitch and moan about my situation with James, and not once did you tell me to leave the narcissistic bastard.”
“That’s because I don’t believe in advocating for the breakup of families unless there’s verbal or physical abuse. Talk to you soon, Kay.”
“Okay, Mariah.”
Kayana hadn’t experienced verbal or physical abuse, but what she’d put up with James bordered on emotional manipulation, as she’d decided not arguing with him would save her marriage. However, in the end it was the infidelity that ended it.
She knew she had to inform Graeme that her friend was coming up from Atlanta, and that she wouldn’t be able to spend nights with him. She slipped a bookmark in the book and set it on the glass-topped table with tiny pots of succulents as the centerpiece. Walking out of the porch, she went into the family room, where he lay sprawled on the love seat, once again watching a baseball game.
He sat up with her approach, patting the seat beside him. “Sit down, babe.”
“I wanted to tell you that a friend is coming up from Atlanta to stay with me for a while. I don’t know how long she’ll be here, so I’m going to ask for a rain check . . .”
“Don’t sweat it, babe,” Graeme said, cutting her off. “Have fun with your friend. We’ll just have to make up for lost time once she leaves.”
Resting her head on his shoulder, Kayana stared at the bundle of herbs resting on the grate in the unlit fireplace. She was practically living with Graeme, and each day she learned a little more about the man with whom she was falling in love. He was much more complex than she’d originally believed. There were moments when he appeared to be unusually quiet, and Kayana wondered if it had anything to do with her. That’s when she went into therapist mode to wait until he felt comfortable and confident enough to open up to her. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t coerce him to talk about something he preferred to keep hidden.
She sat up straight. “I think I’m going to turn in now.”
“I’ll be up in a little while. I want to get in a little more writing before I go to bed.”
“How’s the novel coming?”
He smiled. “It’s coming.”
“When do you anticipate completing it?”
“Hopefully before Labor Day.”
Shifting on the love seat, Kayana met his eyes. “Will you let me read it once you finish it?”
* * *
Kayana was asking Graeme a question he wasn’t able to answer. He didn’t know if she was familiar with or had read any of the novels he’d published as Brendan Andersen. But under the conditions outlined in his contract, only listed designees were privy to his true identity: his agent, Alma McCall; his editor, Peter Culhane; and his publisher, William Sopher. The small, privately owned book company sold nearly a half million copies of his first title in the first two months after its publication, and they were committed to safeguard his privacy with the dedication of Secret Service agents protecting the president. The two subsequent titles hit all of the best-seller lists shortly after their release dates.
“It’s only the first draft,” he lied smoothly. “I’ll probably let you see it once it goes through several revisions.” Graeme knew he would never tell Kayana that he was the reclusive, best-selling writer Brendan Andersen unless she was his wife. And if she stayed true to her declaration that she never wanted to marry again, that phase of his life would remain hidden from her.
“How many drafts do you anticipate?” she asked.
“As many as it takes before I feel comfortable enough to submit it to my publisher.”
“If that’s the case, I’ll wait until it’s published to read it. Then I can brag to everyone that I know a famous, best-selling author.”
Graeme wanted to tell Kayana that she was already sleeping with a famous, best-selling author. “That may not be for many years.”
“No matter,” she quipped. “Even if we’re no longer together, I can still say I knew you when.” She pushed to her feet. “I’m going to take a shower and turn in. Some of us have to get up in the morning and go to work.”
Graeme also stood up. “You’re not going to make me feel guilty. I’ve spent the past twenty years staying up nights, grading exams and papers, then going in the
next morning to face some students who didn’t give a shit about math—except how to cheat in order to get a passing grade.”
“It’s almost impossible to stop kids from cheating.”
A sly grin lifted the corner of Graeme’s mouth. “I know, but I did devise a system that managed to curtail it. Whenever I administered a test, I made up two different exams and handed them out to different rows. Kids in rows one and three had the same test, while those in two and four shared the same one. If you decided to look on your neighbor’s desk, you were assed-out because it was different.”
“That’s ingenious.”
“No, it’s not. I learned it from one of my high school teachers who couldn’t figure out how kids were cheating. At first, he made up a different test for every student, but when that proved too taxing, he decided two tests were sufficient and distributed them to alternating rows.”
“Did you ever cheat?”
“Oh, hell no! My father would’ve grounded me for life if I’d been caught cheating.”
“Smart kid.”
“No, Kay. Frightened kid. Dad wasn’t one to blow smoke when he said something.”
Rising on tiptoe, Kayana kissed his jaw. “Good night, honey.”
“Good night, babe.”
Graeme made it a practice to write during the hours Kayana was at the restaurant, stopping to eat and let Barley out, then going back to see how much he could accomplish before she returned later in the afternoon. He knew he would be able to put in a lot more hours while her friend was visiting. He would miss not having her sleep next to him, but knowing she’d return once her friend went back to Atlanta would heighten his anticipation.
Turning off the television, he let Barley out for his last romp, then dimmed the lights in the entryway. He whistled sharply for him, and within seconds, the puppy appeared and headed for his bed on the porch. Graeme set the alarm before he climbed the staircase to his study.
He booted up the computer and then inserted the thumb drive with his manuscript, rereading what he’d typed earlier that day. Graeme would’ve gone to bed with Kayana if it hadn’t been so early. She made it a habit to get into bed by 10:00 in order to get at least six hours of sleep before getting up at 4:30 to begin work at 5:00. And when he varied his schedule and they went to bed together, they usually put off sleeping until after making passionate love to each other.
The Seaside Café Page 24
