“There, I think that’s all,” Julia breathed, tapping a rounded nail to her cheek as she observed the table. “Ah!” she called, moving over to reach a decanter. “Wine?” she offered, leaning across his shoulder to fill his glass with a deep red Chianti.
Smothering a frustrated sound, Cortez angled his athletic frame to give her extra room. Not to mention that her proximity was threatening to turn his semihard arousal to a more potent state.
“I’m sorry,” Julia started, deliberately mistaking his tense actions. “Are you unhappy with the wine? Maybe you’d like something stronger?”
Cortez massaged the bridge of his nose. “No, thanks. I’m fine. Can we just eat?”
“Sure, Corky,” Julia whispered as she prepared him a mouthwatering plate of homemade three-cheese manicotti. There was spinach salad, asparagus tips and plump, moist sourdough rolls to top off the meal. Julia remained silent for a while, wondering if he recalled that the dish had been her specialty when they lived together eight years ago.
“So, tell me about your job,” Julia urged, after the silence began to feel too overwhelming. “Are you really ready to leave a place where you now wield so much power?”
Cortez shrugged, shaking more Parmesan onto his manicotti. “It depends. I guess I’ll have to hear Outlook’s offer first. They’ve already got me sold on the weather,” he confided, focused on his food as he spoke. “I’ll take this over a Detroit winter any day.”
Julia tried not to appear overly confused. He didn’t sound as though he’d miss Michigan much. Did that mean the woman in the photo really wasn’t that special? Or did it mean that she’d be ready to relocate to L.A. with him? Deciding she wasn’t ready to know, Julia changed the topic. They spoke about current events and the weather throughout the rest of their meal.
“Would you like dessert? I made an apple tart.”
Cortez grinned and shook his head. “I won’t be able to walk out of here if I do,” he said, noticing the twinkle in Julia’s eyes that said she wouldn’t mind that at all. “I’d better be getting back to my hotel,” he decided.
Julia checked the silver Rolex draping her wrist. “Gary won’t be back for another forty-five minutes. How about that tour?” she offered, already standing.
Cortez shrugged and rose from the table, as well. Julia realized she was staring, taking in his facial features that the last eight years had helped to define as magnificently as the rest of him. He appeared far more cut than he had when they were together. What she wouldn’t give to find out for herself…
Cortez cleared his throat and Julia snapped to. The lower-level portion of the tour was almost educational, with books, artwork and sculptures gracing every room. Vibrant, captivating paintings and towering bookcases filled with writing from every genre gave each room a personality of its own. Cortez verbalized his approval of the recreation room and library. Sadly, the easy feelings disappeared when Julia showed him the upper level of her home.
Cortez thought the trip upstairs would never end, with Julia’s bottom in the direct line of his gaze and waging war on his hormones. She showed him around the spa and music room, complete with a fully stocked bar and dance floor. Then she gave him a quick look at the guest rooms.
“What’s there?” Cortez inquired, with a slow wave toward another wing when he saw Julia was preparing to return downstairs.
Saying nothing, but wearing a decidedly smug smirk on her mouth, Julia headed toward the overlooked wing. The entire wing housed her bedroom suite. It was a room that practically blared “Enter only if you wish to be seduced.”
Cortez took in every aspect without it even occurring to him how intently he was surveying it. Specifically, he was looking for a trace of anything other than feminine articles within the area. Why it mattered to him whether she allowed a man to share the dwelling was a thought he didn’t want to entertain.
Once his private appraisal of the room had ended, he turned to find Julia lying on her stomach. She was propped on her elbows upon a magnificent bed.
“Isn’t it great?” she teased, biting her lower lip as she wriggled a bit atop the gorgeous gold coverings. “I spent a few weeks in Jamaica last year, and these were the beds they had in the hotel,” she explained. “I begged them to let me buy one, and I make the most out of every minute I spend in here.”
“I’m sure,” he commented, knowing her outrageous behavior was a ploy to see how far she could push him. True, Julia Kelly knew better than anyone how to push his buttons. So it was only fair now, he decided, to push a few of hers.
Julia moved to sit when Cortez strolled over to the bed’s edge. She sat looking up at him with an expression that was half challenging and half wanton. Slowly, suggestively, her onyx stare drifted from his gorgeous caramel face, past his broad shoulders and chiseled chest. She was eye level with the leather belt around the black trousers on his lean waist.
“So…” she trailed off in a vaguely inviting manner.
“Know what I’d like to do?” Cortez asked, going down on his knees before her to give the impression that his motives were purely seductive.
Julia felt her mouth go dry as her lips parted. She couldn’t think when he leaned close. Her own erotic intentions evaporated when she felt his breath on her skin. His nose was mere inches from her collarbone. Clenching the bed coverings was a feeble attempt to keep her from tugging him closer.
“What I’d really like to do…” he said, his nose grazing her jaw and then the sensitive area below her ear. “I’d really like to talk about eight years ago.”
Spoken in the soft baritone of his voice, the words doused Julia in icy cold. Her expression tightened with hurt and surprise, but she quickly collected herself.
“Damn, would you look at that?” she whispered, glancing again at her watch. “Gary should be here any minute.”
Smiling as though her reaction was expected, Cortez nodded and stood.
Julia buried her face in her hands when he left the room.
The executives for Outlook TV presented an impressive package to Cortez the next afternoon during lunch at Maze, a fancy seafood restaurant in downtown L.A. The group spoke not only about the show and their offer, but of retirement, health and stock options. By the time Julia arrived, Cortez had them all laughing about the fact that if he’d known he was such a hot ticket he’d have demanded a raise years ago.
“Oh, please,” Julia instructed, waving a hand when every man at the table stood. Of course, she took her seat without offering the slightest apology for being late.
“We expected you some time ago, Julia.”
“Well it obviously didn’t stop you from eating, Ben,” Julia remarked snidely to Bennett Daniels across the big, round table.
“You’ve got a lot riding on this guy, too, Julia,” someone pointed out in a teasing voice.
Julia wasn’t amused. “I suppose you’re right. Since the sooner he starts, the sooner the show can flop and I can have my shot.”
“Julia!
“What?” Julia retorted, with a flip shrug at James. “We’re all friends here,” she went on, picking invisible lint from her powder-blue pantsuit. “Cortez knows how I feel about this.”
“Then at least pretend for our sakes, Julia,” Kenrick urged.
Cortez enjoyed the scene. He reclined in his chair, awe-filled as he watched Julia and the way the table full of high-powered male executives practically begged for her cooperation. Suddenly he didn’t feel quite so pathetic for having so little resistance in her presence.
“Well, we’re all done with lunch,” Bennett snapped.
“Fine, I’ve already eaten anyway,” Julia said and grabbed her purse.
The group dispersed with Cortez heading off with Bennett and the other executives. James pulled Julia aside with him.
“Listen to me good, Julia,” he began, leaning close. “Until Cortez Wallace signs on the dotted line, consider your coproducer title and the promise of this new show of yours to be up in the air.”
Julia’s eyes widened. “You can’t.”
“Oh, but I can.”
“That’s crazy! You can’t let my show hinge on whether or not you can sell him on—”
“Nevertheless, Julia,” James interrupted again, “that’s the way it is—take it or leave it. But I suggest you start playing ball and get rid of the attitude.”
Julia contemplated her options as she often did when James or any of the other executives tried to pull the power card. Those options were numerous and lucrative. Still, she’d come too far at Outlook TV to walk away from her position in a huff. Regardless of how far things had progressed, black women who’d amassed the sort of power she’d acquired were still too few and too far between. She knew how to play the game, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be pissed about the rules.
Without another word, Julia stormed away from the table and knocked over a chair as she left. James shook his head at Cortez when their eyes met.
“Nothing’s ever as good as it seems,” James told Cortez. “Julia Kelly’s tops in her field. Everybody wants her.”
“In more ways than one,” someone remarked, causing a soft rise of male laughter.
James continued, “She’s intelligent, she’s beautiful, she’s complex and she treats men like we’re dumb blondes only good for one thing. I think every man who meets her falls in love with her.” He shook his head and motioned toward Cortez. “But you know her better than any of us here.”
“And I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Cortez agreed, earning another round of laughter from his lunch mates.
Chapter 4
A day later, Cortez sat with his eyes narrowed, watching the candlelight reflect off the ice and Scotch in his glass. Julia sat with her chin resting in her palm, while her fingers tapped a slow, morose tune on the white tablecloth. In keeping with her “tour guide” duties, Julia decided to take Cortez out to one of her favorite restaurants. Unfortunately, the gorgeous environment did nothing to dispel the tension between them. At last, the silence became too much.
“The food here is great, but they take their sweet time in bringing it out,” Julia remarked, casting a vapid look around the mellow dining area of Jazzy’s Supperclub. “Would you like to dance?” she offered in a bright tone.
“No.” Cortez declined without so much as a glance in her direction.
“Why? Is it against the rules? Are you not allowed?” Julia probed. Her expression was fixed and clear.
Swallowing what remained of his drink, Cortez stood. Julia gasped when he took her upper arm and led her to the glossy, pine dance floor.
“I didn’t say that for you to have to try and prove anything, Corky,” Julia said as they claimed their spot amidst the other slow dancers.
“Juli?” Cortez spoke sweetly, though the look he sent her was anything but. “Do me a favor and shut up,” he said, his grip growing so tight that Julia gasped again.
Of course, her gasp was for a different reason this time. It felt as though every muscle of his torso was clearly defined against her body. She wondered if he could feel her nipples harden through the silky fabric of the magenta blouse she wore.
“Did I touch a nerve, Cortez?” she whispered then, blinking when his hand encircled her neck.
He tilted back her head so she could look directly into his eyes. “Why do you feel the need to push me?”
Julia had the nerve to smile. “It’s just so much fun.”
“Well just wait until you get what you’re asking for and it’s more than you expect. Or want,” Cortez whispered into her ear.
“It could never be more than I want,” Julia breathed in return.
Cortez grinned, sparking his dimple. She had absolutely no idea how dangerous it was to goad him. She wanted to sleep with him again, over the last week she made that very clear. Everything she did in his presence screamed it, and here he was denying himself a chance to reindulge in the best sex he’d ever had. But he knew if he did, he’d be hooked on her. He had never been able to rid himself of his love for her. He didn’t know if he could recover if she ever walked away—again.
“So tell me about Detroit?” she asked casually, easing her hands up over his rust-colored shirt to link them behind his neck. “There must be someone special there.”
Suspicious now, Cortez tilted his head just slightly closer. “Why would you ask that?”
“Corky, please! You’re so on edge I can practically see the tension radiating off your shoulders,” she observed, idly stroking the silky texture of his hair where it tapered at his neck. “You won’t even let yourself relax around me for fear that you’ll do something unforgivable.” She arched farther into the rock solid expanse of his chest as they swayed to a suggestive sultry sax piece. “I think you’re afraid that this—” she snuggled against the delicious stiffness pressing against the zipper of his cream trousers “—might end up in the wrong place.” A phony look of shock brightened her eyes. “My, my, is that for me…or her?”
Cortez took hold of her bottom, trapping her in an unbreakable embrace. Since the floor teemed with lurid dancers, his actions went unnoticed. When his head dipped closer to her own, Julia felt her lips tingle and prayed he would kiss her.
“It looks like our food’s finally here,” he whispered, and left her standing on the dance floor.
“This really isn’t necessary. You are the guest here. We should’ve dropped you off first.” Julia decided to give it a rest. They were almost to her home. She’d been questioning his decision to drop her off first since they left the restaurant and he instructed Gary.
Cortez, however, didn’t trust himself to head to his hotel. Julia might insist on seeing him inside and he doubted he’d let her leave until the sun was streaming through the windows. No, this was safer. Besides, he’d already promised himself a trip to the hotel bar to drown his frustrations, sexual and otherwise, in a bottle of burning whiskey.
“I got her, Gary.” Cortez instructed the driver to remain where he was. He’d see Julia to the door.
Julia saw that they were rounding the steep horseshoe drive leading to her home. Smoothing both hands across her shimmering multicolored silk skirt, she breathed in deeply and waited for Cortez to open her door when the limo pulled to a halt. They walked to her front door in silence and Cortez waited while she unlocked it and strolled inside. He was turning to leave when her voice touched his ears.
“You should really do something about that lump in your pants. It’s impressive, but you might give Gary the wrong idea,” Julia called over her shoulder and smiled smugly as she delivered the parting shot.
A second later Cortez was right behind her, all six-feet-plus, caramel-toned muscular inches of him. Her keys spilled to the floor, their clatter mingling with the rush of heavy breathing and smothered moans. Her purse followed, the contents littering the marble floor. Cortez held her pinned against the marble message table, the only furnishing in the spacious foyer. They were facing the large mirror above it. Julia’s strappy gold heels clicked upon the floor as Cortez forced her legs apart and he eased a massive thigh between.
Julia gasped at the determination on his handsome face. He tugged up the hem of her skirt and ripped away her panties without a second thought. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together when his perfect teeth gnawed at her neck. His fingers had begun a persuasive assault by teasing the satiny flesh of her inner thigh. Julia wanted to slide to the floor when his thumb manipulated the extra-sensitive flesh guarding her womanhood. He wouldn’t allow her to escape him and leaned in, pressing her closer to the imposing desk.
Julia’s wavering moans echoed in the high ceiling foyer when Cortez added his index finger to the fondling session. It ventured deep, forcing a trembling cry from Julia’s mouth. She began to move up and down over his thrusting finger, tugging her lower lip between her teeth as she gave the act her complete concentration.
Cortez felt a flood of creamy moisture drench his skin when his middle finger alternated
between dipping and rotating inside her walls.
Julia couldn’t move, not that she wanted to. Being virtually immobile made the pleasure even more enjoyable. Her head fell back against his shoulder and she studied him as he focused and concentrated on pleasuring her. She moaned unashamedly and in desperate need for him to continue.
Cortez had wanted to punish her for teasing him to the point of no return but he hadn’t meant to enjoy this so much. Each thrust of his fingers as he curved them deeper sent his arousal soaring. Julia muttered something incomprehensible when he pulled her back onto his engorged sex. Her fingers were splayed across the mirror and her forehead was pressed against the cool glass.
Julia realized she had one question answered. No man’s touch could equal his. In eight years she’d never become orgasmic by a man simply making love to her with his fingers. But there she stood, panties ripped and lying on the floor of her foyer while this man whom she hadn’t spoken to in almost a decade ruled her body and her desires with his touch.
Her gasping cries ebbed as the power of a massive climax began its ascent. She lost control of her reasoning as she spread her legs farther apart to offer him more room to play.
The hand that had been gripping Julia’s hip rose to close around her throat. He made her look at him in the mirror. “Why did you leave me?” he asked.
Julia’s stomach tightened and she could scarcely think. “Cortez, please don’t,” she begged, now for a totally different reason. The thrusting that drove her mad slowed to a snail’s pace, which made the act far more torturous.
“Don’t I deserve to know?” His soft voice sounded harsh and hollow.
“Mmm,” Julia moaned, closing her eyes against the sight of his gorgeous face reflected in the mirror.
“Juli?” he taunted, alternating the sensual lunges between his index and middle fingers.
“Oh, Cortez, please, it’s in the past,” she groaned. “Mmm,” she moaned again as she contracted around both of the fingers that were now inside her.
As Good as the First Time Page 4
