As Good as the First Time

by Altonya Washington

  Moments later, his large hands were beneath her. They squeezed her thighs mercilessly. He broke the kiss, pressing hot, wet licks down the length of her neck. Taking Julia by the hips, he positioned her straddling one of his muscular thighs.

  With unwavering intent, his hands caressed her body possessively. Finding their way beneath her skirt once more, he pulled at the flimsy underpants she wore, succeeding in ripping them away.

  “Cortez…” Julia moaned when she felt his fingers plunge into her. Unashamedly, she moved against him while he caressed the part of her body that cried out for his attention. “Please make love to me,” she whispered, stroking his rough jaw.

  The words stilled Cortez’s fingers and he pulled away. Once again, his expression was cold. “Get out,” he ordered, his voice hollow, defeated.

  Julia dried her eyes. She was hurt and, for the second time in her life, felt ashamed. Picking up her underwear that lay ripped on the floor, she stuffed them into her purse. Without looking back, she left the house. She swore this was the last time she would let Cortez Wallace turn her world inside out.

  Chapter 15

  Several weeks passed after the terrible fight. In that time Cortez had become more involved in his work. His personal life, however, was suffering greatly. He had made quick work of dispelling any and all rumors of his supposed engagement to Renee Scales. He realized that whatever had or hadn’t happened between Correll and Julia didn’t matter. He was suddenly overcome by an urge to look in the mirror—needing to verify that it was he who had indeed fallen for Julia once again. He loved and wanted her more than he ever had before.

  Like an idiot, he’d screwed up royally. This time, however, he feared the situation couldn’t be undone. He knew she had every right to hate him. Sadly, that acknowledgement did nothing to diminish how brutally his actions were tearing him up inside.

  “Hello. This is Lexi.”

  “I’m sorry, Lexi,” Cortez said. “This is Cortez Wallace. I must’ve misdialed. Thought I was getting Julia’s private line.”

  “Oh, hello, Mr. Wallace. No need to apologize. You’ve got the right number.” Lexi cleared her throat, inserting Cortez’s name for Julia, who was leaning on the corner of the desk.

  Julia set aside the demographics report she’d been viewing. When Lexi raised her hand in question, Julia shook her head no.

  “Uh…” Lexi cleared her throat to mask sudden unease. “Julia’s in a meeting just now, I’m afraid.”

  “Would you tell her I called, Lexi?”

  “Sure.” Lexi couldn’t mask the sympathy in her voice. She waited until the connection broke before returning the receiver to its cradle. “I could never ignore a call from a man like that,” she practically moaned, eyelashes fluttering about her eyes in a dramatic fashion.

  Julia barely tuned in to her assistant’s words. She’d moved from her desk and was staring blankly past the tall windows lining her office.

  “All right, we can do that. So I’ll see you tomorrow at two for lunch?” Correll nodded, jotting the appointment in his personal calendar. When he looked up and saw Cortez in his doorway, his eyes widened. “Okay, Barry, I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow.” He hung up and turned to Cortez. “Hey, man, what’s up?” He greeted his brother as though things had not been strained between them for weeks.

  “All these years you acted like you hated Julia as much as Ma,” Cortez began, slamming the office door behind him. “Then, in a few hours you have her in your bed. Why?”

  “Cortez—”

  “The truth, Correll. Just the truth.”

  Correll ran one hand across his face and groaned. Cortez’s request was all it took for Correll, who had wanted to be honest about this for a long time, to open up. “Listen, I got Julia to stay after the party for a drink. She wasn’t up to it, but she agreed. I, um, gave her a pretty strong drink and she passed out. I put her to bed, and that’s when you showed up.”

  Cortez shook his head slightly. “What? Were you expecting me?”

  “No,” Correll assured him, standing behind the desk. “The plan was to make Julia believe we’d slept together. When I got her naked…” he couldn’t help but recall the look of the dark beauty pliant in his bed. He cleared his throat at the murderous intent in his brother’s gaze and continued. “Once she was in my bed, the plan was to actually sleep with her. At any rate, she was so out of it that I’d planned to tell her we slept together and that I had to come clean with you. She’d leave town before something like that came out.”

  Cortez pushed his hands into the deep pockets of his tan trousers. He began to pace the room, trying to grasp what he was discovering. “So you did all this just to make sure I’d marry Renee? I knew you liked her, man, but Jesus.”

  Correll raised his hand. “No, Tez. Renee thought of this to make sure you’d marry her. And like a damn fool I went along.”

  As Correll recounted the entire story, he told his brother about Renee’s concerns and her fear of Julia. When he finished Cortez was too furious to speak. When he thought of all the things he’d said and done to Julia he became nauseous.

  Correll watched as his younger brother rushed to the bathroom in the office. He could hear violent heaves as Cortez became sick. Correll didn’t bother to explain any further. He knew it would be a very long time before Cortez would want to hear anything from him.

  When Cortez finished in the bathroom he left without a word to his brother.

  “Renee Scales’s office.”

  “Hey, Marsha, is Renee around?”

  “Oh, hi, Cortez. No, she’s not.”

  “When are you expecting her?”

  “Um, not for a while,” Marsha said, as she checked the calendar on her desk. “Oh, wait up. She went over to your mom’s house.”

  Cortez gripped the steering wheel tightly and rolled his eyes.

  “Cortez? You still there?”

  “Yeah, yeah, thanks, Marsha,” he said before shutting off the phone. His mother’s house was the last place he wanted to have this conversation. Unfortunately, this was something that could not wait.

  “I want to know how something that should have been wonderful could turn out so horribly.”

  Renee smiled, accepting the glass of tea Cora offered. “I should never have tried to trick him. He’s way too smart for that.” She shrugged. “I knew that, but I tried anyway.”

  Cora was frowning. “You’re good for my son. There has to be a way to get him to see that. Especially now, with Miss Julia Kelly finally out of the way.”

  The front door slammed, bringing a halt to the conversation. A few moments later Cortez appeared in the living room.

  “Cortez, what a nice surprise,” Cora greeted him.

  “Hey, Ma,” Cortez replied absently. His stare was trained on Renee.

  “What’s wrong?” Cora asked, laying her hand on his arm.

  “I need to talk to Renee. Can you give us a few minutes?” Cortez asked, looking down at his mother.

  “Sure,” Cora agreed, nodding quickly. She sent Renee an uneasy look before leaving the room.

  “Are you okay?” Renee asked once they were alone. Walking over to Cortez, she curved her hands about his arm.

  The instant Renee touched him, Cortez moved away. He walked past her, unable to look into her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  “How could you do that to Julia?”

  Realization dawned in Renee’s eyes, but she quickly masked it. “Julia? Do what to Julia?”

  Cortez shook his head and turned to face her. “Were you really that threatened by the woman?”

  Renee’s long, arched brows rose in an effort to maintain her innocence. “Cortez, honey, you’re really confusing me—”

  “Damn it, Renee, just admit it!”

  “All right! Well, listen, Cortez, I’m not blind,” she snapped, her anger spewing forth. “I could see how you drooled over that bitch every time she walked into the room.”

  “And that upset you because of
what? Our engagement?”

  Renee waved her hand. “And that should’ve showed you the kind of woman she was. Julia Kelly would’ve done anything to break us up.”

  “Except that there was nothing to break up.” Cortez cursed himself for letting the situation grow so completely out of hand. “She came to me on the day of the party to say she wasn’t going to interfere.”

  “And you’re blind if you believed that,” Renee spat.

  “Do you have any idea how I treated her?”

  Renee rolled her eyes. “I’m sure the slut was used to it.”

  Cortez’s eyes narrowed as he watched the woman he thought he knew. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this crap from you.”

  “Oh, please, Cortez! Your mother told me all about Miss Julia. How sneaky and whoreish she is. I had to do something before—”

  “I love her.”

  Renee uttered a short, cold laugh. “I had to do something before that happened.”

  “Why? Because of some deluded idea you had that there was a marriage in our future?” Cortez leaned against the back of the couch and dropped his head. “We work together, Renee. I’ve loved Julia since I met her. Like a fool, I convinced myself that she wasn’t right for me until I believed it was true. I played along with this con of an engagement because I hoped it’d get her to leave and save me from having to deal with issues I didn’t want to face.”

  Slowly, Renee walked toward him. “There’d be no issues with us, Cortez. Your relationship with Julia has been one drama fest after another. Aren’t you sick of that?”

  “Renee—”

  “Cortez, we’re good for each other. You know that.” She arched herself against his chest. “We work well together. And can you imagine how successful we’d be in the bed room?”

  Cortez cupped Renee’s chin and made her look up at him. “We’re not right for each other. If you loved me and believed there could be something between us you never would’ve done this. If I felt anything more for you than a platonic friendship stemming from our work then nothing Julia said or did would’ve mattered to me.”

  The soft, pleading look in Renee’s eyes hardened and she pushed herself away from Cortez. “Son of a bitch,” she sneered, turning away from him.

  Cortez took a deep breath and stood. Regardless of what happened, he didn’t want to end things harshly. “Renee—”

  “Leave me alone!” Renee cried, raising her hand.

  Cortez watched her a moment longer before he turned to head out of the room.

  Chapter 16

  Justin McNeil propped one hand alongside his handsome face. He frowned, listening to one of his top producers on the other end of the phone. “Julia, when are you coming back to work?” he asked for the third time.

  Sighing, Julia closed her eyes against the sun reflecting brightly off the pool. “I’m still on vacation, Justin,” she reminded him in a singsong tone.

  “I thought that was over.”

  “I’ve never taken a vacation. You know how much time I have saved up. Besides, just because I’m home doesn’t mean I can’t relax.”

  Justin didn’t like the hollow tone in Julia’s usually boisterous voice. He figured she must be going through something intense, so he didn’t push. “Listen…take your time, all right? Call me anytime if you need anything, you hear?”

  Julia smiled. “Thanks, Justin. I will.”

  “So, um…what’s the deal with Cortez Wallace? The guys are gonna ask, you know.”

  Julia pressed her lips together and willed her voice to come out strong. “I already told Ken that they shouldn’t keep their hopes up about wooing him out here. I’m pretty sure that it’s a closed subject now.”

  Justin nodded. “I’ll let ’em know.”

  Clearing her throat, Julia hissed a silent curse at the pressure she felt behind her eyes. “Justin, I need to go, okay?”

  “All right, honey, I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  Julia sat the black cordless phone on the glass table and leaned back against the lounge chair. She knew it would be better to stay busy, but she’d felt so beaten up after the trip. Now she just wanted to hide out and lick her wounds.

  “And what better place to do that than right here at my pool,” she said out loud, glancing down at the skimpy bikini she wore. The two-piece creation had practically been her only attire since she returned home.

  Her thoughts were interrupted a few moments later when she heard the doorbell ring. For a while she debated on whether or not to answer. Unfortunately, the ringing became so insistent that she decided to at least see who it was. Pushing herself off the cushiony chaise, she walked barefoot through her airy L.A. home. Pulling off her sunglasses, she stood on her toes and looked through the peephole. Her breath caught in her throat and she backed away from the door as though she had been burned.

  After a moment, she pulled the door open. She slowly lifted her head to meet Cortez Wallace’s handsome caramel face.

  “Julia.” The sexy baritone greeting held just the slightest trace of helplessness.

  Julia’s heart pounded in her ears, almost deafening her. She had never been more shocked to see anyone in her life.

  Cortez was just as shocked, as his eyes inadvertently trailed the luscious dark length of Julia’s body. The sky blue bikini she wore left little to the imagination, making it almost impossible to look away. “May I come inside?” he managed to ask.

  Julia’s eyes fluttered shut at the soft, unintentionally suggestive request. Her legs actually weakened beneath her, causing her to sway a little.

  “Juli,” Cortez whispered, catching her in his strong embrace.

  She inhaled the clean, enticing scent of his cologne and wanted to melt against the hard wall of his chest. Taking control of her emotions, she braced herself and pushed away. “What do you want? What are you doing out here?”

  “I wanted to apologize,” he explained, pushing his hands deep into the pockets of his dark denim jeans.

  Julia cast a glance over her shoulder. “My phone’s working.”

  Cortez was ever so humble as he bowed his head. “This was something I needed to do in person.”

  Julia gave a quick nod. “Well, you did it. Now you can leave.” She began to push the door closed.

  Cortez placed one hand around the edge of the door, stopping her. “I know you didn’t sleep with Correll.”

  “How?” Julia asked, her dark eyes snapping to his face.

  Cortez took a step closer. “He told me.”

  Julia’s lips parted in surprise. She stepped aside and held the door open for him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  Julia shut her eyes, not wanting to see the hurt in Cortez’s face, “Why don’t you tell me about Correll?”

  Cortez walked around the living room, retelling the story in explicit detail. He left nothing out. Meanwhile, Julia simply stood there like a statue. She clenched her fists so tightly that her long nails left deep impressions in her palms.

  “Julia? Are you listening to me?”

  Julia dropped to the sofa, tracing the elaborate patterns in the cushions with her teary eyes.

  “I feel like hell over this. I should’ve listened to you,” he admitted, kneeling beside her.

  Julia’s eyes rose from the sofa to Cortez’s face. In the next instant, she reared back and slapped him hard.

  “You’re damn right you should’ve listened to me!” Julia bellowed, jumping to her feet. “You jackass! I tried to explain this to you. Twice! Each time you refused to hear anything I had to say. Your precious brother and fiancée cooked up this crap and you fell for it! I don’t know if I’m angrier at you for being such an idiot or myself for being stupid enough to chase after your foolish ass!”

  “Julia—”

  “Get out!” She pounded her fist once against the front of his Piston’s T-shirt.

  Cortez knew nothing would be settled that day, but he couldn’t leave without telling he
r. “She wasn’t my fiancée.”

  “What?” She whirled around to face him.

  Cortez focused on the impression made by his thumb when he drove it into his palm. “Renee wasn’t my fiancée. She never was.”

  “I knew it,” Julia breathed. Losing her strength to remain on her feet, she returned to the sofa. “Why?”

  Her lost tone of voice was like a barb through his side. He ached to go to her but didn’t dare move any closer than he already was. “When you came to Detroit, all I wanted was for you to go.” He shrugged, slowly bringing his gaze back to her face. “Clearly I would’ve done anything to make that happen.”

  “So the story really was a lie?”

  “Renee let it get out of hand intentionally and I went along with it. We were seen around town together a lot.” Cortez massaged the ache as it began to take root in his chest. “They were usually live appearances, but many times it was a meal out somewhere to discuss a story. I swear it was always about business, Juli.”

  Julia, however, was on the verge of shock. “I knew it was a lie, but I still can’t believe you’d do all this just to get me to leave you alone.” She looked up at him finally with a pair of teary eyes. “Did you hate me that much, Cork?”

  Cortez closed his eyes. The pain in his side was twisting with a vengeance.

  “What am I supposed to do with this? With knowing all this?” She was staring at her hands clenched in her lap.

  “You said you suspected it all along?”

  “I hoped.” She uttered a half-hearted laugh. “I figured hearing you say it would—”

  He made a move toward her. “I can’t make this up to you, Julia,” he said when she flinched from his touch. “But I can’t go, either.”

  She laughed long and fully. “Why not? It’s what you wanted, right?”

  “It’s not what I wanted. Only…what I felt I had to do.”

  “So I should take that to mean you did this because of your condescending family.” She watched him as though he were a stranger. “All those years, I thought you were better than them, above their pettiness.”