The silence in the church meant something was wrong. Music should have been playing and Emerson was supposed to be waiting for her at the altar. Glancing down at her ivory dress that hugged her body close and skimmed her knees, she knew what was going on. He’s not here, she thought as she walked from the dressing room in the back of the church to the sanctuary. Inside, it was empty. They decided that their wedding ceremony would be just the two of them and one witness, the minister’s wife. As Serena looked at the white lilies they’d picked out two weeks ago, they seemed more appropriate for a funeral than what was supposed to be a wedding. The signs had been as bright as the Hollywood sign glowing in the hills, but she’d ignored them until she stood at the altar alone with nothing but those damned lilies. Serena waited another hour, hoping that Emerson would show up. He said he wanted to marry her. He was the one who proposed and he had been the one to insist on a quick wedding. The press, she remembered. I bet they are outside waiting to see us leave the church. I can’t deal with this right now. Tears spilled down her face and Serena wondered if she was being punished for her own misdeeds with men. Men she’d strung along like her father had done with countless women. Was this what love did to her? Was this all love had to offer—hurt and sadness?
* * *
The drops of water on her feet broke into her thoughts and Serena shut the water off, averting a huge disaster of flooding the bathroom. “I don’t have time to get caught up in the past,” she said to herself as she let some of the water out of the tub. When the water was at an appropriate level, Serena stripped out of her clothes and climbed in. She hadn’t expected the warm water to lull her to sleep.
As the day wore on Antonio fought the idea of going to Serena’s for lunch. Though Norman had told him that lunch didn’t mean anything, Antonio couldn’t help but think about the things he wanted. He wasn’t a casual type of guy and since he was the one responsible for A.J. learning how to treat women, he couldn’t just jump into something with Serena, no matter how badly he wanted to. He had to take things slowly, but every time he was around her, slow was the last thing on his mind. Well, not exactly. Antonio wanted to make slow passionate love to Serena. Wanted to wrap her legs around his waist and grind against her until she exploded from the inside out. He wanted to hear her moan, feel the heat of her passion, and taste the sweetness of her lips.
“Isn’t it about that time?” Norman asked at about eleven-fifteen.
“Yeah.”
Norman frowned at his friend and partner. “Please don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind. It’s just lunch.”
“I know. That’s why I’ve decided to go.”
Norman slapped his friend a high five. “Next time, I hope it is something more. She seems like the kind of woman who knows what she wants and we know you’re part of what she wants.”
That’s what’s making this so hard, because I want her, too, Antonio thought.
Chapter 4
When the doorbell sounded, Serena splashed herself with ice cold bath water as she realized she’d fallen asleep in the bathtub. “Damn it,” she muttered, then jumped out of the tub and grabbed her terry-cloth robe. That was not how she’d planned to meet Antonio at the door. Looking at herself in the mirror as the doorbell chimed again, she saw that her hair had gotten wet while she’d slept. She didn’t look her best, but it would have to do. Serena slowly walked downstairs and opened the front door.
“Am I early?” Antonio asked.
“No, I’m just late,” she said with a smile. Part of her thought about allowing her belt to slip and give him a preview of what she had for him, but she decided to keep him waiting a little while longer. “Come in and have a seat. I’ll be dressed in a minute.”
A slight smile formed on Antonio’s lips as he followed Serena inside. She didn’t have to get dressed on his account, but he could tell that wasn’t the lunch she’d planned.
“Why don’t you point me to the kitchen and I’ll start fixing us something to eat,” he said.
“Are you serious?” she asked.
“I cook and though I’m no Devon Harris, you won’t be disappointed,” he said.
Serena smiled. “Well, aren’t you full of surprises?” She pointed him to her kitchen, happy that she’d actually purchased some groceries and had something in there for him to cook. “I’ll be down shortly.”
Antonio nodded and began pulling pans from where they hung over the stove. Serena watched him briefly from the doorway as he made himself familiar with the kitchen and where the spices and meats were. As much as it pained her to say it, he looked as if he belonged there. Almost as if he’d make a good fit in her life.
Stop this nonsense. You’re letting Jade get in your head and setting yourself up for failure, she thought as she tore herself away from the kitchen and headed upstairs to get dressed.
Though it would’ve been easy to put on the slinky black catsuit she’d meant to wear to answer the door, Serena pushed the sexy garment aside and opted for a pair of black leggings and a tunic-length tank top. She didn’t put on any heels, just a pair of black socks. As she walked downstairs, she was met by the spicy smell of tomato sauce.
“You have it smelling good in here,” she said, as she surveyed the simmering chicken and marinara sauce. “If that food is as good as it smells I may never let you go home.”
Antonio turned around and smiled at her. “It’s a simple chicken cacciatore dish that I make a lot.” Serena crossed over to the stove where Antonio had a spoonful of the dish waiting for her to taste.
As Serena closed her lips around the spoon, Antonio watched those lips and wished he was that spoon. But it was the sound she made when she tasted the food that sent shivers down his spine. It was a moan that sounded like a woman in the throes of passion, getting totally satisfied. Antonio knew he could cook, but he doubted his food was that good. Still, she stroked his ego very well. “I guess you’d better sit down so I can fix you a plate,” Antonio said.
“I guess I better,” she said with a smile. “A man who can cook and doesn’t get paid for it; that’s a rare find.”
Serena grabbed two plates, a set of glasses, and some silverware before taking a seat at the table. Antonio brought the pan over and spooned the food onto her plate.
“Now I owe you a meal,” she said as he sat down across from her.
“Yes, you do,” he said with a smile.
“I didn’t plan this,” Serena said. “But it couldn’t have turned out better.”
“Is that so?”
“This meal is wonderful,” she said as she took a bite of the food. “So, how am I going to repay you for this?”
“I’ll leave that up to you,” he said.
Serena smiled and said, “A meal for a meal. Why don’t we have dinner tonight? I’ll cook.”
“Tonight doesn’t work for me,” he said.
Serena’s smile masked her questions. Masked the concern she had about what he actually did in the evenings when he wasn’t working. “When’s a good night for you?” she asked after a moment passed.
“What are you doing this weekend?” he asked. “We can meet for dinner or you can cook if you like.”
“Friday night,” she said. “And you don’t have to worry about going out, I’ll cook.”
Serena rose to her feet and took their empty plates from the table and walked into the kitchen. Antonio followed her with the glasses and as he reached to place them in the sink, she turned around and faced him.
“Antonio,” she said, her voice low and sultry. “Why are we acting as if there isn’t electricity between us?”
He stroked her cheek gently. Yes, there was something there, something pulling him into her orbit, into her world. But was he ready for what came next?
“Serena,” he moaned as she placed her hand against his chest.
Her fingers danced across his pecs and he lowered his head, capturing her lips in a scorching kiss that made her moan. She pressed her body against his hard one and he s
lipped his hands underneath her tunic. Serena’s skin felt like the smoothest silk he’d ever touched. Her tongue tasted sweet and tangy like the meal they’d just finished. When she slipped her hand in his pocket, Antonio pulled back. He knew if she’d touched his throbbing erection he’d be a goner and wouldn’t be able to control his sexual need for her.
“Serena,” he said again.
“Antonio, you want me just as much as I want you. If you have someone else, tell me so I can stop torturing myself and you can save your relationship.”
“There isn’t anyone else. But there is something you should know about me.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re gay,” she groaned.
Antonio laughed. “I’m not gay. It’s just that in the three years since my wife died, I haven’t been with another woman. Losing her changed my life.”
“Am I coming on too strong?” she said in a tone that didn’t seem the least bit apologetic.
Her confidence was a major turn on. Antonio was hardened with desire and yearning. But he wanted to say something, wanted to tell her the truth about the end of his marriage. Wanted to tell her his obligation to his son was holding him back from playing the dating game. But when he opened his mouth, none of that came out. Instead, he covered Serena’s mouth with his again, kissing her with urgency, heat, and passion.
Serena leaned into him. “If you kiss me like that again—”
He cut her off and kissed her with more fire and passion as he backed her against the edge of the counter. In a quick motion, he pulled her leggings off. Antonio slipped his hands between the smoothness of her thighs. She shivered as his thumbs danced across the crotch of her satin and lace panties. Moaning, she called out his name as he slipped his finger in her panties and pressed it into her wetness. He eased inside her, making her squirm and grind against his touch. Dropping to his knees, Antonio replaced his finger with his hot tongue and Serena arched her back, pressing her pelvis into his mouth. He hungrily licked and sucked the sweetness of her essence until she screamed out in pleasure.
“Antonio, Antonio,” she repeated as if it were a mantra as the waves of an orgasm washed over her. He continued his kiss, continued tasting her and lavishing her body with the attention he felt it deserved.
Serena screamed out in passion as his mouth closed around her throbbing desire. She threw her leg over his shoulder and Antonio got closer to her desire, lapping the juices. Pulling back, he looked up at the satisfied look on her face and smiled.
“Wow,” she whispered. “That. Was—”
“Just the beginning,” he said as he lifted her from the counter. “Where’s your bedroom?”
“Upstairs,” she said breathlessly. It seemed to take Antonio three steps to make it to the stairs and Serena’s bedroom. She was glad she’d cleaned up and unpacked her room. He had a clear path to the bed and she couldn’t wait to find out what he would do to her to make her feel even better than he already had. He laid her on the bed, pulled off her tunic and stared down at her body. It was just as beautiful as he’d imagined it would be.
Serena reached up and tugged at the buckle of his belt, wanting to get his clothes off as quickly as he’d taken hers off.
He grabbed her hand gently. “Let me look at you for a moment,” he said. “You’re beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “Now, I want to see how you look.”
Antonio pulled his shirt off, revealing a sculpted chest and washboard abs that made Serena’s mouth salivate. Inching toward the edge of the bed, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him into her lips. She ran her tongue up and down his abs and his knees went weak. She unbuttoned and unzipped his pants while stroking his erection that grew with every touch. Antonio threw his head back as he felt the heat of her breath at the tip of his manhood. When she took him into her mouth, Antonio gripped the edge of the bed. She took him deeper into her mouth, reminding him how long it had been since he’d felt passion and shared such intimacy with a woman. She was doing things to him his wife hadn’t done in years.
Serena’s tongue sent ripples of desire throughout his body. When she pulled her mouth away from his swollen member, he wanted to dive right between her creamy thighs and bury himself in her sticky sweetness. He remembered they needed protection. “I don’t have a condom,” he said, feeling deflated.
“I got it covered,” she said, then reached inside her nightstand drawer and held up a condom in a gold foil package.
Antonio smiled, thinking to himself that he should’ve known Serena would’ve been ready. Still, a part of him wondered if he wasn’t moving too hastily by jumping into bed with her without telling her about his son. Those thoughts, no matter how important they were, floated from his mind as Serena opened the condom with one hand and stroked him with the other. As she slid the sheath in place, Antonio stroked her breasts until her nipples hardened like the tips of Hershey’s Kisses.
Serena moaned as he replaced his thumbs with his tongue, kissing and sucking her breasts until she felt that she would explode. The things that man could do with his mouth had Serena bubbling with anticipation of what would come next. He didn’t make her wait much longer as he tore his mouth from her breasts and lowered himself onto her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him into her wet valley.
Serena had been ready for Antonio for over a year, but the reality of having him grinding against her was proving to be better than any dream she’d ever had. He stroked her slowly, as if he was seeking her natural rhythm and teaching her his. As she squeezed her thighs around his hips, Serena felt as if she was going to climax and Antonio lavished in her body. As she thrust her hips forward, he matched her moves, her intensity. She now knew that he’d wanted the same things she’d longed for since their first kiss. Clutching his back, she rotated her hips, wanting desperately to ride him. Antonio caught the hint and held on to her hips as he rolled over onto his back.
Serena leaned into his chest as she took every inch of him inside her. Moaning, she ground against him. “You feel so good, so good,” she cried as waves of her orgasm crashed against her.
“You feel even better,” he said as he thrust forward. Antonio couldn’t let that feeling end, he didn’t want it to end. But as Serena stretched and arched her back, giving him all that he could handle, he filled the condom with his climax. She collapsed against his chest, both of them breathing as if they’d run the New York City Marathon. Antonio wrapped his arms around her lower back and held her tightly. He didn’t think about the fact that he needed to get back to work or that he needed to tell her about his son. At that moment, he just wanted to bask in the afterglow.
Serena sighed with satisfaction in her tone. She was thankful Antonio hadn’t disappointed her, but a thought crept into her mind—what next?
As she toyed with a curly hair on his chest, she pushed all rational thoughts out of her head and lay in his arms. If she was totally honest with herself, she’d admit that his strong arms felt great around her.
Before either of them knew it, they’d drifted off to sleep.
An hour later, Serena woke up with a start. Her mind was reeling from the man she’d dreamt of during her nap, and then she turned over in her bed and saw he was still there. It hadn’t been a dream. She watched Antonio as he slept. His caramel-colored skin was as smooth as it was tasty, his body provided all the pleasure that it was built for. She ran her index finger down his strong bicep. What’s going on with him? Why am I letting Jade get inside my head anyway? We had great sex and that’s all it’s going to be. Neither one of us knows what tomorrow holds. And I’m not falling for him.
As she looked down on his sleeping face, she felt an emotion she didn’t usually feel—one she hadn’t felt since the first time she and Emerson made love. “Lust,” she mumbled.
Antonio stirred slightly before opening his eyes. “Wow, what time is it?” he asked as he rubbed his eyes.
“A little after four,” she replied. “I guess it’s a good
thing you’re the boss.”
“But I better not let the ladies I’m working for find out about my four-hour lunch break,” he quipped.
“Yes, because I hear they’re pretty hardcore, stone cold, and will fire you if your shoes don’t match your shirt,” she joked.
Antonio rained kisses across her collarbone. “This is the part that I hate,” he said.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Having to get out of this bed and go back to work.”
“You hate your job?”
“Of course not. I hate leaving you,” he said, then stroked her cheek. “I’m hoping this isn’t a onetime thing.”
Inside Serena smiled. Though she could tell her friends she was willing to have a quick fling with Antonio, there was something about him that made her think differently. She wasn’t willing to say Antonio was the one, but she wanted to see where this thing would go. What would the ride be like? If it was anything like act one, Serena couldn’t wait for more.
“This wasn’t a onetime thing, but what about how your life has changed since your wife passed away? Are you sure you can handle more than one time?” she asked.
“I’m willing to take that chance,” he said, wondering if Serena would be able to handle being second on his list of priorities. His son would always come first and he knew the women he’d date would have to understand that.
She shot him a sexy smile. “Good,” she said. “Because I so want to do this again.” When Serena pulled Antonio on top of her, he didn’t think twice about going back to the job site.
Chapter 5
It was after six when Antonio pulled himself from Serena’s arms and headed home. He had to cook dinner for his son, but as he drove home, his mind was focused on the erotic things he and Serena had done all afternoon. Her kisses were hot, sweet, and spine tingling. He gripped the steering wheel tighter as the image of Serena on top of him, with her luscious thighs clenching him flashed in his mind.
His Sexy Bad Habit Page 4
