by Zuri Day
“I’m going to kiss you.” He leaned toward her. “You can say no, but I’d rather that you didn’t.” He waited a beat and then took her mouth.
The contact was electric. They both felt it.
His arm scooped around her and pulled her to him, taking her breath away. He groaned deep in his throat and the sound turned up the flames that caught in her belly.
Her heart banged and banged in her chest even as her body molded itself to his as if they were of one entity. He dragged his lips across her mouth to her ear, then down to the fluttering pulse in her neck. Her cottony soft moan roared through him. He needed her. He needed to be inside her, have her feel how much he desired her. The unrelenting want he had for this woman was insane.
Mitch’s hands roamed along her curves, cupped her breasts, traced her waist. His hunger grew with each sigh.
Her fingers splayed across his chest. She arched her neck to give him better access. His teeth grazed her soft flesh and she shivered with desire. He leaned her back until she was beneath him. He stared down into her eyes.
“I want you.”
“You have me.”
Something inside of him broke free and welled up with an intensity that shook him to his core. He pushed up her white T-shirt and explored the heated skin that felt like satin beneath his fingertips.
She fumbled with his belt and managed to unfasten it and his zipper. She took him into her hand and felt him pulse in her grasp.
Mitch clenched his teeth to keep from hollering with pleasure and bite down on the explosion that was so near the surface. He tugged on her drawstring pants and pulled them and her panties down over her hips.
Cara wiggled out of them and kicked them to the floor all the while stroking him in a steady rhythm until she felt the tiny dewdrops on the swollen head. She pushed him back on his haunches and took him into her mouth.
He let out a sound that echoed in the cavernous room.
She ran her tongue along the hard member, trailing over the veins that vibrated under her ministrations, across the head and back down again. She tenderly suckled him so sweet that his eyes welled.
He felt his sac fill and tighten. He wouldn’t last. Not like this. He eased her back. She gazed up at him, confusion in her eyes, her lips wet and swollen.
Mitch stood up. His pants dropped to his ankles. He reached down, took out his wallet and a condom. He tore it open and rolled it on. Cara couldn’t tear her eyes away. He was magnificent. She pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. Her bra followed. He nearly tore the buttons from his shirt getting it off and added it to the pile.
And then he was above her. She looped her arms around his neck and her thighs parted and welcomed him.
That first contact sent shockwaves through them both. They gasped in unison. He entered her slow and deep. Her hips rose to meet him. Her insides quaked. She draped one leg across the back of the couch and the other along his broad back. He groaned with pleasure as he sank deeper into her hot, wet walls.
They moved as one, the pace building with every thrust. The very air around them was charged.
Her nipples tightened and the muscles in her stomach rippled as the need escalated. He took one of the turgid nipples deep into his mouth. She cried out as the first wave struck her. He plunged harder. The air caught in her lungs. He pulled out and plunged again, harder this time, and she was certain that she would crack into a million pieces. She rocked her hips against him, needing release more than she needed air. And he complied. He rotated his pelvis, practically lifting her off the couch on the stem of his phallus, and with that he hit her spot and she exploded.
Her scream of his name ripped through his veins and his release was so powerful that it arched his back and shook his thighs as the mighty surge of his juices rushed from his body.
They collapsed against each other, still holding tight as if they were afraid of being thrown overboard from a ship on turbulent seas.
Chapter 10
Finally pulling themselves together, Cara and Mitch laughed and tumbled their way into her bedroom and loved again. Slower this time, with Cara taking the lead. She rode him with slow and deliberate abandon, feeling a sense of freedom that she’d never felt with Jeff. Their lovemaking had been missionary in every sense of the word. The intense sexual connection that she felt with Mitch had never really been there with Jeff. He always seemed to make love to her out of duty rather than passion. She’d believed it was something that she was lacking and, of course, it wasn’t until after that she understood the truth.
This, with Mitch, was different. It was filled with sensuality, a mutual desire to please the other and something more that she didn’t dare give a name to. For now she would simply enjoy these moments with him, because to risk more . . .
Mitch gripped her derriere and pumped upward, scattering her thoughts into the heavens where she took them both.
Cocooned together in the downy softness of her bed and each other, Mitch whispered his confession. “There was someone . . . once.”
Cara’s chest tightened.
“Her name was Marie Collins.”
“Oh.” She swallowed and willed herself to be open-minded. “What happened?”
“Me.” He pushed out a breath. “I couldn’t give her what she wanted.”
“What was that?”
“A future. Permanence.”
“Did you love her?”
“I thought I did, but obviously not enough to commit to a forever.” He rolled onto his back. Cara turned her head to look at him in the twilight. “At the time all I wanted was to build my business. She didn’t understand how I couldn’t want both. She gave me an ultimatum—her or my work.”
“You chose work.”
She felt him nod his head. “I can understand her and you. After Jeff died . . . I lost everything. The house, a husband, and the life I thought I had. I’d made the mistake of believing that it was totally okay to have a man take care of everything. I didn’t have my own bank account, independence, a job, nothing.” She was quiet for several moments contemplating if she should tell him the full truth. She drew in a long breath and exhaled what happened. “It was Christmas Eve. I’d come home from picking up Jeff’s gift, a watch that I knew he wanted. When I came home,” her voice wavered, “Jeff was sitting on the couch with his arms draped between his legs. He looked up at me and I instantly felt myself dying inside.”
Mitch turned onto his side and put his arm around her. “You don’t have to tell me.”
“Yeah, I do.” She paused. “I asked him what was wrong. He hemmed and hawed about how it wasn’t me it was him.” She snickered. “He said that he never meant to hurt me, that he thought he could change, but he couldn’t. I wasn’t able or willing to wrap my mind around what he was telling me. He finally said that he was in love with someone else.” Mitch’s grip tightened around her. He drew her full against him. He could feel her shaking inside. “He said that he was in love with his best friend Gary and that he was leaving me. I went blank. What he was saying didn’t make any sense. How could that be possible? He was a married man. Married to me!” She tucked her head in the curve of Mitch’s neck. “I started screaming all kinds of crazy things. He tried to grab me, but I wouldn’t stop yelling. I told him to get out, that I never wanted to see him again in life. Ever!
“He went to the closet and took out the suitcase that he’d obviously already packed. ‘I’m sorry, Cara. Gary is waiting for me downstairs. I’ll be back to get the rest of my things.’ I think I threw something. I don’t even know. And then he was gone.”
Mitch tenderly kissed the top of her head, then her cheek, and tasted the salty tears.
“I must have sat there for the entire night because the next thing I knew it was morning and the doorbell was ringing. It was the police. Jeff and Gary had been in a head-on collision. They were both pronounced at the scene.”
“Oh, baby . . .”
“It only gets worst from there. Jeff left o
ur finances in shambles. Within months the house was foreclosed on. He had no insurance, and the funeral expenses drained what little was in the bank. I was left with nothing.” She drew in a breath. “Even with all that happened I think what was most devastating was the betrayal, you know. I couldn’t piece together how anyone could do that to someone whom they claimed to love.”
“But you came out of it. You survived it. It shows the kind of strength that you have. Look at what you’ve accomplished on your own. You’re amazing. What he did has nothing to do with you.” He stroked her face.
“So I’ve been told.” She inhaled deeply and looked directly into his eyes. “I know that I could never live through another betrayal from someone I care about. I just couldn’t.”
Mitch’s stomach clenched. He lowered his head and touched his lips to hers.
“Stay,” she whispered against his mouth.
His eyes moved slowly across her face. “I will.”
“You told him? Everything?”
“Yep,” Cara huffed as she and Stella made the last turn around the park’s track.
“How did he take it?”
“He held me. He talked to me and told me how amazing and strong I was.”
“See.”
Cara laughed. “Yeah, I see. He’s kind of amazing, too.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. As I live and breathe. You have finally let someone in. It feels good, doesn’t it?”
Cara turned to her friend and grinned. “It does. It really does.”
“I know it took a lot, girl. But I am so happy that you’re giving him and you a chance. I’m not saying everything is going to be perfect, but it’s a start.”
“A start that is long overdue. And speaking of overdue, I’ve got to get home and change. I’m meeting Mitch to show him some apartments this afternoon.”
“Do your thing, girl. I think I’m going to go around one more time.”
They slowed to share a quick hug.
“Call me,” Stella shouted out as she took off.
Cara waved and hurried toward the exit.
Mitch met Cara at her apartment and they took his car to visit the three apartments that she had lined up for viewing. To her they were all great spaces, and although Mitch totally agreed, he wasn’t quite satisfied with any of them.
After the last viewing they returned to his car.
“So nothing jumps out at you, huh?”
He turned to her as he started the engine. “Just you.” He leaned over and gave her a long kiss that took her breath away.
“We’ll find you something.”
“I’m sure.”
“Oh, I got a call this morning from a couple who wants to see the house.”
His fingers tensed around the steering wheel. “Oh. When did they want to see it?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Oh. Um. Well, my schedule is kind of crazy with Thanksgiving coming up in a week.”
“That’s not a problem. I generally try not to have my clients at home when I show a space.”
“I hope I’m more than just a client.”
Her stomach fluttered. “Do you?”
“Yes, I do.”
Inwardly she smiled and her heart soared.
“How about we catch a movie and then dinner afterward.”
Her eyes lit up. “Great. Love to.”
They stopped for a light and he kissed her again. “Give me a chance to do things to you in the dark.”
She playfully elbowed him and they set off for their evening together.
For the first time in years Cara was actually looking forward to the holiday season. She and Mitch planned to spend Thanksgiving eve together and she would join him at the restaurant the following night. The menu was extensive, the restaurant was booked solid, and there were two acts that would be performing. And afterward they’d planned to hang out at her place for the rest of the weekend and watch the documentary together. To celebrate he’d decided to close the restaurant on Friday and Saturday and only open for brunch on Sunday to thank his staff for the phenomenal job they’d been doing.
It was so easy being together. They enjoyed the same things, loved the same music, debated heatedly on politics, and blossomed in each other’s company. Cara couldn’t imagine what she’d been so afraid of as she watched Mitch move around in her kitchen preparing one of his special dishes. They laughed and talked about their days, and Cara even broached the subject of them spending Christmas together.
The only glitch, the thing that nagged at her, was her inability to find him a place that he really liked. She’d shown him nearly a dozen places in the past two weeks and nothing quite hit the mark. To make matters worse, he’d turned down two offers on his house for vague reasons like he didn’t feel that the buyers were the right people. It made no sense to her, but she’d dealt with picky clients before. The truth was, she was in no real hurry for him to find a place because it would mean that he would start spending more and more time out of the city and away from her. The thought of being without him, not being able to see him when she needed to, unsettled her in a way that she’d never expected.
“Dinner is served, madame,” he announced, cutting into her musings. “Want to eat in the kitchen or living room?”
“In here. 20/20will be on in a few minutes. I don’t want to miss your big debut,” she teased.
He chuckled. “Fine. Then come help with this.”
She sauntered into the kitchen and began sniffing the pots. “Hmmm. Jambalaya. Yum.”
“The salad is in the fridge.”
She took out the big bowl of tossed salad and sweet peppers, and placed it on the counter, then took down two large plates from the cabinet.
“Help yourself.”
“Oh, you shouldn’t have said that.” She took the serving spoon and dug into the pot, heaping her plate with the jambalaya. There was barely any room for the salad.
Mitch stared at her in wry amusement. “Where in the world does someone so tiny put it all?”
“Don’t you worry about it, buddy. It’s in all the right places.” She gave him a wink and sashayed into the living room.
Mitch shook his head, loaded his plate, and joined her on the couch.
The piece on the restaurants was the third segment and it began with an exterior shot of Downtown 2. Cara and Mitch were both tickled to hear her doing the voice-over that described the changing neighborhood and the array of new businesses. They looked at each other and grinned like silly school kids. And then there he was. Cara stopped eating and grabbed Mitch’s hand.
If it was possible, he was even more handsome on television. He spoke with such passion and conviction about his business, his struggle to make it a success that he would not have been able to do without his right hand Brad and his amazing staff. The camera moved around the restaurant, and the hostess for the piece interviewed Brad and several of the staff. The shot faded out and picked up on the second restaurant, but by then Cara and Mitch had seen all they needed to.
“Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness,” she said, bouncing up and down on the couch. “You were amazing! A star is born.” She leaned over and kissed him hard on the mouth.
Mitch laughed. “You were pretty damned amazing yourself.”
“I was, wasn’t I?”
“Oh, how humble we are.”
She giggled. “This should really give a big boost to business.”
“I’m sure hoping so. Not sure how we can actually handle more business, but I’m game.”
“This is sooo good,” she said, chewing over words.
“I try to make anything I do for you good.”
There was that heat again that was never too far away. “You really do,” she said softly.
“You mean that?”
“Yes, very much.”
He put his plate down and moved closer to her. “Well, let me see just how good I can be.” He took her plate, set it down next to his, and led her into her bedroom.
&nb
sp; Dinner was forgotten.
Chapter 11
The holiday season kicked into high gear. Holiday lights twinkled in shop windows and were strung high across the avenues. With Christmas only two weeks away, retailers were frantically hawking their merchandise and shoppers were taking them up on their offers. Christmas carols and old favorites could be heard from hidden speakers along the shopping boulevards. Christmas trees for sale were on every other corner. The scent of the holidays filled the air.
For the first time since Jeff, Cara finally felt the joy of the season and joined in with the merry shoppers who stood in long lines to purchase that perfect gift. Fortunately, business for her had slowed as people tended not to move this time of year, which was fine with her. It gave her the time and incentive to do what she hadn’t done in years—shop for Christmas.
She’d selected a beautiful imported sweater for Stella, tickets to see “A Raisin in the Sun” for Tricia and her husband—an extra special treat for her passing her licensing exam—and bottles of wine for her two other staff members. She bought her mother a pair of diamond studs, and her father a set of golf clubs that he’d been hinting at forever. Those gifts were already in route to Atlanta. Her parents would be totally surprised.
The most difficult gift to select was something for Mitch. What did you get a man who seemed to have everything? The last time she’d purchased a gift for a man, he’d left her, she thought with a momentary pang. Things were different now. So she thought long and hard about what she would give him and finally decided on a collectors’ edition of six of the jazz greats with their stellar hits: Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Art Tatum. The package had arrived via FedEx and she was just finishing wrapping it up when the phone rang. She got up and picked up her phone from the kitchen counter, looked at the number on the face and grinned.
“Hi.”
“Hey, babe.”
