After the women cleared the dance floor, Louis headed off the dais and stood in the middle of the floor. “All right my brothers,” he said. “Let’s see who’s going to be the next one to get married.”
A rumbling of “not me” rippled through the single men as they headed to the middle of the dance floor. Cleveland smiled knowingly as Lillian took a seat in the chair that Louis stood next to. He didn’t watch his friend as he snaked his hand up his wife’s dress and removed the blue garter from her thigh. He wanted him to go ahead and toss the damned thing.
If tradition held, the rest of the bachelors were going to back off when the garter went flying. Cleveland was just going to hold his hand out and catch it. Then again, unless the other groomsmen and single guys at this wedding were blind, for a chance to dance with Freddie, there might be a fight for that garter.
“All right, he who catches this is next on the matrimony train,” Louis said as he blatantly tossed the garter at Cleveland. Easily, he caught the satin and lace garter on his index finger. He turned to Freddie, who had her hand wrapped around a champagne flute.
The DJ stepped up to the microphone, “All right, if we can have the lady who caught the bouquet and the gentleman who caught the garter to the middle of the floor so that they can have a dance with the bride and groom?” He began to play Keith Sweat’s “Make It Last Forever.”
Freddie didn’t make a move toward Cleveland until the photographer prodded her. “Lillian wants a picture of this,” the round man said.
Cleveland crossed over to her, his face split into a broad smile. “Come on, Miss Barker, it’s tradition.”
Freddie downed the remainder of her drink, then placed the glass on a tray held by a waiter who was walking past her. “Fine,” she said. “But if your hands drop below my waist, I’m going to hurt you, badly.”
Cleveland wrapped his arms around her waist and led her to the middle of the dance floor. As he pulled her against his body, her sweet smell filled his nostrils and she felt better than he could imagine. It took all of his strength to keep his hands on her waist and not slip down to feel the firmness of her round ass.
He had something he wanted her to feel though, and that was his manhood, which was pressing against his zipper. As Keith Sweat began singing “ooh, ooh, ooh,” Cleveland pulled her closer and the gasp that escaped her throat let him know that she felt exactly what she’d done to him.
Cleveland half expected her to slap him and leave the dance floor. But she didn’t. Instead, she leaned her head against his chest. Her move emboldened him and he slipped one hand down the small of her back. Cleveland waited for her to protest. When she didn’t, he smiled. Slowly, he inched his hand down until he cupped her bottom.
Freddie pinched his side hard. “What did I tell you?” she whispered.
“Ouch,” he said. “Why are you acting as if you didn’t like it?”
Freddie stepped back from him and smirked. “You know what? I’m going to call your bluff, Mr. Alexander.”
“Meaning?”
She licked her sexy lips and Cleveland felt as if he had gotten even harder. “It’s obvious what you want from me,” she said. “Let’s go back to your hotel room.”
Cleveland nearly choked on his tongue. “You’re playing with me, right?”
She raised her eyebrow. “See, I knew you were full of it. If you’re not the hunter, you’re not interested. I’m offering myself to you on a silver platter. Are you going to turn me down?”
“How much champagne have you had tonight?” he asked. “I don’t want to take advantage of a drunk woman.”
“I’m not drunk,” she said. “Far from it, so you’re not taking advantage of me.”
Holding her at arm’s length, it took him all of two seconds to decide that he and Freddie were getting the hell out of the reception hall, best man duties be damned.
“Let me grab my jacket,” he said, then headed for the dais.
Louis and Lillian were so caught up in kissing, that neither of them noticed the best man and the maid of honor slip away.
The hotel where Cleveland was staying was within walking distance of the reception hall, so the couple headed in that direction. Cleveland looked at Freddie as she walked, her painful shoes in her hand and a slight smile on her face; he wasn’t going to wait until he got into the room to taste her lips. Whirling around, he pulled her into his arms and captured her lips, kissing her with all the built up tension that he’d felt since meeting her. Her lips parted and allowed his tongue entry into her mouth. She tasted sweet. But what was more surprising to Cleveland was that Freddie returned his kiss with even more intensity. Her tongue overpowered his as she took the lead in the kiss. Wantonly, she pressed her body against his and rotated her hips against him. For a moment, he forgot that they were in the middle of the street in rural Georgia. Before things went too far he broke off their kiss.
“Damn,” he moaned. “Let’s go.”
They nearly ran down the street to the hotel, but once they got into the room, Cleveland decided it was time to slow the pace a bit. He pressed Freddie against the door and roamed her body, taking in the curves and contours of her body as he unzipped her dress and peeled it from her body. Underneath, she wore the prettiest black lace strapless bra and matching panties. She looked amazing to him, her body was like a work of art, curved in all the right places. He ran his fingers down the valley of her breast, traveling down to her flat stomach and stopping above her panty line. Her skin was softer than the finest of silk. Freddie wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled Cleveland closer to her. “We’re wasting time,” she said in a commanding voice.
“You have me on a schedule? I was hoping we had all night,” he said as he lifted her into his arms and walked backward to the bed. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed his neck softly and sensuously. Cleveland nearly dropped her when she began nibbling on his ear, which was the one spot that turned him on more than any other. Falling backwards, they landed on the bed. Freddie loosened Cleveland’s tie and smiled. “Are you sure you can handle me all night?” she asked in a lust-filled tone as she unbuttoned his shirt.
“Oh yeah,” he breathed as her fingers unbuckled his belt.
Maybe it was the champagne that made Freddie act this way, she surmised as she reached into Cleveland’s pants and stroked him. Maybe she was just releasing years of frustration on a man that she would never see again. She’d never done anything like this before, but she’d never had this much fun either. Cleveland squirmed and moaned in delight as she slid down his hard body and took his manhood into her mouth. She took him deeper and deeper, her lips caressing his throbbing manhood and sending waves of pleasure through his body. He buried his hands in her hair as he felt himself reaching the point of no return. Freddie pulled back and locked eyes with him. The total look of bliss on his face made her smile. She pushed his pants and silk boxers down to his ankles. Cleveland propped up on his elbows, watching her as she stroked him. Then in a quick motion, he reached down and grabbed her wrist.
“It’s my turn to taste you,” he said, turning over on his side. Freddie was now on her back, looking up at Cleveland. She reached up and ran her fingers through his locks. He reminded her of a sexual warrior and she wondered if she was going to be able to handle what he had in store for her.
Cleveland parted her legs and kissed her inner thighs, making her shiver in anticipation of feeling his tongue buried between the wet folds of flesh hiding her pleasure point. She wanted him to rip her panties off and get on with the tasting, but Cleveland had other ideas. He was going to sample all of her treasures. Slipping his hand inside her panties, he lowered himself on top of her and kissed her neck, then traveled down to her breasts. He lifted her bra with his teeth and her bosom spilled forward. She had perfect breasts, nipples that looked as if they were designed for his lips. When his lips grazed one of her nipples, Freddie moaned and stroked the nape of his neck. Then he flicked his tongue across her nipples, alternati
ng each breast he took into his mouth as she writhed underneath his kiss. When she thought his tormenting kiss couldn’t get any more torturous, he slipped his finger inside her panties. She was so hot and wet that it was almost embarrassing. She didn’t know this man well, but he’d found ways to turn her on like no other man who’d ever taken her to bed.
She groaned as his finger found her throbbing bud and caressed it, slow then faster and faster still. Freddie felt as if Cleveland was pouring gasoline on a fire that he’d built and now it was a raging inferno. There was only one way to put it out and his finger wasn’t going to be enough. Still, she grasped his wrist, urging him deeper, harder, faster.
Cleveland was quick to oblige her silent demand as she arched her back. She was closer to a climax than she wanted to admit. Could he tell how love-starved her body was? He removed his finger, brought it to his lips and licked it.
“Mmm, sweet,” he said. Then he pulled her panties down and buried his face between her thighs. The moment she felt the heat from his breath near her moist flesh, Freddie trembled as his tongue touched every place where his finger had been. Her legs quaked as he nibbled and sucked on her throbbing bud. She called out his name as she felt the waves of an orgasm ebb at her senses. Freddie attempted to push Cleveland away, but he deepened his kiss and she exploded from the inside out.
Reversing the direction of his kiss, Cleveland found his way back to her breasts, kissing and sucking them until Freddie cried out in lust. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling his sex against hers. Though part of her wanted him to take her right then, she was smart enough to know that they had to be protected before they could go any further. She loosened her grip on his waist. “You need to . . .”
“I know,” he said as he reached underneath his pillow and retrieved a condom.
Part of her wanted to ask why he had a condom underneath his pillow? Maybe he planned to bring someone back to his hotel room after the wedding, then again, she was so far gone that it didn’t matter. All she knew was she had to have Cleveland inside her and fast.
She took the condom from his hands. “Allow me,” she said as she pushed him on his back.
“Miss Barker, you can do whatever you want to do,” he said with a sly smile.
Freddie straddled Cleveland and rolled the sheath into place, then she guided him to where she needed him most. At first, it was a tight fit because it had been so long since she had been with a man and Cleveland was all man, thick and long. For a moment, it felt as if it was going to be too much for her to handle, but Cleveland shifted his hips and then it felt just right.
He groaned as Freddie rode him slowly. Her intensity was building as they ground against each other and then it was as if she were possessed. She bucked like a stallion, grasping his shoulders as he pressed deeper and deeper into her wetness.
“Oh, Freddie,” he exclaimed. “Damn.”
She felt as if she was about to climax, but Cleveland wasn’t finished with her. He flipped her over on to her back, taking control of their rendezvous. Freddie arched her back, pressing her hips into his and matching him thrust for thrust until they were both spent from their lovemaking. Collapsing in each other’s arms, they both exhaled. Freddie glanced at Cleveland, his eyes were half closed and he had a satisfied smile on his lips.
Despite herself, she thought about Marcus. He’d always turn his back to her and go to sleep. Yet Cleveland held her tightly as if they’d been lovers for years.
It’s just one night, you can let him hold you and give you all the pleasure you can handle, but you will never see him again, she thought.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, when he noted her silence.
“Just wondering how long we’re going to have to wait for round two,” she said, leaning in to kiss him on the neck.
Cleveland looked down at his crotch area; he was erect again. “We can get started right now,” he said as he pulled her on top of him.
The next morning, Cleveland woke up marveling at Freddie’s naked body. She was even more beautiful in the morning light. The sun cast a golden glow over her chocolate body and made her look almost edible. He knew how good she tasted because he’d sampled every inch of her the night before. Cleveland had to admit, he was shocked that he and Freddie ended up in bed. At the rehearsal, she made it known that she didn’t like him. Last night, though, she showed him a different side of her. Gently, he stroked her arm, struggling with the fact that he wanted to wake her up and make love to her all over again.
Freddie’s eyes fluttered open and her lips curved into a smile. “Good morning,” Cleveland said.
“Morning.”
“Do you want to get some breakfast or something?” he asked.
Freddie shook her head and rose from the bed. Modestly, she pulled a sheet from the bed and wrapped it around her body. “What time is it? My head is killing me,” she said then dashed into the bathroom.
Cleveland furrowed his brows as he sat up in the bed. What in the hell just happened here? He walked over to the bathroom and knocked on the door.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
Freddie opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. “I’m fine, I just have to get out of here.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “I thought . . .”
“It was what it was,” Freddie said as she picked her dress up off the floor. “Wedding sex.”
“Wedding sex? I’ve never heard of that,” Cleveland said.
“Whatever. You know that this was just a one time thing and don’t pretend that there was more than sex between us. Besides, we’re never going to see each other again,” she said as she zipped her dress up. “I had a wonderful time.”
Before Cleveland could say anything, Freddie was out the door. What in the hell just happened? he thought as he plopped down on the bed.
Once Freddie was outside of Cleveland’s hotel room, she realized that she hadn’t driven to the hotel and she needed a ride back to Lillian’s mother’s house. If she called Michelle, she knew she was going to have to do a lot of explaining and she didn’t have money for a cab. The only thing she could do was hope that Cleveland would take her where she needed to go. Slowly she turned around and knocked on his room door.
Seconds later, a shirtless Cleveland opened the door. “This is a surprise. I thought we were never going to see each other again.”
Freddie smiled, though she had a snappy comeback forming in her mind. “Well, last night when we came here, I didn’t drive. Didn’t bring any cab fare either.”
“Now you need my help?” he said with a smirk. “Let me take a shower and I’ll give you a ride.”
She sucked in her bottom lip, thinking that one last ride with Cleveland wouldn’t be such a bad idea. As he disappeared behind the bathroom door, part of her wanted to strip out of her dress and join him. But Freddie was the one who set the rule of one time only and she was going to have to abide by that, no matter how tempting it was to know that a naked Cleveland was inches away from her.
Twenty minutes later, Cleveland and Freddie were on their way to Lillian’s mother’s house. “Do you think you can let me out a few blocks away?” Freddie asked.
“What are you, sixteen?” Cleveland asked with a laugh.
“No, I just don’t feel like answering a bunch of questions about you,” she said.
“All right, whatever you wish,” he said as he circled Michelle’s house and stopped a block away.
As Freddie reached for the door handle, he locked the door. “Before you go, I have one question. How does this end? Do we shake hands and walk back to our corners?”
“Pretty much. You live in Atlanta, I have a lot going on at home and this is best. We gave in to the temptation and now it’s over.”
Cleveland unlocked the door, then handed Freddie one of his business cards. “Just in case you ever want to visit my corner again.”
She looked at the card and shook her head. “I don’t think so. T
hanks for the memory, though.” Freddie got out of the car and walked the block. She couldn’t resist looking back at Cleveland as he drove away. The time she spent with him was a memory that she wasn’t going to soon forget.
Chapter 6
Two days before Mardi Gras
Cleveland sat in his brother’s office, twirling a loc around his finger. In the month since Louis’s wedding, Cleveland had thought of nothing but his night with Freddie. She invaded his thoughts whenever a cold wind caressed his cheek or when he had a silent moment alone. She’d been the star of his dreams and the cause of several cold showers. Maybe he’d run into her in New Orleans. But she’d made it clear that what they’d shared was a one time thing.
“If weddings make her crazy like that, I wonder what Mardi Gras does to her,” he mumbled.
“Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity,” Darren, his brother, said from the doorway. “And what are you doing in my office?”
“Waiting on you,” Cleveland shot back. “I’m out of here in the morning.”
Darren took his seat behind his desk and pushed his brother’s feet off the top of it. “I can’t believe that you are making Louis send you to New Orleans in exchange for being his best man. If anything, you should be paying him.”
“When is the baby coming?” Cleveland said, changing the subject.
“Your guess is as good as mine. Jill is now two weeks overdue and it’s killing her because her laptop won’t fit on her lap. She wants to go into the office, but the doctor has her on total bed rest because of her blood pressure.”
“I thought she’d given up control to that dude, Malik?” Cleveland said.
“When have you known my wife to ever give up control of anything? I can see her now when the baby comes, she’ll be changing diapers and running her computer company from the baby’s nursery. Malik’s wife just had a baby about two months ago. It must be something in the water around here. So, you better watch your back, little bro and watch out for Lillian. Since Louis is picking up your hours this week, she’s steaming. You were never one of her favorite people anyway.”
More Than He Can Handle Page 5
