by Linda Verji
“I am not falling for that again,” Nico answered before Reggie could. He grabbed Kendra’s wrist and dragged her to his lap. “I can think of better games to play.”
“Ew.” Erica fake-retched as she stood. “Get a room you two.” She bent to throw her pen on the table, her motions revealing a tantalizing strip of skin between her t-shirt and jeans. “I’m going to get myself something to drink. Anyone else?”
“Red bull.”
“Beer.” Kendra and Nico placed their orders. When Erica turned her gaze to him, Reggie shook his head. “Nothing for me.”
He watched her walk to the kitchen then stood to follow her. Erica was standing in front of the open fridge unaware of his entrance. However, when he locked the door behind him with a loud snap, she turned.
Eyes wide with surprise, she gasped, “Reggie?”
“You’ve been avoiding me.” The words came out more pissed off than he intended.
He didn’t miss the flash of guilt in her eyes and the nod of her head even as she stumbled over her words. “No… No. I’ve… I’ve been a little busy. You know how work can get. My stock got held up…” Her speech died on her lips as he stalked closer to her until they were toe to toe and her feminine fragrance tickled his nostrils.
In her bare feet, the top of her head barely touched his chin. Intent to be eye-to-eye, he grasped her waist and lifted her. The winding of her arms around his neck was automatic, and she didn’t let go even when he set her on the counter.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he repeated. Her lips parted and her tongue peeked between the plump flesh, tempting him. It took everything in him not to draw his head closer and taste her. He asked, “Why?”
She didn’t answer. She met his gaze with an unreadable one of her own even as her thighs tightened around his flanks trapping him between her legs. The heat unfurled in Reggie’s body awakening his lust. Unbidden, his hands trailed the length of her spine stopping at her lower back to push her closer to the edge of the counter.
“Why?” he repeated. Despite the jeans between them, the first meeting of their groins was a shock to the system. It sent tremors of lust through his body and right to his cock. Reggie pressed his fast lengthening tool harder against the v between her thighs.
Whimpering low in her throat, Erica closed her eyes and her arms tightened around his neck. She clung to the soft cotton of his t-shirt as she drew their upper bodies closer until her tits grazed the planes of his chest. Reggie couldn’t stop the growl of pleasure that rumbled in his chest as his hands eased over her thick thighs.
“Damn.” He groaned when Erica set lips to his throat. He’d never known he was sensitive there until she suckled on the skin next to his Adam’s apple. It was like throwing gasoline to a crackling bonfire. Reggie gathered her closer as his hands found her ass. When her lips trailed upwards then touched the side of his lips he was gone.
He slanted his lips over hers with unerring desire.
The kiss was heated with molten passion. His desire swelled with each stroke of his tongue against hers and each taste of her lips. The more he kissed her, the more he wanted and the more she gave returning his kiss for his kiss. He loved how unrestrained she was with her passion. Her fingers played a desperate tune on his back and shoulders, digging into his flesh and stoking the flames consuming him.
He hiked her closer and closer to the edge of the counter until there was no space at all between their bodies; breasts hard against chest, tummy against tummy and her pussy nestled hard against his cock. He pressed rhythmically against her; she mimicked his movements meeting each hard press with one of her own.
Her clothes were an inconvenient barrier between them and Reggie eased his hands in the waistband of her jeans. He almost burst a nut when he realized that beyond the thin strip of fabric, running across her waist and dipping between her ass-cheeks, her flesh was his to play with. He was moving his hands to the front of her jeans so he could unzip her pants when she tore her lips away from him.
Her breathing ragged, she cupped her palms over her mouth. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Reggie took a deep breath as he sought to steady his rampant pulse. “Don’t apologize.”
She lowered her hands and her gaze, but not before he noted remorse overshadow the lingering desire in her eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to attack you like that.”
“Erica, stop apologizing.” He tipped her chin upwards, but she determinedly kept her gaze lowered. Pressing his lips against her forehead, he added, “And I like being attacked.”
“You didn’t like it last time,” she mumbled into her t-shirt.
It was then that it hit him. “That’s why you were avoiding me?” She didn’t respond. He cupped her chin, tipping her face upwards this time forcing her to meet his stare. When she did the answer was in her eyes. His lips tilted in an amused smile. Erica thought he didn’t want her. Ridiculous. He pressed a soft kiss on her lips. “I didn’t stop because I don’t want you. I stopped because you’re not ready, sweetheart.”
Her head reared backwards. “What do you mean I’m not ready?” She raised her hand and wiggled her fingers in his face. “See. Not engaged anymore. That means ready.”
Reggie had seen the missing ring as soon as he’d walked into the house but that wasn’t what he meant. He clarified, “You’re not ready for a relationship.”
“What does that have to do with anything? I’m not looking for a relationship.” Her lips curving into a mischievous smile that stirred his body as she snaked her arms around his neck, she added, “Just a little fun.”
“And that’s why we can’t do this,” Reggie said. “I’m not gon be your rebound.”
Erica’s eyes widened and her mouth opened then snapped shut again. Disappointment clouded her eyes and her shoulders sagged. Letting her arms fall from his body, she nodded. “Okay.”
“Okay?” he asked, “That’s all you have to say?”
“What do you want me to say?” Her tone was glacial as she shoved him away with her knee on his tummy and hopped off the counter.
Before she could move away, he grabbed her wrist. “So now you’re shutting me out because I won’t fuck you?”
Ponytail flying as she whipped her head to face him, she snapped, “Reggie what do you want from me?”
“I want you.”
The frustration was clear in her voice as she said, “You just said that you didn’t want me.”
“That’s not what I said. I said I don’t want to be your rebound,” he corrected. “I want you. Badly.” He lowered his gaze to his crotch. Despite his jeans, the bulge was as evident as the tension swirling between them. “But I won’t have sex with you if I can’t have a relationship with you. And you’re not there yet.”
She didn’t refute the statement.
He shrugged. “I’d rather be just friends for now.”
For a moment she was silent, her head tilted as she stared at him as if searching for something more in his words. Finally, a small smile creased her face and with a hopeful note in her voice she said, “With benefits?”
Reggie laughed. “No.” His laugh got louder when she pouted.
She smacked him on the chest. “I hate you.”
“No, you don’t.” He bent and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I missed talking to you.”
“I missed talking to-” her words were interrupted by the violent turn of the doorknob.
The door didn’t open but Kendra shouted, “Ey, why’ve you two locked yourselves in there? Reggie, you better not have touched my white forest.”
“Ricky, Ricky, Ricky,” the women chanted as Ricardo Suarez swung his hips in seductive circles in time to the salsa music throbbing around the room. His dick, clad in nothing but mesh underwear, vibrated with his motions earning him screams of excitement as the women went into a mass happy-attack.
Erica smiled as she watched the festivities from the back of the room. Who knew that fifty-something year-old Hampton socialites who wer
e so prim and proper during the day would be so into Strippers & Heels? Ricky sashayed closer to one of the women, rubbing his crotch against her nose before sauntering off to tease another woman. Marc and De’André were on the other side of the room doing their thing and raking in tips.
Back when she’d started the business, its being so popular hadn’t even been her dream. She just knew she couldn’t survive another month of being homeless and wanted to make some money. Sleeping in cars at seventeen and trying to avoid police sweeps was no easy fete. She’d sold the car and bought her first stock of shoes, selling them door to door at the local University sorority houses. Who knew that this venture, born of desperation, would turn into something so big?
Combining a shoe-shop with an event’s business had been an out of the blue idea, but like her previous one it’d taken off. On weekdays, she ran a shoe-shop, and over the weekend, Strippers & Heels went on the road, hosting private invite-only stripper shows in clients’ homes or hotels. Apart from her flagship store in San Diego, Erica now had four franchise stores running across the country. This would be the fifth, and judging by the success of this opening event, it was going to be a another hit.
Part of her was satisfied that her plan to set up five franchises by the end of the year had ended successfully. The other part was scared. Now that there were no more franchises to launch, she had nowhere else to run. She’d have to deal with Quin and his persistent calling. She’d have to deal with watching Kendra and Nico so happy and mourning the death of her own relationship. Now she’d have to deal with Reggie and how drawn she was to him.
He hadn’t brought up the ‘relationship’ conversation again. But it hung between them like a dark cloud every time they spoke and Erica hated it. Why couldn’t he give her what she wanted? A relationship would complicate things. It would lead to cheating and she couldn’t handle that – not again. She was tempted to launch a sixth franchise just so she could keep running.
Loud screams cut into Erica’s troubled thoughts drawing her gaze towards DeAndre who’d just ripped his fireman pants off and thrown them to the side. His dark skin glinted in the soft light as his hips swiveled round and round in tune to the music. When he bounced to the ground in push-up position and flexed his muscles, shrieks filled the room. Leis, the manager of The Hamptons branch of Stripper’s & Heels gave Erica a thumbs-up and smiled widely as she swiped yet another credit card.
The party went on for a couple more hours. When Erica finally called time, each of the women left with a pair of shoes, directions to the store and a code for a discount on their next buy. A few of them walked out with her strippers. She didn’t mind. Her boys were old enough and could handle themselves.
Erica – bringing sex and shoes to women and saving the world.
She smiled bitterly, reminded that she wasn’t getting any herself. It had been over two months since her official split with Quin and her botched attempt at seducing Reggie. Since then she’d remained celibate. She might’ve survived for much longer if it wasn’t for the nightly phone calls with Reggie.
On the surface their conversations still sounded like innocent flirting but underneath they were thick with sexual tension. A couple of times they’d gotten real close to having phone sex, but Reggie always pulled them back from the edge. However, it didn’t help that whenever she was home, he was always there, kissing and teasing her but withholding what she really wanted. Ugh, she hated the man.
As it is, she’d started licking her lips at the sight of her strippers, which was bad. She never mixed business and pleasure. If Reggie wasn’t careful she’d water the fire he’d lit with someone else’s hose.
“Minus expenses, we made fifty thousand.” Leis giggled. “And four of them gave me deposits for house-parties.”
“And that’s just a taste,” Erica encouraged. “If you keep the parties hyped like this, you can bet they’ll keep coming.”
Once they’d packed up the left-over shoes, they called in the hotel staff to deal with the storage. Erica bid Leis good night and made her way towards the elevator. The concierge stopped her midway, calling her to his desk. He handed her three boxes dressed up in colorful wrapping paper and each topped by a card. Erica opened the first box’s envelope.
Happy Birthday Ri. Here’s to getting younger.
Kendra and Nico.
Erica smiled. She’d thought that everyone had forgotten save for her mother who’d called her this morning. She set Kendra’s gift aside as she picked the envelope on the second gift. Her smile fell when she recognized the handwriting.
I’m sorry about what happened. You’re my best friend and…
Erica didn’t even finish reading the card before she tore it into little pieces. “Do you have a bin?” she asked the concierge. He pointed it out to her then gasped in surprise when she handed him the box with Brooklyn’s gift. “Here have this one.”
The third gift was no better. She didn’t even need to open the envelope to identify Quin’s handwriting. She pushed the box towards the concierge. “You can have this one too.” Tucking Kendra’s gift under her arm, she made her way towards the elevator. What was it with those two? She’d left them to each other, why couldn’t they leave her alone. The fact that Reggie hadn’t sent her a gift worsened Erica’s mood and by the time she got her to the room she was still fuming.
“He doesn’t have to send me a gift. It’s not like he’s my boyfriend or anything.” Her voice resonated around the empty room as she uncorked the complimentary bottle of champagne the hotel had sent and tipped some into a flute-glass. “He’s just a friend.”
Even to her the words sounded like a lie and she gulped a mouthful of champagne to ease the bitter tang they left in her mouth. The bubbles danced on her tongue before the liquid smoothed its way down her throat somewhat easing her anger. Half-full glass in hand she made her way to the bathroom.
She opened the taps letting the water rush out to fill the large ceramic bowel before pouring in some bubble bath. It sweet vanilla scent suffused her senses and calmed her nerves as she disrobed then pulled her hair into a bun atop her head. She sunk into the depths of the water with a relieved sigh, closing her eyes as she took another sip of wine. Immediately, his face filled her mind.
Reggie.
“I hate you,” she mumbled even as her mouth tingled, recalling the thickness of his lips and the taste of him as he’d kissed her. Erica shifted in the water as her body recollected how it’d felt to be pressed against his body. She set her glass on the edge of the bathtub.
How would it feel to have him really touch her? Her palms skimmed up her stomach to cup her breast as she imagined what it would feel like. How would it feel to have those strong thick hands weighing the heavy flesh, squeezing and tweaking. Her hands mimicked her wandering mind, inciting her flesh to fever pitch. How would it feel to have his hands rove her body, lower, lower, lower?
“Ah!” Erica whimpered as she touched the aching nub between her thighs. She hissed in pleasure as she rubbed her clit in circular motions, tapping, flicking and stroking it even harder as she imagined Reggie’s fingers would do. Pressing a finger deeper into the tight sheathe, she moaned, “Reggie.”
The answering thump startled her and her eyes flew open. It took a while for her to realize that it was actually loud knocking coming from the door. Assuming it was Leis or one of the hotel staff having issues with their merchandise, she stood from the tub. After drying herself and slipping into a white terrycloth robe, she padded out of the bathroom.
“Coming,” she yelled as she headed to the door. The moment she peeked through the peephole her senses were reawakened. With a wide smile, she yanked the door open.
He stood at the door, looking delicious in a leather jacket over a navy t-shirt and dark jeans and carrying a black duffel bag. “What? No hug for me?”
“Reggie.” She had no idea how it happened or who moved first. One moment she was standing by the door staring at him and next she was wrapped around him; her
arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Supporting her with a hand on her ass, he walked them into the room, shut the door and dropped his bag.
“Happy Birthday, baby,” he whispered right before their lips met.
CHAPTER 9
The moment Reggie’s lips met hers, his wits spun out of control. Everything disappeared in the wake of that kiss, slain by Erica’s sweet taste. He savored the mint and champagne that lingered on her breath and delved deeper in search of her. In response, she melted against him and opened her mouth wider, so willing to let him explore her. Her fingers danced at his nape, rubbing in small rhythmic circles that stirred him to fever pitch.
He nibbled at Erica’s plump lower lip and in response she sucked on his upper lip before plunging her tongue back into his mouth. Advance for advance they met, trying to consume each other with that one kiss.
He turned with her still in his arms, pressing her against the door. Her robe had come undone with their efforts. Her naked heat taunted him; from her full breasts pushing against the hard planes of his chest to her thick thighs aligned with his own. His fingers dug into her ass and cupped the firm cheeks as he ground his cock into her naked core. In response, she wound her hips and pressed harder against him.
She whimpered, “Reggie.”
The sound of his name was enough to drag him from the lethargic eroticism that had held him captive. This wasn’t what he’d come for. He was here to make sure she didn’t have to spend her birthday alone, not to sleep with her. Despite the incessant protest from his senses, he retreated from the full-blown tongue-binding kiss into small pecks. They petered off into one final glance of his lips against hers before he stopped the kiss.
He dragged in deep rough breaths and kept his forehead connected to hers as he fought for control over his body. When he could speak, he opened his eyes and smiled. “Happy birthday!”
