by Linda Verji
“He was angry because she’s pregnant,” Kendra continued.
“She’s pregnant?” The news that Brooklyn was pregnant was almost as shocking as Quin being dead. Erica had always seen herself as the mother of Quin’s children, even going as far as to name them in her head. It was enough to spike her bitterness against Brooklyn again.
She listened with half-hearted interest when Kendra explained that Brooklyn had asked him for money for her prenatal appointment and instead Quin had attacked her. She didn’t plan to kill him, only to distract him long enough so she could get out of there and save herself and her baby, instead Quin had fallen backwards and knocked his head on the edge of the bathtub.
Erica wanted to be sympathetic, she really wanted to. But she couldn’t get past the fact that Brooklyn had stolen her fiancé, still lived with him even after claiming that they were done, gotten pregnant then killed said fiancé. She couldn’t!
Erica’s irritation with the younger woman peaked during Quin’s funeral. Despite being the one behind Quin’s death, Brooklyn insisted on going to the wake looking like a dog that had lost its favorite bone. To make it worse, Quin’s parents had apologized – apologized – for their son’s treatment of her before begging her to let them have a relationship with their grandchild. Erica didn’t even want to see the girl.
“You live in the same house,” Reggie said a couple of days later when he stopped by Strippers & Heels to see Erica. “You can’t avoid her forever.”
“I think I can.” Erica didn’t lift her gaze from the purchase orders she was signing, but was aware of the disapproval pouring from Reggie in thick waves. Hard as she tried she couldn’t ignore him when he stood up then and crossed to her side of the desk. Swift as an arrow, he turned her swivel chair and bracketed her between his arms.
His masculine scent instantly imbued the little space between her, tickling her senses and looked up to his face. His expression was both intent and somber. Arching her eyebrows, she asked, “What?”
“Forgive her.”
Erica shook her head. “No.”
“You should forgive her,”
“No.” Mesmerized by his lips, she lifted one hand to his face and stroked her thumb over his lower lip. When she arched her neck upwards to get a taste of him, he reared his head backwards.
“Erica!”
“What?”
“I’m trying to be serious here.”
“Then you shouldn’t come so close to me.” She reached for his neck dragging his head closer until finally he capitulated and let his lips meet hers. The kiss was tender as it was stirring. He took her bottom lip into his mouth. At her responsive whimper, he deepened the kiss until they were both breathless.
“You’re a bad girl.” Reggie grinned as he stood her to her feet then settled on her leather seat with her astride his lap. He groaned when she shifted over his dick.
“Your bad girl,” Erica clarified as she shifted over his dick earning a deep groan from him.
“All mine.” He grabbed the skirt of her green wrap dress, pushing the fabric upwards until only her panties and his slacks lay between them and pleasure.
“The door’s locked,” she encouraged.
“Is it now?” He smiled wickedly before drawing her head closer for a deeper kiss. A ringing sound cut into their fevered kiss. “That’s me.”
“Not now,” Erica complained as she tried to draw him back into their kiss.
“Might be work.” After one last peck, Reggie extricated his phone from his right pant-pocket and answered, “Coleman …Oh hi, Shanice …” He laughed at something the woman said. Erica strained to hear what they were talking about but couldn’t hear much considering the phone was on the other end. “… No, I’ll be back in an hour or two. Need something?” He paused again, a smile on his face as he listened to Shanice. Who was this Shanice? He certainly seemed happy to hear from her. “…okay, no worries. I’ll pass by your office when I get back. Bye.”
Erica didn’t want to ask - she really didn’t – but her mouth had a brain of its own and before she could stop herself the words popped out. “Who’s Shanice?”
Reggie didn’t answer immediately. Instead his gaze locked on her, piercing her thoughts as if reading the insecurity in there. She shifted uncomfortably in his lap and turned her face away from him.
He grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him then pressed a tender kiss to her mouth. “Shanice’s just a workmate.” He kissed her cheek, then the other cheek. “Nothing has ever happened between she and I.” He kissed her neck and licked his way down her collarbone. She inhaled a deep breath when he pressed another kiss at her cleavage just above the strip of skin where the v of her dress started. “Nothing will ever happen because…” He untied the belt that held her wrap-dress together and pulled open the sides to reveal her nearly nude body to his gaze. Erica’s nipple puckered beneath her indigo lacy bra at the intentness of his gaze. He licked his lips before finishing, “…you’re the only woman I want.”
She almost shot out of his lap when he suddenly pressed his mouth to her nipple. She whimpered when he licked her over the fabric then suckled. “Reggie.”
His mouth was unrelenting, switching from one nipple to the other while his hands on her waist kept her firmly on his lap. She couldn’t stop her instinctive need to grind on him. He moved to cup her ass, encouraging her along until they were both breathing roughly.
He made short work of strapping up, pushing the gusset of her panties to the side and urged her to lower herself onto him. His gaze heated as she took his full length. Enjoying the way his eyes hooded and his breath quickened when she started to ride, she stroked his thick rod with her tight wet heat.
“So sweet.” Reggie growled his pleasure from deep in his throat as he massaged her breasts. Despite the fabric between his hand and her flesh, the resultant heat was enough to draw a whimper from her. He caught it in his mouth and trapped it against his own groan. His tongue darted into her mouth to wind a spell around her senses.
Her fingers clasped over his forearms tightly as she rose and fell on his thick cock. He lowered his free hand to her ass, massaging the firm flesh and helping her move.
Up. Down. Up. Down. With each motion, her pussy’s grip over his cock tightened until she began to contract over him. The throbbing pulsations combined with her keening cry as she stepped over the edge of her pleasure were enough to push him to completion, and he too came.
Exhausted, he held her close as their breathing returned to normal. His hand soothed over her back in slow strokes. Erica loved to cuddle after sex and from their few encounters, she’d gathered that Reggie liked it too.
Don’t get used to it. Theirs was supposed to be a friends-with-benefits relationship and this felt dangerously like more. She started to stand up, but Reggie kept a firm hand on her thigh restricting her movement. She tilted her head as her gaze met his in question.
“You need to forgive her.”
Her brow crinkled in confusion. “What?”
“Brooklyn,” Reggie said. “You need to forgive her.”
What? They’d just had sex and all he could think about was that home-breaker?
“Is she paying you or something?” Erica huffed in irritation. She tried to stand up again but Reggie kept her put. “After everything she did?”
“I know she hurt you, baby.” He pushed an errant curl of her hair behind her ear. “But you’re doing this for you, not for her. Think of it this way. You’re the one who’s burning with anger. You’re the one who’s avoiding her. Meanwhile she’s going on with her life. It’s like you’re drinking poison and expecting her to die from it. Your anger is hurting you.”
“That doesn’t make any damn sense.” Erica scoffed as she turned her gaze downwards. Playing with his silver watch, she said, “And I don’t feel like forgiving her.”
“Let it go,” Reggie coaxed. “Even if you’re not going to be best friends at least bury the hatchet.”
“I
don’t wanna,” Erica whined just as the clasp of his watch came apart in her hands and it loosened on his wrist.
“Hey, don’t take it out on my watch.” Reggie grabbed the watch before it fell to the floor and slipped it into his pocket.
“Sorry,” Erica said not sounding in the least bit apologetic.
“You are not sorry.” Reggie gave her a lopsided grin as his cock thickened deep inside her. “But you will be.”
“Oh hell no.” Erica cut her eyes at him when he flexed inside her. “Not after you finished defending that woman.”
“I bet I can convince you to let me in for another round.” He lowered his smiling mouth towards her.
Brooklyn noticed the change in Erica almost as soon as it happened. Where before she’d been acting like Brooklyn was a ghost she couldn’t see, Erica started to make an effort to at least greet her when they passed each other and would participate in conversations between Brooklyn and Kendra. It wasn’t a dramatic change, but it was something and Brooklyn crowed in satisfaction. According to Kendra, Brooklyn had Reggie to thank for the ceasefire.
Another sign of how much he loved her.
CHAPTER 14
Reggie was deeply embroiled in studying a report when a loud knock cut into his thoughts. He lifted his gaze towards the door. “Come in.” To say he was shocked when he saw who walked through his door would be an understatement. “Brooklyn?”
“Hi, Reggie.” She stood next the open door, eyes wide like those of a doe caught in a trap and clutching her purse to her chest defensively.
“Please, come in.” Reggie pushed his chair back and stood. Though nonplussed at her presence in his office, he gestured to the seat opposite his desk. “Have a seat.”
In the last few days since Quin’s funeral, Brooklyn seemed to have improved health-wise. Her skin still had the unhealthy pallor of someone using skin-lightening agents (Reggie had been in the health industry long enough to spot it), but she’d added on a few needed pounds as evidenced by the purple clingy dress she was wearing.
She also no longer walked with an old woman’s stoop otherwise she never would have been able to pull off the ridiculously high stilettos she was wearing. With halting steps, she crossed the expanse of his office and took the offered seat. “Thank you.”
“What can I do for you?” Reggie asked, more than a little curious about her visit. He and Brooklyn had had very little interaction. If anything he’d always the vague feeling that Brooklyn wasn’t his biggest fan. So what was she doing here?
“I…I…” she stammered. “I… I wanted to say thanks.”
He frowned in confusion. “Thanks?”
“For t…t…talking to Erica.”
It would’ve been callous for him to tell her that he’d done it for Erica not her so Reggie settled for. “It was nothing.”
“It meant a lot to me.” Brooklyn peered at him shyly, her cheeks blooming a pale pink. “You know how Erica can hold a grudge. If it wasn’t for you, she probably would never have talked to me.”
Reggie didn’t know what to say that so he simply repeated, “It was nothing.”
He was caught unawares when she suddenly reached across the table and grasped his hand. “If there’s ever any way I can repay you…” She licked her lips as her grip around his fingers tightened. “…Please let me know.”
She exited the office then leaving Reggie puzzled. The beginning of her visit had been innocent enough but towards the end…well it had been weird. Had her offer to repay him been some sort of seduction of was he reading too much into it?
Yup. He was reading too much into it.
“Honey, you should come for Thanksgiving,” Sandra coaxed. “Your Aunt Gina’s gonna be here. You know how you loved her cooking.”
“Actually I didn’t.” Erica pulled open the oven-door and extracted the tray of cupcakes, infusing the kitchen with the sweet aromas of chocolate and vanilla. Setting the tray on the counter, she said, “She puts bacon in everything.”
“Oh, well.” By the long pause after the statement, Erica assumed her mother was stuck for more excuses to draw her home. But then her mother piped, “Then we can invite Jesse. You haven’t seen him in years, right?”
“There’s a reason for that,” Erica retorted as she removed her oven mitts and slapped them on the counter. She didn’t even want to think of Jesse, let alone sit at the same table with him. He’d gotten her pregnant then deserted her. Jesse was the type of man women wrote ‘never wanna see you again’ songs for.
“Oh.” Her mother’s disappointment was evident clear through the line.
“This is peak season for Strippers & Heels anyway,” Erica said even as the door behind her opened. She turned to see Reggie walking in. Offering him a smile, she turned back to her conversation with her mother. “I don’t think I can leave town.”
“Even for just a few days?” Sandra implored.
“Even for a few days,” Erica said even though if she really wanted to, she could take a few days off. The assistant store-manager she’d hired after firing Brooklyn was a capable woman. However, the thought of spending a few hours, let alone a whole weekend, with her parents was enough to give her hives. She couldn’t.
“Your father and I would love to see you,” her mother wheedled.
“Sandra, I have to go,” Erica said as Reggie snaked his hand past her and towards the tray of cupcakes. She slapped his hand away before saying into the phone. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Before her mother could nag her more, Erica ended the call just as Reggie inched his hands towards the cupcakes again. She grabbed his hand and turned towards him. “They’re still hot. You’ll burn your fingers.”
“Aw, so you care if I burn my fingers?”
“Not really,” Erica teased as she ran a fingertip down his nose. “I’m distracting you until I can pack them all and carry them home with me.”
Reggie let out an exaggerated gasp. “You wouldn’t.”
Erica merely cocked her eyebrows. However when he stuck out his lower lip like a little boy, the bubble of amusement swelled in her until she started chuckling.
“Don’t play with me like that.” Reggie smiled as he bent his head. His mouth met hers in a slow, hot kiss that had her melting in his arms. She was very sure that if his arms hadn’t circled her waist, she would’ve dissolved into a puddle at his feet.
He muttered something unintelligible against her mouth before suckling on her bottom lip. When she parted her lips in a gasp, he snaked his tongue in and it curled around hers. Their tongues and lips mingled and tangled in a potent rhythm that lit a spark in Erica’s veins.
Reggie’s kiss was nothing like any kiss she’d ever been given…yet everything she wanted. In his arms she felt sheltered, shielded and secure. He promised her a safe haven with his marauding kiss yet some part of her still doubted him; reminding her that he was just a man. It wasn’t wise to fall.
She eased them out of the kiss with small pecks and a tight smile that was faker than a Pucci bag. His gaze lingered over her face. It was like he was reading her insecurities and eager to escape his knowing gaze, she scrambled for an excuse. “I should move the cupcakes.”
She turned in his arms and picked one cupcake at a time placing them on a large glass plate. The cakes were still hot but she would rather have charred her fingers than face Reggie. Even as she busied herself, her awareness of him only intensified. His gaze seared into the back of her head and the warmth of his body crowded against her back.
He soothed his hand over her tummy as he asked, “Was that your mom on the phone?”
“Yeah.” She didn’t know what made her add, “She wanted me to go home for thanksgiving.” Probably in a bid to ease the tension still swirling in the room but as soon as she said the words, she wished she could take them back.
Great! From the fire to the frying pan. Her family was the last thing she wanted to talk to Reggie about.
“Are you going?”
“No,”
she said as she picked up another cupcake from the tray and placed it on the plate. Please don’t ask anymore. Please drop the subject.
Of course he didn’t. “Why not?”
Erica stiffened. “It’s personal.”
CHAPTER 15
It’s personal.
If he needed anymore evidence that Erica didn’t trust him then there it was. She couldn’t even talk to him about her family. Judging from the fact that Erica called her mother by her given name, Reggie had already surmised that there were some unresolved issues between them. He didn’t expect Erica to spill her guts to him, but was it really too much to ask that she at least let him half way in?
He’d doubted his decision not to tell her about Brooklyn’s visit to his office, but now his doubts had been put to rest. His and Erica’s ‘relationship’ was still fragile and every sign told him that it wouldn’t take much for her to run.
This was the best decision.
When Reggie woke up the next morning, the first sensation was that of a weighty mass pressing him deeper into the bed. His eyes fluttered open only to meet her staring back at him, the soft glow of the bedside lamp framing her face. Amusement glittered in the depths of her hazel eyes as she asked, “Do you know you snore?”
At first her question was lost to him. He was distracted by the way her soft and naked curved were aligned perfectly over his length; from the arms she’d crossed over his chest to support her chin to the thighs straddling his. “Huh?”
“Did you know you snore?”she repeated.
“I don’t,” he returned as awareness flickered back into various parts of his body at their closeness and his cock unfurled between her legs.
Erica cocked perfectly arched ebony eyebrows. “You don’t know you snore or you don’t snore?”
“I don’t snore.” He dropped his hands from her waist to her ass and cupped the firm flesh.
“I beg to differ.” She slid down his body until the naked tip of him touched her entrance.
Reggie jerked in response to the moisture already coating his length and the ring slowly opening up for his entrance. He was surprised he didn’t choke on his own words when he said, “You must’ve been hearing yourself.”
