James threw his head back in ecstasy as Jade sucked softly and slowly, then faster and harder. He buried his hands in her silky hair as her tongue glided across the tip of his penis. Then she took him inside her mouth again, deeper than before, and James groaned in delight as the wetness of her mouth enveloped his swollen member.
As she took him to the edge of a climax, James pulled back. “Damn,” he murmured, then lifted her into his arms. James carried her to the sofa and gently laid her down. Then he pulled her skirt up to her waist. “It’s my turn to taste you,” he said, then planted his face between her quivering thighs. Hungrily, he lapped at her sweet juices, wrapping his tongue around the trembling bud that held her pleasure.
Shivering, she cried out in pleasure as James sucked, licked, and kissed the hidden areas between her wet folds of flesh. Just as she was about to reach her own climax, she grabbed his neck, wanting him to stop, but James kept licking, kept kissing, and Jade let nature take its course. The waves of pleasure that flowed through her body were beyond description. Every fiber of her being was touched by passion, desire, and longing. James had awakened her body in ways that she’d never known.
Pulling back, he looked up at her and licked his lips. “Delicious.”
Jade wrapped her legs around his waist and let him know that she was ready to have him deep inside.
“Not here,” he said. “I need more room than this sofa.”
James scooped Jade into his arms and headed for the bedroom. She pressed her lips against his neck, gently kissing and licking him. James was so aroused and so ready to take her to bed that it took everything in him not to drop her before getting her between the sheets.
“You’re driving me wild, baby,” he said as he placed her against his soft cotton sheets. He ran his hand between her breasts, relishing the softness of her skin. He dipped his hand between her thighs and felt the wetness awaiting him.
Before he dipped inside her, James reached into his nightstand drawer and grabbed a condom. Jade watched with eager anticipation as he slid the sheath in place. He took her into his arms and kissed her with a fiery passion that made her teeth chatter. She was already hot, but his lips and tongue made her hotter. Jade grasped his shoulders, forcing him onto his back. Then she mounted his erection, taking the length of him inside her love. He held her hips, getting into a slow and steady rhythm. They rocked back and forth, enjoying the heat from one another.
She felt as if this was the first time she’d made love. James wanted to please her as much as she pleased him. They had a mutual need and desire, which weren’t complete until they’d both had their fill.
James moaned as Jade moved faster. He dropped his hands, allowing her to take total control. With her head thrown back and her eyes closed, she rode him like he was a champion stallion. Over and over she called his name. His reply was an incoherent cry, alerting her to the orgasm building inside him. As he exploded, she fell against his chest, holding him tightly as she shivered from her own climax.
He kissed her gently on the collarbone. “You’re amazing,” he whispered.
“So are you,” she replied quietly.
“Are you sure you have to go back to Atlanta tonight?” he asked.
Jade nodded. “I’m sure Serena, Alicia, and Kandace are waiting on me so that we can figure out what our next move is with the restaurant.”
James cleared his throat. “Yeah, I almost forgot about your business here.”
She groaned, as if she felt an argument coming on. “James, do we have to do this?”
“We’re not doing anything. I know why you all wanted that restaurant and—”
“Shh. You’re about two words away from ruining the afterglow.” She leaned in and kissed him on the tip of his nose.
“I hope you all can make this restaurant work,” he said. “And that’s all I’m going to say about it.”
“Thanks. Now, can you just hold me until I have to leave?”
James tightened his embrace. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”
It was nearly 9 p.m. before Jade hit the road for home. Despite his best attempts at coaxing her to stay, Jade told him that she had some things she needed to take care of in Atlanta. Honestly, she didn’t want to go. She wished that she could stay wrapped up in James’s arms forever. But she had to face Stephen, especially since he knew that she was the reason that he couldn’t purchase the restaurant that he’d been coveting for years. Of course, she wasn’t going to tell James any of this, because she knew how he felt about her battle with Stephen.
Jade glanced at him as she opened her car door, waved, and smiled at him. He’d understand if the shoe was on the other foot. I can’t just let Stephen get away with what he did to me. This is business. Nothing personal, she thought.
Still, Jade wondered if Stephen was worth all the effort that she was putting into him. He’d made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with her, other than keeping the money he’d bilked her out of. What if James really walked out of her life because she wouldn’t let this thing go?
She was about to cross the state line into South Carolina when her cell phone rang. Jade had no doubt as to who was on the other end.
“Hello, Serena,” she said when she answered.
“Where are you?”
“On my way back to Atlanta. What’s wrong?”
“Guess who I ran into today,” Serena said.
“Who?” Jade asked, not really wanting to play a guessing game.
“Stephen. He came by my office, demanding to know how you got enough money to buy his North Carolina restaurant,” Serena said smugly. “He nearly had a coronary when I told him how we’re opening a restaurant there, and master chef Devon Harris is thinking of running the place.”
“Is that true? How in the world did you get Devon Harris to—”
“It’s not a done deal, but we’re working on it,” Serena admitted.
“Serena, why would you tell him that if we don’t have Devon? And when did we decide that we were really going to do this restaurant?”
Serena sighed into the phone. “Let me get the girls on a conference call. If you’d have come back earlier, we could’ve talked about this. I guess you were busy with that dude.”
“His name is James, and I’m getting pretty tired of your smart-ass comments about him.”
“Some things are more important than your precious boyfriend, okay? We’ve got to make our money back from this restaurant purchase, and it would be helpful if you were in town, since we got into this because of you.”
“Don’t act like you didn’t have a choice,” Jade snapped. “I was willing to let this go in the beginning, but you were the one who said Stephen needed to learn a lesson.”
“And he does, but this is our fight and you’re phoning it in.”
“Whatever. Maybe we should forget about this.”
“Hell no! We got a million reasons to make this thing work. You know how long we’ve been investing and saving money so that we could do something special with it. Now we’ve put it into this restaurant, and you want to quit.”
“I didn’t say I wanted to quit, but let’s make this about more than getting revenge on Stephen.”
“Sounds like James talking and not you. Hold on.”
Jade waited for Serena to come on the line with Alicia and Kandace. She knew this was a conversation she didn’t want to have.
“What’s the deal, people?” Kandace said. “I was in the middle of something important.”
“I’m sure your Twinkies will wait for you,” Alicia said.
“For your information, I have a project that I’m working on, and it’s cupcake night, so there,” Kandace replied.
“Ladies,” Serena interrupted. “We have a more pressing matter at hand. Ms. Jade is having second thoughts about things.”
“That’s not what I said,” Jade snapped. “Look, we’ve been so focused on getting revenge on Stephen, but what if we just forget about him and focus on making this
restaurant work?”
“Uh-oh,” Alicia said. “Sounds like somebody is going soft. Have you forgotten what Stephen did and the money he—”
“No, I haven’t. That’s why I’m suing him,” Jade said. “But this can’t be a collective thing. We’re not vindictive bitches who have to prove anything to Stephen.”
“But you’re suing him? Why?” Serena asked. “Isn’t it going to cost more to do that than to open this restaurant? Hell, we could sell the place to another developer if we can’t get Devon on board.”
“I’m suing him because it was my money and it’s the mature thing to do,” Jade replied.
“According to who? James?” Serena asked.
“All right,” Kandace said. “We’re not going to solve anything over the phone, and I really have some work to complete. Can we meet for breakfast in the morning?”
“Sure,” Jade said. “I’m hanging up because it’s dark out here and I need to focus on the road.” She clicked her cell phone off before anyone could reply.
Seconds later her phone began to ring again. “Damn it,” she muttered as she answered. “What now?”
“Is that how you answer the phone when you’re driving?” James asked.
“I thought you were someone else,” she replied, with a smile spreading across her face.
“Where are you now?” he asked.
“In the backwoods of South Carolina. I should be home in another hour.”
“I really don’t like you driving late like this,” he said. “And I’m sorry if that sounds paternalistic.”
“Are you worried about me?”
“What do you think?”
Jade continued smiling. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been treated this way or had a man in her life that was genuinely concerned about her and not just about what she could do for him. “Well, I’m a big girl, and I follow all traffic laws,” she said jokingly.
“I’ll bet. You don’t strike me as a girl who follows the rules, and I mean that in a good way.”
“Sure you do,” she said, with a laugh. “And I guess you’re Mr. Straitlaced.”
“I used to be. You must be rubbing off on me,” he quipped.
“You’re confusing that with me rubbing you,” she said.
“Funny. I don’t want to distract you, so do me a favor and give me a shout when you arrive home so that I know you’re safe.”
“All right,” she said. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
After hanging up with James, Jade pressed the gas pedal to the floor. She couldn’t wait to get home so that she could crawl under the covers and call her man back.
James hung up the phone with a satisfied look on his face. But when his phone rang and he saw Maurice’s number on the caller ID, his mood changed. Despite the fact that Mo had claimed that everything was squashed with Jade, he knew his brother probably had more to say. Part of him didn’t want to answer the phone, but he picked it up, anyway.
“What’s up?” James said.
“Is your chick still there?”
James sighed and said, “Are you talking about Jade? If you are, no.”
“Sorry. Meet me at the Blake Hotel’s bar. I got to tell you something.”
“Do you realize that one of us has to go to work in the morning?”
“Negro, it’s only eleven o’clock.”
James exhaled, then agreed to meet his brother. This man always has some damn drama going on with him.
Fifteen minutes later, James was walking into the hotel’s bar. Maurice was sitting on a stool, with a smile on his face and a bourbon in his hand.
“What’s so important?” James asked.
“I’m not getting cut or traded. My agent called, and the Panthers have offered me a contract extension. Drinks are on me,” Maurice announced.
“Okay, so you couldn’t tell me this over the phone?” James asked as he waved for the bartender. He ordered a Crown Royal on the rocks and turned to his brother, who was still smiling like the cat who ate the canary. “What?”
“Something’s going on with Kenya,” Maurice said.
“What do you mean?”
“This morning she was sick. Lately, she’s been eating some weird shit, and she hasn’t been complaining about cramps. I think my wife is pregnant.”
“Uh, don’t you think she would’ve told you if she was?” James asked, trying not to ruin Kenya’s birthday surprise.
“Maybe she doesn’t know for sure. Man, if I’m going to be a father, that is the best thing that could ever happen to me.”
“Better you than me,” James said.
“There you go. You know you want some kids.”
“Yeah, when I get married. I refuse to be another one of those men who make babies but don’t take responsibility for them. You know, like our sperm donor.”
Maurice shook his head. “Don’t remind me of that bastard. That’s why I want a son, so I can teach him what I never learned. I just hope Kenya’s ready for a family. She works so much, and then she took on that case with your lady friend. She’s going to be going back and forth to Atlanta. If she’s pregnant, she’s going to have to quit this job.”
James laughed and slapped his brother on the shoulder. “Let me know when you’re going to tell her that, because that’s going to be better than any TV drama. Kenya isn’t quitting her job because you said so.”
“Why does she need to work? I have more than enough money to ...”
“Mo, Kenya doesn’t give a damn about your money. She works hard because that’s who she is. Let that woman work. I don’t get you. One second you’re talking about all the gold diggers in the world, and the next you want your wife to sit at home and live off you.”
“That’s because she’s a woman that deserves to be taken care of,” Maurice said. “Just like our mother, who still works at that bakery despite the fact that she doesn’t have to.”
“Mo, where do you come up with this caveman bullshit of yours?” James asked, with a laugh.
“Whatever. Hell, your woman might like it when you take care of her.”
“Here we go with this bullshit again,” James snapped as the bartender set his drink in front of him.
“I’m just saying,” Maurice said. “Her friend Serena Jacobs is a piece of work. Women like that run in packs.”
“I know Jade. I know who she is and what she does. She’s not responsible for her friends any more than you’re responsible for your cheating-ass teammates. What if everyone subscribed to the notion that all you NFL guys cheat on your wives? Then what?”
Maurice held up his glass in mock salute. “Touché.”
James took a sip of his drink and shook his head at his brother. “And you act like Jade and I are getting married. Despite what I feel for her, I won’t be ready for marriage anytime soon.”
Maurice clanked his glass against James’s. “Thank the Lord! I was really thinking that you were going to tell me next week that you and this lady were going to get married.”
“Man, that’s way off in the future for me. Besides, you’re the family man. I’m still a bachelor, and I’m loving the single life.”
“That’s what you say now,” Maurice said. “But when the right one comes along, you’d give it up in a heartbeat.”
“Only took you nine years to figure that out, huh?” James said, with a laugh.
“Whatever. Hell, when you’re young and stupid, you do dumb things. You’re not that young, bro.”
“Are you trying to say I’m doing something stupid?”
Maurice shrugged his shoulders and then took another sip of his drink. “You and Jade met in Vegas, started having sex immediately, and then you made it seem as if you’d fallen deeply in love with her.”
“I like Jade. I could see myself falling in love with her down the road,” James admitted.
“She got you, man,” Maurice said.
Before James could reply, two squealing women walked over to them. “I told you it was Maurice Go
ings. Oh my God, you look even better in person,” the taller and bustier woman said.
“Thanks,” Maurice said dryly.
The woman reached out and placed her hand on Maurice’s thigh. “Can I please have your autograph? I love the Panthers!”
Maurice pushed her hand away and asked the bartender for a pen and a piece of paper.
“No,” the woman said as she unbuttoned her blouse. “I want you to sign here.” She pressed her body as close to him as she could. Then her friend snapped a photo. Maurice eased back against the bar.
“Ladies,” James said, “have a nice night and move along.”
The women turned and looked at James as if he were an alien. “Who are you?” they asked. “Do you play for the Panthers, too?”
“No, I’m head of security. Keep it moving,” James said as he gave the women a gentle push.
As the women walked away, they mumbled under their breath about what an asshole James was.
Maurice rose to his feet and shook his head. “On that note, I’m going home.”
“You know, I’m proud of you, Mo.”
“Huh?”
“I remember when you didn’t turn down groupie love.”
Maurice shrugged. “I got real love at the crib. I’m not risking that.”
James watched his brother walk away and thought about what he’d said. Was he ready, despite saying otherwise, to have real love at home?
CHAPTER 18
Fatigue started to set in as Jade crossed the state line into Georgia. Part of her was wishing that she’d taken James up on his offer to spend another night. But she knew if she’d stayed with him tonight, she’d be taking this drive tomorrow night. Besides, leaving his arms wasn’t easy.
She stopped at the Waffle House at the first exit she came across to get a cup of coffee. People could say what they wanted about the food at the twenty-four-hour restaurant, but they had the strongest coffee on the interstate, and she needed a jolt. After getting her coffee, Jade got back on the road.
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