Raven's Seduction

by Yvonne Nicolas

  Once he hung up the phone, he said, “Thank you,” again.

  She gave him a tight-lipped smile. “It’s cool. Didn’t want you to get wet.”

  Unzipping his jacket, he let out an airy chuckle. “I’m okay with getting wet.”

  Her womanhood perked up. Ooo shit! This dude might be trouble. “Oh-kay then.”

  He removed his gloves and slid his jacket from over his shoulders. A sleeveless shirt hugged his torso, exposing his toned, muscled-packed arms. Tattooed artwork that started at the back of his shoulders spiraled around his limbs in a serpentine pattern, ending at the back of his hands. The images looked like a trail of feathers. Platinum rings adorned his long fingers. He wore bracelets on his right wrist and a smartwatch on his left.

  “My friend isn’t far from here, so we won’t have to wait long.”

  For some reason, that came off as bad news. “Good. Don’t wanna be stuck in the car in the middle yucky weather.”

  “Aw, it’s not that bad. At least we’re here together.”

  Folding her lips in, she let out a shaky chuckle. “Yeah, having company is nice.”

  A ping sounded. It came from his phone. “I’m gonna send off a few emails. Do you mind?”

  “Sure, go ‘head. Handle ya business.”

  “Thanks.” His thumbs began speed-strumming across his phone’s screen. “I rarely have time for this kinda stuff since my life is always on fast-forward. Nice to sit down and take a breather for a change.”

  “Sounds like you need a vacation.”

  “Desperately,” he breathed out, casting a sexy glint her way.

  “What do you do? If you don’t mind me asking.”

  “I’m an adult film actor.”

  Her head snapped back, she blinked a few times. An adult film actor? As in porn star?! “I’m sorry, come again?”

  He smiled. “You heard me.” Laughter laced his low voice.

  “Like, forreal—forreal?” The heat in her cheeks intensified. “You’re a porn star?”

  “The correct term is adult film star.”

  Hand over her mouth, she whispered out, “Ayyye…”

  “What?”

  “You’re kiddin’ me right now, aren’t you? You are not an adult film star.”

  Chuckles shook his chest. “No, I’m not.”

  “You’re a full trip!” she hollered, amused and appalled at the same time. “You had me going. Why would do that?”

  “I like to take advantage of the small pleasures in life.” He seized her with a hooded gaze.

  Fire grew in the pit of her soul and dashed through her veins.

  “Teasing you was worth it. Now I’ll go through the rest of the day happy ‘cause I pulled a series of emotions from the beautiful woman I just met.”

  “Ooh—okay,” she huffed out. It was hard to hide it, hard to hide the way he made her feel. She didn’t know him from a can of paint, but she wanted to kiss him so badly. Like, what the hell? “I see now that you’re gonna be a problem.”

  “Gonna be? So does that mean I’m going to see you again?”

  Shudders shot down her spine. “I don’t know.” Her smile faded. So did his. Did I want to see him again? I shouldn’t. He hadn’t been in her presence for a full hour and she was struck with all kinds of feels. If she did see him again, what would happen? I have a boyfriend. I have a fuckin’ boyfriend! “I mean… Who knows?”

  Wait. What am I freakin’ out for? Despite his flirty ways, this dude didn’t look like he went for her type, or her gender for that matter. I’m just buggin’.

  Naturi turned up the music a little, while she tried to get her thoughts together. The singer Jhené Aiko serenaded her with a soulful coo.

  He went back to strumming on his phone, like he didn’t just set her world on fire.

  She plucked her phone off the dashboard holder and dropped Zion a text. ‘He’s in the car with me now. I think it was a mistake inviting him in. He might be a vampire.”

  A second later, Zion responded with, ‘If that mf’er is sparkling, get out and run NOW, bitch.’

  Giggling, Naturi typed. ‘Don’t think I would get very far.’

  ‘Still waiting for a pic.’

  ‘I’m not gonna ask that man for a pic!’

  ‘Do it!’

  ‘Girl, whateva.’

  ‘If your dumb ass ends up missing, I need to have something to show the cops.’

  ‘Like you really care if I get abducted.’

  ‘TAKE THE FUCKIN PIC, HOE!’

  Naturi huffed out a sigh and hesitantly looked over at him.

  His brow was furrowed and his eyes were focused on his phone.

  “Uhm…”

  He lifted his head and set those dazzling eyes on her. “Yes?”

  She waved her phone at him. “Can I take a picture of you?”

  That devilish smirk found its way to his lips again. “Sure.” He turned his shoulders slightly to give her a full view of his face. He wore no expression, but his eyes somehow delivered a cascade of emotions, with lust at the forefront. Damn. It was perfect, like he’d stared into a camera a million times before.

  She snapped at least five pics.

  “You get it?” he asked.

  Nodding, she shuffled through the images. “Yep. Wanna see?”

  “No, that’s okay. I trust you got a great shot.” That said, he dropped his attention back on his phone.

  Weird. What kind of person didn’t want to see the photo after someone took a pic of them?

  She chose the first image and sent it to Zion. Anticipation spiraled through her. Wonder what Zion would think. No doubt, her cousin would see the beauty that had her stunned the second he took off his helmet.

  Less than a minute later, Naturi’s phone buzzed.

  ‘BITCH, you are sitting in the car with a live-action anime character!’

  Throwing her head back, Naturi screamed out in laughter.

  Raven’s body jerked. Eyes wide, he whipped his head her way.

  “I’m sorry…” She slapped her hand over her mouth, failing to stifle her giggles. “I’m so sorry to startle you like that.” Folding her lips in, she shook her head. Laughter continued to bubble out of her. “My cousin—she texted something funny.”

  “Was it about me?”

  “Uhm—yeah,” she admitted bashfully.

  More text messages came flooding in. The buzzing from her phone didn’t stop. ‘He looks fuckable,’ ‘Is he single?’, ‘Goddamn!’, ’Can a bitch get a pic of that D?’, ‘Ask him what that D do!’, ‘I said GODDAMN’, ‘If you don’t fuck him, I’m gonna hate you for the rest of our lives,’ ‘I don’t care that he’s prettier than most chicks I know,’ ‘Bitch, take one for the team…’

  It was hard as hell to keep a straight face. Why was Zion so damn crazy?

  ‘If you mention you got a boyfriend, I’mma knock your dumb ass upside the head next time I see you.’

  His eyes toggled from her face to her phone. “Looks like she has a lot to say.”

  “She always does,” Naturi muttered, while texting, ‘Bitch, STAHP!!!’

  “Is it bad?” he asked, seeming genuinely concerned about what Zion was saying about him.

  “Depends on how you feel about being a fuckable live-action anime character.”

  A slow smile spread across his face. “I’m gonna take that one as a compliment.”

  “Coming from her, it’s definitely a compliment.”

  “Tell her I say hi.”

  The sound of a muffling engine came up behind them. Flashing yellow lights invaded the car. A guy jumped out, waved at them, and began to collect Raven’s motorcycle.

  “Well, that’s my ride, and so our time together comes to an end.”

  Sadness came over her. Why does this feel so sucky?

  The words, it was nice chilling with you and take it easy, came to her mind, but something else came out of her mouth. “It doesn’t have to be the end. I mean, we can exchange numbers and keep in touch.
Besides, you gotta fix my bumper. I’m gonna hold you to that.”

  A look of relief and delight veiled his face. “Oh, I was hoping you would. I’m more excited than I should be about fixing your bumper.”

  They exchanged numbers. Then from that day forward, she’d been trapped in the web of Raven’s Seduction.

  Chapter 6

  Sexy Unicorn

  “Nat?” Raven’s voice gently pulled her from the memory that always left a smile on her face.

  She lazily turned her head in his direction. “Hmm?”

  He tilted his head down to peer at her over the shade’s lens. “Daydreaming?”

  “Sorta. I was sitting in my BMW with a sexy unicorn in my passenger seat.”

  He burst out laughing, blessing her with that smile that always made her pussy muscles clench. “You just couldn’t leave that unicorn alone, could you?”

  I couldn’t, even when I knew I should have.

  “Have you called the firm yet, to let them know you’re back in town?”

  “Ugh, the firm…” she groaned. Shifting her sights out the window, she watched the lush green trees whip by as the car ate up miles of highway. Upon getting back in town, she hadn’t spent one second thinking about her position at the firm. The incident with Raven and how she would make amends was the only thing she could rest her mind on. “Nope.”

  “Are you going back to work for them?”

  “I dunno,” she drawled. “They said the position is still open for me if I wanted to return, but… ugh. Give me a day or two to get used to being back, then I’ll ponder on it.”

  “Ya know, you can always put your talent to use at Legion Trinity.”

  She glanced over at him and chuckled.

  He frowned. “I’m being serious.”

  “I know you are.”

  Raven was the co-creator of the game company Legion Trinity. Five years ago, he published a game app titled Legion Wings. It was a card-RPG game that offered a trip into a fantasy world, rife with characters of all kinds. Elves, vampires, trolls, dragons—you name it, the game had it. The second you started playing, it sucked you in and didn’t let go. She knew that from personal experience, and she wasn’t even a gamer-chick. The app went global in a matter of days.

  After that, he had to hire help. He recruited a league of guys who specialized in gaming, along with some artists, a tech team, and a storyboard crew. Then he bought a building for them to work in. They called it The Lab.

  Upon the success of the first app, he created two more that were geared toward the teenage crowd. Again, the popularity soared. The VIP membership for each app was $29.99 a month. With over five hundred thousand subscribers worldwide, the revenue had reached a multi-million-dollar status. And that’s not even counting the event and relic packs, and other little necessities sold on the game, which could easily run over a hundred dollars each. To say Raven was a very wealthy man with a lucrative business in his hands was an understatement.

  She pursed her lips. “That means I’d be working for you.”

  “More like working with me.” It was one of the things she loved about him. He never treated the people who worked under him like employees, but more like his business partners. “Beverly needs help and she’s been begging me to recruit you since she found out you were a master accountant.”

  Naturi smiled at the thought of the bubbly redhead. “Wanna add me to your legion of warehouse nerds, huh?”

  “They would love to have you.” He reached over and took her hand, though his eyes stayed on the road. “As would I.” Intertwining his fingers between her, he squeezed her hand.

  An electric-laced surge shot through her arm and cascaded throughout her entire body. She stared down at their joined hands, imagining what it would be like to work with him, to see him on a daily basis. Shit! How would she get any work done? Hell, just sitting in the car with him required her to dig deep into her bag of self-control to manage a bit of sanity. It was a real fuckin’ struggle.

  “I’ll think about it,” she heard herself mutter.

  They fell silent. The music filled the void.

  She softly sang along to a few songs, trying to distract herself from the waves of nervousness and desire storming through her.

  “What?” he uttered softly.

  Confused, she asked, “What-what?”

  “You’re trembling.” His thumb caressed the back of her hand. “What is it?”

  Dammit. The incident that separated them three weeks ago… She tried to put it out of her thoughts, but she couldn’t. They’d stalled long enough. “Rave,” she breathed out on a sigh. “What happened back in Florida… the shit I said… I didn’t mean…”

  He hurled out a loud groan. His grip loosened, and he pulled his hand back, taking the warmth with him. His jaw clenched and expression turned grim. Slouched in the driver’s seat, he slapped his hand on the steering wheel and shook his head. “Not now.”

  “We gotta talk about it.”

  “Not right now we don’t.”

  “So that’s what we’re gonna do, keep dodging it?” She sucked her teeth, crossed her legs and tilted her hips away from him. “At least tell me what that was back at the bar, between you and Luca. Connie led me to believe that you two got into it while I was gone. Tell me that isn’t true.”

  Refusing to look at her, he groaned again.

  “Really, Raven? Okay.”

  Another bout of silence drifted between them.

  Arms folded over her breasts, she dramatically huffed and sighed in annoyance the whole time.

  “Would you stop that,” he grumbled.

  “Yeah, as soon as you stop being a douche nozzle.” Again, she filled the car with her hums and groans.

  A slap sounded. With it, a sudden sharp pain radiated through her hip, jarring a gasp out of her. Palming the stinging spot, she pinned him with a glare. “I know damn well you didn’t just smack me.”

  With his lower lip caught between his teeth, he cut his eyes at her. His hand made a flash move, a move she would’ve missed had she not been staring at him. Another strike landed. This time on her thigh.

  Her mouth fell open, but she held onto the moan hiding in the back of her throat. The sweet sting left in the wake of his strike made every nerve in her body rise to the occasion. Somewhat irritated, yet majorly turned on, she lashed out at him.

  Raven caught her hand before she could land a hit.

  Next thing she knew, the curve of her hand was in his mouth. He chomped down, hard.

  “Oowww… zombie muthafucka!” she screamed, jabbing him in the arm.

  He snickered. “My bad, bae.” He dragged his tongue across where he bit her. “Is that better?”

  “Eww…” She snatched her hand away and rubbed the wet side across her jeans. “You make me sick.”

  “To be fair, you licked me first.”

  Yeah, she did! And he tasted like every delicious fruit she’d ever eaten. Hiding her smile, she grumbled, “Whateva.” Again, she crossed her legs and tilted her hips away from him. If he hit her again, the little self-control she was hanging onto would fly right out the window. She’d never admit it out loud, but she missed this. She missed the little games they used to play with each other.

  “You hungry?” he asked.

  Took her a few seconds to find her voice after that little unwarranted scuffle. “Just tired. I wanna get outta these clothes and curl up in my hotel bed.”

  “Yeeeah, about that….”

  She shifted in the seat to stare at him. “What’d you do?”

  “You’re staying with me.”

  “Huh?”

  “You’re gonna love my therapeutic bed.”

  Her body hardened at the thought of stretching out in his bed. “Come again?”

  “You heard me.”

  “No,” Shaking her head, she said, “No-no-nooo! That’s not the plan!”

  “It is now.”

  “Boy, stop playin’.”

  “I cancelled
your room reservations by the way.”

  “You can’t do that!”

  “I can when my brother runs the hotel you had reservations with.”

  Oh-ma-gawd, this muthafucka is serious! “Da fuck, Raven?”

  “Da fuck, Nat?”

  “I had already checked into the room. My bags were there!”

  “Don’t worry. I’ve taken care of everything.”

  Her heart shot up through her throat. Being near him was hard enough, but staying in the same house with him without losing her shit was going to be damn near impossible. Her phone dinged. She pulled it out to see it was Zion.

  ‘You get there ok?’ the message read.

  Naturi slid a quick glare at Raven. He wore a smirk, as if he knew she was staring at him.

  Her thumbs rapidly tapped the screen. ’THIS BOY DONE LOST HIS GODDAMN MIND! He’s holding me hostage and won’t take me to the hotel.’

  ‘Who? Luca?’

  ‘Raven!’

  He glanced her way, his smirk growing wider. “Who’re you chatting with?”

  “None of your business.”

  Zion responded with a laughing emoji. ’Bitch, who you trying to fool? We both know you’re exactly where you wanna be.’

  Raven chuckled and said, “Tell Zion I said hi.”

  *****

  An hour later, Raven maneuvered the car up the winding driveway of his new home.

  Naturi leaned toward the dashboard, staring wide-eyed at the contemporary-styled house. “Where are we—whose house is this?”

  “Mine.”

  Those pretty brown eyes swung his way, making his heart skip a beat. “You bought a house?”

  Her shock somewhat pleased him. “I did.”

  “When?”

  “Few months ago.”

  “What? You didn’t tell me…”

  “‘Cause I wanted to show you.”

  “What happened to the townhouse?”

  “I outgrew it.”

  “You, one person, outgrew a three-bedroom townhome?”

  “It was cramping me up,” he jested. “You know I’m claustrophobic.”

  “Wow, pretentious much?” Sights locked on the house, she tried to climb out the car before he could come to a complete stop.

  Laughing, he grabbed ahold of her wrist to keep her from jumping out. “Hold on, Nat. Let me show you something better.” Pressing the brakes, he opened the remote app on his phone and tapped the big green button.