by Tina Martin
He hadn’t told her that, but she had an idea.
“Can’t recall if I told you how beautiful you are,” he said staring down into her eyes now, her hair fanned out on the pillow.
“Des,” she whispered softly, sailing off into ecstasy, sending his name into the sky. She opened her eyes again, staring up at him.
“So beautiful,” he murmured, biting his bottom lip as he felt her claim him. Gosh he missed that feeling. And as he made love to her, he thought about how good it felt to be vulnerable with the woman he loved, to let his guard down and not be the tough, cavalier guy for a change. He was her man, her lover. And he’d planned to love her tonight, to make up for all the time they’d missed.
“Sherita,” he said, pulling in a sharp breath, feeling himself lose control of his own mind. She’d already had his heart.
“Yes, Desmond,” she whispered before he kissed her lips again.
“I love you,” he said before an overwhelming sensation rushed inside of him until the pressure had become too great to contain, until the very essence of him had claimed her. Through it all, he never lost eye contact. He wanted her to see what she was doing to him. Wanted her to see his face. To feel his body. To know she was his, and he was hers. That’s the way it was and the way it would always be.
“I love you, too, Desmond,” she panted, feeling something related to an electric current tear through her flesh while she struggled for air.
While they both struggled for air…
Desmond smiled, lying face-to-face with her, watching as her breaths slowly returned to normal.
He reached out, stroked her hair away from her face.
She found his left hand with her right and interlocked their fingers. For a long time they just stared at each other, lost in their own silent thoughts.
“Say something,” Desmond said.
She watched him smile, that dimple she loved so much making an appearance. “Like what?”
“Whatever it is you’re thinking about. Talk to me.”
“Question…did you visit my parents this morning?”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“To apologize to your father.”
“For what?”
“For doing things wrong. I should’ve asked him for permission to marry you.”
“But Des, we know why we married. It had nothing to do with love in the beginning.”
“But it does now. I love you, and I wanted to ask his permission, so I did.”
Sherita brought his hand to her mouth, leaving a kiss. “What did he say?”
“Said he wanted to get to know me. Said if I was serious about you, he wanted me to prove it.”
Sherita nodded. “Yep. Sounds like Dad.”
“Now I have a question for you.”
“Okay,” she said, gripping his hand tighter.
“Did you really want to name our babies after my parents?”
“Yes, but only if you want to. I didn’t know how you would take the suggestion.”
“I love the idea.”
Sherita’s eyes brightened. “You do?”
“Yes. I do. My brothers like it, too.”
“Perfect. Then it’s settled.”
“Yes. It’s settled,” he said, shifting positions in bed, moving down underneath the covers, kissing her stomach, feeling it flutter. “Hi Celeste. Hi Nolan. This is your father.”
“I think you’re going to be a wonderful father, Desmond.”
Desmond crawled back up so he was facing her again. “And you’re going to be the best mother a set of twin babies could have.”
Sherita leaned forward to kiss his lips. “I hope they have your eyes.”
“They will. I have strong genes.”
“I can believe that,” Sherita said, running her index finger across his lips.
“I hope they have your everything else,” he told her. “I don’t think I can put up with another me.”
Sherita laughed. “I don’t think I can put up with another you, either.”
“Oh, really?” he said, shifting his body so he was hovering over her again. “I hope you can put up with another round of lovemaking because I want you again.” He lowered his lips to hers and, just like that, they were making love again for the second time tonight.
CHAPTER 45
Victor laughed with joy as he popped the cork from the champagne bottle. “Well, my friends,” he said, “It looks like we’re nearing the end of this project and what a collaboration it has been. It has truly been an honor to do business with such an elite group. Your name suits you. You truly are champions.”
“We’re just doing what we do best,” Dante said.
“And you do it better than anyone else, Victor said. “Desmond, I’ve never had anyone lay out a campaign like the one you did for Service Swap. Excellent work.”
“I’m glad I was able to exceed your expectations, Victor,” Desmond told him.
“Certainly. By the way, where’s your wife? She’s not joining us this evening?”
“She is. She’s just running a little behind schedule…should be here shortly.” Desmond checked his watch. She should’ve been here by now.
“Oh, here she is now,” Emily said, watching Sherita meander through the aisle to reach their table.
Desmond looked up at her, feeling heated blood course through his veins at the sight of her. Beautiful wasn’t a good enough word to describe the woman he’d made his wife. She was breathtaking, turning heads as she made her way to the table in a little black dress. She told Desmond she would be late since her hair appointment ran late. She’d usually do her own hair, but she wanted to look as professional as possible at the GHC resort tomorrow. So, she instructed her stylist to flat iron her long, curly strands so that her hair was silky straight, hanging down her back and framing her face.
Desmond couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She had the nerve to wear red lipstick on those juicy-sweet, succulent lips he savored last night and this morning before he went to the office.
What are you doing to me, Sherita Champion? She was looking so beautiful, Desmond entertained the thought of cutting this pow-wow with Victor short, taking Sherita by the hand and leading her back out of the door and back home where he would have her all to himself. Somehow, he found enough willpower to keep his desires at bay. He had her for a lifetime. There was no need to rush anything when it came to their relationship. Their marriage.
“Hi everybody,” Sherita said. “Hi Victor.” She reached to shake his hand. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You as well, dear,” Victor said. “I’d just asked Desmond if you were joining us tonight, and here you are.”
“Sorry,” Sherita leaned down and whispered in Desmond’s ear before she sat down. “Yeah, here I am,” Sherita told Victor. “What did I miss?”
“I was just telling these men how satisfied I was with all of their hard work.”
Sherita smiled, feeling the intensity of Desmond’s stares against her face, passion radiating from his eyes. He loved to do that, she knew. To stare at her. Just the fact that he was looking caused a chill to rip through her – that, and it was freezing cold in the high-class restaurant. The thin dress she wore, that hovered around her knees, didn’t do anything to provide warmth.
While Victor poured glasses of champagne, Desmond stood up, took off his suit jacket and draped it around Sherita.
“Thank you,” she said, looking at him. She instantly felt a warm sensation all over her body, and she was positive it had nothing to do with the jacket.
“You’re welcome,” he told her as he sat down again. Then he leaned closer to her, smelling perfume that nearly intoxicated him somewhere around her neck. In her ear, he whispered softly, “I want to taste.”
Sherita met his gaze. “Taste what?”
“Your lips. I haven’t seen you since I left home this morning and you walk in here, looking downright tantalizing and don’t even give your man a hug or a kiss,” he
said, palming her thigh. “I want your lips.”
“Des,” she said in a breathless whisper, turning to look at him, seeing desire in his eyes.
Desmond leaned closer to her, seizing her mouth with his, taking a gentle kiss. A long one. A slow, deliberate, explorative one. It didn’t matter they were at the table. In public. At a fancy restaurant or in front of family. It’s not like they hadn’t done this very same thing before. So Desmond took what he wanted, causing whimpers to escape her throat in the process.
Moments later, he released her lips, then face-to-face, he whispered, “Now I want to touch.”
She smiled. “Touch what?”
She closed her eyes when she felt his fingers threading her hair.
“I’ve always loved your hair, just like I love everything else about you.”
“Thank you, Desmond.” She took a small kiss from his lips, then held his gaze.
And for that moment, it was only the two of them at the table, lost in their love for each other.
“You’re as beautiful now as you were the first day I laid eyes on you…the first time I knew you would be mine,” Desmond said, but he was done with whispering. He didn’t care who heard him at this point.
Emily looked at Melanie and smiled.
Dante looked up at Dimitrius and gave him a single nod.
Victor looked directly at Desmond and Sherita when he said, “You lovebirds have me missing my wife.”
“How is Florence, by the way?” Dimitrius inquired.
“She’s a little better, but I don’t think she can tolerate New York weather like she used to. I’ve been trying to convince her to move down south, but she just won’t budge. All her family is there, you know.”
“Yes, that’s understandable.”
Victor took a sip of champagne. “Speaking of family, I was hoping I would get to meet your darling twins, Desmond.” Victor was still under the assumption that Ezra and Grace were Desmond and Sherita’s children.
Desmond grinned. He knew he had to set the record straight. “Well, Victor, that’s going to be hard to do since they’re not even born yet.”
Victor’s face contorted into a confused mess. An old man should never frown like that.
Melanie laughed.
Emily, though turning red in the face, successfully withheld laughter while Sherita had a smile on her face.
“Not born yet…what do you mean?” Victor asked. “I saw you at the park with the kids.”
“Those weren’t my children. I love them like they’re mine,” Desmond said, “But they are actually my niece and nephew, Grace and Ezra.”
“And your children?” Victor inquired.
Desmond smiled and turned to look at Sherita, feeling an overwhelming bout of joy. “My children are right here,” he said, gently placing a hand on Sherita’s stomach. He looked back at Victor and said, “We’re having twins.”
Sherita smiled.
Victor chuckled. “Well isn’t that just wonderful. I guess I had it all wrong.”
Dante grinned. “Yeah. You did. Ezra is our son,” Dante said, throwing his arm around Emily.
“And Grace is our daughter,” Melanie said, looking adoringly at Dimitrius.
“She’s our miracle baby,” Dimitrius said, then kissed Melanie on the cheek.
“Isn’t this just wonderful,” Victor said. “I feel the love in this family…makes we wish I would’ve done business with you a long time ago.”
“No worries,” Dante said. “We’ve had one successful venture, and we look forward to the opportunity to work with you again Victor.”
Dimitrius nodded. “Indeed.”
And then all eyes shifted to Desmond. Was he even aware of what was going on? Probably not? His tongue was lost somewhere in Sherita’s mouth, buried so deep he could swallow the girl. He couldn’t keep his hands off of her, nor his lips.
Dante smirked. “If Desmond could talk right now, I’m sure he would agree with us, Victor.”
Desmond followed Sherita home, anxious for the chance to kiss those cherry red lips again. When she’d parked in the driveway, he’d parked behind her, hurried out of his car then swept her off of her feet, heading for the front door and on to his bedroom – their bedroom – where they made love that was so intense, neither of them could hardly move afterwards. All they could do was pant, take in air and release it forcefully.
After a few moments, she looked at him and said, “Why can’t you come with us tomorrow, Des? Everybody is going to be at the resort but you.”
“I told you sweetheart…I have to wrap up a few things with Victor.”
“He’s not capable of doing that himself?”
Desmond grinned. “No. He’s not.”
“Oh, Des,” she pouted, sliding closer to rest her head on his chest, listening to the fast-paced rhythm of his unsteady heartbeat. “I don’t want to go without you.”
Desmond glided fingers through her hair. “You’ll be fine, sweetie. And I’ll be there on Sunday.”
“Okay,” she said, downcast. “I guess that’ll have to do for now.”
“Hey,” Desmond said propping up on his elbow. When his eyes met hers, he said, “Everything will be all right, baby. Tomorrow is your time to shine. You get to show everyone how talented you are.”
Sherita smiled. “Before we left the restaurant, Emily told me it was an all-white affair, even for me.”
“It is…the brides and grooms are all wearing white. We decided for that to be the theme this year.”
“But why do I have to wear white?”
“Just to blend in with the theme of everything, baby.”
“I don’t even have a white dress nice enough for this type of thing. Emily said she was going to get some guy named Steven to have something sent to my suite,” she said, finding Desmond’s hand. Holding it.
“Steven is the operations manager at GHC. He’s accustomed to working last minute miracles. If Emily said he would have you a dress, then you can bank on it.”
Sherita closed her eyes. After a few minutes of silence, she said, “Des.”
“Yes? I’m still awake. What’s on your mind, baby?”
“I was curious about something.”
He cracked a smile. She was always curious. “What’s that, Rita?”
“Why would you ask for my father’s permission to marry me when we’re already married?”
“It was more about me talking to him man-to-man…getting a feel for his personality. And I wanted him to know that his baby girl, his only child, was safe in my hands.”
Sherita smiled. She was safe. She was happy. She was in the arms of the man she loved.
CHAPTER 46
Sherita’s mouth fell open when she stepped into the suite, taking in the lavish, top-floor penthouse. Floor-to-ceiling windows, colors of gold, peach and beige splattered all around. She continued on exploring the place and after stepping into the second bedroom, she saw a dress laid out on the bed.
The dress…
The off-white look of it made the dress appear vintage. Layers of ruffles gave it an elegant, classy feel. This was way too formal for a photographer. How was she going to sprint across the sand to capture priceless moments of couples tying the knot while she was wearing a gown?
“There’s no way I can wear this dress,” she said in a monotone. She rubbed the back of her neck, relieving the stress that settled there.
When she heard knocks at the door, she hurried there to answer, watching Emily walk in.
“Hey, Ri-Ri,” Emily said playfully. “Where’s this dress? Steven was downstairs bragging about how good of a job he did finding one for you.”
“Ugh, it’s in here on the bed,” Sherita said, walking towards the bedroom.
“By all that grunting, I take it you don’t like it.”
“No, I don’t. I’m four months pregnant and have to walk around in this,” she said pointing at the dress as it laid on the bed where she initially found it. She didn’t even pick it up, hold
it against her body and twirl in the mirror like most women did when they got a new dress. She’d rather worked in the outfit she had on already – a pair of black tights and a tunic with a comfortable pair of gladiator sandals.
“It’s beautiful, Rita,” Emily said.
“It is beautiful. That’s not the problem. The problem is, I need to move around, snap pictures…the material of this dress…it’s just…this is not a work outfit for me.”
“Rita, you know how meticulous Dante is about business-related functions. Now come on, pep up and try it on at least.”
“I don’t want to try it on. And I feel like I’m going to puke.” Sherita sat on the bed.
Emily sat down beside her, taking her left hand into her right. “Is there anything I can do?”
Sherita shook her head. “No. The nausea comes and goes.”
“Oh, girl don’t I know it. When I was pregnant with Ezra, the first three months kicked my butt. Some days I would be fine and the next, I didn’t want to get out of bed. You’re having two…I can only imagine how strenuous it must be.”
Sherita nodded.
“Are you ready?” Emily asked.
“For what?”
“To be a mother?”
A smile came to Sherita’s face. “I am. I’ve always wanted children…didn’t know I would have two at the same time, but I always wanted them.”
“Me too.”
“Hey, did you feel different when you were pregnant?” Sherita asked.
“Different how?”
Sherita shrugged. “I feel like I’m more emotional.” She smiled and continued, “I don’t ever recall being so sensitive and nurturing.”
“I was the same way. Your hormone level is changing…your body’s changing…it’s natural to feel that way.”
“Good…thought I was losing it for a minute.”
“No, it’s completely normal,” Emily assured her. “Now that I’ve cleared that up, let’s talk about something completely abnormal. Tell me about Desmond.” Emily tried to hold in a laugh, but to no avail. She was so tickled, she leaned forward and had a good belly laugh.
