Nights of Fantasy

by Sherelle Green

  “Agreed. Should I go out first?”

  “Yes. That way I can stay here until you give me the okay.” Danni did exactly as they’d discussed and went back to get him when the coast was clear. She grabbed her personal belongings out of the locker just before they sneaked into the hallway.

  “We were like ninjas,” she said with a laugh once the door was securely shut behind them. “That was close.”

  “Did you two enjoy yourselves?”

  Both Danni and Jaleen jumped at the voice behind them. There stood Mira with a knowing look on her face.

  Jaleen leaned toward Danni’s ear. “Guess we’re not ninjas after all.”

  * * *

  The elevator ride to Danni’s condo seemed to take forever. Strangely, she felt nervous about taking Jaleen to her place, which made absolutely no sense. He’d been to her place before. He’d already seen her naked. They’d already had sex. True, it had been public, random, quickie sex, but that’s what made it so memorable. The entire date had been amazing.

  The walk down the hallway luckily seemed shorter than the elevator ride. She slightly fumbled with her keys until Jaleen finally took them from her and opened the door. Neither one of them was saying much, which was fine with Danni because she didn’t know what to say anyway.

  “I had fun tonight,” Jaleen said, breaking the silence.

  “Me, too, although some of those tantric poses were damn near impossible to do.”

  “They were,” he said with a laugh. “Especially that boat pose. Had we been able to fully execute that one, I’m sure we would have liked it.”

  Danni walked over to the fridge and poured herself a glass of water. “Would you like something to drink?”

  “Water’s fine with me.” She poured Jaleen a glass, as well, and brought it to him. They sat next to one another on the sofa as they had the day before.

  “I really enjoyed the letter you wrote me,” Danni said after sipping her water. “And I liked that you signed it Jay.”

  “I’m glad you liked it. Jay was sort of my nickname growing up. At least, to those close to me.”

  “Why only sort of?”

  Jaleen looked into his glass of water before facing her. “Everyone calls my dad JW and I guess one day he thought that me being called Jay was too close to his name.”

  “Why would that even be an issue?”

  “Because with JW everything is an issue.”

  He keeps referring to his dad as JW. She’d noticed it a couple times. Danni had already sensed that Jaleen had a strained relationship with his father, so this only solidified it. “I miss my dad every day.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Jaleen said, lightly touching her arm. “Here I am complaining about JW when you’re missing yours.”

  “It’s okay,” she said with a shrug. “I was lucky enough to have a father who loved me unconditionally and would do anything to make me happy. Our relationship was great. But I get the feeling your relationship with your father isn’t so great.”

  “Understatement of the year,” Jaleen said with a forced laugh. “Some days I wonder if I’ll ever do enough to satisfy that man. He’s hard on my other two brothers, as well, but especially me.”

  “Is he getting on your case about the South Beach renovations, too?”

  “That, among other things. He agreed to an impossible deadline and although I tried to get the date pushed back, it was already a done deal by the time I returned from Europe.” He put his glass down and placed his elbows on his knees. “I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but out of all the men in my family who work for the company, I feel like I’m the only one who understands the vision for the future. The only one focusing on everything we’re doing wrong in an effort to do more things right. I feel like my brothers and uncle are just putting out fires day by day, oblivious to the fact that JW no longer understands what’s best for this company. But being the youngest means that they rarely listen to me. I don’t just work at Walker Realty Partner because it’s my family’s business. I work my ass off because I believe in the business and I love what I do... At least, I used to love what I do.”

  After spending so much time with Jaleen lately, she was starting to see just how passionate he was about every aspect of his life. He was already sexy, but seeing this other side of him made him even more attractive.

  Danni rubbed the back of his neck, kneading out some kinks that had arisen. “Jay, you can only do as much as you can. I don’t know your father, nor will I pretend to understand the real-estate business. But I do know that you are one of the most determined men I’ve ever met and if there is anyone who can make your father or your brothers and uncle see reason, it’s you.”

  He looked at her then, searching her eyes as if they held the answers to his problems. And, boy, did she wish they did. She wanted to give him answers or, at least, offer the support he needed to solve them on his own.

  She placed her glass on the table next to his and straddled his thighs. His hands looped around her waist as she placed her arms on his shoulders and fingers on the nape of his neck. “I know you feel as though you have no control over anything at your company right now, but I don’t think that’s going to last for long. You have to stay positive.” In the back of her mind, she was trying to let her own words sink in.

  When Jaleen pulled her in for a kiss, it was more emotional than any kiss he’d given her prior to that moment. He needed her. She felt it.

  Danni pushed up from the couch and eased her shorts and panties down her legs, kicking them to the side. She tossed her shirt next, reaching for Jaleen’s shirt and tossing it aside with her own. Jaleen stood to remove his pants and underwear before pulling out protection. When he tossed the wrapper aside, Danni slapped his hand away, enjoying the way he watched her every move as she slid the condom down his shaft.

  After she’d discarded the rest of his clothes, she pushed him back on the couch. Like most of the night, words weren’t needed as she slowly eased herself on top of him, relishing in every inch. Not before long, they were in perfect sync, just like before.

  His head dipped to her breasts, popping one nipple into his mouth before giving the same attention to the other. She’d never really felt like she had sensitive breasts, but the way he was licking her in pleasurable strokes had her second-guessing everything she’d ever thought she enjoyed. Danni ran her hands up and down his abs, enjoying herself entirely too much to count how many he actually had.

  Six? Eight? It didn’t matter. It was more than the last person she was with. Hell, he was in better shape than anyone she’d ever been with. If she wasn’t careful, she could get lost in a man like Jaleen. And as he picked her up and carried her to her bedroom, still buried inside her core, she feared it was already too late.

  Chapter 12

  Jaleen opened his sleepy eyes and glanced out the unfamiliar window at the sun rising. Oh, that’s right. I slept at Danni’s place last night. Although it was still around the same time he normally woke up, nothing about his experience last night was normal. The night had been sensual. Passionate. Downright unforgettable. There was no part of the date that he would have changed.

  He reached over to the other side of the bed and found it empty. Maybe she’s in the bathroom. He wasn’t sure if she felt sore in any places, but he was hoping for another round before he went to work.

  Jaleen got out of bed, and made his way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Danni standing near the window in a sheer peach robe made him pause.

  Her hair was that of a woman who’d been thoroughly made love to the night before. Her feet were bare and her body still seemed relaxed and rejuvenated. He would have sworn she’d woken up feeling just as great as he had, if her shoulders hadn’t been so tense. That’s when he noticed she was on the phone.

  “Look, I just sent you the money yester
day and now you have the nerve to ask me for more?” She was talking low, but there was no mistaking her annoyed tone.

  “I never agreed on that percentage of interest and the fact that you would try to weasel more money out of me is insane.”

  Who is she talking to? Could it be an ex? Jaleen doubted it was one of her brothers, although he guessed that was a possibility, as well.

  “Your threats don’t mean much to me anymore.” Definitely sounds more like an ex. That’s when he realized they hadn’t really discussed past relationships before. He’d met a couple of guys she’d dated in the past, but none had been really serious. She’d met a few women he’d dated, but those had been even less serious.

  “I only owe you three more payments and then I’ve fulfilled my end of the deal. Until the next payment is due, I don’t want to hear from you.”

  A noise in the background caused her to stop talking. It took a while for Jaleen to realize that it was his phone. He sneaked back to her bedroom before she noticed.

  He cursed as he glanced at the caller ID.

  “Is it work?” Danni asked, standing in the doorway of her bedroom.

  “Yes, it is. My lead contractor hit a slight snag. They need me there ASAP.”

  Danni walked over to her bed. “Back to reality, I guess.”

  “There’s no need for us to stay in reality. We can travel back to fantasyland whenever we want.” He pulled her to him and feathered kisses along her neck. “Let me know if you’re free for lunch.”

  “Deal.”

  * * *

  Four hours into work Jaleen realized that lunch with Danni would not be possible. Yet, just thinking about last night still made him smile.

  “Is there a reason why you’re grinning like a kid on the last day of school before summer break?”

  Jaleen looked up from the papers in his hand at Jesse, the head of his construction team. “Can’t a man just wake up and decide it’s a good day to renovate some boutique hotels?”

  “Yeah, some men can do that,” Jesse said. “But I know you well enough to know that the look on your face isn’t because you’re excited to get work done today. My guess is that it’s because of a woman.”

  Jaleen smiled. It was definitely because of a woman. A woman who’d rocked his world in a way he hadn’t seen coming. Okay, maybe that wasn’t completely true. He’d always imagined that being with Danni would be amazing. “What’s the status on that piping issue we had this morning?”

  “Ah, changing the subject. Another sign that your smile has more to do with a woman that anything else,” Jesse said with a laugh. “Could it be the Southern belle waiting for you in the restaurant?”

  Jaleen looked up from his documents. He hadn’t gotten a chance to tell Danni he couldn’t do lunch, but he’d assumed she would contact him if she could.

  “I’ll go see who it is,” Jaleen said to Jesse. Although he was swamped, he was excited to see Danni even if it was only for a short while.

  Jaleen rounded the corner of the restaurant and froze when he saw the lone feminine figure standing there with her back to him.

  It can’t be... Either his eyes were playing tricks on him or he’d just entered the Twilight Zone.

  “Oh, Jaleen, darling, there you are.” He could barely react before he was attacked by a hug full of ruffles. Now the fact that Jesse had referred to the woman as a Southern belle made sense.

  “What are you doing here, Cordelia?” he asked, slightly more sternly than he’d been going for.

  “What do you mean what am I doing here? Aren’t you happy to see me?”

  Happy wasn’t exactly the word he would have picked. In fact, there were plenty of words that came to his mind that meant the complete opposite of the word happy. Cordelia Sugar Rose. In the flesh. Today, she was wearing her typical attire: a pink, ruffled dress with a large, matching straw hat. A thoroughbred Texas Southern belle, through and through.

  “I’m just so happy to see you,” she said, kissing his cheek. “Of course, I’d hoped you’d be a little happier to see me.”

  “Sorry,” he said, knowing he was being rude. He put on a smile. “It’s very nice to see you. I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

  “Oh, didn’t you hear?” Cordelia said, placing a hand over her heart. “I’ll be here for at least two weeks appraising your South Beach properties.”

  His smile dropped from his face. “You’re the appraiser my father told me he was sending?”

  “Surprise,” Cordelia said, waving her arms in the air. “JW thought it would be best if I came earlier to help speed things along.”

  Yeah, I highly doubt that’s what he had in mind.

  “Why didn’t you warn me ahead of time that you would be here?”

  “What’s the fun in that, silly willy?” She jabbed a finger playfully into his chest. “Oh, nice.” Her playful jab turned into a light caress of his chest before she was squeezing his biceps. When she batted her eyes at him, he wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be sexy or if she had something in her eye.

  “Can you excuse me for one moment?” he said, clawing her hands off him. “I just have to make a quick phone call.”

  “Well, you hurry back, honey buns.”

  Honey buns? If Cordelia really was staying for two weeks, he was in serious trouble. He stepped outside to call his brother.

  Jeremiah answered on the first ring. “I was expecting your call around this time.”

  “Oh, really?” He walked farther down the block, away from the construction site. “Could it be because Cordelia just walked into one of my properties and told me she would be in South Beach for two weeks?”

  “I know. JW told Joel and me this morning.”

  “And neither of you felt a need to tell me before she got here?”

  “I did call you,” Jeremiah said. “Twice. And you didn’t answer.”

  Jaleen rubbed his forehead. “I was a little preoccupied this morning, but you could have left a voice mail or texted me.”

  “Look, when you were here in Chicago, JW said he’d be sending an appraiser.”

  “One, he never said it was Cordelia. Two, I should have had at least another week and a half before she showed up...” His voice trailed off when he heard someone yelling his name down the street. He turned to see Cordelia tripping over her heels as she tried to avoid the dips and holes on the property under construction. Jaleen dipped behind another building out of Cordelia’s view.

  “Bro, has she ever even worked on a construction site? She hasn’t even been an appraiser for too long. This job is way too big for her and she’s not experienced enough for it.”

  “I feel you, but you know exactly why JW sent her to South Beach.”

  “Of course I know why. Her being here is a smart business move and will put JW in good standing with her father. But that doesn’t make it any better. That woman is a walking disaster waiting to happen.”

  “She’s not that bad,” Jeremiah said with a laugh. “Plus, she’s easy on the eyes, so it will give you something pretty to look at.”

  “Man, how can you tell under all that mascara and big straw hat?”

  After Jeremiah’s laughter died down, his tone turned serious. “Listen, you know I understand what you’re going through and I wish I had the words to make it easier. But the sooner you accept that JW is always going to do things his way, the sooner things will start to fall into place.”

  Jaleen was shaking his head even though Jeremiah couldn’t see him. “You and I both know that things are only going to get worse. Joel and Uncle Jake may have their heads in the clouds, but I know you, man. You see things just like I do. The only difference is, you like to follow the rules and I like to break them. There are so many people who are afraid to stand up to JW, but his family are the only ones who know his
true weakness... Failure.”

  Jeremiah sighed. “I know, man. I know. Listen, maybe you and I should...”

  “Yoo-hoo, honey buns?”

  Jaleen tensed at the sound of Cordelia’s high-pitched voice.

  “Did she just call you honey buns?” Jeremiah asked.

  “Shut up.”

  “She did, didn’t she?” Jeremiah’s laughter barreled through the phone. Even though Jaleen was the subject of his laughter, it was nice to hear his brother sound so carefree.

  “Oh, there you are,” Cordelia said from behind him. “I found you.”

  Did she really just change her voice to a baby tone? If there was anything Jaleen disliked more than a grade-A clinger, it was a woman who spoke to him in a baby voice. Looking at Cordelia, he wondered if she was both of his fears wrapped in one.

  “Are you still on the phone?” she asked. He pointed to the phone at his ear, grateful she couldn’t hear how Jeremiah was still laughing.

  “When you get off, can you be a dear and carry me back to the renovation site? I can’t walk through that construction again in these heels.”

  Carry her back? Is she serious? “Cordelia, I’m not carrying you back.”

  “Fine,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Then can you have a glass of water waiting for me since it’s going to take me forever to walk back on my own.”

  Someone shoot me. Now. “Sure, I can do that.”

  “Aw, such a sweetie.” With that, she turned and slowly stumbled back to the boutique hotel.

  “Is she gone?” Jeremiah asked.

  “Yeah, for now.” Jaleen ran his fingers down his face in frustration. “I don’t know how I’m going to explain her to Danni. I mean, I guess she’s my appraiser, so I don’t have to explain too much.”

  “Who’s Danni?” Jeremiah asked.

  Crap, did I mention her out loud?

  “Wait, you’re not talking about the Danni that lives in Chicago, right? The one I met at that charity auction one time. The one you just had to sit next to just to argue with her the entire night?”