Forever Love (Arabesque)

by Norfleet, Celeste O.

  He shook his head. “I don’t, but my brother does in his office. I’ll be right back.”

  She nodded as he slowly moved around her. Still holding on to the end of his tie, she pulled it free as he walked away. When he left she looked around. This office was truly amazing. It was part work area with a desk credenza, and part conference room with a table and chairs, and part living room with a comfortable sofa, chairs, a coffee table and full decorative accents. There were also two closed doors, which she assumed led to a bathroom and a vault of gold. She walked over to the desk and began to wonder.

  “Second thoughts?” Keith said, walking back in.

  Gia looked up but didn’t turn around. “No, just thinking.”

  “About what?” he asked.

  “How comfortable this all seems. I mean me being here with you. On paper it probably looks insane, but for some reason it feels so right.” She turned around to see him. He stole her breath. “Who would have guessed you and me here now about to...”

  “Make love.” He finished her statement.

  She nodded and leaned back on the edge of his desk. “Yeah, make love. I really don’t know much about you, the real you.”

  He came over to lean back beside her. “My full name is Keith Emery Washington, my favorite color is purple, I listen to classical music in the car most times, but on really good days I listen to R & B and rap. I love to cook, but I seldom have the opportunity, I love jigsaw puzzles and I put clocks together as a hobby. I’m left-handed—the only one in the family, I drive an old beat-up truck on the weekend and I just bought an old farmhouse on three acres of land in Chestnut Hill. I’ve had a number of women in my life, but work is and will always be my main focus. And if this is as far as we go tonight, I’m okay with that.” He stopped.

  “I guess it’s my turn now, huh?” she said, then stood up and stepped to stand in front of him, straddling his legs. She took the three condoms from his hand and tossed two on the desk. “I think maybe I’ll tell you about me later. And for the record, this isn’t as far as we go.” She nibbled his earlobe and whispered, “Make love to me.”

  “I thought you’d never ask.” He pulled her into his embrace and kissed her tenderly. His tongue slipped into her mouth and they savored the sweet essence of sensual pleasure. Moving his head from side to side, he deepened the kiss. The swelling sensation of arousal in the pit of her stomach dipped down between her legs, sending shock waves of heat through her body.

  He held her waist, then pulled her even closer, gripped her rear to grind against his already hardened penis. Breathlessly she pulled back, breaking the kiss. She leaned her head back and he immediately began slowly ravishing her neck with tiny kisses, tender nips and long luscious licks.

  Her body was well past the point of desire. She needed him now. It had been a long time since any man made her feel this wanted. She savored the feeling, knowing it would be a long time coming again. She felt the zipper pull down on her dress as Keith slowly pulled it from her shoulders. She stepped back. He eased it down her shoulders and waist, allowing her to step out.

  She stood before him in stiletto heels, thigh-high stockings, panties and bra. He stared down the length of her body wordlessly. Suddenly she felt uneasy until he licked his lips and smiled lecherously. “I knew you were beautiful, but Gia, you are beyond stunning.”

  She smiled, slightly embarrassed. “Thank you.”

  “Turn around,” he whispered.

  She turned. He pulled her back between his legs as his hands came up to cup her beasts, circling her firm mounds with the palms of his hands paying special attention to her nipples. Already hardened, they ached to be released. As if reading her mind, he unsnapped the front clasp of her bra. He covered her breasts and began teasing her nipples. She rolled her head back, leaning on his shoulder and gasping in breathless pants.

  “Does that feel good?” he whispered. She couldn’t respond. Her mind was somewhere beyond cloud nine. “Do you want me to touch you?” She nodded. With one hand still caressing her breasts, the other dipped between her legs and circled the elastic lace of her waistband. Her legs trembled as she pushed back, grinding against the increasing hardness behind her.

  He reached down, cupping her throbbing core. She writhed as he played, tantalized and toyed with her swollen ache. She was wet and ready for him as his finger teasingly danced closer and closer. He slipped beneath the lace. Then one finger dipped and pushed inside, and she squealed. His second finger followed as his thumb stroked her nub over and over again. She squirmed and closed her eyes as the room began spinning dizzily. She moaned and groaned and whimpered and then finally she couldn’t hold out any longer. She climaxed in a mind-blowing implosion. Her whole body shook and pulsated, convulsing between shock waves of orgasmic rapture.

  Then in an instant she grabbed his hand and stepped away. She turned to him. Heaven help her, his hands were masterful, but she wanted the real thing. She pulled his shirt away and unzipped his pants, letting them drop to the floor.

  His penis protruded through his boxer briefs. She touched him, grasping, then stroking his long, rock-hard shaft. She watched as he raked his lower lip with his white teeth. She had the power now. She leaned in and licked his hard nipple. His body shuddered and jerked. She did it again. This time he nearly convulsed. She liked this new power. She pulled his boxers down, freeing him completely. “Oh my,” she whispered teasingly. “Now, what am I gonna do with you?”

  “I have a suggestion,” he rasped. His voice was thick and husky with desire. He pulled her close again. She grabbed a condom from the desk, opened it and placed it on his tip. Together they rolled and covered him. Now their bodies touched with her lace panties being the only barrier between them. His big strong hands grabbed the scant material and pulled them free. Then he cupped her rear and lifted her up onto his lap as he sat on his desk. She straddled him and then in one slow deliberate motion she eased down onto his hardness.

  The tightness gave way to him within seconds. She burned, she tingled as she lowered herself even more, eventually taking all of him. Her body tightened to hold him in place. She arched her back, feeling completely filled. His mouth came to her breasts and his tongue licked and lavished her nipples as if they were dripping ice-cream cones. Her trembling hand held tight to his strong shoulders as she began gyrating her hips, moving up and down. He entered and exited in long sensual rhythmic strokes. She rode and he pumped until spasms of ecstasy took them over the top in a surge of passion. He poured into her and she held tight. But he was still hard. He picked her up. She wrapped her legs tightly with him still inside. He quickly moved back to the sofa and laid her down beneath him as he pressed deeper into her. Her nails bit into his shoulders. Her heart pounded as the surges came deeper, faster, harder and stronger until they both exploded again.

  He rolled over, switching places with her. She now lay on top of him. Without protest she closed her eyes, waiting for the world to be reborn. There was no way it hadn’t ended after that. She was completely drained. She had climaxed so many times she lost count. No man had ever done that to her. “That was...” she whispered eventually.

  “Yes, I totally agree,” he answered while stroking her back.

  Both slipped into silence as their breathing synced as one and they fell asleep. She had no idea how long they slept. She awoke and reached for the bottled water. “I’ll get that for you,” Keith said.

  “Thanks, did I wake you?”

  “No, not really. Do you want another bottle of water?”

  “No, this is fine.” She got up and stepped away. Being naked didn’t often bother her. But now wasn’t one of those times.

  He sat up. “Damn, woman, you take my breath away. Every inch of your body is mouthwatering. I swear I’m starving now.”

  She looked over her shoulder. “You think so, huh?”

  “Oh, yea
h, definitely.”

  “Do you have a private bathroom in here?”

  “Yes.” He pointed to one of the closed doors she’d noticed earlier.

  She nodded. “I’ll be right back.” Moments later she returned. Keith was gone. She looked around and saw that his office door was now open. “Keith,” she called out.

  “Yeah,” he said, coming back in and closing the door behind him. He had a bowl of fruit. “I thought you might be hungry.”

  “I am,” she said with a glint in her eye. “Later.”

  He caught the look she gave him and instantly knew exactly what it meant. He placed the bowl of fruit on the disheveled desk and grabbed the second condom. She smiled teasingly. “Something different this time, I think.”

  He nodded slyly. “Oh, yeah, I got this.” He grabbed a handful of cherries, marched over to her and picked her up. He placed her on the conference table, then sat down in a chair in front of her. She giggled, humored by his bold outrageous actions. He squeezed the cherries in his fist, and the sweet succulent juice ran down the front of her body. She squealed, seeing her body covered in red sweetness. He tossed the pits in the trash can, then moved his chair close. An instant later his mouth was all over her.

  She lay back on top of the table and he fed like a condemned man. Her mouth, her neck, her shoulders, her beasts, her stomach and then he parted her legs. She gasped, arching up. He placed her legs on his shoulders and his hands on her breasts and ate until she was sated. Her body was weak and numb and her mind was beyond scattered.

  Much later, dawn peeked in through the custom-fitted blinds. Gia took a deep breath, then released it as her body adjusted to the comfortable position. Then she realized she had fallen asleep and she was lying on top of a very naked man. And not just any naked man—Keith Washington. She opened her eyes and she felt his hand drift down to stroke her back and cup the sweet firmness of her rear. “Oh, no,” she whispered.

  Keith was obviously awake and had heard her. “Good morning,” he said softly, barely above a whisper.

  Gia closed her eyes tightly. “Please tell me this is just another dream.”

  “About me, how many have you had?”

  “Never mind,” she muttered.

  “Okay, then it’s a dream,” he lied, “so lie back and relax.”

  She groaned. “How am I supposed to relax when I’m lying on top of the last man in the world I’m supposed to be with?”

  “It could be worse,” he said.

  “How could this be any worse?” she asked, seeing the two condom wrappers on the pushed-aside coffee table and their clothes tossed on the chair.

  “Well, you could be with the man Mamma Lou planned for you.”

  She sat up quickly and looked down at him. “What man?”

  “My great-aunt likes to play matchmaker.”

  Gia closed her eyes and laid her bead back down on his chest. “I know about her infamous matchmaking skills. I hate to disappoint her, but I’m not interested in a long-term relationship of any kind.”

  “I agree, neither am I,” Keith said.

  “Good, then this was just a physical release.”

  “Exactly, a physical release,” he repeated.

  “You know no one can know about this, right?”

  “Yes, of course. It would be very difficult to explain.”

  “Exactly, and since this only happened this one time...”

  “Actually, it was a lot more than just one time.”

  “Well, technically yes, but we were together for just one night.” He nodded. “I just don’t think a lot of people will believe that we can still be professional, but we can.”

  “Yes, we can.”

  “So next week, with the meeting...”

  “We will be completely professional. Our physical release will be set aside—business first.”

  She nodded. “It’s almost daybreak. I’d better go.”

  “Unless of course you’re up for another physical release.”

  “Yeah, that sounds good,” she said, looking down at him.

  “Yeah.” Keith nodded. “I think so, too.”

  “But what if someone comes in here?” she said.

  “They won’t.”

  “You have a cleaning service. It’s possible.”

  “Yes, but it’s Saturday at six-thirty in the morning. No one’s in my office at that time except me.”

  “And me,” she said, smiling.

  “Oh, yeah, definitely you,” he agreed, pulling her closer.

  Gia delved into Keith’s kiss with all the fervent passion inside her. Her body was ready because she knew this was definitely going to be the last time this happened. After this physical release, there was only one thing to do. Stay as far away from Keith Washington as possible, but for right now she’d enjoy him.

  Chapter 13

  Keith: Miss me already, don’t you?

  Keith: Silence?

  Keith: It’s like that, huh?

  Keith: Not tempted? Not even a little?

  “No,” Gia said adamantly to herself as soon as she looked at the caller ID number. It was Keith texting her again. She was tempted and he knew it. He also knew what she was doing. This was his fourth text message and she still refused to respond. She needed to end what she had started. One night, that’s all, she promised herself. She had had her physical release and now it was time to move on. She couldn’t chance being with him again no matter how much she wanted to. That’s what they had promised. She had to be professional.

  Saturday morning and afternoon Gia did everything she could think of to keep busy all day long. She visited her grandmother for breakfast, she did laundry, ran errands, went grocery shopping, cleaned her house and then hand-washed her car. The more mundane the chore, the better. She knew as soon as she stopped motion, she would think about Keith. But not only did she have memories of him to contend with, she also had Mamma Lou to deal with. She did not have time for her matchmaking drama. And whoever she had in mind for her would be most sadly disappointed.

  So when her cell phone rang at three o’clock and she saw it was her friend Val she was overjoyed. “Hey, Val, what’s up?”

  “Hey, girl, I just called to check on you,” Val said. “The last time we talked, life was getting complicated. How’s that going?”

  Gia half chuckled. “Girl, you don’t even want to know.”

  “Oh, Lord, sounds like complicated got crazy complicated,” Val said with a laugh. “What happened?”

  “You’re right. It got crazy complicated and then some. After I spoke to you I went back to the office. Everything was cool and then my dad showed up out of the blue. He just stopped by like it was no big deal.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. For real, how long has it been since you’ve spoken?” Val asked.

  “It’s been almost six years. But wait, there’s more. I ran into my grandfather at the mayor’s Initiative Conference.”

  “Okay, that’s just crazy,” Val said.

  “Yeah, but that’s not the craziest, complicated part. I decided to call Keith and tell him that whatever was going on between us had to stop. I went over to his office late last night and I wound up spending the night with him and then...”

  “Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Wait a minute, back up. You just can’t breeze through something like that and not give me details. You and Keith Washington spent the night together in his office?”

  “Yes,” Gia said softly.

  Val laughed happily. “Good for you, it’s about time.”

  “Girl, the man was amazing, but now it just seems so impulsive. I’m sure he does that all the time, but I—”

  “Actually, I’d bet my entire 40lK you’re wrong. I told you, Keith is a good guy. He’s not about all that
player stuff. Yeah, he’s had his share of women, but it’s not like that with him. He doesn’t play games and I’ve known him a long time.”

  Gia thought about what Val said for a brief moment. Everything about Keith seemed to prove true. He had never lied to her and he wasn’t trying to take advantage of her.

  “Listen, right now I need to get out of here and do something to keep my mind off this. So I have a great idea. Let’s go out tonight and do an early dinner and catch a movie.”

  “Yeah, we’re definitely going out tonight, but we’re not doing dinner and a movie. We have tickets for the ball.”

  “Tickets for what ball?” Gia asked.

  “I reminded you last week and then again on Thursday, so please don’t tell me you forgot about the Knights Children’s Benefit Ball at the Grand Hotel tonight.”

  “Oh crap, I forgot,” Gia groaned.

  “No excuses, you’re coming with me,” Val said firmly. “It’s the team’s bye week, so they’re not playing on Sunday. That means we’ll be partying all night with every football player on the team. And here’s the best part. We have the inside track because of Prudence. And you know you need this. We both do.”

  Gia rolled her eyes. The last thing she felt like doing was going to a big crowded party with a bunch of football players. “Val...”

  “Don’t even say it. As many political events as I’ve attended with you, you, missy, are going to this with me. It’s black-tie.”

  “I don’t have anything to wear.”

  “Now I know you’re lying. You have more clothes than Prudence, and she’s a department store fashion buyer.”

  “Okay, okay, I give up.”

  “Gia, it’s not a firing squad. It’ll be fun. You said you wanted to get your mind off of your crazy drama. This is the perfect distraction—big, strong, gorgeous men. Believe me, this is gonna be the party of the decade. I’ll see you at seven.”