A Fool for You (The Cochran/Deveraux Series Book 7)

by Melanie Schuster

  This time her voce seemed to work because John finally began kissing his way back up her body, soothing her trembling with his every touch. He finally ended at her lips, kissing her mouth with the same intensity he’d applied to her clitoris and she was shocked by how erotic it was to taste her essence on his tongue, to smell her own intimate fragrance on his thick moustache. If she’d been thinking clearly, she would have thought it was repulsive but it was so sensuous and sweet all it did was arouse her more.

  “John, I want you,” she breathed.

  “I want you, too, mi Corazon. You are my heart, you know that, right?”

  And you are mine, she thought, but the words didn’t leave her lips. Instead, she shivered delicately and snuggled closer to John, nestling next to his heart. They’d finally managed to get under the covers while still remaining entwined in each other.

  “Are you cold? Do you want to take a shower to get warm?”

  “I think I know another way to get warm.” Nina gave John a smile of three parts mischief and one part pure joy as she turned so she was on her back looking up at his handsome face smiling down at her.

  “Oh, you do?” John’s words turned into a moan of pleasure as Nina’s hands found his sex, by now hard as steel and engorged with the proof of his longing for her. “Nina, baby, sweetheart, don’t do that,” he pleaded.

  “I think turnabout is fair play, John. You had your way with me,” she murmured as she fondled the turgid flesh, delighting in the incredible softness masking the steely pole within. “Now it’s time for me to have my way with you, sweetheart.”

  “No! Not yet, Nina, not yet. Please baby, you’re playing with fire. There’s plenty of time for that but let me get this on right now,” John said firmly as he gently removed himself from Nina’s agile fingers.

  While he was applying the condom Nina got her first really good look at his massive member and her eyes grew enormous.

  “Umm, John, I don’t think that’s going to fit,” she said hoarsely.

  John gave her a beautiful loving smile and kissed her softly. “Oh that’s where you’re wrong, querida. Come let me show you how well we fit together.”

  A couple of hours later, Nina was ready to concede that they fit together just perfectly. John had turned over on his back and lifted Nina onto his body, holding her hips until he was sure she could handle the girth and length of him. As her sighs of enjoyment turned into moans of ecstasy, John began moving his own hips to establish a rhythm for them, one that would bring them both to complete bliss. But as John feared, his long period of abstinence took its toll, and even though he quickly rolled Nina over on her back to better control the sensation, she was simply too much for him. She was so incredibly hot and tight he felt his control slipping and in mere minutes it was over.

  “Oh damn, my bad, baby,” John moaned. Nina just wrapped her arms and legs around him and held him tightly.

  “It’s kind of flattering really,” she said sweetly. “You must think I’m a real hot mama.”

  John rose up on his elbows and looked down at the woman he’d come to love so dearly. “You have no idea, Nina. You’re amazing, you really are. You’re funny, and beautiful and kind and you’re so sweet it makes my heart hurt when I think about all the wonderful things you’ve done for me. And the passion is so incredibly hot, baby.” At her look of disbelief he kissed her softly and kept talking to her in a low voice full of tenderness.

  “Your mouth is a treasure all by itself, Nina. It makes me dizzy to think about kissing those lips, and the things you can do with your tongue just drive me crazy. Your skin is so soft and sexy, and the way you move your body makes me want to kidnap you and take you somewhere far away from here so we can make love around the clock. And the way I feel when I’m inside you…”

  His erection had returned, harder and even more engorged and this time he was ready for the volcanic response his body had to Nina’s. This time he entered her swiftly and with assurance, driving his sex into her moist, welcoming opening over and over, piloting them both to the edge of blinding ecstasy. He reached for her hands and they entwined their fingers, preparing to drown together in the eddying abyss of ultimate fulfillment. This time he was in total control and using every bit of his skill to make sure Nina was fulfilled. When her wet canal clenched on him and she cried out, he knew it was time to let go and join her in the pue de mort that signaled the birth of their love.

  Nina, my love, I love you so. For the life of him he didn’t know if he’d spoken the words aloud or not.

  ***

  Now, in the bathroom after a long hot shower, Nina knew for a fact that John was a very wise man about some things. There were a few other things, however, he still needed to learn.

  “You simply cannot be my boyfriend. I can’t have a man who had prettier hair than I do,” Nina pouted.

  John’s thick, wavy black hair looked no worse for having romped around in the throes of passion, but Nina’s looked, as she put it, “right witchy.” She’d insisted on wearing a cap as they showered, something that amused John even as it further endeared her to him. “Look, I don’t have blow hair, okay? Lots of chemicals and potions are needed to keep my hair looking even this raggedy so you can imagine what it looks like impromptu. I told you I was the wrong woman for you, you need one of those Cochran-type women with the good hair,” she said with a frown.

  He squeezed the excess water out of his long braid and leaned over to kiss Nina. “Baby, I love your hair. Lots of sisters relax their hair so why should that be a big deal? My Mami relaxed her hair all the time. I used to go to the beauty shop with her when I was little. It was fun to me, I loved watching the ladies get hooked up and they always gave me candy and lots of hugs. Especially the older ladies with the big soft bosoms; they were the best. Can I come to the beauty shop with you, chica?” he asked hopefully.

  Nina assured him that he could not. “In the first place, I do my own hair. It costs too much to go to the salon. In the second place, I have my girls. They eliminate the need for going to the hairdresser because they always have my back when my hair goes back to Africa on me.”

  John burst out laughing at her comment. Nina did indeed have several ponytails, both human and synthetic, with which she augmented her hair as the whim took her. John had found that tidbit out earlier in the year. Nina’s hair had been scooped up in a high ponytail that hung to her shoulders and he’d stupidly asked if it was all her hair. Instead of slitting his throat with a nail file, Nina had said, “What are you, the hair police? Of course it’s mine, want to see the receipt?” While he was recuperating from surgery Nina had amused him by revealing that her pieces had names; Jeannie was the high one, after I Dream of Jeannie. And there was a Beyoncé, a Barbie and a Sophia as well.

  Nina had to get the last word on the hair thing, though. She looked at him over her shoulder as she removed the shower cap and fluffed her hair out.

  “And in the third place, if you think I’m going to sit around and watch a bunch of women make fools out of themselves over you, you’ve got another think coming. That’s my job,” she said smugly.

  John looked at the adorable picture she made in her pink terry cloth wrap and picked her up to carry her off to bed. “Well my job is to make you happy. Let’s make love again, baby. I told you I couldn’t get enough of you.”

  “I seem to be pretty insatiable myself. And I seem to have a really strong craving for chocolate, too. What do you think we should do about that?”

  John gave her a wicked smile as he deposited his treasure on the bed. Picking up the box of truffles he said, “I think I have a really good idea about that. Have a piece?”

  Chapter 7

  The next morning Nina lay perfectly still, facing the ceiling with her eyes closed. She was playing the “if” game, something she hadn’t done since she was very small. If I go to sleep right now, Santa Claus will come. If I eat all my beets my hair will be long and pretty. If I don’t make any noise they won’t beat me any
more. If I don’t open my eyes, I’ll never wake up and this will all be true. If I keep my eyes closed forever, last night will be real and not just a dream. She took a deep cleansing breath that ended with a shaky groan. Sitting straight up in the bed she opened her eyes and tried hard to smile but it was impossible, the corners of her mouth refused to cooperate. They felt, in fact, like little anchors were weighing them down. The harder she tried to bring the corners up, the more forlorn her expression became.

  She tossed the covers aside and threw her legs over the side of the bed. Looking around for something to cover her nude body, she finally saw her pink terry wrap on the dresser where it had landed after John tossed it across the room. The sight of it made her mood even worse as she recalled the exact circumstance that led to its new position. She stood up so quickly she almost lost her balance and stomped across the room to retrieve it. The little voice in her head had a comment about her attitude. Look at you. Got the first decent loving you’ve had in your life and you’re acting like a big fool, aren’t you. You really need to chill, girl.

  “And you need to mind your own business,” Nina muttered as she went to tend to her morning needs.

  Fifteen minutes later she emerged from the bathroom after a hot and efficient shower, dressed in her peach and white robe. She was looking anything but radiant and rested after her ablutions; her mood hadn’t lifted one little bit. She stared at the rumpled bed for a moment and her stomach clinched like a fist. How could she have done it? How in the world could she have succumbed to the desire she’d felt for John from the first moment they met? And more importantly, how was she ever going to face him again? She couldn’t stand looking at the bed another second, she removed all the linens and folded the coverlet and blanket and put them on the chair in the corner of the room.

  By now her electric curlers had heated sufficiently and she put them in her hair, managing to stab her scalp viciously each time she tried to secure a roller. Maybe if she hadn’t awakened by herself, maybe if John had stayed instead of sneaking off like a thief in the night, maybe then she wouldn’t feel like such a prize fool. But the fact was he’d gotten what he came for and left. No big surprise there, she thought derisively. Just par for the freakin’ course. The only surprise here is me, letting myself get taken in like a yokel. She made a horrible face in the mirror and dared herself to cry. You’re not too big to beat, heifer, let a drop fall from yo’ eye and see don’t you get your ass beat.

  Nina didn’t realize she was speaking aloud until the ugliness of the words brought up a past she kept locked up so tightly she refused to ever speak of it to anyone. The shock of memory made her start shaking with repressed anger and sorrow and she had to get out of the bathroom. She couldn’t breathe. She left in a rush, going straight through the bedroom and into the living room intending to open the door for just a breath of non-conditioned air. Fumbling at the doorknob and she pulled the door open hastily, then let out a shrill noise like a fire alarm when she saw John’s tall frame filling the doorway with a newspaper under his arm, a rose between his teeth and a large takeout bag from a local restaurant in his hand. He looked more startled than Nina felt as he entered the suite while taking the rose out of his mouth.

  “Baby, what’s the matter? Is something after you, what is it?” John looked all around the room and saw nothing amiss as he put the bag and newspaper on the table. He turned to face Nina, grasping her shoulders so he could get a good look at her. “What’s wrong Nina, why did you look so scared?” he asked her gently.

  “What’s wrong with you, don’t you know how to use a phone or knock or something? You scared ten years off my life, you dolt. I wasn’t expecting you on the other side of the door, that’s all.” Nina sounded like a total shrew and she knew it but it was better than bursting into the soap opera-ish tears of joy she was trying desperately to stifle.

  John tilted her chin up and put an endearing little kiss on her pouting lips. “Aww, Miss Parker, I had to go shower and change and bring you breakfast. It was supposed to be a surprise, a pleasant and romantic surprise. I wasn’t trying to scare you,” he crooned. “So why don’t you sit down and I’ll serve you, my lady. My Martian lady,” he added with a grin.

  “Martian lady?” Just then the unpleasant warmth of the rollers reminded her of how her hair was arranged. “Oh, crap!” She put her hands up to cover the horrible rollers and like many a surprised woman before her, flew out of the room in her bare feet.

  “Why are you running off? I already saw the worst and you look cute to me, honey.” John shook his head. Why do women get so bent about things like that? Papi saw Mami looking much worse than that from time to time and he was still hot for her until the day they died. He frowned at the feeling of melancholy that claimed him momentarily. His parents had truly adored each other and kept their marriage full of passion until the day they died as the result of a horrific car crash. They never stopped showing each other how much they cared and the sexual energy had never flagged. John knew this to be fact from the few times he’d come home unannounced after he was living on his own. He smiled when he thought about sharing that kind of passion with Nina.

  He was still smiling as he arranged Nina’s breakfast on the bar that separated the living room from the tiny kitchenette with a mini refrigerator, microwave and sink. The Martian queen finally came back to the living room, this time fully dressed in skinny jeans and a long-sleeved peach colored T-shirt with a dangerously deep vee neck. Her hair was becomingly styled in loose curls and there was a tiny bit of makeup on her flawless skin, just enough to make her lashes stand out and her lips gleam enticingly. She gave John a mildly hostile look and asked, “What are you grinning about?”

  John raised an eyebrow as he walked over to stand next to her. “I’m smiling, Nina. Grinning implies a stupid look of inane glee. Smiling is a refined show of happiness, like the happiness I feel at serving breakfast to my lady on the morning after our first…”

  Nina held up her hand. “Don’t go there, John. Just stop it,” she said crossly.

  John laughed at her and put his hands on her waist. “Oh, I’m going there baby. I’m going there,” he murmured as he kissed her lips, “and there,” he promised as he looked down her cleavage, “and you know I’m going there,” he said as he pulled her flush to his body and thrust his pelvis into hers for a long slow gyration that took Nina’s breath away. “So sit down, eat the food I’ve already had to nuke once to keep warm, and try to be pleasant if not happy. Please?”

  Nina was torn between continuing her tough-girl act and succumbing to John’s infectiously happy mood. She looked up at him, so handsome and appealing in his well-worn jeans and faded Polo shirt, and shocked him by wrapping her arms around him for a hug she was loathe to end. She turned her face up to his and kissed him with great sweetness and tenderness while murmuring, “Thank you, John, it was very sweet of you to do this for me.”

  They finally sat down to eat and the food was still warm and delicious. John had brought her scrambled eggs with turkey sausage, hash browns with onions and peppers and a huge cheese Danish. And there was fresh orange juice and coffee as well. Nina ate neatly and daintily but she cleaned her plate. John was always impressed with the prodigious amounts Nina could put away; she could easily eat as much as he did.

  “John that was really wonderful. Thank you again. Of course, I’m going to have to run a few extra miles to metabolize it but that’s okay. Yum,” she sighed, licking her lips. She got up from the breakfast bar, started clearing away the remnants of the meal, and John stopped her.

  “I’ll get this, Nina. There’s something interesting in the newspaper, though, why don’t you take a look?”

  With an expression of curiosity, Nina went into the living room and picked up the newspaper off the coffee table. Something fell out of its folds and hit her foot. She bent over to pick it up, completely missing the look of lust and adoration John gave her as she unwittingly pointed her butt in his direction.

 
“John, these look like tickets,” Nina said.

  “They are tickets, Nina.”

  “Oh.” She placed the tickets on the table and refused to look at John. “So where are you going?” she asked dully.

  “I’m not going anywhere, beloved. We’re going somewhere together,” he said gently. “How’d you like to come to the old country with me?”

  Nina didn’t even try to disguise the look of pleased excitement on her face; she ran to John and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him soundly. “I’d love to,” she said between kisses. “When do we leave?”

  Their getaway was scheduled for the next weekend. John’s classes were on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and there was a two-day study break scheduled before midterms, so he didn’t have to be back on campus until the following Wednesday. Nina was still dazed by John’s thoughtfulness and told him so as they made plans. They were on the sofa, John lying down with Nina resting on top of him, her long legs twined with his. “What made you decide to go to Puerto Rico, John? Not that I’m complaining, you understand, I’m very pleased you asked me to go, I’m simply curious,” she said softly as she stroked his chest, running her hand in a slow, steady circle. She just enjoyed touching him; there was something so comforting about feeling the warmth of his body next to hers.

  John shifted her so he could kiss her forehead. “I wanted to take you somewhere warm and sunny and it was the first place that came to mind. I have many fond memories of the place from growing up. It’s where my mother and father met and fell in love so it’s always seemed like a romantic place to me.” He paused while he put his hand on top of the one that was still tracing circles on his chest. He brought her hand up to his lips and caressed it gently. “I wanted to take you someplace exotic so we would have beautiful surroundings, someplace where we could really get to know each other.”