False Pretenses

by Tressie Lockwood

  He slid from the car and held out a hand to her when the driver opened the door for him. Alyssa put her hand in his, not startled this time at the tingle.

  “We will tomorrow,” he explained. “While we’re getting to know each other better, I don’t want to be under the watchful eyes of the staff.”

  She blinked. “Staff?”

  “Yes, it’s a large home. Since my father and I are usually busy with work-related issues even while on vacation, and my mother and sister have their pursuits, someone needs to cook and clean. We hire staff to do that. We’ve had the same people come in seasonally to work for us. They’re locals.”

  Alyssa thought of the apartment she rented, which Trinity had insulted. She’d spoken the truth when she said Alyssa lived in a higher crime area, but it was all she could afford. New York was an expensive city no matter where one chose to reside. She wanted to do better, and hopefully with the loan and changes made to her store, she could in time.

  Nathan wrapped Alyssa’s fingers around his arm and guided her into the hotel. After checking in, she was glad to find the suite he’d booked held separate bedrooms. She counted three along with a kitchen, living room, and dining room.

  “Are we expecting anyone else?” she asked, bewildered.

  “No.”

  “It’s a bit much for one night.” She strolled to the middle of the suite that was larger and nicer than her apartment and stood there. Behind her, Nathan thanked and tipped the bellman. The door whooshed shut, and the automatic lock clicked into place.

  “Come here, Alyssa.”

  She peered at him over her shoulder. He held out a hand, causing her heart to hammer.

  “Please.”

  All of sudden, she forgot how to walk as she stumbled to him. He stood in the hall, off the kitchen, and she joined him there. When his hands settled on her arms, she shivered. He stroked her skin with a featherlight touch.

  “The more I touch you, the more comfortable you’ll be.”

  She swallowed. “You’re not going to try to seduce me, are you? Because you’re not my type.”

  His brows went up at her bald statement. Maybe he believed every woman wanted him. The way she shook and panted being this close to him, he would know the truth just looking at her. She did her best to pull it together.

  “I don’t plan on it. But you’re telling me you feel nothing when I do this?” He raised her chin, leaned down, and kissed her lips, a touch that was a far cry from what she’d attempted on the plane.

  When he raised his head, she thanked the heavens for her cocoa skin so he couldn’t see her flush. “It’s not bad or anything.”

  He winced.

  Score one for me.

  “Well, I guess I will have to try harder.” He came in for another kiss, but she wriggled out of his grasp and hurried away.

  “Which of these rooms is mine? I need to get cleaned up, and I would love to take a quick nap before dinnertime.”

  She expected him to protest, but he let her go and pointed her in the right direction. Alyssa found her bags already settled at the base of the bed and shut her door to go through one of them. For a good ten minutes, she sorted through her clothing while her mind raced with thoughts of Nathan Corde’s lips. They’d been warm and soft, and he tasted better than any lover she’d ever had. Wait, don’t even go there, girl. He is not now, and never will be, your lover. Period.

  How would things have gone if it were Trinity? She loved Curtis, but could she pretend to love Nathan, and would she have flinched at his kisses? Alyssa sat on the bed. Maybe this entire fiasco was just that, a ruse for Nathan to get a black woman in his bed. Then again, that was absurd. The man stood several inches over six feet and had a body most men would pay good money to have, not to mention he was rich. Women of all kinds would line up to share his bed.

  Still mulling it over, she climbed into the shower and washed off. After she’d lotioned her skin and folded into a thick robe provided by the hotel, she lay across the bed. Because she hadn’t been able to sleep the night before, tiredness weighed heavy on her, and soon she drifted off into dreamland.

  A hand stroking her hair woke her, and she swatted at it without opening her eyes. “Never touch a black woman’s hair without permission,” she muttered.

  “Is that true?” came the curious reply.

  Memory of where she was and who sat on the side of her bed came flooding back, and she popped up. “Nathan!”

  “I’m sorry. You didn’t answer my knock, so I came in. It’s after six, and I wanted to check to see if you were hungry. We can go out, or I can arrange for a chef to come in and cook for us. Your choice.” While he spoke, his gaze dropped from her face to her chest. Too late, she remembered she’d thrown the robe on after her shower and nothing else. The garment gaped open, exposing the beginning swell of her breasts. One move would uncover a nipple, and Nathan had noticed. Alyssa jerked the robe closed and jumped to her feet.

  “Yes, thanks for waking me. I’m starving. We can go out unless you want to stay in? I want to see the island at night.”

  “Your wish is my command.”

  When they stepped out of the hotel, a limo waited, and Nathan dismissed the driver from holding the door for her and did it himself. She thanked him and moved past, making every effort not to brush him as she folded into the dark interior.

  “Do you travel often by limo?”

  He smiled. “Not always. I have a couple of cars I tool around in now and then. The limo is convenient for getting work done without the hindrance of watching the road.”

  She nodded. “I balance the books on the train into work. It’s convenient.”

  When he gave a polite response, she wondered if he’d ever been on public transportation.

  The restaurant Nathan chose was a beautiful whitewashed building, which, as nice as it appeared outside, took Alyssa’s breath away inside. Purple, blue, and white lights illuminated walls covered in simplistic but skillful artwork. None of the paintings were in actual frames, but each looked to have been created directly on the wall, and they connected in a way that brought a sense of peace and warmth over her just gazing at them. A bar with neon blue lights beneath the counter stretched along one wall, and tables covered with pristine white tablecloths had been arranged around the floor.

  A host in crisp uniform stepped up to greet them. “Mr. Corde, it’s good to see you again, sir. I hope you’re doing well this evening?”

  “Jeff, good, thanks.” Nathan shook the man’s hand, and as they were led farther into the restaurant, she overheard someone else informing another host that they had reservations. When she and Nathan were seated in a private room, she studied him in curiosity.

  “Did you make reservations?”

  His brows went up. “I have a standing reservation here.”

  “Standing?” She unfolded the cloth napkin and laid it across her lap. So much silverware framed her plate, she wondered which was proper, and then didn’t care. “Oh, you mean they will oust anyone because it’s you?”

  Rather than answer, Nathan turned to the waiter who approached their table. Again the two men seemed to know each other by name. Alyssa allowed Nathan to choose what she drank for the evening, and then she perused the menu. No prices were listed. A sign it costs an arm and a leg, I bet.

  “So why are you doing this?” she questioned him when they were alone.

  “You get right to the point, don’t you?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t bite my tongue. Well, usually. I like to know where I stand, and I can’t help wondering if you just want a black woman in your bed. Maybe you have a thing for Trinity, but she ruined your plans by backing out at the last minute. You couldn’t very well admit the whole pretend boyfriend-girlfriend thing was a lie.”

  He reached across the table and took her hand. Her fingers spasmed in his hold, and she jerked away. Nathan turned his hand over, palm up, and waited. With great effort, she placed hers back in his, and his thumb stroked her skin
in gentle, slow circles.

  “No, I am not interested in Trinity. I know she has a boyfriend. I do not horn in on another man’s territory. There are too many single women in the world.”

  She clenched her teeth and lowered her gaze to the table.

  “I have had sex with a black woman before. It was brief and enjoyable, a one-night stand. We remain acquaintances, and I imagine if I gave any indication I wanted to continue, she would be willing.”

  No confidence in himself at all. She just kept herself from rolling her eyes.

  “While I’m free to come and go whenever and wherever I choose, I would not create a trip such as this just to get into a woman’s panties.”

  “Okay, so my logic’s off,” she said. “And you can get whatever woman you want.”

  He narrowed his eyes and at last released her. Alyssa buried her hands in her lap while struggling to calm the sensations he had evoked.

  “You seem angry at me. I understood that you volunteered to take Trinity’s place.”

  She gasped. “You don’t think…I mean, I never meant to imply…”

  “No, Trinity made that clear. Don’t worry. I know you’re not available for anything other than pretense, but I’m curious. Do you have a boyfriend?”

  She bit her lip. “No. He…I…broke it off a few weeks ago. We weren’t right for each other.” She didn’t care to tell him Tony had suggested an open relationship and informed her he never wanted kids. Two blows in one. He hadn’t cheated, he said, but the fact that he wanted to see other people while still having her said he eventually would. “So what about you? Surely, there was, or is, someone special in your life that you can take to meet your parents, and if not, why pretend? Isn’t that giving them false hope?”

  “There isn’t.” He seemed to hesitate, but she wouldn’t let him get out of giving her a straight answer. When he tapped the table in a decisive movement, she realized he wasn’t the type to back off of a challenge. “My father has terminal cancer.”

  Alyssa gaped. That was the last thing she had expected to hear. “I’m so sorry.”

  He nodded his thanks. “They both want grandchildren more than anything at this point, and my sister, for her own reasons, refuses to give in to the demand, so to speak. That leaves me.”

  “And you don’t want kids either?” The truth hurt even though she had no designs on him. Just knowing another man who stepped all over her own dream got to her.

  “It’s not that I don’t want them. I need a wife, but I’m not ready to find one.” He shrugged. “However, my father means a lot to me, and I want to make his last days happy. If he thinks I’m close to getting married and having kids, that will be enough for him.”

  Tears welled in Alyssa’s eyes. “I understand that.”

  “I chose you, or rather Trinity, when it occurred to me that a white woman wouldn’t do.”

  Alyssa stared. The logic escaped her in this instance.

  “I can see you think I’m crazy. Think about it. I’m thirty-five. Over the years, my father has seen me date or have a fling with one blonde after another, a few brunettes thrown in here and there, but all of a certain type.”

  So in other words, you’re a man whore who likes the leggy, empty-headed model type. She tried not to show her conclusion in her expression, but something told her she failed when he chuckled. Nathan didn’t care one bit what she thought of him, and he had made no bones about admitting his love of women.

  “He won’t believe it’s real if you bring home the same kind of woman,” she said.

  “No, he won’t, and I thought, what type of woman could be extreme enough for him to think at last I had succumbed to love?”

  “Trinity.”

  “You,” he corrected.

  Trinity had gone to college and held a master’s in communication. She hobnobbed with rich people every day and held her own. She’d never take down to any of them. Alyssa realized she would make the perfect candidate for Nathan to take home. Alyssa’s bachelor’s in English literature did nothing to enhance her career since one didn’t need to have a command of Shakespeare to sell erotic romance books or “how to build your own furniture” manuals. The average Joe frequented her store, and she had only ever rubbed elbows with the working middle class.

  “I don’t want to bring up race, but if you’re thirty-five, your parents have to be in their fifties?”

  “Sixties.”

  He didn’t appear offended, so she continued. “Won’t they have a problem with you getting serious with a black woman? Even younger people sometimes have issues, despite seeing more and more mixed couples these days. I wouldn’t want to upset your dad. I respect people’s opinions. I just don’t have to deal with them.”

  “I’ve thought about it, but I believe with the crisis we’re dealing with, he won’t care. After Trinity agreed to come with me, I mentioned to my mother over the phone that she’s African American. My mother sounded surprised and a little taken aback. I know she told my father, but I heard no more about it. Mom called me several times after that to make sure I was still coming and bringing you.”

  “Are you insane?” she squeaked. “So you don’t know what we’re walking into. They could be planning a family intervention.”

  He burst out laughing. “Don’t worry.”

  “I am worried, damn it.”

  He reached across the table and touched her cheek just as their food arrived. Alyssa found her fears escalating, both because she couldn’t shake the attraction to this man and for whatever waited at his family’s vacation home. All she knew was even if his parents came at her wrong, she couldn’t cuss them out with his father so ill. No way would she cause the early death of an old man. With each passing moment, she wondered if this was the stupidest mistake she’d ever made.

  Chapter Three

  “Ready?”

  Nathan held out his hand, and Alyssa slipped her sandals off and then took it. From the first step, her feet sank into the warm white sand, and she followed him along the beach. As they strolled, the sun glowed orange on the horizon, creating a breathtaking view. The night breeze brought the scent of mangoes and lime, and she inhaled it, allowing the atmosphere to ease away some of her worry and stress.

  “What about you?” he asked after a few moments of silence.

  “Me?”

  He nodded. “Over dinner I told you a little of my family. I’d like to learn more about you, and if possible, help you to relax.”

  She ducked her head, annoyed he could pick up on how tense she’d been. All through dinner, as they discussed various light subjects, she hadn’t been able to get his family off her mind, especially his father. On top of that, knowing she had to perform for all of them tangled her stomach even more. Sure, she’d been desperate enough to volunteer for this madness, but in the face of it, the situation had changed.

  Nathan squeezed her hand to bring her back to the present, and she sighed. “Nothing much to tell. I have no siblings, and I grew up with Trinity and her dad and stepmom.”

  His eyebrows rose in the waning light. “Your parents?”

  “They were killed in a plane crash when I was ten.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She thanked him, and while the tragedy had happened eighteen years ago, she still felt a strong sense of loss at not having a mother.

  “What was that like?”

  His question surprised her. Most people on hearing she’d been orphaned at a young age shied away from the subject. Studying Nathan, she tried determining if he was insensitive or just nosey. His calm expression gave few real clues, and since she had no reason to ignore him, she answered his query.

  “It wasn’t bad. I mean, after my initial grief and depression. Trinity’s dad is an awesome man. He loved me like a daughter, and he offered to let me live in his house forever, even after I grew up. He’s not a blood relationship to me. Trinity’s mother was my mother’s sister, but she left them early on, and he remarried when Trinity was five. Even after
my mother died, she never came to the funeral or to see us.”

  “I didn’t know she had such a past. When she mentions her mother, she sounds like she loves her very much.”

  “Her stepmom,” Alyssa agreed, “she’s pretty special, but I was determined to stand on my own two feet, and when I found out I had a small inheritance from my parents, I used it to start my business.”

  “Interesting. I would enjoy hearing more about your business.” He stopped walking and faced her. “For now, since we don’t have a lot of time, I think we should practice a little more.”

  All the relaxation Alyssa had achieved went floating away over the waves of the ocean. When he laid gentle hands on her upper arms, a tremor passed through her that was not all nervousness. He drew her close, and she peered up at him through her lashes. She could say no and tell him they didn’t need all these displays of affection to appear to be in love. Everyone wasn’t that open. The problem was, she wanted to kiss him again, and deeper than the last time.

  She licked her lips and waited, but he didn’t close the space between them. Was he nervous as well? Getting bold, she let her sandals fall to the sand and rose up on the balls of her feet. Her hands on his chest, she leaned in and touched her lips to his. Nathan’s hand roamed from her arms to her waist, and he tugged her to him. His lips parted above hers, and the moment his tongue touched the tip of hers, he swept her away on a cloud of yearning that made her cream her panties. Back up, Alyssa. You don’t know what you’re doing, girl.

  She pressed tighter to his chest and slid her palms along the contours of his hard muscle. Taut nipples met her fingertips, and she came close to losing her breath. Nathan nudged her chin even higher and deepened the kiss. His tongue snaked along the insides of her mouth and curled with her tongue. A moan rose in her throat, but she tamped it down. At last, she found the strength to pull back, but he sucked a bit, a move that caught her bottom lip between his. The sounds they made when they separated had her wanting to go back, but she stepped out of his hold.