“How about we let that be a surprise?” He helped her slip into her coat and then escorted her out to his vehicle.
Beverly didn’t doubt for a moment that Lucius had booked them at some fabulous restaurant for dinner. And he did: Nicholas, a stunning five-star restaurant that was a fixture on the Buckhead dining scene. However, instead of being escorted to a table inside of the restaurant, their host led them to a private table on the roof.
Beverly gasped at the stunning sight of the simple white linen tablecloth and an elaborate display of string white lights and candles. There was even a speaker where the music from the restaurant was being directed up there as well. “I don’t believe it.” She turned to him. “How?”
“Let’s just say that I pulled a few strings.” He winked and then led her to the table.
As Beverly walked, she felt as if somehow she was standing on top of the world. Below them was a mass of blinking lights, while above them hung a crystal-clear full moon. “This is so beautiful,” she sighed. The little girl inside her felt like spinning around in a circle like a fairy-tale princess in a Disney movie.
“I’m glad that you like it.” Lucius beamed from ear-to-ear.
“I love it.”
“Madam.” The waiter handed her and Lucius menus and then quickly told them about the night’s special while simultaneously opening the bottle of champagne that Lucius had brought along. Once he took their orders, he bowed deeply and disappeared back downstairs.
“Okay,” Beverly said, “I have to admit that I’m very impressed.”
“I do aim to impress and please,” he said.
“I can vouch that you can do both very well.” She locked eyes with him and took a deep sip of her champagne. Beverly watched as his chest expanded with pride.
“You better watch out. You’re gonna make a brother start blushing.”
“Now that I would like to see.”
His brows jumped. “Shall I tell you what I would like to see this evening as well?”
It was Beverly’s turn to blush. “I think I might know what that might be,” she said. “Who knows? Maybe if you play your cards right, you might just get what you want.”
“Then expect me to be a good boy all night.”
She exaggerated a frown. “I don’t want a good boy.”
Lust suddenly polished Lucius’s hazel eyes. “Don’t play with me. I’ll have you spread out on this table in a hot minute.”
“Promises, promises, promises,” she teased just as the waiter and two servers waltzed out onto the roof, carrying their food.
Their eyes remained locked together as their plates were set before them. Their bodies were warming at the thought of what the night held for them.
“Will there be anything else?” the server asked.
“Yeah.” Lucius pulled out a folded hundred-dollar bill. “We’d like to be alone for the rest of the night. If we need anything else, we’ll call downstairs.”
“Yes, sir.” The waiter accepted the tip with a gracious smile and then gave them another deep bow before ushering the other servers back downstairs.
Beverly held her laughter in check until they were alone again. “Now you’ve given them the wrong impression. Lord only knows what he thinks we’ll be doing up here.”
“Whatever he’s thinking I hope he’s right,” Lucius said.
“What—up here? I was joking earlier.”
“I wasn’t.”
Beverly blushed again and took in her dreamlike surroundings.
“Have you ever made love outside before?”
“You know I have.”
He waved that admission off. “A car doesn’t count since technically you’re inside of something.”
“I’d like to have seen you tell that to a cop had we been caught.”
“You’re avoiding the question,” he countered, smiling.
“I never really thought about it,” she said, stalling.
Lucius chuckled. “So think about it now.”
“Okay…so…maybe I haven’t.” She shrugged.
“Ahh. So I could be your first.”
“I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”
Lucius wiggled his brows. “I will.”
They continued to give each other teasing looks while they ate their meals. Though the food was wonderful, it was hard for Beverly to concentrate on anything other than the possibility of making love to Lucius on the rooftop.
“What’s the matter? Are you not hungry?” he asked after noting the small bites she was taking and how much food was left on her plate while his was almost clean. “If you don’t finish your meal, you won’t be able to have your dessert.”
“Dessert?” Her heart started pounding.
“Mmm-hmm.” He nodded. “Dessert is the best part of the meal. My favorite is something chocolate…with a creamy center.”
Beverly twitched in her seat.
“Don’t you like chocolate?” he pressed.
Beverly thought the altitude must be affecting her brain because suddenly she could barely think, but after a long pregnant silence she managed to whisper, “I love chocolate.”
Lucius grinned. “That’s what I remembered.”
She grabbed her glass and tossed the champagne down her throat like it was water. This brother had all kinds of memories playing in her head. When she looked back over at him, she couldn’t seem to get her gaze to rise above his luscious smile. The man had the sexiest pair of lips she had ever seen. Every few seconds she caught his pink tongue darting and gliding across his lips, and could feel her panties dampen a bit. Good Lord, how on earth had she been able to make it three whole weeks without that mouth caressing or kissing her body?
A new song began to play over the speaker and Beverly instantly recognized the first few bars of “What a Diff’rence a Day Makes.”
Lucius recognized the music as well. “Would you care to dance?”
She smiled. “I would love to.”
He stood from his chair and walked around to assist her up. Standing from their table, Lucius took Beverly into his arms and they swayed together cheek to cheek. As before, Lucius hummed in tune to the music and Beverly’s mind wandered.
How was it that being in his arms melted away all the stress and challenges in her life? If she allowed herself to be truthful with herself she felt completely and utterly safe in his arms. Nothing and no one could harm her while she was with him. Beverly closed her eyes and hummed along with him. She liked the way their voices blended together.
“Maybe we should take this act on the road,” Lucius whispered in her ear.
“Celebrity couples rarely make it.” Her eyes fluttered open when she realized what she had said.
Lucius pulled back so that he could stare directly into her face.
Beverly saw that there was a question in his eyes and for a few heart-pounding seconds she was afraid that he’d give voice to it. Instead, he smiled, kissed the tip of her nose and clearly decided to let it go. She placed her head back against his cheek and mentally said a prayer of gratitude because…what was she thinking? Was she secretly wishing for more than what he offered—more than she confessed to wanting?
Seconds later, she felt his soft lips pressing against the shell of her ear, then her cheek, and before she knew it they were sharing a gentle but soul-stirring kiss where their tongues danced and caressed one another. Oh, God, he tastes so good.
Lucius’s hand crept down her back and then suggestively slid across and around her thick booty.
Beverly pushed herself up against his firm frame and gasped when she felt his bulging erection press back against her pelvis. Without thinking she reached down, cupped him and then started stroking through the seams of his pants.
Lucius sucked in a long breath through his gritted teeth. “You know you shouldn’t be starting anything you can’t finish, right?”
“What? I thought your little friend just wanted to say hi to me.”
“Little?”
She laughed at his inflated ego. “Hmm. Maybe I need some help with my memory.”
“Maybe.” He kissed her again, sucked on her bottom lip. “Come over here.” He directed her back to the table and sat down in his chair. “Have a seat.” He patted his lap.
Beverly hesitated.
“What—you scared?” he asked.
“Of course not,” she said, accepting his challenge and taking a seat on his lap.
Lucius smiled and tipped her head toward him so he could reclaim her lips, but while he did so his free hand cupped and squeezed her breast.
Maybe it was the music, the night’s air or even the full moon that emboldened Beverly, but she went back to cupping and stroking Lucius through his pants. As her hormones continued to spin and her body started to heat, she took it a step further by unzipping him and then caressing him through his black briefs.
“Don’t stop there,” he whispered.
Should she dare—out here in the open?
He pulled back from her lips to stare up into her eyes. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
At that moment, more than anything she wanted to please him and she wanted to do something that she had never done before. Summoning her courage, Beverly freed his erection from his briefs and exposed him to the sultry night air. She smiled, loving the feeling of holding him like this again.
Lucius moaned, “You have wonderful hands.”
The praise only stroked her ego. “You like that, do you?”
He nodded. “You know what I’d like better?”
She waited.
“Stand up,” he ordered.
Beverly did as she was told.
Lucius took a good long look at her. “I love that dress on you,” he whispered, reaching out and slowly lifting it up. “It’s a beautiful color against your skin,” he added until he saw her sexy periwinkle-blue lace panties and garter belt. “I like it when a woman coordinates.”
She laughed, more so she could get rid of some more nervous butterflies that fluttered in her belly.
“Hold your dress up,” he said.
Again, she followed his orders while he reached into his back pocket and removed a condom. They were really going to do this out here on the restaurant’s rooftop. Something wicked shivered down her spine and caused her clit to start pounding hard in time to her racing heartbeat.
“Now come back over here and climb back onto my lap,” he said.
She glanced around, briefly wondering if anyone could see them from another roof or what would happen if their waiter came back upstairs. Beverly glanced back over at Lucius, her eyes locking with his. While watching the unmistakable passion flicker in his hazel eyes, she stepped closer and then straddled his hips.
Lucius slid the bottom of her panties over to the side and then sighed in ecstasy when she lowered onto his hard erection. It still amazed him how her body seemed to fit him like a glove, and when she began to move he was in serious danger of his eyes rolling out of his head.
Beverly didn’t know how it was possible, but she was definitely having trouble getting air into her lungs. Lucius filled her thoroughly and completely.
“Oh, baby. I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed you,” Lucius panted, gripping her butt and helping her slam back down on his dick in a good even rhythm. “Pull your breasts out for me.”
Still rocking her body, Beverly unhooked the pin that held the one strap on her dress together and allowed it to fall and pool at her waist.
Lucius’s mouth watered at the sight of strapless periwinkle bra. When she pulled her full breasts from their cups, he quickly leaned forward and sucked in her marble-sized nipples.
Beverly shuddered and quaked and before long, she felt her own eyes begin to roll to the back of her head. Nearing her first orgasm her rhythm started to slow so Lucius found himself thrusting his hips up harder and faster. “That’s it, baby,” he panted. “You coming?”
“Y-yeeeesss. Please don’t stop.”
“I don’t plan on stopping, baby.” He hammered away while fighting for control himself. He didn’t want to come before her, but it was looking like it was going to be a nail-biter to the finish line. Lucius could already feel his toes curling again—a dangerous sign.
“Ooooh, Lucius. Baaabbbeeeee.”
“That’s right, baby. Let yourself go,” he urged. “Ahhh.” He bit his lower lip.
Tiny sparks started shooting off in Beverly’s head a second before her body started tingling and convulsing. “Oooh, baby. I’m coming.”
Hell. So am I!
Beverly finally let herself go as she screamed out his name. Two seconds later, Lucius wrapped an arm around her body tightly and growled with his head planted in the valley between her breasts.
Collapsing against him, Beverly finally filled her lungs with the night’s sweet oxygen. When she was finally able to speak, she said, “You’re right. Dessert is the best part of the meal.”
Luicus laughed and slapped her on the butt. “Let me get you out of here so I can really show you what you’ve been missing.”
Chapter 14
Why did sex with Lucius Gray feel so much like making love?
This was the question that kept racing through Beverly’s mind as her supposed no-strings attached lover continued to bump and grind in between her legs, all the while stirring up her emotions and eroding her sanity. Never in her life had a man expertly and consistently known when and how to work all of her G-buttons. It was as if he’d stolen her body’s owner’s manual and studied it inside and out.
Just like their rooftop extravaganza, the presidential suite at the Four Seasons Hotel turned out to be a hopeless romantic’s dream: candles, music and red and yellow rose petals sprinkled everywhere. But the main attraction was the huge king-size bed with the leather-upholstered headboard. That was where they now continued to work out and exorcise their sex demons.
Sweat made their beautiful brown bodies feel like silk and it also made it easier for Lucius to glide so deep into her, it felt as if he was bumping up against her heart. Enraptured, Beverly was unaware that tears leaked from the slits of her closed eyes. All she knew was that she had never felt pleasure like this with anyone else in her entire life.
“What are you crying for, baby?” Lucius whispered and then kissed the tracks of her tears.
She shook her head instead of answering and by her hip movements urged him not to stop.
Still concerned, he asked, “Am I hurting you, baby?”
Was he crazy? Couldn’t he see how good he was making her feel—how he’d easily abolished the concrete wall that she’d spent years building around her heart?
Lucius’s hips stopped moving, causing Beverly to panic and claw at his back. “N-no. Don’t stop!” she begged.
“All right, baby. I got you.” He started his slow grind again while Beverly moaned her relief. “Is this what you wanted?”
No. This was what she needed, but she couldn’t get the words out. The only thing she could do was squirm, whimper and cry.
“Don’t you ever leave me like that again,” he whispered hoarsely in her ear. “You hear me, baby?” For emphasis he buried himself balls-deep into her silky wetness, causing a baritone moan to resonate from within her soul. “There won’t be any more of that creeping out while I’m sleeping nonsense. You got that, baby?”
She nodded vigorously.
“Let me hear you say it.”
Beverly struggled to string words together for a complete sentence. “I—I won’t…”
“Creep out in the middle of the night,” Lucius aided her.
“C-creep out in the…m-middle of the n-night,” she finished, just as her thighs began to shake and a wonderful pressure at the tip of her clit started pounding out of control.
“Look at me, baby,” he ordered.
Her long lashes fluttered open and their eyes locked. The passion that stared back at her threatened to consume her. However, there was nothing that could mak
e her turn away at that moment.
Lucius took her arms and stretched them over her head while he pounded in and out, his hips alternating from side to side without mercy. When her orgasm was just seconds from detonating, the moaning stopped while she held her breath in anticipation.
Then…it hit and her voice came back to full power, screaming his name and not giving a damn if the people in the next room heard her or not. Lucius quickly followed her over the edge of sanity, exploding so hard he shook from his very foundation. He collapsed, panting and raining tiny kisses across her fevered brow.
How on earth does this woman keep doing this to me? He slid down next to her and pulled her close. To his amazement, she was already knocked out fast asleep. He smiled, his male ego expanding. As he stared down at her from his lofty cloud of pride, he drank in her glowing and angelic profile. She’s so beautiful, he marveled, feeling his heart muscles squeeze.
Lucius thought about his pledge for them to have a no-strings-attached nonrelationship and recognized the joke it was. He was already attached; he had been from the first moment he saw her stroll into that bar wearing that knockout red dress. If he was really truthful with himself, he would admit that he had fallen hard for Beverly Turner and that he was tangled in so many strings that he could barely breathe.
He leaned down and brushed a butterfly kiss against the tip of her nose. This was peace and serenity like he’d never known and now that he had her back in his life he knew at that moment that he would move hell and high water to keep her in it.
Beverly stirred in his arms and once again her eyes fluttered open.
“Hello, sleepyhead.”
She smiled sheepishly. “Did I pass out?”
He nodded and tweaked her cheek. “Maybe you overexerted yourself.”
Beverly laughed.
“What?”
“You’re fishing for a compliment,” she accused.
“Who, me?” Lucius pressed a hand against his chest in mock innocence. “I was just making an observation. You know, judging by the amount of sweat and hollering you were doing, I said to myself, ‘Self, if Beverly don’t slow down, she’s going to overexert herself.’”
Tender to His Touch Page 11
