Tender Touch

by Emery, Lynn

  Jade’s pulse jumped to double-time as she watched his finger stop just at the point her cleavage began. “More than sweet.”

  She guided his hand to her breast and let out a gasp when he teased her nipple beneath the fabric of her blouse. Her mouth opened to his with eagerness. Damon kissed her in short urgent bursts that trailed down her neck to the tops of her breasts. Jade unbuttoned her blouse.

  “Only if you’re ready,” Damon said. He paused in the act of unhooking the front clasp of her lace cup bra.

  Jade’s answer was to discard her blouse completely and pull him down to the sofa. “Now. Now,” she murmured.

  With soft words of love, Damon undressed her then let her undress him. When flesh met flesh, they both sighed with pleasure at the satisfaction of a long-awaited desire fulfilled. To her delight Damon began to nuzzle her nipples with tiny bites using his lips. From there he brushed his lips down the length of her.

  “I want you from the top of your head,” Damon whispered. He looked up at her with eyes dark with desire. “To the bottom of your feet.” He planted a hot kiss on the smooth skin of her ankle. He let out a satisfied chuckle at the vibration that rippled through her.

  Jade tingled all over, her mind filled with the wonder of how luscious sex could be with a tender lover who took his time finding all the right places to touch. This was a dream come true. Jade ran her hands over the solid, muscular arms as he worked his way back up and licked her breast with long strokes. Damon was so kind. And his lovemaking was a reflection of his generous nature. His attention to pleasing her brought small cries of joy from Jade. She feared she would lose consciousness as he again rubbed his lips up and down her thighs. Damon pulled away.

  “Don’t dare move.” He sought to quiet the gasp of dismay that came from the loss of contact.

  Jade clenched her teeth to keep from shouting for him as the few seconds he was gone seemed like hours. She ached with the need to feel him. But he appeared over her, holding a small foil square.

  “We should—” he began.

  Jade nodded then watched him tear open the package. His hands shook as he shoved the remaining oversized pillow from the back of the sofa. He took a small throw pillow and placed it under her bottom. Gazing into her eyes, Damon guided her hands as she gently rolled the condom into place. She pulled him down on top of her and pressed his mouth to hers. As their tongues met, he entered her. Slow rhythmic motions rebuilt the smoldering embers into a roaring flame that seared through them. They talked to each other, at first in soft words of desire. But soon the urgent need to satisfy a roaring hunger took control. Their soft murmurings became cries of ecstasy. With one long, shuddering moan Damon let go. Jade screamed his name as she felt herself release. They lay holding each other a long time, wrapped in a cocoon of contentment.

  Damon went to the hall closet and brought back a soft cotton blanket. “Here, now that we’ve cooled off—”

  “Speak for yourself.” Jade giggled. Even so, she allowed him to cover them both with it. Damon sat up and pulled her to snuggle against his chest. “Of course you wouldn’t be chilly if you put on some clothes. Wicked thing.”

  “Me?”

  “Uh-huh. Had your way with me right here on the sofa. You couldn’t even be bothered to seduce me into the bedroom.” Jade rubbed her cheek against the hair of his broad chest.

  “I’ll never be able to sit in here again without a big smile on my face,” Damon said with a chuckle as he gave the arm of the sofa a pat. “But I don’t regret one minute. Do you?” He became serious.

  Jade hugged him tighter. “No, indeed! By the way, thanks for keeping your word.” Her eyes sparkled when she looked up at him.

  “Which promise was that?”

  “To go real slow and take your time. Just what I needed, baby.” Jade laughed deep in her throat.

  “Thank you, ma’am.” Damon grinned at her. “I aim to please. Now would you like to see the bedroom?”

  “Hmm, I’m getting sleepy.” Jade yawned. “Maybe I’d better go home now, or I’ll be here all night.” She stretched.

  “Exactly,” Damon whispered. With a playful pat on her buttocks, he pulled her down the hall.

  They kissed with tender affection before dozing off. But only a few hours later, they were once more riding a tidal wave of lust. It was a night that left them both happily exhausted and sure of their love.

  Chapter 7

  Clarice tapped out a rhythm with the tip of her ink pen as she sat at the small desk in a corner of the den. “Damon Knight,” she said for the fourth time.

  Alton did not lower the newspaper. “Hmm, hope the Jaguars beat Grambling good this year. Tired of listening to Burrell shooting off his mouth about his alma mater stomping on our team.”

  “He’s one fine young man.” Clarice put away the stamps and envelopes she’d been using to pay bills. “Wonder how far it’s gone.”

  “Bayou Classic is going to be better than ever. They’ve got the Neville Brothers to play at the Alpha Kappa Alpha dance that Friday night. Gonna be a blast.” Alton ignored her comment.

  “The Knight family has been prominent in the state for over a hundred years at least, Alton. And to think Jade was the one that snared him.” Clarice sounded surprised at the fact. She settled on the plush sectional sofa.

  Alton lowered the newspaper with a deep sigh. “Stay out of it, Clarice. It’s none of your business. When Jade tried to squirm out of that dinner, you should have taken the hint.”

  “She didn’t squirm out of anything. We’re going to have it in another week and a half. On a Friday night before her trip.”

  “Strong-armed her into it anyway, huh?” Alton’s mouth turned down in disapproval. “Shoulda known you’d get your way come hell or high water.”

  “We’re having a roast,” Clarice said. “Jade made the selection.”

  “Didn’t have much choice once you cornered her.”

  “Damon went through a real bad marriage and divorce. Lanessa told me all the gory details. And they’re the same age,” Clarice went on as though her husband had not spoken.

  “Clarice,” Alton said in his gravel like voice. “Our daughters are grown women who should be capable of running their own lives.”

  “He seems a little... ahead of Jade, if you ask me. I mean even with his bad experience with Rachelle Balleaux, he’s not exactly been slow to bounce back. From what I hear, he’s been seen with some of the most elegant young women in the past year. All old money of course.”

  Alton grunted. “Of course.”

  “I hear that Marlene Knight—she was one of the St. Landry Parish Cormiers you know—makes sure her sons date and mate the ‘right’ girls. The woman is very demanding.” Clarice wrinkled her nose with disapproval. “One of those people who always insist on having her way.”

  “Humph, sounds familiar,” Alton grumbled in an undertone.

  “So Jade is going to have to pass her inspection. Poor dear, Jade is going to fold or get smart with her. You know how she is,” Clarice said.

  “That’s my baby girl. Jade has a dozen low-key ways of telling folks to go jump.” Alton chuckled.

  Clarice shot a reproachful glance at him. “I don’t think we should encourage that behavior, Alton.” She sat in thought for several minutes. “The more I think about it, the more it seems that those two won’t be together long.”

  “What are you saying?”

  Clarice pursed her lips and was silent for several seconds. “Damon and Jade are completely incompatible. But now Lanessa and Damon would make a perfect pair.”

  “Wait just a minute—” Alton slapped down the section of newspaper he was holding.

  “He’s got the kind of sophistication that Lanessa can handle with ease. She’s a high-stepper for sure as my grandmother used to say.” Clarice spoke of her older daughter with pride.

  “Clarice!” Alton snapped in a commanding tone. Clarice stared at him in wide-eyed surprise. “This is too much even for you!”
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  “Why Alton, I...” Her voice trailed off at the stern look of ire on his face.

  “Jade seems happier than she’s been in almost three years. You’d try to sabotage that?” Alton let her see just how loathsome he found the notion.

  “Alton Earle Pellerin, how dare you even think I’d do such a thing?” Clarice drew herself up in outrage. “I said nothing about trying to come between them.”

  “I know you too well, woman. You’ve decided he’s right for Lanessa and thinking of other men for Jade. Some sort of consolation prize for the child. I won’t have it.” Alton did not back down from her. Once in a great while he took a stand against his wife’s more blatant meddling.

  “I only meant that it’s clear Jade and Damon won’t be together long. You know I have a feel for these things,” Clarice tried to explain.

  “And your feelings have been wrong before. Jade and Nick are a prime example.”

  “But what about Lanessa’s husband? Everyone else thought he was so wonderful. I tried to tell her, but would she listen? And look how it turned out.” Clarice shook a finger at him.

  “Yeah, I still say Brandon wasn’t such a bad guy. Lanessa did her part in messing up their marriage,” Alton said.

  “Nonsense. But I’m not going to argue with you about Brandon again.”

  “Good.” Alton got up to retrieve the remote and turned on the television.

  “You’re wrong as usual. Anyway, there is no reason Lanessa can’t date Damon when they break up—only after a decent interval, of course.”

  “If they break up, Clarice. From the way they looked at each other the night we saw them together, I think you’re way off base on this one.” Alton was losing interest now. He punched the buttons until he found the sports cable channel. “Just leave it alone.”

  “Well, we’ll see. I give it three months tops—and that’s stretching it.” Clarice folded her arms.

  “Our children are grown. Let them handle their lives.”

  “I want both my girls to be happy, Alton. They’ve been hurt, and I want them to find true love and happiness. Why is that wrong?” Clarice had repeated this question numerous times when her husband or daughters were critical of her attempts to help them.

  “Sure, baby. I know deep down you do, but they’re not little girls anymore. They have to make their own way.”

  “Yes, yes.” Clarice had heard all this before.

  He gazed ahead. “Jade doesn’t have enough self-confidence, and Lanessa seems to be drifting somehow.” Alton shook his head as though the effort to fathom his daughters was too great a task. “Anyway, sticking your nose in their love lives won’t help matters for either of them.”

  “Yes, dear,” Clarice said in an indulgent manner. “Of course you’re right. Oh, look, the game is about to start.” She pointed to the big-screen television. A smile of satisfaction curved her lips when he turned to watch it.

  “Dallas against Oakland.” Alton propped his feet up on the leather ottoman that matched his favorite recliner. He had forgotten the discussion already. “This is gonna be good.”

  “Jade needs a stable man in her life.” Clarice held a novel in her lap without looking at it.

  “Uh-hmm.” Alton was engrossed in the announcer’s pre-game comments on the line-up.

  “Someone like...Dorothy Vicknair’s son,” Clarice said with a snap of her fingers.

  Alton glanced back at her for a second. “What was that?”

  “Nothing, honey.” Clarice watched him turn his attention back to the muscular men who bounded out onto the field. “Nothing at all.” She smiled to herself.

  * * *

  “Sure you don’t mind going without me? I know what an ordeal tearing yourself away from the business will be.” Eddie Simon gazed at Damon with a gleam in his eyes. He had stopped by Damon’s office on his way back from a meeting.

  “Don’t worry about it. At first I hesitated to leave Joe with all the work, gearing up for year-end inventory, but we’ll handle it.” Damon cleared his throat. He worked hard not to let the anticipation show on his face or in his voice.

  The truth was he had been unable to concentrate on business, or anything else for that matter, for the past three days. The quarterly sales reports, operating budgets and marketing reports were no match for the memory of Jade. Damon could still taste the tangy-sweet trace of her lips just by closing his eyes. He could not wait to show her all his favorite places in Washington. Already he was thinking of at least two days when they would skip the latest workshops to visit a few galleries. Most of their days would be busy. But the nights? A finger of heat tickled through him at the thought of holding her close while they danced.

  “Ahem.” Eddie cleared his throat in a loud dramatic fashion. “Come back to earth, my brother. You’ll be with her and across state lines soon enough.”

  Damon’s eyes went wide with embarrassment. He gave up the vain attempt to disguise the reason for his distraction. “Eddie, she got to me, man.”

  “Yeah, and I can see how upset you are about being caught.” Eddie gave him an amused look. “Fighting like crazy to get away from her.”

  “Real funny,” Damon shot back. He took a deep breath. “But you’re right. I thought suffering through Rachelle was a strong vaccine against any kind of love bug.”

  “Come on. Relax and be happy. Jade seems to be a wonderful woman.”

  “Jade who?” Trent stuck his head in the door. “What’s up, Eddie?” He shook Eddie’s hand. “Still doing good work with our kids, I hear.”

  “Hanging in for the cause,” Eddie said.

  “That’s what we need. Now who is Jade? Lovely name by the way.” Trent folded his long, lanky frame into a chair beside Eddie. He looked from his older brother to Eddie.

  Damon shrugged. “A lady I’m dating.”

  “O-ooh. So that’s who made your nostrils flare when we talked about three weeks ago.” Trent grinned at him.

  Eddie stifled a laugh. He got up when Damon gave him a cutting look. “Ahem, time for me to get going. See ya, Trent. I’ll be in touch, Damon.”

  “Bye, man.” Trent winked at him then turned back to Damon. “So things have progressed nicely, it seems. What’s her full name?”

  “Jade Pellerin.” Damon shifted in his chair. That pesky heat wave moved through him just saying her name. What kind of spell had she cast? Not even Rachelle had brought out this reaction.

  “Hmm, don’t know her. But I’m glad you’re back in the saddle, cowboy.” Trent gazed at him with approval.

  “Don’t be crude. Jade is a fine person. She’s intelligent, caring and—”

  “If you could see your face right now.” Trent threw back his head and laughed.

  “You haven’t grown up even at twenty-eight,” Damon grumbled at him with a surly look.

  “You got it bad and that’s good.” Trent did not let up despite the dangerous look he got from his older brother.

  “Cut it out.” Damon’s frown melded into an abashed smile. “Eddie was just ragging me about it, too.”

  “Seriously, go with it. I’m happy for you, bro.”

  “Mama and Dad weren’t so enthused about it.” Damon scratched his chin. “You know how they can be.”

  “Yeah, snobs.” Trent did not hesitate to express his thoughts. He was the brash younger son in sharp contrast to Damon.

  “They value tradition,” Damon said.

  “Hey, don’t try to dress it up. They’re snobs. What is it? Her family not rich enough?”

  “Her father is a successful businessman.”

  Trent nodded. “I get it. The wealth doesn’t go back far enough up the old family tree. Yeah, they love old-money families.” He gave a grunt of disgust.

  “Our parents aren’t that bad, Trent. It’s how they were raised. Everyone we socialized with while growing up was the same way.” Damon remembered the birthday parties with a group of children from only certain families—the care his mother took to steer them into the “righ
t” crowd. His grandparents had been the same way with their children. “They really think it’s best for us.”

  “Get real, Damon. They think we’re better than other folks because of our family and money. Like I said, snobs.” Trent was not going to budge on this issue. It was one they’d debated before.

  “Well, that’s one area where you’re on safe ground. Carliss is more than acceptable to Mama.” Damon thought of the quiet young woman who seemed to balance his brother’s brazen flair. She was a center of calm for Trent.

  “I don’t date Carliss because it suits Mama or Dad,” Trent snarled. “She’s not poured from the same mold as the rest of those privileged, spoiled-rotten African princesses we hung around with from Hampton Heights.”

  “True. It’s just your good luck she’s from one of the oldest families in St. Landry Parish,” Damon replied. Carliss Mouton’s family could be traced to France and West Africa. “Mama won’t question your being with her.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re going to let them dictate who you date?” Trent folded his arms.

  Damon’s eyes flashed with anger at the suggestion. “Definitely not. I let them know it, too.”

  “Good. Hang tough, big brother.”

  “But it’s not an issue. Really,” Damon put in when Trent gave him a look of skepticism. “We had a little talk, and Mother seems to understand.”

  “Seems strange she gave up so soon.” Trent shook his head to indicate he did not believe it.

  “I’m not ten years old anymore. Mother knows better than to meddle in my private life. No, interference from them is not what worries me.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “For a long time, I was so in love with Rachelle—or thought I was—that I just didn’t see her for who she really was. She played so many games on me, man.” Damon remembered the honeyed lies he believed for years. Rachelle had wanted him for money and prestige. She manipulated to get her own way and made life miserable when he resisted. “I don’t want to be caught up like that again.”