“I want to take you out. Movies at midnight, then IHOP?”
“Wait, I thought you only did that when you had something to celebrate,” I said putting my hands on my hips.
“True.” He nodded then said, “We’re celebrating the fact that my woman submitted my book to an agent and got an offer.” His hand slid around to the small of my back. He pressed my body against his, erasing the space between us.
“I didn’t think that was something you wanted to celebrate. I mean…unless you’re considering the deal.” Hope hopped up and down in the pit of my stomach like a kid with moon shoes on.
“I am considering the deal. I’m scared as fuck too, so I need your confidence. Just a pinch.” He pinched my ass and I yelped.
“I can give you that.” I eyed the bottle of champagne and the two flutes on the island. “So, are we pre-gaming?”
“Fuck yeah. You down?” I loved how easy his words came out when he loosened his tie and became a real person instead of the robot his father trained him to be.
“Am I down? Me?” I pressed my hand to my chest.
“Right. Forgot who I was talking to.” His smile lit up my world. He took off his suit jacket and hung it on the back of a chair. Then he unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled them up his muscle-corded forearms revealing glimpses of his colorful tattoos.
“Why not Jameson?” I tipped my head toward the liquor cabinet and watched him tense a little.
“I want to back off a little. Frankie noticed when I didn’t have a glass in my hand the other week and that resonated with me. How much do I drink if seeing me without alcohol is a shock?” His eyes lowered and he focused on the champagne bottle in front of him.
“I want to do champagne tonight something light and celebratory.” He leaned down to kiss the top of my head then he popped the champagne and poured us glasses. He put on my 90’s R&B playlist and snapped his fingers when Jodeci began playing.
I swayed my hips and lifted the glass to my lips. “You know the way to my heart is champagne and nineties music.”
“Uh-huh. I know.” He moved closer to me. “I might be trying to seduce you to apologize for earlier.” Our eyes locked in a heated stare.
“You don’t have to apologize. I blindsided you.” Finally, we connected and his arm went across the small of my back in that possessive way I loved so much. “You sure you want to be in a relationship with someone like me? I’m a little pushy,” I said.
“A lot pushy. I like taming you though.” His hand slid down to my ass and his lips lowered to mine. My tongue slipped against his before I nibbled and sucked on it. In a blink, our kiss turned nasty and feral.
A growl rumbled his broad chest. The sound settled between my thighs and squeezed my clit. I pulled back briefly to look at him because there was nothing sexier than seeing Evander drunk on me.
Red lipstick smeared his face, hunger lowered his eyelids and the carnal need to fuck was scrawled against his irises. This man was mine and there was no doubt in my mind that I was his too. He thought I was the flame but honestly, we set the world on fire together.
My lips skated across his stiff collar, painting it with a stripe of red. I stamped his throat with my lips so he could wear me on his skin while we fucked.
I needed to feel him inside of me. I needed my anchor. My man. My love.
My fingers worked to unbutton his shirt while our lips fell into a hot rhythm all their own.
Kiss.
Suck.
Bite.
Lick.
We were on a loop until I unleashed his dick and he freed my breasts then shoved my nightie around my hips. I swore I heard a few threads pop. Sometimes, I fussed when he wrinkled my clothes or tore my panties in the heat of the moment but he knew I loved it. No matter how much I whined, I loved that shit.
Evander spun me around and pushed me over the island so that my ass was in the air, ready and waiting for him. He knelt behind me and bit each of my cheeks before spreading me open and devouring my pussy from behind.
His warm mouth and facial hair rubbed against me, pushing chills down my spine. I pushed against his mouth and he dug his fingertips into my hips. I was dripping for him. Only for him. He knew how to push every button my body had.
My moans were feverish. My orgasm was rocketing to the surface faster than I anticipated. My toes curled into balls while I braced for impact.
“Fuck!” I shouted, setting my throat on fire.
“Come all over my face, Xari. Make that pretty pussy drip down my chin.” His talented fingers found my clit while his tongue slid in and out of my entrance, fucking me so thoroughly I bounced back on it like it was his dick.
I rained on his face and down the insides of my thighs. Slippery and warm honey dripped form me with ease while I called on the Lord. My heart pounded relentlessly against my chest forcing a steady rhythm of thumps through my veins. I felt it all over my body. I was buzzing.
Evander stood to look at me. He was so fucking sexy I almost came again. Seeing his handsome, chiseled face wet with my cum turned me into an inferno. I grabbed him, clasping my fingers around the back of his neck and pulling him to me. I needed to taste myself.
I sucked on his lips and tasted his tongue. “I love the taste of my pussy on your tongue, Evander.”
“Me too.” He nipped at my jawline then my chin, making his way to my throat. I tilted my head back, exposing myself for him like a female wolf submitting.
On the counter, Evander’s phone buzzed. Out of habit, I reached for it and checked to see if it was Frankie. Whenever she was with her mom, Evander and I always stopped what we were doing to make sure it wasn’t an emergency text. Even if we were in the middle of fucking. Nothing was more important than having to possibly recuse Frankie from Alexis.
“Frankie,” I said, breathlessly, handing him the phone.
“Shit.” He licked the remnants of my pussy from his lips then read the message. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” He rubbed his face and started tucking his shirt in his pants frantically. My stomach dropped.
“What’s wrong?” I asked with wide eyes.
“Alexis is dropping Frankie off now because she has to go to a party downtown and Frankie doesn’t want to go.” No sooner than the words left his mouth did the door unlock.
Evander and I scrambled to make ourselves look presentable but too much had been scorched by our heat. I pulled my nightie down and slipped my arms through the straps. Luckily it wasn’t a see-through nightie.
“Dad, I’m home,” Frankie called out.
“Van?” Alexis's voice followed. Evander tossed me a look and sighed.
“You go, I’ll deal with this.”
“Let you deal with the walking, talking Instagram filter alone? I think not. We’re a team, right?” I squeezed his hand and he smiled at me.
“We are a team.” He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “You ready?” He wiped at his face the best he could, but my lipstick still stained his honey brown skin.
Oh well, fuck it.
“Bring it,” I laughed.
“We’re in here,” Evander called out, still wiping at his lips.
“We? Of course, I forgot about the nann…” Alexis’s voice trailed off when she walked into the kitchen. Her eyes absorbed the situation quickly like a poison-tipped arrow to her neck.
Frankie came into the kitchen next and rolled her eyes at us.
“I thought you would stop after the wedding,” Frankie said. Anger warped her face into a harsh frown.
“Hello to you too, Frankie,” I said.
“Hey, sweetheart. I wasn’t expecting you home until Sunday.” Evander tried to make the best out of an awkward situation but there was little to do when we both were disheveled, and he had lipstick stains on his face.
“Wow, clearly you weren’t expecting anyone,” Alexis smirked and walked closer, narrowing her eyes more with each step.
“I wasn’t. Therefore, I was behaving like a grown man in my house
.” His voice chilled a few degrees when he spoke to his ex-wife.
“A house where our daughter lives and could walk in at any moment, Van. You can’t keep this bitch caged?” She gestured to me and I felt myself losing to the rage brewing in my gut.
“Excuse me?” I laughed but it was humorless. It was ice.
“Mom,” Frankie hissed quietly. Even she thought her mother was crossing a line.
“Don’t you have a party to go to?” Evander asked.
“I’m not going anywhere until I know my daughter is safe. I feel like her wellbeing is threatened in this house.” She tipped her altered nose in the air and I pushed out a long breath before I railed into her.
“You’re so fucking pathetic, Alexis. I’m tired of being nice and biting my tongue because now you’re disrespecting me and for what? I did nothing to you. You have a problem with me and Evander being together, fine. You can have that problem all to yourself because it’s not going to change anything. It won’t change the fact that he divorced you. It won’t change the fact that this is no longer your house and it won’t change the fact that you missed out on a great guy. Those are things you have to deal with. Don’t bring your bitterness in here and please for the love of God don’t pass it down to Frankie.”
“Alexis, you can go. You have no reason to be here,” Evander said, barely restraining his anger.
“She does,” I interjected. Evander glanced at me and nodded his understanding.
“You know what, Xari, you’re right. She does need to be here. No time like the present to introduce you to my new girlfriend.” He draped his arm around my shoulder. “Alexis, this is Xari. Xari, this is my ex-wife, Alexis,” he said.
“Can’t say it’s a pleasure so I’ll say this…it’s unfortunate to meet you,” Alexis snapped.
“This is ridiculous,” Frankie huffed before storming out of the kitchen and up the steps. Tears made her voice wobble. The emotional sound sank my heart to my feet. I looked at Evander and he nodded. I went after Frankie and caught her just before she slammed her bedroom door in a fit of true preteen angst.
“Hey,” I said, sticking my arm through the almost closed door. I didn’t wait for an invitation, I walked in. “We need to talk about this, Frankie.”
“I don’t want to talk to you. You’re only here for Dad. Go talk to him.” My eyebrows lifted at the barbed sass coming from this little twelve-year-old flopping on her bed.
She’s a kid, Xari. No need for the big guns.
I took a calming breath and sat on the bed beside her. “I’m not only here for your dad. Is that why you’re so pissed? You think I’ve been plotting on him all along?”
“Isn’t that the truth?” She finally looked at me and this time I didn’t see anger and ice. I saw hope and pleading. I shook my head and touched her soft curly hair.
“No. That’s not the truth. I didn’t take this job because I secretly wanted to get next to Evander. When I took this job, I thought your dad was a stick in the mud. In my mind, we couldn’t have been more different.”
“Then why are you two…”
“Together?” I didn’t want to give her an opportunity to use any other word she had stored in her brain.
“Is that what’s going on? You’re actually his girlfriend?” She sat up and faced me instead of talking to me while she laid on her stomach.
“Yes, Frankie.” I stroked her hair. I hoped she knew I was being truthful. “At first we were just…messing around. It wasn’t something you needed to know about because as much as I love you and as mature as you are for your age, you don’t need to know everything.” She wrapped her arms around herself and looked down at her hands.
I heard the door downstairs close with a little more force than usual and I knew Alexis must have been gone. Evander’s footfalls grew closer to Frankie’s room then he appeared. He was weary. Annoyance tightened his features.
“Frankie, your attitude is out of control,” he said immediately. “Now, I understand your feelings being hurt over finding out about Xari and me the way you did. We’ll take full responsibility for that, but we talk things out in this family. We don’t run from them and we damn sure don’t take passive-aggressive swipes at each other.”
There’s something about the way a real father addresses his daughter that can unravel her. I know because I’ve been in that situation before in my life. It’s how I knew I’d made a shit show of my own life after getting my car repossessed. When Dad didn’t budge or offer to help, I knew I’d fucked up.
Frankie had a look on her face that said she knew she took things too far.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I was upset and…I didn’t know what to do about it.” She shrugged her shoulders and finally lifted her gaze to meet Evander’s.
“You made poor decisions but so did Xari and I. We planned to tell you that we were together as soon as we mapped things out. We should have been more careful about when we spent time together.” He loosened his tie even more, sliding the knot down to his chest. “Now, I will take full responsibility for you walking in on us. I’m so sorry you had to see that, Frankie. I know it was insanely awkward.”
“Understatement of the year,” I muttered, tucking hair behind my ear.
“It was,” Frankie agreed, nodding. “I was mad at you and Xari because it felt like you guys were doing it behind my back. It felt like you thought I was a stupid kid. Like the promises you both made didn’t mean anything.”
I squeezed her shoulder and said, “Frankie, that’s not it at all. You know your father and I care about what we promise you.” Did I just say your father and I? That felt way too parental. What was my life? “Sometimes unexpected things happen and trust me nobody was blindsided by our relationship more than me.” Evander shot me a warning look and I grinned at him. I knew he’d melt over my dimples.
“You promised you wouldn’t be one of those women though, Xari.”
“One of what women?” Evander asked, lifting a dark brow.
“One of the women who trip over you. I’ve seen the way all the women in the world look at you, Dad.” She folded her arms tight across her chest.
“Well, I mean, can you blame them?” He chuckled. He was definitely in classic dad mode.
“Cringe,” Frankie said, scrunching her face into an embarrassed frown.
“I am not tripping over your father,” I blurted with my finger in the air.
“You’re tripping a little bit,” Evander countered. He held his thumb and pointer finger centimeters apart and I sucked my teeth.
“No. I don’t trip over anyone.” With that bold declaration, Evander bit his bottom lip and eyed me knowingly. My clothes wanted to surrender at his feet and my thighs throbbed. I cleared my throat and tore my eyes away from him.
“Okay, maybe a little. The point is,” I continued, “Being in love and tripping over a guy are two different things and I’m very much in love with your dad, Frankie.”
“The feeling is mutual,” Evander said. All traces of playfulness left his voice.
“This is so weird. Ugh.” Frankie hid behind her hands and shook her head full of kinky curls. “You two are in love?” She peeked from between her fingers and looked at me, then at her dad. We both nodded. “You’re boyfriend and girlfriend? Like in a real relationship?”
“Yes, sweetheart. It’s the real deal.”
“But…” Frankie turned to me and scanned my face then the rest of me. “You’re so pretty. You seriously want to be with Dad? Like on purpose? You’re not clout-chasing?”
I tossed my head back and laughed so loud it hurt my stomach. Evander grimaced at his daughter then shook his head. “Damn, am I that old and ugly?”
“I mean you dress nice, Daddy but…” Frankie’s face said it all. She had no idea what the appeal was between me and her father. That was fine by me though because kids didn’t need to understand everything.
I stood to my feet and walked over to Evander, linking our fingers together. “You’re not old or ugly,
Evander.” I popped up on the balls of my feet and kissed his cheek.
“I have to actually see things like this regularly?” She gestured to me and Evander holding hands.
“Yeah. I’m afraid so, sweetheart.”
“No offense, Dad but you’re so old. How do you not see this, Xari?”
“I never thought about his age, honestly,” I told her. It was the truth too. It was the farthest thing from my mind.
“Okay,” Frankie pressed her hands to her cheeks and blinked a few times like she was committing something important to memory. “I guess I have to deal with this…right?” She asked.
“Yeah. There’s no way around it, kiddo,” Evander said.
“Well, then I owe you guys an apology for the way I’ve been acting this week and at the wedding.” She plucked at her cuticles then nibbled on her lip. “I was really mad. It felt like I was going to lose the only friend I have because of this.” She gestured to us.
“Oh, Frankie…” I moved to sit beside her. I had to hug her. I wrapped her in my arms and she laid her head on my shoulder. “I told you, we’re stuck together. You can’t get rid of me.”
“But now you’ll be all over Dad all the time.” Her pout was evident, and even though she was twelve, it was still very adorable.
“It won’t be like that, Frankie.” Evander sat on the other side of her and stretched his long arm around us both. “Things will still be the same. You might wanna knock on my bedroom door and get your mind wrapped around seeing us kiss sometimes or hold hands but the relationship you’ve built with Xari won’t change at all.”
Evander had a way with words on and off the page. Frankie’s uncertain eyes warmed when she heard her daddy talk. It made my heart skip a beat.
“Our relationship won’t change either.” He kissed her temple gently. “We just gained a new family member, that’s all.”
“You think you can live with that, Frank?” I nudged her with my elbow and she nodded.
“Good. Now, go put on your shoes. We’re doing movies at midnight and then IHOP,” Evander said before he stood to his feet.
Whiskey and Regret Page 31
