by Linda Verji
“Damn,” he cursed as his own orgasm flooded and consumed him. He held her tightly to him as he rode the last of that wave.
It took a while for their erratic breathing to slow and even longer for them to break the silence. But it was Zeke who finally did. Smoothing his palm through her hair, he murmured into her ear, “Are you okay?”
Her head still tucked into the crook of his shoulders, London nodded then said, “Wow. That was amazing.”
“It was.” She could hear the smile in his voice. There was a long pause then he asked in a more somber tone. “Are you okay that we did that?”
She lifted her head off his shoulder to stare at him. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
He paused this time for even longer. “London, you know how my situation is. I can’t-”
“I know,” she cut him off before he had the chance to ruin her buzz completely with talk of her not being his type. She leaned forward to set her lips on his softly. “Let’s not complicate what just happened. It was just sex. Call it a one-night-stand if you like. Nothing more.”
“Nothing more?” He studied her keenly.
“Nothing more,” she assured him. Laughter in her voice she added, “That is unless you want to get married right now. I know a guy who has friends in Vegas-”
He laughed. “You’re hopeless.”
“I try,” she returned with a chuckle of her own. Slipping from his lap so she could straighten her dress back over her thighs, she said, “Come on, Cinderella, we need to get you home before midnight.”
CHAPTER 12
The next day at work, all Zeke could think of was London - and what a big, big mistake he’d made by sleeping with her. There were so many reasons why it shouldn’t have happened that he didn’t even know where to start. For one, they’d just resumed their friendship. Everyone knew that the best way to complicate a good friendship was to throw sex into it.
Then there was the fact that she was his sister-in-law’s best-friend. Shakira and London were loyal to each other to a fault, and if things ever went sideways between he and London then he’d have to deal with the fallout for many years to come. Also, she was the worst woman he could’ve slept with. She was addictive - not the kind of woman a man could just get out of his system. Case in point, for the last two days Zeke’s thoughts had bounced between bemoaning what a mistake he’d made and remembering how good the sex had been.
Good? Hell, that sex had been all kinds of great.
A frown creasing his brow, Zeke moved away from the window to settle in his seat. He didn’t know if it was because of the adrenalin rush that came with making love in the backseat of a car and risking getting caught, or if it was because of London - but that was the best sex he’d had in a long time. The way she’d tasted, the way she’d smiled, her intoxicating kisses, holding her, touching her, fucking her…
Damn! Zeke shifted in his seat in a bid to curb the effect the memories of Saturday were having on his body. No doubt his body wanted to do it - do her again. But he was a man of reason, and reason told him that getting in bed with London again was a no-no. And he had to make sure it didn’t happen again.
He reached across his desk, picked up the phone and dialed her number. Three rings later, a woman with a heavy Korean accent answered, “Yun Ji Korean Restaurant. How may we serve you today?”
Startled, Zeke removed the phone from his ear to check the number. Only to realize that this phone had no screen so he couldn’t tell if he’d dialed her number. Back into the phone, he said, “I’m sorry. I think I dialed the wrong numb-”
“Zeke, is that you?” The Korean woman’s voice instantly transformed into that of London.
“London?” Zeke blinked. Then blinked again. “Why are you answering your phone as Yun Ji whatever?”
“Oh! I didn’t know who was calling.”
“So you pretended to be a restaurant?”
“Yes. A girl’s gotta protect herself,” she explained. “There are some bad men out there.”
A sudden thought hit him, and laughter in his voice he asked, “London. Are you hiding from someone?”
“I do not know what you’re talking about,” she said, but he could hear the truth.
“A debtor or an admirer?”
“I plead the fifth.”
“I take that to mean a debtor.” Chuckling, he asked, “How much?”
“The fifth. The fifth. The fifth,” she insisted, amusement obvious in her voice. “Now did you call me to badger me or did you need something?”
That was enough to make his own playful mood dissipate. His tone more subdued, he said, “I was wondering what you were doing tonight.”
“Ooh, Look at Zeke. Trying to get some more nookie.” London laughed.
“No. No, that’s not it,” he rushed in. If anything he was trying not to get any more nookie. But it wasn’t the kind of conversation a gentleman had on the phone. He and London needed a face-to-face for this talk. “Can you come over to my apartment after your show?”
“If that’s what you want, Papi,” she drawled. “I’ll make sure I’m not wearing panties.”
It was enough to make Zeke’s breath catch in his throat and his whole being tense in completed awareness. He opened his mouth to tell her that for crying out loud she needed to wear panties but it took a while for his brain to formulate the words. By the time he could work his mouth, she’s already ended the call.
Jesus! That woman was going to kill him.
He spent the rest of the day imagining London without panties and what he’d do to her if he wasn’t Zeke Landa-Hollis. Damn! Being him sucked big-time.
By the time evening came, he was on tenterhooks. He just wanted to get their conversation done with so that they could go back to being friends. He wasn’t deluded enough to think that he could go back to thinking of her as nothing more than a friend easily, but his plan was to fake it until he made it. A meeting in a restaurant several blocks away prevented him from seeing her performance so by the time he got to Landa-Heron, Charlie told him that she was already in his apartment waiting for him. With long strides, he got into the elevator.
He was still in the elevator when his phone rang. A glance at the screen revealed that it was his mother. Sighing, he swiped his fingers over the answer icon. “Hello, Mother.”
“Ezekiel.” Edya’s one word greeting was as icy as her tone. “I didn’t see you at the Chapman event on Saturday.”
“That’s because I wasn’t there,” he returned casually as the elevator doors opened at his floor.
“Why?”
“I was busy.” He stepped out of the elevator, and the moment he did he saw London seated on the couch with her legs curled under her watching TV. She turned her head on his entrance and her face immediately lit up in a smile. That smile was enough to lift his spirits, and even though he was on the phone with his mother Zeke felt much happier. He smiled back at her.
His mother’s next words wiped that smile off his face. “Meredith was there.”
His insides immediately tightened in protest because he knew exactly where this conversation was going. Lowering himself to the recliner next to the couch where London was, he said stiffly, “Thank you for the information.”
“You were supposed to call her.”
“Supposed to?” His eyebrows lifted a notch. “I don’t recall making any such promises.”
There was a brief pause then with frustration in her tone, Edya said, “Why are you being so stubborn about this? You know you need to get married.”
“I know. And I’ll do it when I’m ready,” he said, ignoring the curious look London shot him. “If I were you, I’d quit pushing me. Because the more you push the more reluctant I am. Keep pushing and it might never happen at all.”
His mother was silent for a moment, before she asked, “This is because of Nathaniel, isn’t it?”
“I’m sorry?”
“He’s always been the disobedient one,” Edya bemoaned. “And ever since he came bac
k, you and Daniel have been-”
“Mother, I’m going to stop you now before you say something we’ll both regret,” Zeke cut in. “We’re your sons - your grown sons. Not your dogs. If you expect unquestioning obedience then you’re going to be seriously disappointed. Now, is there something more you needed to talk about - other than Meredith?”
Only the dial tone met his ear. His mother had hung up on him.
Shrugging, Zeke tossed his phone on the coffee table.
“You look like you need a drink.” London stood up. “Bourbon?”
“Yes, please,” he said wearily. “Thank you.”
He watched her silently as she headed towards the bar. As per her usual dressing during performances, she was clad in a dress. Tonight it was a black and white print shirt-dress that started at her neck and was cinched in at her tiny waist with a black belt. It wasn’t as clingy, short or revealing as the outfits she usually wore, yet somehow it was sexier than anything he’d ever seen her in. Or maybe it was because he knew exactly what all that fabric was hiding. His eyes and mind wandered to her ass, traced its delicious shape. Was she wearing panties?
Stop it! He immediately gave himself a mental head-slap. That part of their relationship was over and he needed to get it into his thick skull. To distract his thoughts from where they were inevitably headed, he said, “I’m sorry you had to hear that.”
“Hear what?” London turned slightly to glance at him. “The conversation with your mother?”
“Yeah.” He lifted from his seat to shrug out of his jacket. “You probably think I’m a rude jackass for speaking to her like that.”
“Zeke, I’ve met your mother.” London laughed as she tilted the sifter of bourbon into a glass. “If anything I’d say you were extremely restrained.”
Walking towards the bar, he said, “She pisses me off so much sometimes.”
London handed him the glass of bourbon when he reached her. “What did she do this time?”
“She’s trying to get me married.” Heaving a frustrated sigh, he settled on one of the two barstools.
“She’s been trying to get you married ever since I met you guys.” A bottle of water in her hand, London settled on the other barstool. Her dress lifting to the top of her thighs and her knee brushing against his. “What’s so different this time?”
“It wasn’t that bad before Nathan and Danny got married. But now-” He tossed down a gulp of his bourbon, wincing a little when it hit his gullet, before adding, “- it seems to have become intense. She only becomes this intense when she’s officially embarked on a project, and she won’t stop until I fall into a line.”
“I’m sorry you’re under so much pressure from her.” London reached across the counter to run her fingers over his hand. “As if having to run that whole company isn’t hard enough.”
Thank you. Finally, someone who understood what he was dealing with. Turning his hand so that he could capture London’s fingers in his palm he said, “And you know what the worst thing is?”
London shook her head.
“That my mother is probably right.” Zeke closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Meredith is the kind of woman I should be chasing after.”
“Then why don’t you?”
His eyes snapped open at that, and he found London watching him thoughtfully. The truth was that he didn’t know why he wasn’t chasing Meredith. The best he could come up with was, “I guess I’m just not ready.”
Nodding slowly, London said, “Then you shouldn’t fall in line. You’re the one who’s getting married, not Edya. And you’re the one who’ll have to live with whoever you chose. If you’re not ready you’ll end up miserable or making both you and your wife-to-be miserable.”
His lips tilting in a small smile, he said, “When did you get this wise?”
“When have I never been this wise?” she returned cheekily.
He watched her for a moment. “Thanks for being in my corner.”
“Always.” She smiled at him.
That smile was enough to remind him of why exactly he’d called her. Setting his glass on the counter, he cleared his throat then said, “About Saturday…”
“Yeah?” She lifted her perfectly arched eyebrows
“I -” He paused to take in a fortifying breath. “I’m sorry I took advantage of you.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You took advantage of me?”
“You were drunk and-”
“I was drunk?” She chuckled and shook her head.
Running a frustrated hand through his hair, he said, “I’m trying to apologize and you’re laughing.”
“That’s because you have nothing to apologize for.” She leaned forward to set her hand on his knee. “If anything I should be apologizing because I took advantage of you. If you’ll recall, I’m the one who kissed you first.”
Now that she said it, he remembered how they’d started on their fateful path; with her pressing him against the car then raising up to kiss him very, very sweetly. His body heating up at the memory, he said, “Yeah, but I didn’t stop you.”
“You tried. Don’t you remember?” Her eyes glazed over and she bit her lip as if she too was recalling how hard he’d tried and how hard she’d worked to silence his protests.
“I should’ve had more self-control.”
“Should you? I kind of liked you without self-control.” The hand she still had on his knee moved upwards, upwards….
He hopped off the bar seat before she could reach her already swollen target. “Well, I’m not the kind of guy who-”
Her sudden yank on his shirt cut off his words. And despite himself he found himself letting her pull him into the v of her spread legs. Her eyes shadowed and her voice lowered to a husky murmur as she asked, “You’re not the kind of guy who does what?”
“I-” What did he want to say? It was so hard to speak with her being so close to him. All he really wanted to do was lower his head and capture her swollen lips. Swallowing hard, he said, “We shouldn’t have done it.”
“But it felt so good,” she said, playing with one of his shirt buttons.
“Still, we shouldn’t do it again,” he said even as he allowed his body to ease closer to hers until he could feel the heat of her pussy pressing into his groin.
Holy hell! The fire that rocketed through his body at the intimate contact would’ve been enough to start a wild fire. He drew in a deep breath to fortify himself against her but got a lungful of her vanilla scent instead that immediately weakened him.
“You smell so good,” he found himself murmuring. Like a biscuit. One he very much wanted to bite into, to devour.
“So do you.” Her breath whispered against his chin as one of her legs came up to wrap around his thighs.
It was a wonder he didn’t instantly burst into flames. Apparently his mouth was working on a different wavelength from the rest of his body, because he managed to say, “It’s a bad idea for us to have sex.”
“Why?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her whole body into his.
On instinct he cupped the back of her head as he smoothed his hands down her back to cup her ass. And what a fine ass it was. Damn it, he internally lamented even as he squeezed the firm flesh and dragged her further to the edge of the seat so she was pressed completely into his rock-hard cock. Why couldn’t he stop himself?
His next words were as much for her as they were for him. “Because we’re friends and sex would complicate things.”
“Only if we let it,” she whispered, heaving herself off the barstool and into his arms.
He caught her easily even as he lowered his head towards hers. “We shouldn’t.”
“We should.” She closed the distance between them. Then they were kissing. Her lips shaped over his own even as he pushed his tongue through their seam seeking more. He kissed her deeply, his tongue stroking inside her as he held her high above his body.
The kiss was inferno personified. Sta
rtling. Thrilling. Wondrous.
Suddenly, Zeke could barely hear above the roaring pulse in his ears. His thoughts and protests scattered and vanished and all that remained was sensation… The exquisite pressure of her lips against his, the sweet taste of her, the amazing feel of her body pressed into his. Her hands were everywhere, his hair, his back, his arms his waist, stroking and exploring. And he needed more.
With a swift turn and in a few strides, he carried her towards his bedroom.
CHAPTER 13
Honest to God, she hadn’t been planning to sleep with Zeke when she’d come to his apartment tonight. In fact, she hadn’t even gone commando as she’d threatened earlier today. But then he’d stepped out of the elevator looking delicious in that gray suit and the powder blue shirt… What was a girl to do?
Her arms and legs around him, she peppered his face with small kisses as he walked them into the bedroom. She didn’t have time to absorb his room. One minute she was in his arms, and the next she was being tossed onto his gigantic bed on her back. He took his glasses off and set them on the nightstand before following her down. Setting his large, long frame over hers, he wedged his lower body between her legs.
The kiss got even more intense, more heated. He kissed her hard and deep as he dragged up her shirt-dress until it reached her shoulders. They both rose and separated so he could shove the fabric completely off her. Since she wasn’t wearing a bra, all he had to was strip away the pasties of her nipples and then her upper body was completely bare to him.
“Beautiful,” he said on a hoarse whisper before lowering his head and planting his mouth over her nipple. The moment he grazed that sharp point with his tongue, sparks of thrill shot through her. When he took her completely into the warm wetness of his mouth and suckled hard, it was all she could do not to scream. The feelings that soared through her when he transferred his attentions to her other breast and gave it the same, loving attention were indefinable, amazing. She wound her fingers into his hair as she arched upwards into his mouth.
“Nooo.” The moan of protest tore out of her throat when he let her nipple pop out of his mouth. When he started to kiss his way downwards, she tried to urge him back up with a grip on his skull. But he was determined to keep trailing downwards. A kiss between her breasts, a lick of her navel… She instinctively spread her legs when his mouth touched the top of her panty-covered mound.
