He shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I didn’t have anything pressing this afternoon.”
Her lips curved into a teasing smile. “I don’t believe that. Friday night isn’t booked up already for Mr. Jared Patterson?”
He laughed. “Let’s just say I shuffled my schedule a bit for you.”
His low voice sent flutters across her spine and her heartbeat sped up as the breeze carried his scent over. She shoved the box in his hands. “Can you help me put this in the gym?”
He took the box from her and followed her into the back of the building. On the way she gave herself a pep talk. This wasn’t a dumb idea. Remember all of the bad dates running for the hills. This would make her life easier.
He put the box in the storage room in the gym then sat on one of the bleachers. “So what is the favor you needed?”
She froze for a second before shuffling from foot to foot. God, forgive me for what I’m about to do.
She twisted her hands in front of her. “Well, I don’t know the best way to ask. It’s a personal favor.”
Surprise flashed in his dark eyes before he gave her a reassuring smile. “We’ve known each other for years, so I guess it’s okay to ask a personal favor. Do you need a reference or something?”
Heat crept up her face. How sophisticated, she was blushing. “Not quite. I need you to … relieve me of something.”
He blinked and cleared his throat. “What is it?”
She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. “I need you to take my virginity.”
A range of emotions ran across Jared’s face: confusion, disbelief, irritation, and desire. None of his expressions provided a clue to what his answer would be. Sure, he was her most logical choice, but it didn’t mean he was interested in sleeping with her. They had a limited acquaintance, nothing more.
His features finally settled into an impassive expression before he spoke. “What are you talking about?”
She sighed with relief. At least he hadn’t flat out refused. “Look, Jared, I know it sounds like a lot. But really it isn’t.”
He looked doubtful. “Taking your virginity isn’t a lot?”
“No, not really. It’s a nuisance for me. Whenever I meet a guy and tell him I’m saving myself for marriage he either dumps me outright or tries to seduce me just for the fun of it. I’m tired of the whole process. Men today aren’t looking for a virgin bride and I’m tired of my virginity scaring them off. I need to get rid of it and you made the most sense to take it.” She said everything in a rush out of fear she’d chicken out altogether.
He pointed to his chest, confusion clear in his eyes. “How in the hell do I make the most sense?”
She held up her hand and ticked off her reasons. “I respect you and what you’ve done with your life. I couldn’t lose it to someone I didn’t like. You aren’t looking for a relationship and are used to casual affairs, so a one-night thing with me wouldn’t be a big deal to you. You’re discreet, although I’m surprised about the hickey today. Usually you don’t flaunt your affairs.”
He covered the hickey with his hand. “That was a mistake that won’t be repeated. Go on.”
“Well, you’re also … I mean I assume … since you’ve had so many lovers and whatnot … ” Her face burned. “I assume you’re good in bed. I need someone who could at least make it decent. I know the first time hurts and isn’t always the best, but I figured you could make it bearable.”
“I can’t believe this,” he mumbled and lowered his head in his hands.
She went on. “Plus, there is no chance I would ever fall in love with you.”
His head snapped up. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
She gave him a sheepish smile. “No offense, but except for respecting what you’ve done with your professional life, you’re not exactly my type.”
He frowned. “Why is that?”
“I mean really, Jared. You’re a whore. No offense, but you do sleep around, and you’ve made it no secret you don’t plan to ever get married. You’re not exactly good husband material. I plan to marry someone who is more responsible — with women, I mean.”
“So you think losing your virginity will help you find this pillar of responsibility?”
She ignored his sarcasm. “Yes, I do. It won’t be there hanging over my head. The next guy I meet won’t have to think that dating me means we’re automatically getting married. Since the pressure is off, he’s more likely to stay around.”
“Why don’t you just keep the fact that you’re a virgin to yourself?”
She crossed her arms. “Because after about two weeks of dating, men start hinting around about having sex, and then I have to tell them why I’m not going to sleep with them.”
“So when your virginity is gone, do you plan to start sleeping with them?”
She hadn’t thought that far ahead. She didn’t plan to sleep with every guy she dated, but maybe if she met someone she really liked it might be easier to move forward to a sexual relationship once her virginity was gone. “Not all of them, but maybe someone else in the future. I’ll worry about that later. I just need to get rid of my virginity.”
Jared stood up and shook his head. “Tasha, this is a big deal. Maybe you should wait — ”
“No, I’m sick of waiting. I’ve been waiting for twenty-nine damn years and I’m through. I need someone to help me and I’d like it to be you.”
He took a few deep breaths. “I need to think about it.”
She squared her shoulders. “I need an answer before next week.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Why so soon?”
“It’s my birthday. I’d like to lose it before I turn thirty.”
“So you want to do it this week?”
Her heart lurched, but she tried to go for nonchalant and shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. I’ll follow you to your house and we can take care of it tonight.” Her voice shook.
Desire flashed in his eyes before he hid it and slowly shook his head. She’d seen guys look at her with desire before. He was tempted.
“We are not doing this tonight,” he said.
She stepped closer. “But we are going to do this?”
His eyes traveled from hers to her lips. She’d never noticed how dark they were, like melted chocolate. She licked her lips and his eyes grew darker. It was suddenly hard to breathe. Feeling a surge of confidence, she licked her lips again and he stepped closer. Her heart pounded, her breasts ached, and an unfamiliar tingling trickled between her legs as she breathed in the spicy mixture of cologne and Jared.
She was heated from inside out. It was heavy, sensuous, and left her euphoric. She leaned up, hoping he would kiss her. He lowered his head and her breathing shallowed. With a curse, he quickly pulled back and turned away. Disappointment hit her like a tidal wave. She’d never anticipated a kiss that much before, never wanted a kiss that much. The knowledge was exciting and terrifying.
Hesitantly, she reached out and placed her hands on his arms. He stiffened but didn’t pull away. Slowly, she leaned her body against his. The top of her head barely touched his shoulder. She took a second to get used to the feel of him against her. The softness of her breasts pressing against the hard muscles of his back caused a tremor to go through her. His body shivered in return. It was brief and so slight she only noticed because she was pressed against him so firmly.
“Are we going to do this?” Her voice was soft, throaty. The sound of her desire surprised her.
He took her hand and pressed it against the thick bulge in his pants. “You really want to handle this?”
Heat shot through her body and her panties liquefied. If any other man had done that she’d have cursed him out, but she welcomed his challenge. If she shied away from his boldness, then he’d say no. So with another prayer,
and her face flaming, she softly squeezed his length. It got harder and her panties got wetter.
It was thrilling. It was frightening.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He groaned before pulling away. “Dammit, Tasha, I’m not doing this tonight. I need to think about it.”
She wanted to stamp her foot in frustration. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard to get Jared Patterson in bed. “For how long?”
His eyes traveled the length of her body and she felt as if fire burned her everywhere his gaze landed. If desire made you feel this wild and reckless, it was no wonder some considered it a sin.
“Come to my house tomorrow night. We’ll talk about it then.”
She hid her disappointment with a nod. Even though her body was on fire for something she’d never had before, she understood why he would want to think about it. This was out of left field to him. Hell, it was an impulsive decision on her part, one she’d talk herself out of again if she thought about it too much longer. She’d let him consider it overnight, and hopefully he would agree to take it tomorrow before she reconsidered. She wasn’t sure how it worked, but hopefully once they had sex the fire she felt for him would go out.
She smiled and nodded. “Okay, I’ll come by at seven.”
He nodded and took a step back from her, giving her one last heated look before marching out.
CHAPTER 4
The next morning, Jared was running at full speed on his treadmill when the doorbell rang. He cursed at the interruption and jumped off without stopping. He’d barely slept the night before, yet he’d woken up full of energy. He’d spent the morning doing every energy sucking workout he could think of, but exercise wasn’t helping — at least not the type of exercise he was doing.
He’d been rock hard and aching after leaving Tasha the day before. He’d flipped through the names on his phone, but with each name he passed his frustration grew. He didn’t want any of them. There was only one set of thighs he wanted to get between: Tasha’s.
She was last person he needed to sleep with, but he’d known his answer before leaving. He was going to do it. Her favor was the last thing he’d ever expected, but he was flattered she’d chosen him. Even with the male whore comment. He wasn’t a saint. Maybe it was male pride and barbaric, but the thought of being her first excited him. He’d never slept with a virgin. It would be a welcome change from the usual chicks he dealt with. Plus, she would remember him for the rest of her life. He couldn’t deny the satisfaction of knowing she would never be able to forget their time together.
The problem was when. A part of him wanted to have sex with her tonight when she came over, but, surprisingly, a bigger part rejected that idea. It was her virginity and regardless of her eagerness, losing it should be special. They’d only discuss the details tonight, and then he’d plan for a night she’d never forget. Thank goodness her birthday is soon, he thought. He couldn’t live with this frustration for long.
He jogged up the stairs from his home gym. He jumped up and down to get rid of some restless energy before opening the door to where his older brother Malcolm stood with a grin on his face that could only be described as goofy.
With a raised eyebrow, he eyed his brother. “What’s wrong with you?”
Malcolm kept smiling. “Man, nothing’s wrong. I’m just the happiest man on earth right now.”
Jared laughed. “Okay, why are you so happy?” He stood aside and let Malcolm in. They walked into the kitchen and he pulled a bottled water out of the refrigerator. When he turned around Malcolm was still grinning.
“Kenyatta finally said yes. We’re getting married.”
Jared choked on his water and coughed.
Malcolm came over and hit him on his back. “Are you okay?”
Jared nodded and stepped to the side. “Yeah, yeah, I’m cool. So you really want to marry her?”
Kenyatta was Malcolm’s girlfriend of two years. Although he liked Kenyatta and was happy his brother finally hooked up with her after lusting for her for so long, he couldn’t believe Malcolm wanted to get married. Then again, Malcolm didn’t know how fickle married women were.
Malcolm continued to smile like a lovesick puppy. “Yes. I’ve known ever since that crazy crap with Brad. After thinking I’d never see her again, I knew I wanted her in my life forever.”
Malcolm had worked with Kenyatta for years, but had never acted on his desire for her. It wasn’t until she’d agreed to marry someone else that he finally made a play for her and won. Unfortunately her fiancé at the time was a psycho who tried to kill her when he found out, but he was killed by an ex-lover after kidnapping both her and Kenyatta. Two years had passed and Malcolm and Kenyatta had remained inseparable. It shouldn’t have been a surprise for his brother to marry her, but Jared was still upset. He knew firsthand how unfaithful married women were. Malcolm would do better keeping things as they were.
“Can’t you two just live together or something? You know once you marry them everything changes. Kenyatta might not be so wonderful once you put that ring on her finger.” It was the first thing that came to his mind.
Malcolm’s smile fell. “C’mon man. I thought you would be happy for me. Just because you never want to get married doesn’t mean you have to rain on my parade.”
Jared shrugged. “I’m not trying to do that, I’m just pointing out the facts. Once women get married they become bored. Before you know it she’ll be tired of you and out trying to find some other man to keep her happy.”
Malcolm stiffened and pointed at Jared. “Kenyatta’s not like that.”
Jared scoffed. “That’s what you think.”
Malcolm frowned and took a step toward him. “Hey, man, watch yourself. I’m in a good mood today, but if you say anything else about Kenyatta I’ll knock the shit out of you.”
Jared held up his hands. “My bad, I meant no disrespect to Kenyatta. Hey, maybe she is different.”
Malcolm threatening to knock sense into him was nothing new. Although they hadn’t fought since they were young boys, it wasn’t unusual for them to disagree on things. Not only were their personalities different — he considered Malcolm a choir boy and Malcolm considered Jared a playboy — but they looked different too. Malcolm had the darker, more rugged looks of their father while Jared shared the lighter, more refined features of their mother, a resemblance Jared secretly hated.
Malcolm pushed away from the counter with a curse. “Damn, man, I should have known not to tell you first.”
Jared plastered a smile on his face. Today wasn’t the day to talk some sense into his brother. “I’m just messing with you, man. Truly, I’m happy for you. When is the big day?”
Malcolm looked skeptical but the goofy grin resurfaced. “We’re thinking a fall wedding. September or October.”
Jared put his water bottle on the counter with a loud thud. “That’s only a few months away.”
Malcolm shrugged. “We’ve been together for two years, there’s no need for a long engagement.”
Jared shook his head. “All right, man. Just let me know when and I’ll be there to stand beside you.” And I’ll be there when she breaks your heart later, he thought.
“Thanks, man, I’m glad to hear that.” Malcolm narrowed his eyes and studied Jared. “Are you training for something? You haven’t stopped sweating since you came to the door.”
Jared used his shirt to wipe the sweat off his brow. “No, why would you say that?”
“’Cause it looks like you’re working your ass off. What’s up?”
Jared sucked down the rest of the water. “Just trying to work off some excess energy.”
Malcolm scoffed. “You usually say that when you’ve got some woman around. Since I don’t think anyone is here, she must have turned you down?”
Jared sucked his teeth. “Never that. She
’s coming over tonight.”
Malcolm laughed. “At the rate you’re going you won’t be any use to her tonight.”
Jared blew air through his lips. “You forget who you’re talking about. Besides we’re not sleeping together tonight. I’m trying to wait.”
Malcolm’s head snapped back. “You’re trying to wait? Hell must be freezing over.”
“Man, I can wait, when it’s worth it.”
Malcolm raised an eyebrow. “Someone who’s worth the wait? Damn, man, I never thought I’d hear you say that. Who is she?”
“It doesn’t matter who she is, and I’m not waiting long. I just need to find the right place.”
Malcolm laughed. “What’s wrong with down the hall in that massive bed you’ve got?”
Jared shook his head and frowned. “Nah, she deserves better than that for her first time. I’m not going to treat her like any other chick.”
Malcolm stopped laughing and held up his hands. “Wait, wait, wait. Did I hear you right? Her first time? What, you’re playing with virgins now?”
Jared cursed. Malcolm didn’t need to know what he was doing. His brother was such a moral high roller he wouldn’t approve, but Jared didn’t turn down beautiful women, and since Tasha offered, he wasn’t about to pass up the chance to be her first.
“It’s not like that. She asked me to be her first, so I agreed.”
Malcolm crossed his arms and scowled. “What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t F around with virgins, man.”
Jared laughed at Malcolm’s shortening of the curse word. “I’m not fucking around with a virgin. She’s almost thirty and wants to lose it before her birthday. I was her choice, so why deny her?”
“Because her first time should be special. You’re the last man to make something special with a woman.”
“Whatever. I know how to make a lady feel special.”
“It’s more than that.”
Jared lifted a shoulder and held his hands out. “Since when do I need your permission to sleep with someone? She’s a grown woman and knows what she wants. Besides, the way she was palming my dick yesterday lets me know that she’s more than ready.”
Southern Love Page 27
