by Donna Hill
His voice and the fierce look in his dark eyes radiate the passion that he felt and the mission he believed himself to be on. You couldn’t listen to him and not get swept up in his dream for a better future for young black men. “How far away are you from opening your school?”
His smile was only halfway there. “Not as near as I need to be. It will take some time, but I’m focused. I’ve been working on putting several things into place over the past year and a half. I’m getting closer.” He turned his glass around in a slow circle on the table. “Funny, I haven’t told anyone besides my best friend, Carl, about ‘my school.’” He looked into her eyes.
Her heart pounded. “Oh. I’m…honored that you…told me.”
“You’re easy to talk to.”
Was it the way he was looking at her or the rum punch that was making her head spin?
“I’ve been so busy talking about me, what about you? What do you do in sunny Florida?”
She swallowed through her suddenly dry throat. She’d already started this off on a lie. How could she say something different now? This was crazy. She should have never listened to Alexis. “I work at a bookstore and take classes at night,” she blurted out, surprising herself with the ease of the flow. Must come from years of reading fiction, she thought in the back of her head.
“You keep surprising me,” he said. “Which bookstore?”
“Uh, Greenlight Books. It’s one of the small independent stores.”
“And you said you were going to school. What courses are you taking?”
“African-American studies.” At least that was something she could talk about with some confidence.
“That was my major in college.”
“Really?” She leaned forward, ready to immerse herself in her favorite subject.
Before they realized it, several hours, along with a couple of drinks, had passed, the crowd had thinned and the waiter was bringing the bill.
Brice looked around. “Wow, where’d everybody go?” he joked.
Naomi became instantly flustered. She reached for her purse and knocked it onto the floor. They both reached for it at the same time and bumped heads. Jerking back and holding their foreheads, they looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Brice handed Naomi her purse. “Sorry about that,” he chuckled. “Are you okay?”
“I’m perfectly fine. Nothing that a little brain surgery won’t cure.”
“Ahhh, the lady has jokes.” He stood and extended his hand to her. “How about we walk off this food and those drinks.”
“Sure.” She took his hand, and when his long, strong fingers wrapped around hers something warm, then hot, then electrifying scurried up her arm and shot through her body.
“You okay?”
Brice was peering down into her face, his brow wrinkled with concern.
Naomi blinked and took a breath. “Yes. I’m fine.”
“Oh, I thought I heard you moan. I want to be ready if I need to sweep you off your feet and carry you to your room.” He grinned devilishly and pretended to flex his muscles.
For a moment she saw herself nestled in his arms, her head pressed into the curve of his neck, inhaling that alluring scent of his as he strode across the beach, up to her room, where he would kick down the door and the music would play and it would all go black.
She’d obviously lost her mind. No more rum punch.
She gave her head a little shake. “I don’t think that will be necessary,” she said, forcing her head to clear. “Ready?”
“After you.”
Naomi led the way out, with Brice no less than a step behind her. His gaze trailed up and down her body, envisioning the curves, appreciating the understated but mesmerizing sway of her hips and the way the silk of her hair fell in soft wisps around the back of her neck, tempting him to touch them, run them through his fingers. It was a good thing he wasn’t going to be in Antigua for long. He could easily see himself wanting to get seriously involved with a woman like Naomi Clarke. But they lived worlds apart, and if things worked out for him the way he hoped and planned, he wouldn’t have the time needed to devote to a relationship. He took in her profile, set against the purple night sky, sprinkled with the white light of the stars and quarter moon, and he wished that things could be different.
They strolled along the beach, away from the hotel, and walked closer to the water. Naomi took off her shoes and felt oddly liberated and daring as she let the water and sand wash over her feet and seep between her toes. She giggled at the sensation, and Brice became intrigued by her joy at something so simple. Most of the women he knew would look at the experience as an annoyance, something to mess up their pedicure. A halo of a smile curved his mouth.
“How is it teaching high school kids?” Naomi asked, turning to look at him with a wide-eyed expression.
“It has its moments.” He chuckled lightly. “It’s not so much the subject matter, it’s more about seeing that bulb go off over their heads when they ‘get it.’ I teach in a really tough neighborhood in Harlem. Most of those kids are from broken homes, belong to gangs, have all kinds of havoc going on at home. A couple of my female students already have children. For most of them, their lives are on probation before they even get a chance.”
Naomi heard the pain and the passion in his voice. He really cared. He wasn’t just saying words to impress her. She knew exactly what he meant about that light bulb going off. And she so wanted to share with him her own experiences, give him some encouragement, but it was too late now. She’d already set off on a path of no return.
Instinctively, she took his hand and squeezed it. He turned to look at her. A hot jolt of electric current shot between them, shocking them both.
Brice stopped walking. His eyes grazed her face in a tender caress. Naomi felt a pulse begin to beat between her thighs. Her heart felt as if it was tumbling around in her chest as she watched his face come closer to hers, until his image blurred and his warm lips brushed against hers.
She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think. The instant was so perfect as to be surreal.
Brice pressed a tiny bit closer. The overwhelming craving to taste the full sweetness of her mouth had his arm snaking around her waist, pulling her closer. That only made this sudden, driving desire more urgent when he felt her body glide against his and his erection bloom hard and full.
He groaned deep in his throat as her lips parted ever so slightly and she allowed him to run the very tip of his tongue over the inside of their wet softness.
Brice held her and drowned himself in the lushness of her, let her essence seep through his skin and awaken sensations inside him that he’d put on the back burner. Now, with Naomi, all the jets were on full blast. What he wouldn’t give to spend real time with her. Get to know her and get to make love to her the way he was imagining.
This was so unlike him. Women were a dime a dozen in New York. He could have his hands full if he wanted. The women he knew and had run across didn’t rock his world, make him lose perspective and think about all the things he wanted to do to them. But this woman…this Naomi Clarke was not like all the others. It was as if she had woven some kind of spell over him from the moment he set eyes on her. She stirred up a burning thirst in him, and he wasn’t going to ever be satisfied until his thirst was quenched.
Naomi felt weak all over, and her body was on fire. From deep inside she trembled. This wasn’t her. This isn’t what she did with a virtual stranger. But she couldn’t help herself. She couldn’t stop and she didn’t want to. His mouth was like an irresistible gem that had to be captured and held. When his fingers pressed into her back and brought her closer, her own sighs floated into the night sky when she felt the bulge of his sex press against her.
It had been so long since she’d felt desire, and, more importantly, desired by a man. It emboldened her. And the fictitious life that she’d created was her shield. She could hide behind it. She could be a bookseller from the panhandle of Florida, who took
classes at night and who was on a vacation in Antigua.
It didn’t matter. This was a fantasy being played out in real life. For once, she was going to take a risk. She was going to give in to her feelings and not try to make sense of them.
If she would only have one night with Brice Lawrence, she was going to take it.
With great reluctance and pure willpower, Brice eased away from the simple kiss that had shaken him to the depths of his soul. He knew that if he didn’t stop this spontaneous act, they would go much further than either of them were prepared for.
Naomi felt like Christmas morning. Brice’s arms were the red ribbons that laced around her, holding her like a prized possession. She was lost in his arms, transported to a place of pure sensual pleasure with his kisses. She’d tossed aside her inhibitions, her no-nos, and simply went with the moment. When he pulled away, she’d instantly had a moment of doubt, of panic. What had she done wrong? But that wasn’t it, she quickly realized. She understood when she looked up into his eyes that he had been in that same special place, and his words confirmed it.
He held her face in his palms and looked into the soft sparkle of her eyes, the questions that were reflected in them. “I…really didn’t mean for that to happen,” he said. “Yes, I did,” he confessed. “But I don’t want you to think that I’m just another guy on the make.” He tried to collect his thoughts so that what stumbled out of his mouth made sense. “I can’t explain it. There’s something about you that…damn, I don’t know.” He shook his head in confusion and chuckled in spite of himself.
Naomi brushed his chin with her thumb. “You don’t have to explain. For some things there are no words,” she said, surprising herself. She’d always been one who lived by rationale. Everything had a reason and an explanation. But on this beautiful tropical island with this handsome, desirable, sexy man, under the moon and the stars…there were no words.
“Then I’m not losing it,” he said.
“If you are, then so am I.”
Brice drew in a long breath of relief and pulled her tight against him. He kissed the top of her head. “I probably should get you back to your room before I do something really crazy and strip you out of that sexy outfit right here on the beach.” He took her hand and they walked back toward the hotel.
Naomi’s heart pounded and her spirit smiled.
Chapter 4
Naomi felt like a small earthquake was going off inside of her by the time they reached the front door to her room. What happens next? Should she ask him in? Would that be too aggressive? A little late to be thinking of being aggressive. Her mind ran in circles.
“So…” he said on a long breath. He stood in front of her with her back to the door. “See you in the morning?”
“Sure. Yes.”
“How about breakfast down on the beach?”
She smiled. “Sounds great.”
“And what if I knock on your door at say, seven?”
“I’ll be ready.”
He stepped an inch closer. “And what if I knocked on your door…before then?”
Oh God, what was he saying? “Umm…”
He lifted her chin and smiled. “Don’t worry. I won’t put you on the spot. But I do want to make it clear that if I had my way, I’d be on the other side of your door making love to you.”
Her insides jumped up the Richter scale. She couldn’t breathe. She tried to speak, but no words came out. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. “See you in the morning.”
“O-kay.”
He turned and walked down the hall to the elevator.
Naomi’s knees wobbled so badly she could barely stand up. It took her several tries before she could get her key card to slide through the slot and open the door.
Once on the other side of safety, she all but collapsed onto the first available club chair. Her pulse raced, her chest was damp and her clit was throbbing like a tiny heartbeat.
“Oh, lawd. What have I gotten myself into?” She took several deep breaths, then checked her watch. It was nearly two a.m. Alexis might still be up. She dug in her purse for her cell phone and tapped in Alexis’s number.
She listened to the phone ring on the other end until Alexis’s voice mail came on. Naomi babbled out a message and disconnected the phone. She pushed up from the chair, went to the bathroom and began getting undressed.
The evening with Brice played over and over in her mind while she stood under the pulse of the shower, as she ran the soapy loofah over her body. The water washed away the suds but not the heat that sat in her center and spread down the inside of her thighs. She relived his smile, his laughter, his scent, the feel of his hands around her waist, his lips on hers. She closed her eyes and allowed the sensations to take over and flow through her veins.
She imagined that the pulsing water was Brice’s fingertips playing a concerto along the surface of her skin. Her eyelids fluttered. A soft moan slipped through her lips.
In the distance she heard knocking. She blinked, turned off the water and listened. There it was again. Her heart thumped. Brice? Did he really come back? She grabbed the thick robe from the hook on the door slipped it on and tugged the belt. She darted for the door then stopped a split second before pulling it open. She took a calming breath. “Yes?”
“Room service, ma’am,” came the clearly Bahamian accent.
Whatever wild imaginings she may have had about Brice being on the other side of her door sputtered away like a pin-pricked balloon. She opened the door. Her eyes widened.
“Where would you like these, ma’am?”
The young man carried in a vase filled with blooming, brilliant tropical flowers.
“Uh, you can put them on the table by the balcony.”
She stood at the open doorway thrilled down to her toes, and she couldn’t wait for the young man to leave so that she could squeal in delight.
Moments later he was walking toward the door. He bobbed his head and waited. Naomi’s brow arched in question. “Oh.” Realization struck. She hurried across the room and dug through her wallet for a tip. He left with a big, bright smile. Probably gave him too much, she thought as she shut the door and darted to the other side of the room.
She gently parted the aromatic folds of the leaves and found a card pinned to a slender green stem.
“Just in case I messed up in any way tonight, accept this as my apology. If not then just enjoy them! See you at seven.”
Naomi drew the embossed card to her chest and smiled. Then leaning forward, she inhaled the heady scent of the arrangement.
She could easily see herself with someone like Brice. If she had to write up a list of what she wanted in a man, everything about Brice would be on it. But none of that mattered. Their time together was limited and she had lied. Not to mention that they lived thousands of miles apart.
She took off her robe, tossed it on the side chair and slid naked under the cool white sheets. She turned on her side and gazed out upon the dark horizon that stretched into forever, and decided that it was too late to turn back now. She was determined to make their time together as bright and memorable as possible. It had been a while since she’d allowed herself to succumb to the charms of a man, let a man fill all those empty spaces inside of her. She hugged herself beneath the covers. What she was planning to do was deliciously dangerous.
It went against every iota of her being, and that’s what made it so tempting. For the next two weeks Dr. Naomi Clarke was going to be tucked away between the pages of a book. And Naomi Clarke, woman on vacation, was going to take her place.
Naomi read the words on the card until she committed them to memory. With reluctance she turned off the bedside lamp and wished away the hours.
Brice arrived at the hotel’s beachfront restaurant by 6:30 a.m. to make sure that the breakfast order that he’d placed before he went to sleep the prior evening was prepared and their table secure.
When he’d been on the phone with the hotel, ordering the flowe
rs and arranging for breakfast, in the back of his mind he kept asking himself what are you doing? Better yet, why? He barely knew this woman, and yet he did. All the wooing and wining and dining wasn’t his usual M.O., especially with someone he’d probably never see again. Although the Internet, Skype and cell phones kept the world well connected, he wasn’t one for long-distance relationships. Maybe that was it, he concluded, while he was being shown to his table. The fact that it was temporary released him, and apparently Naomi, from any inhibitions.
But deep inside he knew that was only part of it. It was Naomi. Plain and simple. He couldn’t explain it, but she’d totally thrown him off balance. Never before had he allowed himself to be seduced by no more than a beautiful smile. He’d seen plenty. Great body…but he’d had his share. It was something intangible. That spark that Carl always talked about feeling when he met his wife, Theresa. Wife! He chuckled to himself. He was definitely trotting down the wrong path.
He drew in long breath of salt-drenched air, leaned back in his seat and gazed out into the horizon. The rising sun splashed orange and gold across the crystal blue waters. He would make the most of every minute that remained.
“Good morning.”
Her voice, low and rippling like the morning tide, raised the fine hairs on his arms. Get it together, brother, he cautioned himself before he dared to look at her fully. He raised his eyes and, like a dream come true, she stood in front of him. The honey color of her sundress matched the smooth tones of her skin, almost giving the illusion that she was naked. But of course that was simply his heated imagination.
He stood, and her smile competed with the sun. Without thought, he leaned toward her and kissed her softly on the lips. The sensation of her moist mouth and soft lips, combined with the slightest whiff of her scent, was like a jolt of java. It shot to his head and spread through his veins. He eased back until her image came into focus. “’Morning.”
Naomi’s stomach was in the middle of a backflip. “Hi,” she said on a breath that floated to him like a caress. “You weren’t waiting long, were you?”
