by Tina Martin
“I heard that…” Sherita said, rocking Nolan.
“But everything is not peaches and cream. I do have a bit of drama that I was hoping would bypass me, but now, I’m not so sure,” Melanie said.
“What’s wrong?” Emily inquired.
“Emily, you remember my ex, Scott.”
Emily rolled her eyes. “Of course, I remember that clown and the way he played you when he thought you couldn’t have children. Such a loser.”
“Yeah, well guess who I ran into this morning at the children’s museum.”
“What? He’s stalking you now?” Emily asked.
“He was with his wife and son.” Melanie sighed. “Dimitrius had stepped outside to take a call and the next thing I know, Scott is walking up to me, asking me how I’m doing, like he’s trying to make small talk or something.”
“Ugh. I know you were disgusted,” Sherita said.
“Girl, disgusted ain’t the word for it. Still, I tried to keep my cool and maintain a pleasant demeanor, then Scott saw me playing with Grace and asked me if she was my daughter. Before I could open my mouth to respond, Dimitrius came out of nowhere and answered him.”
Emily’s eyes brightened. “What did Dimitrius say?”
“He just told him that Grace was our daughter with the emphasis on our.” Melanie grinned and shook her head. “But after Scott and his family walked away from us, Dimitrius questioned me as to why I was even talking to Scott. Was it wrong of me to talk to my ex? I was just trying not to be rude.”
“I would’ve been rude,” Emily said. “Let’s look at the facts. Scott broke up with you when you were at your lowest. I remember how your fertility issues took a toll on you and when you confided to Scott about it, he took off…didn’t even have the decency to break up with you like a man. He left some bogus message on your voicemail. From my perspective, you’re going above and beyond to be courteous to a man who was discourteous and disloyal to you.”
“I agree with Emily,” Sherita said.
Melanie stood up, walked over to Grace and moved her away from the electronics. “I don’t know why this little girl is obsessed with DVD players and remotes.”
“And they put everything in their mouths,” Emily said. “Wait until you hit that phase with Celeste and Nolan, Sherita. You think you’re pulling your hair out now…”
“Oh, I can hardly wait,” Sherita said in a mildly sarcastic tone.
Just then, they heard the guys, their men, stepping inside, laughing about something.
“Here comes trouble,” Melanie said, then laughed.
Sherita smirked.
Dante peeped around the door and said, “Y’all done talking about us?” He smiled while walking into the room.
Ezra went running to his father when he heard Dante’s voice. Dante picked him up, kissed him on the cheek.
Answering him, Emily said, “No, we’re not done yet. Y’all go away for another hour or so.”
“No thanks,” Dimitrius said, stepping inside, taking Grace from Melanie’s lap. “We have to get going, sweetie?”
“What’s the rush?” Melanie asked softly as she stood up.
“You’ll find out when we get home,” Dimitrius said with a straight face, staring at her lips before he took a long kiss from them.
And then a smile grew on Melanie’s face. “All right ladies. It’s been real.” Melanie walked over to Sherita, gave her a hug and did the same with Emily before heading to the door.
“Are you ready to go, Sherita?” Desmond asked, leaning against the door frame.
Sherita took a long look at him – sexy as he could be and rugged – even in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
“Sure. We can go. Let me put Nolan in his car seat.”
“I’ll do it,” he said, stepping further into the room.
“No, I got it,” Sherita said back.
Desmond grimaced. How was he supposed to help her when she refused help?
Chapter Six
Desmond and Sherita secured the twins in the back seat, then began the drive away from Dante’s house to their own. Bright headlights carved a path in the darkness while Celeste hummed sounds from the backseat. The commotion of leaving must’ve woken her up. Or maybe it was the fact that she slept most of the time while they were at Emily’s. Nolan, who was awake for most of the night, was quiet now. Sleeping, no doubt.
“Sounds like somebody’s up,” Desmond said, glancing to his right to get a quick look at Sherita before returning his attention back to the road.
“It’s Celeste.”
“I know.”
“She slept for a long time tonight.”
He glanced over at Sherita again. He wondered what thoughts ran through her mind. She looked tired, still. He was hoping the time with her sisters-in-law would give her a chance to unwind. Maybe it did. Maybe it didn’t. He couldn’t decipher her mood currently, but what he did know is she was everything he ever wanted in a woman. His attraction to her, in the beginning, was sparked by her beautiful, stunning good looks, but once he’d gotten to know her, he found out she was so much more than her outward beauty.
Her interests became his interests, like photography for instance. Men who weren’t professionals in the photography business didn’t give too much consideration to taking pictures. Desmond especially didn’t. But while with the children at the park earlier in the day, he found himself snapping several shots of them, playing with different angles on his phone as he did so.
He glanced over at Sherita again. After clearing his throat, he asked, “Did you have a good time tonight?”
“Yes. It was okay.”
“Kids give you a hard time?”
“No. Celeste fell asleep shortly after you guys left, which is why she’s up now. Nolan was awake, but he was a lot calmer than normal. I think he was fascinated watching Ezra and Grace run around.”
“Probably.” Desmond flicked on the right turn signal, then after completing the turn onto Walnut Grove Lane, their street, he said, “Sherita, I didn’t mean to upset you earlier.”
“Don’t worry about it, Des.”
“I just want to apologize to you. I honestly didn’t mean to hurt you and if I did, I’m truly sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’m okay. We don’t have to talk about it. I had a fairly good afternoon and all I want to do now is relax.”
“Trust me, I want that for you, too, but I also want you to know that I’m sorry,” he said palming her left thigh, feeling her tremble. “I want my words to mean something to you.”
“They do.” She turned to look out the window, thinking about everything she had to do tonight before bed. Celeste and Nolan needed baths. That was something Desmond always assisted with. After bath time, the twins usually had a small snack before bed. Rice cereal mixed with pureed bananas. And then came story time. Sherita was a stickler for reading to the babies before bed. It would help their brain and language development, in addition to giving her more time with the children, bonding with them. And after the babies were calm and settled, she would have time to relax.
She found that time after she took a long, warm shower. When she stepped out, she dried off right there in the bathroom, something she usually did in the bedroom but didn’t feel comfortable naked in front of Desmond anymore. So, standing in the bathroom, she took her time, applying coco-butter lotion all over her body since she heard it was supposed to be good for reducing the appearance of stretch marks. Then she moisturized her face, brushed her hair up into a ponytail and afterward, slid into a powder pink camisole.
Desmond sat in a chair near the windows, waiting for Sherita to walk out of the bathroom. She’d been in there forever. If he hadn’t heard her moving around, he would’ve pried the door open, just to make sure she was still alive.
He looked up when the door opened. Finally. “Hey,” he told her.
“Hey,” she said glancing at him briefly and continued walking swiftly towards the bed. She peeled back the covers, then got in.
Desmond blew a breath of frustration. He’d seen a time when he would be sitting in the very chair he was sitting in now and she would straddle him, run her hands across his head and kiss him until they were both nearly out of breath. Now, not so much. She just beelined it to the bed, disappeared beneath the covers and that was the end of it.
He stood up, walked over to the bed and joined her. Sliding next to her so their bodies touched, he whispered against her neck, “Sherita, can you turn around and look at me?”
“Des, I just want to go to sleep.”
“No. Look at me.”
Sherita sighed before she grudgingly twisted her body so she was facing him. “Des, I’m not ready for this.”
“For what?”
“To make love to you. I’m not ready.”
“I’m not asking you to make love to me, Rita. I just want to kiss you,” he said, staring at her lips.
“No.”
“Yes. I miss you, Sherita. Let me kiss you.”
“No,” Sherita said an octave louder, her heart thumping in her chest at the sight of Desmond’s determined, eyes locked in on her.
“Why?”
“Because we’ll end up making love.”
“No, we won’t. I promise. I’m a man of my word. You know that about me, don’t you?” he asked, still staring at her lips.
“Yes.”
“Then, let me.” Before she could deny him again, he leaned down and captured her lips. Her mouth.
Sherita’s mind went blank. Well, he was still on it – her spectacular husband who was just as good at kissing as he was at everything else. Powerful emotions shot through her with every pull of his lips on hers, sending warm sensations all over her body.
“Des,” she whimpered softly, barely able to say his name with the way he owned and clamped down on her lips, kissing her with purpose. She needed to know just how much he missed her and he intended on effectively using these few minutes of skilled kissing to show her that.
Her chest moved in and out quickly as Desmond deepened the kiss, no longer laying beside her, but crawling on top of her so he could fully claim her lips, leave an impression and while he wouldn’t make love to her, that wouldn’t stop him from making love to her mouth. And he did so slowly. Passionately. He stopped briefly to look at her, to make sure she was okay with his aggression and then he lowered his head again connecting their mouths once more, consuming her lips.
Taking it a step further, he softly kissed around her mouth before pecking a path to her neck. Desire washed through him. Lost in the moment, his right hand crept up the front of her camisole and grazed her stomach. Her body trembled beneath him.
“Des, stop,” she said in a panicky voice.
“I just touched you, sweetheart.”
“I don’t want you to touch me.”
“Sherita—”
“Please don’t,” she said before tears rolled out of her eyes. “Just don’t.”
Desmond positioned himself on the bed beside her, then pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“No, I’m sorry, Des,” she whimpered. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay, Rita.”
“It’s not okay,” she said, crying harder. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m so sorry.”
Desmond held her tight and closed his eyes, feeling pain in his heart. For a long time, he held her, feeling her body tremble against his as she cried. When she had calmed down a bit and was near sniffles, he said, “I think we need to see someone. Together.”
“Okay,” she said faintly.
Okay? Desmond frowned, surprised she agreed with him. Before, she fought him every time he brought up the subject of seeking help. Now, she was ready. At least, he hoped she was ready. To confirm, he asked, “You agree with me?”
She nodded against his chest. “Yes. I agree. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Des.”
“Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together. I just need to know that it’s really what you want.”
“It is. I don’t want to lose you because I can’t get it together.”
“Lose me?” He propped up on an elbow so he could see her face. “You’re not going to lose me. When we married, we married for life, baby. I ain’t going nowhere. That, I can promise you.”
Sherita smiled with tears in her eyes. It was comforting to know that Desmond was fully committed to her. Still, she recognized it was time to make some changes. She couldn’t go on like this anymore.
Chapter Seven
Melanie laid flat on the bed, staring up at her Adonis. Sweat gathered on her forehead. Her face flushed with warm shades of love. Her chest moved rapidly, up and down, in and out over and over again while she panted for air. She watched Dimitrius’ lips quirk up in the corner like he was satisfied with his work. What a man.
“You are something else Dimitrius Champion.”
His bright smile widened. “What are you talking about, woman?”
“You had this all planned out, huh?”
He lowered his head and took a kiss from her lips. “I wouldn’t say, planned. I like being spontaneous.”
“I like that about you,” she said, feeling the weight of his body come down on top of her again. She wrapped her arms around him, her fingers gliding across his sweat-covered back.
Dimitrius didn’t say a word in response. He just stared down at the woman he made his wife.
“What?” she asked, curious about the smirk on his face.
“I can’t stare at my wife if I want to?” he asked.
She smiled. “I feel like you’re playing mind games with me.”
And then his smile faded…
She was his woman – the woman he chose to be his wife. He was bold enough to walk right up to her and tell her that she was going to be his wife, even before they had a chance to get to know each other.
Their initial meeting had been rocky. At the time, Melanie was interviewing for a position at The Champion Corporation. While Dimitrius knew he wanted love, was ready to settle down, even knew she was the woman he wanted to settle down with, he wanted her to fit his timetable. He wasn’t ready for her to work in such close proximity to him because he wasn’t ready to commit. But all that changed when he realized he had avoided her long enough. Besides, Melanie was a great catch. A great woman. Smart, funny and beautiful. And even before they’d officially met, they’d exchanged glances during a few seminars at the hotel in which she used to work, or when he would so happen to catch a glimpse of her at Dante’s house since she and Emily were friends. Now she was his.
“What is it, Dimitrius?” she asked, staring up at him.
“Nothing,” he told her, but it was something. It bothered him that she didn’t seem to have a problem conversing with her ex this morning. But then again, Desmond had brought up a good point at the bar. What if he ran into one of his exes? Would she have a problem with him if he was cordial with them? What was the protocol when it came to dealing with exes? Were you to cut them off completely?
Whatever the case, he didn’t like the way Scott was looking at Melanie. He hated to bring up the subject because he didn’t know how she would react to it. And what if Melanie had lingering feelings for the man? What would he do if he found out his wife was not completely over her ex? If she wasn’t, then what? Was their marriage doomed? Maybe he was thinking about it too much.
Melanie lifted her head from the bed, placed her hands on both sides of his face and left a soft kiss on his lips. “Dimitrius?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“I love you.”
A smile came to his lips.
“I love you, too, Melanie.”
“Good. Now, get off of me so I can take a shower?”
“No.”
Melanie giggled. “Dimitrius…”
“Okay, okay,” Dimitrius said taking a quick kiss from her lips, “But only on one condition.”
Melanie smiled wide. “And what might that be, Mr. Champion?”<
br />
“That…I…join you…in the shower,” he said between kisses.
“Please do.”
Dimitrius rolled off of her, stood to his feet and standing next to the bed, he stretched his arms out, assisting her to her feet.
“Thank you,” she said, heading to the bathroom.
“You’re welcome,” he said, following her, his eyes sweeping over her body.
“And stop staring at my butt,” Melanie quipped.
He grinned. “That’s my butt now. How many times do I have to tell you that?”
Melanie grinned. “Just like a Champion…always think you own something that’s not yours.”
His eyes narrowed as he stood behind her while she turned on the shower. “Not mine?” he asked, palming her flesh with his large hands. “Let’s hear you say something illogical like that when you’re pinned against those tiles.” He spun her around, kissed her lips again while scooping her up into his arms.
Chapter Eight
Dante leaned back in his leather desk chair, Monday morning, finding it difficult to concentrate on work. Yesterday at home proved uneventful, partially due to the fact that he’d taken Ezra with him on a few errands. Emily stayed in the kitchen most of the morning, curled up with her laptop and coffee, working on inventory for the boutique. He doubted if she knew he’d even left the house.
And since when did she start working on Sundays? She usually made it a point not to work at home. She was already complaining about not spending enough time with Ezra, but that didn’t stop her from spending hours on her laptop, did it? At least it hadn’t yesterday.
When he heard his cell phone ring, Dante sat straight up and picked it up from his desk. “What’s up, Des?”
“Hey, I won’t be in today. Thought I’d let you know.”
Dante glanced at his watch. A few minutes before nine…
“Is everything cool?” he asked his brother.
“Yes,” Desmond replied. “Have to take care of some things with Sherita today. I’ll probably log in at home later to check emails.”
“Okay. Well, in your absence, I’m sure Kurt can handle anything that comes up.”
