Different Tastes (The Alexanders Book 7)

by Tina Martin

  A tropical breeze traveled between them. She felt his energy with it – the truthfulness and sincerity of his words. The way he licked his lips and leaned forward to connect his mouth with hers.

  She closed her eyes. Apprehensive about the thought of trusting a man, she sure was ready to accept his kiss. He made her feel comfortable. Secure. Women longed for a man whom they knew could protect and love them. While Preston didn’t love her, he sure was good at putting her mind at ease.

  His lips locked on her mouth in a possessive way as he took his time, kissing her the way he had wanted to for a long time. Even still, he was gentle with it, knowing that’s what she needed.

  Tremors snaked down her body, eyes closed shut as she allowed him to kiss her this way, feeling his hands tighten on her face. But she wasn’t afraid. No, not this time. The kiss was too good. Deep and intoxicating. Feelings she’d kept at bay for years were coming to the surface. She missed these sensations – feeling pure desire settle deep within her. He didn’t show any signs of ending the kiss, and that was okay with her. She’d just hang in there until one of them, maybe both, needed air.

  Moments later, he felt that need for her to breathe, so he released her mouth and connected his eyes with hers. Reading them, they said, she wanted more. So, being the generous man he was, he leaned forward and gave her more, parting her lips with his tongue and taking a dip inside.

  With his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, she reached up to encircle her arms around his neck, standing on her tiptoes in ocean water, kissing him like she was trying to get used to the intimate gesture again. She missed it. Needed it.

  For a second time, he stopped, slowed the momentum, because he didn’t want to take it any further than where she was willing to go. He knew her stance. He respected it. Respected her.

  Under the light emanating from the moon, he smiled at her.

  “What?” she asked softly, her head still tilted upwards, eyes still connected with his.

  “I could stand here and kiss you all night.”

  She blushed, turned away from him. “Or, we can go to the tent.”

  He liked the sound of that. Taking her hand, he led her there. Unzipping the opening to their private tent, he let her enter first. He followed her in and zipped up the entrance for privacy.

  “The hotel did a good job putting this together,” she said, noticing the sheets, blankets and plush pillow in the tent that fit the two of them comfortably.

  “They did,” he told her. Worried that she was a bit uncomfortable with them being in such close, intimate quarters, he asked, “Are you okay with this?”

  Coming from a sitting position to her knees, she crawled over to him, straddling him and said, “Yes. I’m okay.”

  “Tamera,” he hummed, just before she connected her mouth to his. Gripping the back of her head, he pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss, feeling her legs constrict around him. He wanted to make love to her, to show her how a real man loves a woman. From the aggressiveness of her kiss, he knew she wanted the same thing.

  Wait…she wanted the same thing? It didn’t dawn on him until that moment.

  “You want me,” he said with his lips brushing against hers. It wasn’t a question. It was a statement – a fact that surprised him.

  “What?” she asked.

  “I said, you want me. I can feel it.”

  She smiled, ignoring him, taking small kisses and nibbles from his bottom lip.

  He swallowed hard. “Tamera…”

  “Yes?” she asked, gently kissing his chin before leaving the print of her lips on his neck and stroking his Adam’s apple with her tongue.

  Preston closed his eyes, feeling a rush of passion grip every cell in his body. Every part of him wanted every part of her, but he couldn’t make love to her here. She wasn’t ready for him. For any of this. “Tamera.”

  “Yes?”

  “I need you…I need you to stop,” he barely got out.

  She leaned forward to kiss him again, enraptured in the moment.

  He grimaced. Stopped her. “Tamera.”

  “Yes?” she said, staring into his eyes.

  “I don’t want this to go too far,” he told her.

  “Me either,” she said panting.

  “If you don’t want this to go too far, what are you doing to me?” he asked her.

  “I’m kissing you. Can’t I kiss you without you wanting me, Preston?”

  “No,” he chuckled. “It’s been a long time for me.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Then we should slow this down.”

  “You’re right,” she said breathlessly. “We should.”

  She eased off of him and got comfortable on the blankets, resting her head on a pillow.

  He laid next to her, breathing hard and trying his best to control himself.

  Face-to-face, she found his hand and said, “Tell me about your family, Preston.”

  He proceeded to tell her about his parents who owned a condo in Charleston, South Carolina where they chose to retire. She already knew his sister, but he told her about how Serenity struggled to finish college because she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life. When she realized that running her own restaurant was her calling, he thought she was bluffing, until he saw all the hard work and effort she put into running it.

  “Jeez. Now, I feel bad for writing that review.”

  “Don’t,” he said. “I told Serenity she couldn’t expect everyone to like her restaurant. Reviews suck. No, I take that back. Bad reviews suck, especially when the person is blatantly trying to attack someone instead of offering constructive criticism. There is a difference.”

  “I know we said we wouldn’t talk about this, but do you think I was trying to attack her with my review?”

  “No. You were mean with it though.” He grinned.

  “Mean? I’m not mean.”

  “Need I remind you of your paper mache reference?”

  She grinned. “I’m sorry. I, ah…I guess I could see if I can request a change to the review.”

  “You don’t have to. In fact, don’t.”

  “No. I don’t mind. If my boss gives me a hard time, I’ll just—”

  “Don’t,” he said, shushing her by placing an index finger over her lips.

  She swiped it away. “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t want you to.”

  “That’s not an acceptable answer.”

  “Just accept it.”

  “No. Since we met, it’s been your goal to get me to take that review down or amend it. Now that I’m giving you what you want, you don’t want me to go through with it. Tell me why, Preston.”

  “You’re right. Getting you to take that review down was my number one priority. In fact, that’s the only reason we met. But now that I know you, my goal has changed. My priority has changed.”

  “To what?”

  “To you, Tamera,” he said shifting his body on top of her.

  She licked her lips.

  “Do you have a problem with that?” he asked.

  “No,” she said softly.

  “Do you have a problem with me being on top of you, restricting you like this?”

  Shivers ran down her spine. “No.”

  “Good,” he said, lowering his mouth to taste a delicious pair of champagne lips, feeling the warmness of her hands touch his back. He gasped at the feeling, enjoyed it as much as he enjoyed kissing her. On the verge of losing control, he kissed a path to her neck, lingered there, taking in a long breath of her scent.

  “Preston,” she panted.

  “Yes?”

  “I thought you wanted to take things slow?”

  “I do,” he responded. He whipped his tongue in circling motions on her neck.

  “Then what are you doing?” she asked.

  “I’m tasting you,” he said before locking his mouth on her chin.

  She gasped.

  He stopped, connecting their gazes, then said, “I prom
ise this won’t go any further than what you feel comfortable with. I promise.”

  “Okay.” She believed him. He dipped his head and she closed her eyes again, feeling the heat from his tongue on her skin, causing her to drift wildly into her craving for him. He’d made her lose thoughts – sane thoughts. Voices that told her to put an end to the madness – to the all-out assailing on her body. Where was her willpower?

  It suddenly kicked in when she felt him easing down towards her chest. “Preston, wait.”

  “Do you trust me?” he asked.

  “Yes, but—”

  “No buts. Do you trust me, Tamera?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then may I remove your dress?”

  “My-my dress?”

  “Yes. You have on a swimsuit underneath it, do you not?”

  “I do,” she said. She’d worn a white two-piece bikini underneath the white dress since she knew they were coming to the beach tonight. She’d been too timid to remove her dress before they’d stepped in the water.

  “Then, may I?”

  “Yes,” she said, not believing she had. She gulped down a massive breath, feeling his hands maneuver to lower the straps of her dress, pulling the dress down her legs. His eyes immediately went to the flat planes of her stomach. She jerked when he kissed her there, over and over again. Lapped his tongue there. Then he crawled up to her lips, taking a mouthful of her flavor, only stopping so she could breathe.

  “I love how our bodies feel together.”

  “Me too,” she said.

  “If I tried to make love to you, would you stop me?”

  “Yes,” she answered quickly.

  “Why? Why would you stop me when you want me so badly?”

  “Because I want a husband just as badly,” she admitted. “My body is reserved for him.”

  For him…

  He didn’t like the sound of that. Her body was reserved for him. She just didn’t know it yet. “And what if I told you I wanted a wife just as badly?”

  “Then I’d say stop kissing me and go find her.”

  “I think I already have,” he said, dipping his head, capturing her lips again.

  Chapter 17

  Preston’s gaze remained locked on Tamera. They’d rode here together – to Tyson’s house. Tamera had introduced Preston to Gabrielle and now they were sitting at the dinner table, waiting for dinner to be served. Only thing was, Preston couldn’t take his eyes off of Tamera.

  His mind was occupied with their conversation on the way over. She’d wanted to know about the process he went through to start his magazine. She talked about her future goals of full-time writing and quitting the health department job at some point in her life. She told him she’d started working in the food industry because of her brother. Now, she wanted to follow a path of full-time writing.

  He flashed a small smile. He remembered how she held his right hand as he drove with the left. Remembered how she kissed him thoroughly before getting out of the car when they parked at Tyson’s house. Said she had to get it out of the way because Tyson would probably have a stroke if he saw the two of them kissing in front of him.

  Right now, staring at her across the table, Preston wanted nothing more. He’d let her in. It had been a long time since he’d let a woman in his heart, but she was in. She had it. Another smile touched his lips when she brightened her eyes at him, catching him staring.

  Gabrielle, holding baby Amryn, watched the exchange between the two.

  Tyson was busy in the kitchen, otherwise, he’d seen the deliberate stare of Preston as he ogled Tamera.

  “So, Preston, Tamera says you’re a writer,” Gabrielle said.

  “I am,” he answered without taking his eyes off of Tamera. “I’m actually the owner and founder of Charlotte Recreational. Don’t know if he told you, but I interviewed Tyson a few years ago.”

  “Hope you’re hungry,” Tyson said, bringing in a dish, interrupting.

  “What’d you make, Tyson?” Tamera asked.

  He grinned. “I figured I’d make braised chicken.”

  Preston smirked. “Nice.”

  “Yeah, man. Now you can see what it’s supposed to taste like,” Tyson teased.

  “You know I can’t compare a famous chef’s food to my sister’s restaurant,” Preston said.

  “Oh, yes you can. If she needs new cooks, she needs new cooks. People aren’t going to be making return trips to a restaurant if the food ain’t good. And repeat customers is the life of a restaurant.”

  Preston nodded.

  “Hey, Tamera, can you hold Amryn for a minute,” Gabrielle asked standing. “I need to get her food.”

  “Sure. Come on, Amryn, you pretty little thang.” She smiled. Her niece, Amryn, was a healthy baby with a head full of black hair. Eyes like Gabrielle. Appetite like Tyson.

  “I’ll be back,” Tyson said. “I need to grab the side dishes.”

  Now, Preston and Tamera were alone, well besides the baby.

  Tamera kissed Amryn on the cheek.

  “You’re good with her,” Preston said.

  “Thanks.”

  “You want one of those?”

  Tamera smiled. “A baby?”

  “Yes. Do you want children?”

  “Yes,” she answered definitely. “I want children.”

  “Seems like you’re talking yourself into it.”

  “I’m not. It’s just that for the longest time, my answer to that question had been no.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I couldn’t imagine having a baby with my ex, nor could I imagine being a single mother. It was easier to say I didn’t want children than to explain that I did want them, only I didn’t have anyone to make them with.”

  Didn’t have anyone to make them with? He had a cocktail brewing inside of him right now that could give her all the babies she wanted.

  “Hey, why were you staring at me a moment ago?” she asked him.

  “You mean besides the fact that your beauty has me under a spell?”

  “Stop it, Preston,” she said, and she couldn’t stop smiling.

  “It does. Couldn’t help but reminisce about us on the beach last night and how you fell asleep in my arms. I’ll never forget that…never forget how you let your guard down for me. Let me taste you. Too bad I can’t write about that, huh?”

  Her mouth fell open. “Preston…”

  “It is. I’d have a lot to tell. A lot of details, especially ones about how your body quivered beneath mine and how the whisper of my name off of your sweet lips sounded like a soft wrestling of water…”

  “Preston, stop it. If Tyson hears you—”

  “So what if he hears me?” he said. “You’re a grown woman and you’re feeling me. Don’t let your brother come between us, Tamera.”

  “Okay, okay,” she said in an attempt to stop him from talking that way. When she saw Tyson heading their way again with two bowls, she whispered, “And don’t stare at me so much.”

  A wicked smile touched his lips. “Impossible.”

  “Accompanying the chicken tonight, we’ll have mashed potatoes with garlic and kale,” Tyson said. “And bacon mac and cheese.”

  “Oh my gosh, Tyson. I told you not to go all-out for me.”

  “You know I got you, sis. It’s not every day you get to visit.”

  Gabrielle walked back into the room and said, “Thank you, Tamera,” taking Amryn from Tamera’s lap.

  “You’re welcome.” Tamera smiled, glanced up at Preston and instantly felt her breath catch in her throat when his gaze was locked and loaded on her again. She told him not to stare. He was defying her. On purpose.

  After everyone filled their plates, Tyson glanced up at Preston. He noticed how he could barely keep his eyes off of Tamera. Cutting right to the chase Tyson said, “Preston, I asked Tamera to invite you here tonight because I wanted to know if what you told me during our phone conversation a week ago still held true.”

  Tamera stopped chewing,
snapped her head back, then looked at Preston with a frown dominantly displayed in her forehead. “What phone conversation?”

  “Preston made it clear to me that he was interested in you and wanted to get to know you,” Tyson said. “He said he thought you were special.”

  “Yes,” Preston said. “It still holds true, now more than ever.”

  “You’ve been talking about me behind my back?” Tamera asked Preston.

  “I told you I knew your brother. I thought I’d give him a call. Please don’t be upset.”

  “I’m not upset. It’s more shocking than anything else. Why would you do that?”

  “Because I like you, Tamera.”

  Tamera glanced at Tyson, noticing the frown on his forehead.

  “The chicken is good, by the way,” Preston said, changing the subject.

  Tyson took a sip of wine, then said, “I respect your profession, Preston. As a fellow African-American entrepreneur, I admire your drive. What I don’t like is a man, any man, taking advantage of my sister.”

  “Tyson!” Tamera said.

  Preston frowned. Where was this coming from all of a sudden? He’d already had this conversation with Tyson. Before, he seemed okay with Preston getting acquainted with Tamera. Now, seemed he’d had a change of heart. “I’m not taking advantage of your sister, Tyson.”

  “Wait…time out,” Tamera said. “That’s not why I came here, Tyson. I thought you wanted to spend time with me. Can’t we just talk like normal people here? Jeez. All I want is to have dinner with my family before I head home tomorrow.”

  Silence permeated the room. After a few moments, Tamera resumed eating. She glanced up and noticed Preston wasn’t eating. He was irritated. Tyson wasn’t eating either.

  “Hey, Tamera, how did you enjoy the festival?” Gabrielle asked in an attempt to lessen the tension in the room.

  The festival…

  She’d only enjoyed it because she was with Preston. She enjoyed every moment of sharing, sampling and giving her opinion on all the foods they shared. She enjoyed holding his hand while they talked. It was a good day.