Forever Love (Arabesque) (13 page)

“Does that feel good?” he whispered. She couldn’t respond. Her mind was somewhere beyond cloud nine. “Do you want me to touch you?” She nodded. With one hand still caressing her breasts, the other dipped between her legs and circled the elastic lace of her waistband. Her legs trembled as she pushed back, grinding against the increasing hardness behind her.

He reached down, cupping her throbbing core. She writhed as he played, tantalized and toyed with her swollen ache. She was wet and ready for him as his finger teasingly danced closer and closer. He slipped beneath the lace. Then one finger dipped and pushed inside, and she squealed. His second finger followed as his thumb stroked her nub over and over again. She squirmed and closed her eyes as the room began spinning dizzily. She moaned and groaned and whimpered and then finally she couldn’t hold out any longer. She climaxed in a mind-blowing implosion. Her whole body shook and pulsated, convulsing between shock waves of orgasmic rapture.

Then in an instant she grabbed his hand and stepped away. She turned to him. Heaven help her, his hands were masterful, but she wanted the real thing. She pulled his shirt away and unzipped his pants, letting them drop to the floor.

His penis protruded through his boxer briefs. She touched him, grasping, then stroking his long, rock-hard shaft. She watched as he raked his lower lip with his white teeth. She had the power now. She leaned in and licked his hard nipple. His body shuddered and jerked. She did it again. This time he nearly convulsed. She liked this new power. She pulled his boxers down, freeing him completely. “Oh my,” she whispered teasingly. “Now, what am I gonna do with you?”

“I have a suggestion,” he rasped. His voice was thick and husky with desire. He pulled her close again. She grabbed a condom from the desk, opened it and placed it on his tip. Together they rolled and covered him. Now their bodies touched with her lace panties being the only barrier between them. His big strong hands grabbed the scant material and pulled them free. Then he cupped her rear and lifted her up onto his lap as he sat on his desk. She straddled him and then in one slow deliberate motion she eased down onto his hardness.

The tightness gave way to him within seconds. She burned, she tingled as she lowered herself even more, eventually taking all of him. Her body tightened to hold him in place. She arched her back, feeling completely filled. His mouth came to her breasts and his tongue licked and lavished her nipples as if they were dripping ice-cream cones. Her trembling hand held tight to his strong shoulders as she began gyrating her hips, moving up and down. He entered and exited in long sensual rhythmic strokes. She rode and he pumped until spasms of ecstasy took them over the top in a surge of passion. He poured into her and she held tight. But he was still hard. He picked her up. She wrapped her legs tightly with him still inside. He quickly moved back to the sofa and laid her down beneath him as he pressed deeper into her. Her nails bit into his shoulders. Her heart pounded as the surges came deeper, faster, harder and stronger until they both exploded again.

He rolled over, switching places with her. She now lay on top of him. Without protest she closed her eyes, waiting for the world to be reborn. There was no way it hadn’t ended after that. She was completely drained. She had climaxed so many times she lost count. No man had ever done that to her. “That was...” she whispered eventually.

“Yes, I totally agree,” he answered while stroking her back.

Both slipped into silence as their breathing synced as one and they fell asleep. She had no idea how long they slept. She awoke and reached for the bottled water. “I’ll get that for you,” Keith said.

“Thanks, did I wake you?”

“No, not really. Do you want another bottle of water?”

“No, this is fine.” She got up and stepped away. Being naked didn’t often bother her. But now wasn’t one of those times.

He sat up. “Damn, woman, you take my breath away. Every inch of your body is mouthwatering. I swear I’m starving now.”

She looked over her shoulder. “You think so, huh?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely.”

“Do you have a private bathroom in here?”

“Yes.” He pointed to one of the closed doors she’d noticed earlier.

She nodded. “I’ll be right back.” Moments later she returned. Keith was gone. She looked around and saw that his office door was now open. “Keith,” she called out.

“Yeah,” he said, coming back in and closing the door behind him. He had a bowl of fruit. “I thought you might be hungry.”

“I am,” she said with a glint in her eye. “Later.”

He caught the look she gave him and instantly knew exactly what it meant. He placed the bowl of fruit on the disheveled desk and grabbed the second condom. She smiled teasingly. “Something different this time, I think.”

He nodded slyly. “Oh, yeah, I got this.” He grabbed a handful of cherries, marched over to her and picked her up. He placed her on the conference table, then sat down in a chair in front of her. She giggled, humored by his bold outrageous actions. He squeezed the cherries in his fist, and the sweet succulent juice ran down the front of her body. She squealed, seeing her body covered in red sweetness. He tossed the pits in the trash can, then moved his chair close. An instant later his mouth was all over her.

She lay back on top of the table and he fed like a condemned man. Her mouth, her neck, her shoulders, her beasts, her stomach and then he parted her legs. She gasped, arching up. He placed her legs on his shoulders and his hands on her breasts and ate until she was sated. Her body was weak and numb and her mind was beyond scattered.

Much later, dawn peeked in through the custom-fitted blinds. Gia took a deep breath, then released it as her body adjusted to the comfortable position. Then she realized she had fallen asleep and she was lying on top of a very naked man. And not just any naked man—Keith Washington. She opened her eyes and she felt his hand drift down to stroke her back and cup the sweet firmness of her rear. “Oh, no,” she whispered.

Keith was obviously awake and had heard her. “Good morning,” he said softly, barely above a whisper.

Gia closed her eyes tightly. “Please tell me this is just another dream.”

“About me, how many have you had?”

“Never mind,” she muttered.

“Okay, then it’s a dream,” he lied, “so lie back and relax.”

She groaned. “How am I supposed to relax when I’m lying on top of the last man in the world I’m supposed to be with?”

“It could be worse,” he said.

“How could this be any worse?” she asked, seeing the two condom wrappers on the pushed-aside coffee table and their clothes tossed on the chair.

“Well, you could be with the man Mamma Lou planned for you.”

She sat up quickly and looked down at him. “What man?”

“My great-aunt likes to play matchmaker.”

Gia closed her eyes and laid her bead back down on his chest. “I know about her infamous matchmaking skills. I hate to disappoint her, but I’m not interested in a long-term relationship of any kind.”

“I agree, neither am I,” Keith said.

“Good, then this was just a physical release.”

“Exactly, a physical release,” he repeated.

“You know no one can know about this, right?”

“Yes, of course. It would be very difficult to explain.”

“Exactly, and since this only happened this one time...”

“Actually, it was a lot more than just one time.”

“Well, technically yes, but we were together for just one night.” He nodded. “I just don’t think a lot of people will believe that we can still be professional, but we can.”

“Yes, we can.”

“So next week, with the meeting...”

“We will be completely professional. Our physical release will be set aside—business first.”

She nodded. “It’s almost daybreak. I’d better go.”

“Unless of course you’re up for another physical release.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” she said, looking down at him.

“Yeah.” Keith nodded. “I think so, too.”

“But what if someone comes in here?” she said.

“They won’t.”

“You have a cleaning service. It’s possible.”

“Yes, but it’s Saturday at six-thirty in the morning. No one’s in my office at that time except me.”

“And me,” she said, smiling.

“Oh, yeah, definitely you,” he agreed, pulling her closer.

Gia delved into Keith’s kiss with all the fervent passion inside her. Her body was ready because she knew this was definitely going to be the last time this happened. After this physical release, there was only one thing to do. Stay as far away from Keith Washington as possible, but for right now she’d enjoy him.

Chapter 13

K
eith:
Miss me already, don’t you?

Keith:
Silence?

Keith:
It’s like that, huh?

Keith:
Not tempted? Not even a little?

“No,” Gia said adamantly to herself as soon as she looked at the caller ID number. It was Keith texting her again. She was tempted and he knew it. He also knew what she was doing. This was his fourth text message and she still refused to respond. She needed to end what she had started. One night, that’s all, she promised herself. She had had her physical release and now it was time to move on. She couldn’t chance being with him again no matter how much she wanted to. That’s what they had promised. She had to be professional.

Saturday morning and afternoon Gia did everything she could think of to keep busy all day long. She visited her grandmother for breakfast, she did laundry, ran errands, went grocery shopping, cleaned her house and then hand-washed her car. The more mundane the chore, the better. She knew as soon as she stopped motion, she would think about Keith. But not only did she have memories of him to contend with, she also had Mamma Lou to deal with. She did not have time for her matchmaking drama. And whoever she had in mind for her would be most sadly disappointed.

So when her cell phone rang at three o’clock and she saw it was her friend Val she was overjoyed. “Hey, Val, what’s up?”

“Hey, girl, I just called to check on you,” Val said. “The last time we talked, life was getting complicated. How’s that going?”

Gia half chuckled. “Girl, you don’t even want to know.”

“Oh, Lord, sounds like complicated got crazy complicated,” Val said with a laugh. “What happened?”

“You’re right. It got crazy complicated and then some. After I spoke to you I went back to the office. Everything was cool and then my dad showed up out of the blue. He just stopped by like it was no big deal.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. For real, how long has it been since you’ve spoken?” Val asked.

“It’s been almost six years. But wait, there’s more. I ran into my grandfather at the mayor’s Initiative Conference.”

“Okay, that’s just crazy,” Val said.

“Yeah, but that’s not the craziest, complicated part. I decided to call Keith and tell him that whatever was going on between us had to stop. I went over to his office late last night and I wound up spending the night with him and then...”

“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Wait a minute, back up. You just can’t breeze through something like that and not give me details. You and Keith Washington spent the night together in his office?”

“Yes,” Gia said softly.

Val laughed happily. “Good for you, it’s about time.”

“Girl, the man was amazing, but now it just seems so impulsive. I’m sure he does that all the time, but I—”

“Actually, I’d bet my entire 40lK you’re wrong. I told you, Keith is a good guy. He’s not about all that player stuff. Yeah, he’s had his share of women, but it’s not like that with him. He doesn’t play games and I’ve known him a long time.”

Gia thought about what Val said for a brief moment. Everything about Keith seemed to prove true. He had never lied to her and he wasn’t trying to take advantage of her.

“Listen, right now I need to get out of here and do something to keep my mind off this. So I have a great idea. Let’s go out tonight and do an early dinner and catch a movie.”

“Yeah, we’re definitely going out tonight, but we’re not doing dinner and a movie. We have tickets for the ball.”

“Tickets for what ball?” Gia asked.

“I reminded you last week and then again on Thursday, so please don’t tell me you forgot about the Knights Children’s Benefit Ball at the Grand Hotel tonight.”

“Oh crap, I forgot,” Gia groaned.

“No excuses, you’re coming with me,” Val said firmly. “It’s the team’s bye week, so they’re not playing on Sunday. That means we’ll be partying all night with every football player on the team. And here’s the best part. We have the inside track because of Prudence. And you know you need this. We both do.”

Gia rolled her eyes. The last thing she felt like doing was going to a big crowded party with a bunch of football players. “Val...”

“Don’t even say it. As many political events as I’ve attended with you, you, missy, are going to this with me. It’s black-tie.”

“I don’t have anything to wear.”

“Now I know you’re lying. You have more clothes than Prudence, and she’s a department store fashion buyer.”

“Okay, okay, I give up.”

“Gia, it’s not a firing squad. It’ll be fun. You said you wanted to get your mind off of your crazy drama. This is the perfect distraction—big, strong, gorgeous men. Believe me, this is gonna be the party of the decade. I’ll see you at seven.”

“Okay, seven o’clock. See you then.”

Gia closed her cell phone and went into her bedroom. Hanging out late tonight wasn’t exactly what she had planned, but she did promise Val weeks ago that she’d go with her. She sat down on her bed and turned her television on to the weather channel. Midway through the evening’s forecast her cell phone beeped again. She picked it up and saw that it was another text message.

Keith:
Tonight?

Gia smiled slyly, enjoying the private one-sided conversation. She bit at her lower lip, tempted by his single word. She exhaled the breath she’d been holding and shook her head. One typed word. Apparently that was all it took for her to abandon a promise to her friend and consider spending another night in his arms. Granted, if tonight was anything like the night before, she’d be dancing on cloud nine five minutes after seeing him.

Tempted or not, of course she wouldn’t do it. Still, everything about him was so right it scared her. He was amazing. She lay back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She instantly began thinking about his touch and how he’d made her body feel. But that was the past. It wouldn’t happen again no matter how much she wanted it to.

* * *

Keith glanced up in the rearview mirror as he drove up to valet parking. This wasn’t what he had expected to do tonight, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He had given his word to his sister and brother-in-law and he wasn’t about to break it. He turned his music off and got out just as the valet parking attendant approached, handing him a ticket stub. He placed it in his jacket pocket and proceeded inside as cell phones and professional cameras flashed in his face.

Keith followed the hotel’s signage pointing the way to the Philadelphia Knights Children’s Benefit Ball. The event started at eight-thirty and it was already getting crowded. He spoke to a few people and then continued to the ballroom’s entrance. An explosion of black and silver balloons arched across the double doors. He handed over his invitation and received a silver band around his wrist.

“Hey, Grumpy, thank you for coming to support the kids.”

Keith turned to see his sister, Prudence, walking up to greet him. He was still having a hard time getting used to seeing her rounded belly protruding out so far. But at six months pregnant, she still looked great. “Hey, Pru, everything looks amazing.”

“Oh, stop lying. I know this place looks like a million other events at a million other hotels, but trust me, tonight is going to be very special. Are Drew and Jeremy here yet?”

Keith looked around. “I haven’t seen them yet. But with all the women out front and in here, I’m sure they’re on their way.”

Prudence hooked her arm in his and walked back toward the ballroom’s entrance. “I’m glad you came a little early. I wanted to talk to you about Dad. The news is getting a little rough. He’s getting attacked all the time. He says he’s fine, but I don’t know. Maybe it’s my hormones and I’m losing it, but I’m worried. Is he okay, I mean with the reelection? Is he gonna win again?”

“He’s fine, Pru, and he will be reelected. Trust me. I’m doing everything I can to make that happen, but honestly the bottom line is he’s the best man for the job.”

Prudence smiled with relief. “You don’t have to sell me. He’s got my vote and quite a few others,” she promised.

“Good. Now how are you feeling?”

Prudence rubbed her belly and smiled. “I feel fantastic. I’ve never been happier in my life, except Mother is driving me crazy.”

“First grandchild,” Keith said.

“I get the whole first grandchild thing, but she’s driving me nuts. Why don’t you get engaged and married? That’ll distract her for my last few months and I can get a little peace.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll make sure to do that,” Keith said, looking around as people began entering the ballroom. The event had officially begun. “Looks like it’s started. Shouldn’t you be playing hostess or something?”

“Yeah, but right now I want to hear more.”

“More about what?” he asked.

“Does that comment mean you’re seeing anyone special and the possibility of marriage is on the table?” she asked. Keith just smiled. He seldom talked about his personal life, and that always drove Prudence crazy. She already knew he wasn’t going to answer her. “That’s okay. You don’t have to answer. I already heard about your drive to Thirtieth Street Station.”

Keith looked at her quickly. “What did you hear?”

Prudence chuckled, always enjoying teasing her older brother. “By the way, Mamma Lou’s here and you know what that means. As a matter of fact, I believe she’s got a nice surprise for you.”

“What surprise?” Keith asked with concern. Prudence smiled and walked away. “Pru. Pru. Prudence, what surprise?” he repeated.

Prudence chuckled while waving and heading to the front table. “You’ll see. Have a good time. See you later, big brother.”

Keith stood a moment and just shook his head.
Mamma Lou—that’s all he needed right now. An instant later he looked around as if he’d just been targeted. He knew she was coming tonight, but she’d said that she was focused on someone else, on Gia. His body suddenly tensed. The thought of Mamma Lou matching Gia with another man made the muscles in his neck tighten.

He walked over to one of the bars and ordered a drink. He stuffed a generous tip in the glass jar, then leaned back and looked around aimlessly. He was losing his focus. It bothered him that Mamma Lou was playing matchmaker with Gia, he could admit that, but why it bothered him, was another thing altogether.

Gia.
The effect she was having on him was starting to concern him. He thought about her way too much. And every time he saw her, the feelings he had got stronger and stronger. For the last few days she was all he thought about. She was always there in the back of his mind and he knew exactly what that meant. No, he quickly denied it. This wasn’t happening to him. With his father’s campaign and his busy law practice, he didn’t have time for love. It was just a sex thing. But the truth was, he’d been thinking about her way before their night together.

He saw his mother and father walk in and instantly thought about their love story. His father always said that he fell in love in an instant. One glance across a crowded courtroom was all it took. Keith smiled, remembering the first time he saw Gia. She took his breath away. And now his great-aunt was going to match her with someone else. It was just a physical release, he told himself again. But it didn’t matter, in his heart he knew better. He pulled out his cell phone and texted one word.

He watched as his parents walked over to a table. He saw Mamma Lou talking with Prudence, Val and... He shook his head, only half-believing his eyes. Gia was here. His eyes locked on her instantly. The sight of her dressed in royal blue scorched a heated path straight down his body. Her hair was swept up, held by a studded clip. She smiled graciously and laughed with ease. She was mesmerizing and his fingers itched to touch her again.

Just then, Rick Renault walked up to the small gathering. He shook hands with his father, then hugged his great-aunt, his mother, his sister, Val and with Gia he lingered too long.

Rick had a serious reputation for breaking hearts. His romantic prowess with women was legendary. Like his brother-in-law, he was a quarterback with the Knights football team, and women of all races, ages and economical backgrounds usually fell head over heels in love with him instantly. The problem was, Rick was a serious player.

Keith watched their interaction closely. Rick said something. Everyone laughed, Gia smiled and Rick looked right at her. Keith knew exactly what he was thinking. That was enough. He slammed his drink down on the bar, nearly tipping it over, and then he headed right to them. The arrowlike determination on his face was unwavering. He pulled out his cell phone and sent one last text message.

* * *

“Whoa, look at this crowd. Are we late?” Gia asked.

“No, we’re right on time. I guess all these people came early. O-M-G, look at this place,” Val said excitedly. She excused herself repeatedly as they moved around the massive crowd of guests looking for Prudence.

“I know. It’s like the crowd is growing every minute. This is insane, all this just to see football players. It’s crazy.”

“Not just football players, the Philadelphia Knights. They’re the champions. Okay, there she is by the entrance to the ballroom,” Val said. “Come on, let’s go, this way.”

Gia followed as Val eased around the side and came to the table in front of the main ballroom. She called out and waved. A very pregnant woman turned, smiled and motioned her over. They hugged. “Hey, you’re here. Thank you so much for coming.”

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t have missed this craziness for the world. Look at all these people. I had no idea it was going to be this crowded. Here are our invitations. You remember my friend Gia Duncan.”

Prudence nodded and smiled. “Sure, yes, of course. Hi, Gia. Val told me you were coming with her tonight. Thank you so much.” They hugged also. “You are gonna have a great time tonight. There are so many great guys here.”

“Thank you for inviting me,” Gia said louder because of the noise around them. “It looks like it’s gonna be an awesome event.”

“I hope so. It’s to raise money for the Knights Children’s summer camps. Come on, let’s go inside. Believe it or not, since the band started playing it’s a lot quieter in there.” Prudence walked over and handed the two invitations to the woman standing at the door and received two silver wristbands. Val and Gia put them on, and then followed Prudence into the ballroom. Inside wasn’t nearly as packed.