Read Her Little Black Book Online
Authors: Brenda Jackson
Her Little Black Book (18 page)
“Are you saying you don't believe me?”
Joe suddenly decided he wanted to be any place other than here. “Look, I'm going out.”
“Where?”
“Out.” And he kept walking, even though she was engaging in one hell of a hissy fit behind him.
Courtney stared at her laptop, trying to think, but it was difficult given that Lake was on his way over. He had called earlier to verify that she still wouldn't mind him dropping by, and she'd told him she was fine with it. Bottom line, she had missed him today and wanted to see him. She sighed, knowing such a thing made her seem like a needy child. But that wasn't it. There was nothing about her need for Lake Masters that was childlike. She was definitely feeling the emotionsâsexual and otherwiseâof a grown woman.
She stood and glanced down at herself. The moment he had called, she showered and changed into a sundress. She figured the outfit she had on earlier hadn't been sexy enough, and whenever Lake saw her, she wanted him to think sexy. What Sonya had said earlier that day was
true. He was a prime catch, and for some reason he was convincedâas Sonya also statedâthat she was the one.
true. He was a prime catch, and for some reason he was convincedâas Sonya also statedâthat she was the one.
She nibbled nervously on her bottom lip when she heard the sound of his truck outside. Was she really the one, or did he just think so for the time being? She truly wished these insecurities would go away. But then, what did she expect when constantly dating men who were losers? And when she finally met one who was everything in a man she'd ever dreamed about, it was hard to accept. She knew it simply wasn't rational to feel the way she did. Where most women would count such a man coming into their lives as a blessing and move on with it, she couldn't. She had to get over this ingrained fear that all men were like her father and her uncle Joe. Doing so was hard because those were the men she'd been around the most while growing up, and both had greatly disappointed her.
Her pulse jumped at the sound of the doorbell, and she took a deep breath to calm her jittery nerves. What do you say to a man whom you had spent a night making love with nonstop? How did you react? Was she supposed to invite him to stay again or chalk it up as a one-time deal? Dang, where was Sonya when she needed her? Knowing Sonya, she was probably somewhere making out with Mike.
“Who is it?” she asked when she reached the door.
“Lake.”
Taking one last huge gulp of breath, she slowly opened the door. When she saw him, she opened her mouth to say something and then said nothing. No words seemed capable of forming in her mouth. The light from the streetlamp
outlined his features. They were features she'd seen before, up-close and personal, but there was something about him standing there on her doorstep, looking as sexy-as-he-wanna-be that started her blood stirring in a way that couldn't be normal. The raw physical force of him was impacting her senses. The one word that seemed to readily come to mind whenever she saw him was
sexy.
outlined his features. They were features she'd seen before, up-close and personal, but there was something about him standing there on her doorstep, looking as sexy-as-he-wanna-be that started her blood stirring in a way that couldn't be normal. The raw physical force of him was impacting her senses. The one word that seemed to readily come to mind whenever she saw him was
sexy.
Since it seemed she couldn't say anything, he did. “Hello, Courtney.”
The deep voice stirred sensations within her some more, and then there was the way he was looking at her, like he could eat her alive. Hell, when she thought of all the oral sex he'd introduced her to last night, he'd almost done that very thing.
Knowing he couldn't stand outside on her doorstep forever while she pulled herself together, she forced herself to respond to his greeting. “Hello, Lake. Won't you come in?”
What she wanted to ask was,
Won't you come in and make love to me again witch the same intensity that you did last night? Who cares if I probably won't be able to walk in the morning and will have to take another day off work?
Won't you come in and make love to me again witch the same intensity that you did last night? Who cares if I probably won't be able to walk in the morning and will have to take another day off work?
But she didn't ask. She merely took a couple of steps back when he came in taking a couple steps forward, which put them standing directly in front of each other, face to face, body to body, heat to heat.
Trying to ignore the breathless fluttering taking place inside her stomach, she studied his features, mainly his lips. They were perfectly shaped and extraordinary skilled.
“You're still working,” he said in a throaty voice when he glanced across the room and saw her laptop on the sofa.
“Yes, but I'm almost finished. Would you like anything while you wait?” It was only after she said the words that it occurred to her that she didn't particularly like the way they sounded. What was he supposed to be waiting on? It was as if he was only there for one thing. Was he?
“No, I'm fine. Besides, I brought my own work with me,” he said, pulling a BlackBerry out of his pocket. “No rush.”
“All right, make yourself at home, and if you change your mind and do decide you want something, my refrigerator is stocked and I also have beer, wine, sodas, waterâ”
“I'm fine, honestly.”
He didn't have to convince her of that. All she had to do was look at his body, remember that same body on top of her, inside her, sleeping beside her â¦
“Okay.” She then made a move to take a step back, but he caught her wrist. She glanced up at him and he smiled. That smile sent a quiver rushing through her.
“At least I'll be fine once I do this,” he said in a husky voice.
And then he was pulling her closer to his hard, masculine chest to kiss her in a way she was convinced that only he knew how to do. Tongues mated, dueled, tangled. Slowâmethodically slow. Deepâunerringly deep. Thoroughâimploringly so. And as absolute as you could get. She experienced it all. Then there was his taste that she was getting used to. A taste she was beginning to crave.
He pulled back and sucked in a deep breath. She did
the same. She watched as he licked his lips as if he hadn't gotten enough of her mouth. And then he said, “I think you need to get back to work. Just pretend I'm not here.”
the same. She watched as he licked his lips as if he hadn't gotten enough of her mouth. And then he said, “I think you need to get back to work. Just pretend I'm not here.”
Fat chance!
That wasn't possible when his very presence at any given time demanded attention. “I'll try,” she said, smiling up at him before turning and walking on wobbly knees across the room back to the sofa to her laptop.
That wasn't possible when his very presence at any given time demanded attention. “I'll try,” she said, smiling up at him before turning and walking on wobbly knees across the room back to the sofa to her laptop.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him move toward the breakfast bar that separated the kitchen from her dining room. She tried not to watch as he eased onto a barstool how his firm thighs in a pair of jeans literally stretched the leather cushion.
She breathed in deeply, struggled to cope, fought to resist temptation as she turned her attention back to her laptop. The first three months after a new drug hit the market were crucial, and she needed to know everything there was about it to educate her doctors. With that thought in mind, she tried concentrating on the information on the computer screen.
Unfortunately, she found the task wasn't easy.
Lake clicked off his BlackBerry. It always amazed him how much business he could take care of on the wireless instrument. He had discovered it had the ability to maximize his time and maintained relationships that were vital to his business.
He then thought of somethingâmore specifically, someoneâthat he considered vital to his piece of mind.
That flash of insight made him look across the room at Courtney. She was busy studying whatever was on her laptop screen and had been doing so for the past hour. As he'd told her when he had arrived, he didn't want to take her away from her work. He would just wait.
That flash of insight made him look across the room at Courtney. She was busy studying whatever was on her laptop screen and had been doing so for the past hour. As he'd told her when he had arrived, he didn't want to take her away from her work. He would just wait.
Even if the wait was killing him.
Suddenly he felt guilty when he thought of how much lovemaking they had done the night before. He could just imagine how her body must have felt this morning. The soreness had to have been almost unbearable. In a way, he'd known it would be, which was the reason he had suggested she take the day off work. He, of all people, was aware of the intensity of his lovemaking and had figured with her it would be doubly so. She was his, and he had wanted to stamp his brand all over her. And he had. He doubted there was a spot on Courtney Andrews's body that he hadn't touched or tasted. The memory made him hard, and he shifted in his seat. The sound caught her attention, and she glanced over at him. And stared.
Something in the air surrounding them changed. There was this crackle of sexual awareness, a charge of heated desire that encased them. She tilted her head, as if trying to make sense of it, and it was on the tip of his tongue to tell her not to waste her time. Nothing made sense other than the fact they wanted each other. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing more certain than that.
He knew that even after last night she was still having a hard time accepting it, was putting roadblocks in the way, figured things were moving too fast for her. He
understood. He even sympathized with her to a degree. But he refused to let up. Courtney wouldn't know what hit her until it was too late. He was a man with a plan, and his plan was to marry her before the end of the year.
understood. He even sympathized with her to a degree. But he refused to let up. Courtney wouldn't know what hit her until it was too late. He was a man with a plan, and his plan was to marry her before the end of the year.
As they continued to watch each other, she slowly closed her laptop and placed it aside. Then she eased off the sofa and stretched, and he felt a deep, intense stirring in his body. The woman had luscious curves, nice breasts, and legs that could wrap around him and hold him tight inside her body.
He forced down the urge to cross the room and take her then and there. The guilt set back in, and he knew he couldn't make her any more sore than she already was. Her body needed a night of reprieve. So what he intended to do was kiss the soreness away. He practically licked his lips at the very thought.
He blinked when he saw her move, and then she was crossing the room to him. He met her halfway. They stopped right in front of each other, and she leaned into him, twined her arms around his neck, stretched up against him, and then whispered against his lips, “Sorry to have kept you waiting.”
And then she was giving him a kiss, taking her tongue and tracing the lines of his lips. On his sharp intake of breath, she eased her tongue inside his mouth, caught hold of his, and began sucking on it in such a decadent manner, it nearly brought him to his knees. But he fought to be in charge, and when he couldn't take any more, he took control of the kiss. And the night. Tonight belonged to her. His pleasure would come in pleasuring her.
Besides, last night she had given him enough enjoyment and satisfaction to last a lifetime.
Besides, last night she had given him enough enjoyment and satisfaction to last a lifetime.
He pulled back slightly from her mouth and whispered against moist lips. “You're still sore?”
The look in her eyes told him she wasn't comfortable discussing such a personal thing to him. But he figured that soon enough she would discover they had no secrets and could talk about anything. Intimate or otherwise. When she didn't immediately respond, he asked her again, “Are you still sore?”
Seeing he wouldn't let up until he got an answer, she said, “A little.” She then arched her body against him, as if trying to take his mind off the physical state of her body. “No big deal.”
That's where she was wrong. To him it was a big deal. “I'm going to take the soreness away, sweetheart,” he bent his head to whisper in her ear.
She leaned back and looked at him. “How?”
“By kissing it away.”
Her eyes widened slightly when it became apparent just what he meant. “You're ⦔
She couldn't complete what she was about to say, apparently not sure she could say it. He decided to finish it for her. “I am going to ⦔ And he leaned even closer to her and whispered in a low voice, but clear enough to be heard, “Yes, I am going to make love to you with my mouth, Courtney.”
Courtney stared at Lake. Not knowing just what to say. He had made love to her with his mouth last night, while
alternating with his manhood for deep penetration. So did that mean he wouldn't be going inside her, at least not with his aroused body part? And it was arousedâshe could feel the hardness pressed against her.
alternating with his manhood for deep penetration. So did that mean he wouldn't be going inside her, at least not with his aroused body part? And it was arousedâshe could feel the hardness pressed against her.
He evidently suspected her concern and said, “You don't need that tonight.”
A frown touched the corners of her lips. Who was he to say what she needed?
It was obvious that he detected her rebellion. He asked, “Do you want to have to take another day off work?”
Her frown deepened. “No. Are you trying to tell me that each and every time, after a night of lovemaking with you, that I won't be able to go to work the next day?”
“Possibly. Depending how intense it is, and right now I can't see it being anything other than that. I want you with a passion, but I plan to control it tonight because I know your body doesn't need it again so soon.”
She glared at him. “And what if I don't agree.”
“Doesn't matter.”
She didn't like the sound of that. But she refused to stand there and argue with him. She would let him think he was in complete control, but before the night was over, she would show him that she had a problem when it came to being stubborn. It was a flaw he would have to get used to if he decided to stick around.
She took a step closer to him, felt his hardness, and knew before the night was over she would have it. “I'm not going to argue with you, Lake.”
“Then don't. Let's do this instead.”
And then he was kissing her with an intensity that
robbed her every thought. She felt his hands all over her as he tried relieving her of her sundress. He broke the kiss momentarily to ease the garment over her head, leaving her clad in nothing but her panties, since she hadn't been wearing a bra. She saw where his gaze immediately went, saw the way he licked his lips, and decided she should remind him again. “You know what's going to happen if you go there.”
robbed her every thought. She felt his hands all over her as he tried relieving her of her sundress. He broke the kiss momentarily to ease the garment over her head, leaving her clad in nothing but her panties, since she hadn't been wearing a bra. She saw where his gaze immediately went, saw the way he licked his lips, and decided she should remind him again. “You know what's going to happen if you go there.”
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