Secret Delights (Lingerie Series) (7 page)

He kissed the side of my neck and
ran his hands up from my hands to my shoulders. “Do you ever feel as if a part
of you is missing, not knowing?”

Shifting so that I could look at
him, I allowed a small smile on my lips. “Never. My family loved me and I
wouldn’t change having lived with them for anything. The only thing that hurts
is that Jason will never get to know them besides the three years he had with
them. Those memories will fade for him.”

Tracing the curve of my chin, he
said, “There’s plenty of time for you to make new memories with him. He’s a
strong little boy, he will be all right.”

“He will, won’t he?”

“Yes.” He spoke with determined
conviction.

I laid my head on his shoulder and
didn’t know which brought my soul more restoring comfort, the warm water or the
arms of the man I was with.

An hour later, after refilling the
tub another time, I knew that it was the man that soothed me when we were in my
bed making love. The second time was slow and gentle, as he whispered things
about my beauty, wit, smile and my heart. With the lights in my room shining
bright, he kissed me all over and licked designs over the marks of my stomach
then worship me again with his mouth.

I’d never felt more cherished and
desired by the time my eyes closed to sleep.

~YH~

“Tell me I don’t have to leave.”
Sloane cupped my face and gazed into my eyes as we stood outside.

I’d awaken to breakfast in bed and
more caresses. Since we had run out of condoms he’d thought of more creative
ways to pleasure me. I would never be able to look at my navy blue vibrator
without blushing and remembering the heights Sloane had taken me to.

“You don’t have to leave.” I loved
how the sunlight shined in his sea green eyes.

The birds were still singing even
though it was almost noon. I thought about how much I loved spring, really a
romantic season. I could smell my apple blossom shower gel on him from the
playful shower we had just shared twenty minutes ago.

He kissed my nose and sighed. “Damn,
I wish that were true. But, your son will be home in a couple of hours and I
have some things to take care of with my dad today.”

Sloane was the oldest of four
children. He and his siblings were close and supportive and he enjoyed being
with his parents when he had the time. Being raised in a close family I liked
that about him. Michael had been distant from his parents and he was an only
child. His parents had not come to our wedding and never met Jason until
Michael’s funeral.

“I’ll call tonight. And hopefully
see you and Jason at—”

“Mr. Cale!”

The loud, high pitched voice
startled me.

Concern etched Sloane’s features at
my reaction. He turned and looked in the direction of the person appearing as
if he were ready to give them a piece of his mind for scaring me.

There stood Dr. Winthrop, the
principal of Queen City Angels Elementary School on the strip of sidewalk that
led to my neighbor’s house. If I recognized her, I knew she recognized me as
Jason Strayer’s mother. We’d had numerous meetings with his old teacher, the
counselor and Dr. Winthrop in reference to Jason’s emotional state and school
performance. I pulled my robe tighter over my chest. Beneath it I was bare, but
I felt chilled now as if someone had snatched the robe off me and revealed my
nakedness to the world.

Sloane’s body tensed. His hand was
still on my waist “Dr. Winthrop.”

The gray-haired, short black woman
with a nose to angular for her shade, shoved her glasses up the bridge of her
nose and peered through her spectacles at us as she held a box in her hand.
There was no doubt she had seen Sloane and me hugging and caressing each other
on my front porch.

“I came to help my niece with things
today and I discover...” Dr. Winthrop’s sharp, hard gaze roamed over my attire
again, “…
this
. Don’t try and deny what it is either.”

Her niece’s house? What were the
chances?
I
swallowed down a groan and I tried to step back.

His back straightened and Sloane
appeared imposing as a bear ready to defend his den but he kept his hand on me,
not allowing me to move far. “I wouldn’t dream of denying what you see here.”

His confident words warmed my heart,
but I was still in fear of the woman’s stern reaction.

“I’m sure you’re aware of the rules,
Mr. Cale.” Dr. Winthrop lifted her chin higher and squinted at Sloane. “I
expect to see you in my office first thing Monday morning. You may want to
bring an empty box. Good day.” Turning, she strutted up the path to the
townhouse next door.

I could only imagine what the
principal’s niece would say about the noise that came from my house last night,
especially when I let Sloane fuck me deep and hard on my living room floor. A
warm shiver coursed through my body. I dropped my head in my hands. A moment of
weakness had brought us to this moment and now Sloane was possibly going to
lose his job.

“Gabrielle.” He touched my
shoulders.

I stepped back, shaking my head. Dr.
Winthrop was no longer around but this had to end. “You need to go, Sloane.
I’ve already caused you enough problems.”

“Do you think I care about a job
more than yo—”

“Shhh…” I placed my palm over his
mouth. Dropping my hand, I moved back until I was standing on the cold metal
threshold. “Not right now. Look, I need to get ready for Jason and you… We just
can’t do this now.”

Now he looked pissed, but he allowed
me the physical space I needed. “If that’s what you want.”

I licked my lips, puffy and swollen
from this man’s ardent kisses and our hours of passionate activities. “It is.”

He nodded. “I’ll leave, but know
this isn’t over.” Lifting a hand as if he were going to touch me, he lowered it
again to his side and balled it in a fist then turned and walked away.

I couldn’t watch him leave. Moving
into my house, I closed the door. Pressing my back against it, I struggled to
breathe. The sound of Sloane’s car door slamming shut was like a bullet shot
into my heart. Moments later when I heard the gravel crunching beneath his
tires as he drove away, a cold chill raced along my spine as if someone were
driving away with my soul. How, in one night, had a man changed my whole world?

If this was what happened when
people fell in love at first sight, I didn’t want any part of it. I knew that
if Sloane had to choose between me and his job at the elementary school, a
career he’d chosen even when others tried to pull him into a more lucrative and
superstar status, he’d make the correct decision and keep his position.

I couldn’t fault him for what his
chose but it didn’t keep it from hurting any less.

Going to my cell phone beside my
purse, I dialed my brother.

“Hey, Gabs.”

The sound of my big brother’s voice
made me feel a little better. “Hi, Aaren. Do you mind keeping Jason until this
evening?”

“You know I don’t. He and Kalan are
in the kitchen making cookies for you.”

“More like for him.” I smiled at the
thought of my son. “So, it won’t put you and Kalan out?”

“Not at all,” he paused. “You all
right? You don’t sound like yourself.”

“I’m fine. Just tired. I wanted to
lie down for a while.” I attempted to force more cheer in my voice. The last
thing I needed was my big brother rushing over to my house and making sure I
was okay.

“You sure that’s it?”

“Yes. Now stop being a worry wart
and tell those two bakers I want chocolate kisses in my cookies.”

Aaren chuckled. “You got it. Love
you, Gabs.”

“You too, big bro.”

Jason was in good hands with my
brother and his fiancé, so I turned my ringer off and dropped my cell back on
the table and went upstairs. I just wanted to bury my head beneath my covers
and forget the world around me.

Upstairs I dropped my robe and put
on a cotton night gown then got in the bed. As soon as I pulled the sheet and
cover up, I could smell Sloane’s masculine scent. I would never again know the
pleasure of being in his arms, whether he was just holding me or making love to
me. The sadness I was trying to hold at bay swelled up and tears ran from my
eyes.

~YH~

“Welcome to Mr. Bosworth’s office,
I’ll be right with you in a moment.” I had my focus on the last two lines of
the memo I was typing for the college president. It was Friday and ten minutes
before I was supposed to get off and I just hoped whoever was there to talk
with the president would not be long. Done, I hit save and selected the printer
that would send it to my boss's office for his review and signature.

Smack
.

The loud sound of a packet hitting
my desk grabbed my attention. “What in the world is—” I turned and gazed into
an intense pair of sea green eyes.

“Hello, Gabrielle.”

“Mr. Cale, what are you doing here?”

He arched an eyebrow at my address,
but I’d gotten used to calling him Mr. Cale again in the last two weeks with
Jason talking about Sloane after each time he went to a Boys on the Move
gathering. My son loved the men that worked there and had already developed
friendships with three boys and was asking to do sleepovers.

Cale had called me that Saturday
night after we were caught by his principal, and left a message. He’d called
again on Monday and left another message saying he had not forgotten about me
but would need some time to take care of some things.

“I’m here to see you.” He stood with
his hands folded over his broad chest, covered by a dark green t-shirt that
conformed to the sculpted muscles I knew were beneath it. The well worn jeans
hugging his thighs and hips and cupping his cock had my body flashing with
heat.

How could he be any sexier?
Crossing my legs, I looked away. I
felt guilty because he had lost his job because of me. “Do you think that’s a
good idea?” I turned and started the shutdown of my computer.

“Yes, I do.” He parked his hip on
the edge of my desk. “You’ve been avoiding me at the center.”

I rubbed my temple and sat back in
my chair. Sloane was correct. I had gotten Aaren to take Jason one night a week
to the center and every other Saturday. “Look, I feel very bad about your job.
Jason brought home a letter from the principal informing all the parents that a
new teacher was being assigned and due to unforeseen situations you had to
resign from the school, effective immediately.” I glanced at him.

“I heard she made it sound as if I
was caught skinning cats in the cafeteria and feeding them raw to the
children.” He shook his head and chuckled.

Hearing him laugh shocked me.
Shouldn’t
he be pissed?
“Your association with me has already cost you so much.”

“Nothing that wasn’t worth losing.”

I frowned. “You loved working at
that school, you told me so.”

“I said I loved working with
children. That school has a lot of benefits and is great, but I was ready to move
on after five years.”

“I still feel bad. What are you
going to do now?” I gathered up a few reports and put them in the short cabinet
behind my desk then locking them up.

“I was already in the process of
working on a position at one of the public schools. I’d had two interviews and
was awaiting the call on the third and hopefully the final one. It came that
Tuesday.”

My heart raced with excitement.
“What happened with it?”

“It was a week long process but I
got the job. I’m now the assistant principal at King-Kennedy Middle School. I
start next fall.”

I reached out and touched his hand
before I could catch myself. “That’s great. I’m very happy for you.”

His sexy smile stretched his full
lips and lit up his eyes. “Thank you. It means a lot to have your praise.”

W
armth spread
through me and I smiled.

“I’ve really missed you, beautiful.
I think these have been the longest two weeks of my life.”

Mine, too. “It wasn’t my intention
to hurt you.” I glanced down at my hands in my lap then back up at him. “I just
needed to distance myself.”

“Of course, you did. Jason hasn’t
been the only one hurt by people leaving.”

This was what I had missed, Sloane's
understanding of me. How could a man who only knew me for a little over two
weeks, if the time we spent in school together in Maryland wasn’t counted, know
me so well?

“You’re right. So, I have to guard
my heart carefully.” I opened the drawer by my foot and pulled my purse out.

“What’s your heart saying about me?”

I inhaled and stood up. “Sloane,
don’t. Please. I’m not sure I can do this dating and risk thing. I was never
very good at it even before I got married.”

“I’m not offering you a date.”
Sloane placed his hand on the packet I hadn’t given much thought to once I saw
he was in my office. He slid it across the desk before me, but hadn’t moved his
hand.