ENTANGLED PURSUITS (MEN OF ACTION Book 1)

by Brenda Jackson

  She knew he was right. They should talk, but could they do so without touching? And was talking what they really wanted to do? Toni couldn’t speak for him, but the only thing she wanted to do was get into her bed and invite him to join her. Then again, maybe she could speak for him, if that huge erection at the juncture of her thighs was anything to go by.

  “What if I told you I don’t want to talk now? That I’d prefer to talk later, Drew?”

  “Is that what you really want?” he asked, leaning in and nipping her lips.

  “Yes, that’s what I really want.”

  He shifted his gaze to the television that was still in the box. “I ought to be working on your television.”

  “I’d rather you work on me.”

  Toni knew he’d finally taken her at her word when he swept her off her feet and carried her over to the bed. Placing her on it, he took a step back. “You still sleep in the nude?” he asked.

  Toni wondered where that question had come from, but she could barely stay focused when he began removing his shirt. “Yes, I still sleep naked.”

  He tore off his t-shirt, and she saw the dark hair that covered his chest and then narrowed as it continued beneath the waistband of his jeans. It was just as she remembered. She recalled how she loved running her face against the hair and how it would tickle her face. Now he was down to his jeans, and the swell of his erection was pressing hard against his zipper.

  “Toni?”

  She shifted her glance from his midsection up to his face. His expression was intense, and it sent a shiver of need through her. “Yes?”

  “I want you.” His voice had lowered to a sensuous pitch.

  “I can see that.”

  The grin that broke out on his features was breathtaking and untamed. Their lovemaking would be wild, uncontrollable, and as tempestuous as anything they’d ever experienced. It had always been that way with them. They seemed to innately know what the other wanted and needed, and they’d always deliver.

  She preferred it hard and fast, and he liked it slow and deliberate. If he had his way, their lovemaking would last all night. To accommodate both of their preferences, they had worked out an arrangement that was a combination of both preferred styles. From the look in his eyes, she had a feeling they were about to reinstate that plan.

  “I’m going to have to do something about those shivers,” he said as he unsnapped his pants and began easing down the zipper.

  There was no way he could not, when the heat of him was spreading through her. When he lowered his jeans down his masculine thighs, she saw that he was still a fine specimen of a man.

  She then watched when he picked back up his jeans and grabbed a wallet out of the back pocket. She knew he was getting a condom.

  “Now for your clothes,” he said, after he’d taken the time to sheath himself with protection with the skill of a pro.

  In a way, Toni wished she could just lie there and allow her gaze to roam over the body she had missed seeing for the almost five years. Missed touching. Missed tasting. “Are you sure you’re ready for me, Drew?” she asked him.

  “Baby, you have no idea just how ready I am for you,” he replied in a deep, throaty voice.

  Easing up in bed, she pulled the blouse over her head and tossed it to him. He caught it and threw his head back and laughed. The sound of his laughter was warm and irresistibly seductive. “Since you plan to stand there,” she said, removing her bra, “I might as well put you to good use.” She then tossed her bra to him. That was followed by her jeans, and last but not least, her panties.

  He placed her clothing aside. “One of these days, we’ll work on your pitching skills.”

  Now she was the one who tossed her head back to laugh as she took his hand. “Baseball is my least favorite sport.”

  “Ah, but it’s my favorite,” he said, moving toward the bed. He reached out and touched her breasts, and liquid fire rushed through her body. “Come to me,” he said when his knee touched the mattress. Without hesitation, she went to him willingly. “I missed you, Toni.”

  He whispered the words mere seconds before his mouth claimed hers in a kiss that sent jolts of sexual energy ricocheting through her veins, while at the same time igniting bone-melting fire in her blood.

  Drew suddenly broke off the kiss and began raining kisses along her throat. When he took the tip of his tongue and licked the side of her neck, she released a frustrated moan. Reaching out, she grabbed hold of him, needing to feel his erection in her hand.

  “There you go, always in a hurry,” he said, teasingly close to her ear.

  “And there you go, acting like you have all the time in the world.” Different methods of getting to the same goal. Entangled Pursuits.

  “I’ll do things your way, this time.”

  “That would be nice,” she said, smiling.

  “What’s nice is your mouth. I hadn’t realized just how much I missed it,” he said, going after her lips again and kissing her until she whimpered. She reached up traced her finger along his beard, loving how it felt. She then traced that finger across his moist lips, and he drew her finger into his mouth and began sucking on it.

  “Drew…”

  When he released her finger, his mouth then sank hard into hers. She closed her eyes, loving the taste of him. Nobody kissed like Drew and she’d missed him, missed this, oh so much.

  Wrapped up in his kiss, she hadn’t realized he had eased her down on the bed until her head touched the pillow. Opening her eyes, she stared up at him as he moved back from her. “Before the night is over, I plan to kiss you all over, Toni.”

  She hoped so, but not now. What she needed now was to feel him inside her. Of their own accord, her thighs parted when he settled his body over hers.

  Toni thought that nothing could be more provocative than the image they made at that moment, him straddling her body, her legs opened to welcome him in. Then, he began easing inside of her, stretching her. The head of his penis felt hot as it slid all the way in. The intensity in his gaze made her breath falter. Total awareness of him filled her body as he continued to stretch her wide.

  Then, he started moving, thrusting in and out of her to a tune in his head that only he knew. A low moan slipped past her lips with every stroke. Back and forth, deep and deeper, he pushed into her body and then pulled out, taking the sensation to levels only he was capable of.

  Suddenly, he began to thrust inside her in earnest, with whiplash speed and stimulating detail. Her body responded to his the way it always did, with unrestrained passion and vigor. She was glad she’d sprung for a well-made mattress, because her bed was definitely getting one hell of a workout.

  Drew fit perfectly inside of her. He hadn’t forgotten anything—not the location of her g-spot, or how she loved having his chest rub against her breasts when he made love to her, or even the quick yet satisfying way he was doing it. He was buried to his balls inside of her, and she loved having him so deep inside.

  He still didn’t let up, his thrusts driving farther and farther. And then her body responded. An explosion ripped through her that nearly sent her straight off the bed. It stripped her of any control and allowed his masculine hips to speed up his thrusting. He was going faster than a jackhammer.

  “Drew!”

  “Toni!”

  She watched him throw his head back, and for a minute, it seemed the veins in his neck were about to pop. Tightening his hold on her, he pressed her deeper into the mattress as he went deeper inside of her. And when he slid his hand down her body to touch where they were still joined to caress her clit, she knew what he wanted. He was making her come again for him. And she would. She always did.

  Sensations ripped through her as she raised her hips to receive him. And then he lowered his mouth to hers and began riding her even harder. Tightening her legs around him, she fought back a scream as he pounded into her. This was passion of the most intense kind. Passion that made her regret the nearly five years she’d wasted.
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  Finally, he collapsed on top of her and then shifted his weight off her. When he whispered her name, she cuddled close to him, feeling a degree of contentment she hadn’t felt in a long time. For now, she was back in his arms, and that was enough. At this moment, there was no place she’d rather be.

  THE SOUND OF A body shifting had Andrew opening his eyes, and they immediately connected with Toni’s. Suddenly, memories of what they had done flooded his mind, and all kinds of sensations washed over him. Their lovemaking had been incredible. He was back in her bed. Memories of how they had reached that point flowed through his mind.

  He glanced beyond her to see daylight. It was still the same day. Saturday. When had he ever taken a nap in the middle of the day? It had to be well past noon. They had eaten breakfast, and within the hour, maybe two, he’d been inside of her, making love to her and trying to make up for over four years of misery. No wonder he’d fallen asleep. Now they were awake, and he wanted to begin the process all over again.

  He breathed in deeply, absorbing her scent through his nostrils. What was it about Antonia Oliver that made him want her so voraciously? Made him want to make up for all the lost time? It sounded crazy, but right now, he never wanted anything more. And he didn’t intend to ever be separated from her again. They needed to talk, because he had to be certain of that.

  Glancing at the clock, he realized they’d been in bed, making love, for close to five hours—an hour for each year they’d been apart—followed by a two-hour nap. As much as he would like nothing better than to stay in bed with Toni all weekend, he wanted more than that. After all, they had spent most weekends in bed when they’d been sex-buddies. Now he wanted a relationship.

  From what Toni had told him, she’d wanted more, too. And there was no reason they couldn’t have more. After all, the word more had always had special meaning to them. In the past, he’d used it often, and had gotten the most gratifying results. Now, though, it had a whole new meaning.

  “Are you awake, Drew?”

  Had she been waiting for him? And if so, what did his Toni have in mind? His Toni? Where had that possessive thought come from? Although she had admitted to developing feelings for him close to five years ago, she hadn’t said how she felt about him now. Were those feelings still there? He needed to know what had brought her to this point, revealing emotions she’d kept so close. What had made her change?

  “Yes, I am awake. Are you ready to talk, Toni?”

  He eased up in bed and rested his back against the headboard. She slid up to settle beside him, their legs still entwined. He reached out and took her hands, entwining their fingers. “What made you decide to tell me, Toni?”

  She looked away for a moment, but when she looked back at him, he saw the regret in her eyes. “I felt it was time you knew. It took me a while, Drew. I honestly felt I had done the right thing when I broke up with you.”

  “What made you decide to not let what happened to your mother rule your life any longer?” he asked, placing his arms around her shoulders and holding her close to his side

  Toni paused a moment and he watched her stare down at her hands before saying, “After that failed hostage negotiation, I had to follow police procedure and meet with the department’s psychologist. She was good—so good, in fact, that she dug deeper. And she made me realize I hadn’t moved beyond what had happened with my mom. I had convinced myself that true happiness was something I could not attain. With her help, I saw how wrong I was.”

  Andrew remembered having to undergo a psychological evaluation before he could be released from Glenworth. The purpose had been to help him readjust to a life outside of prison walls. Only the psychologist who’d seen him hadn’t cared to dive into the reasons that had driven him to prison in the first place.

  Upon release, most of the guys who served time with him, upon Shep’s encouragement, had sought counseling with Reverend Luther Thomas. Thomas, a former inmate who’d also served time at Glenworth before being exonerated of a crime he hadn’t committed, had gone back to school, obtaining his PhD in Psychology and Ministry. Upon release, he’d made it his purpose in life to help ex-cons merge back into society as easily as possible with strong, positive influences.

  Reverend Thomas would often say that when the world gives you lemons, the best thing to do is make lemonade. Drew, and the majority of his friends, had worked hard to turn those lemons into something positive, and they’d all made something of their lives.

  “I’m glad you were eventually able to put the past behind you.” He could now understand why she had fought so hard against getting involved with someone. Finding her mother dead, by her own hand—on Christmas morning, for God’s sake!—would have messed anyone up, especially a kid.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t bring a date to Stonewall and Joy’s wedding, Drew. I’d figured you would...but I’m happy you didn’t.”

  He didn’t say anything for a minute, then admitted, “To be honest, I haven’t been in what I consider a relationship of any sort since our breakup.”

  “Oh? What about Natalie?”

  • • •

  Toni wished she could bite off her lips. She had promised herself that she would never ask him about the reporter. She’d seen enough in the way the woman acted around him for her to know they’d been intimate.

  He lifted a brow. “Natalie?”

  Was this where he played dumb? If so, considering this was supposed to be a chance for them to be forthright with each other, a bare-their-souls moment, he was certainly throwing a monkey wrench into the process. “Yes, Natalie. That television reporter. The one who waits for you most evenings when you get off work.”

  A smile touched Drew’s lips. “I see I’m not the only one who sees things out that window.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s not important. To answer your question, Natalie was a one-nighter three years ago.”

  “Why?”

  He lifted a brow. “Why what?”

  “Why didn’t the relationship go beyond that?”

  “Because I didn’t want it to.”

  Because he didn’t want it to… “It sure appears as if she’s trying hard for a comeback.”

  “That isn’t going to happen. It only took me one night to discover she wasn’t my type.”

  “And what is your type, Drew?”

  “You and everything about you. Any other questions, Toni?”

  Toni was tempted to ask him to elaborate but decided against it. However, she did have another question—an important one. “Where do we go from here, Drew?”

  He’d said that almost five years ago, he had begun developing feelings for her, just like she had for him. But so much had happened since then. What was the status of those feelings now?

  His arms around her tightened. “You tell me, Toni. Where do you want us to go from here?”

  “I want to hear what you have to say, Drew.”

  “I’m not sure you’re ready to hear what I have to say, Toni.”

  That didn’t sound promising. “Try me.”

  Her heart began beating fast in her chest while she waited for his answer.

  “Well, for one thing, what I don’t want is for us to go back to being sex-buddies. I’d like us to be a couple and take it from there.”

  Her heart was beating even faster now. “A couple?”

  “Yes. I want us to date like other couples and take some time to really get to know each other. I want to take you to the movies and share popcorn with you, go out for dinner and share a meal. I want to go on walks with you, cook for you, spoil you absolutely rotten.” He gave her a lascivious grin.

  She couldn’t keep the happiness from flowing through her. “Spoil me rotten?”

  “Yes. I’ve never spoiled a woman before.”

  And she’d never been spoiled by a man before. She drew in a deep breath. “That sounds nice.”

  “I intend to make it nice. You deserve that and more.”

  “You de
serve that and more, too, Drew.”

  His eyes shone with an intensity she’d never seen in them before. “Sweetheart, you’ve always been my more.”

  His words went straight to her heart. They weren’t a declaration of love, but she believed if they took one day at a time, they would get there together. One day he could come to love her as much as she loved him.

  “So, are we in agreement, Toni? Are we back together?”

  “Yes. Definitely yes. But there is one thing we need to do, Drew.”

  He lifted a brow. “And what is that?”

  “Remain discreet for a while.”

  She could tell by the look on his face that he didn’t care for that suggestion. “Why?”

  “If we don’t, everyone will wonder how we got all into each other so quickly. I can see people starting to dig. Even Joanie mentioned to me that you were involved in a long-distance, secret romance. Someone might put two and two together.”

  He didn’t say anything for a minute. “I honestly don’t think they’ll wonder how we got into each other so quickly, Toni. You’re a beautiful woman. You’re single and so am I.”

  “And according to Joanie, you’ve never dated anyone who worked at headquarters.”

  He frowned. “Joanie talks too damn much.”

  “Maybe.”

  “There’s no maybe about it. And why don’t you think that people will just assume I couldn’t resist falling for you? That won’t be hard to believe. Daniel suspects something anyway.”

  Toni raised a brow. “What?”

  “That I have a thing for you.”

  “He does?”

  “Yes.”

  “How do you know?”

  He pulled her closer to him. “One day I was standing at the window looking into the parking lot when you left work. It was the same day Detective Muraca hit on you.”

  “You saw him?”

  “Yes, I saw him.”

  Now she knew what he’d meant about seeing things out the window. “And?”

  “And while I was standing there, watching the exchange, Daniel came up and thanked me for passing that info to the Special Investigative Unit about Roger Shellpoint. But he could tell I was upset about seeing you and Muraca together.”