James (Members From Money Book 34)

by Katie Dowe

  “Of course you can, darling,” she'd said carelessly.

  Now they were at the club and weaving their way through the crowd to find their seats. Leesa's husband had his hand on the small of her back as they made their way to their seats. They were greeted by several of the wives and their husbands before they sat down. Kennedy trained her eyes on the ring as she looked out for James. A series of lightweight matches came on and then it was time for the real fight. The fight was announced and the names called out and Kennedy realized that they were some of the professionals that she'd seen on television!

  “I thought that this was an amateur event.” she whispered to Leesa.

  “Darling, your man is anything but amateur,” Leesa whispered back.

  Kennedy gripped the clutch she'd carried with her as she watched him come into the ring. He had a sweatband around his forehead and was wearing a black karate suit. His face was cool and expressionless and she'd never seen him look like that before. Her heart hammered inside her chest as she got a look at his opponent. The man had muscles bulging all over his body! She closed her eyes and then opened them as the fight began. Kennedy’s nails dug into the silver and black clutch and watched as the men parried and prowled around each other. It was going to be a very long night. She gasped as James’ opponent got a kick in and he stumbled. But he came right back up with a swift upper kick to the man’s muscled chest that had him stumbling, followed by another spin kick to the face that had him falling. Kennedy heaved a sigh of relief but managed not to close her eyes as the man got right back up and landed a kick in James’s chest that had him falling backwards. She could hear the chanting of his name and wanted to march right up there and demanded that he stop. But she had to sit there and watch everything and realize that seeing him like this didn't mean that he was a violent man. Seeing him like this didn't mean he was going to be violent with her. She watched in amazement as he jumped into the air and spun around, using his foot as a weapon, and knocked the guy out so that he crumpled to the floor. It had taken fifteen minutes and apart from the blood at the side of his mouth he was fine. He was fine! Her man was standing and bowing to the thunderous applause he was receiving. But then she had to endure another fifteen minutes of watching him fight again and this time, maybe because he wasn't fully recovered from the first fight, he got more injuries than the first time. Kennedy felt her heart lurch each time he took a kick in the chest or the face. At one point she felt when Leesa reached out to hold her hands. Before long it was over and she was able to breathe again. She got to her feet with the rest of the crowd and cheered him on. She was sitting in the third row and she saw when his eyes scanned the crowd and saw him stiffen when he saw her. His eyes met hers for a moment and then with a bow he walked out of the ring.

  “What do I do now?” Kennedy asked Leesa.

  “Go and find your man, darling.”

  *****

  He was sitting on one of the benches and wrapping something around his chest. He looked up and saw her standing there. She winced at the bruises. “They look worse than they actually feel. What are you doing here?” His eyes took in her outfit and the way the silk hugged her curves. She was stunning and his heart had stopped when he'd seen her.

  “I came to support my man.” She wandered into the room. He'd been given a private room where he could undress and recover from his bruises. She came in and closed and locked the door behind her. “You were amazing up there,” she added huskily as she came nearer.

  “My violence didn't turn you off?” He finished wrapping the white material around his chest and got to his feet. He felt sore all over and just wanted to find a bed to stretch out on. But he knew that wasn't the best thing to do. He had to stretch out the pain.

  “I actually found it sexy.” She spread her hands carefully over his bruised chest and examined the cut at the side of his mouth. “I also wanted to beat up the two guys, especially the last one for putting these bruises on you.” She touched the side of his mouth gently. “But most of all I was very proud to see you up there and I wanted to shout to the entire room that you're my man.”

  “Kennedy—”

  “Shh. Let me talk. I think you've done enough talking. I was scared and I hid behind the pain of my past. I'm ready to face it now, darling. I'm ready to take the next step with you. I'm ready to become not just your woman but your wife and someday the mother of your children. I love you James, and it took you booting me out of your apartment—”

  “I did not boot you out.”

  “Are you going to let me finish?” she demanded.

  “Yes.” There was an amused look on his bruised face.

  “Good. It took you giving me that ultimatum and booting me out of your apartment to make me realize that I don't want to spend the rest of my life without you. And as much as you fought valiantly out there, and won I might add, I know that you would never hurt me. I'm finished now so you can actually speak.”

  “Mind if I sit?”

  “Of course not.” She watched in concern as he sat slowly on the bench. She sat next to him. “You're in pain.”

  “A little.” He turned to her. “You love me?”

  “You already knew that.” She brushed the hair from his forehead. “I just never knew how to say it.” She leaned into him and took his lips with hers. She felt when he winced and she pulled back. “Oh God! I'm sorry!”

  “It’s okay,” he pulled her head back to his and took her lips, his mouth moving over hers searchingly as he deepened the kiss.

  “James,” she whispered into his mouth.

  “Hmm,” his tongue circled her bottom lip, causing the desire to curl into her belly and spread all over. When he pulled her lip between his teeth and sucked on it she moaned deep inside her throat, her insides curling. “James, I can’t—”

  He touched her tongue and his fingers were busy as he untied the strings at her neck, pulling down her top and curving his hands over her breasts. He lifted his head and looked at her before bending to take a nipple inside his mouth. Kennedy cried out sharply, clenching her fingers onto his shoulders. There was a fire burning inside her that threatened to overwhelm her. He reached to pull her into his arms and he felt his bruised ribs protest. He groaned in pain and lifted his head to look down at her. “I need a few minutes,” he told her ruefully.

  “I understand.” Her dark brown eyes wandered over his face. “You're in pain.”

  “A little bit,” he admitted. “How did you get here?”

  She told him.

  “I usually spend the night and then go home the next day. But I think I'll leave now. My driver's around somewhere.”

  “It’s late—”

  “I want to be in my own bed with you in my arms and want to hear about how much you love me,” he said softly.

  “Then home it is.”

  *****

  She catered to him and he loved it. They got to the apartment at midnight and she made him go straight to bed while she cleaned him up. They'd thanked Leesa and Bradley and the woman had told her to keep in touch. “A December wedding isn't impossible darling,” she'd whispered as an aside.

  Kennedy made him some chamomile tea and made sure he drank everything, even though he'd told her he wanted wine. Then she gave him some pain killers. She got off the bed but his hand clamped on her wrist. “Where are you going?”

  “To change,” she told him gently. “I'm not leaving.”

  He could feel the painkillers taking effect and he fought it. “Hurry back.”

  She changed and removed her makeup in the bathroom and slipped into one of the filmy nightgowns he'd bought her along with the rest of the clothes. But by the time she went back into the bedroom he was fast asleep. She climbed slowly into the bed next to him so as not to disturb him, but he murmured and pulled her into his arms. She rested her head carefully on his chest and felt the steady beating of his heart against her ear and smiled contentedly. She was in love with him. The thought made her heart race faster. She was
in love with him and she was going to make sure he knew that every single day. She still had fears and doubts but she had no intention of letting them get in the way of being with him. “I love you James,” she whispered softly as she spread her hands over the bandage on his chest. “I love you so much.”

  *****

  He woke up to the sound of her humming and the smell of coffee. He'd turned in bed and not felt her there and had panicked. He'd put on his robe hurriedly, wincing slightly at the slight pain, and had made his way out. Then he'd smelled the coffee and heard the humming. She was wearing that sexy nightgown that he hadn't been able to take off her last night because he'd been so out of it. He loved the fact that she was in his kitchen on a Sunday morning making him breakfast. She turned suddenly and saw him standing there.

  “Hey.” She put away the plate she had in her hand and came towards him. “How are you?”

  “Mad that I didn't get the chance to make love to you.” He put his forehead on hers as she leaned into him.

  “We have a whole lifetime to do that.” She wrapped her hands around his waist. “How are you feeling?”

  “As good as new,” he admitted. “Something smells delicious.”

  “Oatmeal and pancakes and eggs. I figured you needed the protein after last night.”

  “I believe I need you more.” His mouth sought hers and she gave in to him eagerly. His arms came around her waist and he deepened the kiss. He pushed the thin straps of her nightgown off and it slid to the floor. He passed his hands over her and groaned as he realized that she wasn't wearing panties. His hand went between her legs and he sought her warm sex. Kennedy moaned and moved restlessly. His fingers entered her and he thrust into her slowly. He could feel his erection rising against her and knew he had to have her now. Without releasing her lips he used his other hand to take his robe off. He was still in pain but he didn't give a damn. He had to taste her. He had to be with her. He removed his fingers and, lifting her carefully against him, he entered her, moving her towards the wall where he braced her against it. He tore his mouth from hers and his lips drifted over her skin and down to her nipples where he captured one inside his mouth. She arched her back against him. He pushed deep into her and Kennedy hung onto him, the passion burgeoning. He lifted his head and stared down at her for a moment before taking her lips with his again. He gathered her up against him as he felt the shift in her body and lifting his head he stared down at her, his face intense with passion. “Come with me,” he whispered hoarsely. She dug her fingers through his hair and arched her body closer to his. The orgasm tore through them at a rapid speed and had them tumbling together.

  *****

  They spent most of Sunday in bed. “I want a big wedding,” she murmured as she lay there sprawled on his chest. “If that’s okay with you.”

  His look was indulgent and gentle as he played with the ends of her tangled hair. “Why do you want a big wedding?”

  “Because I always dreamed of a big wedding before—”

  “Before the bastard who trampled your life,” he ended grimly.

  She looked at him and then nodded.

  “Then you;re going to get the biggest wedding this country has ever seen. I'll see to that.”

  “It doesn't have to be princess big,” she told him with a grin.

  “It has to be,” He told her soberly. “We'll get wedding planners and the whole works. How about December?”

  “Were you talking to Leesa by any chance?”

  “No.”

  “She mentioned that.”

  “She did?” he said in amusement. “She has a penchant for taking over these things.”

  “Good because I don’t have the faintest idea about planning a wedding much less a wedding of the year.”

  “You have lots of help.” He caught the back of her neck and held her still. “I would do anything for you and I want you to know that.”

  “I know that,” she whispered as she bent her head to his.

  *****

  “I'm extremely happy for you,” Julia said, her dark eyes sparkling as she looked at both of them. Her brother had called and asked if she could come over and she'd reached them in a few hours, already guessing what he had to tell her. She'd been at the fight but had been so caught up with other things that she hadn't noticed they'd left. “You look happy,” she said as she stared at him.

  “I am.” His hands snaked around Kennedy’s waist and he pulled her back against him.

  “I can see that.” She looked at the girl who was responsible for that. “And I'm not afraid to tell you that breaking his heart will make me want to hurt you.”

  “Julia!”

  “It’s okay darling.” Kennedy bent her head and kissed his lips. “I understand that he's your brother and that you love him. I have a sister and I love her very much as well. But he's the man I love and the one I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. I love him and I'm not going to hurt him. I promise you that.”

  “In that case, welcome to the family,” Julia said with a grin. “I cannot wait to be a kick ass aunt.”

  “You're going to be waiting for a little bit,” James said wryly. “I intend to spend a lot of time with this woman of mine before we start thinking about children. And you don’t get to speak to her like that again. No one does.”

  “Okay,” Julia said with a pout as she got to her feet. “I'm going to enjoy having you for a sister,” she said, looking at Kennedy.

  “Same here.”

  *****

  She called Leesa later that day while James was resting.

  “I take it that everything went okay?”

  “More than,” Kennedy said with a smile in her voice. “We're thinking a huge December wedding.”

  Leesa clapped her hands in delight. “And of course, your man told you that is my forte?”

  “He did. I told him I wanted a big wedding because it had always been my dream and I made the mistake of verbalizing it. James thinks he has to give me everything I want so he's going to go all out.”

  “Nothing wrong with that darling. The man is in love and wants to make up for your crappy past.”

  “But what do I do for him to make up for his?” Kennedy asked quietly. “He's always the one doing things for me and I don’t it to be one sided.”

  “I'm sure it’s not and along the way you'll think of something. My relationship with Brad was one sided at first. I was the one doing the pursuing and he was the one trying hard to run the other way. Now between us it's fifty-fifty and it came naturally. Along the way it will come naturally until you realize that you do things for each other and to each other without even thinking about it.”

  “He loves me and I cannot imagine life without him,” Kennedy said softly.

  “There you go, darling. Start with that. Now let’s discuss your taste in dresses and I'll be in touch with Kelly and Monique and several others to get this wedding started. We can meet for lunch in the coming week.”

  “I would love that. I saw the others at the club and the way they were with their husbands and cannot believe that I'm about to become part of something as wonderful as that.”

  “We're not called elite for nothing darling,” Leesa said with a laugh. “A lot of unhappy women in our society would like to have it that we're pretending to be happy. And there's a huge cry about African American women taking away their men from them but I always say screw them! We fall in love with the men not the color of their skin and we make no apologies for that.”

  Kennedy laughed. “I like your style Leesa, I wish I was like you when that happened to me in the past.”

  “You're not that person anymore darling. That experience has made you stronger and of course, wiser. I'd like to think that the bad experiences you had have been leading up to the wonderful you are now experiencing. Don’t allow it to color what you have with James.”

  “I won’t,” Kennedy said sincerely. “Thank you Leesa.”

  “No thanks necessary. Now get off t
he phone so that I can get this show on the road.”

  Chapter 10

  He was determined to show her a very different experience from what she had with Conway. She'd confessed to him that he never took her anywhere.

  “He claimed that he didn't want other men looking at me and I thought that it was so sweet and that I was so special,” She'd said ruefully. His arms had tightened around her waist and she knew he was trying to quell the anger he felt! “It started to wear thin after a few months and I remembered making a reservation at a restaurant for us to go to. When I told him that evening he went berserk and accused me of wanting to flaunt myself in front of other men.”

  “Stop,” he'd told her raggedly. She'd lifted her head to see the pained look on his handsome face and the rigid control of his anger. “Please I can't—” He broke off and closed his eyes briefly. “If he was still alive I would kill him with my bare hands.” He had taken several deep breaths to calm down. “I want to know what you went through but for now I can't handle it, I'm sorry.”

  “That’s okay,” she'd cupped his rigid jawline. “We won't talk about the past right now.”

  “He hurt you,” he whispered hoarsely. “No one does that, not even me.”

  “It’s okay.”

  She'd moved in with him fully and he knew he wanted to make a grand gesture to give her the engagement ring he'd bought her. He'd chosen it himself. Fine Jewelers had sent several over for him to choose from and he'd selected the perfect one after looking at them carefully. It was a 2ct. Princess Pave set that he knew would look very good on her slim finger. He'd made reservations at the latest Zhang restaurant and had secured a privacy booth. He'd also called her and told her that they would be going out to dinner. “What time can you leave?”

  It was the end of September and she'd met Kelly, Leesa and Monique for lunch a few days ago to go over wedding plans and decide on the dress she wanted to wear.

  *****

  Kennedy glanced at the spreadsheet in front of her and frowned a little bit. He hadn't said anything to her about giving up her job but she hadn't decided what she wanted to do yet. “I can leave at six.”