Just Can't Get Enough

by Hodges, Cheris

  “What’s all of this?” Celina asked. “And when did you have time to do all of this?”

  Darius placed his finger to Celina’s lips to quiet her. “Remember I said I wasn’t going to let you go?” he said.

  Celina stared at the bounty of fruit in wide-eyed wonderment. “You really don’t play fair. I love chocolate-covered strawberries.”

  “Well, this is just part of our dessert tonight.”

  “Part? What more do you need?”

  “Your naked body. You taste better than anything on this table and I’m going to feast on you all night.” Darius motioned for Celina to sit down on the sofa. She did as Darius gently commanded, then he took over, lifting her leg and slowly moving down her lengthy leg to her foot. He removed her sandal, then picked up the can of whipped cream, spraying it on her toes. She shivered with delight as his warm tongue licked the cold cream from her digits. Bracing herself for what was next, Darius spread her legs apart and moved in between them. He made her feel like a belt the way he molded her around his body. Darius plucked an ice cube from the bowl and slid it across her lips, then covered her mouth with his. The kiss was hot, deep, and wanton. Celina responded just as passionately, wanting to rip his clothes off and have him right there on the sofa. But Darius was just getting started.

  He pulled back from her, then picked up a strawberry and drizzled the chocolate sauce across her chin, down her neck, and across the top of her chest. Smiling, he untied her halter top, pulled it off, and ran the juicy berry across her breasts, paying close attention to her diamond-hard nipples. Darius feasted on Celina as if she were the strawberry, licking the chocolate from her chin, traveling down her neck. He took her rock-hard nipple into his mouth, drawing moans of pleasure from her. The sensations that shot though her body made her back arch as his tongue darted across one nipple and then the other, while his hand eased down her taut stomach to remove her shorts. With speed and skill, he peeled them from her body and exposed the red satin thong she was wearing. The sight of the flimsy undergarment made Darius smile.

  Celina took note of the look on his face. “You’re not the only one with surprises.”

  “I see and I like.”

  Celina stroked the side of his face. “I love you,” she said. The words felt so natural when she said them. Just as being with Darius felt natural. It was like breathing. Being this close to him made her think about the future, weddings, babies, and painting in the backyard while he looked on. These were feelings that she’d never felt before, even when she and Terrick had been engaged. Pausing, she froze in place and opened her eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” Darius asked, noticing how quiet she had gotten.

  Smiling, she replied, “Nothing.”

  Darius began massaging her thighs. He reached for a piece of honeydew melon, placed it in his mouth, and offered it to her. Celina bit into the melon, then fell into Darius’s kiss.

  “Tastes good,” she said as she chewed on the fruit.

  Darius kissed her again. “I like that much better,” he said when he broke off the kiss.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her, covering his lips with hers. Then she deepened her kiss, savoring the sweetness of his mouth. Darius pulled Celina onto his lap, pushed her thong aside, and entered her with his finger. Celina cried out in delight as Darius moved his fingers up and down inside of her. It felt as if he was spelling out his name inside of her, branding her forever, and at that moment, she wanted that to be the case. She wanted to belong to Darius and wanted him to belong to her. She tightened herself around his finger, moving up and down. “Make love to me,” Celina moaned. “I need you.”

  Darius removed his finger, stood up, and then scooped Celina into his arms. He carried her into the bedroom and gently laid her on the bed. She watched Darius as he stripped out of his clothes. Every time she saw his body, she couldn’t help but marvel at how magnificent it was. Celina was in awe of his chest, his strong arms, and his legs. She smiled as he climbed into the bed, moving slowly and deliberately. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his hard body. She moaned in anticipation of feeling his hardness inside her. She waited as Darius reached over on the nightstand and picked up a condom, but decided she couldn’t wait any longer for what she wanted and took the condom from his hand. Celina opened the package, then took Darius’s throbbing penis in her hand and rolled the layer of protection onto him. Pouncing on top of him, she rubbed her wetness against his hardness, urging him to take her to that place of passion she longed for. He eased inside her, gripping her hips as she moved back and forth. Her breasts jutted out as she rode him like a motorcycle, grinding her hips against his, relishing the hot friction between the two of them. Sweat beaded on her body and Darius clutched her back, pulling her even closer to him, seemingly meshing her body with his, making them one. Their hearts were beating in perfect sync. Arching her body, she released herself and moved up and down with the rhythm of a classic jazz song. The heat they’d generated could’ve kept Elmore warm and cozy all winter.

  He groaned Celina’s name over and over again as she brought him to the brink of an orgasm. Celina seemed possessed, unyielding in her desire to be filled with his love. She continued riding him, making his toes curl. Unable to take anymore, he pulled her against his chest, but Celina wasn’t finished with him yet. She teased his neck with her tongue, causing him to mutter unintelligibly. As she traveled down his body, lashing his nipples with her tongue, Darius shivered.

  “Oh, Celina,” he cried as she pressed her head against his chest. Wrapping her arms around his back, she snuggled against him tightly, never wanting to let him go. “Wow,” Darius said after a few minutes of cuddling. “What has gotten into you?”

  “You.”

  “Come again?”

  Celina propped herself up on her elbow. “I feel like I can let go with you,” she said. “You freed me and I like being free. It’s like I can’t get enough of you.”

  Darius kissed her on the forehead. “If this is you being free, then I like it too,” he said.

  Celina sighed and looked into Darius’s eyes.

  Darius stroked her hair. “What is it?”

  “I know this isn’t the right time, but what are we going to do when I go back to New York?” Celina stretched her arms above her head and closed her eyes. Way to kill the mood, genius.

  “Why do you have to go back to New York?” he asked.

  Celina furrowed her brows. “Why wouldn’t I go back to New York? My life is there, my work, and the city has become a huge part of me.”

  “What about me? I thought I was becoming a part of you?”

  Celina sat up and turned her back to Darius. “You are,” she said. “But I can’t just stop being who I am because I’m in love with you. Darius, you have your career and I have mine.”

  “Yeah, I know that. But, it’s not like you’re punching a time clock or working in an office building. You can paint here and . . .”

  “Darius, this isn’t open for discussion. I’m going back to New York. There are no galleries in Elmore. How am I going to get my work seen if I’m here?”

  Darius sat up and placed his hand on Celina’s shoulder. “Then why don’t we build a gallery? With your reputation, the art world will travel here.”

  “What?” she asked. “Are you serious?”

  Darius nodded. “Elmore needs some culture and who better than Elmore’s own to bring it here? And, if you have to go back to New York, at least you will have a reason to return.”

  Celina smiled as she mulled over the idea. “All right,” Celina said. “But for the record, as long as you’re here, I’ll have a reason to come back.”

  Darius pulled Celina into his arms and kissed her gently. “I love you,” he said.

  Celina reached down and stroked his manhood. Darius responded by pouncing on his lover, showering her face with kisses.

  As the sun crept over the horizon, Darius looked down at the woman in hi
s arms. He had to convince her to stay in Elmore because he didn’t want a long-distance relationship; he wanted something permanent. I want her to be my wife.

  Celina began to stir in his arms and her eyes fluttered open like the gentle wings of a monarch butterfly.

  “Good morning, sunshine,” he said.

  Celina smiled. “It is, isn’t it?”

  Darius stroked her hair, then kissed her on the forehead. “Want some breakfast?”

  Celina yawned and stretched, then shook her head no. “I have to go check on my father and call the agency about a private duty nurse. I’ll come by the store today for lunch. My treat.”

  “I like the way that sounds. I need to cut your father’s grass anyway. I’ll get on that before it gets too hot,” he said.

  Neither of them made an effort to move. Celina even squeezed Darius’s waist a little tighter. A few moments later, Celina was on her way home and Darius was out in his storage shed getting his lawn mower and weed eater together. All he could think about, though, was being with Celina and building a life with her. He closed his eyes and relived the night before. He could feel her touch, taste her kiss, and smell her feminine scent. When Darius felt a hand on his back, he thought it was Celina. Then he turned around and saw Tiffany. “What in the hell are you doing here?” he demanded as he jerked away from her.

  “She’s cute,” Tiffany said. “Convenient and easy, from the looks of it. How long have you known her, Darius? Five minutes. You never let me spend the night.”

  “Because I never wanted to see you in the morning. Tiffany, when are you going to stop this? You’re stalking me.”

  She frowned and folded her arms under her breasts. “How long are you going to keep this one? A week? A month?”

  “If you don’t get off my property, I’m going to call the police,” Darius snapped.

  “Whatever, Darius,” she said as she turned to walk out of the yard.

  Darius banged his hand against the side of the storage shed. How was he going to get this woman out of his life and out of his relationship with Celina? He had to stop Tiffany from showing up at his house. He didn’t want Celina to get the wrong idea, but the reluctance of the police to believe that she was the one wreaking havoc on his life let him know that he was on his own. Tiffany was acting unstable and he feared that it wasn’t going to be long before she went too far. He couldn’t allow that to happen. Stopping her wasn’t going to be easy because she hid her tracks very well.

  Darius pulled the lawn mower out of the garage and headed next door. He attacked the grass with fury, using every bit of his muscle strength, but it did little to dissipate his anger. He muttered profanities as he walked up and down the yard, cutting the grass down to half an inch. Tiffany was trying to turn his life into a living hell and he wasn’t going to have it.

  Darius had finished mowing the backyard in record time because his anger pushed him. Pulling his wet, white T-shirt from his body, he tossed it across the yard. Darius looked toward the house and saw Celina standing on the back porch with a glass of water in her hand. Masking his fury, he smiled and walked over to her. Even in a pair of gray sweat shorts and blue tank top, with her wooly hair braided back in three thick cornrows, she looked sexier than any Victoria’s Secret model.

  “You’re working extremely hard out here,” she said.

  Darius took the water she offered. “Well, I needed to get this done,” Darius said.

  Celina folded her arms across her chest. “Do you always curse like a sailor when you mow the lawn?”

  Darius sighed as he downed the glass of water, then decided that he needed to be honest with her. “No,” he said. “You know everything that’s been going on at the store, right?”

  Celina nodded. Darius continued, even though he didn’t want to. “I know who’s behind it.” He walked over to her and tugged at the bottom of her shirt. “Come here.” He pulled her into his arms.

  Celina focused her gaze on him. “Have you told the police?” she asked.

  “Yes. They’re not taking this too seriously. Tiffany hasn’t admitted to doing anything, but now she’s resorted to stalking me. Everything crazy around me started happening right after I told her that I didn’t want anything to do with her. This morning, before I came over here, she was outside my home.”

  “She was what?” Celina exclaimed.

  Darius nodded. “She must have been outside the house since last night because she saw you leave. She made a veiled threat.”

  “What are we going to do about her?”

  Darius looked at Celina and wanted to smile. In a way, he was glad to hear her say we. But on the other hand, he didn’t want her to get involved with this madness. What if Tiffany tried to do something to hurt Celina? Darius couldn’t have her in the middle of this. “Celina, I want you to let me handle this.”

  “You know what, if this woman is going to be a problem for you, there’s no way I’m going to stay out of this.”

  Darius knew it was pointless to argue with her. He could see the New York coming out of her. But more than anything else, he could see the love in her eyes. Darius smiled at her. “All right,” he said. “But I don’t want to think about that right now.”

  “We have to,” she said. “If that woman is stalking us, she’s breaking the law.” Celina moved away from Darius. “The police need to do something and I’m going to call . . .”

  “Celina, let’s just sit on this for a minute. The police aren’t going to do anything until something else happens.”

  Celina untwisted the end of one of her braids. “If you think that’s best,” she said. “But, this woman has to be stopped.” Darius agreed with Celina 100 percent, but he remembered what the chief said when he was last in his office. Tiffany had him just where she wanted him. He was vulnerable.

  “Darius,” Celina said, “don’t worry about her. We’ll get through this. Besides, I was thinking about your gallery idea.”

  Darius’s eyes brightened. “Really?”

  “Now, keep in mind, I’m just thinking about it. A lot of artists have galleries in their hometowns, why can’t Celina Hart? Then I could split my time between here and New York,” she said. “More importantly, we’ll be spending more time together.”

  Darius hid his disappointment. He didn’t want her part-time, he needed her all the time. “That sounds like a plan,” he said finally, not wanting to give his disappointment away. Darius handed her the empty glass. “Let me finish up the yard.”

  Celina smiled and turned toward the back door. “Darius, I love you,” she said.

  “I love you, too,” he said then started the lawn mower again. Do you love me enough to leave New York? Darius wondered as Celina disappeared inside the house.

  CHAPTER 15

  As the weeks passed, Celina felt less and less like returning to New York. It wasn’t like she was missing anything there and she obviously wasn’t missed because she hadn’t received any calls about work. Then again, most people in the art community thought she was still in Paris. “Why not stay?” she thought aloud as she washed the pots she’d used to cook breakfast. Thomas walked down the hall and smiled at his daughter at the sink.

  “Celina,” he said. “When is the nurse coming?”

  “She should be here in about an hour,” Celina said as she placed the last dish in the cupboard. “Is everything all right?”

  Thomas nodded. “I was just wondering when Velma was going to get here.”

  Celina looked at her father, who was starting to look like himself again. He was gaining some weight and his face was no longer gaunt. His daily breathing treatments made him talk without wheezing. Celina prayed that the cancer was in remission.

  “Are you sweet on Ms. Velma?” Celina asked as she dried her hands on the dish towel.

  Thomas smiled. “Maybe Nurse Velma is sweet on me. Look at me. Who wouldn’t be?” He spun around as if he were a model on the runway.

  Celina broke out into laughter. This was the Thomas
she remembered. Cocky, sure of himself, and in control. Celina walked over to Thomas and hugged him tightly. “I love you, Daddy,” she said. Thomas hugged her back and Celina felt hot tears on her shoulder.

  “Daddy, what’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Baby, it’s what’s right. You came here and saved my life. I know I can’t make up for the twenty years I wasn’t there for you, but I’m going to try.”

  Celina shook her head, “Daddy, you don’t have to do that. The past is the past and there’s nothing we can do to change that. Maybe we should just concentrate on our future.”

  Thomas tweaked her chin the way he did when she was a child. “Your mother did a fine job with you.”

  Celina smiled. “I’m going to go to the lake and paint for a while. Are you sure that I don’t need to stay here and chaperone you and Ms. Velma?”

  “Are you going back to Paris?” Thomas asked as she walked down the hall. Celina shrugged her shoulders. She knew what a great opportunity it was to have a chance to be a part of the Guimard project in Paris, but she didn’t want to leave Darius. Would Darius go to Paris with her? Did he even like Paris? Maybe on our honeymoon, she thought. The words in her head shocked her. Celina wasn’t the kind of woman who dreamed of marriage and babies, but Darius made her want all of those things. Walking into her bedroom, she grabbed her sketch pad and pencil set. She knew Darius was working this morning and she would have a few hours to work. Celina dressed in a pair of lavender flood pants and a pink tank top, then stuck her sunglasses on her head. Celina was walking out the door when Velma walked in.

  “Good morning, Miss Velma,” Celina said.