Teach Me Tonight

by Jacquelin Thomas

  “Four years now.” Micah shook his head regretfully. “She wanted me to find you. My mom always said that you were the one for me.”

  “My grandmother used to tell me the same thing,” Tamara confessed.

  For dessert, they shared a bag of caramel corn.

  “I can’t hang with you,” Micah stated. “I haven’t eaten this much junk food since college.”

  Tamara folded her arms across her chest. “Oh, so now I’m bad for your health?”

  He laughed. “Sweetheart, I didn’t mean it that way.”

  “You’ve gotten mean in your old age,” Tamara uttered. “We should probably head back to the hotel. I think you need a nap.”

  Their gazes locked, and both of them could see the attraction mirrored in the other’s eyes.

  Micah pulled her into his arms. “A nap is the last thing I need right now.”

  The prolonged anticipation of kissing her had become unbearable. His mouth covered hers hungrily.

  Raising his mouth from hers, Micah gazed into her eyes.

  Tamara drew his face to hers in a renewed embrace. He kissed her again, lingering, savoring every moment.

  “What are we doing?” Micah whispered. He marveled at the soft, satiny texture of her skin. He knew that Tamara would feel as good as she looked. He had seen breathtaking women from all over the world, but the woman standing with him possessed an unrivaled beauty.

  Tamara had it all as far as Micah was concerned. She had it all—perfect features, silky flesh, a refined bone structure and a beautiful head of hair.

  But could he trust her with his heart?

  Tamara’s emotions whirled. Blood pounded in her brain, leapt from her heart and made her knees tremble. After fourteen years of knowing him, Micah had finally kissed her—and it had been everything she’d dreamed it would be.

  He released her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Micah, you don’t have to apologize for anything. This is something we both want,” she stated, his apology darkening the moment.

  “I have always been drawn to you, Tamara,” he confessed. “As much as I’ve tried to fight my feelings, I can’t stop thinking of you.”

  Her face clouded with uneasiness. “Are you complaining? Are you saying that you don’t want to want me?”

  “No, of course not,” Micah replied. “I just want to make sure we’re not rushing into anything. Our friendship is still too fragile.”

  There was a pensive shimmer in the shadow of his eye.

  “I’m glad to hear that we still have some form of friendship. I was worried earlier,” she said. “I don’t want to keep looking back into the past, Micah. I’ve done that most of my life. I thought we were starting over.”

  “We are,” he confirmed. “You’re right, Tamara. We won’t look back.” Micah gathered her into his arms and held her snugly. “I have really missed you.”

  He touched his lips to hers.

  Tamara kissed him with a hunger that belied her outward calm. She was shocked by her own eager response. She felt blissfully happy and fully alive.

  They didn’t linger any longer because they needed to head back to the hotel.

  The concert was in less than three hours.

  “I told you that you needed a nap,” she teased as they got inside of the rental car.

  “Actually, I was thinking that you might need to rest up before the concert,” Micah retorted. “I know you can’t hang like you used to.”

  “You’re the same age as I am,” she reminded him, enjoying the easy banter between them. “Besides, if I remember correctly…you were the one who used to get sleepy.”

  Micah laughed. “That was ten years ago, and back then I was the studious one, not the party animal.”

  Tamara tried to stifle a yawn, sending him into another round of laughter. She was struggling to keep from falling asleep during the ride back to the hotel, but she wasn’t about to tell Micah that as soon as she returned to her suite she was taking a nap.

  Her mind was still on Micah when she was alone in her hotel suite. A delicious quiver surged through her veins as Tamara recalled how much she had enjoyed his company.

  “We had a nice time,” she whispered to herself. “And he kissed me.”

  Tamara removed her clothes, showered and slipped on a pair of silk shorts with a matching top.

  Restless and Micah dominating her thoughts, Tamara attempted to ignore the strange aching in her limbs.

  “Micah, you’re driving me crazy,” she groaned. “I need to get you out of my head.”

  Tamara had a brief chat with her sister and her mother. As usual, she and Jillian had words over her mother’s constant attempts to find a suitable husband for her.

  Her mother had called to see when Tamara would be returning home. She wanted to host a dinner party and already had a date selected for her daughter. Only Tamara wasn’t having it and told Jillian so.

  Jillian also wanted minute-by-minute reports of her relationship with Micah. Tamara recalled when her mother could not stand the thought of her daughter spending time with someone like Micah—a kid from the projects who attended college on an academic scholarship.

  On the other hand, Tamara’s grandmother adored him. Now that he was a powerful and wealthy executive, Jillian suddenly had a change of heart where Micah was concerned. Her mother was not born into wealth so she was determined to marry well and wanted the same for her daughters.

  Tamara loved her mother but wished deep down that Jillian wasn’t so motivated by money. The woman would sell her soul for a million dollars.

  Alone in his suite, Micah was enraptured by the vision of Tamara in his mind and was beside himself with want.

  He strode into the bathroom and turned the cold water on full blast. After removing his clothes, he stepped beneath the freezing spray of water.

  Micah welcomed the cold and painful comfort in an attempt to cool his ardor. However, the water did very little to lessen his desire that Tamara had aroused. He kept thinking of the heated kisses they had shared and how she’d responded to him.

  He towel-dried his shivering body ten minutes later.

  A still-frustrated Micah walked quietly out of the bathroom and padded barefoot into the living room. He sat down at the desk and called Bette, his secretary, to check in.

  Work would keep his mind off his thoughts of Tamara.

  He turned on his laptop and responded to the e-mails he deemed priority. Fleeting images of Tamara crept into his head now and again, but Micah forced them away.

  An hour later, he was still unable to focus on his work. Micah hoped that Tamara was having just as hard a time keeping her thoughts off him.

  Tamara and Micah returned to the Alexis Hotel after Justice’s concert at Key Arena. Despite the late hour, Micah wasn’t ready for the evening to end. He invited her up to his suite. Tamara did not know it, but Micah had arranged for a private catered late dinner to be delivered to the suite.

  “Is this where you usually stay when you’re here in Seattle?” she asked, following Micah inside the room.

  He nodded. “Why do you ask?”

  Tamara sat down on the sofa and crossed her legs. “They seemed to know you at the front desk.” She gave him a sidelong glance. “I bet I know why you like this place so much.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of the restaurant,” Tamara responded, referring to the Library Bistro & Bookstore Bar. “I took a peek inside when I arrived. I really love those high-back booths and the tall bookcases.”

  Micah sat down in one of the overstuffed chairs. “I admit that I do enjoy the ambiance. The food’s not bad, either.”

  “I wouldn’t know,” she replied. “I haven’t eaten there yet.”

  There was a knock on the door of his suite.

  Tamara glanced over at Micah. “Are you expecting someone?” She fervently hoped that Sunni hadn’t decided to surprise him. Tamara was not one for drama, so she hoped there wasn’t going to be
any.

  She and Micah had not really discussed his relationship with the model because Tamara was hesitant to bring up the subject.

  He got up and nodded as he crossed the room.

  Micah opened the door to allow the waiter to enter, pushing a cart laden with food. He worked quickly, covering the table with a white tablecloth.

  She rose to her feet, moving to stand beside him.

  Tamara’s smile widened in approval. “Wow. You sure are full of surprises.”

  “I know how much you like to eat,” Micah teased. He gave her body a raking gaze, lazily appraising her.

  She elbowed him in the arm as they silently observed the waiter placing their dinner on the table. “So what are we having?” Tamara whispered.

  Micah took her by the hand and led her to the table. “For starters, we’re having seared scallops with bacon, mushrooms on baby lettuce, seared ahi tuna for our entrée and for dessert, your choice of a lemon or almond pear tart.”

  Tamara rubbed her hands together. “Sounds delicious.”

  Micah signed the check and gave the waiter a fifty-dollar tip.

  They sat down at the dining table to eat.

  He quickly blessed the food before they dived in. Tamara could feel him watching her. “Shouldn’t you be concentrating on your food?”

  “I can’t believe we’re here like this,” he confessed. Micah’s eyes traveled over her face and then slid downward. “Frankly, I never thought I’d see you again. I’m glad I was wrong.”

  “I’m glad, too. I always believed that we’d see each other again—I just didn’t think it would take this long.” Tamara wiped her mouth with the edge of her napkin. “It probably wouldn’t have if you hadn’t stayed out of my life.”

  “I didn’t know what I wanted or how I wanted to handle it. I needed time, I guess.” He stuck a forkful of food into his mouth and chewed slowly.

  Tamara took a sip of her ice water. “Micah, if you had returned at least one of my phone calls, we could’ve gotten all this straightened out a long time ago.”

  He agreed. “Maybe, but I wasn’t ready to talk to you then.”

  “We’ve had so much fun today, but I can feel that you’re holding back. Micah, I’m not out here to hurt you. You can trust me. I want you to know that.”

  The air around them suddenly seemed electrified.

  Tamara picked up the coffee pot and poured a cup for herself.

  “We agreed not to look back anymore,” she told him. “Didn’t we?”

  Sipping her coffee, she stared back out the glass patio doors, quietly observing the Seattle nightlife.

  Taking her hand in his, Micah nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  She looked up into the face that God had lovingly created. Tamara had dreamed of his muscular body brushing against hers, the sensuous feel of his sinewy arms wrapped around her.

  He cut into her thoughts. “Is something wrong with your food?”

  Tamara felt the heat rise to her cheeks. “Oh, no…everything is fine.”

  I’ve got to stop thinking about this man like this. It had been a while since she was intimate with a man and she was human, Tamara reasoned silently.

  After they finished eating, she pushed away from the table and stood up. “Dinner was delicious,” Tamara murmured. “Now I have to go to my room and put together some notes for the article.”

  Micah kissed her, sending waves of shock through her body. Tamara had certainly not expected him to do this.

  She pulled away slowly. “We also agreed to take whatever this is very slow. I actually do have some work I need to finish, and I need to make sure I’m ready when the crew buses pull out.”

  All evening, the tantalizing picture Tamara represented distracted Micah. Her lips, slightly parted, were full and generous, turning up at the corners in a perpetual smile. He visually traced the shape of her mouth with his eyes. A smile played across his lips as he recalled what hers felt like against his own.

  “You’re sure that’s what you want to do?” he inquired hoarsely. “You really want to leave?”

  “Micah, it’s not that I want to leave,” Tamara admitted. “I just think that it’s the right thing to do.”

  He watched beneath hooded lids as Tamara drew back to study him. Micah wanted to beg her to stay but resisted the urge. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning then.”

  They embraced.

  “Good night,” she said with her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Let me walk you to your room.” A shiver of wanting ran down Micah’s spine. He moved toward her, impelled involuntarily by his own passion.

  Tamara shook her head. “I’m pretty sure that I can make it across the hall by myself,” she told him with a chuckle. “If you walk me over there, I know that I won’t be strong enough to make you come back to your own room.”

  “You’re worried you won’t be able to resist me?”

  She grinned. “Actually, I was thinking that you wouldn’t be able to keep your hands off me.”

  “You’re probably right,” Micah acknowledged.

  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  When she left, Micah headed to the bathroom.

  He was in desperate need of a cold shower. He found himself taking them often since Tamara was back into his life.

  Chapter 6

  Over breakfast, Micah announced, “I won’t be joining you in Vancouver. I have to return to L.A.”

  “Oh, no,” Tamara murmured. “I thought you’d be finishing out the rest of the tour with us.” She finished off her cranberry juice.

  Had she known that Micah was not coming on the tour, she might not have slept in her own suite last night. Tamara was looking forward to spending more time with him. They shared a connection that not even he could ignore.

  She felt a certain sadness that their time together was ending. The buses would be pulling out within the hour. Her feelings for Micah were intensifying, and Tamara couldn’t deny the spark of excitement at the prospect of a relationship with the love of her life.

  “Micah, are you sure you can’t come to Vancouver with us?” she asked when he escorted her to the bus.

  “I have some meetings scheduled that I can’t postpone. I’ll see you in Portland.”

  He kissed her cheek and gave her a hug. “Get on your bus. You guys need to get out of here.”

  “See you in Oregon. Oh and just so you know…you owe me a real kiss when you get there.” She knew how he felt about showing affection in public. Micah didn’t want his relationships exploited over the tabloids and tried to keep as much of his private life private.

  He smiled and nodded. “Bye, Tamara.”

  They were soon on their way, heading out of Seattle.

  Tamara spent the first half of the ride in her suite working on her notes. She struggled to stay focused. Micah dominated her thoughts. I have never wanted a man as much as I want him, she thought.

  When Tamara found that she couldn’t concentrate on her work or rein in her emotions where Micah was concerned, she decided to call it a day. She picked up her journal and opened it.

  September 1

  Today Micah and I had a wonderful time in Seattle looking at all of the many different types of roses in Woodland Park. We had such a great time together that I really wish he were going to be with us for the next leg of the tour. The more I spend time with Micah, the more I find myself thinking about him.

  I can’t even write about the hot dreams I have of the two of us together—they will forever be ingrained in the recesses of my mind.

  I’m crazy about this man, but I know that he has this wall around his heart. I have to find a way to get him to give me another chance. I know that he has Sunni in his life and I’ll respect that. Although I have to admit that I wish she wasn’t around.

  At least I’ll see him in Portland. I think that the more time we spend together the more Micah will begin to trust me.

  I’ll write more later.

&nbs
p; When Tamara arrived in Portland, Oregon, three hours later, she checked into the hotel and went straight to her room.

  As soon as she unlocked the door to her suite, her eyes were drawn to the enormous bouquet of roses in vivid hues of pink, yellow, red and white. Tamara bent to inhale a whiff of the sweet fragrance.

  She caught sight of the card attached and smiled as she read the note: “I’m really glad we’re working on our friendship. I miss you already but I know that I’ll be seeing you very soon. Micah.”

  “I miss you, too,” she whispered as she stared at the lonely hotel bed.

  When Justice and the band members headed out to Vancouver for rehearsal, Tamara went along with them. The concert was in Vancouver, which was less than twenty minutes away, and with the next concert being in Portland, it was easier to have them stay at one hotel for both nights.

  Tamara made notes of her observations and conducted several interviews with the road manager, Marty and the drummer, Eric, who had been playing for various performers for over twenty years.

  After rehearsal, they returned to the hotel so that Justice could get some rest before the concert that night. She and some of the band members gathered at a nearby restaurant to have lunch.

  Micah called Tamara a few minutes after she arrived to her suite.

  “How’s it going?” he asked.

  “Great,” Tamara responded. “Thanks for the roses. Micah, they’re gorgeous.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there with you for the concert tonight, but I’ll be in Portland tomorrow morning.”

  “I can’t wait to see you,” she confessed.

  “Same here,” Micah responded. “I have a meeting in fifteen minutes so I have to go but wanted to check in with you.”

  They hung up.

  Tamara strolled over to the bed and sat down on the edge, clutching a pillow to her. Her eyes traveled back over to the vivid display of roses. They were really breathtaking and red roses were her favorite, but there was no romantic meaning behind them—Micah had made that clear in his note.

  She sat there like that for nearly thirty minutes, wondering how to make Micah fall in love with her.