Marcus took the phone from her and brought it to his ear. “Hey, Ma.”
Samara turned away to pull out a griddle from a cabinet under the center island. She heated up the griddle, smearing the large metal plate with butter. When it was ready, she poured dollops of pancake batter onto the hot surface.
As if lured by the fragrant smell, Milan wandered into the kitchen carrying her favorite Doc McStuffins doll. “Are the pancakes ready yet?”
“Almost.” Samara smiled and picked up her daughter, setting her on a stool at the center island. “You can keep me company while the pancakes cook.”
“Okay,” the toddler said sagely. “If I’m here, they might cook faster.”
Marcus, overhearing the comment, burst out laughing along with Samara.
It started raining right after breakfast.
After helping Samara clean up the kitchen, Marcus retreated to his study to return some business calls he’d missed yesterday.
Taking advantage of a lazy Saturday with nowhere to go, the boys scampered off to the game room to entertain themselves. Between the rock climbing wall, moon bounce, video games, basketball hoop, air hockey and foosball tables, there was no shortage of activities to keep them busy.
Left on their own, Samara and Milan headed upstairs to the home theater to watch a Disney movie. One turned into two. Cuddled together under a cozy blanket, they laughed and giggled at the cartoon characters’ antics. Halfway through the second flick, Milan dozed off clutching her stuffed doll to her chest.
Samara carefully slipped out from under the blanket and tucked it around her daughter’s warm body. Then she snuck off to her bedroom to figure out what to wear to the party tonight. She, Reese, Taylor and Lexi had all decided to wear red.
Fortunately Samara owned plenty of red dresses, some she’d never even worn before. You couldn’t be the daughter of a legendary fashion mogul and not have a closet full of fabulous clothes. There was always an event to get glammed up for. A ritzy cocktail party, a charity gala, a star-studded movie premiere, a fashion show where she would be seated in the front row and photographed like crazy.
Clad in a tank top and panties, Samara was standing in her huge closet staring at row after row of designer dresses when Marcus appeared, leaning in the doorway and watching her.
She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him, then turned away and selected two red dresses.
“I need your help.” She padded to the tall three-way mirror and held the dresses up to her body for Marcus’s consideration. One was a long silk sheath with spaghetti straps. The other was a backless gown split up the side just enough to show some leg. It still had the tag on.
She looked at Marcus’s reflection in the mirror. “Which one should I wear?”
He wasn’t looking at the dresses. He was staring at her round ass cheeks hanging out of her underwear. And he was biting his lip with a hungry look she knew all too well.
Smothering a grin, she snapped her fingers to get his attention. “Hello? I need you to focus.”
His eyes glinted. “I was focused.”
She snorted. “On the wrong thing.”
“If admiring your bodacious booty is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.”
Samara couldn’t suppress a laugh. “Seriously, Marcus. I need your help picking out a dress.”
He sauntered forward, looking so sexy her breath caught and her pulse jackhammered. Whether he was wearing one of his custom Italian suits or pajama bottoms with a comfy T-shirt that hugged the defined muscles of his chest, the man was a walking fantasy.
He came up behind her, wrapped his strong arms around her waist and pulled her back against him. She could feel the heat radiating from his big body, could feel the heavy ridge of his shaft pressed against the small of her back.
Warm lips nuzzled her neck, causing her nipples to harden as her head fell back helplessly against his shoulder. “Marcus…”
“You don’t need my help,” he whispered in her ear, sending delicious shivers down her spine. “You look gorgeous in everything you wear. Right now, however, I’d prefer you not wearing anything at all.”
“Oh my,” she breathed, closing her eyes. Her pulse was pounding with an intensity that rivaled the rain lashing down on the closet’s skylight.
“So what do you say we both get naked and have some fun?” Marcus murmured, nuzzling her earlobe. The heated rasp of his breath had her skin tingling with goosebumps.
She smiled, eyes still closed. “What about the kids?”
“What about them? The boys are in their own little world, and Milan’s still fast asleep.”
“But she might wake up and come looking for me.”
Marcus sucked her earlobe. “I locked the door. She won’t walk in on us.”
“Mmm,” Samara purred, licking her lips. “You’ve got this all figured out, don’t you?”
“Umm-hmm.” He slid his hands under her tank top to cup her aching breasts, causing her to shudder and moan.
She could feel his thick cock throbbing against her lower back. It made her pussy clench, moisture pooling between her thighs. With all the sex they’d been having lately, she definitely would have gotten pregnant this weekend if she weren’t already.
She opened her eyes, meeting her husband’s scorching gaze in the mirror. As his big hands fondled her swollen breasts, she stretched up on tiptoe and began grinding her ass against his bulging erection.
He made a guttural sound in his throat, then took the forgotten dresses from her hands and tossed them onto the velvet bench behind her. When she turned around to face him, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers in a breath-stealing kiss.
Her senses were still reeling when he released her mouth and knelt to peel her panties off. She hurriedly removed her tank top and flung it aside, then clawed off Marcus’s shirt when he stood up.
Dark eyes blazing, he yanked his pajama bottoms down his powerful legs, shucking them off and kicking them out of the way. Then he grabbed Samara’s ass, pulling her against him as if he were trying to merge their bodies into one pulsing flesh. She shivered with need and clung to him, her breasts crushed against his bare chest.
He lowered her to the plushly carpeted floor, sucking on her lips and tongue. When he moved between her legs, she curled them around his hips, crossing her ankles at the small of his back.
Levering above her, he stretched her wrists over her head with one hand. With his other hand, he guided his cock to her slick opening.
Every nerve ending in her body was at a fever pitch, ready to explode. “Marcus…”
Staring into her eyes, he plunged inside her. As he began thrusting slow and deep, the pleasure was so intense she couldn’t remember why she’d put up the slightest resistance to him in the first place….
5
The alumni holiday party was held at an upscale country club in North Atlanta.
When Marcus and Samara arrived that Saturday evening, the club’s large banquet room was festively decorated with sparkling lights, candles on every table and pine garlands twisted around the marble columns. Waiters passed through the crowd with trays of champagne and hors d’oeuvres. A live jazz band was playing Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” while throngs of distinguished Morehouse men mixed and mingled alongside their elegantly dressed spouses and girlfriends.
Michael, Manning and Quentin were standing across the crowded room, sipping champagne and laughing with their beautiful wives. Marcus and Samara worked their way toward them, stopping frequently to exchange greetings with other guests. Marcus had always been very popular. He couldn’t take two steps without someone calling his name or grabbing his arm to engage him in conversation.
At least twenty minutes passed before he and Samara reached the other side of the room. Reese, Taylor and Lexi looked ravishingly gorgeous in their red evening dresses. They hugged Samara and gushed over her backless gown and elaborate updo.
Michael, Manning and Quentin—like Marcus—were impeccab
ly attired in bespoke black suits with silk maroon ties that paid homage to their alma mater. Every last one of them looked fine as hell, drawing plenty of admiring female glances.
“Is Magnum coming?” Lexi asked, referring to Manning’s younger brother, a firefighter who’d also graduated from Morehouse.
“Nah,” Manning said. “He had to work.”
“Bummer.” Lexi sipped her champagne. “Has anyone heard from Khalil or Derek?”
“Khalil’s running late as usual,” Michael answered. “Not sure about Derek.”
Marcus whispered something to a passing waiter, who returned shortly with a club soda for Samara. A recovering alcoholic, she hadn’t touched a drop of liquor in years, and she was much happier for it.
The four couples stood around chatting and laughing while they waited for dinner to be served. They were frequently joined by other people—some they saw regularly at alumni meetings, others only showed up for special events.
At one point, the fellas excused themselves to go catch up with a beloved former professor who had just arrived.
It was all Samara could do not to blurt out her baby news the moment she was alone with Reese, Taylor and Lexi. Over the past several years, these women had become more than her best friends. They were the sisters she never had. The four of them did everything together. They went shopping, had monthly lunches and spa days, hosted play dates for their kids, planned birthday parties and baby showers, and did volunteer work together. They always supported and confided in one another, so naturally Samara was bursting to share her good news. But since she’d decided to surprise Marcus on Christmas, she couldn’t risk him finding out accidentally. All it would take was someone’s innocent slip of the tongue or an overheard conversation to ruin her big surprise.
She couldn’t have that. So she’d just have to keep her secret a little longer.
Taylor gave her an admiring perusal. “You really do look amazing, Samara.”
“Doesn’t she?” Reese agreed. “Her skin is positively glowing.”
“Think so?” Samara smiled enigmatically and took a sip of her club soda. She hoped that Reese—an ob-gyn who was around expectant mothers all day—wouldn’t be able to figure out her secret.
A passing waiter offered them hors d’oeuvres, smiling graciously as they selected dainty morsels from the tray and thanked him.
Nibbling on a stuffed mushroom cap, Lexi glanced around the room and sighed. “It’s so weird not having all the fellas here tonight. A House alumni party just isn’t the same without the Morehouse Nine together.”
“I know,” Reese agreed. “Only Michael and Quentin are here so far. When I saw Shokare at the hospital yesterday, he told me he couldn’t make it tonight because he was pulling a double shift. And then, of course, Percy’s off in Silicon Valley launching another tech startup. Jagger’s in China overseeing his company’s expansion operations. Gabriel got transferred to the FBI field office in Houston—”
“Liam’s still in Kenya singlehandedly trying to rebuild the country,” Lexi lamented.
“And Derek—”
“—is right here.”
Everyone turned toward the deep voice. When they saw Derek Pearce standing there, they exclaimed ecstatically, “Derek! You’re here!”
He grinned broadly. “Evening, beautiful ladies.”
“Heyyy, Derek!”
He went around the circle, hugging and kissing everyone on the cheek. He was tall, dark and handsome with a manicured goatee and a lean physique. A renowned civil rights scholar and community activist, he was often at the forefront of marches protesting police brutality against unarmed African Americans.
“Where’s Hayden?” Taylor asked him, referring to her stepsister. “Didn’t you bring her?”
“I did.” Derek was all smiles. “She’s out in the lobby talking on the phone. She’ll join us shortly.”
Derek and Hayden had been dating for the past three years. Although they met for the first time at Manning and Taylor’s wedding several years ago, sparks didn’t fly between them until Derek appeared as a guest on Hayden’s cable news show in Washington, D.C. Following the interview, they’d gone out to dinner and really hit it off. After Derek returned to Atlanta they’d kept in touch, getting together every chance they could. They’d been going strong ever since.
“Where’d the fellas go?” Derek asked humorously. “I’m surprised they’re not glued to your sides to make sure nobody hits on y’all.”
Everyone laughed.
“They went to say hello to some legendary history professor who rarely makes public appearances,” Reese explained.
Derek’s eyes widened. “Professor Phifer is here?”
“He sure is.” Lexi grinned. “I remember how much you guys used to rave about him.”
“Hell, yeah. Professor Phifer was the man.”
“An opinion obviously shared by many, judging by the large crowd surrounding him.”
Derek followed the direction of Reese’s gaze and grinned. “I gotta go talk to him. Excuse me, ladies.” He took off, threading his way purposefully through the crowd.
Reese smiled after him. “He looks happy.”
“He does, doesn’t he?” Lexi smiled softly. “I’m glad things are working out with Hayden.”
“So am I,” Taylor said with a rueful grin. “For a while there I was worried that she’d never get over her feelings for my brother. She took it pretty hard when Tru married Simona.”
The others nodded, remembering.
Samara smiled. “Just goes to show. When one door closes, another door opens.”
There were nods and murmurs of agreement.
Taylor glanced across the room. “Oh, here comes Hayden now.”
The others turned to see a tall, leggy redhead walking swiftly toward them. Hayden Vaughn was an attractive woman with baby blue eyes and flaming red hair that spilled past her shoulders in stylish layers. Tonight she looked sleek and sophisticated in a green Chanel dress with a scooped neckline that showed just a hint of cleavage.
“Hey, Hayden,” everyone greeted her warmly as she approached.
“Hey, girls!” There was an excited gleam in her eyes. “Oh my God. Guess what?”
Everyone leaned forward. “What?”
Hayden thrust out her hand to show off a sparkling diamond engagement ring. “Derek proposed!”
The group erupted into squeals, then took turns hugging and congratulating Hayden.
“Details,” Taylor demanded eagerly. “We want details, woman.”
Hayden laughed radiantly. “It was so amazing! He really put a lot of thought and planning into the proposal, and he totally surprised me.”
Everyone was intrigued. “What’d he do?”
Hayden grinned as she launched into her story. “Okay, so since we’re always flying back and forth between D.C. and Atlanta to see each other, Derek thought it would be fitting if he proposed to me on a plane.”
“A plane?”
“Yes! It was so awesome!” Hayden gushed. “See, I usually fly commercial when I visit Derek, but this time my father insisted that I take his private jet. He’s done that before, so I never suspected that he and Derek were up to something. So I got to the airport, boarded the plane and settled in for a quick, uneventful flight to Atlanta. Little did I know that Derek was hiding in the back. Shortly after the plane took off, a flight attendant brought out a bottle of champagne and two wineglasses. Another attendant presented me with a dozen red roses.” Hayden laughed. “At that point I was like, ‘OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod!’ Then Derek came out holding a small black box. By the time he got down on one knee, I was bawling my eyes out!”
“Aww,” everyone cooed appreciatively. “How romantic!”
“It was romantic,” Hayden said with a blissful sigh. “I’ll never forget it.”
“No kidding.” Taylor grinned, hugging her stepsister around the waist. “So does this mean you’re moving to Atlanta? Or will Derek join you in D.C. after you’re m
arried?”
“Nooo,” Lexi groaned. “Please don’t take away any more of my guys. I miss the hell out of Percy, Jagger and Gabe. And I still haven’t recovered from Liam deserting me for Africa.”
Everyone laughed sympathetically.
A Spelman graduate, Lexi’s friendship with the Morehouse Nine went back more than two decades. Girlfriends had come and gone over the years, but she’d remained the one constant in the fellas’ lives. They shared a special bond that had only grown stronger over time.
“I’m not taking Derek away,” Hayden assured Lexi. “We’ve been talking things over, and he knows I’m ready and willing to relocate to Atlanta. In fact, I’m close to inking a deal to get my own show on CNN.”
“Really?” the others exclaimed. “Congratulations, Hayden!”
“Thank you.” She grinned sheepishly. “I don’t admit this very often, but it definitely pays to be the daughter of a powerful political strategist who can pull strings. Having my own show on CNN will not only give me an even bigger platform than I already have, it’ll also allow me to move here to be with Derek.”
“That’s awesome, Hayden,” everyone said warmly. “We’re so happy for you.”
“Thanks, girls.” Hayden’s voice softened. “You’ve all been so supportive of my relationship with Derek. It means the world to me.”
Lexi grinned. “As long as you make Derek happy, that’s all that matters. So keep him happy, y’hear?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Hayden gave a mock salute and grinned, then turned excitedly to Samara. “Your mother has to design my wedding gown. Can you ask her for me? Pretty please with lots of sugar on top?”
Samara laughed. “Of course I’ll ask her. I can’t make any promises, but I can definitely ask.”
“Oh, thank you!” Hayden hugged her tightly, making Samara laugh again.
They all stood around discussing wedding plans until the fellas returned with Derek, slapping him on the back and offering warm congratulations to Hayden. The beaming couple stood in the center holding hands and receiving more well wishes from other guests until dinner was announced.
Oh Baby: A Holiday Novella (Wolf Pack Book 9) Page 4