“What makes you think something’s wrong?”
“You’re tense, Tonya.”
“I was trying to imagine what people will say when they find out we’re living together.”
An angry frown marred Gage’s handsome features. “Whatever they say will not change how I feel about you. I’m too old, had to put up with too much shit to concern myself with what people say about me.”
“What about your mother, Gage?”
“What about her?”
“Do you think if I ever meet her she will welcome me with open arms once she discovers I moved in with her son after knowing him exactly one month?”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I met you for the first time right after St. John and Hannah’s wedding. And that makes four months instead of one. My mother stopped meddling in my life a long time ago. The only thing she asks is if I’ve found someone to make me happy.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her I’d met someone who makes me very, very happy.”
Gage wasn’t certain what he expected Tonya to say, but it wasn’t the silence that followed his pronouncement that she made him happy. Happy and fulfilled.
“Please let me get up, Gage.”
“Why?”
“I need to take a shower.” Leaning over, Tonya reached for Gage’s t-shirt at the foot of the bed and slipped it over her head. She smiled at him over her shoulder. “I’m going to my bedroom. I’ll be down as soon as I’m washed and dressed.”
Sitting up and resting his back against a mound of pillows, Gage stared at the door through which Tonya had disappeared. He knew she was concerned about how quickly their relationship had progressed, and he had shocked himself when in a moment of madness he had asked her to live with him. And what surprised him more than his own impulsiveness was her acceptance.
Gage had to acknowledge at forty-six and fifty, respectively, he and Tonya did not have to answer to anyone for their actions or lifestyle, yet she had voiced her concern about how their friends and acquaintances would think of them living together. Hannah, St. John, and now Eustace knew she was living under his roof, and he knew it was only a matter of time before those in New Orleans also became aware of their living arrangements.
Gage swung his legs over the side of the bed and made his way to the en suite bath. Gage discarded the condom, turned on the water in the shower, and stepped under the lukewarm spray, loathing having to wash away the scent of Tonya’s perfume. He showered and dressed in record time, and when he reentered the kitchen he found Tonya making the vinaigrette.
He rested his hand at the small of her back as she whisked balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a small bowl. Dipping his head, he pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder. “Love you.”
Tonya nodded. “Thank you.”
Gage’s heart felt like a rock in his chest. He’d just admitted to Tonya that he loved her, and she thanked him as if he had just handed her a cup of coffee and the morning paper. Act in haste and repent in leisure. His mother’s prophetic warning nagged at him. It was what she had said to him when he told her he had to marry because he had gotten a woman pregnant.
Marriage and living together were life-changing events, and he wondered if perhaps he was doomed to be unlucky in love. His volatile relationship with his ex-wife had been one-sided; he had done all of the compromising while she refused to accept the consequences for her actions.
Gage felt in his heart of hearts that Tonya was the woman he wanted in his life, but he had to make certain to allow her to make her own decisions, or what they would have was a rerun of her marriage.
“I mentioned before I’m not working this weekend. Let me know what you’d like to do or see, and we can plan it together.”
She flashed her dimpled smile. “I’ll try and come up with something we both like.”
“That sounds good.”
Chapter 18
Gage opened the gate and walked into the courtyard Friday afternoon to find it ablaze with candles on every level surface. His concern about their living together was offset when Hannah had called to let him know the electrical components for the gates were defective and had to be replaced, which meant Tonya would have to stay with him for an extended period of time. He told his cousin’s wife that he would relay the information to Tonya and reassured Hannah that he did not have a problem with Tonya living with him.
He and Tonya had settled into a comfortable routine of alternating cooking for each other. She would surprise him with exotic dishes from Thailand and China. He had raved so much about her gai pajd bal ga-paw—a spicy basil chicken with pepper, onion, and chili paste—that she showed him step-by-step how to make the dish. In less than a week he had grown so used to coming home to find her that he couldn’t remember when she hadn’t been there. She shared his bed, and on occasion his shower. She loved sitting on the roof at night, because it had become her time to unwind and exhale.
Gage noticed there were times when she wasn’t very talkative, and he gave her the space she needed to be alone with her thoughts. They hadn’t made love since the first night, and again he decided not to pressure her, hoping whenever she was receptive she would let him know.
His gaze swept around the courtyard until he saw her sitting at a table set for two. She stood up, and his jaw dropped when he noticed her outfit. Black strappy stilettos, and a matching barely-there dress ending mid-thigh with a plunging neckline hugged her curvy body like a second skin.
He couldn’t stop staring at her slender legs in the heels as she came closer. There was enough light from the candles to illuminate her face. Aptly applied makeup accentuated her large eyes and lush mouth. She leaned into him, and he felt himself succumbing to the hypnotic scent of her perfume. Gage knew he would be able to pick her out in a dark room from among at least fifty other women.
“Welcome home, darling.”
Gage ran his tongue over his lower lip. “Thank you, my love.”
She stared up at him through her lashes. “I know we talked about going out this weekend, but would it bother you if we spent the entire weekend at home?”
“No . . . no . . . of course not.” He didn’t know why he was stuttering other than he was becoming more aroused with each passing minute.
“Since the weather is so nice, I thought we would begin with dinner under the stars. After that we can go inside for after-dinner drinks and dancing.”
Gage was so still he could’ve been a statue. “What are we doing after that?”
Tonya ran her tongue over her lips, bringing his gaze to linger on them. “Would you be opposed to sharing a bath?”
“No.”
She smiled. “After the bath we can go to bed and I’ll make love to you and then you can make love to me, and if we are not too exhausted we can sleep for a while and go for seconds. How does that sound to you?”
Gage nodded like a bobble-head doll. “I agree to all of the above.”
She took his hand. “Come inside and wash up. As soon as you’re ready I’ll bring out dinner.”
Gage didn’t know what brought on the change in her, but he wasn’t going to question it. He knew something had to have been bothering her when she shut down and shut him out. He walked into the house and was met with a variety of mouthwatering aromas. A wide grin split his face as he anticipated a night filled with seduction and romance. Turning back the cuffs of his shirt, he washed his hands in the bathroom off the kitchen.
“Can I help bring out anything?” There were a number of covered dishes lining the countertop.
Tonya pointed to an aluminum pan with a matching lid. “You can take that one.”
After two trips they were finally able to sit and eat. She removed all the lids to the dishes to reveal the Caribbean dishes she had promised him. Tonya pointed to each plate. “There’s roast chicken with a garlic rub, rice and pigeon peas, fried plantains with a dipping sauce, and the little turnovers are beef empanadas. And in keeping with the Spanish theme I decide
d sangría is an appropriate wine. Will you please pour the wine?”
Gage filled two red wineglasses and handed one to Tonya. He could not believe she had put the dinner together so quickly, unless she had left the restaurant early to come home and cook. “What are we toasting?”
“Love.”
He sat back in his chair. “Love?”
“Yes. Do you have any idea what this weekend is?”
Realization dawned when he smiled. “Of course. It’s Valentine’s Day weekend.”
Tonya inclined her head. “I couldn’t think of anything to buy you, so I decided to make a special dinner.”
“I don’t need anything, because everything I need is sitting across the table from me. However, I did buy something for you.”
Her eyelids fluttered wildly. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that,” he stated emphatically. “I’ll give it to you after dinner.”
Gage bit into a flaky empanada, and the Latin spices in the beef filling tantalized his palate. He didn’t know how she did it, but Tonya was able to cook for two and not have any leftovers, prompting him to refer to her as the queen of tapas. Each dish was more spectacular than the last, and he found himself drinking more wine than usual.
“We came up with a final listing of songs and dances for the concert,” he said after draining his glass.
“When do you begin rehearsing?”
“We won’t start rehearsing until late March. Auditions begin next week and continue for the next two weeks.”
“What about the kids in the drama club? Do they get first choice?”
Gage nodded. “They’re already in, but we always try and give other students who haven’t joined a club the opportunity to become involved. And because some of the songs and dances are international, we’re trying to engage those students from the particular racial or ethnic groups.”
Tonya touched a napkin to the corners of her mouth. “When do you rehearse?”
“It’s always after classes. I’ll be coming home late at least three days a week. And the closer we get to performing, it may be five days and perhaps one weekend for a full dress rehearsal.”
“It sounds exciting.”
“It is for the students.”
“Please, Gage, don’t be modest. It has to be exciting for you, too.”
“I suppose so, because this is my first time chairing the concert, and my last year teaching.”
“What are you going to do once your residency ends?”
“Work at the restaurant so Eustace can take some time off. And don’t forget I still play at Jazzes.”
“So you’re not retiring?”
“I still have a few more years to work a nine-to-five before I kick back and put my feet up.”
Tonya touched the stud in her ear. “I sometimes think of what I’d do if I retired. I doubt if I’d travel as much as Paige and LeAnn. Hopefully, I’ll have at least one grandbaby to spoil by that time.”
“Is your daughter dating anyone?”
“I don’t know. Something keeps nagging at me that she is. I suppose she’ll tell me when the time comes, because I don’t want to be one of those nosy mothers who can’t stay out of their children’s lives.”
Gage smiled. “That means you won’t be a meddling mother-in-law.”
“Hopefully, I won’t.”
Resting an arm over the back of his chair, he studied her face in the lengthening shadows. “Mardi Gras is coming up in another three weeks, and the city will turn into one big bacchanal.”
“It’s not already?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “You have to experience Mardi Gras firsthand to get the full effect of folks acting like they’ve lost their minds.” Gage pushed back his chair and stood up. “Dinner was incredible.” He came around the table and pulled back her chair. “I’ll clear the table and bring everything inside. Go on, babe,” he urged when she didn’t move.
He stood motionlessly, watching the seductive sway of her hips and legs in the sexy heels. It was obvious Tonya was more than comfortable with her sexuality with the overt display of flesh in the revealing dress. He shook his head as if coming out of a trance and stacked plates and flatware to take inside.
* * *
Working quickly, Tonya rinsed and stacked pots and dishes in the dishwasher, and by the time Gage brought in the last plate she had finished cleaning up the kitchen. He had tuned the radio to a station playing romantic ballads. He extended his hand when she walked into the living room.
“May I have this dance?”
Smiling, she moved into his embrace. “But of course.” Her heels gave her a height advantage so that she didn’t have to lean back to stare up at Gage. “I love dancing with you,” she whispered against his warm throat.
“Maybe we should take ballroom dancing this summer with Hannah and St. John.”
“I don’t think I’m ready for that.” Tonya was able to follow Gage when he spun her around and around.
“Very nice,” he crooned.
“I have a wonderful leader.”
After a while, she lost herself in the music and in the man. Tonya knew she had been in a funk because it was the anniversary of her brother’s death, and she kept imagining that he was still alive and had made her an auntie. Ian had so much potential that she still couldn’t understand what made him choose the life that was destined to end tragically either by spending countless years in jail or by other dealers looking to take over his territory—or by an early death.
Dusk had descended on the city, and by the time they turned off the music and climbed the stairs to the second story, stars lit up the nighttime sky. Tonya walked into the bathroom, lit a half dozen votive candles, turned off the light, and then turned on the water in the Jacuzzi. A bottle of cognac and two aperitif glasses on a silver tray sat on the window ledge next to the tub.
She returned to the bedroom to find Gage shedding his clothes. And it wasn’t for the first time that she marveled at the perfection of his lean, muscled physique. Their eyes met when she slipped out of her shoes and shimmied out of the dress. She recognized lust in his gaze when she stood there wearing nothing but a pair of black bikini panties. Hooking her thumbs in the waistband, she slid them down her thighs and legs without bending her knees, and stepped out of them.
Turning on her heel, she strolled into the bathroom, giving him an unobstructed view of her naked body. She smiled hearing his intake of breath.
She stepped into the warm water and sat down, sighing as the pulsing jets massaged her body. Minutes later Gage joined her, his thick, heavy sex swaying between his thighs. Sit down! the silent voice in her head screamed. Him standing over her, semi-erect, was so erotic she feared she’d reach over and caress him.
Gage finally settled in the tub and filled the tiny glasses with the amber liquid. He touched his glass to hers. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” she repeated. She sipped the liquor, staring at Gage over the rim as heat warmed her throat and settled in her chest.
He took both glasses and set them on the ledge, and then reached for her and settled her over his thighs. An audible gasp echoed in the bathroom when she felt his erection filling every inch of her vagina. Curving her arms around his neck for support, Tonya began moving over his penis. It began with a slow up-and-down motion, and then increased to frenzied rocking, and Gage’s upward thrusting splashed water over the sides of the tub and onto the terracotta floor.
Without warning, he reversed their positions, supporting her body, and his lower body pumped with the velocity of a piston as he wordlessly communicated his masculine dominance over her.
“Marry me,” he gasped, his breath hot and heavy in her ear.
Shaking her head, Tonya swallowed to relieve the dryness in her throat from breathing through her mouth. “No, Gage. I can’t.”
“Marry me!” he repeated.
“No!”
“Please marry me,” he intoned, the supplication becoming a litany, which rang in her ear like a chant.
“I can’t,” she cried out at the same time she felt the walls of her vagina contract. There was one contraction, and then another, and they kept coming as her moans of erotic pleasure became unrestrained screams of ecstasy as she stiffened with the explosive rush of orgasmic fulfillment sweeping through her. The screams subsided to surrendering moans of physical satiation as she closed her eyes and registered the rush of Gage’s release bathing her throbbing flesh.
Tears leaked from under her lids. Gage Toussaint possessed the power to assuage her physical need for him, but unknowingly he also had the power to tear her soul apart. She prayed he would not ask her to marry him again, because at that very moment she would have consented. Tonya loved Gage with all of her heart, but not enough to marry him. One marriage in her lifetime was enough.
She refused to look at him when she reached for a cloth from a stack on the ledge and drew it over her body and between her legs. She climbed out of the tub and picked up a towel off the low stool and wrapped it around her body. Walking on bare feet, Tonya entered the bedroom and slipped into bed. She was falling asleep when she felt the warmth of Gage’s body as he pressed his chest to her back.
“I’m sorry, Gage.”
He kissed the nape of her neck. “It’s okay, babe. I should be the one apologizing for pressuring you to live with me and for wanting to marry you.”
She turned to face him but couldn’t make out his features in the darkened room. “I do love you, but I’m not ready. And I don’t know when I’ll be ready.”
“Hush, sweets. I’m not going anywhere, so whenever you’re ready let me know. I promise not to ask you again.”
Tonya placed her fingers over his mouth before her mouth replaced her fingers. “I love you. Why I don’t know. The list is so long I wouldn’t be able to come up with enough words to describe how you make me feel.”
He nuzzled her ear. “Knowing you love me is enough.”
Breakfast in Bed Page 24