“I think we ruined this mat. I’ve never had a workout quite like this.”
Khalil leaned over to read what she’d said and laughed. “I should hope not. And neither have I.” He could tell his answer pleased her. He kissed her, slowly got to his feet and helped her up. “Come on. Let’s go shower.” He was going to do his best to let her shower alone, but a vision of him taking her against the shower wall surfaced in his mind and he knew it was a long shot.
* * *
They gathered up their clothes and Lexia followed Khalil upstairs to what she realized was his office. His fluid gait had her mesmerized and she could now answer definitively that, yes, his firm, muscled butt was as tight as it looked. She couldn’t believe she’d just had sex in a gym. Her body still tingled and pulsed and all she could think of was doing it again. She glanced around the functional space that held a large desk with a computer and several neatly stacked piles of folders, a couple of file cabinets and a bookshelf.
Khalil unlocked another door behind the desk that led to a private bathroom, complete with an oversize shower. He got towels from a built-in shelf and turned on the water. “You can go first, or...” He slid an arm around her waist and nuzzled her neck. “Or we can shower together to save time.” He slanted his mouth over hers in a heated kiss, while his hands roamed and caressed her body.
Lexia reached down, grasped his hard shaft and backed him toward the open shower door. She hoped he had more condoms.
He reversed their positions and let her go first. “Be right back.” Moments later, he stepped in behind her, condom in place, as well as earplugs.
Before she could say anything, he cupped one breast in his hand, dipped his head and latched on to her nipple. He traced a path down the front of her body with his other hand and pushed two fingers into her pulsing core. She gasped sharply and braced her hands on the shower wall to steady herself. Her head fell back as a whirlwind of sensations whipped through her. Khalil withdrew his fingers, fisted his hands in her hair and crushed his mouth against hers in an urgent kiss. Without breaking the seal of their mouths, he lifted her with one arm and entered her with one long stroke. He placed her against the cool tile, gripped her hips in his hands and started a driving rhythm that had her on the verge of another orgasm almost immediately.
“Can you feel what you do to me? Feel how much I want you?”
Yes, she could. She felt every inch of his thick hardness surging in and out of her. Lexia wrapped her legs around his waist, tilted her hips and contracted her feminine muscles.
Khalil cursed. “Don’t do that,” he said through clenched teeth.
She gave him a sultry smile and did it again.
“Oh, so you want to play, huh?” He lowered her to her feet, spun her around, bent her forward and entered her from behind.
Lexia thought she would faint from all the pleasure he was giving her. He pounded inside of her until she convulsed in a blinding climax and screamed his name. Her knees buckled and, had he not tightened his grip on her waist, she would have slid to the floor.
Khalil went rigid, then shuddered uncontrollably, yelling out her name as he came. He placed one hand on the wall above her head and continued to hold her. He pulled out, turned her in his arms and kissed her tenderly. “We’d better wash up for real this time. I think the hot water will be gone in a minute.”
The water had started to cool, but he adjusted the knob and it warmed a little more. They washed each other, dried off and dressed without speaking. No words were needed. Lexia tried to do something with her hair and remembered that he had put his hands in her hair after touching her. She groaned inwardly. So, instead of the relaxing evening she had planned, she would have to spend three hours washing her hair.
Downstairs, he placed all of her equipment in the bag. He rolled up the mat and grinned. “I guess I owe you another one.”
She picked up her cell from the floor where she had left it and placed her hand on her hip. “That’s not all you owe me.”
He looked up from his phone and frowned. “What did I do?”
“My hair. You do remember having your hands all in it after...you know... Anyway, now I’m going to have to spend the next three hours washing and styling it.”
Khalil’s eyes widened. “Three hours? Why does it take so long?”
“Well, let’s see, I have to part it in about seven or eight sections, precondition it and comb through each section—separately—gently with a wide-tooth comb to detangle and get rid of shed hair. Then I have to shampoo it, one section at a time to keep it from getting tangled.” She chuckled at the stunned look on his face and continued. “After which, I apply a deep conditioner, cover it with a plastic cap and sit under the dryer for thirty minutes.” His mouth fell open. “Oh, I’m not done yet. Then I rinse out the conditioner, dry it with a cotton T-shirt, apply a leave-in conditioner, styling crème and coconut oil to seal in the moisture and braid it.”
“I guess I do owe you.” He angled his head thoughtfully. “I tell you what, if you make me a couple of those tacos from yesterday, I’ll help you with your hair.”
Lexia stared in disbelief. He was offering to help do her hair? Her ex-husband had never done that. Whenever she washed her hair, he complained about how long it took, how much water she used, how many different products lined the counter and any other thing he could think of. He’d even tried to get her to go back to relaxers. But Khalil hadn’t hesitated to offer his assistance.
“So do we have a deal?”
“Yes. Do you promise to behave yourself?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said with mock innocence.
She raised an eyebrow and waited.
“I promise to be on my best behavior.”
“Good.” Now if only she could promise herself the same thing.
Chapter 14
Khalil combed out the last section of Lexia’s hair and braided it. She had been correct about how much time it would take, but he found himself enjoying the process. Her hair always smelled good—fruity with a hint of vanilla—and he wondered what she put in it. Now he knew. She sat between his legs on a pillow placed on the floor, while he sat on the sofa. The last time he’d been here, he’d only stayed a moment, so hadn’t gotten a good look at her condo. The walls had been painted with the standard cream color, but the added shades of purple gave the room a warm, homey feeling.
Lexia reached up and patted her hair, then turned to face him. She reached for her cell. “You did a great job. I may have to ask you to help me every time.” She leaned up to kiss him. “How did you get so good at this?”
Khalil glanced down at his cell on the sofa. “My younger sister, Morgan, was a bona fide tomboy and she sprained her wrist at least four times a year.”
She laughed. “Wow. What was she doing?”
“Most often, it was from playing football.”
“Football?”
“Yep. She still plays it whenever she can.”
“That’s something. What does she do?”
Khalil smiled. “She’s a sports agent...and she’s married to her first client, Omar Drummond.” Omar and Khalil’s younger brother, Malcolm, played professional football on the local team—the LA Cobras.
Lexia’s eyes lit up. “I know who he is. I remember reading about him having a female agent and some drama with his former agent. That’s your sister?”
He nodded.
“How cool.”
“Do you like football?”
“I do and, yes, the Cobras are my favorite team.” She made a move to stand and accidently hit his hand. When he winced, she said, “Sorry. You were going to tell me about what happened.” She sat next to him on the sofa and tucked one leg under her body.
“I found out the manager was double and triple charging some of the
gym’s members. That’s what the call was about that I took the day of the explosion. My assistant manager had busted him going into my office.” He told her about the cameras and how they caught him on the computer and stealing the equipment.
“So, you hit him.”
“Knocked him out cold.” Just the thought made him want to find Logan and hit him again.
“I can’t blame you. I might’ve done the same thing.”
Khalil wanted to ask about her ex, but didn’t. Had she hit him? With her spunk, he could see her throwing a punch or two.
“I’m assuming you fired him.”
“As soon as he regained consciousness.”
Lexia fell back on the sofa and her shoulders shook with laughter. When she calmed herself, she asked, “So, what are you going to do?”
“I promoted the assistant manager, but that still leaves me short for the new gym opening in a couple of months.”
“What kind of person are you looking for?”
“Someone who’s honest and trustworthy, for starters.” His gut had told him something was off about Logan, but the man had glowing references, so Khalil had ignored that voice. Never again. “I need a person who has some business and finance background and ideally, experience in fitness. Why, do you know someone?”
“Actually I do. Cameron really needs a job to get back on his feet.”
Khalil’s first response was no way, but he’d made assumptions about her friend the last time that were wrong. He now knew what it was like to be judged without having all the facts, so he kept his mouth shut. It also made him remember that he hadn’t decided whether or not to attend the fund-raiser next weekend. “What kind of job did Cameron have before?”
“He was in management at one of the financial companies in the same building as your family’s company.”
“Really? Do you know where he’s staying?”
“Right now, he’s staying in a room I fixed up in the back of the café, but he’s been searching for an apartment.”
He didn’t know how he felt about the man staying so close, but didn’t speak to that, either. “I’ll come by the café next week to talk to him.” It couldn’t hurt. “Would you like to go with me to a fund-raiser for youth models next weekend?” The words were out of his mouth before his brain registered them.
“I don’t have any plans as yet. I thought you didn’t model anymore.”
“I don’t, but I support this cause because it offers scholarships to the youth to encourage them to stay in school, teaches them about budgeting and saving, and provides money to help offset travel expenses for their families.” Khalil left out the role he played.
“That’s a great cause. I’d like to do something similar for the homeless community. After seeing what Cameron went through and listening to some of the stories he’s shared, I want to make an impact.”
He and his family always tried to find ways to give back and this sounded like a great idea. “Let me know what you plan to do and I’ll help in any way I can.”
“Thanks. So, about the fund-raiser, this is one of those high-priced, fancy shindigs, right?”
“It is.”
“Okay, you’ve got a date.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “All I need is an excuse to go shopping.”
He read what she’d said and laughed until his chest hurt. Coupled with the strenuous workout he’d had earlier, he figured he would be in for a long night of aches. Lexia placed her hand softly against his chest and a strange sensation spread across the spot. What was that? His laughter faded.
“Are you okay? Maybe we shouldn’t have... I’m sorry. I forgot you were still healing.”
Khalil brought her hand to his lips. “I’ll probably be sore tomorrow, but what we shared makes it all worth it.” Lexia stared at him with a longing that had him contemplating one more round. But he didn’t want to push it. And he had no more condoms. “So, I’ll make the flight reservations when I get home.” He already had a suite booked at the hotel.
Lexia sat up straight. “Flight? What do you mean flight? It’s not in LA?”
He shook his head slowly. “New York.” The look on her face was priceless and had him cracking up all over again. “Sweetheart, I need you to go easy on me. All this laughing is killing me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me it was in New York?”
“I just did.” And Khalil couldn’t wait to have the entire weekend with her. “We’ll leave on Friday after you get off work. The event is on Saturday and we’ll fly back sometime Sunday.”
She expression turned serious. “Do they know about...?”
“Yeah. Originally, I was supposed to help a friend by escorting one of his newer clients, but he sent me a text canceling.”
Anger clouded her features. “You have got to be kidding me? What does you not being able to hear have to do with anything? That’s okay. We’re going to walk into that room and—”
Khalil glanced up from his phone when she stopped. Knowing what he did about her and guessing by the way the letters flew across his screen, he imagined she was on a rant much like the one when she had called him arrogant and judgmental. He signed, thank you.
Lexia stopped. “You’ve been practicing.”
He fingerspelled, I have. He was still very slow, but could remember most of the letters and a couple of the basic signs.
She smiled and twisted her hands back and forth in the air.
He returned her smile and checked the time. “I’d better go.” As much as he didn’t want to, he had to leave. They both had work in the morning and he had an appointment with Dr. Moyer, one he wasn’t looking forward to since there had been no change in a month’s time. “Walk me to the door.” At the door, he took in her attire—the skimpy shorts and tank top she’d changed into—and braided hair. He fingered a braid. “I might need to stop by the café tomorrow so I can see my handiwork.”
“Should I save you a piece of coffee cake?”
“Absolutely.” Khalil bent and placed a brief kiss on her lips. If he did anything more, he most likely wouldn’t leave until morning.
Lexia smiled and waved.
His gaze roamed over her once more and he left. He smiled. No woman he had dated would have ever let him see her like that, and certainly wouldn’t have approved of him helping to wash her hair. None of them had piqued his interest for long, and maybe that was the other reason he’d pushed dating to the back burner. But, as he’d told Lexia, she was different in a good way. Too good because she was getting to him.
* * *
Friday, Lexia rushed around the café making sure the tabletops were clean and all the salt, pepper and sugar containers were full after the morning crowd had thinned. Only three customers remained for the time being. She and Khalil agreed that picking her up from here would save time since he would already be in the building for a meeting.
She glanced up when Cam came in. He had on a navy suit and reminded her of better times for him. “How did the interview go?”
Cam shrugged. “I didn’t get a good feeling. This is the third one this week. First I’m overqualified, then it’s not enough. And because I was out of work for over a year and can’t account for that time...” He scrubbed a hand down his face.
“Hang in there. You’ve only been at it for a week and I’m sure something will come up soon.” She hadn’t mentioned what Khalil had said about possibly talking to Cam because she didn’t want to give Cam any false hope if Khalil already had someone in mind.
“Thanks, Lexi. What do you need me to do in here?”
“I’m pretty much done with the tables, except for the ones that are occupied and Sam and Jayla already wrapped the utensils in napkins. The only thing left is getting ready for the next wave of customers.”
He surveyed the room. “I’ll help Sam and Jayla. Are
n’t you leaving early?”
“Probably around eleven thirty. Our flight is at two and you know LAX is a nightmare.”
Cam folded his arms across his wide chest. “He treating you right?”
“Yes, Cam,” Lexia said with exasperation. “And you can stop glaring at him every time he comes in.”
He chuckled. “Hey, that’s not what you said the last time.”
“The last time was different.” Cameron had been ready to dismember Desmond when he found out what the man had done. It had taken Jan and Lexia more than an hour to convince Cam that Desmond wasn’t worth it. “Anyway...” She trailed off when her eyes locked with Khalil’s as he came toward the café entrance.
Cam laughed. “Girl, you’ve got it bad. I sure hope it works out.”
Lexia rolled her eyes, but was smiling. “Hush.” She walked over to meet Khalil. “Hey.”
Khalil placed a kiss on her temple. “Hey, baby. I know I’m a little early, but I wanted to talk to your friend.”
“Okay.”
He fingered a wavy strand. “I think I did a good job.”
“Yes, you did.” Images of him trailing kisses on her shoulders and neck as he helped her wash and condition her hair flashed in her mind. Lexia met his eyes and the slow grin appearing on his face let her know he was remembering, as well. She turned back to where Cameron still stood and beckoned him over and made introductions. “Cam, Khalil wants to talk to you.” She handed Cam her phone. “You can use my phone to talk and he’ll be able to read it on his.” The technology hadn’t been around when Elyse had lost her hearing, so Lexia and Jan had relied on writing notes and sign language. She pointed to a table on the far side of the room. “You can use that booth.”
A Touch of Love Page 14