Lexia held up her small foot with her perfectly painted purple nails and the rhinestones shimmered in the light. “My shoes.”
Khalil shook his head. “Leave them on.” He traced a path with his tongue from her ankle to the back of her knee, placed a lingering kiss, resumed his course and ended at her core, where she was already wet. Her aroused scent filled his nostrils. He had to taste her. He hooked her legs over his shoulders and settled between her thighs. At the first stroke of his tongue, she stiffened and he heard it again—she screamed. He swirled deeper and moved with long, bold strokes from bottom to top and back again.
He slipped two fingers inside her opening as he took the tiny bud between his lips. She was so sweet, so responsive. He quickened the pace and her thighs tightened on his shoulders, her hips arched off the bed and her body shook uncontrollably as she climaxed all around him. He slowed his movements, withdrew and slid up her body.
Lexia’s eyes fluttered open and connected with his. A soft smile touched her lips and she leaned up and kissed him.
That funny feeling in his chest came back and Khalil forced it down, trying to convince himself that this was nothing more than a strong physical attraction. Holding her gaze, he shifted his lower body and entered her with one long thrust, snugly fit in the place he couldn’t seem to get enough of. He retreated almost to the tip, then thrust himself completely inside her again. She caught his rhythm and he guided her hips as she lifted to meet each stroke. He watched her rapturous expression and his release struggled to rise to the surface.
“Don’t stop, baby,” she chanted.
With each stroke, Khalil felt her pulling everything out of him. And when his release came, it was intense and all-encompassing. For the first time in almost six weeks, he heard his own voice as he yelled out her name. Another set of emotions took hold and joy filled his soul. She came right with him, deep tremors taking over their bodies. He couldn’t explain this connection or the sensations humming through him. He buried his face in her neck, whispering, murmuring—what, he didn’t quite know. Once his breathing slowed, he withdrew and removed her shoes. He rolled to his side, taking her with him. They didn’t talk—just simply fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Khalil didn’t know how much time had passed when he felt Lexia’s warm lips against his cheek. He didn’t move or open his eyes.
“I love you.”
His heart stopped and started up again, and he forced himself to stay still. She loved him? Love came with too many complications and he didn’t do love. But he didn’t want to hurt her, nor could he stay away. Now what the hell was he supposed to do?
Chapter 17
For the next three days after returning from New York, Khalil threw himself back into work, finalizing details on new equipment and interviewing for a new manager. He’d also gone to the police station to identify and retrieve his property and was working with them to get his money back. He had hoped by staying busy, he wouldn’t have to think about his dilemma with Lexia. He hadn’t talked to her since dropping her off on Sunday evening and missed her more than he thought possible. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her beautiful face, smelled her intoxicating citrusy fragrance, felt her heated touch and remembered each erotic moment of the weekend. Even now, arousal flowed through his veins.
His cell buzzed. Although his hearing had returned pretty well in his left ear, he hadn’t told anyone and the staff continued to utilize technology for communication. He read the text from the receptionist, letting him know that Cameron was on his way up. After much consideration, Cameron fit far better than the other candidates and, despite his lack of knowledge of fitness, Khalil suspected it wouldn’t take long for the man to get up to speed. According to Cameron’s former employer, Cameron had had a stellar record prior to the tragedy.
Khalil stood and rounded the desk when Cameron knocked on the partially open door. “Come on in.” They shook and Khalil gestured him to a chair. “Thanks for coming.”
Cameron lowered his large body into the chair. “Thanks for the invitation.”
He went back to his desk. “I’d like to offer you the new manager’s position. I understand that the salary is a little lower than your previous job, but I’m hoping you’ll take the position.”
Cameron leaned back in his chair and didn’t immediately comment. Then, “I don’t mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, but are you doing this to try to win some points with Lexia? No offense.”
“None taken.” Khalil had to hand it to the man. He didn’t pull any punches, especially where Lexia was concerned. Cameron had made that clear on their first meeting. But this was business and Khalil never let anything influence him when it came to his livelihood. “This has nothing to do with Lexia. Only your résumé.”
They engaged in a staredown for several seconds before he nodded. “Then I’ll take the job. I really appreciate you taking a chance on me.”
“Like I said, you have an impressive résumé. The gym doesn’t open for another month, but I would like for you to start immediately. You can train here and be ready to hit the ground running in June.”
Cameron shook his head. “I can start right now, if you want,” he said with a chuckle.
Khalil grinned, stood and extended his hand. “Welcome to Maximum Burn. We’ll take a tour, come back up here so I can show you the design of the new facility, then I’ll introduce you to Felicia and she’ll give you some paperwork to fill out. I’d also like to know if you’d be available to meet later this week about the project you mentioned for the homeless. I’m going to see if my brothers and sisters will help.”
Cameron stood, seemingly in shock. “Are you serious? Wow.” He pumped Khalil’s hand so hard Khalil thought it was going to fall off. “Thank you, thank you. Just let me know when.”
It took another half hour to complete everything and Khalil went back to his office. He took his cell out and sent a group text to his siblings. Malcolm was leaving in three weeks for vacation and he wanted to get the ball rolling before then. By the end of the day, he’d heard from everyone and they agreed to meet on Friday evening. Everything seemed to be on track—the progress on the new gym, a new manager, his hearing—except what to do about Lexia. He was honest enough to admit that he had feelings for her, but after his last experience, he had vowed to never again let someone close to his heart. And he’d done fine up to this point. But he couldn’t leave things the way they were. It wasn’t fair to Lexia. He just needed to come up with a way to tell her he couldn’t see her anymore. A churning started in his gut. That prospect didn’t sit well, either.
Khalil poked his head in the office that the staff trainers used to let them know he was leaving. Instead of having a manager on duty in the evenings, one or more of the trainers handled that shift on rotation. Khalil usually came in some evenings, as well. He drove home and immediately stepped out onto the terrace off his living room. With the calendar changing to May, the lengthening days made it possible for him to catch the sunset if he got home by seven. He inhaled deeply, grateful for the gift of being able to hear the sound of the ocean crashing against the shore again. He still had concern about what would happen with his right ear, but it was tempered by this small blessing.
His cell buzzed in his pocket and he fished it out. He smiled and shook his head upon seeing his mother’s name on the display. She had texted him every couple of days since she and his father left for their ten-day Caribbean cruise. They were due back on Friday and he knew what she wanted. Khalil swiped the screen and tapped on her message.
Hello, son. Your father and I are having a blast. I should be rested enough to visit you on Saturday, so I hope you’ll be available. Love you!
She hoped he’d be available? He laughed. That meant he needed to be available on Saturday, no matter what he had planned. He let her know that he’d drive over on Saturday afternoon. He started t
o tell her about his hearing, but decided to wait and surprise them.
The phone buzzed again and he went still.
Lexia’s message dropped down: Hey, baby. Just checking to see if everything is okay.
She had only called him “baby” once during that lovemaking session on Saturday night. The night she had uttered those three words. His thumb hovered over the screen for a few seconds before he replied: I’m good, just catching up on work. He hesitated once more before asking if he could stop by tomorrow after work.
Lexia responded simply, Yes.
That gave him twenty-four hours to come up with a way to let go of the woman who had captured his heart.
* * *
Lexia sat in her bedroom Thursday afternoon staring at the photos from New York on her phone. Her weekend with Khalil had been something straight out of a fantasy, from the lavish accommodations and mini city tour to dancing in the middle of an exquisitely decorated ballroom and passionate lovemaking. She would never ever forget the night with the shoes. She had been so caught up in the sensations that she had foolishly told him she loved him. Her only saving grace was that he couldn’t hear her. It also helped that he had been asleep. She shook her head. What was I thinking? She wasn’t. Not after the way he’d looked at her afterward and the tender kiss he had given her that had melted her heart. She’d let her emotions spill over and hadn’t been able to put them back in the bottle since.
Lexia continued going through the photos and slowed at the ones taken in Times Square, the first one with him playfully kissing her cheek and the one when he’d turned her face to his and kissed her while taking the picture. Of all the moments they had shared, this one was near the top of the list. Over the past several weeks, she had come to realize there was much more to Khalil beneath the sculpted body and handsome face. How on earth was she supposed to resist him? The doorbell rang. She exited out of the photo gallery. When she opened the door and saw Khalil her heart rate increased. It had only been four days since she had seen him, but the excitement bubbling up inside her made it seem longer.
“Hey. Come on in.” She stepped back so he could enter.
Khalil brushed a kiss over her lips and crossed the threshold. “Hey.”
He took a seat on the sofa and she sat next to him. “Can I get you something?” she spelled.
A faint smile touched his lips. “No, thanks.” He grasped her hand. “We need to talk.”
“Okay.” Lexia reached for her phone and he covered her hand with his.
“We don’t need it.”
She observed him a moment, and then it dawned on her. “You can hear me?”
He pointed to his left ear. “Just out of this one.”
Dread uncoiled in her belly. “How long?”
“It’s been in and out for the past several days, but more consistent over the last two.”
Had he heard her that night? She was too afraid to ask, not sure she wanted to know the answer. Instead she smiled and kissed him. “I’m really happy for you.”
“Thank you.”
They lapsed into silence and Lexia sensed something not quite right. “Is there something wrong? You said we needed to talk.”
Khalil stared at her a long moment. “We do. I’m not sure where to begin. Lexia, I really enjoy being with you and the time we spent together, but...”
She pulled her hand away. “But what?”
“I don’t think...maybe we should...”
Lexia leaned away, then stood. She knew what was coming next. “Maybe we should have some space? Is that what you were going to say?” He didn’t comment, but his expression told all. She scrubbed a hand across her forehead and paced. “I don’t believe this,” she muttered. She whirled on him and pointed a finger his way. “I asked for some space, but you came after me. Now all of a sudden you need space. If all you wanted to do was sleep with me then you could have skipped all the pretense.”
He jumped up. “It’s not like that,” he gritted out.
She folded her arms and glared at him. “No? Then please, by all means enlighten me. How is it, exactly?”
Khalil held up his palms. “Look, Lexia. I’m sorry. I’m not—”
She chuckled bitterly. “You’ve got that right.”
“I didn’t plan for any of this. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way,” he added softly.
Lexia let out an exasperated sigh. “What way did you think it would turn out? The hand-holding, kissing, spending time together—what was I supposed to think? I actually believed you cared about me, but I guess I was wrong.”
He ran a hand down his face. “I do care about you, Lexia, but I can’t give you what you want. This isn’t like some fairy tale where I can wave a magic wand and make everything perfect.”
“I never asked you for a fairy tale.” The only thing she had ever asked was that the love she had given be returned to her. She bit back the tears threatening to fall. She refused to let him see her cry. “Was there anything else?”
Khalil closed the distance between them. “Lexia.”
“Just go, okay?”
He lifted his hand to touch her face and she moved out of his reach. He dropped his hand to his side, turned on his heel and walked out.
As soon as the door closed softly behind him, the tears she had held at bay came full force. When was she going to learn? Love wasn’t meant for her.
Chapter 18
“Khalil!”
Khalil turned at the sound of Brandon’s voice. All of his siblings and their spouses were staring at him. “What?”
“I called your name like four times. What is going on? Do we need to use our phones again?” Brandon pulled his out.
“No. I can hear you just fine. And so can my neighbors,” he added sarcastically. They had all been surprised when he told them about being able to hear again. But the one thing he wanted to hear was his niece’s laughter. She was asleep when Justin and Siobhan arrived and just woke up. He pushed back from the table and plucked her out of Siobhan’s arms. “Hey, Miss Nyla. How’s my baby girl?” He kissed her soft, brown cheek. She stared up at him with sleepy eyes, then as she recognized him, a wide, toothless smile spread across her face. Nyla reached up and rubbed her hand across his beard. Before he could blink, her chubby hand grabbed his ear and latched on to the diamond stud. “Whoa.”
Siobhan carefully removed her hand. “You have to watch her. She’s quick.”
“I guess so.” Khalil held her up and nuzzled her belly. Her sparkling laughter warmed his heart.
“You could have your own little girl,” Brandon teased. “Lexia would make a perfect mother.”
A sharp pain replaced the warmth. “I didn’t ask you all here to get into my personal life.”
“No, but you haven’t said anything past wanting to get some mobile services in the areas where the homeless congregate,” Morgan said. “You’ve just been staring into space all starry-eyed.” She leaned forward. “That means either you’re ready to take the plunge, or you messed it up.”
Khalil cut Morgan a look.
“Yep, he messed it up.” She grinned and rubbed her hands together. “Let’s hurry up and get this discussion over with, so we can cut to the juicy stuff.”
“Omar, get your wife. As I was saying, I’ve done some research and found a couple of pretty cool things. One is a mobile shower and the other is a mobile grocery store. Both utilize renovated buses and we could have someone to drive through those areas maybe three times a week. Cameron gave me three neighborhood addresses.” He shifted Nyla in his arms, opened a folder and picked up a piece of paper. “I—” Nyla closed her fist around the edge with lightning-speed reflexes. “Look here, little miss,” Khalil said with a chuckle. “Can you please let Uncle Khalil finish, then we can play?” She giggled. He shook his head and mov
ed the paper out of her reach. “I took the liberty of checking out the property in those areas and found several abandoned warehouses and a couple of closed-down hotels.”
“So, if we buy a couple of them and turn them into transitional living facilities, that would give shelter to at least some,” Malcolm said.
“Exactly.”
“That’s a fabulous idea.”
“You read my mind, Faith.” He handed Nyla back to Siobhan and picked up his pen.
Omar asked, “How much do you need?”
Khalil smiled. He knew he could count on his family. They went over figures and costs and potential investors and staff for all three projects. Two hours later, he felt they had made good headway and each of the siblings had a task.
“Is there anything else we need to discuss?”
He glanced down at his notes. “I think that’s it for now. I want to run all this by Cameron. He mentioned a family of young people who are on the streets because they lost their parents. The oldest works a few hours a week at a junior college where he takes classes, but the bulk of the money offsets his financial aid. I’d like to see about getting them off the streets and into a home.”
Siobhan tapped her hand on the table. “You know, maybe they can work with one of these projects.”
“That’s a perfect idea.” Faith turned toward Brandon. “Or we can get them into the intern program at Grays or with my website design business, depending on their interests and skills.”
“I appreciate everybody’s willingness to take on this project. We’ll meet again in a couple of weeks.”
“Now that that’s out of the way, Khalil, what did you do to Lexia? Mom said she’s an angel.” Morgan fixed her gaze on him.
Khalil rolled his eyes. He could imagine everything his mother said after that visit. “Nothing happened. It just didn’t work out.” And I can’t give her the love she wants...the love she deserves. At the time, he believed he had done the right thing. The part of him that had been broken when Michaela betrayed him agreed wholeheartedly. But the part of him that craved the touch of sweetness Lexia had brought into his life wasn’t so sure.
A Touch of Love Page 17