Kimberly tried to do the steps and hoped she didn’t show off two left feet. After a few minutes, they mercifully walked her back to her table. Everyone in the restaurant gave her resounding applause.
“You were great,” Jaxon told her. But Kimberly couldn’t speak because standing behind him with a woman was her brother Sean.
Seeing the stunned look on Kimberly’s face, Jaxon swiftly turned around to see who or what had caused her such alarm.
“Kimmy, you always did have two left feet,” Sean said.
Kimberly stared at her older brother, who was standing there as if he barely knew her. She hadn’t seen him in months, but he hadn’t changed much, except maybe for the mustache he was now rocking. He was taller than Jaxon by a couple of inches, with a short curly fade, full lips and bushy eyebrows that she’d always told him needed to get trimmed. He was stylishly dressed in black trousers, a black silk shirt and vest.
The woman at his side was no less as impressive with her distinct African features. She was just as tall as Sean with smooth, flawless dark brown skin and she wore a wisp of a chiffon dress that barely reached her thighs, but on her it looked amazing. It also made Kim feel as if she was an Amazon, instead of a Glamazon like this creature.
She eventually found her voice. “Well, perhaps if you’d help teach me to dance I wouldn’t be.”
“You’ve never needed me, Kimmy,” Sean replied. “You were born self-sufficient.”
Jaxon stepped forward and offered his hand to Sean. “Jack Scott. Nice to meet you.” They shook hands, but Sean didn’t bother introducing his date.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Jax—Jack.” Kimberly caught herself in time. She knew Jaxon didn’t want anyone to know his real identity. “This is my brother Sean Parker.”
“Sean.” Jaxon nodded as understanding apparently dawned on him.
“It’s good to see you,” Kimberly said.
“You’re looking well,” Sean said. “Leadership agrees with you.”
Kimberly tried to ignore the dig and attempted to make conversation. “How’s the opening of your new restaurant coming along?”
“It’s coming.”
Her heart sank; he wasn’t going to make this easy for her. She stared at Sean for several long moments wishing that he would give her some sign of hope that they could put this distance behind them and move forward, but instead he said, “Our table is ready.” He began to walk away, but Kimberly touched his arm.
“Sean, please.”
He glanced down at her hand and the scornful stare he gave her as he looked into her eyes told Kimberly he was not interested in healing the wounds between them. He was just as hurt as he’d been six months ago. Time hadn’t healed all wounds.
She blinked, trying to hold her tears back. She felt Jaxon’s hands at her waist. “Why don’t we sit down?” he whispered in her ear.
She nodded as she watched Sean walk away with his date without another word to her. Dazed, Kimberly sat down.
“Are you okay?” Jaxon asked.
“Do you mind if we forego dessert and get out of here?”
“Of course not.” He motioned for the waiter and took care of the bill while Kimberly rushed toward the ladies’ room.
She didn’t want Jaxon to see just how hurt she was by her brother’s cold treatment. When she made it to the women’s restroom, she leaned against the door and let out a long cry.
Why was Sean being so unreasonable? Why was he treating her as though she’d done him wrong when all she’d done was work hard? She didn’t deserve his scorn or his rejection. She walked over to the sink and stared at her reflection. Sadness was in her eyes and that was far from what she’d wanted for this evening. But seeing Sean had caught her off guard. She hadn’t been prepared for the depth of his anger toward her. She was beginning to think their relationship was a lost cause.
If it was, she couldn’t let it ruin the good thing she had going with Jaxon. They’d been having a good time tonight until she’d seen Sean. She couldn’t let it ruin their first official date. She was going to have to put her sibling problem on the shelf and make things right with Jaxon.
When she came out of the ladies’ restroom, Jaxon was waiting for her.
“I took care of the check and I got dessert to go.” He held up a cardboard box. “I heard their flan is to die for.”
Kimberly smiled. “We can eat it later. What else is in store for tonight?”
Jaxon frowned. “I assumed you wanted to get back to the Belleza.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t want this evening to end. I’m not going to let anything or anyone ruin our night.”
A broad grin spread across Jaxon’s face. “I’m glad to hear it.” He offered her his arm. “Then let’s go.”
To lighten the mood, they ended the evening at a nearby casino, where Jaxon supplied Kimberly with an abundance of chips after they’d valet-parked his rented Jaguar.
“I warn you, I don’t gamble,” Kimberly said as she looked around the casino. “Don’t believe in it. Why would people waste good money when the odds are always in the house’s favor?”
“Because it can be fun sometimes,” Jaxon replied. “Let’s try it.” He grasped her reluctant hand and pulled her toward the tables.
They started first with the roulette table, then it was on to poker, after which they finally settled on blackjack. Jaxon whispered some tips and his breath was warm and tickled her ear. She nodded her understanding as he explained the general principle of the card game.
“Seems easy enough.” She glanced over at him as he took the seat beside her at the table. She decided to bet twenty bucks on her first hand and work up to a larger bet.
The dealer dealt the six players at the table their hand and Kimberly took a peek at her cards. She had an eight and seven. It was a risk, but she was hoping it would pay off. “Hit me.”
The dealer gave her another card—a five. Kimberly blew out a sigh of relief. She stayed at twenty. When the dealer busted, she, Jaxon and another player won.
“This is fun!” She smiled at him. Despite what had happened between her and Sean earlier at the restaurant, she was finally starting to relax. Seeing her brother had nearly dashed her hopes for a fun and romantic evening but she was rallying and she didn’t want to see the night end.
Kimberly won another three games straight before she increased her bet to fifty-dollar chips.
“You feeling lucky?” Jaxon said.
She caught the intense heat of his gaze. She read his mind and knew what he meant, what would make them both very lucky. The magnitude of their desire for each other was palpable. “Well, that depends on you, doesn’t it?”
Jaxon merely smiled and they returned to the game. They played several more hands of blackjack before leaving the table. They were headed to try their hand at another game, when they saw a poster for a burlesque show that evening. It was clear it was somewhat naughty, but also intriguing.
“Should we check it out?” Jaxon asked. He didn’t wait for her response; he just pulled her toward the entrance. There was a bouncer at the door, who Jaxon tipped before he opened the rope and let them in.
Kimberly and Jaxon stood near the doorway and watched the show in silence in the dark.
* * *
Jaxon was beginning to feel restless, edgy. Watching this show with performers in their skimpy costumes and bustiers was making him extremely horny. He imagined Kimberly wearing one of those outfits. She had just enough bosom to fill out one of those numbers and Jaxon would love to buy her one and have her model it for him.
He could sense Kimberly’s uneasiness as she stood beside him. She was much more conservative than he was, so he could only imagine that watching a sexy show like this was out of her comfort zone, but she seemed determined to go with the flow.
; When one of the dancers pranced onstage and began to seductively sway her hips, Jaxon couldn’t resist the throbbing need in his loins. He pulled Kimberly into a dark corner of the club and kissed her.
His tongue met hers and she angled her head to allow him better access. Their mouths connected, tongues tasted and hands roamed over each other’s body in the dark of the nightclub. Blood rushed through his veins and his heart began to beat erratically. Sexual need seeped through him and he could feel his manhood beginning to swell.
He moved his lips from hers long enough to say, “We need to get out of here.”
“Yes, we do,” she murmured.
They were out of the nightclub and hotel casino and back in the Jaguar in less than five minutes. Once in the car, he wrapped his hand around her neck and drew her to him. He mated his tongue with hers in a French kiss that only hinted at the need that was burning inside him. The kiss was passionate and possessive. If he could, he would give in to his desire now and have Kimberly in the car, but he couldn’t. For now, he would take her back to his suite and make love to her until she screamed out his name.
Slowly he pulled away and started the car. “To be continued.”
Chapter 12
Once they’d made it to Jaxon’s suite, he swept her into his arms and explored her mouth greedily. They didn’t bother to turn on the light. Instead they let the moonlight filter in from the drapes and illuminate them. They kicked off their shoes at the doorway and immediately began undressing each other. Jaxon’s shirt was the first to go followed by her peplum top and garnet satin plunge bra.
When she was naked from the waist up, Jaxon lifted her in his arms and she wrapped her legs around him as he carried her toward the bedroom.
“We’re about to burn up the sheets,” Jaxon murmured, seconds before his mouth found her hardened nipple.
She responded with a soft low moan. His actions were like an onslaught against her senses. “Jaxon.” She was just as eager to be with him. The ache she’d felt after that kiss in the burlesque club was about to be satisfied as only Jaxon could.
He lowered her onto the bed and then went for the zipper of his trousers and slowly eased them down his long, lean hips. Her gaze rested on his muscular chest before shifting lower to the powerful erection straining in his briefs. She wanted to feel its strength, its power inside her. She sucked in a deep breath when he slid the briefs down his legs and his shaft sprang free. He was big and powerful and she couldn’t wait to have him inside her. He walked over to the nightstand and put on a condom before returning to her.
He pulled her toward him at the edge of the bed. She knew what he wanted and helped him by unzipping her jeans. She lifted her hips and in one swift movement, he rid her of the denim along with the thong she’d been wearing. Clearly, he was adept at undressing a woman. Now naked, she reveled in his admiring gaze. He stared at her for long moments, drinking her in, and then crawled on top of her on the bed and took her mouth.
His kiss was demanding and she freely gave herself up to the passion. Her stomach tightened when she felt one of his hands roaming over her rear end as he pulled her firmly to him. His touch wasn’t smooth and slow like he usually was; instead he was unabashedly hurried. She could feel the need for him in the center of her legs and, as if Jaxon knew what she needed, he reached between her thighs and stroked her there, first with one finger. Then another. Then another. He had three fingers inside her and was stroking her with deliberate precision. Did he want to decimate her? she wondered. Sensation after sensation began to ripple through her entire body and Kimberly moaned.
“Come for me, baby. Don’t hold back.” Jaxon moved from her lips to her ear so he could tongue her with fervor.
Kimberly did just that. She didn’t hold back; she cried out his name. “Jaxon!”
Contractions were still reverberating through her body when she felt him enter her with a swift thrust, all the while holding her body immobile. She stretched for him and he began moving inside her. Heat flared again inside her. She couldn’t think. She just felt.
Jaxon began thrusting, gradually withdrawing and then thrusting deeper again. He seemed to savor each and every one of her gasps as he increased the tempo. She felt raw, unadulterated pleasure of the purest kind and her thighs began to quiver. She climaxed again and this time her release triggered his orgasm and he let out a throaty groan, then collapsed on top of her.
* * *
Kimberly sighed as morning light awakened her. Glancing at her watch, she realized she’d missed her morning workout with Gabrielle and Robyn for the second morning in a row. She’d overslept after a night spent making love to Jaxon again. Closing her eyes, she could imagine him lying next to her in her bed, feel him inside her, moving, stroking. Heck, her insides still throbbed from the multiple orgasms he’d given her last night. Too bad she’d left his suite and come back to her condo in the early predawn hours. She wanted him again.
The girls, however, were going to be suspicious of her out-of-character behavior. Instead of imagining more lovemaking with Jaxon, she’d best think of a plausible excuse to give Gabrielle and Robyn. But she ran out of time; she had to get to work.
Robyn and Gabrielle caught up to her when she was leaving her condo an hour later.
“There you are,” Gabrielle said. “Where the heck have you been?”
“Yeah, what gives?” Robyn asked. “You’ve missed two morning workouts and that’s unlike you.”
“It’s nothing. Anyway, I was just about to leave,” Kimberly said, attempting to shut her door behind her, but the girls pushed her back inside her condo.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Robyn grabbed her by the arm and closed the door behind her. “You’re going to tell us what you’ve been up to the last two days.”
“I—I—I haven’t been up to anything,” she lied as she pulled away from Robyn and walked into the kitchen. She turned on her Keurig coffeemaker. “I’ve just been really busy.” She opened the upper cabinet and pulled out a K-Cup and a mug. She placed the disc into the machine, pressed the on button and waited for it to brew.
“Is that right?” Gabrielle began circling Kimberly. “Because the concierge told us that Jack Scott asked for suggestions to a fine-dining restaurant and rented a car last night. And the day before yesterday neither of us could reach you all afternoon. Your phone kept going to voice mail, all day and all night.”
“Spill the beans, Kimberly Parker,” Robyn ordered.
“You might as well confess because we are not letting you out of this condo until you do,” Gabrielle added.
After her coffee was done, Kimberly reached for the mug and drank it black. She didn’t need the extra calories and she needed the added fortification to deal with her pushy friends this morning. “Okay, okay.” She threw up her hands in surrender. “Okay. Jax—Jack and I have been spending time together.” Good thing she caught herself before she compounded the situation by using his real name with her friends.
“Define ‘spending time together.’” Robyn eyed her warily.
Kimberly released a long sigh. There was no way she was going to be able to keep this to herself anymore. She let the cat out of the bag. “We spent the night together, actually the last two nights.”
“You did the nasty with Jack?” Gabrielle teased.
“Yes.” Kimberly lowered her head in shame, especially considering she was the biggest proponent of the Belleza’s rules.
“How was it?” Robyn asked, clearly eager for more juicy details.
Kimberly rolled her eyes. “Wonderful, hot, steamy, amazing. I can’t think of enough adjectives to describe this man.” She glanced over at Gabrielle as she fanned herself with her hand. “I take it you disapprove.”
“I don’t disapprove per se as this is the happiest I’ve seen you in months, but he is a guest, Kimberly, and haven’t you
always said we should stay clear of guests?”
Kimberly took another sip of coffee. “I have and I think it’s a wise practice. Trust me, I recognize I’m being a hypocrite on this issue.”
“But you’re still going to keep seeing him?” Gabrielle finished.
“Stop riding her,” Robyn said. “We were the ones who encouraged her to go talk to him.”
“Talk, maybe even date,” Gabrielle replied, “not jump into a sexual relationship with the man.”
“Can’t you lighten up on this, Gabby?” Kimberly asked. “I’m not saying it’s the perfect scenario, but Jack was so compassionate last night, especially after I ran into Sean.”
“You saw Sean?” Robyn’s entire demeanor changed and she seemed a bit on edge.
Kimberly nodded. “And it wasn’t a happy family reunion. He pretty much dissed me in front of his high-fashion-model date.”
“He had a date?” Robyn asked with a frown.
“Oh, yeah, some beautiful Glamazon,” Kimberly replied. “Whom he didn’t even bother introducing. And when I tried to reach out to him, he shut me down cold.”
“I’m sorry, Kim,” Gabrielle replied. “I wish Sean could get over his anger toward you and your parents so you can heal.”
“Doesn’t look like that’s happening anytime soon.”
“But he did talk to you,” Robyn said encouragingly. “He could have ignored you entirely.”
Kimberly laughed at Robyn’s hopeful attitude. “If you want to look at it like that, then yes. But I’m tired of being Sean’s whipping boy. If he wants to make amends, he’s going to have to take the next step. I’m done.”
Robyn nodded. “I’m sure it’ll happen, Kim. Sean just needs a little more time. You’ll see. He’ll come around.”
Kimberly squeezed her friend’s hand. “Thanks, gal.”
“In the meantime, are you going to continue seeing Jack?” Gabrielle inquired. “You know, after you’ve had good sex, you’ll want it on the regular, so it would be hard to go without.”
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