He bowed his head and smiled. “You have to admit it, though.”
“Admit what?” She laughed.
“That it’s easy to get full of yourself when all your brothers’ friends probably wanted a piece of you.” The corners of his vivid gaze crinkled on a wince as the words touched his ears. “That came out wrong,” he whispered with a playful grimace.
“Don’t worry about it.” She turned from the balcony doors. “That’s pretty much the same way Sam put it. He told me that there were men who based love on looks because that’s what they truly valued.” Her dark eyes adopted a faraway gleam. “He said a man like that doesn’t know love at all and wouldn’t want me for long if that’s all he was basing his feelings on.”
“Sam sounds like a smart guy.”
Setha shrugged. “He’s got his moments.”
Laughter rumbled.
“He’s right, you know?”
The view wore thin for Setha then and she sauntered close, not stopping until she stood between his thighs where he sat on the sofa. “I wondered if you could be put in that category.” She scrunched up her nose and scrutinized him.
“I wondered that myself.”
His admission made her heart flip woefully but she appreciated his honesty. “And?” she forced herself to ask.
A furrow found its way between Khouri’s sleek long brows as he studied every curve and feature of her face. “No man could see you and not be stopped by the way you look. I’ve chosen women—lots of women—because of their looks.” He shook his head, his bright eyes never leaving her face. “This time…it just doesn’t feel like I’ve done that.”
She nodded. “Maybe it’s because you…saved me.” She smirked over the phrasing.
Khouri considered her point, and then shook his head again. “Sorry—it doesn’t feel like that, either.”
She snuggled into him then, circling his neck with her arms and raking her nails across his nape where baby-fine hair tapered. “What does it feel like?” she asked.
Corded bands of muscle flexed in his forearms when they locked about her waist. “Feels like heaven.”
No further time was wasted on discussion. Khouri knotted a portion of her hair in his fist and pulled her into his kiss. Playing a game of hide-and-seek, he thrust his tongue deep, but refused her attempts to entwine hers about his. Still seated on the back of the sofa, he took advantage of his comfortable position. Cupping her butt beneath the denim capris that neatly encased it, he cradled the firm globes in wide palms and drew her farther into the embrace of his thighs.
Setha didn’t argue when he broke the kiss once she realized he’d done it in order to glide his mouth down the slope of her neck. She angled her head to give him more room to explore while simultaneously nuzzling her ample breasts into his chest.
Khouri uttered something low, guttural that seemed to surge up from the depths of him. Moments later, he was scooping her up still cradling her bottom in his hands.
She felt a cushioned, luxurious surface beneath her back—not the sofa as she’d anticipated, but one of the beds in the plush, airy suites. Khouri had placed her in the center of a queen-size four-poster and directed every ounce of his attention on solving the mystery of how to relieve her of her clothing. He had her half out of them when the phone on the nightstand began to ring. It rang loudly.
“Son of a…” His voice held the definite tinge of a growl then. Reluctantly, he drew his face from the valley between Setha’s breasts—bared once he’d pressed open the front clasp of her bra—reached over and snatched the receiver from its mount.
Setha was moving to give him room to handle the call and found herself held between his body and the thigh he dropped across hers. Patiently, she waited, listening to him thanking someone after he’d answered the call in an obviously gruff tone.
“Business?” she asked, once he was done with the call.
“Of sorts.”
His vague response had Setha puffing out her cheeks in slight agitation.
“Do you mind me asking what this part of the trip is supposed to accomplish?”
“Hopefully, we’ll come away with a few more locales for the campaign.” He returned to her breasts, outlining them with the tip of his nose.
Setha sighed, deliciously affected by the delicate bath his tongue was giving to her nipples.
“And since you’re the woman I love…” He fell into thoroughly suckling her firmed nipples then.
“Khouri…” She ground her hips against his while pushing more of herself into his mouth.
He looked down at her then. “Since you’re the woman I love, hopefully we’ll come away knowing more about each other.”
Onyx gaze dreamy, she raked her fingers through the curls smattering his head. “I hope you realize that downtown Houston isn’t the most private place to do that.”
His smile was devilment personified. “You’d be surprised at what a man can do when he’s driven.”
“Such as?” Her voice was a taunting purr.
He plied her with another long kiss. He placed the same attention upon her nipples and then drew back.
“Rest up for tonight,” he ordered, dropping a kiss to her temple and leaving her alone in the bed.
* * *
Avra was out enjoying the downtown Houston scene as well but it had nothing to do with the Melendez account. She was having drinks with a well-known developer who wanted to work on a new campaign to highlight his projects in Ross Review.
“I should’ve thought of this a long time ago,” Rauli Atkins said when he returned from the bar with their drinks.
“Surely, you’ve advertised in this area before?” Avra sipped her vodka straight and nodded her satisfaction at the taste.
Rauli shrugged. “Some advertising. Nothing like what I’d want to do with Ross.”
“I’m glad you think we’re what you’re looking for.”
“You’ve got a lot to do with that.” His brown stare traveled appreciatively across her alluring features and the silver-toned off-shoulder blouse that accentuated her dark skin. “You make business seem like anything but.”
Avra lifted her glass in toast. “Well then, to me!”
Rauli followed suit. “I’ll drink to that!”
The couple took deep sips and set down their glasses with laughter carrying between them. Avra was glad she’d accepted the offer to meet Rauli in the city. The good feelings lasted right up until she caught sight of Samson Melendez…and his date.
* * *
Sam was on a mission to get Avra Ross out of his head and prove his sister wrong. Sure, she fascinated him, he thought while grimly following his date and a waitress to one of the tables in the private club. A cool $500 held the seats reserved for the evening. The wasted money had done nothing to improve his mood.
So he was fascinated by Avra Ross, so what? She wasn’t the first or last woman he’d be fascinated by…. With no small effort, he ignored the niggling little voice in the back of his skull that told him how very wrong he was about that.
“Dos Equis.” He barely grunted the drink request to the bubbly waitress.
He was only fascinated because he wanted her in bed. Once he had her there, he’d be done with her. There was nothing more to it than that. That is, until he saw her across the crowded club they’d both picked that night to visit.
Without a word to his date, Sam crossed the floor toward Avra and her companion. He didn’t need to announce himself, she had already noticed him—tried to laugh over something her date had said, but failed.
“Well, well,” she spoke through clenched teeth, and then smiled at the man seated to her left. “Sam Melendez, this is—”
“What’s goin’ on, Rau?” Sam was already extending a hand.
“Sam!” Rauli got to h
is feet and returned the hearty shake. “I was hopin’ we’d see each other before I left town.”
“When are you headed out?”
“Couple of days.”
“Stop by the office before you go.”
“Count on it. Hey? Join us?”
“Rauli—” Avra interrupted.
“I insist,” Rauli stifled Avra’s words of discouragement. He squeezed her shoulder. “One drink? I’m gonna run to the bar—waitress is as slow as Hades.”
“Proud of yourself?” Avra leaned against the silver-barred back of her chair and kept a steely gaze trained on the crowded room. “I’m not your baby sister. I don’t need your protection from all the big bad boys out there.” She maintained her cool when he bent low, crowding her at the table.
Sam placed one hand on the table, the other on the back of Avra’s chair. “I know you don’t need that. Can I help it if I saw someone I know?”
Avra reached for her clutch purse. “Then I’ll just leave y’all to catch up.” He made no effort to move his hands. The look in his ebony stare told her not to even try moving then.
“Jealous, Sam?”
“We were workin’ together.”
“And there was no need to check on me.”
“I see—” his smirk held more tension than humor “—because there’s more to this than business.”
“That’s none of your business.” She stared fixedly at the silver wristwatch glinting beneath the cuff of his shirt. “Do you mind?”
Sam straightened. Avra took advantage of newfound freedom to bolt from the table.
Sam kept his vicious curse muffled. Rolling his eyes, he managed to smile in the face of his stupidity. “Nice, Sam. Nice.”
* * *
Setha gave in to the air of decadence swirling through her when Khouri knocked on the adjoining suite door when he came to collect her for dinner that evening. Although business was their primary reason for being there, she’d hoped the dress she wore might encourage him to forgo their responsibilities and enjoy their rooms a bit more.
“We’re already dressed,” he reasoned.
Setha waved a hand toward the chic silk amber dress. The draping neckline teased an admirer with a glimpse of rising bosom. “This is very easy to get out of,” she boasted.
“I’ll bet.” Khouri’s tone held a resigned quality. His vivid stare settled more than once to the frock’s flirty neckline.
“Your expression tells me you might be willing to take my suggestion.” She leaned against the door connecting their rooms and flattered him with a provocative stare.
Khouri relaxed against the doorjamb, easing his hand into a trouser pocket. “Is that what it’s telling you?”
She nodded eagerly. “Uh-huh.” She curled her fingers about the tail of the coffee-colored shirt hanging outside his trousers.
It was easy to entice him into the kiss. She skimmed her tongue across the even ridge of his teeth, hungry for the taste and smell of him. She moaned quietly, darting her tongue out to play with his, and then pressing her lips heatedly against his.
Khouri’s hands grazed her satiny thighs en route to her derriere beneath the dress. He squeezed her into him and they merged into a scandalously wanton kiss right there on the threshold of their rooms.
“Yes, please,” she breathed when he clutched her tight as though he were about to lift her and take her to his bed or hers. Her heart thudded its anticipation and she kissed with a hungrier fire. Threading her fingers into the curls at the base of his neck, she drove her tongue insistently against his.
“Khouri, please…”
“Honey, wait.” He gave in to a few more seconds of the kisses and fondling. Then he grunted and planted a hard, long kiss to her forehead. “Business first, okay?”
Setha could hear the torture in his voice, but she knew his mind was set. Obligingly, she nodded.
He brushed his thumb across her mouth and the lipstick smudged there. “Fix this,” he whispered with a heart-stopping smile.
* * *
“Have I been here before?” Setha wondered, twirling a lock of her blue-black hair about her thumb while leaning against Khouri as they took the elevator to the hotel’s skyline restaurant.
Khouri observed the passing night view of downtown Houston from the glass-encased elevator. “Doubt it. They serve dinner here, you know?”
His dig at her “adversity” to eating out was taken in good humor. Still, Setha couldn’t resist shoving her elbow into his ribs.
“So you’re thinking of a dinner shot?” She worked her hand through the crook of his elbow.
He barely shrugged. “Sort of.”
They were greeted by the host who took them into the restaurant by way of the kitchen. They lingered there for a while. Khouri spent close to ten minutes shaking hands and speaking with the cooks and a few of the waiters.
The host led them to yet another elevator that carried them to the roof.
“Aah…” Setha understood.
“I like this one more for an evening shot,” he told her, inhaling the crisp air that met them as they left the elevator.
“I can see why…” Setha inhaled as well, tossing back her hair for an unobstructed view. There was no denying the beauty of downtown Houston while it was lit by the abundance of light.
“Sherman will be with you soon.” The host left them with the name of their server.
“How is it you’re so well-known here and we’ve never met?” Setha asked once they were alone on the roof.
Khouri walked over to meet her at the railing. “Everything in its own time, I guess.”
“And now you’ve closed down a restaurant for me,” she said after they had enjoyed the view in silence for a while.
Khouri chuckled, stroking the back of his hand across his jaw. “I’m not exactly a closing-down-restaurants type of guy.”
“Mmm…” Setha closed her eyes to savor a strong breeze in her face. “You’re just a closing-down-rooftop-dining-rooms-and-giving-me-my-own-exclusive-sky-view kind of guy?”
“Exactly.” His arm banded about her waist and he pulled her into a kiss that ended when the waiter cleared his throat.
“Sherm!” Khouri greeted the waiter who’d been in the main dining room when they’d walked through the kitchen earlier. “Do you mind if I order?” he asked Setha once he and Sherman shook hands.
Setha was already waving her consent and then turned back to enjoy the extraordinary view. When he returned to tug her back into his embrace, she melted into Khouri’s secure unyielding frame.
“So about why we’ve never met… It is weird, given how close our dads are. And we’ve never had so much as a playdate.” He nuzzled his handsome face into the crook of her neck.
Setha laughed hearty and long. “I’m tryin’ to imagine Sam and Avra together in a sandbox.”
Laughter roared on the rooftop for a while.
“You know I actually heard Sam asking my dad about that when he and Avra started working on the campaign.”
“And?”
She snuggled deeper into Khouri’s chest. “He said there was a time in his life when he wanted his family life separated from his business life. I guess our dads started off as associates—they were friendly ones but maybe the relationship didn’t really take off ’til later. Maybe they decided to just keep their entire relationship private—removed even from family.” She shrugged, nuzzling her head beneath his chin. “At least they had each other when they lost our mothers.”
“Yeah….” Khouri kissed the top of her head and they shared the view in silence.
* * *
After a late start the next morning, Khouri and Setha took in the offerings of their city. They even worked in a tour of Houston’s Downtown Aquarium. The marvel was home to
over two hundred species of marine life.
Following a robust walk over the six-acre spread, the couple stopped for lunch at the aquarium’s restaurant where they spent over an hour next to the 150,000-gallon aquarium that cast liquid shimmers of illumination from the mellow, colorful depths of the water. Only after leaving, did they realize that they had been so captivated by the beauty of the aquatic life behind the glass tank they had totally neglected lunch.
* * *
“Do you think this is wise? A great view is what got us in trouble at lunch,” Setha remarked when she joined Khouri on the balcony.
They’d decided on dinner from the patio of their adjoining suites. The private pool and breathtaking fire pit were definite attention getters though.
Khouri was clicking off the room’s cordless phone when Setha arrived outside. Once again, he’d handled ordering the evening’s menu. Barefoot, he spanned the patio and came to rest against the balcony railing.
“I’m pretty sure our stomachs are too empty to be ignored for much longer. The view will keep.” He quieted then, massaging his jaw and settling deep into his thoughts.
“What?” She tilted her head while making the inquiry. The flaring hem of her dress stretched against the consistent breeze while she moved deeper onto the balcony.
Khouri shook his head, still stroking his jaw. “Thinkin’ about before—what we were talking about—how we never got to know each other as kids.”
“Right.” She spoke in an encouraging tone, patiently waiting for him to share more. She took a seat on the chaise closest to the fire.
She and Khouri had both taken to lounge clothes for the evening. Her tie-dyed lounger perfectly complemented his navy blue sleep pants which were his only attire. The scene was set for conversation and more delightful things…. Setha absorbed the warmth from the fire. She massaged her fingertips into her bare arms and considered his point.
“Things were so great when we were kids,” she remembered in a dreamy tone that didn’t quite bring complete ease to her expression. “All that was before Ma… We were always going places, doing things. We stayed busy and excited. Living lives worthy of the children of Danilo Melendez. Hmph.” She looked toward the fire as if it held some mystical secret that she craved the answer to.
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