“Moses please don’t make me tell you this,” she begged, losing the desire to fight and slumping against him as she voiced her plea.
The frown clouding Moses’ face, cleared just slightly. He knew then that whatever she was keeping was something terrible. For her, it was something truly terrifying and he discovered that he was now just as terrified.
“Shh…” he coaxed, kissing her temple, her jaw, her earlobe. “Shh…come on, stop this…” he whispered, gathering her close. He smoothed his hands across her bare arms when she began to tremble.
“Let’s get you into something dry,” he suggested, grimacing at the drenched frock clinging to her. Still urging her to calm, he led her to the bedroom.
Johari offered no arguments. She was glad to be rid of the cold, confining material that he peeled from her damp skin as he stood behind her.
“Shh…” he continued to gesture; now adding the sweetness of airy kisses to her shoulders when he tugged loose the ties of her dress.
Smoothly, Jo’s preoccupation with the chill of rain soaked clothing shifted to the warmth radiating from the brush of Moses’ mouth on her body. Contentedly, she allowed herself to fall victim to the delicious sensations he roused. She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth and winced in sheer delight when his tongue traced tiny circles across her shoulder blades. The swirls were so light, they were barely felt yet their pleasure resonated a thousand times. When she would’ve lost strength to stand, his arm slipped about her waist and he imprisoned her next to him. Now, he nibbled the flesh of her earlobe-intermitted stroking the shell of her ear and the extra-sensitive spot behind it. He reached up and tugged away what remained of the dress.
In the next instant, Jo felt her breast warmed by the cover of his palm. She began to rub against the stunning hardness that dwelled below his waist. Her moans were full and unrestrained then. She couldn’t think of another thing aside from Moses. Moses Ramsey-the god she’d desired longer than she could remember.
His hand flexed around her breast, his thumb grazing the nipple-taut with arousal before he made her face him. Jo felt her heart lurch fiercely at the sight of his magnificent features then-more alluring with the addition of male desire. Jo’s lashes fluttered, her stunning gaze lowering to the curve of his mouth. She took but a moment to trace it with her thumb, before arching close and branding him with her kiss. It was hot and lusty from the onset. Jo stood on her toes to reach him as comfortably as possible. She felt the horseshoe buckle of his belt grind softly into her bare skin and realized she was almost completely nude. He was still clothed in the slightly damp T-shirt, jeans and boots. The provocative thrill of decadence rushing through her, encouraged a trickle of moisture into the crotch of her panties. She didn’t care about tomorrow or even later for that matter. She wanted him now and she’d worry about later… well, later.
The cocoa mango scent on her body was like a drug that drove him to put his mouth on everyplace which carried it. He afforded his hands free reign to reacquaint themselves with her shape and the flawless silkiness of her café au lait skin. He wrapped her damp thick hair into a ball around his fist. The action bared her neck for his mouth. The masterful gesture of his fist entrapping her hair pulled a shameful moan from Johari’s lips. Desperate to feel him against her skin; her hands ventured beneath his damp shirt. Her nails raked the chiseled breadth of his torso and back. Again, she encountered the vicious looking belt around his waist and began to undo the buckle.
Moses bathed the graceful length of her neck with slow, determined sweeps from his tongue. He gave a gentle tug on the fist that captured her hair and smiled at the delighted cry she uttered.
Johari could scarcely focus on relieving him of the belt. Moses’ other hand was skirting her waist briefly, before his fingers delved into the moistened middle of her panties. Her own hands weakened as she savored the long, deep lunges of his fingers inside her. Moses drove his middle finger high and rotated slowly at times, hard and fast other times. The resulting creaminess drenched his skin and elicited the tell-tale squishing sounds that mingled with her gasps of desire.
His mouth crashed down upon hers once more, but Jo could barely participate in the kiss when she was so elated by what he was doing inside her panties. Orgasmic shudders wrenched through her as her sex gripped and released his fingers. Her moans of pleasure combined with heavy sobbing as the affects of the climax waned.
Moses released her hair and cupped her face in his hand. “You okay?” he asked, kissing her cheek as he inquired.
Jo rested her forehead against his shoulder and took several deep breaths. “I wanted this,” she admitted and raked her fingers across the ridge of his zipper that was taut against the hungry erection that lay beneath it.
The dangerously sensual grin appeared on Moses’ face. “You’ll have it,” he promised and kissed her cheek again.
Jo felt the excitement swirl around her tummy when he removed her panties. He lifted her when the slightly ripped garment pooled at their feet. For a time, they were locked in the embrace-he standing with her legs wrapped around his back. They kissed; performing the act with slow deliverance-their tongues engaged in a passionate power play.
Moses lowered Johari to the pillow-lined bed in the center of the room. The instant Jo settled to the plush coverings, she concentrated on getting Moses out of his clothes. Moses, however, had other ideas and preferred to keep his clothes on. He slapped at Jo’s hands when she tried to tug down the jeans once she’d managed to undo both the belt and silver fastening.
He tongue-kissed the hollow beneath her arm, his thumb brushing her bellybutton repeatedly loving the sounds she emitted in his ear. Her rapid breathing simply forced her breasts higher against his chest. Soon, Moses had buried his face between the deep cleft and filled his hands with the luscious mounds.
Johari cried out when he began to feast there. His fingers worked one nipple to a throbbing gem of need while his mouth nibbled and sucked the other with relentless determination. Eventually, he surrendered the hold on one mound to steady her hips. Johari’s erotic writhing beneath him, threatened to sever all the ties he’d put on his own arousal.
“Stop,” he ordered, before lowering his head to resume the savage feasting.
Jo lay still but for a few seconds, before she insinuated her hands between them and made another play at removing his jeans.
“Twig,” he warned again, applying a soft bite to her lush cleavage. He chuckled when she sighed and then uttered a sound of sheer frustration.
The torturous foreplay went on for hours it seemed and Jo knew she wanted only one thing from him. The sweetness of the treats he plied her with, however were impossible to deny. Jo threw her arms above her head and arched into the kiss he caressed across her thighs. His fingers continued to fondle and squeeze her nipples long after his mouth had journeyed onward. Jo bit the tip of her index nail when he buried his head between her legs. There, he gently grazed his tongue across the petals that instantly puckered for his attention. Johari’s resulting moan possessed a wavering quality while she reached down to mold her hands to his dark, shaved head.
“Ram…Ram…” she chanted a myriad of times, only stopping to gasp when he added some new twist to his shocking oral skills. She thought she’d go mad when he nibbled the super-sensitive portion of flesh above her womanhood. Her fingers splayed across his head as she tried to direct him more deeply into the heart of her body.
Moses wouldn’t be rushed, though. He was set on pleasuring her and intent on ignoring his own raging needs for the time being. His erection was already forcing on his jeans with such pressure he figured the zipper would rip at any moment. His dimpled smile however, did flash when she sobbed his name and told him she wanted this-nudging her toes against his straining arousal.
“Shh…” he urged, feeling her jerk when his breath contacted her bare skin. Content with torturing her, his nose replaced his tongue. He let the tip nudge her core with slow, softly probing strokes.
He absolutely devoured her, his tongue thrusting in a slow, rhythmic fashion. He penetrated deeper with every lunge-every plundering, rotating lunge…
“Moses no…Moses, please no…” she said, her mouth curving into a pout. In truth, she had no real desire that he stop thrusting-just that he do it with something longer and harder than his tongue.
Moses tightened his grip on her thighs and quickened the wet strokes. He was deep enough to feel her inner walls sheathing and releasing his tongue. He felt another heavy rush of cream flood forth. Still, he continued to invade, capturing the fragrant moisture with his lips as she submitted to another overwhelming orgasm.
Spent on the tangled bed, Jo felt too weak to utter another sound or make another move. Moses was having none of that. He caught her wrists, pulled her up to straddle his lap and made her kiss her taste from his tongue. Jo participated eagerly then, her fingers massaging his back, his chest, his bald head…it was as though she were thanking him for a job well done.
When he eased her back down, it was only so he could pull the shirt from his back. Jo felt her heart leap to her throat, elated by the knowledge that she was about to have what she thought she’d never enjoy again.
Moses watched her sit up and struggle to ease the zipper down over his swollen shaft. He took the task out of her hands and took care of his jeans and what remained of his clothes.
Jo lay back; tugging her bottom lip between her teeth and simply marveled at the sight of him as nude as she. Her sparkling stare roamed every inch of his glistening ebony skin cut with a mouth-watering array of abdominal muscles and the chest that flexed with impressive pectorals. Her thumbnail traced a grizzly-looking tattoo located along one side of his abs. She looked on to reacquaint herself with the artwork she at one time viewed daily…and nightly.
Moses’ onyx stare studied her face-captivated by the fact that he was actually there with her. He buried his hand in her sandy red hair and kissed her deep while groaning at the feel of her rubbing against him. He vowed not to lose control of his desire before taking her completely. The thought sent a hissing curse to his lips and Jo’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, watching the murderous frown mar his gorgeous dark face.
Moses grimaced and ran a hand across his head. “I didn’t think that we’d…I came here unprepared,” he explained.
Only a few seconds passed before she understood. Glancing at the cosmetic case on the night table, she smiled. “Help yourself. You should find what we need,” she told him.
Moses’ anger didn’t subside fully at her words, but he wouldn’t allow himself to dwell on thoughts of who had taken what he’d once arrogantly and foolishly assured himself would be enjoyed by no other.
Once protection was secured, he drew one of her shapely legs across his shoulder and plunged down.
Orgasm three for Johari arrived after only a few deliciously filling strokes from Moses’ perfectly stiff length. The resulting sensations collided with the erotic slams of pleasure that continued to pulse as he drove himself inside her.
Jo raked her nails across his back, smiling when he grunted in return. Moses gripped her full bottom in his hands and held her still. Burying himself to the hilt, he savored his place inside her. Rotating his throbbing need, he let his head fall to her shoulder. A quick, powerful wave of satisfaction hit him full force and the savage beautiful thrusts resumed seconds later and gradually escorted him to total release. Johari reached the same plateau again only a few seconds later.
Satiated and fully drained, they fell asleep still locked in the sensual embrace.
***
Johari woke the next morning to find herself alone. There was no sign of Moses and for a moment, she’d convinced herself that the previous night had all been a part of some X-rated fantasy. She was certainly no stranger to those and would have bought the idea had it not been for the tangled state of the bed linens, the rips she’d found in her panties and well…then there was that dull ache someplace unmentionable. That would seriously affect her walking that day.
She smiled then and snuggled back down inside the covers. She thought about how long it’d been since she’d felt so…mmm. She also recalled Moses’ reaction when she mentioned the condoms she carried. She would’ve given anything to know what he’d been thinking. She wondered if the treat of having him in her bed would be just a single occurrence.
Her contentment faded just a bit as she recalled what else had occurred the previous evening. He knew she was hiding something, but he finally relented in pressuring her to tell him what it was. Johari knew that wouldn’t last long. He was simply being patient and she had a feeling he’d become a man who was quite good at it.
Shaking away the unease of the reality, Jo made a move to leave the bed. The room phone buzzed just as her feet settled to the carpeting. Grateful for the interruption, she answered before the second ring.
“Ms. Frazier, good morning. This is Doctor Cannel from the hospital.”
“Yes, good morning Dr. Cannel,” Jo greeted while scooting to the edge of the bed. “Is everything alright? Is Jahzara okay?”
Dr. Cannel hesitated briefly before replying. “She’s perfectly safe Ms. Frazier. She had a rather restless night I’m afraid.”
“Restless?”
“Yes, I’m sorry to upset you with this-“
“Doctor please, just tell me,” Jo urged, clutched the sheet to her chest.
“She woke up screaming, which isn’t uncommon given all she’s been through. She woke up calling out for someone named Quay?”
Johari closed her eyes and cursed below her breath. She’d wondered when or if that old association would rise to the forefront of her sister’s mind. How well she recalled the days when Zara’s moods grew so foul because of something Quay Ramsey had or hadn’t said or done. It had been so clear to Jo that the outspoken twin wasn’t half as caught up over her sister as she had been over him. Sadly, Zara could never see that. Now, she was going to have to experience that pain anew. Johari only prayed she wouldn’t lose her sister again in the process.
“Doctor Cannel?” Jo called, flexing her hand around the phone. “Do what you can for her. I’ll be there right away.”
***
Contessa found Fernando in the kitchen. He stood before the stove and she ventured over to ease her arms about his waist. Fiddling with the folds of his black robe, she peeked around his wide frame in an attempt to see what fabulous creation he was preparing for breakfast that morning. County was staying with her fiancé until after the baby’s baptism party. She didn’t like to think about the battle that’d be in store when the time came to leave.
It was then; she discovered Fernando was on the phone with Sheila McPherson. County rolled her eyes, knowing the woman had to be sick of talking to him by now. Each morning and evening, Fernando checked in to find out if Stefan Lyons had been in touch with Sheila or if she had any idea where in the world her boss had disappeared to.
“Thanks Sheila, we’ll talk tonight,” Fernando said, before setting the phone to its cradle with a bit more force than necessary.
“If I were her, I’d be as far away from a phone as possible,” County said, crossing her arms over the mocha silk sleep shirt that barely concealed a thing. “Baby do you realize how stupid it’d be for Stef to let anyone in Seattle know where he is?” She recited her daily inquiry.
As usual, Fernando was unconvinced. “And like I keep telling you, Stef always had a thing for Sheila. It’s worth it to keep checking,” he argued.
“Everyday?” County challenged.
“Yes, Everyday. Everyday until I find him and finish what I started at that press conference. Everyday until I rip his lungs out through h
is throat.”
“Fern-“
“But I realize that’s a bit much to hope for so I’ll settle for seeing him in jail,” Fernando added with a knowing smirk.
“And what do you expect to find with all this detective work?” County asked her expressive brown gaze sharp with challenge.
Fernando turned away, smoothing both hands across the close cut light brown curls of his hair.
“The man clearly has friends,” County went on, following him to the kitchen island. “Friends who are very skilled at keeping folks hidden.”
Fernando shook his head. “The son of a bitch is hidin’ out somewhere and it’s just a matter of time before I find out where.”
“Well just don’t you let it occupy so much of your mind that you forget we’re getting married,” she ordered, closing the brief distance between them.
Fernando grinned, his translucent browns crinkling adorably at the corners. “I could never forget that,” he swore, burying his handsome face into her short, dark hair. “But love, I won’t have you worried about that fool ever touching you again,” he added in a grim tone.
“I don’t worry about that,” County assured him, smoothing her hands across the great expanse of his bare chest. “In fact, I’ve worried about surprisingly little since you’ve come into my life Ramsey.”
Fernando pressed his forehead to hers. “There was a time I wasn’t sure I’d ever hear you say that.”
County’s eyes sparkled with pure mischief. “Well let me show you how much I mean it,” she whispered and stood on her toes to kiss him.
***
Johari closed her eyes and spoke a prayer before she opened the door to Jahzara’s room. She found her sister sitting up. She appeared relaxed in her reclining position on the bed, yet there was something anxious in her set profile. She chewed her thumbnail, while her gaze was averted out the window.
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