Love and Hiplife

by Nana Prah

  Their romance had to end even before it had started. Yet, she couldn’t leave him without experiencing what they could have been together. She would have no regrets about leaving him. But first …

  Bolder than she’d ever behaved, she looked into his eyes and closed the space between them. Mouths met with zips of electrical charges. At the slight parting of her lips, he deepened the kiss.

  His solid muscles beneath her hands flexed as she caressed his back and pressed closer. Not close enough to satisfy. Everything disappeared at the onslaught of their explosive passion. Consequences no longer existed, only the pleasure they could experience. Together.

  With the acceptance that this night would be their first and last together, Lamisi released all inhibitions and pulled Blaise with her when she lowered onto her back.

  He released her lips. Panting, he stared down at her. “Lamisi?”

  He’d given her the time to back out. She wouldn’t. The moment went beyond anything she had ever experienced. She longed for him more than even her next breath. She raised her leg to hook around his hip.

  “Make love to me, Blaise.”

  Brows arched over eyes that held her bound and mesmerized. “Are you sure?”

  If tonight had left her one lesson, it was that life was worth living right now.

  She reached up to smooth a hand over his cheek. He was her present. Nothing else mattered. A nod of affirmation later, his lips crashed down onto hers, permeating her with the slick heat of his mouth. The spiciness of his scent and the pressure of his muscular body on top of hers—he filled her with a desire so strong that any concept of regret became inconceivable.

  He lifted himself off the bed, leaving her skin cool and wanting, and reached his hands down. When she clasped them, he tugged her to her feet.

  With a deliberateness that she’d only experienced in her fantasies with him, he stripped off her clothes, trailing kisses and suckling sensitized flesh as he exposed her.

  As he removed his clothes in a more hurried manner, Lamisi’s practical side kicked in. On wobbly legs, she went to her bag and pulled out an unopened box of condoms. Thank God for a best friend who worked in healthcare and had insisted that she buy them.

  She pivoted to face him. The box slipped from her fingers when sumptuous chocolate skin covering lean muscle met her gaze. She picked up the condoms and reached out for him. Her hands smoothed over the light dusting of coily hair on a solid chest and rippled over his defined abdomen.

  Before she could reach her target, he grabbed her wrists and brought them up to his mouth. The light graze of his lips at the sensitive areas just below her palms sent tingles down her spine and moist heat to her core.

  He held her arms away from her body and looked her up and down with a glint in his eyes. “Lamisi, you’re gorgeous.”

  Foregoing any kind of shyness, she returned the favour over his body. “You, too.”

  Blaise moved to her, and they touched skin to skin from chest to thighs.

  “Are you sure?” he repeated.

  His warm breath over her ear sent a shiver through her.

  More than she was of anything she had ever done in her life. “Yes.”

  He removed the box from her hold, ripped it open, and took out a single packet. Lamisi stood motionless as he opened it and slid it over his rigid length.

  A shadow passed over as the reality of the moment invaded. This one-night experience would have to last her for the rest of her life.

  She led him to the bed and tugged him down with her. Fingers stroked intimate places. Lips and tongues caressed as kisses drove their unyielding hunger.

  When their bodies joined, she knew their souls had, too. Their oneness became her world as they moved together in gratifying strokes.

  Stars exploded behind her eyes as her climax took her to the heavens and beyond. Blaise called out her name with his explosion within her a moment later.

  They lay entwined for the longest time. He kissed her shoulder before getting out of bed and heading towards the bathroom.

  Lamisi covered her naked body with the sheet as questions bombarded her. Two stood out as the most prominent. Why did she miss him so much when he was close enough to throw a shoe at the door he’d just walked behind? The second tore at her heart—did she have to let him go?

  After their spectacular love making, she felt even closer to him on all levels. Her skin tingled, and blood pulsed at the recent memory. What they had shared couldn’t be considered normal. More like destined. Dare she even think it when she wasn’t sure she believed in it?

  Shadows silhouetted Blaise as he came out of the bathroom. He eased onto the bed and hovered over her. The sweet kisses to her lips as his body pressed against hers teased.

  He settled a pillow under his head, facing her profile, and sighed as if he were the most content man in the world. It made sense since she was flying high herself.

  “What will you do when you finish your dissertation?”

  She snapped her head to the side to catch his gaze. Not what she’d expected.

  “I figured I’d continue on the road to professorship at the University of Ghana. Ever since I was young, people considered me to be strange because I understood so many languages. When I went to the university, I stood out in an impressive way, and it suited me. Things got even better when I started working as a teaching assistant. I loved it.

  “The combination of teaching, researching, and being around like-minded people who live, not just speak, languages as much as me is my ideal job. It would allow me to travel and encounter other cultures and languages, as well.”

  His refined nose crinkled, and she raised herself onto her elbow to see him better in the semi darkness.

  “What?”

  The shoulder closest to her shrugged. “Speaking as one of your students, you’re a fantastic teacher, and I can see you imparting your knowledge in the classroom.”

  “And doing research,” she added.

  “Okay.”

  “But …” she filled in for him.

  “You’re so gifted with languages that I can see you doing a lot more.”

  The follicles on her head tingled in recognition of the concept. Hearing something voiced that she had thought herself renewed the longing she’d once had about travelling the world. Maybe writing a book. Helping people in some way.

  “Like what?”

  His gaze held hers. “Working for the UN or something along those lines. Going international rather than being local. Doing something where your ability will be appreciated and praised.”

  “You don’t think that will happen if I teach at Legon?”

  He stroked a hand down her arm, sending sparks of heat along the limb. “With the title of doctor, you’ll be respected anywhere in Ghana, but will your talents be fully utilized?”

  Lamisi followed her impulse to brush her nose against his cheek and inhaled his spicy, musky scent.

  “Thank you,” she whispered against the hair on his cheek.

  “For what?” His voice came out on a husky groan.

  “Seeing so much in me.”

  Blaise elevated himself onto his elbow, separating them for a moment until he cupped her cheek. “I like everything I’ve discovered about you. I’m sure that the more I find out about you, the more amazed I’ll be come.”

  She leaned in with a brush of lips that transitioned into a sweet encounter of love making.

  This time, when he left her satiated body, the loss caused a crushing in her chest, representing more than just their physical separation.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  An insistent vibration and pinging woke Lamisi from sleep. The morning sun streamed through a crack in the curtains when she opened her eyes. The heft of Blaise’s arm blanketing her kept her in place. It had been the best night of her life. No regrets lingered.

  The buzzing of her phone demanded that she leave their cocoon. When she shifted, he groaned and pulled her closer. The annoying vibration on t
he dresser wouldn’t allow her to snuggle in. By the frequency of the dinging, someone urgently needed her.

  Her heart picked up its pace as a number of nasty scenarios rampaged into her mind of the people she cared about being injured.

  The phone shook with more incoming messages even as she picked it up. Lamisi slid her finger across the numbers which would unlock her screen.

  Thirty-four messages. And more coming in. Did she want to open them? The prickly sensation and goose bumps on her arms said no.

  “What’s going on?”

  She let out a screech. Whirling, she placed a hand against her chest as she gulped in air.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

  Blaise’s raspy voice reminded her of the first time they’d spoken, and her stomach flipped.

  “It’s okay.”

  He pointed at the still vibrating phone. “Is there a problem?”

  A glance down at the device indicated that she now had a total of forty-five messages. “It’s blowing up with messages. I think it’s Deola.”

  The muscle in his jaw clenched. “I should’ve called her last night to tell her to cut it out.”

  Her core pulsed at the memory of what they’d shared. Nothing had ever made her feel so alive and connected with another person. For the rest of her life, she’d cherish having been with him.

  Lamisi focused on her phone and tapped on her message button. She gasped as she noticed that the messages were from different numbers. TrueCaller had identified none of them. What had the insane woman done?

  Swallowing her fear, she looked through the titles of the messages without having to open a single one. Each message held one word as she scanned down. The total message repeated until the phone came to its fill.

  ‘Leave. Him. Alone. Otherwise. Next. Time.’

  Hands shaking, she drew on her courage. Daring to open one text revealed the same singular word which had been in the title. When she opened the next six, they all held one word.

  The next set of phone numbers were different. So were the next. And the next. Just like the guy who had sprayed her, Deola had gotten people to do her dirty work for her.

  Eyes glued to the screen, she shook her head in disbelief. “She’s certifiable!”

  “I’m calling her right now.” Blaise’s tone held a level of rage that sent a chill down her spine. “This will stop.”

  A snort ripped out of her. “What good will that do? The woman wants you, and nothing will stop her.”

  Certain defeat hit her where only moments ago she’d held hope. She’d known it last night. Wasn’t that why she’d made love to him? To experience being with him for one night. Their first and last time together.

  ‘Next time…’

  Would Deola attack her family? Friends?

  Lamisi couldn’t risk it, no matter how much she cared about Blaise. She had too much to live for to let another woman destroy her or anyone she loved.

  “Once I talk to Deola—” Blaise broke into her thoughts, “—she’ll understand that she and I aren’t and never will be a couple. Ever.”

  Lamisi swallowed the lump in her throat. They had met less than a month ago. Why should letting him go hurt so much?

  “She’ll keep coming after me until I’m out of the picture so she can have you for herself.”

  Blaise tapped his chest. “She can’t have me. Once I let her know definitively, she’ll back off.”

  “Right. Just like she did the times you told her before.”

  “This will be differ—”

  She flung up a hand. “Yes, it will. I won’t be in her way. Blaise, I can’t do this. It would be stupid for me to think I can ever escape her. She has too much money and influence, and knows how to use it to get what she wants.”

  “No, Lamisi. You are not breaking up with me. Not over this. We’re good together, and you know it. I’m not just talking about in bed.”

  Boy, did she know. Unable to look into his earnest eyes, she spun and paced to the window. Commuters on their way to wherever they needed to be greeted her blurred vision.

  Hands on her shoulders seeped a warmth into her that she couldn’t resist. Lamisi rested her back against him. Making her choose between herself and Blaise was cruel.

  He wound his arms around her and rested his chin against her shoulder. Their cheeks pressed, and she closed her eyes, breathing him in. This was where she belonged. In a perfect world, she would be able to stay.

  She jumped as the shrill sound of her phone broke into her longing. Would her cell going off be a perpetual cause for fear? It would if she stayed with Blaise. Always looking over her shoulder wasn’t the way she wanted to live. Not the way anyone should have to live.

  “My alarm.” She tore herself away from him to turn it off. “We need to get ready to leave so we don’t miss our flight.”

  “Lamisi, we can work this out. Trust me. Deola will back off.”

  She tilted her head and took in his stunning features. Dark eyes stared back with a softness that spoke of the pleading that hadn’t come from his mouth.

  “When I was ten, I almost died. Typhoid fever created a hole in my gut. I had an emergency operation.” She rubbed her arms to ward off the chill that came over her. “After the surgery, my wound got infected. I spent weeks in the hospital being poked, prodded, and in so much pain that I’m sure nothing could come close to it.”

  He blinked at her as if wondering the purpose of the story.

  “I hate hospitals. I don’t use that word for anything else but hospitals. Passing by them freaks me out. It takes an impossible amount of coaxing for me to go into one.”

  “You went in with me when I sprained my ankle.”

  “Yes.”

  “You liked me even back then.”

  Yes. But that wasn’t the point.

  “Whatever Deola has in store for me will not end well. You’re a good man, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know you, but I have to think of myself first. Life is too valuable.”

  The sentiment she’d spewed came nowhere near what she truly felt, but if he knew that he possessed her heart, he’d become vigilant in his attempt to persuade her to stay with him. She was barely hanging on to her decision as it stood. No matter what convincing argument he came up with, she knew that walking out of this hotel in any kind of relationship with him would put her in danger. Her life mattered too much.

  “I care about you, Lamisi. Give us a chance. We’ll get through this and come out stronger for it.”

  Such a romantic. She’d miss that about him.

  Rather than reject his offer, she took the couple of steps separating them, cupped his face, and raised herself to kiss his lips. Just like when they’d made love, she took in all of him, understanding, even if he didn’t, that it would be their last time together.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  “Your French has improved tremendously,” Armand told Blaise as they walked to the front door after their tutorial.

  Blaise had noticed that the man no longer looked pained after his pupil had spoken.

  “Merci.”

  He didn’t bother to explain about his journey to Côte d’Ivoire or how Lamisi had forced him to speak the language with everyone they’d encountered during the trip. The weekend had been a blast. Until it no longer had been.

  They’d gone from having a slow relationship to taking off on a rocket. Being with her had been mind-blowing. Soul-shaking. Incredible.

  His attempts to contact Deola had yielded three days of beeping in his ear with a computerized female voice stating that the phone had been switched off. He’d even had Alima try from her phone. Nothing.

  Either Deola was ignoring him, or the oil rig she was supposedly on had no reception. Yet, she’d been able to contact him, organize an assault and an army of texters to harass Lamisi. His money was on her avoiding him.

  He had spoken to Lamisi for a few short minutes each day. He could understand her perspective. He would’ve flipped out if someo
ne had made him the target of their vengeance.

  It had been a long time since he’d met a woman who matched and challenged him. He’d fight for her. Since it meant taking on Deola, then that’s what he’d do. And he’d win.

  Frustrated, he called the strongest woman he knew for advice.

  “Hello, my son,” his mother said in Hausa, the only language she spoke with her children even though she was also fluent in English and Twi.

  An involuntary smile spread across his face. There wasn’t a woman he’d ever loved more. “Hi, Mama.”

  In many ways, he considered her to be his best friend. He wouldn’t take the step and talk about sex with her, but the topic of women was another issue. And she tended to share wise advice about them.

  “The trip to Côte d’Ivoire was successful. I’m more fluent in speaking French.”

  “Anything you set your mind to, you achieve. You are my and your father’s son, so it is must be so.”

  The woman knew how to encourage. Just like Lamisi. He stood and paced the room. May as well get everything out in the open.

  “I’ve found a woman that I like.”

  “I knew I’d heard a change in your voice. More melodic. Who is she? I’m sure she’s a good Muslim girl, if you’re telling me about her.”

  “Lamisi Imoro. Yes, she’s a Muslim.” He’d leave out the fact that she wasn’t as devoted as his mother would like her to be. “She’s studying for her PhD in linguistics at the University of Ghana. She’s the one who helped me translate my lyrics into French.”

  “She’s going to be a doctor?” Her words came out breathy with excitement. “And she’s Muslim. Praise be to Allah for answering this mother’s prayers for her child. Allah is ever faithful. You have just made me the happiest mother in all of Ghana. When are you bringing her here to introduce her? What tribe is she? Is she educated? What work do her parents do?”

  He tapped a hand against his chest to ensure that he’d survived the rapid fire of questions. “Mama, I only met her a month ago, and we’re getting to know each other.”