Pretty Packages

by Dodson, Mi'Chelle

  Looks like someday is coming sooner than even I thought. Giada grinned now.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kentucky couldn’t wait to see Alexandra after his run-in with Giada. He was going to rock her world. Hard.

  After retrieving his cell phone from where he’d left it last night, he noticed that Alexandra had left him a text message, giving him the address of their usual place, the Hotel Blaze, in case he’d forgotten.

  “Oh yeah, there’s gonna be a blaze in this hotel today,” Kentucky said under his breath, showing up at his destination thirty minutes early. He needed to reserve the room and then spend some time getting his mind off of you-know-who before Alexandra arrived.

  At the appointed time, there was a soft knock on the door. Fresh from a shower and wearing nothing but a towel about his waist, Kentucky rushed to the door.

  Realizing he was too eager, he paused and took a deep, calming breath before opening the door.

  “Hello, baby . . .” Kentucky’s words trailed off. His mouth remained open in shock.

  It wasn’t Alexandra at the door. It was Giada.

  * * * *

  “Hello to you, too,” Giada said, breezing past Kentucky before he could recover from his shock and block her way. She’d learned that lesson from her visit to his home.

  Giada knew how quick Kentucky’s reflexes were. She also knew that his attraction to her slowed those reflexes down a bit, which gave her somewhat of an advantage over him. She would have never been able to get away with that had she been a stranger or someone trying to harm a client.

  Quickly recovering from his shock, Kentucky whirled around to face her. “What are you doing here, Giada? Never mind. I don’t care. Just leave. I have a date coming any minute now.”

  “Alexandra’s not coming,” Giada replied, heading straight for the king-sized bed in the room.

  Kentucky’s eyes bucked. “She’s not coming?” he roared.

  “No, she’s not coming. Now close the door, Kenny, unless you want to draw the wrong kind of attention our way,” Giada cautioned in a nonchalant tone.

  “How do you know Alexandra’s not coming? What did you do, Giada?” Kentucky asked, reluctantly closing the room door in order to avoid a public scene.

  “I did what I had to do in order to get what I wanted,” Giada said casually, removing her light shawl.

  “Which was?”

  “I used your cell phone last night to text Alexandra with a request for the address of this hotel.”

  Giada chuckled. “She texted that info back to me within two minutes. I couldn’t blame her. One night with you is worth any amount of effort . . . and money.” She laid her yellow-and-blue shawl on a nearby wicker chair before sitting on the bed.

  “Money? Did you pay Alexandra off?” Kentucky asked, looking amazed that Alexandra would even go for anything like that.

  “No, but I did slide some money to the whole front desk staff. This way, when Alexandra came, she would be given a message stating that duty called for you once again and that you had to cancel at the last minute. That you would contact her when you could. My plan worked perfectly.” She sighed in triumph, showing no signs of repentance.

  Kentucky’s eyes grew stormy. “Once again you are always thinking about yourself,” he said, closing the distance between them. “Why can’t you ever be satisfied with what you have?” He snatched her up to her feet. “You have your rich, handsome guy. Why do you have to have me, too?”

  “Because I love you, that’s why,” Giada retorted, shocking him for real this time. “I’ve loved you since the first night we slept together, Kenny. I just didn’t know it then. But after spending this last month spying on you in the Jacuzzi every night I could, daydreaming about you, and fantasizing about you when I’m with another man, I realized it couldn’t be anything but love.”

  * * * *

  Kentucky abruptly released her, causing Giada to drop back down to the bed. He blinked rapidly to refocus. He shook his head, as if he was trying to shake her last comments out of his brain. There was no way Kentucky could allow himself to believe that anything she’d just said was true.

  But how often had Giada actually lied to him? Not much. She’d been more truthful with him than most of her other men.

  “No, what you love is great sex,” Kentucky said, stubbornly refusing to believe her words, even though those same words had him pulsating with desire. “For some reason you can’t get that with Fabian, and so you’re trying to get it from me.” He flung his towel away, causing Giada to moan loudly with need at the sight of his beautiful nudity. “Well, I’m gonna give you what you want. And after I do, I don’t want you to so much as look at me again. You hear me?”

  Giada nodded, not uttering a word. She looked like she would agree to anything to have Kentucky inside of her again.

  And soon he was . . .

  All.

  The.

  Way.

  Inside.

  Kentucky didn’t even bother removing a stitch of Giada’s clothes. He worked around her blue sundress and her thong. He barely took the time to put on protection.

  Balancing his weight on his strong arms, Kentucky drove into Giada hard and fast. Her pump had already been primed by the sight of his nude body, causing her overflow to splash against his thighs at the first deep dip. Knowing that she was so ready for him made him put even more fervor behind his power drives.

  * * * *

  Giada actually saw stars during those first couple of thrusts as pleasure shot through her body like a fireworks display. She immediately started clenching around Kentucky. Though he wasn’t as gentle as usual, every thrust, every stroke was perfectly aimed to bring ultimate enjoyment, not pain.

  When Giada was able to focus again, she pulled her knees outward and upwards, and then looked down at their coupling. She wanted, needed to see the strong plunges, the reluctant withdrawals, the way every vein in Kentucky’s body strained against his skin as he gave her what she’d come here for.

  Giada looked up into his face and became even more overwhelmed by what she saw there—reciprocal love.

  Love.

  Love!

  Giada’s heart swelled with even more love for Kentucky now that she knew he shared the depth of her feelings. She began to climax even harder. She felt moisture gather in her eyes. Soon tears began to flow.

  At the first tear, Kentucky ceased all movement. A repentant look was instantly upon his face. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to be so rough. We can stop.” He moved to disengage them.

  “No!” Giada nearly shouted as she gripped his bottom tightly and wrapped her legs possessively about his waist. “I’m not crying out of pain. I’m crying out of joy. Please don’t stop making love to me, baby. I need you. I’ve needed you forever.”

  * * * *

  Kentucky felt tears prick his eyes at Giada’s heartfelt declaration, yet no tears flowed. Neither did any words. Instead his body did all the talking.

  After bending to kiss away her tears, Kentucky gently removed her sundress and black slip. The thong he ripped off since he wasn’t about to disengage them now to remove it the right way. They’d been apart far too long as it was.

  When she was completely nude except for her high-heeled sandals, Kentucky began to give Giada what she needed and so much more. He lowered his lips upon hers for a long kiss.

  That kiss continued as his hips led hers in a slow groove. Kentucky used the hand that wasn’t balancing his weight to tenderly squeeze and knead her melons as it moved over her torso. Every now and then, he’d take a break from her lips to taste that delicious fruit, but would soon find his way up to her mouth again.

  Kentucky’s lips were on Giada’s when she went over the edge with a violent shudder and a scream of ecstasy. Although his ears relished that scream, he had to swallow most of it in his mouth in order to keep from drawing undue attention to their room.

  More tears descended as Giada clung to him, clenched around him, and snatch
ed an orgasm from his loins shortly thereafter. This was the best reconciliation he’d ever had.

  Rolling until she was lying on top of him, Kentucky held her close to him as she continued to cry. In between her tears, she kept proclaiming how much she loved him, kept talking about how much she wanted them to be together. She told him that she wanted to be his Miss Right and that she was willing to give up her gold-digging ways just for him.

  Cautious with his heart and very conscious of her track record, Kentucky uttered no words of love no matter what he felt. Instead he said, “Prove it.”

  Giada nodded in understanding. They both knew she had nobody but herself to blame for his lack of faith in her, his need for proof. Thus her answer was “I will. And when I do . . . ?” She left her question open-ended.

  “When you do, I will willingly give you my heart and so much more,” Kentucky replied, giving her an intense look.

  To that, Giada nodded.

  * * * *

  After making love two more times, Kentucky advised Giada to leave the hotel and go back to the boat. She was extremely reluctant, to say the least. She even tried to start up round four after their heated shower scene.

  “I want you to stay all night, too, baby,” Kentucky said. “But I really don’t need a scandal in my life right now. Imagine the field day the media would have if they knew Fabian’s bodyguard was having an affair with his girlfriend.”

  “I stopped being Fabian’s girlfriend the second I walked into this hotel,” Giada replied, still clinging to his bare torso. He wore only a pair of black briefs now. She wore her satin slip.

  Kentucky smiled down into her eyes, looking highly pleased with her words. “I tried to accept the fact that you were his, but deep down inside, I always felt that you were still mine.” His eyes and his tone grew serious. “But Fabian still considers you to be his woman, and the media will, too. And though a scandal might actually help his career, it could destroy both of mine. It might cast a bad light on my school, and my protective service clients may start thinking that I don’t know how to respect boundaries. I can’t have that kind of heat on me. Not now. There’s too much at stake. Too many kids counting on me.”

  Hearing the conviction in his voice, Giada conceded. “I would never do anything to deliberately hurt you or those kids, baby,” she said, finally releasing him. “I just don’t want to go back to that boat and have to pretend to be Fabian’s girlfriend for the next two weeks. And what about when he wants to sleep with me again? I don’t think I could do it. I won’t do it. Not after what just happened between us.”

  Kentucky pulled her to him again. “Let’s get one thing straight right now. You are mine. All mine.” He possessively squeezed her bottom as he spoke.

  Giada moaned, highly turned on by the possessiveness of his voice and touch. “Yes, baby. You branded me for sure today.” She would never forget how fervent he’d been with her today.

  “Baby, I branded you the first time we made love. You just didn’t know it back then, remember?” Kentucky chuckled.

  “You’re right.” Giada smiled. “Now let me do a little branding of you,” she added, leaning up on tiptoes to suck his neck hard, intent on leaving behind the biggest hickey she could.

  * * * *

  Kentucky moaned at Giada’s aggression. He knew what she was trying to do at his neck, and he liked it. “Suck harder, baby.”

  Jumping upon his waist, Giada wrapped her legs about his torso and went for broke. By the time she’d placed two large passion marks on either side of his neck, Kentucky was breathing hard and ready to return the favor.

  Lifting her upon his shoulders, he left two hickeys at both joints of her inner thighs. “You see where I left those passion marks?” Kentucky asked huskily as he lowered her legs from his neck and shoulder areas.

  “Yes,” Giada panted out, looking ready for round four now. But that wasn’t going to happen. The fact that he placed her back on her feet again instead of carrying her over to the bed confirmed that truth.

  “Those hickeys prove that I’m not sending you back to the boat to pretend to be Fabian’s girlfriend for another day, much less two more weeks. They will also remind you not to undress in front of him when you go back today to pack and leave in order to avoid a scandal.” Kentucky’s nostrils flared at even the thought of Fabian seeing her naked body again.

  “I love your brilliance and your jealousy.” Giada smiled. “But I wasn’t going to undress in front of him again anyway,” she assured her new man. “But won’t my leaving so suddenly create a scandal in and of itself? Fabian is going to want answers. Plus, he can be a very sensitive guy when he wants to be. The man has major abandonment issues stemming from being left by his mother and raised in foster homes. Me breaking up with him might negatively affect the rest of his tour. I couldn’t do that to Fabian. Not after he’s been so nice to me all these months. What I did behind his back today is bad enough, despite the fact that he spiked my drink behind my back.” Giada actually looked remorseful now.

  Had falling in love given her a conscience? And why wasn’t Kentucky, one of the most principled men on the planet, feeling just as remorseful?

  Kentucky did feel remorseful, but only slightly. Though he liked Fabian as a person, he didn’t like the way the man treated Giada. Instead of treating her like an equal, Fabian treated her like some little kid who he had to spoil, thereby catering to her materialistic side and forever stunting her growth.

  Giada needed a man in her life who knew how to treat her special, but who could also challenge her to grow as a person. She needed Kentucky. Finally they both realized that now.

  “I’m not happy about going behind another man’s back either since I definitely wouldn’t want that to happen to me,” Kentucky finally replied after a bit of thought. “But what’s done is done. We can’t take back what we did. I wouldn’t want to, not in a million years.” He bent to kiss her forehead before releasing her completely. “All we can do now is damage control.”

  Then, as Giada put her clothes back on, Kentucky instructed her on ways that she could remove herself from the rest of the tour without upsetting Fabian too much. He also told her what his expectations were concerning the new relationship she was about to start with him.

  One, Giada had to officially break up with Fabian once the tour was over. Two, she had to move out of the condo that she shared with Fabian. Three, she had to go back to work and enroll in law school.

  Giada huffed in protest. “Why can’t I just move in with you while I go to law school?” She turned away from the mirror where she’d been styling her hair.

  “Because I need to see you standing on your own two feet for a change, not on my feet or some other man’s,” Kentucky replied from where he sat on the side of the bed. “Besides, it’s not like you don’t have a house of your own. Matter of fact, you have two houses to choose from.”

  “But if I move back into one of my houses, I’m going to be cutting myself off from steady income,” Giada replied, “income that I could use to pay for law school, mind you. Especially since I have no idea what kind of money I’ll be making at this unknown job you want me to get.”

  Like the wise man that he was, Kentucky knew when to compromise. “Okay, I understand that you have to learn to crawl before you can walk, so I’ll put in a good word for you with Mama. I’m sure she’ll let you stay there while you work and go to school. Mama could use the extra company, you can save money, and I’ll have unlimited access to you when I’m in town.”

  Giada chuckled, clearly liking that compromise. “But I thought you didn’t have sex under your mother’s roof.”

  “I don’t,” Kentucky said, lying back on the bed with his arms propped behind his head. “I intend to sex you up at my place as often as possible,” he added huskily as his lower body stirred to life again.

  Giada moaned with need at the high tent in his briefs. “Can you sex me up one more time before I go? You know, one for the road?”

&nbs
p; Kentucky gave her a heated look. “I want to, but you’ve already been here five hours of unaccounted-for time as it is,” he replied, looking at the clock on the nightstand now. “And with you not answering your cell phone all these hours, Fabian might send the police out looking for you. If he hasn’t already.”

  Giada exhaled in frustration. “These are going to be the longest two weeks of my life.” She turned back to the mirror.

  Kentucky chuckled. “Not if you stay busy packing, job hunting, and filling out college applications it won’t.”

  Giada laughed, too.

  Together they made a very happy couple. It was unfortunate that their happiness had to come at the expense of someone else’s unhappiness.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “It looks like it’s just going to be us guys for the rest of the tour,” Bartley told Kentucky when he arrived back at the yacht late Sunday night around midnight.

  “Giada’s gone?” Kentucky asked, acting as if he didn’t know that already. She’d called him as soon as she made it to the island airport. She called him again after she landed in Miami.

  “Yes, she and Fabian had a fight,” Bartley replied, looking downright gleeful. “It seems that she was missing for over five hours this afternoon. Didn’t answer her cell phone or anything when he tried to reach her. When she finally returned, she told him that she’d stayed on the island for so long because she was tired of being at sea, was missing her dog, and was trying to build up the courage to tell him she wanted to go home without hurting his feelings. Since Fabian couldn’t cancel the rest of his tour on a whim, he sent her home alone.”

  “I see,” Kentucky replied, keeping his face neutral.

  “Yes, Fabian put her in a cab and sent her to the airport alone since it was your day off and he didn’t want to disturb you.” Bartley grinned. “He knew you had an itch to scratch today,” he said, referring to the brief conversation the men had had before Kentucky left this morning for the hotel. “Judging by those hickeys on your neck, it looks like you scratched that itch well.”