by E A Hunt
“Well I was napping,” Harvey replied. “I’m ready now,” he told Deni, before turning and walking away.
“I really don’t like that man,” Deni said to Nia, walking towards the door.
“Deni,” Nia called after him. She wished she could tell Deni what he was walking into, but she didn’t have the heart. Plus, she was supposed to be in the dark about Tridal closing their doors. Harvey had advised accounting that she was no longer to be given any financial information concerning Tridal. Accounting hadn’t listened and emailed her personal account since Harvey was still monitoring her business one. They had sent her all Tridal’s financials. The company was bankrupt. No, bankrupt wasn’t right. Destitute was more like it.
All retirement accounts were gone. Payroll was barely being made and everyone was about to lose their jobs. She had a stack of recommendation letters on her desk and she’d also talked with Gideon to get a few more referrals for some of the people in her office, including Deni. Gideon had said he was also going to send out more feelers to the people he didn’t know that well – just to see if they knew of anyone hiring. Between the two of them, she hoped to find placements for as many people as possible. Once Deni turned to look at her, she continued, “When you’re done talking to Harvey, come back and see me. I have something for you.”
“Is it talking about sexy time with your man?”
“Go to your meeting,” Nia encouraged, hating that this was happening to so many people she had come to love.
When he’d told his Doll to be ready at eight, he hadn’t expected this. She’d met him at her front door, dressed in a wraparound navy blue slip dress with off-white ‘fuck me’ heels. Her hair was swept up, exposing her neck to him.
He wanted to run his nose along her neck kissing her behind the ear. He barely refrained from his action because they were in the lobby of a restaurant with at least three other couples waiting to be seated and he knew if he kissed her he wouldn’t stop. Stepping closer to his woman, he lowered his head inhaling the Peony and Sage scent she wore. He wanted to taste her. Wanted to stick his tongue out and lick this woman from head to toe.
“Gideon,” Nia felt him at her back. She took his hand in hers.
“You look beautiful tonight and you smell good enough to eat,” he replied, placing a hand on her stomach and pulling her back fully against his front.
“You are not behaving like a gentleman!”
“Good,” he growled. He wanted to take her home. Peel her out of that dress and devour her for dinner.
“Not good,” Nia elbowed him. “I’m starving,” she added. She hadn’t eaten lunch. She’d been too busy saying goodbye to former employees and giving them recommendation letters and job leads.
“So am I,” Gideon replied.
“Not the same,” Nia replied with a chuckle.
“Price,” the host called out, motioning for them.
Leading the way, Nia with Gideon close behind, followed the host to a table close to the back of the restaurant.
“After dinner, we are going to walk through the park and take a ride on the Ferris Wheel,” Gideon breathed in her ear as he held out her chair. He didn’t want her to think dinner was all he’d planned for her tonight
“Sounds like fun,” Nia replied, shivers running down her spine. She wasn’t the biggest fan of heights, but with Gideon surrounding her, she knew she could face her fears.
Walking around the table, Gideon took his seat before he reached out his hand to Nia. He needed to touch her. Always needed to touch her. Once Nia’s hand was placed in his, he closed his fingers around it, bringing her hand to his lips.
“Tonight, it’s just you and me,” he said, laying down the ground rules. “No talk of the girls or work. We’re just two parents out on the town, enjoying each other’s company.”
“Hmm sounds so very wonderful… But Mr. Price, I think we should to talk about the message you sent me,” Nia said. She wanted to know why Gideon had bought her daughter a bed and placed it in Esme’s room.
Gideon knew this was coming. He was prepared to tell her the room connected to Esme’s by a bathroom, wasn’t ready because he wasn’t sure what color his little Nessa liked? Instead he stated, “Nessa needed her own bed. She and Esme can’t keep sharing a bed,”
“Gideon, we have our own home,” Nia replied. Though the home wasn’t exactly to her liking, it was still theirs.
“You rent a home,” Gideon corrected. He didn’t see anything wrong with renting, but Nia wasn’t the long-term renting type. She was the type of person who wanted to have a home she could decorate herself. Raise her children in. Love her husband in.
“And that’s an issue because?” Yes, she rented. Only because she hadn’t found a home she loved. Well, that wasn’t true. She loved Gideon’s home. The space, the fixtures… though she would change a few things. You could tell a man lived there. None of the furniture matched and there was a pool table where the dining table should be. That would be the first thing to go once she moved in with Gideon. Nia stilled she didn’t -
“I have no issue with renting.” Gideon interrupted her thoughts. “But you spend more time at my home than yours. When we fall asleep on the couch, I wake up with a kink in my neck!” And a hard-on he could hammer a nail with, he added silently. “And you look just as uncomfortable.”
“Your couch is leather, and it gets hot at night,” Nia lied. Not true. She was getting hot at night. Hot and horny because she was sleeping next to Gideon.
A new couch. She wanted a new couch. He could do that.
“Also, the girls are sleeping on the floor or in Esme’s bed. They need their own space as they grow up.”
“Stop,” Nia pulled her hand from his. “Are you … is that…” she licked her lips. “Are you asking us to move in?” Why was her heart pounding and stomach fluttering at the thought?
No, they were already moved in, he just didn’t think Nia realized it. She had shoes in his closet. Anessa had toys in Esme’s room and in his backyard. Three of the little girl’s school uniforms were at his home. He hadn’t realized all this either, until two weeks after they’d started dating.
Nia and Anessa were slowly taking over his home and he loved it. Standing, Gideon grasped his chair and brought it over to sit beside Nia. He took her hand in his once more. “You have two months left on your lease. I will give you that time to think about moving in,” he kissed her hand. “Just know I’m not going anywhere. If you move in or you don’t. Anessa will have a room at my home because she needs one just like Esme. You will have a room at my home,” his room but he’d cross that bridge when he came to it, “because we can’t continue to sleep on the couch.”
“This is all moving so fast,” Nia replied. They’d been a couple for just a month and here he was, giving her daughter a room. Coming to her home, as many mornings as he could, to take her daughter to school. When he couldn’t take the girls, she would and then Gideon would get them in the afternoon. Nia leaned towards him. “How did we get here?” she whispered.
“Fate, Karma, Magic,” he shook his head, before placing his lips on hers. “I don’t know. I just know I’m not going to let you go,” he said before kissing her gently once more.
Before Nia could deepen the kiss, someone cleared their throat behind them.
“Sorry,” Nia chuckled to the waiter who looked somewhat embarrassed.
“No worries,” he replied with a small smile. “When you’re ready to order, I will assist you.”
“Thank you,” Nia replied as she looked at Gideon. “We haven’t even looked at the menu!”
“Because I already know what I want,” Gideon winked at her. He looked at the waiter and added, “we’re going to share the braised Porterhouse with a bottle of your Peony white.”
With a small nod, the waiter turned and left.
Cupping the left side of Nia’s face, Gideon lowered his head. “Now where were we?”
She wasn’t going to throw up. She wasn’t going
to throw up. Nia kept the chant going in her head as she stepped into the Ferris Wheel cart. Moving to the farthest side, she gripped the handrail located there. She could do this. She could sit in this cart, with its solid white bottom and clear cover, with Gideon, and enjoy the view.
“I’ve got you,” Gideon said, taking her hand as he stepped into the cart. He crowded Nia as the cart started to move, wanting to give her the strength to enjoy this ride. “Heights not your friend?”
“No,” Nia breathed, leaning into him. “But I’m willing to go along on this ride as long as you’re with me,” she smiled up at him.
“I’m always with you Doll,” he replied. When they stopped midway to the top, Gideon took a seat and pulled Nia onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her. “No one can hurt you.”
Nia nodded as she laid her head on his shoulder. “What made you think of this?” she questioned as she looked out into the city lights. From this high up you could see the mountains that were an hour’s drive outside the city.
“I wanted to do this without any interruptions,” Gideon said, turning his head as he took her lips with his.
Nia sighed and leaned into the kiss. She wouldn’t tell Gideon that, despite her fear of heights, being kissed on a Ferris Wheel was one of her fantasies. She turned, lifted slightly and straddled him as the cab started moving once more. Nor would she tell him that making love in a Ferris Wheel was part of the same fantasy.
Nia lifted her head. She smiled at Gideon as her hand found the zipper to his slacks. He was hard and long just the way she wanted him. She scooted back a little while reaching into his slacks. When she met naked flesh, she raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve been around you for weeks. My boxer briefs are not comfortable, especially when I’m looking at your ass or holding you in my arms,” Gideon explained.
She said nothing, only released him. Nia licked her lips as she looked at the monster between them. It was bigger, thicker than she thought. Bringing her left hand to her mouth she gave her palm a long, wet lick.
“Doll,” Gideon groaned.
Her wet palm firmly grabbed him and started moving up and down his length.
“Nia,” Gideon breathed. He’d wanted her to touch him for so very long. Now that she was, he wasn’t sure he could last long.
Moving a little faster, squeezing a little harder Nia moved to sit on just one thigh as she pressed down and moved her throbbing clit over his muscled thigh. It was giving her some relief but not much.
“Gideon,” she fell forward, her lips on his as she continued her movements.
“Nia,” Gideon breathed. Leaving her lips, he moved to her neck, sucking on the flesh there. He wanted everyone to see his mark on his woman. The mother of his children. His damn wife, just as soon as he could get a ring on her finger.
“Yes! Gideon!” Nia cried out, as she placed a hand on the back of his neck, moving faster on his thigh. She was almost there. Almost to the pleasure she knew this man could bring her. Moving faster on his shaft, now using his precum as lubricant, she felt him quake beneath her.
They were going to come at the same time. She wanted them to cum at the same time. Needed them to cum at the same time.
Gideon pushed her further down on his thigh. He was not going to get off unless she got off. She was first. Her pleasure was always first. “Cum for me Doll,” he whispered as she shattered around him.
With a grunted growl, Gideon came all over them both, just as the cab reached the attendant and Nia fell forward, spent. Wrapping his arms around his woman he gave the attendant a little shake of his head before lifting his hand for them to go again. He’d paid for three rides and he was damn well going to use them.
“More, Doll. I need more,” Gideon replied. He lifted her a little, moved her soaked panties to the side and slid her onto his cock.
“Oh,” she breathed. “Mmm,” she moaned, as she moved on him.
Gideon placed his hands on her hips as they rotated on him, “Damn Doll, you feel so very, very good,” he told her before taking her lips with his. “Ride baby. Ride until you cum all over me again. I want to walk off this ride having been ridden by the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“Gideon!” Nia shouted, placing her hands on his shoulder and moving her hips faster. The material of his slacks was rubbing against her clit, heightening the experience.
“Let them hear you, baby,” Gideon whispered in her ear. “Let them hear how well I make you cum,” he finished, as Nia squeezed him and moaned his name aloud. Tightening his grip, Gideon moved a limp Nia back and forth before he came inside her while kissing her lips.
“To think I was afraid of heights,” Nia chuckled, as she placed a hand on his cheek.
Chapter Seven
“Turkey, a small ham, three pies, a cake and ….”
Gideon listened happily as Nia read off the list of things she was picking up for Thanksgiving dinner. Since their little Ferris Wheel tryst a week and a half ago, his suggestion of one week at her place and another at his hadn’t quite gone as planned. Nia was spending more and more time at his place continuing to move her things in.
Gideon pretended he didn’t notice when more of her things were in his closet or when Anessa’s room now begun to house her new full bed along with a new Frozen comforter. Even his backyard now had a fairy Princess tent which hadn’t been there before. Pretty soon Nia would be completely moved in and wouldn’t even realize it. Once that was done, he could move on to getting a ring on Nia’s finger.
He already had it, sitting in his office safe. He’d bought it the day after the Ferris Wheel. He’d been on his way back to his car after a lunch meeting when he’d passed a jewelry store. In the window display was a two-carat, round brilliant cut diamond on a white gold band. He’d taken one look at that ring and knew it belonged to Nia. Knew it was made for her. He bought it right then. And now all he needed to do was get it on his woman’s finger.
“That is a lot of food!”
Gideon placed a finger over his lips to shh Sax. Nia didn’t know she was on speaker and Gideon wanted to keep it that way. His woman hated being on speakerphone. Thought it made her sound louder than usual.
“Is that Sax?” Nia asked. Why was she hearing Sax’s voice? Wait … “Am I on speaker?” she called out.
“Doll…”
“Don’t Doll me, Gideon Price. You know I hate being on speaker!”
Gideon gave his brother a wary look. “Sorry, you’re on speaker. But I was handling some business and I didn’t want to hold the phone on my shoulder, so I put you on speaker.”
“You should have just told me you had work to do. I could have called back or we could have spoken when you got home,” Nia replied. Since Tridal was now closed, she didn’t have a lot going on in her day besides helping the people who’d worked there find other positions.
She’d got most of the drivers squared away, it was just Griffin she needed to place. She’d been able, with Gideon’s help, to get Deni in a position at a sales firm in downtown Atlanta and the ladies and gentlemen left in the office had all found positions throughout the city and a few out of state. Everyone was happy, except Harvey. He was still calling her. Still blaming her for the demise of the company. She hadn’t told Gideon that Harvey was still calling her.
She knew he would be pissed and go after the man. She wanted Gideon with her and their girls. Not in some prison cell because of an ass like Harvey Tridal.
“Not happening,” Gideon replied. “You call, I answer,” he told her.
“Good man,” Sax chuckled.
“Don’t mock your brother,” Nia admonished Sax. She liked the man – he was funny, kind and loved his family a great deal.
“Why not Nia? It’s funny to see him squirm. Especially when it comes to you!” Sax winked at his brother. If Gideon had his way, he would work from home so he could be with Nia day and night. It was hard to keep the man in the office with Nia being out of work.
“Nia,” Sax
started. An idea that had been floating around his head finally needed to be voiced. “Would you consider coming to work for us?”
‘What are you doing?!’ Gideon mouthed. He didn’t want Nia working here with all these men surrounding her. He wanted her at home with their girls and any future children until they were all grown – then she could go back to work if she wanted to.
Sax waved his brother off, “Part-time. Just in the mornings. And you can be out by two. I believe that’s the time the girls get out of school. Our Transportation Manager is retiring and we need someone who knows the business and who’s hand we won’t have to hold. You can start after the first of the year at ten grand over your last salary, with benefits and time off.” Sax finished before either could say anything.
“Wow Sax!” Nia said. “That’s generous!”
“You can even work from home,” Sax continued, sweetening the pot. “Plus, with the winery and our other liquors growing in popularity we need more personnel. So, that means you can bring on board anyone you think is necessary.” He’d heard Nia and Gideon talking about a driver Nia wanted to place. Now, she would have the means to do so. “So, how about it?” Sax asked.
“I would love to say ‘yes’ but Gideon and I need to talk about this. Work and personal don’t always mix well.” And there’s no way I’m giving up Gideon, she thought.
“Do that and let me know,” Sax replied.
“I will,” Nia said to Sax. She directed her next statement to Gideon, “I’m picking up the girls and then takeout. Want anything special?”
“Wonton soup,” he replied. Nia had been craving Chinese for the last few days. He wasn’t going to speculate that it could be a pregnancy – it was too early. But he had taken her without any protection the night of the Ferris Wheel and then every night since.
Thinking of Nia pregnant with another child that was his was making him hard. He couldn’t wait to see her belly full with his child. With a quick ‘talk later’ Gideon clicked off the with Nia then looked at Sax.