The emotion in his voice caused her heart to swell as she continued to look at him in the mirror. “You better.”
Deshawn moved his hands up to grasp her breasts, his fingers lightly teasing her nipples. He fed upon her reflection, the desire and want he created in her evident. Cloudy eyes, dilated pupils, flushed skin, plump lips slightly parted, and her chest rising and falling with each hot gasp.
Anika was pure sex appeal. Uninhibited. Raw. Satisfying.
His stomach clenched and his member swelled. “Don’t take your eyes off us,” he demanded thickly. “Now touch me.”
Shivering from his kisses and caresses, Anika reached behind herself to stroke the full length of his hardness, reveling in the way he flung his head back at her touch. “You like?” she asked.
He laughed huskily, turning her body to face him as he lowered his head to capture her mouth in a delicious kiss that left them both wanting and needing more. The first touch of their lips was sweet and ultimate. The second touch was urgent and heated, lasting long arousing seconds as she stroked him and he in turn massaged the soft, plush curves of her buttocks. And the third was moist and wanton as their mouths opened and the tips of their tongues touched briefly, before tangling in a rush. It was a kiss filled with passion and desire.
With a growl, Deshawn made a heated trail with his hands from Anika’s buttocks to her hips and on up to her waist. The muscles in his arms tensed as he lifted her and set her with a plop onto the sink’s countertop. The silhouette of her back and buttocks in the mirror intrigued him as he lowered his head to taste of her breasts with leisure.
“Mmmm,” she moaned, opening her legs wide as she pulled him to her.
Deshawn’s body jolted from the feel of her skin touching his hotly. He looked up at her. Their eyes met. His chest felt warm and light all at once, filled with love for her as she smiled at him sweetly and caressed his cheek with the softness of her hand.
“Hey,” he called out to her softly.
“Hey,” Anika answered.
“I really love you.”
And at that moment Deshawn took her breath away. She saw the love there in the depths and she felt it pulsate through her body. Quickly, she blinked back the tears that threatened to pool in her eyes. She definitely did not want to have a weepy moment and go out like an overly emotional female.
One solitary tear fell down her cheek.
Aw, hell.
Deshawn smiled and kissed her soundly on the mouth, before lowering himself to his knees. “I’ve been waiting for this all night long,” he said low in his throat, his breath coolly fanning between the heated connection of her thighs.
Anika shivered in anticipation, inching her legs open more as she bent her knees and placed her feet on the countertop’s edge. Deshawn groaned as her very essence was opened to him. Her scent surrounded him, arousing his sexual urges with an almost primal reaction. She tasted of sweetness and sex all at once. He sucked at her fleshy bud deeply and felt his penis harden and swell, the tip grazing his navel. He pushed his mouth into her as if they could merge into one.
“Deshawn,” Anika gasped, with a hot lick of her lips. She was propped precariously on that edge, but she felt secure in his strong grasp as he feasted for countless minutes.
He stood, leaving her shivering and spent as he reached into the medicine cabinet for their protection. Once sheathed with the studded latex, he stood between her legs, looking down at her with hot eyes. “Move back,” he told her softly, his hand on her knees.
Anika scooted back on the counter until the coolness of the mirror pressed to her back and buttocks. He pushed her knees until they were pressed to her shoulders and then entered her swiftly . . . full and hard.
Anika gasped at the feel of his stiff length inside her, arching her back as she moved her hands to his hips and felt the clenching of his buttocks with every slow, deep rocking motion. “Mmmm,” she moaned again, closing her eyes as a wave of pleasure claimed her.
Sweat dripped off Deshawn’s chest, the lines of his handsome face and neck strained, as he made love to his woman with a ferocity that thrilled them both.
He stroked.
She moaned deep in her throat.
He quickened his pace like a piston.
Anika whimpered and bit her bottom lip as the first addictive wave of release began to build inside her.
Deshawn’s penis throbbed and thickened, pressing against her slickly wet walls as his stomach tightened with anticipation as his climax neared. “It’s good, baby,” he moaned, looking down into her face.
Anika nodded, unable to speak.
He moved his hands from her knees to grasp her full breasts, teasing the hard nipples as his strokes increased in number and in strength.
Finding her voice, she called out his name and he felt her bud swell and throb against his shaft. Her core warmed and became wetter. “Here I go, baby,” he told her, with staccato movements that slowed as he filled her with his release. Her walls clutched his tool and pushed him further over the edge until he was weakened and could only stumble back from her and sit down abruptly atop the commode.
Anika’s ragged breathing echoed his own.
They looked at each other and could only shake their heads in wonder.
“You wicked, girl.”
“So are you.”
“You want me to change?”
“Hell no.”
Their soft laughter echoed against the walls.
∞
“Who knew?” Chloe’s whispered question floated into the air above where she lay in Devon’s arms.
“Knew what?” he asked, his voice thick with sleep.
“Who knew that Anika and I would one day be married to brothers, and twins at that? Life is a trip,” she told him, careful to talk low so that they wouldn’t awaken Nia, who was asleep in her bassinet by the bed.
“Who said anything about Anika marrying Deshawn?” Devon asked, as he and Chloe shifted to lie on their side, his arm securely pulling her back into a spoon position against him.
“Who said they weren’t? Of course they’ll have to decide where they’ll live. I hope it’s here. It would be so good if Anika moved to Holtsville.”
“Jumping the gun a little bit, aren’t you, baby?”
“One hundred dollars says they’ll be married before the next year is out.”
Devon thought of the look in his brother’s eye when he looked at Anika. A look of love. He chuckled, bending to kiss her bare and smooth shoulder. “That’s one bet I ain’t taking.”
∞
“She looks so happy,” Anika’s mother told her husband as she folded back the comforter of the bed in Devon’s old bedroom.
“Yeah, that’s my Sugarplum,” he said, chuckling as he left the bathroom, hitting the light switch. “Deshawn’s just what she needs. He’s strong and confident just like her.”
“And Chloe and Devon’s baby is just gorgeous.” Tasha sighed. “You know it’s time one of ours makes us grandparents. I’m not getting any younger.”
Roger eyed his wife’s becoming figure in the floor-length silk gown she wore. The lamplight outlined her curves in the most erotic fashion. “Damn sure is getting finer.”
Tasha turned and looked over at this man that she’d felt loved by all her life. The warm sparkle in his eyes was quite familiar to her after the decades they shared in love and lust. “We can’t. The boys are in the next room and Anika’s right upstairs.”
But even as she protested Tara knew she couldn’t resist that sexy voice that was a mix of Barry White and Lou Rawls. His voice always did make her insides crumble. Quickly she moved around the room. “Whoever heard of a bedroom without a TV?” She sighed, all thoughts of turning it on to drown out their love session fading fast.
Roger patted the empty spot next to him with a wide grin. “Come on, baby girl. I won’t make you holler too loud,” he teased, already wiggling out of his pajama bottoms.
“I’ll try to return the fa
vor then,” she told him saucily, lifting her gown over head to drop to the floor. She lay down next to her husband of thirty years, sighing at the feel of his arms pulling her close to him.
Thirty years and still going strong.
She could only wish the same for her children.
∞
Poochie stared at the stick sitting on the sink for a full ten minutes as she sat on the edge of the tub. She just couldn’t believe her luck. She just couldn’t believe it was true, but she knew that no matter how much she tried to will it that damn color was going to stay blue.
She was pregnant and Tank was her babydaddy. “Damn,” she swore, dropping her head into her hands.
∞
“Okay, we’ve been dodging this, but you live in Jersey and I live down here. What are we gonna do? Where are we going from here?” Deshawn asked, as Anika straddled his back and gave him a massage.
“I promised Chloe six weeks, so I have another two weeks before I head home.”
“Yeah, but if you’re in Jersey and I’m here, how do we have a relationship?”
“My job and my family’s in Jersey. I mean, what about The Haven?”
“Well, my job and my family are here.”
They fell quiet.
He twisted beneath her to lay on his back. His eyes locked with hers. “So you couldn’t see yourself living in Holtsville?”
Anika frowned before she could catch herself. “I don’t know. Maybe. Look, I’m not really suited to small-town living, Deshawn.”
They fell quiet again.
“Would you ever move to Jersey?”
Deshawn didn’t try to hide his look of horror. “Me?” he exclaimed. “In Jersey?”
“Can’t we just try a long-distance relationship for a while and see how it goes before we even contemplate something as major as a move?” Anika asked, not willing to give up the wonderful life she had built for herself back home.
Deshawn had to remind himself that he and Anika were going to be together one day. Nana Lil said so and he believed it. Everything would work out in the end. He had her in his arms, in his bed, and her heart. He had to be patient about everything else. Although patience was not his strongest skill lately. He was going to miss her like crazy and told her so.
“So I only have two weeks to change your mind then?” he asked, his hands rising from her thighs to her waist.
Anika felt his hard heat press against her. She shook her head in disbelief. “You know we don’t have to do all of our catching up tonight.”
He just smiled as he rolled on their protection. He then lifted her by the waist and settled her down on his shaft, until her walls surrounded his hardness snugly. “What you say?”
Anika placed her hands on his chest and flung her head back as the ride began.
“Nothing.”
∞
Anika enjoyed the weekend with her family and Deshawn, as they all got to sightsee historic Charleston and spend some quality time together. He fit so easily into her clan, joking with her brothers, talking sports with her father, charming the socks off her mother and Auntie Luv, and flirting shamelessly with Granny Bert.
She was sad to see Saturday night come because she knew they would be leaving in the morning for the drive back. They were all sitting in the game room, enjoying Chloe’s homemade chili.
Anika left the sofa where she sat by Deshawn to move by her father, where he was looking at all of Chloe’s autographed memorabilia. “You know that Deshawn, Devon, and Chloe have all been wonderful but there’s nothing like your own bed,” he told her. “Speaking of which, when are you coming home?”
Anika’s face saddened. “Two weeks.”
“You don’t look happy about it,” he said, turning to look down at his only daughter. “What are you and Deshawn going to do?”
“I guess try the long-distance thing,” she said softly, pushing her hands into the back pocket of her jeans as she turned to look over at Deshawn, who was now shooting pool with her younger brother.
“And then?”
Anika shrugged. “Neither of us wants to move.”
“First rule of love, kiddo . . . give and take.”
Anika pushed her hip into his rotund belly. “I know.”
∞
Anika’s father motioned to Deshawn to follow him out of the room.
“Sir,” he said, as they moved into the hall.
“Let’s step outside on the porch,” Roger suggested, never once breaking his stride to the front door.
Deshawn had to admit that he felt a little apprehensive. As soon as his foot hit the porch he knew his concerns were justified.
“What are you intentions toward my only daughter?” Roger asked, taking a seat on the porch’s swing to look up at Deshawn with serious eyes.
“I intend to love her for the rest of my life,” Deshawn answered easily.
“And?”
Deshawn paused noticeably. He wasn’t used to dealing with too many fathers, so he wasn’t quite sure what the man wanted. So he thought on it. If I was a father, what would I want to hear from a man dating my daughter? “Mr. Foxx, I want to marry Anika one day and I’ll love her until even after our times have come to pass over to the other side. I want to build a family with her. Take care of her. Cherish her. I really and truly love your daughter. I wish you could put a meter on my heart and see just how much.”
Roger nodded. “That’s all I wanted to hear. See, if my child moves to another state, I just want some assurance that the man she’s moving for is worth the effort. When you have a daughter you’ll understand what I mean.”
Deshawn reached his hand out to the older man.
He accepted it and gripped it firm—very firm—as if to show the younger man he still had plenty of might “By the way, you didn’t ask for it, but you have my permission to ask Anika to marry you when the time comes.”
Deshawn’s expression became pained. “I’m sorry,” he said, patting the man firmly on the back as they reentered the house. ‘This is all new to me.”
Roger paused and stared into Deshawn’s eyes. “Let this be the only time you have to do it and it really doesn’t matter . . . right?”
Translation: don’t mess this up.
Deshawn nodded sincerely. “Right.”
∞
The next morning, before the sun even set in the sky, the Foxx family loaded up the two SUVs they rented. Anika and Deshawn helped them finish preparing for the ten-hour journey back to New Jersey.
Anika hugged them all. “I’ll be behind y’all in two weeks.”
“Y’all!” they all exclaimed in unison.
Her youngest brother, Malcolm, slid onto the backseat beside Tara. “Hurry up and come home. You already sound country.”
“Shut up, boy,” Anika told him playfully.
“You remember the way back?” Deshawn asked his future father-in-law.
“It’s a straight shot up 95,” he answered from behind the wheel.
“We might as well learn it. I have a feeling we’ll be traveling this road a little bit more often,” Tasha said, looking at the gorgeous couple Deshawn and her daughter made standing together.
Chapter 22
I'm the Only Woman
She loved making love with Deshawn every single night and screaming his name to the rooftops, so a piece of her had been a little excited to see her family pull off and head home. She wanted to savor their new beginning together, especially since she would be going back home soon. Anika could only hope they both would succeed in making a long-distance relationship work.
“Penny for your thoughts.”
She smiled at the sudden sound of Deshawn’s voice as she turned to drink him in. He stood with his muscular frame braced against the porch’s wooden rail, a smile of welcome very broad on his face. Even with dirt smudged on his features from a hard day’s work, he was gorgeous. “Hey you,” she greeted him with pleasure softly, opening the blanket she had wrapped around her legs to keep away the coo
l fall night winds.
He moved to sit beside her. Her body and her heart were heated just by the touch of his next to hers. “What’s up?”
“Nothing. I didn’t hear you pull up.”
“I know. I’ve been standing there for a little bit. What were you thinking about?” he asked, reaching for her hand.
“You,” she admitted.
“You miss me today?” he asked, placing her hand against the side of his face.
“Always,” she admitted, before she tilted her chin to receive a brief but very sweet kiss upon her lips. “I don’t know how I’m going to cope when I go home next week.”
“Don’t go,” he said simply.
“I have to.”
Their eyes locked, just before their heads moved together for a deeper, more intimate kiss. Neither one noticed when Devon walked up onto the porch. He started to make a wisecrack but instead walked into his home, craving his wife and his daughter.
“I thought we’d grab something to eat tonight. You up for it?” Deshawn asked.
Anika nodded. “For sure.”
“You spending the night with me tonight?” he asked, playfully nudging her shoulder.
Anika smiled at him and pointed to her packed overnight bag sitting beside her.
∞
The count was up to eight. Eight! And in just forty-five minutes.
Since Deshawn and Anika had pulled out of his yard in his truck until they sat down to dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s in Walterboro, eight women had greeted him in more than a “we went to school together and I haven’t seen you in a while” fashion.
There were the two lovely young ladies in the Camaro at the gas station where they stopped for fuel. Then the cashier’s eyes lit up when she saw him and was definitely dropping a “why don’t you call me anymore?” line when Anika walked up to the counter with the bubble gum she wanted to purchase. Next as they were leaving the store, a flashy red convertible pulled up and parked. A female jumped out from the passenger side and was about to run around the car to jump on Deshawn, when she finally caught sight of Anika walking beside him. Instead she threw him a “Hey, Deshawn” that was so sugary sweet that Anika felt a toothache coming on strong. Then there was the one who pulled up beside them at the light. And four more once they entered the restaurant, including their hostess, Erin.
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