Just One Taste (Kimani Romance)

by Norfleet, Celeste O.

  “Still, he’s leaving. He has to. He works in Alaska. Can you see me in Alaska? And what about my business? No, my life is here. My family is here.”

  “Nikita…” Natalia began just as the doorbell rang.

  “Are you expecting someone else tonight?”

  “No.” Nikita got up and went to the front door. She opened it and saw Chase standing there. “Chase, what are you—”

  “Nikita—”

  “You shouldn’t be here,” she interrupted softly.

  “I know,” he whispered, “but I need to talk to you. I…” he began, then stopped, seeing Natalia and Mia walking up behind her.

  “Ladies, good evening,” Chase said.

  “We were just on our way out,” Natalia said. Both women grabbed their purses and hugged Nikita. “Take care, sis. And for the record, I totally agree with Mia.” She winked.

  “Good night. Thank you. Drive safe. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  Chase said good-night to Natalia and Mia as they walked out and he walked in. Nikita closed the front door and leaned back against it, turning to Chase as he stood in the living room awaiting her. His eyes were filled with the same needful passion she felt in her heart. There was no way she could turn away from him tonight. Her days with him were counting down quickly. This might be their last time together.

  “Just sex,” she said in a near whisper.

  “What did you say?”

  She slowly repeated what she’d just said. “Just sex.” She tried to smile seductively, but her barrage of emotions betrayed her.

  He shook his head. “No, not this time, not ever again. This is more than just a physical connection. We both know that. We make love, now and forever.”

  He came to her in an instant and took her in his arms. His last words dissolved instantly as he kissed her hard and fierce.

  The intensity rocked them both. The relentless power behind his need for her took over. He wrapped her up in his arms with his mouth sealed to hers. She molded her body to his, feeling the hard, strong urgency of his arousal press to her stomach.

  She rose up on her toes, then felt him reach down and grasp her rear and lift her up. He pressed her against the front door then moments later carried her into the living room and sat down on the sofa, letting her legs straddle his body. Breathless, she leaned back and grabbed the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it up.

  He sat up, looking at two perfectly centered chocolate kisses. He licked his lips in anticipation. “Sweet, luscious, tender, juicy,” he said softly as he gently kissed each nipple. “For days, you were all I could think about. Everything I ate and drank was tasteless and flat.”

  Nikita opened her mouth to speak, but found she couldn’t. All she could do was watch as Chase leaned in and licked her hardened nipple with the flat of his tongue. “Hmm, you are all I crave. Just one taste is all I need.”

  He leaned in farther, holding her in place as he kissed and caressed her neck, shoulders, arms and chest. She was breathless from the loving assault. She grabbed and held tight to his shoulders as his tongue laved her with tantalizing licks, then he suckled her breasts, pulling and releasing in slow, deliberate pulses.

  “Chase,” she muttered, “make love to me now.”

  “Yes, over and over and over again,” he said.

  She pulled his shirt up over his head, and his massive chest drew her in instantly. She touched him, trying to memorize the feel of his body. She needed this memory for a lifetime. She knew no man would ever make her feel like this. She leaned back farther, then stood holding her hand out to him. “Come upstairs.”

  He stood and followed her to the bedroom. She walked him to the bed then grabbed a condom from the nightstand. She removed her shorts and climbed onto the bed and lay back. He dropped his pants and shorts, sat down next to her and looked at her body. “You,” he said as he leaned down and kissed her stomach, “are so beautiful.”

  “You think so, huh?”

  “Oh, yes.” He ran his hand over her body. He began kissing her everywhere.

  She closed her eyes, feeling the sweet sensation of his lips and the slight roughness of his five-o’clock shadow. He pulled and removed her panties, then she pushed, rolling him over onto his back. She climbed on top, covered him with the condom and then slowly impaled herself on his long, forceful arousal.

  She rocked her body in slow, deliberate motions. The thick, solid depth of his penis filled her over and over again. She leaned forward, brushing her tiny sex nub against him. He captured her breast in his mouth and suckled, then gathered them both to massage them.

  Now the frantic friction of their body and the insanity of his mouth licking her made her want even more. But she was coming too quickly and she needed this night to last as long as possible. She pushed back and sat up, leaning back on his thighs. His hands came up to cover her breasts. His thumbs tantalized her rock-hard nipples.

  She knew what this was doing to him. She only had to look in his face to see his surging passion about to explode. But he held back, too. Then she moved quicker, stroking his penis in and out of her body. Each pulsating thrust heightened their arousal more and more. He grabbed her waist and held tight, guiding her up and down. The feverish pace gave way to mindless hunger. With one last thrust down she exploded and screamed. Her body tightened, her legs trembled and her hands shook. He rolled her over and plunged into her again and again. She came once more. Then on one last fateful thrust he exploded. That was all she remembered.

  Chapter 17

  An hour later she opened her eyes, knowing instantly that she was alone. She looked around her bedroom. Chase was gone. It was too early to get up, but she did anyway.

  She went into the bathroom. Exhausted, she stepped into the shower and let the warm pulsating water stream down her body. She rolled her neck, letting the water flow over her shoulders, across her neck and down her breasts. She closed her eyes and stepped closer to the water’s flow. The water streamed onto her face. It felt good. Then she heard the glass door slide open and felt the chill.

  Chase was there with her. He reached around to cover her breasts. She rested her head back on his chest as his hands palmed her nipples. He circled them, then tweaked her. She gasped and arched her back. His hands dipped down the front of her.

  “I thought you left me,” she said.

  “No, never again,” he assured her, then nudged her shoulder and turned her around.

  She looked up into his eyes and saw exactly what she needed to see. She saw love. He leaned down and kissed her tenderly as his arms wrapped around her. “Never again.”

  “Are you hungry?” she asked.

  He smiled. “For you, I’m always hungry.” He began kissing her, touching her, caressing her, tasting her. Her body trembled and quivered feeling his mouth on her—all over her.

  The kiss pressed her against the tile. Then he picked her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he entered her. Slowly, he thrust upward into her body, once, twice, three times. She held tight to his shoulders. He stopped and looked at her. “Are you okay?” he asked, concerned.

  “No, no,” she barely rasped. He began to release her slowly. “No, I’m not okay because you stopped. Don’t stop. I want more.”

  He smiled that lazy, sexy smile that always sent quivers through her body. “More, huh?” he queried. She nodded. “I can do more.” He began thrusting again. Over and over again he pushed and pulled himself in and out of her body.

  She held tighter and tighter until the blazing blast of rapture took her. The intensity was without measure. She called his name as he continued to thrust, giving her more and more until he met his climax in one last strained thrust.

  He muttered her name over and over again. His body tensed tightly, and then shook rigidly with tremendous release.

  Moments lat
er he cradled her in his arms and closed his eyes. This was what he wanted to feel the rest of his life. She leaned her head on his shoulder as he still held her in place.

  “That was crazy amazing,” she said.

  “Mmm-hmm. I think I like taking showers with you now.”

  She smiled as he slowly released her. “Yeah, me too,” she said.

  He lathered her body, then she lathered his. They rinsed, then finally stepped out of the large stall. She towel dried her hair, then wrapped another around her body and grabbed the body lotion.

  He stood behind her at the large mirror, reached around and unloosed both towels.

  “I think I like seeing you like this. Mine.” The towels dropped to the floor.

  She giggled. “Sorry, dude, I can’t be naked all the time.”

  “Of course you can. You can be naked for me. We can be naked together.” He took the lotion bottle in her hand and began massaging lotion over her back and shoulders, then down her arms. She watched in the mirror as he rubbed lotion down the front of her body with special attention to her breasts and stomach. “We should have a baby together.”

  “A what?” she said, surprised by his comment.

  “Yeah, a baby, I like that idea,” he said as if to himself as he continued to rub the flat of her stomach. “My baby right here inside of you. I like that idea. Two or three and then maybe twins. Yeah, and then twins again.”

  She looked into his eyes in the mirror’s reflection. He was very serious. Suddenly, she began to wonder herself about carrying Chase’s babies in her body. She allowed the words to roam comfortably around in her thoughts. It felt too good and too right.

  “Cinnamon,” she said.

  “For a name?” he questioned.

  “No. I smell cinnamon.”

  He smiled. “I cooked for you. I prepped cinnamon French toast with bananas and chocolate. Come on, I have everything all set up.”

  They dressed, then he cooked while she sat at the kitchen counter. When he finished they ate out on the balcony in the middle of the night. After the meal she sat back smiling.

  “Mmm, that was delicious. You really are pretty good in the kitchen.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You know this is my favorite meal,” she said.

  “Yes, I know.”

  “But you never told me how you knew that.”

  “You were right before. I did know a lot about you, but not nearly as much as I want to now.”

  “What do you mean? How did you know? Did you have me checked out or something?” He didn’t reply and she got her answer. “You had me investigated.”

  “I needed to know about you.”

  “Why, because of Mikhail? I know he does business with Andre and Titan and—”

  “No, because of your cottage on Stock Island,” he said.

  “What about it?”

  “Titan needed the land.”

  She swallowed hard. “It’s just two acres. It’s insignificant compared to the Blackwell property you already have.”

  “It’s a strategic part of the new facility development. It’s closest to the coast and we need the coast.”

  “What facility? Look, if you want it, tell me.”

  Chase nodded. “Titan has been commissioned by the federal government to construct a research facility. Our main focus will be the Gulf waters. We’ve developed a new element. I can’t go into specifics, but it will greatly reduce the chance of another Gulf oil spill disaster.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “New oil platforms are being constructed between Cuba and Key West. Titan’s new technology will identify, analyze and ultimately prevent or eliminate the possibility of another oil spill.”

  “So all this is to help Key West?”

  “It’s the first in a series of new programs we’re developing for the U.S. government.”

  She nodded. Everything she thought about Titan was wrong. Perhaps they were the power-hungry beast at one time, but at least in this instance they were actually trying to prevent disaster.

  “I couldn’t say anything to you because if this technology were to be made public, our stock would go through the roof. Yes, that’s a good thing. We’d all be multibillionaires several times over, but it would also cripple the energy industry. One test facility on the coast can be kept discreet. Key West is the perfect location.”

  “But if Titan has developed the capability to save the ocean waters from oil spills they have to do it.”

  “We are and we have been for the last year. We perfected the technology just after 2010, after the Gulf oil disaster. We were too late.”

  She nodded. “I understand. Thank you for trusting me.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Take it. I’ll sign it over today.”

  “What?”

  “The cottage, the land, it’s yours.”

  He nodded. “Thank you.”

  She yawned and looked up at the clock on the wall. “I can’t believe it’s still the middle of the night. I’m gonna be useless in the morning.”

  He stood. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.” They went back to her bedroom, undressed and got in bed. But they didn’t make love. He just held her close until they both fell asleep.

  Chase awoke to Nikita’s kiss. He opened his eyes just as she was standing. He reached out and took her hand. She turned smiling. “Good morning,” she whispered.

  “Good morning. What time is it?”

  “Too early for you to be up,” she said softly, “I have a present for you.” She handed him a tissue-wrapped package.

  “What is it?”

  “Open it,” she said.

  He did, and then smiled. “Thank you, it’s perfect.”

  “I gotta go.”

  “Wait. Where?”

  “To work.”

  “Wait for me. I’ll go with you. We need to talk.”

  “No, stay, relax. We’ll talk tonight,” Nikita said.

  “Tonight? No, I can stop by the café later this morning.”

  She shook her head. “I won’t be there. I have a full day today. I’ll be in the studio all morning and most of the afternoon taping the cooking segments for the local morning show and then off to the aquarium to help plan a function. So, I’ll call you. What do you want for dinner tonight?”

  “Surprise me,” he said.

  “Okay, I will. Seven o’clock?”

  “Perfect. Call me later.” She nodded, then turned to leave.

  “Nikita, wait,” he said. “Come here a minute.”

  She came to him. He sat up, smiled, and took her hand and kissed it. “Tonight we need to talk. There’s so much you need to know about me and about Titan. But right now I need you to know one thing, that I love you. With all my heart. Nothing can and will ever change that. I’ve never said those words to anyone. And no matter what happens, remember that.”

  She nodded, smiling from ear to ear. “I love you, too. But I don’t know what all this means. Our lives are—”

  “Ours to enjoy together. We’ll figure it out tonight.”

  “Sounds good to me. I’ll see you tonight at the house.”

  Chase nodded and watched her hurry out with one last wave goodbye. He lay back in her bed and looked up at the ceiling. So this was what contentment felt like, he thought. He was happy. And most important of all, he was in love.

  He reached over, grabbed his cell phone and turned it on. He checked his messages. He had fifty-two.

  A second later his cell phone rang. It was Andre. He answered. “Yeah.”

  “It’s about time you turned the phone back on.”

  “Hey, Andre, what’s going on?”

  Andre laughed. “Funny you should ask
that question. I think I should be asking you. You have half the family calling you and the other half calling me. They want to know what’s going on down there.”

  “What’s going on is that I’ve come to my senses.”

  “Heads up, the family is furious and Dad is headed your way. He’s not happy.”

  “Is Daniel ever happy?”

  Andre half chuckled. “Not often. So what are you going to do about Nikita?”

  “What do you mean? For the past three weeks you’ve been instrumental in forwarding the process of eminent domain on her property.”

  “I’ll be deposing that first thing this morning.”

  “Good. I was never very comfortable with that.”

  “I agree. Have you told her you love her yet?”

  “Yes.”

  “And everything else?” he added.

  “Tonight.”

  “Good luck.”

  “Don’t need it. I have love on my side. See you later.” He disconnected the call, then lay back and flipped through his gift, a first edition, autographed copy of Nikita’s cookbook. He opened the front cover. Tucked inside he found the deed to the Stock Island property. He got what he came for. His job was done.

  Chase wasted no time. After Nikita left he got up, got dressed, hurried to the house, showered and dressed again. Then he was out the door.

  He told Nikita everything, just about everything, and now he needed to make it right. She’d given him the land; now it was his turn to give back. He called his assistant.

  “Hey,” Kelvin said anxiously. “Damn, I’m glad you called. Daniel has been driving me crazy. He’s called my phone at least twenty times since daybreak. He’s looking for you and he’s furious. He’s at the Keys Gateway Hotel, penthouse suite. Where are you?”

  “I’m headed to the new property. Meet me there in half an hour.” Chase ended the call and steered his car into town.

  Chapter 18

  At exactly seven o’clock in the morning Oren unlocked the doors of the Davis Realtors and Associates office and hurried inside. This was the day he’d been waiting for. It was a chance to prove he could dance with the power money. The plan was simple. Check, double-check, and then triple-check everything he’d already done. There could be no mistakes. Everything had to be perfect.