Lindsay stared down at the entwined fingers in her lap. After a few seconds, she met his gaze again. “Sometimes being honest means you lose.”
“You didn’t lose Shawn. You gained your freedom. You didn’t lose your job. You gained success as an entrepreneur. We never lose when we’re honest, even when it hurts.”
She nodded her agreement. “I don’t know what to say, except I’m not perfect, but I promise to do better.”
Malik clasped one of her hands in his. “I don’t expect you to be perfect, babe. I just want you to trust me and be honest.”
Lindsay nodded. “I should have been.”
“As soon as you found out the connection, you should have told me.”
“I know,” she said softly. “I thought you would have turned your back on me.”
“I admit I would have needed time to digest the information, because the anger I felt at my mother had all been directed at your father. Matter of fact, it was twice as strong because of the role I felt he played in her death. So yeah, my anger was out of control, burning me up inside, but I can’t blame you for what your father did any more than I should be blamed for my father’s sins.
“Lindsay, I’ve never felt this way about a woman, ever. You support me and push me to do and be better. You’re sexy and have a big heart. Daisy loves you, and I love you. I’m not saying I love you to have something to say. Those aren’t just words. I mean them. It took me a minute to realize that I wasn’t upset about your father. Yes, I was blindsided by the way our parents were connected, and I admit it hurt. But the truth is, I was angrier that you didn’t trust me enough to share that part of your past with me, especially since I know you trusted Shawn enough to share your past with him. I thought you understood how I felt about you, and I had to wonder if there was something that I wasn’t doing right. You didn’t believe in me. You didn’t believe in us, and I never want you to feel that kind of doubt again.”
She stared at him in wonder. “This conversation is not going the way I thought it would. I thought you’d be angry and I’d have to beg and grovel for your forgiveness. Instead, you act as if you did something wrong, and you didn’t. Being with you is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I just didn’t want to lose you.”
“I get that, but when I told you nothing could make me stop loving you, I meant it. My love’s not conditional, babe.”
“No regrets, then?” she asked, her brow wrinkling with doubt.
“The only regret I have is that I didn’t get your number when we met at Stephan’s party. Then we would have gotten to know each other sooner, and I could have spent the last three years loving you instead.”
With a little whimper, Lindsay jumped into his lap and kissed him hard. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tight so the apex of her thighs rested snug against his pelvis.
“I missed your hands on me,” she whispered, grabbing the back of his head and rubbing her cheek against his bearded face.
She smelled so good, and her body was so soft. Malik pushed the loose-fitting dress up her smooth thighs.
“Yes. Please,” she whimpered.
Making Lindsay feel good was such a huge turn-on for him. When she tugged his beard and kissed him with open-mouth kisses, he was done.
He took her to the bed and hurriedly removed the clothing on the lower part of his body and hers. Then he sank into her sweet, wet heat, and she lifted her legs around his waist. She arched her neck to let his tongue trace the length of her throat. Then he sucked on the spot where her shoulder and neck met, and she moaned.
Malik picked up speed. He sexed her with hard, punishing thrusts while her legs locked around his body as if she would never set him free.
“I love you so much,” he whispered.
“I love you, too,” she whispered back.
For the first time, they came at the same time, the sound of his loud groan and her soft cry spilling past their lips and filling the air in the small room.
Malik had wrapped the bedsheet around his waist and sat on a cushioned chair, feet propped on the table before it, both of which he’d pulled in front of the window to overlook the street below. Lindsay sat between his legs, comfy with the duvet secure around her shoulders covering her entire body and Malik’s strong arms wrapped around her.
“I’m so glad you came,” Lindsay whispered.
“Where else would I be? I couldn’t miss your big day. I knew how important this was to you. Were you happy with the turnout?”
“Yes. Very happy. Hal’s happy, too.”
She’d let her braids loose to cascade around her shoulders, and he wrapped two of them around his finger. “You know what? We’re in New York. We should go out and find a club or something to get into.”
“You want to go out partying?”
He chuckled, and she felt the rumble of his laughter against her back. “I’m an introvert, not a hermit. Damn.”
“My mistake. Okay, let’s do it.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. I could make a call and find out which clubs are the best and if any are nearby.”
Oddly, she felt him stiffen. “How are you going to do that? You going to talk to your boy, Brandon?”
“Who?”
“Brandon, the guy you met at Stephan’s party a while back. He lives here in New York. I thought you were going to call him to find out what’s hot.”
“I was going to call the concierge downstairs. I don’t know a Brandon.”
“Stephan didn’t have one of his friends call you so he could show you around?”
“No.” Lindsay laughed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He muttered something that sounded like fucking Stephan.
Lindsay glanced back at him. “What did you say?”
“Nothing. Let’s go take a shower and head out.”
Lindsay stood, but she wasn’t quite ready to leave yet. In fact, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go out at all tonight. They’d reconciled, and she’d much prefer to stay in, even if it meant all they did was cuddle and watch TV for the rest of the night. Although, she had other plans.
She let the duvet fall to her feet. “Oops.”
Malik’s hot gaze swept up her body. “That was a mistake, huh?”
“I’m so clumsy,” Lindsay whispered in a soft voice, pulling a finger between her teeth.
“We’re not going anywhere tonight, are we?”
She bit the corner of her lip and shook her head, then extended her hand to him and he took it.
“I can live with that.”
He stood and let the sheet drop from around his waist, revealing his firm body to her hungry gaze. They crossed the room to the bed and fell onto the mattress, ready for another round of lovemaking.
Epilogue
Standing on the sand staring out at the water at Hilton Head, Lindsay pulled the wrap snug around her shoulders as the cool late-afternoon air blew across the beach.
Good luck, blessings, call it what you like, but she was neck-deep in happiness because her life was on track. Her book didn’t make any bestsellers lists, but Bear Publishing was pleased with the sales and reviews. They were already talking about a second printing and suggested she could very well become a USA Today bestseller or New York Times bestseller based on the anticipation for book two, The Sexy Diva Talks Sex.
She’d also bared her soul to her listeners, telling them about her father’s wrongdoings and his subsequent suicide, all without bringing up the connection to Malik. She used it as a way to talk about trust in a relationship and how sharing her past with him made their relationship stronger. It was cathartic, and the world didn’t end. In fact, that podcast episode hit a nerve. She received a number of messages from listeners sharing their own stories about divulging secrets, as well as listeners who said they would take the leap and have a heart-to-heart with their loved ones.
Even more incredible, she was currently in negotiations to do a two-hour call-in radio show
once a week.
Malik’s strong arms wrapped around her from behind, and he nuzzled her neck. “We gotta go, babe. We have more than a four-hour drive to get home,” he said quietly.
“A few more minutes.”
She didn’t want to leave. This was where he’d asked her to marry him yesterday, on the beach, with the sun setting in the distance—just like she’d described in her fantasy engagement on the radio show months ago. He’d gotten down on one knee, expressed his love for her, and replaced the pawn shop ring with a diamond solitaire.
Lindsay faced Malik. “One selfie before we go.”
“One, and then we hit the road,” he said in a stern voice.
“Yes, sir.” She gave him a mock salute, and he shook his head.
Lindsay turned toward the water again, and Malik slipped an arm around her neck, dipping his head lower to fit into the camera’s frame.
“Where is this going?” he asked.
“Instagram, of course.”
“Of course,” Malik said dryly.
“Smile,” Lindsay said.
“I’m not smiling.”
“Please. Aren’t you happy?”
He looked at her. “You know I’m happy,” he said in that deep rumble that never failed to set off a host of butterflies inside her. He kissed her ear and then nibbled on her earlobe.
Lindsay giggled. “Quit,” she said, although she snapped a few pictures while they were in playful mode.
“All right, I’ll behave so we can get out of here.”
Once again, they both faced the camera. Lindsay posed with a sexy pout, and Malik did a minimal smile with no teeth, but his sleepy brown eyes reflected the same light and happiness evident in her hazel ones.
She snapped the photo. It was perfect.
“Come on, let’s go,” Malik said.
An arm still around her neck, he pulled her close to his side, and they trudged up the sand toward the rented villa together. Lindsay leaned into him, ready to embark on the next phase of her life with the man she loved.
Love is the greatest gift of all. When someone gives you their unconditional love, protect it and nurture it. And trust me, learn from your mistakes. Until next time, girlfriends. This is Lindsay the Sexy Diva, reminding you that a healthy relationship begins with you. Be the best you can be, in and out of the bedroom. Good night.
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More Brooks Family and Johnson Family
Curious about how Ella Brooks met her fiancé, Tyrone, and fell in love? Read Do Over to get the story.
Find out how Simone Brooks and Cameron Bennett met and fell in love, in A Passionate Love.
Read how Oscar Brooks and Sylvie Johnson found their way back together in the short story, Passion Rekindled.
Check out the Brooks family cousins in the Johnson Family series—about a billionaire beer and restaurant dynasty based in Seattle. The first three books are available in a box set for a limited time. Meet Ivy, Cyrus, Trenton, Gavin, and Xavier in Unforgettable, Perfect, Just Friends, The Rules, and Good Behavior.
Also by Delaney Diamond
Royal Brides
Princess of Zamibia
Brooks Family series
Passion Rekindled
Do Over
Wild Thoughts
Love Unexpected series
The Blind Date
The Wrong Man
An Unexpected Attraction
The Right Time
One of the Guys
That Time in Venice
Johnson Family series
Unforgettable
Perfect
Just Friends
The Rules
Good Behavior
Latin Men series
The Arrangement
Fight for Love
Private Acts
The Ultimate Merger
Second Chances
More Than a Mistress
Undeniable
Hot Latin Men: Vol. I (print anthology)
Hot Latin Men: Vol. II (print anthology)
Hawthorne Family series
The Temptation of a Good Man
A Hard Man to Love
Here Comes Trouble
For Better or Worse
Hawthorne Family Series: Vol. I (print anthology)
Hawthorne Family Series: Vol. II (print anthology)
Bailar series (sweet/clean romance)
Worth Waiting For
Stand Alones
A Passionate Love
Still in Love
Subordinate Position
Heartbreak in Rio
Other
Audiobooks
Free Stories
About the Author
Delaney Diamond is the USA Today Bestselling Author of sweet, sensual, passionate romance novels. Originally from the U.S. Virgin Islands, she now lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She reads romance novels, mysteries, thrillers, and a fair amount of nonfiction. When she’s not busy reading or writing, she’s in the kitchen trying out new recipes, dining at one of her favorite restaurants, or traveling to an interesting locale.
Enjoy free reads and the first chapter of all her novels on her website. Join her mailing list to get sneak peeks, notices of sale prices, and find out about new releases.
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Wild Thoughts Page 17