Giving My All to You

by Sheryl Lister

  She narrowed her eyes. “You’re smiling. What are you up to?”

  He gave her a quick kiss and pressed the elevator button. “I’m smiling because I have you back in my life.”

  “Mmm-hmm.” They rode the elevator up and exited on the same floor as she had on her first visit. With it being a Saturday, they were the only people there. She followed him down the long hallway to a set of double doors.

  He opened the doors with a flourish and gestured her inside. “What do you think?”

  The spacious office had a large, polished mahogany desk, a window that extended the length of one wall, a bookshelf and another equally polished table on the other side of the room with seating for four. “It’s fabulous. Is this your new office?”

  “Yes. But this isn’t what I really wanted to show you.” He walked over to an inner door and opened it. “Come with me.”

  Faith tentatively followed him through the door, which accessed another office that was no less opulent but had been done in lighter colors. “Whose office is this?”

  “Yours.”

  She spun around. “Mine?”

  Brandon went behind the desk and pulled out the leather chair. “Have a seat.”

  She sat and ran her hand lightly along the edge of the desk. It was beautiful and the chair fit perfectly.

  “I know you’re still growing your business, so I thought the office could serve a dual purpose.”

  She stared at him. He was really making it hard for her not to take the job, though she had been talking to her father more about it and had become intrigued with the possibilities. “So, what would my role in the company be?”

  He regarded her silently for a moment. “To act in my stead when I’m not here, help me take our company into the future and continue to make it one of the best anywhere.”

  “And you’d trust me to do all of that?”

  “Yes,” he answered without hesitation.

  She smiled.

  “There’s something else. Look in the drawer.”

  Faith scooted back and pulled the center compartment open. Her heart skipped a beat and her gaze flew to his. She brought her hands to her mouth and stared at the small jeweler’s box surrounded by rose petals the same color as those he had that beautiful night at his house.

  When she didn’t make a move, Brandon chuckled, reached around her and removed the ring. He lowered himself to one knee next to her. “I love you, Faith, and I need you. Marry me, baby. I promise to give you my all from this moment forward.”

  Tears misted her eyes and she cupped his face. “I love you and need you, too, Brandon. Yes, I’ll marry you.” He lifted her hand and slid the sparkling solitaire surrounded by smaller diamonds onto her finger. “It’s amazing.” She threw her arms around him and kissed him with all her heart.

  “Thank you for making this so easy because I wasn’t taking no for an answer.”

  Faith laughed. “I see Mr. Bossy is back.”

  “Yeah, but I’m sure you’ll have no problems keeping me in line.”

  “No. No, I won’t.”

  Brandon wiggled his eyebrows. “How about we christen our new offices?”

  She gasped. “We can’t do that in here.”

  “Why not? There’s no one here but us.” He disappeared through the connecting door, came back in a flash, locked the other door and placed her on the empty desk. He undid the buttons on her top, undid her bra and took one taut nipple into the warmth of his mouth. “Now, what were you saying?”

  The only thing she managed was a strangled moan as their clothes disappeared and he entered her with one powerful thrust. “I love you, Brandon.”

  “I love you, too, Faith. You are my heart.”

  Epilogue

  Six months later

  Brandon stood at the end of the aisle in the filled church sanctuary anxiously waiting for Faith to appear. Between Faith relocating to LA and both of them getting acclimated to their new positions, he’d had to wait six long months to make her his wife. And every one of those days tested his patience in ways he couldn’t begin to describe.

  The door opened and his breath caught. He didn’t think Faith could be more beautiful, but today she looked absolutely radiant. The white strapless dress she wore flowed to the floor, emphasized her full breasts, small waist and flaring hips. Brandon didn’t realize he had taken a step until he felt the tug on his arm.

  “Easy, big brother,” Khalil whispered. “You’re supposed to wait for her to come to you.”

  He glanced over his shoulder and met his brother’s smile, then turned back to watch his bride. She hadn’t wanted the traditional wedding march played and, instead, had chosen “Setembro (Brazilian Wedding Song)” by Quincy Jones. The rhythm fit perfectly with the subtle sway of her hips as she glided toward him on the arms of both her fathers. She smiled at him and his heart nearly beat out of his chest.

  When she finally made it to him, it took all of Brandon’s restraint not to take her into his arms and kiss her the way he’d described on their erotic phone call last night. Since their mothers wouldn’t let them see each other after the rehearsal and dinner, it was the best they could do.

  As if reading his mind, Faith shook her head and mouthed, “Don’t you do it.”

  She knew him all too well. But she also knew he called his own shots. Before he could stop himself, he seized her mouth in a searing kiss. He poured everything he felt for her in it, wanting her to know that from now on this was how it would be between them. The minister cleared his throat, but Brandon didn’t immediately stop. Finally, he lifted his head and told the man, “I’m ready now.”

  The minister shook his head. “More than ready, in my estimation.”

  Khalil and Malcolm chuckled.

  The ceremony took less than twenty minutes and Brandon stared into the eyes his new wife. “I love you, Mrs. Gray.” Their first kiss as husband and wife was filled with love and anticipation of what was to come.

  Faith smiled up at him. “I love you, too. But I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”

  He swept her into his arms and strode up the aisle. “Well, you’ll have a lifetime to figure it out.”

  She threw her head back and laughed.

  Brandon caught Justin’s gaze as he sat holding his newborn daughter. His brother-in-law’s words rushed back to Brandon: Whatever you do, don’t let her get away.

  Justin smiled and nodded.

  Brandon now understood what Justin had meant. When he thought he’d lost Faith, nothing else seemed to matter. Holding her in his arms now, he knew that he’d found the woman who was meant for him, the one he’d give everything to and the one he would love for the rest of his life.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from ALWAYS MY BABY by Martha Kennerson.

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  Always My Baby

  by Martha Kennerson

  Chapter 1

  Alexander Kingsley Jr. stood barefoot in his dimly lit, downtown Houston high-rise office, staring out of his wall of windows. The usually immaculately dressed COO of Kingsley Oil and Gas, his family’s multibillion-dollar conglomerate, wore black jeans and a black T-shirt, clothes that reflected his mood. Alexander held a glass of single malt whiskey low at his side as he watched the rain blanket the dark city.

  The eldest son of the wealthy Creole and African American Kingsley family and heir apparent to take over as the company’s CEO upon his mother’s retirement, he was used to carrying the weight of his company’s decisions, and the consequences associated with those decisions, on his shoulders, yet this new threat had him questioning his next move. Alexander heard his door open and grimaced. This won’t be pretty.

  “Really, Alexander? You summoned me back to the office on a Friday night...again. And in the rain at that. This had better be important.”

  “Come in, China,” Alexander ordered, his tone flat as he kept his back to her. “Fix yourself a drink. You’re going to need it.”

  China Edwards, Alexander’s beautiful best friend, was an environmental attorney whom Alexander thought of as basically a female version of himself. Her sharp mind, quick wit and photographic memory made China’s position as in-house counsel for Kingsley Oil and Gas vital to the ongoing success of their company.

  Alexander could hear the annoyance in her voice. He picked up a small framed photo of the two of them, taken on the day of their law school graduation. The corner of his mouth rose. “Remember that promise we made each other the day we graduated?”

  China sighed, tossed her Chloé handbag on the sectional sofa placed in Alexander’s lounge, an area attached to his office but separated by a collapsible wall. “Which one?” she asked, making her way through the lounge, passing a wood and granite-topped coffee table to get to the matching bar. She picked up the bottle, read the label and said, “Nikka Forty...very nice. This must be big when you’re reaching for the good whiskey.”

  Alexander turned to face China, and his eyes widened at the sight before him. He’d always thought she was gorgeous but something was different about tonight. China’s long, curly brown hair was pulled back off her face into a high ponytail, showcasing her stunning warm ivory skin tone. She wore a black sequined shorts set with gold stiletto heels that seemed to extend her legs. “Damn!” Even in his current state of annoyance Alexander’s body responded to the beauty of his best friend. Alexander had been finding it more and more difficult to keep his attraction for China under control, and tonight wasn’t helping his case.

  “What?” China questioned, looking down at herself. “Why are you looking at me like that?” She leaned against the bar.

  “Like what?” His eyes looked their fill at her body and his voice took on a husky tone.

  “Like that...like I’m one of those women you ‘date,’” she stated, using air quotes to emphasize the point that she didn’t think he actually did anything beyond sleeping with any of them.

  China bent back her left leg and released her heel from her shoe’s strap. She removed one shoe, then the other, tossing them both to the side, which dropped her to her normal height of five feet five inches. China sipped her drink as she took a seat in an oversized round chair that sat between Alexander’s desk and the bar.

  “I’m not.” Alexander broke eye contact and returned the photo to its resting place on the long credenza that had been positioned behind his desk. Get a grip, man; this is China. He turned back and met her intense gaze.

  “Sure you are,” she alleged before taking another drink from her glass.

  “Where are you coming from, dressed like that, anyway?” His nose wrinkled.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but my date took me dancing.” China smiled as though she’d just remembered something pleasant.

  Alexander felt like he’d been hit with a sharp object. “Date...you went on a date?”

  China rolled her eyes skyward. “Yes, Alexander, it happens.”

  “Since when?”

  “Since now.” China’s phone beeped indicating that she had an incoming text. She got up and went to where her purse had landed, retrieved the phone and read the text. China laughed before typing out a response. She put her purse and phone on the coffee table and returned to the chair. “Why did you summon me back here at ten o’clock at night?” she reiterated.

  “Do you remember the promise?”

  She grinned. “Which one?”

  “The one where we said we’d always be there for each other, no matter what.”

  “Well, let’s see.” She tapped her temple twice before letting her index finger rest on the side of her head. “We’ve been best friends since law school. We have dinner together every month, which you insist on cooking. You drag me to every formal function you’re invited to in order to keep gold digging women away and I’ve worked for you and your family for the past seven years.” She dropped her hand. “I’d say we had that, ‘I’ll always have your back’ phase of our relationship covered.”

  Alexander smiled and scratched his beard with his left hand.

  “What’s going on, Alex?”

  Alexander’s sex throbbed at the sound of China using the shortened version of his name that only she was allowed to use. It was something special just between the two of them. “The government is coming for us.”

  China sighed and dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand. “Again...”

  “Yes, but this time they may have a case.”

  China sat up straight in her chair. “What do you mean?”

  “The Environmental Protection Agency claims to have proof that we disposed of our gas cylinders illegally and to the detriment of the environment. They’re opening an official investigation and announcing it Monday morning,” he explained.

  “That’s not possible,” she declared.

  “Apparently it is.” He tossed back the rest of his drink and moved over to the bar to pour himself more. He picked up the bottle and showed it to China. “Another?”

  “Sure.” She swiveled her chair around and reached for her glass, stretching across the chair, offering Alexander a nice view of her outstretched legs and round behind. “How did you find this out?” China offered him her glass.

  “My mother has some very expensive and well-placed sources,” he said, pouring the golden substance into her glass.

  “Don’t I know it? We can’t do anything about it until we know what they have, which could take a few weeks after I put in a request for discovery,” she reminded him.

  Alexander took a drink and said, “Actually—”

  “Actually what?” Her brows knit together.

  “We’ll have a copy of what they have Monday,” Alexander promised.

  “EPA investigations are secret, even the preliminary ones. What did you do?” China asked, her eyes narrowed.

  “Remember that promise,” he said, giving her a sheepish grin.

  “What...did...you...do?”

  “I didn’t do anything. My mother, on the other hand, made arrangements for us to get a sneak peek at everything the government has.”

  Ch
ina shook her head slowly. “Why am I not surprised?” She tossed back her drink.

  “Because you know my mother.” Alexander folded his body onto his extra-wide and extra-long sectional. He stretched out his long legs and laid his head against the sofa’s high, round back. “The rain’s really coming down now,” Alexander observed.

  “Yes, it is. It looks like we’ll be here a minute. Just another late night at the office, thanks to you.”

  “Hey, we have alcohol and snacks,” Alexander offered.

  “There is that.” Her sarcasm came through loud and clear.

  China rose from the chair and went to join Alexander on the daybed portion of the sectional. She curled up, pulled down the decorative throw that was hanging across the back of the sofa and covered her legs. China laid her head against one of the large pillows.

  “You know we didn’t do anything wrong, right? Whatever this is about, we will handle it.” China raised her head slightly and said, “The right way.” She gave him a knowing look.

  Alexander laughed and turned toward China. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a new man?”

  “You don’t tell me about every woman you sleep with.” China laid her head back down.

  Alexander’s heart sank and his breath caught in his throat. He didn’t understand why. China had never been his, so why did he suddenly feel a sense of betrayal? “Oh, it’s like that?” His left eyebrow rose.

  China pushed out a breath. “No, it’s not. This was only our second date and it got cut short thanks to another one of your emergencies...nonemergency call,” she said, closing her eyes.

  Alexander had refused to explore why lately he found himself having emergencies that required China’s immediate attention whenever she was out on dates. “Oh...sorry.”

  “No, you’re not,” she said, keeping her eyes closed.

  No, I’m not. Alexander watched the rise and fall of China’s chest with each slow breath she took. He marveled at the curve between her neck and shoulder, and the delicate way her hands lay at her sides. Alexander had always been attracted to China, but for the sake of their friendship, he’d buried his attraction and complicated feelings for his best friend. He hadn’t always had the best track record when it came to his relationships with women. Alexander never wanted to do anything that would jeopardize their friendship; however, his overwhelming feelings now had him...questioning that wisdom.