Her Little Black Book

by Brenda Jackson

  Sonya grinned. “Yes, and I knew it the moment we met. That’s why I added him to my little black book.”

  Courtney blinked. “Excuse me?”

  Sonya laughed. “You didn’t even know it. It was priceless. I will never forget that day you told me none of the guys from the black book met your approval and then you told me about meeting Lake. I knew then that you hadn’t realized his name was in the book.”

  Courtney opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. She then opened it again, needing to know something. “You were once interested in Lake?”

  Sonya gave her a sly smile. “No, I thought he was special when we first met at a party that Carla gave, and that’s why his name went into the book. I considered him a future prospect, but that was when I was trying to fight my attraction to Mike. I really wasn’t focused on other guys as I wanted to be there.”

  Courtney smiled. “But in the end, everything worked out for you.”

  “And everything worked out for you, as well. I think you and Lake make a beautiful couple. I’ve seen how much attention he gives you. How he sees to your every need when the two of you are together. The man simply adores you.”

  Courtney was pleased that Sonya thought so. “He’s asked me to go to Savannah in a couple of weeks to meet his family. It’s his mother’s sixty-fifth birthday.”

  “Are you going to go?”

  “Yes. As long as Dad’s condition continues to improve, I plan to go.”

  Sonya nodded as she pulled into the hospital’s parking garage. “Has your mom made any decisions about Uncle Ron?”

  “Yes, she plans to divorce him,” Courtney said without any regret in her voice. “And I support her decision. It’s about time she moves on with her life and finds her someone who appreciates the woman she is.”

  Then deciding to switch subjects, she asked, “Have you come to terms with Suzette’s pregnancy, Sonya?”

  “Not completely, but I’m getting there. Dad’s another one who’s made some stupid mistakes in his lifetime, but he’s my dad and I love him.” She then smiled brightly. “Mom’s doing great. She’s dating this man named Willie Baker. He lives in Texas, and they go out together whenever he comes to town. She claims they are just friends, but I can see it growing into something more. She likes him, and it’s obvious that he likes her.”

  “And I’m happy for her,” Courtney said. “It’s my prayer that Mom will eventually find someone, as well. Life is too short not to live it happily.” Joy spread through her entire being. She still had the issue of her father to deal with, and every day she was praying that God gave her the strength to forgive him for the pain he had caused her mother. He was her father, and she loved him—that would never change—but she no longer respected him, and it would be a long time before she would feel differently.

  3 Days Later

  Barbara walked into Ron’s hospital room to find that the nurses had raised him up in bed. He had begun regaining consciousness a day or so before and had spoken briefly with Detective Blair, confirming that Melissa had been the person who’d pulled the trigger. He had yet to be told that everyone knew about his Hawaii tryst with Ashira. The woman had come to the hospital a few times, demanding to see him, but Barbara had requested that hospital security keep her from doing so … for the time being.

  She saw how Ron tried to smile when he saw her. Any other time, his smile would have been all she’d needed, but not anymore. Those days were over. “I was wondering when you were coming,” he said in a slurred voice. There was a tube that went through his nose that still made talking difficult for him.

  “I told you last night I would be back in this morning.” She had stopped staying all night. She refused to sleep uncomfortable any longer in the cot the nurses would bring in. He didn’t deserve that of her. “Ron, we need to talk,” she said, deciding this would be the day she made him aware of what she knew.

  “Yes,” he agreed. “There’s a lot I need to tell you, Barbara. Things I want you to know”

  She wondered if it was true-confession time for him. If coming so close to death had made him a “changed” man. If so, he could continue to go through his transformation without her. She would no longer be a part of his life. “There’s no need, Ron. If you want to tell me about Ashira Wilson, don’t bother. She’s told me everything. I know you paid for her to go to Hawaii with us.”

  “Barbara, I—”

  “No. Please don’t,” she said, holding up her hand. “Please don’t make matters any worse by apologizing. You did what you did because it was what you wanted to do, without any care or concern about me. Over the years, I’ve put up with your affairs, but no longer. What you did in Hawaii was unforgivable. You put me at risk. You—”

  “No, Barbara. I never had sex with any of the others without using a condom. I would never do that to you,” he said in a whispered tone.

  “But there should not have been a need for a condom, Ron. I was your wife. The only woman you should have been sleeping with. But—”

  “I’m sick, Barbara. I have this sexual addiction, and I plan to get help.”

  She nodded, believing him. But for her, it didn’t matter. It didn’t make a difference. “I’m glad, Ron, and I hope the next woman you marry reaps the full benefits of your recovery.”

  “I don’t understand what you mean.”

  She inhaled deeply. “I’ve filed for a divorce. According to what Ashira Wilson is saying, you were going to divorce me anyway to marry her.”

  “She’s lying.”

  “It doesn’t matter. She’s told so many truths about certain things that her lies don’t make a difference now. According to the doctor, if you continue to improve, you’ll be able to go home in a week or so. I won’t be coming back to see you. I had a moving company take your belongings to an apartment I’ve gotten for you. It’s close to your job and should be convenient. Things between us end here, Ron. I wish you the best.”

  “Barbara, please don’t.”

  Instead of having anything else to say or giving in to his pitiful plea, with her head held high she turned and walked out the room.

  26

  Courtney opened the door to her home, a nervous wreck. She’d had lunch with Brandy, who’d told her just how much Lake’s family was looking forward to meeting her next weekend. Great! That was all she needed to hear. Lake had been the one to hold out the longest, preferring to seek out his own woman. What if, after meeting her, his family thought she hadn’t been worth the hunt?

  “Hello, sweetheart.”

  She swirled around. “Lake!” Dropping the packages in her hand, she raced across the room, and he caught her into his arms. He had left a few days ago to attend a business meeting in Boston and she hadn’t expected him back until tomorrow.

  “I missed you,” he whispered close to her lips, and then he was devouring those lips in a kiss that sent sensations sizzling all through Courtney. She had accepted a while ago that Lake had a scandalous way of kissing her. She liked it, and most of the time couldn’t get enough of it. Like she could never get enough of him. He was everything she ever wanted. Everything she would ever need.

  When he released her mouth moments later, they were both pulling in deep, heavy breaths. He looked at her. “Take off your clothes.”

  She stared at him. “What?”

  “I said take off your clothes.”

  She blinked. “Now?”

  He gave her one of his decadent smiles. “Yes, now. Right this minute.”

  She could feel her nipples growing tight and sensitive against the fabric of her blouse. “You sure you want me to do this?”

  “Positive.”

  A long edgy silence encompassed them, and then she took a step back and pulled her blouse over her head and tossed it aside. Next came her skirt, and she saw that he was staring, not missing a thing, when her hand went to the zipper to ease it down.

  She studied his expression, saw the hot look in his eyes. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?�
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  He didn’t waste time mulling over a response. “Yes. More than you will ever know.”

  She had an idea. Well, more than an idea when her gaze lowered from his face to his crotch. He was big and growing by the minute. The second. Leaps and bounds. “Am I going to get something for all my trouble in doing this?”

  He gave a smooth chuckle. “Oh, yes, trust me. You’re going to get something, all right.”

  Her gaze moved back to his face. He didn’t have a poker face. She knew exactly what he planned on giving her. “There,” she said, standing in front of him stark naked. And unashamedly so. Lake had taught her that when it came to them, nothing was too risque. He liked thinking out of the box. “It’s your turn, Lake.”

  He grinned and began unbuttoning his shirt. Then he was removing his shoes, socks, and his pants. Next were his boxers, leaving him naked. He met her gaze. “Happy now?”

  “Are you?”

  “I can show you better than I can tell you.” And then he was crossing the short distance that separated them. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her again, and she automatically became lost in the feel of his mouth on hers and what his mouth was doing. But she did feel the moment he caught her by the bottom and lifted her up and widened her legs open to wrap around him. But not before his manhood unerringly found what it wanted and he entered her. Just as smoothly. Just as quick. They were locked together. Body to body. Flesh to flesh.

  He threw his head back, pulled in a deep breath, and she knew he had taken in her scent. There was no way he could have missed it. She was hot.

  And then with them still locked together, she felt him walking her backward and she wondered where he was taking her. It didn’t take long for her to find out. It was the nearest wall.

  As soon as he planted her back against it, he lowered his head and went for her breasts. “You don’t play fair,” she muttered right before she released a groan she couldn’t hold back. With each pull of his mouth on her breast, she felt her inner muscles contracting, clamping fully around him, and when his tongue began tormenting her nipple, she gave in to the climax she couldn’t hold back. The one he’d known would come.

  And it seemed that’s what he’d been waiting for. Her to come. He began thrusting in and out of her, stroking her deep, hard, and fast. She began crying out when another orgasm took over her mind the same way Lake had taken over her body. She could swear that she could actually feel her toes curl as he kept thrusting into her relentlessly. By the time she screamed out another orgasm, he was right there with her, going over the edge, storming the waves, drowning in pleasure.

  “I love you.” He whispered the words hotly against her mouth.

  “And I love you.” And she knew he was all the man she would ever want and need.

  Later that night she went in search of her little black book. She found it in the bottom of her drawer buried beneath her panties. She opened it up and flipped to the next page, the one after Solomon Wise’s name. She smiled when she saw Lake’s name. It was there. So regardless, she would eventually have met him, but she was glad they’d met the way they had: on their own and without help from anyone. She felt even more convinced that it was meant for them to be together.

  She placed the book back in the drawer and crossed the room to slide back in bed with him. She felt contented when in sleep he instinctively pulled her closer into his arms. Smiling, she cuddled up close to him, thinking that she hadn’t needed her little black book after all.

  also by brenda jackson

  What a Woman Wants

  No More Playas

  The Playa’s Handbook

  Unfinished Business

  A Family Reunion

  Ties That Bind

  The Midnight Hour

  The Savvy Sistahs

  anthologies

  The Best Man

  Welcome to Leo’s

  Let’s Get It On

  An All Night Man

  Mr. Satisfaction

  her little black book discussion questions

  1. Do you feel that, in the beginning, Courtney should have been more supportive of her parents’ decision to save their marriage?

  2. Knowing the animosity between his wife, ex-wife, and daughter, should Joe have brought Suzette to the wedding?

  3. When Harper Isaac was arrested, should Courtney have used her funds to pay for an attorney or to do whatever was needed to help get Harper out of the trouble he was in? What about her handling of the other two guys from her little black book? Were her expectations too high?

  4. Do you think that Ron really had any intentions of trying to save his marriage?

  5. Should Barbara have been so quick to trust her husband again, judging by what he did to her in the past?

  6. Could you understand Peggy’s reluctance to date again, even when a nice guy like Willie Baker came along?

  7. How do you feel about Ron taking Ashira to Hawaii with him and Barbara? Should Barbara have suspected something?

  8. What did you think of Lake Masters’s style of romancing Courtney? Did he move too fast? Too slow?

  9. Considering the men in her life, did you understand Courtney’s reluctance to take Lake at face value?

  10. Knowing about Ron’s health situation, should Barbara have stayed with him in the end? Was informing him of the divorce in the hospital a low blow?

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  HER LITTLE BLACK BOOK. Copyright © 2008 by Brenda Streater Jackson. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y 10010.

  www.stmartins.com

  Design by Sarah Gubkin

  eISBN 9781429931816

  First eBook Edition : March 2011

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Jackson, Brenda (Brenda Streater)

  Her little black book / Brenda Jackson.—1st ed.

  p. cm.

  ISBN-13: 978-0-312-35933-1

  ISBN-10: 0-312-35933-0

  1. African American women—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3560.A21165H47 2008

  813’.54—dc22

  2007048193