by Tiana Laveen
“How did you become such an incredible lover?” Xenia asked as she studied his hands.
“Through research, practice, and asking questions – not being afraid to try new things – being comfortable with myself and the human body in general. I loved women and took time to understand how your minds work, understanding the emotional side of sex, wanting to please, wanting to feel love. For a rather lengthy time period, I used sex to fill a void. Anything I set out to do, especially if it involves another person, I try my best,” Saint answered. “Speaking of sex and love, let me ask you something. What would you say you’re best at and the worst at sexually?” He smiled as he put a piece of turkey sausage in his mouth.
Xenia laughed. “I’m on the spot now. I’m used to being the one that asks the questions.”
Saint rubbed her thigh. “Yeah, I noticed,” he murmured.
“I think I ride really well. I do a great Reverse Cowgirl.” She smiled dreamily as her head fell back lightly, hitting the plump, oversized pillow. Saint immediately thought about the way her body bobbed up and down on the black stallion at the park, then later on him.
“You do ride well,” he complimented.
Xenia rolled her eyes, “Then why did you act like I didn’t know what the hell I was doing a few minutes ago?”
“Because you were holding back. You rode the damn horse better than you did me,” he answered. “You tried to mess with my head.”
“Honestly, it wasn’t that. I was disoriented. It was like I was drunk. I’ve never come so much in my entire life. You were killing me,” Xenia laughed.
“You were mad and trying to punish me. You started daydreaming and changed up once you saw I liked it. I knew you could do better. You wanted to give it to me, but you believed if you did, you’d lose complete control. I knew you were great, and I wanted to see it and feel it,” he answered. “I know what you were doing. Don’t try to pull one over on me. You showed me what you could do. It was fabulous.”
Xenia clicked her tongue and grimaced while shaking her head, then took a sip of her juice.
“I don’t think I’m very good at blow jobs, though. I try, I just don’t seem to do it right,” she confessed. Saint smiled at her and moved his hand higher up her thigh.
“Do you want me to teach you how to suck my dick?” he asked as he lustfully looked her body up and down. Xenia felt her stomach flip.
“Yes,” she said as she slid her tray aside.
Saint laughed. “No, Baby, not right now. I’ll show you later – believe me, I’ll show you later.” He winked at her. “Reverse Cowgirl, huh? I’ll be looking forward to seeing your rendition,” he laughed. “I’m glad you enjoyed it tonight, though – well, this morning too,” he smiled. “I want to please you.” He leaned over and kissed her lips as he caressed her cheek with his thumb.
“Uh, you did more than that,” she smirked. “I can’t believe I just got excited about giving you a blow job,” she laughed. “I don’t even like doing that, but with you, for some reason, I want to so badly.” She looked at him, trying to gauge his reaction.
Saint rubbed her hair, enjoying the texture against his fingertips.
“Tell me about your family, your life,” Saint said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
“Well, let’s see. I have a fraternal twin sister,” Xenia began.
“Seriously? That’s pretty cool,” Saint said. “Which one of you is oldest?” he asked.
“Me, by three minutes,” she responded.
“Why am I not surprised?” Saint laughed. “You have to be in control and do everything first.”
Xenia laughed. “Yeah, she and I are total opposites though. I’m outgoing, and Porsche’s introverted. We don’t look much alike either, but we’re best friends. We have a younger brother, Ira. He’s in the Army. My mother was a single parent. I had a decent relationship with my father, I suppose, but he always seemed to put other women before his kids. Hell, he took care of other women’s children better than he did us. He and I really don’t talk much. He talks more with my sister because she never asks him hard questions,” Xenia shrugged.
“I was born up in San Diego, then we moved to L.A. when I was really young. I went to community college right after high school. I interned at a news station, then went back and got my bachelors in journalism. I landed my gig at the radio station soon after that. As in your case, it blew up out of nowhere. All of the sudden, I was no longer just a local name. The show went to nationwide syndication. I wrote some advice books after being sick and tired of all the women calling and writing me about their relationships. It helped me – the ‘three-month rule’ – so I wrote a book about it.” She looked at Saint and smirked.
He laughed and patted her leg. “That’s OK. Your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell anyone you gave it up to me on the first night.” Xenia hit him with her pillow.
“OK, I’m sorry,” Saint laughed. “Go ahead and finish telling me what you were saying, Baby.”
“I do some hosting and M.C. events around the country. I get to meet all sorts of interesting and famous people. I love my life actually. It’s like a dream come true. I want to ask you something: how do I know that Black women aren’t just some sort of fetish for you? You may just see us sexually. That bothers me. I mean, look at what you concentrate on? You were hell-bent on getting me in bed!”
Saint’s jaw dropped open, “What? No I wasn’t!” he laughed.
“You’re a horrible liar,” Xenia laughed. “You knew exactly what you were up to, and you knew that if you got me to this hotel, that it was a wrap. You knew it!”
Saint looked at her and burst out laughing, slinking down into the pillow as his face turned red. “OK, OK. Yeah, I wanted to sleep with you, but you can’t really blame me for that, and it doesn’t mean I see you only as a sexual object. I mean honestly, I did think about the things I wanted to do with you here ahead of time, but this isn’t a booty call.” Saint smiled and looked at her closely, “I promise you, you’re not a fetish. No one risks their life over a fetish. People don’t go around the world risking their well-being over a fetish.” He stroked her chin. “Some people think that because I grew up around a lot of Black people that that’s how this started. I could’ve been raised in the ocean or under a rock and never seen a Black person until I became an adult – it still would’ve happened. It’s in me to be this way. It’s like asking you to not be attracted to men anymore, or asking a kid to not want to eat sweets. It’s impossible. It’s who I am. All my environment did was allow me to know what I liked at a younger age. Who I love isn’t a fetish, and I don’t take it lightly,” Saint explained. “Speaking of love, have you ever been in love before?”
Xenia was suddenly distracted by his cock peeking out from under the sheet. She wanted to run her fingers along it – play with it in her hands and make it grow.
“Xenia?” he said, trying to get her attention.
“Uh, yes. I have been. I’m thirty-two, after all,” she smiled.
“Are you in love again, now?” he asked seriously.
Xenia looked around the room, anxiety filled. “Great sex isn’t love.”
Saint smiled at her, raised her hand to his chest, and looked through her, all knowing. “You don’t have to be afraid to tell me that you love me. I’m not so sure you’ve told anyone that you loved them. I know you love me though. I can feel it.”
“Well then, please don’t make me say it,” she said, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes. “Please, don’t make me say that right now.”
“You’ve already said it, as far as I’m concerned.” Saint kissed the top of her head. “You don’t want to say it because it doesn’t make sense to be in love with someone you just met, but you are – we are, and it’s fine.”
Xenia said quietly, “I don’t even have to ask you. I’m sure you’ve been in love before.”
“Actually, I haven’t,” he corrected, “Until now. I’ve cared about some women very much. I even loved
a couple, but I was never ‘in love.’ Loving someone and being in love are two different things. This is love at first sight. It really does happen every now and again,” Saint said as he lowered his lips to hers, kissing her softly as he caressed the back of her neck with his fingertips.
They talked for hours, until Saint could no longer ignore his phone or the knocking at the front door. Xenia fell asleep while he took care of some business matters online. Saint slid on some pants and sat at the small desk, typing away until there was another knock at the door. He looked over at Xenia and smiled. She was still fast asleep. He got up and walked to the door, looked out the peep hole and saw Raphael standing there with a new golf club. He opened the door and let him inside.
“Man!” Raphael said as the door closed behind him. “I’ve been knockin’ on the door for hours, Man. I didn’t know if you were still alive in here. I was startin’ to get worried. Were you beatin’ her to death? What the hell was goin’ on in here last night?” Raphael laughed.
“Were we that loud?” Saint asked as he tied the drawstring to his baggy, gray jogging pants.
Raphael laughed. “Yes, you were that loud. She was in here yellin’ like an alley cat. I felt like I was witnessin’ a crime, Man. I take it you and Ms. Xenia had a fabulous evening.” He made himself comfortable and sat down on the couch.
“Yes, we did, and it’s still continuing,” Saint said, trying to drop Raphael a hint to leave.
“She’s still here?” he whispered.
“Yeah, she’s in the bedroom asleep.” Saint nodded towards the closed bedroom door.
“She’ll probably need to be taken outta here on a gurney!” Raphael teased. Saint laughed as he looked for his swim trunks in his small duffle bag.
“You gotta tell me what happened, Man!” Raphael pleaded. Saint walked over to the radio and turned it on. Prince’s “Extraloveable” was playing.
“Man, you know I don’t kiss and tell, plus I wouldn’t do that with this one,” Saint responded.
“You really believe she’s the one, huh?” Raphael asked as he swung the golf club playfully in the air.
“I know she is. There isn’t a doubt in my mind.” Saint kept searching for his swim trunks.
“Wait a minute, what’s that on your chest and back? Son! Did she do that? Holy shit!” Raphael laughed. Saint looked down at his chest with pride.
“She sure did,” he grinned. “That’s all I’m telling you though.”
“You act like you’re doin’ me a favor. You’re the one standin’ here lookin’ like a raggedy play toy for a panther – like I need to be callin’ 911 or somethin’. I’d be wrong not to ask what the fuck happened!” Raphael hooted.
Saint laughed. “I should’ve thrown on my shirt before opening the door. Look, I really need to cancel my engagements for this weekend. I already called everyone and let T-Rex know. Of course my agent is pissed, but this is important. I wanted to go do a couple laps in the pool while she sleeps. Exercise recharges my battery,” Saint winked. “Anyway, I want to spend this time with her. Are you cool with that?” Saint asked as he handed Raphael a wad of cash.
“I am now!” he snickered as he shoved the money in his pants pocket. “Look, Man, I think it’s weird as hell how you just met this chick and are sayin’ she’s your future wifey, but I know you. We go back like Rosa Parks, and I know you don’t take shit like this lightly. I just want you to know that I’ve got your back, and if you say she’s who you think she is, then I support you.” Raphael stood up to leave.
“Thanks. I know it seems unbelievable, but it’s true. I’ll call you later on,” Saint said as he let Raphael out the door.
Saint made his way back into the bedroom and heard low snoring. He quietly laughed and shook his head as he removed his jogging pants and slid his white swim trunks on. He grabbed a piece of stationery, jotted down a note, and placed it on the bed beside her:
Sweetheart,
I’m going to go swim. I’ll be back soon, and when I return, I want you wet and ready. I hope you get a really good nap and take your vitamins. You’re going to need them.
- Saint
* * *
CHAPTER 5
The next day…
“How could you not like sushi?” Xenia asked as she took a large California roll off the platter.
“I do like it, but I think it’s an acquired taste, like pussy,” Saint teased.
“See, there you go. You’re so damn nasty,” Xenia smirked. Saint leaned back in his chair and stuck his tongue out at Xenia as he laughed. She paid attention to its obscene shape and unusual length, reminiscing about all the unbelievable things he had done with it.
“And that’s why you didn’t like me, huh?” Saint teased. “You didn’t seem to mind my nasty self last night,” he snickered.
Xenia crossed her legs and popped a piece of ginger in her mouth as she ignored him. “This place is nice. The sushi is really fresh,” she said as she looked across at him. “I’m going to miss you like crazy when you leave tomorrow morning.” As soon as the words left her mouth, feelings of sorrow consumed her. “I should’ve never let you get close to me. I knew you were trouble from the start. If I had kept my guard up then…”
“You’re reverting,” Saint warned. “We’ve already talked about this, Baby. Besides, then you wouldn’t have had one of the best weekends of your entire life,” Saint said as he crossed his arms. “I know this is scary. I’ve caught myself second-guessing it a couple of times too. Either you trust your heart or you ignore it and pretend none of this shit ever happened. Your secret is safe with me, like I told you last night. I can leave you alone if that would make you feel better. I would do it because I love you. Love isn’t selfish. I’m not going to keep someone who doesn’t want to be kept,” Saint assured.
Xenia exhaled and looked at the ground, a million thoughts racing through her mind. She didn’t want to lose him after she had just gotten him. She knew in her heart he was telling the truth about leaving her alone, no matter how much he wanted to be with her.
“Sorry, I’m trying to accept what’s going on with us, and I want it to be true so badly. Just give me some time. I don’t usually believe in hocus pocus stuff like this. It takes some getting used to, and then that shit with the teddy bear – my God.” She picked up her wine glass then paused. “Someone is about to take our photo.” Saint turned to see two people from the local media whip out their cameras. He turned back to Xenia.
“Yeah, this is bound to happen. We’re both in the public eye. I’m a psychotic, multi-racial, sex-crazed, loaded gun who’s supposedly going to start a race riot, and you’re a slice of the beloved Black elite with down-to-earth grit. Sounds like a match made in Heaven to me,” he laughed. He heard the flash of the cameras then slowly turned to face them. He waved. One of the men quickly rushed over.
“Sorry to interrupt your dinner, Dr. Aknaten. We see you’re here with the lovely Ms. Donnellson. Are you two friends? Is this an interview? Can we have some sort of statement?”
Saint took a sip of his mango juice and leaned back in his chair. “Look, I know you’re just trying to do your job, and a picture of me with some crazy headline would make your career that much brighter, but I really need you to respect my privacy right now. I let you and your buddy over there take your photos, but I’m kind of having an important meeting right now, and I don’t want to discuss anything with the media this second,” Saint said. “So take your photos. I’ll even smile for you, but don’t ask me any questions. You didn’t pay me for an interview. I get nothing out of it but aggravation, so leave our table after you’re finished.”
“Wait a minute. Ms. Donnellson is a member of the media, so why does she get a free pass? Is something going on here? You say you’re having an important meeting here with her? What about?” The reporter began to snap shot after shot, the flash blinding Saint so that he put his arm up to cover his eyes. Saint stood up, towering over the diminutive man. His 6’3”, lean, muscular fra
me looked even larger in his T-shirt and slightly baggy jeans.
“Look, Arnold,” Saint read from the man’s journalist badge, “I’m going to call restaurant management if you don’t go away. I’d prefer to get in a physical altercation with you, you know, let off a little steam, but I have more important things to do with my time than end up spending the night in jail for assault.” Arnold frowned, took one more photo, and walked away.
“What an asshole!” Arnold said to his colleague as he sat back down.
Xenia turned to her glass of water and burst out laughing. “You and I are so alike in some ways. We might try to kill one another,” she giggled. “We’re hot heads. Lord help us.” She swung her leg back and forth.
Saint looked across the table at her and partially lowered his eyelids as he licked his lips.
“Oh, no, what are you thinking about?” she asked, bracing herself.
“Have you ever had anal sex?” he asked, as he leaned a bit further back in his chair. Xenia looked around the restaurant.
“Why are you asking me this here? I’m not talking about that shit right now,” she hissed.
“So, you have, then,” Saint laughed.
“Once, OK? Just once,” Xenia clarified as she stifled laughter.
“Did you like it?”
“Saint, stop it. We can talk about this later.”
“I may forget later. Just answer me. Did you like it?” he licked his bottom lip seductively.