In the Market for Love

by Joy Avery

  When she couldn’t hold back any longer, Vivian broke her mouth away and cried out from the fire coursing through her. “Alonso... Alonso...” Her nails dragged across his damp flesh. “Don’t stop.”

  His tempo grew clumsy and his breathing ragged. A sound that was a mix between a growl and a groan rumbled in his chest. “Shit.” Several lumbering strokes later, he exploded.

  The feel of him throbbing inside of her energized her body again, sending more ripples of pleasure through her. Moments later, Alonso collapsed next to her, cradling her against his warm, moist chest.

  In a heavy breath, he said, “That was amazing.”

  She had to agree.

  “There was one thing missing, though.”

  Vivian lifted her head to eye him. “What?”

  “We didn’t get to utilize your new toy.”

  She swatted him playfully. “No way are you coming near me with that abomination.”

  After a humorous moment, things settled.

  Vivian placed her head back on Alonso’s chest, the sound of his heartbeat drumming in her ear. “Just so we’re clear, this doesn’t change anything. I’m still not selling you my house.” Her words were more good-natured than patronizing. She kissed the space under his chin just to make sure he knew that.

  Alonso released a hearty laugh. “I have all that I want.” He kissed her forehead and pulled her a little more snugly against him, held her a little tighter.

  This doesn’t change anything? Who in the hell was she kidding? This changed everything.

  Chapter 14

  When Alonso collapsed onto the bed, belly down, Vivian lay on top of him. The feel of her warm, naked body aroused him. What in the hell was she doing to him? They’d made love on and off for the past several hours, and he still couldn’t get enough of her.

  Vivian kissed his shoulder and fine bumps prickled his skin. Yeah, there was something special about this woman. He’d suspected it, but now knew for sure. “Are you hungry?”

  They’d slept, chatted and ate in between their lovemaking sessions. He needed to stay nourished to keep up with Vivian. A rabbit didn’t have anything on her. And as good as she felt to him, he planned to make love to her as much as she—and his body—would allow.

  She nibbled on him. “Not for food.”

  “Damn, woman, I thought I was insatiable. You’re wearing a brother out.”

  “It’s been a while. Apparently, my body is trying to replenish itself.”

  “Well, I don’t mind supplying the necessary sustenance you need.”

  “And you supply it so well.”

  “Careful. You’re going to swell my head.”

  “Promises, promises.”

  “Wow. I never took you for a nympho.”

  Vivian playfully pinched him. “I’m not a nymphomaniac. I just enjoy having sex with you.”

  “I enjoy having sex with you, too.” When he reached back and pinched her butt, she squealed. Her laughter made him smile. He liked the idea of being the one responsible for the jovial sound.

  Vivian sobered, then rested her head flat against him. “Can I ask you something, Alonso?”

  “No, you can’t borrow any money.”

  “I’m serious,” she said, thumping his ear.

  Alonso’s thoughts briefly moved to a memory of his mother. She used to thump him the same way when he was being a clown—which had been quite frequently. The good times. Those were the memories of his mother he liked to recall. Those were the ones he held dear to his heart.

  Returning to present time, he said, “Sure.”

  “When were you stabbed?”

  His body impulsively stiffened. He’d expected the question eventually. The night he’d stood shirtless in her laundry room, he’d spied her examining his wound. She hadn’t inquired then, but he knew it was only a matter of time.

  “Several years ago. When I first started out, I couldn’t afford a posh downtown location. The place I could afford wasn’t in the most luxurious part of town. One night I worked much later than I usually did. It was about one or two in the morning when I left the office.”

  “One or two in the morning?”

  “That was customary. I was determined to succeed. I had to succeed. That meant sacrifice. Late nights, no days off, no social life, no sleep.”

  “No relationship.”

  “That, too.”

  “So you left the office...”

  “I’d ordered Chinese and didn’t want to leave the containers in the trash can overnight and stink up the place, so I carried them out with me. The Dumpster was located in the alley next to the building.”

  Vivian’s head rose. “Uh-oh.”

  Obviously Vivian had a good idea of where this story was headed. He took a deep breath and continued. “Three young dudes popped out of nowhere. When they tried to rob me, I fought back.”

  “Alonso!”

  “I know, I know. But I was young, dumb, hotheaded and cocky back then. I couldn’t let these jokers punk me.” He laughed. “They were whupping my ass good, but I managed to get in a few good shots.” He sobered. “Then one of them pulled a knife.”

  Vivian gasped as if she’d been watching it all unfold right before her eyes.

  “Next thing I know, I’m reeling on the cold, damp ground in excruciating pain. Barely conscious, I hear all of this commotion—cracking, groans, wails. A body fell next to mine, wrenching in obvious pain. I realized it was one of the thugs who’d attacked me.”

  Excited, she said, “The police had arrived.”

  “No. Hamilton.”

  “Hamilton?”

  He chuckled at the surprise in her tone. “Yes, Hamilton. He stepped on the scene like the bionic man, tossing those cats like confetti. Long story short, Hamilton saved my life. I’ve been looking out for him ever since.”

  “So that’s the connection between the two of you. I knew it had to be something that ran deep. You two have an amazing bond.”

  Alonso blew a heavy breath. “Wow. I just keep telling you sad shit from my past. I don’t like talking about sad shit from my past with anyone. Including Roth and Hamilton.” When Vivian kissed his ear, he shivered. That was his spot.

  “You know why you keep telling me things?”

  “Enlighten me.”

  “Because deep down you know you can trust me with it.”

  Alonso maneuvered until he was on his back and Vivian was resting on his chest. He studied her a moment. “Can I really?”

  “Yes.”

  “I trusted a woman once. It didn’t turn out so well.”

  “That just means you trusted the wrong woman. You can trust me with anything you want to share. I’ll never judge you.”

  When she traced his lips with her index finger, he sucked it into his mouth.

  “Tell me,” she said.

  Alonso’s brow furrowed. “Tell you what?”

  “How your ex betrayed you.”

  He ran his hand over his beard. Why did she keep forcing him to purge? “We’d been together about eight months or so. I was finally starting to make a name for myself. She—Inez—kept hinting toward marriage, but I wasn’t ready to take that step. I couldn’t provide like I needed to.”

  “Did you love her?”

  “I thought I did.”

  “What ended the relationship?”

  “She stopped taking her birth control pills because she said they were making her sick. I started wearing condoms again. I wasn’t ready to be a husband, so I damn sure wasn’t prepared to be a father.” He blew a heavy breath. “I discovered she’d been poking holes in the condoms.”

  “Wow.”

  “I guess she figured if she got pregnant, I would have to marry her.”


  “Would you have?”

  “Yes. I know what it’s like growing up without a father.”

  A hint of sympathy flashed in Vivian’s eyes. He wasn’t sure which situation she pitied more—the shady ex or the absent father. They were equally troubling. But he’d gotten over both. He lifted his head and kissed the tip of her nose. “We spend a lot of time talking about me. You’ve told me very little about yourself. Why? Is it because you don’t trust me?”

  Vivian broke their connection and rested her head on his chest. “I want to trust you, Alonso...”

  “But you’re reluctant. Is it because of your ex or your father?” The firm warning she’d given him earlier about her father had piqued his curiosity.

  “My father has nothing to do with it. He was a good man, a hardworking man who loved me and my mother with his entire heart.”

  “Tell me about him.”

  Vivian was silent for a moment. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  When she attempted to roll off him, he held her in place. “Tell me about your father.”

  “Tell me about your father, Alonso!” Vivian closed her eyes and rubbed her hand across her forehead. “I’m sorry,” she said, her tone much calmer. “I’m sorry,” she repeated, opening her eyes to look at him.

  “I never knew my father, Vivian. Never knew if he was a good man or a bad one. But I convinced myself it was the latter, because what kind of man walks out on his family, leaving the mother of his child to fend for herself? For a lot of years, I harbored so much hate toward the man who abandoned us. Then one day I realized I couldn’t be angry with him because obviously no one ever taught him how to be a man.”

  Vivian let out a single sob, tears running down her cheeks.

  “Shit. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

  “I killed my father.”

  Alonso stilled. “What?”

  “Not physically. Emotionally. With my words.”

  Alonso blew a mental sigh of relief that he hadn’t spent the night making love to a woman who belonged on the show Snapped.

  “My family fell on hard times. While they worked to rebound, my father thought it would be a good idea for me to come to North Carolina and live with my grandmother for a while. My mother was against it, but...”

  “She supported your father’s decision.”

  Vivian nodded. “I was so angry at him. I just didn’t realize at the time that what he was doing was for my own good.”

  “We never do.”

  “Before I left for North Carolina...” Vivian paused. “Before I left, I told my father I hated him.”

  Vivian’s bottom lip quivered, and Alonso knew how difficult it had to be for her to tell her story.

  “Every single night for two weeks he’d call to speak to his baby girl, but I refused to come to the phone. I was going to ignore him until he allowed me to return home. I was so stubborn as a child.”

  Not just as a child, he wanted to say but kept the thought to himself.

  “Every night he left the same message. ‘I fill your cheeks with butterfly kisses.’ A week later he died of a massive heartache. I broke his heart. All he ever wanted to do was give me the world.”

  Vivian’s body shook in his arms and he held her tight against his chest. He knew there wasn’t anything he could say at the moment that would console her. So he said nothing, simply held her close, allowed her to ride out this treacherous storm and made sure she knew that he would keep her afloat.

  Chapter 15

  When Vivian cracked her eyes open, she couldn’t believe the clock read twelve. Twelve? That couldn’t be right. She sprang forward, immediately glancing to the space Alonso had occupied. Empty. Where’d he...? The sound of the shower filtered through and a smile touched her lips.

  Her focus slid to the amazing view in front of her. While her room had windows that fully opened to reveal the splendor of the island, Alonso’s room had a glass wall that, when fully opened, as it had been since the night before, appeared as if there was no wall at all.

  A warm breeze flowed in, and Vivian inhaled the crisp air. Reclining, she recalled her and Alonso’s night together. Amazing. She’d never made love so much in one night in her entire life. And each time trumped the last. But that hadn’t been the best part. The best part had been falling asleep to the sounds of the ocean, enveloped in Alonso’s arms.

  Her jovial feeling faded when she recalled what had led to that moment. She’d actually shared her pain with him. The one she’d kept locked in her heart for so long. Until the words were coming, she’d never known how much she actually needed to share her story.

  A faint smile touched her lips. Alonso had urged her to share with him. He hadn’t tried to convince her that she was being ridiculous. Hadn’t tried to downplay her grief. Hadn’t advised her to bottle her emotions. He’d simply held her so close and so tight that she felt like an extension of him. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, after last night, their relationship had taken on a whole new dynamic. It scared the hell out of her.

  They were seeing each other naked. Not in the absence-of-clothes sense, but in an essence-of-who-they-really-were type of fashion. Their cloaks had fallen away, exposing each to the other’s pain. She felt comfortable with him. Safe with him. Which was absolutely ridiculous.

  She closed her eyes. Please don’t let it all be a game. But after the night they’d shared, could she really believe the man she was truly seeing, for what felt like the first time, was anything but genuine? No one could have shared their feelings, bared their soul, given their energy to another the way Alonso had given himself to her without being authentic. No, the kind of connection they had shared couldn’t be faked.

  The bathroom door creaked open and Alonso slowly strolled out, scrubbing a towel over his hair. Another towel—dark gray and hung low—was wrapped around his waist. Vivian appreciated the sight in front of her. Especially the imprint pressing against the cotton. Even when he wasn’t aroused, his manhood was impressive.

  Her eyes slowly rose, raking over his damp chest, muscular arms, wide shoulders. When her gaze reached his face, he was eyeing her. A smirk lifted one corner of the sexy mouth that had brought her unparalleled pleasure most of the night and part of the morning.

  “Are you checking me out?”

  “Pssh. What...ever. I’ve seen better bodies on ragdolls.” She rolled onto her stomach, turned her head away from him and snickered. A beat later, Alonso pounced on the bed and tickled her. Pinned under his solid frame, she was helpless. “Uncle, uncle, uncle!”

  After several more seconds, Alonso halted his playful antics and kissed her gently on the lips. “Good morning, slash afternoon.”

  “Good morning, slash afternoon to you. For the record, I never sleep this late. It’s all your fault.” Alonso kissed the crook of her neck, causing a tingle at the spot.

  “I will happily take the blame.”

  He snuggled next to her. They stared into each other’s eyes, not uttering words for a long time. Even silence with him was pleasurable. And though they weren’t speaking, the moment spoke volumes.

  “Thank you, Alonso. For last night. Thank you for listening without judgment.”

  “You don’t need to thank me. I’m just happy you trusted me with something so personal. I think we’re making progress.”

  “Yeah, we are. You smell good. It’s a turn-on.”

  “A turn-on, huh?” He kissed her shoulder. “What about this?” He kissed the space under her earlobe. “And this.” He kissed the side of her neck. “And...” He peppered several kisses along her arm.

  She laughed. “Yep, all of that works.”

  “What are we—” When his cell phone rang, he growled, then cursed under his breath.

  That device was such a nuisance. “You better take it. It
’s probably work. I need to shower anyway.”

  He reached across to the nightstand and silenced the ringing. “Work can wait. This can’t.”

  “It’s going to have to,” she said. “I have to pee.”

  Alonso groaned and rolled onto his back. “You’re going to leave me like this?”

  He pointed to the erection tenting the towel. It was such a tempting sight. But she knew if they started, it would be hours before they stopped. And to be honest, she wasn’t sure she could handle any more of him right now. She needed a few hours for her body to reset itself.

  Placing a kiss to his cheek, she said, “You should probably rest up. I plan to dance the night away at Music on the Green. Then later...I have even bigger plans for you.” She bounced her brows twice, rolled out of bed and ambled across the floor.

  “Mmm, mmm, mmm. I like what I see. You do wicked things to my body. You should probably lock the bathroom door. But I can’t guarantee even that will keep me out.”

  Vivian laughed as she closed the door. However, she kept it unlocked just in case... Her body would just have to adjust.

  Inside the bathroom, she eyed her nakedness in the mirror. Running a hand down her torso, her skin prickled. Alonso had explored every inch of her. Numerous times. The fact that he hadn’t seemed to be able to get enough of her brought on a level of excitement.

  The inability to get enough hadn’t been one-sided. She’d been downright greedy, gobbling up every delicious inch he’d offered. Though she was quite full and satisfied now, she knew the hunger for him would soon return with a vengeance.

  Alonso’s voice tore into her thoughts.

  “I’m starving. We polished off everything from Mama Tu’s. I say we go for cheesesteaks. I’ll take you to my favorite sub spot. They make the best cheesesteaks in Wilmington, hands down.”

  “I love cheesesteaks. If we keep eating like this, you’re going to make my inner plus-size diva become my outer plus-size diva.” When Alonso didn’t respond, she said, “Hello?”

  Still...nothing.

  Finishing her business, she washed her hands and stepped back into the bedroom. Alonso was gone and so was his phone. She caught sight of him on the far end of his balcony, pacing back and forth. A sinking feeling washed over her. She hoped whatever he was discussing had nothing to do with her.