Devyn smiled and pressed a kiss to his bare chest. “Thank you.”
He grunted and hugged her tighter. “And you say I always get what I want.” Devyn’s smile deepened.
Chapter 20
“Andre Collins’ office, this is Devyn how may I help you?” Nikola smiled at her professional tone.
He was a businessman and spent his days with professionals. The buttoned up, business savvy men and women who made up his company are what helped make it the success it was. He knew Devyn was as professional as they come, but he also knew underneath the business attire and professional tone she was a hellion. She didn’t put up with his usual controlling bullshit. He couldn’t run over her like he was used to doing with other women. He was never controlling or manipulative, but he knew he could persuade many people to do things they may not want to do. It’s another thing that made him so good at his job.
Devyn wouldn’t have it. She knew who she was and he could take it or leave it. He opted to take it. Take her. Just as she was.
“You can help me get rid of this raging hard-on I have,” he said seductively.
For the last month he’d been trying to seduce her into office sex, but she resisted. Most times she even refused to be alone in his office with him, knowing that given an opportunity he would happily bend her over his desk. He knew it was only a matter of time before it happened, but he’d let her think she was winning this little tug-of-war. For now.
“I’m sorry sir, I don’t think you have the right number. I believe you’re looking for 1-800-S-L-U-T-S.” He heard the laughter in her voice and laughed.
“I had to try.”
“Of course, you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t. What’s up?” She asked.
“I’ve been swamped all day and had a minute to myself. I wanted to hear your voice. Also, I wanted to ask you to come to my mother’s with me this weekend. She’s been hassling me for not visiting her on the weekends like usual and she knows it’s because I’m seeing someone.” He heard Devyn sigh.
For weeks he’d been trying to get Devyn to agree to go with him to his mother’s for Sunday afternoon brunch, but she refused. She gave him all types of reasons. Everything from ‘It’s too soon’ to ‘the need for discretion’ because she was an employee. He knew it was really her fear of his mother rejecting her as the woman in his life. He wanted to tell her she had nothing to worry about, but he knew showing was better than telling. He’d called his mother and told her he would be there with a date this Sunday. Now, he just had to convince Devyn.
“Nikola, I don’t know. I just...”
“You’re scared for some reason. You know my mother loves you.”
“Yes, she loves me as Andre’s assistant. How will she feel about me dating her son?” She asked nervously.
“You’re the same person. She will love you even more for putting up with me.” And for capturing my heart.
“I want to take you to Sunday brunch before I go away next week for business.” He would be going away for a week and the thought of leaving her that long made his chest ache. It was only a week, but a week away from her was too long. He’d finally convinced her to sleep over at his place on weeknights instead of just weekends, though she of course, insisted on driving her own car so they wouldn’t show up to work together.
Devyn laughed. “You’re not that bad.”
He smiled. “Good to know. So it’s settled, I’ll let her know we’re coming this Sunday. I’ll pick you up tonight at 6:00.”
“Nik–”
“Gotta go. Have a conference call in a few,” he hung up in a hurry, not giving her time to talk her way out of brunch. He would pick her up later that night after work, take her to dinner, and spend all day with her on Saturday. He knew his mother planned to have their whole family over for Sunday brunch as a summer picnic, but he left that part out. Devyn was already nervous just meeting his mother as his girlfriend which was ridiculous. His mother loved her already and he suspected his mother wanted him with Devyn all along.
* * * *
“I thought it was just going to be your mother?” Nikola looked at her as she bit her lip with growing nervousness.
She glanced at all the cars in the driveway of the mansion he grew up in. His mother refused to sell the home after his father died. She said she felt close to him here, and she wanted one of her sons to inherit the home when they married and started their own family. Nikola looked at Devyn. He could picture here her in the home he grew up in. He shook his head to not get ahead of himself. It’d only been a little over a month since he and Devyn had been dating.
Stepping out of his car he walked around to open the car for Devyn. He eyed her legs as she stepped out. Her legs were well developed from weekly dance training and her performances. She wore a pair of red shorts with a lace overlay and a white button up shirt, with matching white platform heels. His woman looked good. Nikola smiled as he eyed her ass in the shorts as she turned to retrieve her purse.
“Nikola don’t look at me like that. We’re at your mother’s house,” she whispered, even though no one else was in the driveway. His smiled widened.
“It’s not like she’s not going to know what I’m thinking anyway. One look at you and my thoughts turn to how quickly I can get you out of your clothes.” Closing the car door, he stopped, resting his hands on either side of her against the car. He reached down and nipped her ear.
“Kiss me,” he demanded
“No,” she turned her head and he seized the opportunity to lick her neck. She moaned, forgetting where they were for a brief second.
“Nikola, stop. You’re going to mess up my makeup.” Her protests were futile, as he finally captured her lips, sucking on her tongue. He bit her bottom lip before releasing her mouth.
“Now, you have lip gloss on your mouth,” she reached up to wipe it away with her hand.
“It was worth it. You taste delicious.”
Devyn gasped. “Nikola, you can’t talk about how I taste in your mother’s driveway!”
“Yeah, Nik. Don’t you know to save that sort of talk for the bedroom?” Devyn jumped at the sudden intrusion.
They both turned to see Raul standing there with a huge grin on his face. Nikola glowered at him. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to see you harassing this poor woman in your mother’s driveway. Devyn anytime you’re ready to get rid of this overgrown control freak, give me a call,” Raul winked at her. Devyn’s cheeks flushed, still embarrassed from being seen making out with Nikola in his mother’s driveway.
“Yeah, right. Going from me to you would be like going from filet mignon to steak-ums. Complete downgrade.”
“See, and an ego the size the state of Georgia. I don’t know how I’ve suffered through this friendship for so long,” Raul looked at Devyn with an innocent look on his face that contradicted the hint of laughter in his eyes. She laughed at the good natured ribbing between the two men.
“You’ve suffered because without me you would have never made it through West Point,” Nikola said confidently. They’d had each other’s backs since the first day they met. The two were inseparable at West Point, served in the same unit in the Army and fought in combat side by side.
“In your dreams.” Raul stepped closer to Devyn taking her hand and pressing a kiss to the back.
“Devyn you are looking lovely, I must say. My offer still stands. Ignore this guy,” he motioned his head towards Nikola.
Devyn giggled. “It’s good to see you again Raul.” Nikola grabbed Devyn’s hand out of Raul’s.
“Where’s my mom?”
“She’s inside and has been looking for you for the last twenty minutes.”
Raul didn’t mention the fact that the reason he stepped outside was to get away from Iris who was busy trying to hook him up with one of her nieces. She was just as bad as his own mother, who thankfully was back home in Brazil and couldn’t make it today. The two had tag-teamed him in the past when i
t came to dating. He was not ready to relive that moment again.
“Good. Time to let her know her favorite son has arrived,” Nikola smiled.
“Nah, I’ve been here for a half an hour already. She’ll just be happy to know you’re alive.”
“Jackass,” Nikola said as he grabbed Devyn’s hand and walked towards the front door. Before he could even reach for the door, it opened and his mother was on the other side.
“It’s about time you– Oh, Devyn.” Iris’ gaze went from Nikola to Devyn and her smile widened. Nikola’s chest swelled at the look of approval his mother gave him before turning to Devyn.
“Hi, Mrs. Collins. Thank you for inviting me to your home. This is for you.” Devyn said handing her the bottle of Riesling that Nikola told her was his mother’s favorite.
“Oh, thank you. You didn’t need to bring anything. I’m so glad Nikola was able to finally talk you into coming. It’s our annual summer picnic and the family is here. I know they want to meet you,” Iris rushed on taking Devyn by the arm, and handing the bottle of wine to Nikola.
“Nicky, can you put the bottle of wine in the fridge for later? I want to introduce Devyn around,” she said pulling Devyn along. Devyn gave a quick glare at him over her shoulder. He knew he was in trouble for not telling her he was taking her to a family event and that his mother already knew about them dating. He gave her a wink and her eyes narrowed even more. He laughed. She looked so cute when she gave him that look. Noticing the exchange, Raul came up and clapped Nikola on the back.
“You look happy.”
“I am.”
“Good. By the way, I took care of that little problem for you.”
The “problem” Raul was referring to was one Marcus Thomas. After the night of the gala, Nikola saw to it that he was fired from Harrison Security, with a threat to take his business elsewhere. He wouldn’t stand for a security guard assaulting one of his employees, let alone Devyn. Although Marcus was fired, Nikola knew that he could just work part-time security elsewhere, so he had Raul track down all the area security firms and put the word out that Marcus Thomas was not to be hired. Nikola considered filing a complaint with the Atlanta Police Department given that was his day job, but Raul advised him against it. Hopefully, Marcus got the message and from here on out would leave Devyn alone.
Chapter 21
“So everyone knew already?” Mercedes asked Devyn, panting.
They just finished hiking to the top of the famous Walk Up Trail to the top of Stone Mountain, and were taking in the beautiful view as they rested.
“Apparently so. Nikola swears he didn’t tell them though.”
“So what did they think? How were they?” Devyn shrugged. She met Nikola’s entire family a week ago at the brunch and really enjoyed herself. Iris, of course, was the perfect host who made all the introductions and even thanked her for putting up with her “Nicky” just as Nikola said she would.
When Andre made his way over to her, he told her he was happy the cat was finally out of the bag and hugged her. She asked him how he knew and he said he knew something was up when she told him she brought Nikola coffee every morning, while she worked for him. At Devyn’s questioning gaze he told her that Nikola actually hated coffee. Surprised, Devyn thought back to whether she ever saw him drink the coffee she delivered and she hadn’t. She thought about all the mornings she’d spent at his condo and recalled never seeing him drink any coffee. She wasn’t a coffee drinker herself so she never noticed it. She asked Nikola about it. He shrugged.
“I liked the idea of you thinking about me enough to bring me coffee in the mornings.” She shook her head and glared at him before he grabbed her by the waist and nibbled at her neck until she giggled and pushed him away.
“They were great. So warm and inviting. I knew Iris was wonderful already, but I didn’t know how she would take me dating her son. She was great and seemed to like the idea of me spending more time with her. We actually went out to dinner this week, since Nikola’s away,” Devyn answered with genuine affection for the older woman evident in her voice.
“So when do I finally get to meet him? You’re damn near living with him and I still haven’t vetted him yet,” Mercedes teased.
“I am not living with him.” Mercedes side-eyed her.
“You’re over his place more than you’re at your own. He’s been away all week and you’ve stayed at his place. Tell me that’s not living with him.”
That was at Nikola’s insistence, of course. He told Devyn he liked the idea of her at his place when he got home. He reasoned since his place was closer to work than hers, it only made sense for her to stay. After some convincing that involved Devyn being face down ass up, screaming his name, she finally agreed.
She smiled at the memory.
“Oooh girl. I know that look. You are turned out. I need to meet him. Soon,” Devyn laughed. Her friend was right, she was sprung.
“Okay, I’ll see what we’re doing next weekend. Maybe we can have dinner before our performance that night.”
“He’s going to the show?” Mercedes asked and Devyn rolled her eyes.
“He comes to all my shows. Says it’s because he enjoys watching me perform, but I know it’s to make sure other men don’t get out of line.” Devyn shook her head and smiled. He was like her personal bodyguard on the nights she performed.
“I don’t know. Have you seen your ass? He could definitely be there just to see you perform.”
Devyn laughed. “Shut up. Let’s go, I’m hungry.”
* * * *
Later that evening Devyn was preparing for the following Monday when her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number, but answered anyway. Soon as she heard the voice on the other end she regretted that decision.
“How did you get my number, Marcus?” Devyn had changed her cell number when they broke up.
“Is that any way to greet the man you once loved?”
“Used to. Not anymore and not for a long time. How did you get my number?”
“I’m an officer of the law. You think it’s that hard to get your information?” A chill ran down her spine. She didn’t like the idea of him being able to get her personal information so easily.
“What do you want?” She asked tersely.
“I want you to get my job back at the security firm,” he said angrily. Devyn laughed humorlessly.
“Are you crazy? You deserve to get fired for what you did.”
“For what I did? I was merely having a conversation with you and that white boy wanted to go all captain save-a-ho!”
“Did you just–? I’m not doing this. You deserved to be fired. Don’t call me again. Leave me alone!” She said loudly.
She heard him yell her name as she hung up. She immediately blocked his number and blocked his email for good measure. She had blocked him on all the social media sites she used, more than a year ago. She had thought that would be the last she heard from him. Now, he was calling her. Rattled she took a calming breath and went to finish her chores before settling in for the night. It was a short work week because the 4th of July fell on that Thursday. Nikola wasn’t scheduled to return until the morning of the 4th. He was in New York, and then Boston for business meetings. She really missed him, although they talked or Skyped daily.
When she finished cleaning and preparing for the following day, she took a shower and then rubbed herself down with body cream. Nikola had bought all of her favorite skin and hair creams. When she told him it wasn’t necessary he insisted, saying he never wanted her to run out of his favorite scents on her. Devyn pulled out his West Point t-shirt and pulled it over her head as she settled into bed and turned on the TV.
She tried to forget for the rest of the night the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach; telling her to be wary of Marcus’ reappearance and it wouldn’t end there.
Chapter 22
Nikola entered his condo and stopped short at the sight in front of him. Devyn stood in his kitchen, wearing one of
his West Point t-shirts and a pair of purple and white polka dot boy shorts. He got a glimpse of her panties when she bent over to check something in the oven. Evidently, she was cooking and whatever it was, it smelled delicious. He would have made his presence known, but she stood up and danced to the loud music she had playing. Nikola recognized the music and smiled. He didn’t know his woman was into alternative music. He learned something new about her every day.
His woman loved to dance. Watching her move across the kitchen in time to the music—he could have kicked himself for even thinking of asking her to quit performing. Granted, he still didn’t like to see men pawing at her, but watching her in his kitchen he could see the fire she had for dancing and music. The thought of anyone, even him, trying to extinguish that flame, made all his protective instincts go on high alert. He knew he would do anything to keep that happiness and passion of hers protected, even when it meant he needed to cool it with his controlling ways.
Kicking off his shoes and placing his bag on the floor he slowly and quietly walked up behind Devyn and placed his hands around her waist. She yelped in surprised, which turned to a moan when he leaned down and placed kisses along her neck.
“Mmm. You scared me. You’re not supposed to be here until tomorrow morning,” she said turning in his embrace.
“I couldn’t wait that long to see you.” He bent to capture her lips in a searing kiss. “If I knew this is what I would come home to, I would have gotten on the damn plane a lot sooner,” he said against her lips while his hands moved over her hips and ass.
“I missed you,” she told him.
“Then welcome me home properly.” He bent to kiss her again and grabbed her thighs lifting her.
She immediately wrapped her legs around his waist. He strolled out of the kitchen. Knowing he would not make it to the bedroom before the need to be inside her overtook him; he went to the couch in his living room. As soon as he sat down, he ripped his t-shirt over Devyn’s head, baring her breasts to him. His gaze turned hungry and he captured a nipple in his mouth while he played with the other, pulling and rotating it between his thumb and forefinger.
Black Pearl: a BBW, BWWM, Alpha Male romance Page 10