The Pleasure's All Mine

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The Pleasure's All Mine Page 17

by Naleighna Kai


  First the sounds of the drums filtered from the stage, which had been designed to resemble a grass hut, then women shimmied in from both sides, working the grass skirts in a way that made Raven sure they were double-jointed at the waists—if that were possible. Arms waved, hands curled and expressed the words and sentiment of the song. Then they beckoned for the women in the audience to come on stage.

  Raven didn’t move.

  “Mom, go on up and learn the hula.”

  “No, sweetie. I don’t think they’re ready for all of this,” she said, patting her full hips.

  “Aw, honey, go on up there and show them how it’s really done,” Pierce crooned as he and Eric shooed her toward the stage.

  The tiny woman leading the dance pulled a reluctant Raven to the front.

  Eric and Pierce cheered as Raven gave them the evil eye.

  After a brief lesson, Raven worked those hips like a champ––causing a few men from the audience to receive warning taps or looks from their mates.

  “Pierce,” Eric called out.

  “Umm-hmm.”

  “Pierce!”

  He turned to Eric.

  “Stop drooling.”

  “I’m not drooling…I’m…” He turned back just in time to see Raven twirl and dip.

  “Drooling,” Eric supplied with a hearty chuckle. Then his expression changed, his voice became low. “Do you realize that you’re the first man she’s dated since my dad?”

  Pierce turned back to him; the serious tone chilled him. “And you’re telling me that because…?”

  “I want to make sure you treat her right. That you consider her for life.”

  “Trust me; I have no intention of losing Raven again.”

  “And don’t let her stubbornness get to you, either.”

  Pierce tried to hold back a smirk as his gaze latched onto Raven’s hips again. Damn, the woman was sexy. “I’ll try.”

  “And make sure…you know…you um…you know…”

  “No, I don’t know,” Pierce replied, without looking at Eric.

  Eric swallowed hard. “Come on, Pierce, you know what I’m talking about.”

  “Haven’t a clue.”

  Eric followed Pierce’s gaze to the base of the stage where a group of men had gathered to watch a hip-shaking Raven work it like a video vixen.

  “You know, the condom thing.”

  Pierce’s head whipped around. “Condom? What’s that?” Pierce blinked innocently, biting his lip to keep from laughing at Eric’s horrified expression.

  Eric stammered, “You…I mean…you don’t?…how?…” He looked genuinely perplexed.

  “I’m jokin’, Eric.”

  Eric didn’t bother to hide his relief.

  When the dance ended, Raven scooped up the flowers around her feet and made her way back to the table.

  “Pierce, I’m trusting you with my mother’s heart. Don’t break it. The fact that she’s here with you says a lot. I don’t want to worry about her—”

  “You’ll always be worried,” Pierce countered. “It’s what you do best.”

  “I’d rather you did my worrying for me.”

  Pierce scanned the area, taking in the appreciative looks men threw Raven’s way. “I don’t think that’ll be much of a problem.” Pierce shot out of his seat to escort Raven back to the table before putting an arm possessively around her waist. “No more hula for you, Miss Armand.”

  “Hey, you started it,” she said, winking over her shoulder playfully at her admirers.

  “Don’t remind me.” He glowered at another bold man who dared to brazenly stare at Raven, even though it was obvious that she was with Pierce.

  When they both arrived at the table, Eric’s eyes were moist with happiness as he said, “I’m not worried anymore.”

  Raven looked from Eric to Pierce. “Worried? About what?”

  Eric winked at Pierce. Pierce winked back. “Never you mind.”

  Raven looked suspiciously from her son to Pierce and back as Pierce pulled out her chair. “Hmph!”

  Eric was called on stage to assist a comedian with his attempts to open a coconut. The results and the banter between them was nothing short of hilarious.

  “Do you see why you need to let him go at his own pace now?” Pierce whispered to Raven. “He knows when to have fun and when to take care of business.”

  Eric was intercepted by five young girls, who pulled him away to their table. He waved at his mother and Pierce.

  “And now do you see why I’m so worried about untimely little Ericas and Eric Juniors popping up all over the place?”

  “Can’t happen unless he gives up the goods,” Pierce answered as he waved back.

  “Sometimes a dick doesn’t have that type of conscience.”

  “Not necessarily untrue, but I’ll concede that if it were true for mine, I wouldn’t be sitting here reading these papers.” His voice lowered to a husky whisper as he continued, “And we wouldn’t be sitting here having this conversation.” He kissed her ear lobe. “We’d be at home,”—he kissed her neck—”fulfilling every imaginable fantasy.”

  ❤ ❤ ❤

  When the three of them arrived at the private wing of the airport, Eric turned to Raven. “Mom, please don’t be mad.”

  Raven just looked at him and pursed her lips.

  “The bible says ‘Let not the sun go down on your anger,’ “ he said with a toothy grin.

  “The bible as we know it was rewritten in that part of the world where the sun’s still shining right now. I’ve got time.”

  “Raven!” Pierce’s stern voice made them both turn.

  Eric glanced at his mother, who dipped her head sheepishly before holding out her arms. Her son flowed easily into them for a warm embrace that lasted several moments. Then he shifted the documents and his well-earned coconut prize in his hands and took off toward MEG’s private jet, shoes clattering on the pavement.

  “I’m not mad!” Raven yelled to him.

  Eric turned and ran back part of the way. “Promise?”

  Her lips quivered a bit before she frowned.

  “What about Auntie Avie?”

  Raven’s eyes narrowed as she folded her arms over her bosom. “Now she’s fired.”

  “You can’t fire her!”

  “Okay, then you’re fired.”

  Eric held back a grin. “You can’t fire me, I’m your son.”

  “We’ll see about that,” she teased, barely holding back a smile of her own. “Wait until I talk to my lawyer.”

  “Now might be a good time to point out that you just fired your lawyer,” Pierce added.

  “And you—”

  His hands went up to ward off the verbal attack. “Hey, I’m just stating the obvious.”

  She turned to Eric. “Okay, after I get her to fire you as my son for unlawful interference, then she’s outta here,” Raven said with a jerk of her thumb.

  “Then who’s going to go over your contract with my new company?” Pierce asked.

  Raven grimaced and scratched her head. “Haven’t thought that far ahead.”

  Eric whipped out his cell. “Hey, you two are killing me! Get it together.”

  “Don’t call Ava—”

  “I’m not calling Aunt Avie; I’m calling my girlfriend.”

  Raven’s expression froze over. She had totally forgotten about this Marie person. “Eric!”

  Too late! He’d bolted again.

  She would have taken off after him but Pierce grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the ground. “Raven, let him go.”

  “I need to talk with him. He’s too young to have a serious girlfriend!”

  “No, he’s not. He’s almost eighteen, about to go to college, and has traveled and experienced more than most twenty- or thirty-year-olds.”

  “But he’s still just a kid,” she whined, eyes moist with concern. “One mistake and he’s—”

  “A girlfriend is not a mistake. Sex before he’s ready is a mistake
.”

  She huffed and paced the concrete.

  “Raven, he’s growing up. You have to get used to that. He’s smart and a good kid. I’ve seen a side of him you haven’t. Your son is the least of your worries. The boy can outthink some of MEG’s VPs.”

  She paused, then perked up. “Really?”

  “How do you think he was promoted twice in one month? And to a paid position at that? Unheard of for an intern and a first for anyone at MEG.” He gave her a moment to think that tidbit of info over. “Within the first week, he cut through the chaos, came up with a plan, and made two decisions leading to projects that were both worth millions. He doesn’t know it, but I’m giving him bonus points for every sale.”

  Raven was speechless.

  “The boy’s a planner, baby; his brain is still running strong on just fumes when everyone else has hit empty.” Pierce looked away toward the place where Eric had just made his exit. “If I could have a child, it would be one just like your Eric.”

  The look that flashed in his eyes made Raven’s heart go out to Pierce.

  “If you could have a child?”

  Pierce locked gazes on her as he said, “There’s less than a one-percent chance that I can get a woman pregnant.”

  She blinked, but seeing his slightly pained expression, held her question at bay and came back with a simple, “Well, that works fine because I love children, but I didn’t enjoy pregnancy one single bit. And have no intentions of going through that ever again.”

  Raven didn’t make eye contact and Pierce knew she was avoiding the real question. She had probably made the connection that it was the reason Jennifer went to Sim. Finally, he offered, “It was a childhood illness that took away that ability. Still hasn’t kept me from wanting a child, possibly adopting.” Pierce watched her expression for signs that she was adverse to that process and when nothing seemed definitive, he shook off his emotions and said, “And Eric’s young woman is a sweet, smart college student from a good family and she’s only nineteen.”

  “Good Lord.” Raven slapped a hand to her forehead. “She’s an older woman!”

  Pierce laughed heartily, all vestiges of sadness disappeared. “I don’t believe you’re getting all riled up about this.”

  “It’s not funny, Pierce.”

  “Yes, it is,” he said, escorting her toward the hangar entrance.

  “He’s still a few months away from turning eighteen—”

  “Baby, he’s a well-mannered young man, and you should be proud of him. He’s passionate, determined, and thorough. And he pulled off one of the greatest, most successful blind dates in the history of the world. Neither one of us could top that.”

  “No fair,” she pouted, “it was all by deception. It might not have happened if—”

  “So, you don’t melt every time I do this?” Pierce kissed the small curves of her neck.

  She quivered, but recovered with a callous, “Nope.”

  Pierce tried again, then waited.

  “No fair,” she said, favoring him with a pout.

  “I’m not trying to play fair. I want you in my life, Raven. I don’t care how you got here. My only concern is keeping you here.” He kissed her passionately and she tried like hell to hold back but failed—miserably.

  “Oh, come on, you two can do better than that.”

  Pierce and Raven glowered at Eric who, for some reason, still hadn’t made it onto the plane. He held up his hands to ward them off. “Mom, I can’t leave knowing that you might be mad at me. I know I was wrong for…”—he shrugged— “…dipping in grown-folks’ business. But can you honestly say that the way things turned out is such a bad thing?”

  “Somewhere in there, a true apology lurks beneath the murky depths of bull—”

  “Can’t blame me for trying.”

  She waggled a finger at him, saying, “And that innocent little teenager act is over, mister.”

  Eric lowered his eyelids and looked at her through his lashes, but his smile made Pierce give him an encouraging one of his own.

  “Okay, okay.” She reached for him then. “I love you.”

  “I love you, more, Mom.”

  She ruffled his wavy hair.

  “So did I do a good thing?” His eyebrows lifted comically.

  Raven pointed behind him. “Get your little behind on the plane!”

  Eric extended his hand to Pierce, who took it and pulled him in for a hug.

  “Take care of my mother,” he whispered as the breeze ruffled his waves. “It’s called M-a-r-r-i-a-g-e.”

  “Don’t you worry, little man.”

  “And don’t forget that little talk we had earlier,” he said, pointing a finger at both of them. “You know, about protection and all that.”

  “Boy, I will whip your—” Raven called out but only saw Eric’s back as he ran for the plane and actually made it inside this time.

  “So is he right?” Pierce turned her back to face him, touching both sides of her face with his hands. “Can we do better?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You said you don’t feel anything when I do this.” And he kissed her again, more insistently.

  She shuddered slightly, but her voice remained steady. “Not a thing.”

  “And you don’t feel anything when I do this?” He brushed his lips across the exposed areas of her breasts.

  Raven gasped, trembled, but recovered quickly again. She looked at him, and shook her head.

  He leaned in, stroking her thighs. “How about—”

  Raven pulled back. “Hey!”

  “Something?”

  Raven adjusted her sarong. “Nothing.”

  Wait until they got home. She’d show him something all right!

  ❤ ❤ ❤

  As Pierce opened the door to their suite, Raven touched his shoulder gently. “You seem a bit shell-shocked. You barely said a word all the way home.”

  He took her hand, escorting her into the living room. “I’ve always planned my day, planned my life; it’s unsettling when things aren’t going according to the way I think they should. I pride myself on order and for the past few days life has been unpredictable.” He tweaked her nose. “Which, by the way, I’m beginning to enjoy. But it sounds like it’s total chaos back home. I know how to manage the kind of chaos that Sim creates. I know his strengths and his weaknesses. I don’t think Steve and Eric realize exactly what they’ve set in motion. This affects more than just them and me. When Sim feels betrayed, he can go on a rampage. And right now I don’t know who he’ll go after first. The fact that I’m not there to manage the drama worries me.”

  “Everything will work out just fine.”

  “You don’t know how much I’d like to believe that.” He pulled her down onto the sofa. “Let’s not talk about that now.” He leaned over to the table next to them and switched on the stereo, skimming past the island music until he found a contemporary jazz station. She lay in his arms, relishing his masculine scent. His arms held her securely, as though he were afraid a brisk wind would whisk her away. Well, there was no way in hell she would run this time. She wanted him, too—and it was time to step up her game.

  Writing the simple details of the way a man felt, his touch, his smell, and even his taste was wonderful. Experiencing them firsthand? Well, in the words of the MasterCard commercial—was priceless. Even the soft rhythm of his breathing aroused her. She felt as though someone had turned her knob from entrepreneur, mother, and provider to hot-blooded vamp. How could that have happened?

  She loved him. Of that one thing she was sure. No matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise: It was too soon, she didn’t really know him, she couldn’t possibly feel this strongly about a man. And the frightening thing was, she had no idea how this would play out. But not knowing what to expect was also…exciting? Yes, exciting. Just as her only child was preparing to leave for college and anywhere else his young mind would take him, a prime companion for her to love had fal
len into her lap. Evidently, the universe didn’t like empty spaces.

  “Baby.”

  “Hmmmm.”

  Pierce stroked her arm. “Relax and stop thinking.”

  “I’m not thinking, I’m musing.”

  “Explain the difference.”

  “Well,” she said, seductively, tracing her finger over his broad chest, “there’s not much, but—”

  “Like I thought. I’ve stopped thinking, so you stop thinking, musing, analyzing—”

  “All the bases covered, huh?”

  He kissed her forehead. “You, my writer friend, leave me no choice.”

  “Well, since I can’t do what I do best, what do you want me to do?”

  “Funny you should ask.”

  Raven’s lips twitched. She was trying to hide her amusement when she saw a mischievous glint in his eye.

  “If I didn’t know any better,” he stroked her bottom, “I’d say you have an itch you’d like me to scratch.”

  Raven gave a throaty chuckle. “Damn, I knew you were brilliant. Keep it up, smartass, and the only lovin’ you’ll see will come canned from the adult toy store.”

  His smiled widened. “You know about those?”

  “I was born on a day, it wasn’t yesterday.”

  Pierce’s lips lifted into a small smile before a peal of hearty laughter followed.

  The music switched to the soulful sounds of Boney James playing “Lights Down Low.”

  “How about that dance you promised me?”

  He stood and pulled her to the center of the living room.

  She swayed suggestively, her hands weaving slowly around his neck. The music ebbed into her soul as she followed his every move. Then he spun her out, and she milked the turn by dipping her hips in a sexy move that made his eyebrows shoot up. Ha! He wants a dance? He doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into. She broke from his grasp, raising her hands above her head. He froze, his gaze traveling the length of her body, resting on her hips, which began to sway in a slow, sensual rhythm.

 

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