Make You Mine

by Niobia Bryant

  Julius leaned back in his chair and fingered the rim of his glass. Tamara was throwing Caress a baby shower and had enlisted Kendrick to keep him out of their hair. “Where we headed?” he asked, looking out the window at the setting sun.

  “Wanna catch a movie?” Kendrick asked, reaching for The Star Ledger on the edge of Julius’s pristine desk.

  Julius cut his eyes over to his friend. “Uh…no. I’m not going to the movies with a dude.”

  At that moment Dwayne strolled in with his hair in a spiky Mohawk and his slender frame damn near choked in his black skinny jeans. He set a huge shopping bag on the desk. “This is for Justin. Be sure to tell Caress to call me after she opens it,” he said.

  Julius eyed the bag and then shifted his eyes to Kendrick. With Dwayne, anything could be in that bag. “I’ll tell her,” he said.

  Dwayne dramatically turned to leave, but paused at the entrance to turn back and point a long and slender finger at both of them. “I don’t see anything wrong with two grown men going to the movies together.”

  Kendrick’s and Julius’s eyes locked over the rim of the paper partially covering Kendrick’s face.

  “Matter of fact, I can take you to a theatre where there ain’t nothing but men—”

  “I don’t think so, Dwayne,” Julius said, as Kendrick frowned deeply.

  Dwayne laughed as he pushed past the leather curtain and left the room.

  Kendrick shook his head as he folded the paper. “No movies.”

  Julius laughed.

  Week Three

  Caress watched Tamara as she changed baby Justin’s diaper. “You better hurry, girl, he has good aim.”

  Tamara smiled down at the chubby-cheeked angel. “You wouldn’t dare pee on your godmother,” she said to him in baby talk.

  “Humph,” said Caress who was sitting on the sofa, folding baby blankets.

  Tamara took the hint and finished up quickly. She scooped him up to her shoulder as she settled back against the chair. “I might have to have one soon,” she cooed before nuzzling her face in his neck.

  “He’s a good baby.” Caress pressed the folded blankets down into the hamper near her foot.

  “And how’s the daddy?” Tamara winked at Caress playfully.

  “Counting down the days—if you know what I mean.”

  Tamara laughed. “Awww, poor little horny baby.”

  “I’ll tell you what. Every day I feel better and better.” Caress raised an eyebrow as she looked at her friend.

  Tamara leaned the baby forward to burp him. “So Julius ain’t the only one doing some counting.”

  “Three weeks, two days to go,” Caress said without hesitation.

  “Awww,” Tamara sighed with a laugh.

  “It’s been a looong time, Tam-Tam.”

  Tamara made a comical face. “Okay, that’s TMI but I understand.”

  Caress eyed her son, seeing more and more of both her and Julius in him everyday. “I just wish I didn’t feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

  “Listen, Caress, if you live life looking for something bad to happen then it will. If you and Julius love each other everything will work out if you just let it.”

  Caress watched as Tamara gave baby Justin the rest of his milk. “Think you’re ready to baby-sit all night?” she asked.

  Now it was Tamara’s turn to lift her brow. “Let me guess, in about three weeks right?”

  Caress smiled big as day. “You got it.”

  “And you gon get it , huh?”

  The ladies laughed together.

  Week Four

  Julius eyed Caress as she moved about his living room picking up the baby’s things. It was hard to tell that she’d just had a baby a month ago. Her belly was back to its pre-pregnancy state and the black leggings she wore with a fitted tee hugged snugly to her petite and curvaceous frame.

  His eyes dipped down to her buttocks as she bent over to pick up the container of baby wipes. He couldn’t deny the hardening of the muscle between his thighs. Her body wasn’t a picture of perfect proportions, but he liked every bit of it. He liked it and he was ready to feel it.

  Julius smiled when Caress turned and caught him checking her out. She dropped the items she held into the baby bag before she walked over to lie down beside him on the couch. “I can see what’s on your mind,” she said, looking pointedly down at his erection.

  Julius wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body close to his. “Those pants are giving me hell, baby,” he moaned into her ear.

  “I thought you hated all my sweats?”

  “I thought so too.”

  Caress laughed huskily as she massaged her hand up and down the hard length of Julius’s strong arm. “I’m so glad we found a good day care for the baby. I go back to work in two weeks.”

  “Uhm hum.” Julius brought his hand up from her waist to palm and then massage one of her breasts.

  Caress mouth shaped into a O as his touch made her entire body tingle. Nearly one year since that night and the chemistry between them was still stirring. Magnetic. Undeniable. She was finding it hard to ignore the warmth filling her core as Julius shifted his body to place kisses on her neck.

  “Yeah, me too, baby.”

  She gasped hotly as his fingers teased and tantalized her hard nipple. “Julius,” she said, starting to protest.

  He lifted her shirt, exposing her lace-covered breasts. “This is nice,” he said, even as he skillfully undid the front snap. “But this is nicer.”

  Caress arched her back from the couch as Julius licked a trail from one hard nipple to the other. “Julius,” she said, in pure pleasure.

  He circled the nipple with the tip of his tongue before suckling it into his mouth. “Caress,” he moaned against her moist flesh as he felt her hands release his hardness from his pants. He arched his hips at the first feel of her soft and hot hands surrounding him and stroking him. Teasing him and squeezing him. Pushing him near the edge of free falling into a speedy climax.

  He suckled one breast deeper as he teased the nipple of the other. He reveled in the shivers of her body and the sweet sighs of pleasure she released into the heated air as she massaged the sensitive tip of his length. “You’re gonna make me cum, Caress,” he groaned, feeling the pressure rising.

  She looked down at him as he continued to ravage her breasts. “That’s fine,” she whispered huskily.

  Julius’s eyes shot up to her with his tongue resting on her nipple.

  She licked her lips as she increased the speed of her stroke. “You’ll just owe me one,” she told him with glazed eyes.

  Julius shifted his body back up and kissed Caress deeply as she stroked him to a mind-blowing climax that was just a hint of the pleasure he knew she had to give.

  Week Five

  “You look beautiful,” Julius whispered into her ear.

  Caress tilted her head back onto the sofa as the lighthearted chatter of their guest surrounded them. “Is it the make-up?” she teased, batting her mascara-covered lashes at him.

  Julius covered her mouth with his own.

  “Oh, good God. Get a room!” Tamara exclaimed.

  Caress broke the kiss slowly. Raising her hand to wipe her sheer glos
s from Julius’s lips she eyed Tamara, Kendrick, Jordan, and Mia. “Sorry,” she said sounding anything but.

  “Jordan, remember when we used to be all over each other like that?” Mia asked, running her manicured hand through her newly cropped mass of curly hair as she sat on the arm of the club chair where he sat.

  Jordan wrapped his arm around her waist and then playfully swatted her full bottom. “You mean last night?” he asked, with boast.

  Mia laughed as she presented her wine glass to him in a mini-toast. “You got that right,” she said in her husky voice before bending down to taste his lips.

  In the weeks since she and Julius had the baby, Caress had fallen for the clumsy but sexy writer, his take-no-bull wife, and their children. In fact, their teenaged twins, Amina and Aliya, were babysitting Justin upstairs.

  Jordan crossed his legs as he continued to hold on to his wife. “Love is a wonderful thing. It’s a powerful thing. And I don’t know about all of you but I’m glad to have it in my life.”

  Mia smiled warmly at her husband with her eyes. “To love y’all,” she said. “Black love.”

  Tamara and Kendrick touched their glasses before they shared a kiss.

  Caress felt good sitting next to Julius and surrounded by their friends. She leaned back against the sofa to look up at him. “I—”

  Julius shook his head. “This has nothing to do with our vibe, or our son, or anything except I think you are a strong, smart, independent woman who makes me laugh and makes me forget all of my rules.”

  Caress blinked away the tears his words evoked. “What am I going to do with you, Julius Jones?” she whispered against his mouth.

  “Love me,” was his simple reply.

  Week Six

  Julius walked into his studio, with his briefcase and monogrammed camera case hanging from his broad shoulder. “Morning, Dwayne,” he greeted his assistant.

  “Morning, boss.” Dwayne handed him a stack of phone messages. “And there’s some packages on your desk.”

  “Thanks.” Julius headed for his office with his eye on the clock. He wanted to wrap up whatever work he had so that he could head out to Caress’s apartment as soon as he could.

  “One of the packages is from Karina,” Dwayne called behind him.

  Julius stopped short. Karina. He knew without a doubt that it was drama. He hadn’t spoken to her since the photo shoot in Jamaica.

  Resolved to not let anything ruin his day—especially this day—Julius continued on to his office. He knew the bright pink-and-white-striped box atop the generic brown boxes had Karina stamped all over it.

  Julius put down his briefcase and camera before he picked up what Karina had sent. He opened it to find a mock-up of her calendar. Scribbled across the cover shot of her in nothing but a rhinestone-encrusted bikini with her bare breasts covered by her hands was a note:

  Thank God you’re better with the camera than you are with other “things.”

  Karina

  Just what he thought. Drama. Dropping the calendar back into the box he tossed it into the trash where it belonged. The only thing he had his mind on today was Caress and the doctor’s appointment. To hell with anything else.

  Caress securely held baby Justin’s car seat in her hand before she used her hip to securely close the passenger door of her car. The door squealed loudly.

  Julius was nagging her to get a more reliable car but she was hesitant to take on a car payment, and without a lump sum of cash to buy something reliable, she would have to finance a better ride.

  “Hi.”

  Caress looked up and smiled at the pre-teen girl of about twelve who lived in the large apartment building on the corner. She didn’t know her name but Caress knew her from seeing her around the neighborhood. As always her hair was pulled back into a messy tail that was more pig than pony. Her clothes fit like they belonged to someone twice her size. And her eyes were wide and bright and haunted in her ashen, caramel-colored face. The girl was the portrait of urban sadness.

  Caress smiled at her encouragingly as the girl showed the first sign of happiness in her face as she stooped down to look at Justin. “His name is Justin,” she told the girl, feeling empathy for her—or at least the sad story she assumed the girl had. “What’s your name?”

  “Luretha,” the girl told her in a soft voice as she stood up.

  “I’m Caress.”

  “Hi,” Luretha said again, before she turned and started walking away with one last glance at Justin over her shoulder.

  Even after the girl continued up the cracked pavement to the corner store, Caress’s eyes stayed locked on the back of the far-too-slender girl with the well-worn clothes and the look of a well-worn life.

  She reminded Caress of herself.

  With one last look, Caress continued up the brick steps and into her building. When she walked into her apartment, she took Justin out of the carrier and placed him in his bassinet. She was putting his beloved pacifier in his mouth when she heard heavy footsteps on the stairs.

  She looked around the apartment, glad that she had straightened up before she left that morning. It wasn’t spotless but it was clutter-free.

  Caress turned her head as the key turned in the lock. Her eyes widened in surprise at the huge teddy bear and the dozen red roses Julius held in his hand. Her eyes took him in. The suave demeanor. The neat shadow of his beard. That bowlegged walk that was all too telling.

  Her heart raced.

  “For my baby,” he joked with a delicious kiss to her mouth before he turned to set the bear in Justin’s bassinet. “And for my baby boy.”

  Caress inhaled deeply of the roses as she watched him tease Justin with the bear.

  “How was your day?” Julius asked, rising to his full height of over six feet.

  Caress kicked off her flip-flops before carrying the baby bag into the kitchen. “I went by to visit the day care and I think he’ll be fine there,” she told him.

  “Oh, that’s good. And?” he asked, before following her into the kitchen.

  Caress looked blasé as she started placing the milk and water bottles inside the fridge and out of the summer heat. “And what, baby?” she asked, enjoying teasing him.

  Julius stepped over to take the baby bottles from Caress’s hand before he gently turned her to face him. “Can I or can’t I make love to my woman tonight?” he asked, before he lowered his head and kissed her.

  Caress laughed huskily as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “Yes, yes you can. And hopefully with all the passion and power I remember from our last night together,” she whispered against his strong chin before she bit it lightly.

  Julius used strong arms around her waist to lift her petite frame up so that their eyes and mouth were matched. With a wolfish grin, he kissed her deeply and soon their bodies were pressed together as their hands explored each other’s backs and buttocks with a building energy that was frenetic.

  He stepped back from their heat first. “If we don’t stop we won’t make our dinner reservation,” he warned.

  Caress shrugged as she removed the bind from her hair, freeing her ponytail. Next she began to unbutton the sleeveless white shirt she wore.

  Julius’s eyes watched the slow reveal of her cleavage in the black sheer brassiere that cupped her small but plump breasts. “Caress,” he said suddenly, reaching out quickly to remove her hands from the rest of the buttons. “I’m going to take
the baby to Tamara and Kendrick’s, then go home and get dressed. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

  With one last look at temptation, he turned and sauntered out of the kitchen as fast as he could without actually running. Her laughter followed him.

  Julius couldn’t believe that he actually felt nervous as he checked his appearance in the full-length mirror. It felt like that first night when he prepared for his blind date with Caress.

  But this night was so very different.

  Tonight she was the woman he loved. The mother of his only child. His new confidante and friend.

  With an ever-critical eye, he made sure the hand-tailored charcoal suit and big knot, bold print tie fit him just so. Cuff links and shoes polished. His face was clean-shaven. His head taped up perfectly. The scent of his Gucci cologne was noticeable without being overwhelming.

  He was the epitome of a well-groomed urban sophisticate man.

  A man ready to wine, dine, and woo his woman.

  Caress was definitely a no muss and no fuss kind of woman. Sweats over silk. Jeans over jewels. Television over movie. Drive-thru over dine-in.

  But tonight she went all out and she looked and felt damn good.

  She twisted her shoulder-length hair up into a sleek top-knot that emphasized her high cheekbones and exotic eyes. And those she made smoky with eye shadow and heavy layers of lengthening mascara. Lip gloss highlighted her full mouth.

  The pale pink wrap dress she wore with oversized gold hoops, necklace, and strappy heels worked to lengthen her shorter stature and emphasize her thick, curvy frame.

  She didn’t know what Julius had planned for the night but she was more than ready for whatever he had to offer.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Caress smiled in pleasure as Julius turned his Range Rover into the gated parking lot of Mahogany’s. “Back to the beginning, huh?” she asked, enjoying the feel of Julius’s warm hand on her thigh as he drove with his other hand.