Читать книгу Seized By Seduction - Brenda Jackson - Страница 14

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE MOMENT QUASAR slanted his mouth over Randi’s, she couldn’t hold back the moan. It was the kiss she’d been waiting for all day. A kiss that robbed her of her senses while it overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes, and whatever strength she had left drained from her body. It was a good thing his arms had moved from the roof of her car to her waist to support her. Otherwise, she would have sunk to her knees the moment his tongue entered her mouth and began mating with hers.

She’d wondered about his taste since that first night, and now, the way his tongue was thrusting in and out of her mouth, she knew how he tasted. He shifted, and his body pressed hard against her. She could feel him—aroused. His erection was poking her in the belly. She became consumed by the heat of him with every languorous stroke of his tongue. Desire began coiling deep inside her.

Randi wrapped her arms around his neck while thickened blood rushed through her veins. She knew for certain that she’d never been kissed like this before. Instinctively she eased up on tiptoes, determined to return the kiss with the same hunger. Her tongue became the aggressor as it battled for control, but he refused to give her any. Instead he was proving that when it came to kissing, he had the skill. The know-how. Definitely more experience, and he intended to make her understand that. She figured her whimpers were a sign she had no problem conceding.

The pressure of his mouth eased up somewhat as slow, deep strokes replaced the intense, hungry ones. But pleasure continued racking her body, and when he finally released her mouth, she slumped against him, feeling totally drained.

And he held her. Even leaned in and licked her bottom lip a few times while telling her how good she tasted. Quasar Patterson had practically devoured her mouth and she’d not only let him, but she’d tried devouring his, as well. Intoxicated by lust, she breathed in his scent, removing her arms from around his neck, knowing he was still holding her up.

She released a deep, satisfied sigh when he took a step back. She figured it was a good thing he’d done so. Otherwise they might have gone after each other’s mouths again.

“You can follow me back to my hotel if you like,” he invited in his sensual voice.

Randi shook her head. God knew she was tempted, but this was meant to be more than just sex between them. “Thanks for the offer, but I need to go.” Away from you and the way you make me feel.

“Okay.”

She heard the disappointment in his tone. “How far is your car from here? Do you need a ride to it?” she asked him.

“Naw. It’s just a few cars up from yours. Since it’s so late, if you give me a minute to get to it, I want to follow you to make sure you get home safely.”

Follow her? From the look in his eyes, she knew there was no need to tell him not to bother. Besides, the thought that he was concerned for her well-being moved him up a notch. “Alright, if you think you can keep up,” she teased.

“Hey, no speeding. The cops in DC don’t play.”

Randi couldn’t help laughing. “Don’t I know it.”

“Hmm, sounds like a person who’s gotten a ticket or two.”

“Or three,” she said, fishing the car fob from her purse.

Quasar grinned. “With this car, I can see how that’s possible.”

He stepped back to allow her the space to unlock her car door and slide inside before he shut the door for her. “Thanks,” she said, tugging the shoulder harness in place before buckling her seat belt.

“Anytime.”

Placing both hands on her steering wheel, she told herself not to look back up at him, just to turn the ignition, say goodbye and drive off. But she couldn’t. Nor could she stop herself from rolling her window down. “Thanks for a wonderful day, Quasar. I really enjoyed myself.”

He crouched down, bringing his face level with hers, just outside the window. Their mouths were in kissing range. “So did I. Drive carefully.”

“Okay.”

He leaned his head in the window and copped a quick kiss from her lips...just like she’d been hoping he would do. “And no speeding, Randi.”

She was tempted to stick her tongue out at him, but it was still tingling from the force of his kiss. Instead, in an authoritative voice meant to mimic his, she said, “And no speeding, Quasar.”

He threw his head back and laughed. She started the engine and saw him move away and sprint ahead. She couldn’t help but appreciate how agilely he moved in his jeans. When she saw him get into his car, she pulled away from the curb. As she passed his SUV, she watched in the rearview mirror and saw him pull behind her.

The drive to Zach and Anna’s home took about thirty minutes, and each time she glanced in the rearview mirror, Quasar was behind her, right on her tail, figuratively speaking. A comforting feeling filled her, knowing he was there.

When she drove into Zach and Anna’s driveway to park right behind Trey’s car, she turned off the ignition, unbuckled the seat belt and got out. He’d stopped at the end of the driveway and had rolled down the window. “I’ll sit here until you go inside.”

“Alright, and good night, Quasar.”

“Good night, and I’ll see you next weekend.”

She nodded and hurried up the walkway to the door.

* * *

QUASAR STAYED PUT until Randi had opened the door and gone inside. It was only then that he drove off. He’d gone half a block when he remembered the phone calls he’d gotten today. Twice. He had ignored both, not the least bit curious why his father had been trying to reach him. Didn’t matter. He’d had no intention of letting Louis intrude on his time with Randi.

Since the drive back to the hotel would take a good thirty minutes, and considering the time difference between DC and California, he thought he would return the old man’s call now. When he came to the first traffic light, he used the car’s hands-free system to dial his father.

“About time you returned my call.”

Quasar chuckled, deciding not to tell Louis blatantly that in all honesty, he was lucky to get this phone call. “And the reason you tried reaching me?”

“Doyle intends to announce his candidacy for mayor of Beverly Hills next weekend at the house. I want you here.”

You can hold your breath for that to happen, Quasar thought. That’s how it had been in the past, though. Louis gave an order and he obeyed. Even if he had to jump through hoops to do so. Even if it meant spending three years in jail. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m busy next weekend.” Already he was looking forward to visiting Randi in Richmond. “Besides, I’m surprised you’d want me there, being an ex-con and all.”

“You served your time. And I want to show family unity.”

“Family unity doesn’t really exist with the Pattersons. Count me out.”

“Look, Quasar, this is a serious matter,” Louis snapped.

“Like I care. I haven’t been back home in ten years and I have no reason to return now, so like I said, count me out.”

“It was your choice not to return to LA. We would have been glad to see you.”

Yeah, right. When he’d been released seven years ago, he’d taken Shep’s advice and joined Striker and Stonewall in Charlottesville. There was nothing for him to return to in LA. It was a decision he’d never regretted making.

“Tell that to somebody else, Louis. You haven’t seen me in ten years. Another ten won’t bother you.”

“It’s not like I haven’t tried keeping the lines of communication open. I do call to check on you and make sure you’re okay. It’s not like I haven’t tried getting you to come home. Hell, you wouldn’t even tell me where you moved after you got out of jail or even how to reach you, for that matter. I probably still wouldn’t know if I hadn’t hired that private investigator.”

Quasar drew in a deep breath, trying to keep his anger at bay. Yes, his father called from time to time, but usually it was with some BS. The old man always bragged about Doyle’s successes and highlighted what he saw as Quasar’s failures. The phone conversations were so draining mentally that Quasar regretted answering the calls.

And the old man was right. He hadn’t let him know his whereabouts after leaving prison. He hadn’t seen the need. Neither his father nor Doyle had visited him or communicated with him while he’d been locked up. Not even during the time he’d nearly lost his life in jail and had to be hospitalized. Other than his godmother, no member of his family had given a damn. That was the main reason he had wanted to put as much distance between them as he could once he became a free man. He’d wanted a new life, one without the stench of them in it. He was determined to make something of himself without their criticisms, and to come to terms with the fact that he had a father and brother who didn’t give a fuck about him. He’d been able to do that by getting a surrogate family. Shep was the father figure Louis could never be, and Striker and Stonewall were the brothers Doyle had never tried being. Quasar was satisfied with his life.

“Don’t you think it’s time for you and Doyle to call a truce?” his father asked.

Truce? Honestly, Quasar didn’t think he and his brother were at war. Doyle was probably the same ass he’d been all his life. And as far as Doyle marrying Lilly, well, they were welcome to each other. It hadn’t taken him long to realize she’d just wanted to be married to a Patterson.

“If it’s about him marrying Lilly,” his father continued, “then you need to get over it. They love each other.”

He doubted Doyle or Lilly truly knew what love was. They equated love to opportunities. “Glad to hear it. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to—”

“I need you to come home, Quasar. You should come home. Think about it.”

Quasar shook his head. He should come home? There was no reason why he should. Over the years, Louis had said the same thing a number of times, and Quasar knew it was a biting burr in his father’s ass that he wasn’t there under his thumb for him to manipulate and control. “There’s nothing to think about. I’ve made plans for next weekend and don’t intend to change them.”

He heard his father snort. “Why are you wasting your time working at that job? You’re my son. You should be working alongside Doyle to run Patterson Industries and—”

“And do what? Wait for him to stick his hand in the cookie jar again so I can go to jail to protect him? No thank you. I’ll pass. Three years of serving time for a crime I didn’t commit was three years too long. But I don’t expect you to understand that. Now, goodbye.” Not giving his father a chance to say anything when there was nothing that could be said, he clicked off the phone.

Plans were still on for him and Ryker to get together tomorrow. Then he would head back to Charlottesville by evening time. For now, he intended to put his father as well as his phone call, out of his mind. The only person he wanted to think about was Randi. He’d never been involved in a long-distance affair. In a way, long-distance equated to long-term, but would that be such a bad thing? At least he wouldn’t have to worry about her showing up unexpectedly at his place, and while he was on assignments, out of sight would mean out of mind. Then, whenever he felt the urge to spend time with her, mainly sleep with her, he could take the drive from Charlottesville to Richmond. He figured it wouldn’t be more than an hour on Interstate 64. Unless he decided to take the scenic route for a more relaxed drive. Either way, the destination was the same. Randi’s arms and her bed.

He licked his lips, thinking of the kiss they’d shared. He was convinced he could still taste her and hadn’t wanted their kiss to end. And the way she’d wrapped her arms around his neck, clung to him, plastered her body against his, had made blood pump through his veins like crazy, especially in his groin. Hell, he was still throbbing down there. Hard as a rock and causing an ache against his zipper.

The instant he’d inserted his tongue inside her mouth, he’d known heaven. Her taste had been delicious, and he had deepened the kiss on instinct to get more of it. His greedy-ass tongue had shifted from one side of her mouth to the other while exploring and tasting as much of her as he could. Desire for her must have practically taken over his senses since they’d done that standing in a public place. But at the time, he hadn’t given a damn. The only thing he’d wanted was her. A part of him had known she would turn down his offer to go to his hotel with him, but shit, you couldn’t blame a man for trying.

When the car behind him blared its horn, Quasar realized the traffic light had turned green. He smiled as he headed to his hotel while thinking next weekend couldn’t get there quick enough.

* * *

RANDI WAS STILL floating on a cloud when she entered the guest bedroom. The house was quiet, which meant everyone was asleep. Evidently not, she thought moments later upon hearing the knock on her door.

Placing her purse on the dresser, she crossed the room. She hoped she hadn’t awakened anyone when she came in. Easing open the door, she really wasn’t surprised to see Anna and Haywood standing there. Anna was holding a bottle of wine and a bottle of grape juice, while Haywood was dangling three wineglasses between her fingers.

“Is there a reason for this late-night visit, ladies?” she asked, moving aside to let them enter.

“What do you think?” was Haywood’s flippant reply. “You owe us an explanation.”

“Do I?” Randi asked, closing the door behind them. “And aren’t the two of you worried you’ll be missed by your husbands?” The last thing she needed was for Trey or Zach to show up knocking on her bedroom door, looking for their wives.

A smile curved Anna’s lips. “We intended to talk to you, so we concocted a plan to wear them out tonight. It worked. They’re sleeping off all those org—”

Randi held up her hand to stop her cousin from providing any further details. “Too much information. Besides, I get the picture.”

A part of her was happy for her sister and cousin and for the close and openly affectionate relationships they shared with their husbands. But then, she’d have been the first to admit she’d grown up around a mother and father who’d raised the bar when it came to love, happiness and being openly affectionate. There was so much love displayed between her parents that it was something she’d gotten used to over the years, and she couldn’t imagine it any other way. Because she’d grown up around so much love, she naturally wanted the same thing for herself. That was one of the reasons she’d found Larry’s rejection so painful.

Randi crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed while watching Anna pour wine in two of the glasses and grape juice in the third. Not for the first time, she couldn’t help but admire her cousin’s beauty, a result of her mixed heritage of black American and Vietnamese. “I don’t recall asking for a nightcap,” she said, knowing the only reason Anna and Haywood were there was to pump her for information.

“Chill, sis,” Haywood said. “You owe us some answers as well as a debt of thanks for keeping Trey and Zach from drilling your guy. And don’t pretend he’s not your guy. I saw you before the twins did, and the two of you were holding hands, looking all lovey-dovey.”

Randi didn’t say anything as she accepted the glass of wine from Anna, who only smiled at her, obviously satisfied with letting Haywood handle the inquisition. “So what do the two of you want to know?”

“Who is he and how did the two of you hook up when you just saw him the other night?” Haywood asked.

Randi took a sip of wine, appreciating the tingling flavor on her tongue. However, she was certain that nothing could replace the taste Quasar had left in her mouth. “Remember when, a few weeks ago, I told you about that guy I met in Charlottesville?”

Haywood raised a brow. “Yes. The one from your dream. Your intended at the crime scene.” She paused midsip of wine, and Randi knew Haywood had connected the dots when she placed her wineglass down and stared at Randi. “That was him, wasn’t it? He’s the guy.”

“What guy? What dream? What intended?” Anna asked, looking back and forth between Haywood and Randi.

“You can fill her in,” Randi told Haywood. “I’ll be back after changing into something more comfortable.” She grabbed the mini caftan from the foot of the bed and headed for the connecting bathroom.

Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it. She was still in a state of euphoria from a day spent with Quasar, and she needed some pull-yourself-together time and not interrogation time with her sister and cousin. But still, their untimely interruption couldn’t eradicate the memories of Quasar’s kiss. She felt as if she was in some sort of daze whenever she thought about it. All she had to do was close her eyes to remember how masterfully he had taken her mouth and the sensations that had swept through her body.

She knew all the time they’d spent together that day should have prepared her for the moment of the kiss. After all, she’d been drawn to his mouth practically all day. Her entire body had literally throbbed every time she looked at it...especially while watching him eat those oysters and drink his beer.

But nothing could have prepared her for that kiss. And it was a kiss that still had her insides tingling something fierce. A kiss that had scorched her all over and branded her mouth permanently. The moment his tongue entered her mouth, her senses had shut down and wicked temptation had taken over. She’d even heard herself purring.

Drawing in a deep breath, she pushed away from the door and eased her jeans down past her hips. It had been her intent to shower and go to bed to dream and fantasize about the coming weekend, when she would see Quasar again. Now thanks to Haywood and Anna, the shower and bed had to wait until she appeased their nosiness.

She slid the caftan over her head, loving the smoothness of the silk fabric against her skin. Drawing in a deep breath, she left the bathroom to rejoin Haywood and Anna. She could tell by the look on Anna’s face that she had questions. “Okay, Anna, what do you want to know?” she asked, grabbing her wineglass off the nightstand.

“Does Quasar Patterson know that the two of your futures have been pretty much mapped out?”

The answer to that question was simple. “No. Right now all he knows is that we’re very much attracted to each other. The reason we spent the day together is that he’s trying to figure out why.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier if you told him?”

Randi settled back on the bed. “I can’t do that. There are circumstances we have to overcome before we can have a future together. Namely, we have to earn each other’s love. If I were to tell Quasar that he and I are destined to have a future together, what do you think he’d do?”

Haywood chuckled. “Probably run in the other direction, fight it like hell or try to prove you’re wrong.”

“Yes, he would. Right now he thinks the attraction is of a sexual nature, and he’s operating on that assumption. It will be up to him to discover different.”

“What about you?” Anna asked after taking of sip of her grape juice. “How do you feel about all of this? Having the man you’ll spend the rest of your life with chosen for you, instead of you choosing him yourself?”

“I chose Larry and look what it got me,” Randi said, sipping her wine. “I admit it’s kind of overwhelming, but I’ve known that’s the way it would be for some years now. That year spent by myself on Glendale Shores and having Gramma Mattie come to me the way she did helped me not only understand my gift but also accept and appreciate it for what it is. It wasn’t love at first sight for me or Quasar. What we are is sexually attracted to each other. That much is pretty obvious and what’s driving things right now. I have a mental block where he’s concerned, and it’s deliberate. Maybe that’s a good thing. But then, I had a mental block when it came to Larry, as well.”

After taking another sip of wine, she said, “I have to believe my future is being directed for a purpose, and in the end, if things work out and Quasar and I do earn each other’s love, then it will be well worth it.”

“He’s certainly not a hard man for a woman to love,” Haywood said, fanning herself. “Looks good to any female’s eyes. The man is definitely hot. How did you manage keeping your hands to yourself today?”

Randi chuckled. “Who said I did?”

Haywood’s eyes widened. “Does that mean the two of you—”

“No! How could you think such a thing, Haywood?”

“Easily. Like I said, he’s hot. And...you’ve been gone all day. When we saw you this afternoon, you said the two of you were going to Uncle Marlon’s for dinner. I doubt you closed the place down, so I can only assume you went back to his hotel with him.”

“Well, you assume wrong. We took in a movie, and afterward we stopped by a café for coffee and dessert,” Randi said, shaking her head.

“Sounds like the two of you enjoyed yourselves.”

Randi smiled. “It was nice. However, I know that I have my work cut out for me. I’m well aware that Quasar’s main interest in me right now is all about getting me into his bed. We have to develop a relationship not centered on sex.”

“When will you see him again?” Haywood asked.

“Next weekend. He asked if he could visit me in Richmond, and I told him that he could.”

Anna placed her empty glass aside. “Well, I think the two of you looked good together. He’s handsome and you’re a natural beauty. The two of you will make beautiful babies.”

Randi nearly choked on her wine.