"I have already given you enough time to adapt Maya, from now you will be sleeping in my bed."My body was excited but my brain was too slow at processing to send out signals to my mouth to respond. I contemplated refusing and fighting him on this, but my mind and body were too tired, i couldn't and i knew he won't hear any of it. So i just got up and picked up my phone before heading out to his room, with him behind me. I could sense the tension between us, but mostly from me, I was furious at him. I sat on his bed as he walked towards the bathroom, he came back a minute later with nothing on but a pair of loose pants, his chest and shoulders bare, to say i was left breathless would be an understatement. He looked at me like he was going to tear me apart, and i avoided his gaze. I immediately got under the covers and laid on my side, my back facing his side of the bed. I tried to close my eyes but i couldn't get any sleep, i just lay there in anticipation as my body tensed up. How
Maya looked over the crowd and wished she was back at BookCrazy, holding her Friday night poetry reading with her best friend. The business dinner tonight was the turning point in Alex's career. She knew heavy hitters swarmed the halls for the chance at glory, and Alex needed to dazzle the crowd in order to geta hearing.She handed the hostess her coat and let Alex lead her into the packed ballroom. “I’m assuming you have a general plan of attack?” she asked.“Who are the two players you need to concentrate on?”He motioned toward a thick cloud of cigar smoke. A tight circle of conservative businessmen surrounded a man impeccably dressed in a gray suit and silk tie. “Hyoshi Komo is building the Japanese restaurant. His voteis key to gain the third partner in the waterfront deal.”“So, why don’t you go over there and give your pitch?” She plucked a salmon tart from the tray of a tuxedo-clad waiter and grabbed a glass ofchampagne from another.“Because I don’t want to be one of the c
Her steps carried her around the next corner into a room that looked more like a gallery, filled with shelves of old, bound books carefully displayed. She held her breath as her fingers itched to caress the binding of old leather and relish the sound of crackling as she turned the pages steeped in history.“Ah, so to get you to notice me tonight, I should turn into a book, no?”She spun around. A man stood in the doorway, his eyes filled with a mischievous humor she knew to be a part of his core. His hair was long and caught back in a low ponytail, giving him the look of a pirate who had charmed women for centuries. His lips were full and his nose dominated his strong features in typical Italian style. Dressed in black pants, a black silk shirt, and expensive leather shoes, he exhibited a graceful, seductive air just by standing. Maya knew immediately the man was charming, warm-hearted, and deadly to women. The thought made a smile curve her lips.She had a soft spot for womanizing I
Michael watched the gesture with barely hidden amusement. “It seems Richard thinks you are the perfect man for the job. Perhaps we can set up a meeting to go over your ideas.”“Thank you. I’ll call your secretary and arrange an appointment.” She caught the clear-cut simplicity in his tone, and knew Michael noticed.Alex didn’t play certain business games, namely being too arrogant to pick up the phone himself to call for an appointment.“Very good.” Michael took her hand and placed a kiss on her palm. “It was lovely to meet you, Maya.” His Italian accent caressed her name.“I’m having a dinner party for a few close friends two weeks from tonight. Would you join me?”She noted he directed his invitation to her so she turned to her husband.“Darling? Are we free?”This time, his movement wasn’t subtle. He took a step behind her and wrapped both hands around her waist, drawing her back against him. Her butt pressed against his groin. Iron thighs trapped hers. He rested both hands directl
Alex’s hands hung at his sides, empty. For one moment, he’d been filled with her: her curves, her scent, her heat. Now he stood in the middle of the room, alone, just like he had on their wedding night. A married man with a hard-on and no relief in sight. Amazed at his ridiculous predicament, he tried to go over the events of the evening and see where he’d gone wrong.The moment he caught her with Michael, a slow, steaming anger had risen up within him. The heat started at his feet, traveled to his stomach, his chest, and finally settled like a hot band around his head. If he was a horse, he would have snorted out smoke and stamped his hooves. If he was a wolf, he would have howled at the moon.Her hand had rested on the Michael’s arm. He must’ve been quite amusing, because she threw her head back and laughed, her cheeks flushed and rosy.Her full lips had gleamed under the chandelier light. They’d acted like they were long-time friends instead of people who had just met.But the wors
“Oh, yeah, Alex would just love this kind of night out. He’d probably prefer a root canal and a prostate exam.”“How are you two getting along? Besides the physical attraction.”“Fine.”Olivua rolled her eyes. “Lying again. You’re not going to tell me, are you?”Maya realized she’d always confessed everything to Olivia except for one event. The first time Alex kissed her. She’d known she loved him back then. Friendship turned to rivalry and then to a girlish crush. That first kiss twisted emotions so pure within her she believed it was love. Her heart beat for him, full of joy at the possibility of them being together, so she uttered the words, her voice echoing through the trees.“I love you.”Then waited for him to kiss her again. Instead, he stepped back from her and laughed. Called her a silly baby and walked away.She learned her first lesson in heartbreak in that moment. Fourteen yearsold. In the woods with Alex Smith.She wasn’t about to repeat the lesson.She pushed the memory
Alex reached down and snagged Maya's fingers, pulling her up from the chair. “Show me the rest of the store while this guy finishes up.”Olivia chuckled and settled herself into the empty chair. “He’s just afraid of hin being next.”“You’re absolutely right.”Alex led her away from the crowd. With an instinctive motion, he stopped in a shadowed corner by a sign entitled RELATIONSHIPS. Heguided her so her back pressed against the bookshelf, then dropped her hand. Alex shifted his feet and cursed under his breath at his sudden uneasiness. He hadn’t planned what to say, just knew he had to break the tension between them before he got crazy and dragged her into his bed.Somehow, he needed to bring the relationship back to friendship. Back to older brother/younger sister camaraderie. Even if it killed him.“I want to talk to you.”A slight smile twitched those bee-stung lips. “Okay.”“About us.”“Okay.”“I don’t think we should go to bed with each other.”She threw back her head and laugh
Of the world of glittering colors and of perfumed scents that attack my nostrils;To the world of sharp tongues, snaking out to shred soft smiles. I listen as ice tinkles against amber liquid. Heat burns within, a reminder of a suicide from the past; a reminder of asilent murder.Seconds…minutes…centuries…The sudden knowledge twists my belly; I am home. I open my eyes to the blinding flash of a door opening.And wonder if I will remember.”Maya folded the piece of paper and nodded at her audience. Silence settled over everyone. Some people wrote feverishly in their notebooks.Olivia gave a whoop. She laughed and stepped off the stage, and then she began to gather empty cups and chat as the night came to a close.Alex stood alone and watched her.A strange emotion bubbled up inside of him. Since he’d never experienced it before, he couldn’t seek out a name. There was little left in life that touched him, and he admitted he liked it that way.Tonight, something changed.Maya had share