good.
She moaned as she clutched him. He groaned as he let his strong hands trail her back down to her behind. He held her firmly in his grip and his kiss became even more intense.
As if that were possible…
His tongue traced every nook of her mouth, marking each place. She tried to give as good as she got but she became enthralled with his skilled lips and was content with following his lead. She tracked his tongue, followed his marks and made similar marks of her own in his mouth. Each time his tongue landed on a spot, she found a spot to lick and savor. She got lost in the thrill and game of it.
Later she might say she lost her mind. But at that moment, all she wanted to do was kiss him.
So she did.
She could think about the consequences tomorrow…
Terrill wished like hell he didn’t have a flight to catch, because he had wanted to have this woman in his arms exactly like this from the first moment he’d laid eyes on her.
She felt amazing in his arms.
She was made to be in his arms.
And her lips…
They were the softest and sweetest lips he had ever tasted.
Maritza Morales was walking perfection if he had ever seen it. She had a figure that could make grown men fall to their knees and thank the God that saw fit to make her. Unfortunately she also had a mouth that could probably make grown men cry.
She was wearing a stylish red power suit with matching pumps and lipstick. As usual, her outward appearance seemed to scream “don’t mess with me.” Too bad he was done listening to her signals and outside appearances.
He couldn’t help the groan that came from deep down in his gut when she wrapped her arms around his neck and finally gave in to the passion between them.
It was a good thing he had a plane to catch because the things he wanted to do to her required time and space—lots of both.
He let his hands roam her body as his tongue tunneled forward, marking and claiming the spaces he wanted to revisit again and again, over and over. Because if he was sure about anything in his life, he was certain of one thing: He would be kissing Maritza Morales again.
He begrudgingly pulled his tongue away from its exploration and traced her lips before letting her go.
He waited a few seconds for the slap that might come and when it didn’t, he let out the breath he hadn’t even known he was holding.
It was time to put her on notice. “Play time is over now, Maritza. I need you to understand that. So I’m going to give you a little time to think about it. We aren’t ignoring this any longer. I can’t do it anymore.”
He turned and walked away while he still could and stopped at the door to her office. He didn’t turn around because he didn’t trust himself not to throw her over her desk and give them both the release that had been building up between them for years.
“I will call you from Jersey while I’m there and I’ll see you when I get back,” was all he could manage to say before walking out the door.
She was a smart woman.
She could read between the lines.
She should be able to figure out that they could no longer continue the way they had been.
Things between them had been irrevocably changed…
Terrill stood in the doorway of the funeral home and took a deep breath as he searched the room for Penny. He’d missed his first flight and taken a later flight from Los Angeles than he had intended to, because he had kissed a woman he never thought he would ever work up enough nerve to kiss, let alone stop being irritated with long enough to do so. And now he was running late for Big Mama’s wake and Penny was probably facing God knows what all alone.
Lee’s Funeral Home hadn’t changed much over the years. It was still a little bit grimy and worse for wear. The folding chairs and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. church fans might have been there the last time he had been there, years ago. It was clear, though, that they still made money hand over fist when killing season started in the hood. He remembered his last spring and summer living in Paterson before moving to Los Angeles to attend college. He had attended far too many funerals for brothers shot down in their prime.
When his eyes caught her in a heated debate with their former best friend, who also happened to be the former love of her life, Terrill rushed over and mentally kicked himself for being late. Jason Hightower’s angry voice greeted him as soon as he stepped up.
“Are you sure about that? Because from what I could see that woman missed you and mourned you the entire time. And for you to stay away that long shows what a cruel, heartless, selfish—” Jason took a deep breath, glared at Penny and cut himself off.
Terrill shook his head and sighed as he took in the anger in Jason’s voice and the angst-ridden, nervous energy surrounding Penny.
The two of you deserve each other, a backstabber and a schemer. I can’t believe I ever trusted either one of you.
The harsh words Jason had spoken fifteen years ago echoed in Terrill’s mind as he surveyed the scene. It was a good thing he’d decided to come and offer Penny moral support. There was no way she could have dealt with Jason and all their past baggage alone.
He watched Penny brace her shoulders squarely. She inhaled and exhaled several times in succession. “You need to calm down, Jason. This is not the time or the place. If you cared about Big Mama as much as you claim you did, then you wouldn’t disrespect her wake like this.”
Terrill placed his hand on her shoulder and Penny let out a sigh of relief.
“Everything all right?” Terrill spoke the words to Penny but his eyes remained fixed on Jason. He tried to give his former friend the visual warning that backed up what Penny had just told him.
Jason might have gotten a good sucker punch in on Terrill fifteen years ago, but Terrill wasn’t above throwing the man out if he didn’t heed the warning.
Penny hugged Terrill and he could feel her body shaking just a little in his arms. “Everything is fine, Terrill. I’m glad you were able to make it.”
Since they had just seen each other before she left Los Angeles, Terrill knew Jason’s presence was what made Penny extra happy to see him. She leaned on his shoulder and clasped the arm of his suit jacket.
Terrill smiled at her and winked. He wanted to tell her that everything would be okay. But he had no way of really knowing that. He glanced around the room and noticed that all eyes were on them.
Most of the people in the room were checking him out. It always seemed to happen when he went home. Not many people who’d grown up in a small one bedroom attic apartment with a single mom made it to be senior vice president of a major music label.
The way eyes darted and conversations took place behind hands showed Terrill had given many of the folks in the room something to talk about. In fact, given the history between the three of them, the room was probably abuzz with gossip.
Terrill figured they were talking about how Penny had dumped Jason for him all those years ago.
If only they knew about the lies that had broken up the Three Musketeers.
Terrill understood why most of the people in the room either couldn’t or wouldn’t take their eyes off of them. He knew what it had meant for both him and Penny to make it from their inner-city neighborhood in Paterson to their positions as movers and shakers in Los Angeles. Not many people from Warren Street who’d attended PS 10 and then East-side High School ended up where they were.
Terrill noticed that Penny lifted her hand to her right eye and rubbed it across the tiny scar she had gotten when she was twelve. Although barely noticeable now, whenever Penny felt uncomfortable or put on the spot, her hand found