Before I Let You Go (2 page)

With a will of its own, her mind traveled back to a time when Diamere had held her tightly in his arms and she hadn’t a worry in the world. All she had cared about was that exact moment and the man whose arms engulfed her like a warm blanket.

“Why don’t we all move over to my table in the corner?” Diamere suggested, in a voice so soft and seductive you would have thought he’d asked her to go home to his bed.

Kelly nodded, and he linked his arm around hers as he escorted her to his private table. As soon as he touched her, heat radiated from his body, causing her skin to tingle. Walking beside him, she barely felt her feet on the ground. She sighed with relief when she finally sank onto the upholstered chair beside his, glad that he’d released her. With him so close, brushing up
against her, Kelly wasn’t sure how much longer she would have managed to keep her legs from giving out.

Diamere was just about to take a seat when his eyes traveled over to the bar in the far corner, and he frowned. “Excuse me. One of my bartenders is requesting my assistance.”

As soon as he was gone, Kelly glared across the table at her brother and Essence. “How come neither of you told me Diamere was back in town, not to mention the fact that he owns this club?”

Mark chuckled loudly and boisterously, the way he always did when he’d been found out by his younger sister, while Essence looked guilty.

“Sorry, Kelly. I was afraid if you knew he owned the club you wouldn’t have come,” she confessed.

“Yes, I would have,” Kellis replied defensively.

“No, you wouldn’t,” Mark joined in.

Mark was right. She wouldn’t have. She had spent too many years hoping and praying that Diamere would stop treating her like a child and notice her for the beautiful woman she was. But by the time he had, he’d ended up marrying his baby’s mama. Now Kellis was over him, and she didn’t want him to think for a moment she was still interested.

“Why wouldn’t I come? Diamere and I have never been anything but friends,” she said with a defiant tilt of her chin.

Essence gave her a look that said she knew better.

Mark rose from his chair. “This is one conversation I don’t want to be a part of. I’m going to go get another beer. Either of you want something?”

Essence looked up at her husband adoringly. “Yes. Baby, can you get me another cosmopolitan?”

“Me, too,” Kelly replied. She had a feeling she was going to be drinking quite a few this evening.

She looked over at the bar, where Diamere was standing. The man had a stance that reeked of confidence and she wasn’t the only one who noticed. She watched a voluptuous woman dressed in spandex pants and a blouse that revealed way too much cleavage approach him. The way she was leaning toward him suggested she was trying to make her presence known. Jealousy curled inside Kelly, taking her by surprise. What was going on? She had never been the jealous type before, yet there was something about Diamere enjoying this woman’s attention that worked on her nerves.

Essence crossed her arms. “He looks good, doesn’t he?”

Kelly blinked upon realizing her friend had spoken. It hadn’t occurred to her that she’d been sitting there staring at him. Kelly turned in her seat and said, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me he was back!”

“I didn’t think it was a good idea. But after the way I see you looking at him tonight…” She allowed her voice to trail off. “Now I’m not so sure.”

Kelly took a deep breath and swallowed. At one time Diamere had meant the world to her. But now she was at a different point in her life.

“Diamere and I will always be friends and that will never change. He has always been like a big brother.”

Essence snorted rudely. “Big brother? Well, let me tell you something. That’s not the way you look at a big brother.”

Kelly glanced in Diamere’s direction and noticed the woman leaving with her lips twisted in disappointment.
Good for her
.

“You’re drooling again.”

Frowning, she turned to Essence. “You should know me better than that. I don’t drool over married men.”

Essence’s brow bunched with a puzzled look. “Married? Oh, no! Mark didn’t tell you?”

It was now Kelly’s turned to be confused. “Tell me what?”

“Diamere’s been divorced for almost a year.”

“What?” Essence couldn’t possibly have said what she thought she had. “He’s not with Ryan?”

Essence gave her a weak smile. “Nope.”

Covering her mouth with one hand, Kelly closed her eyes and tried to compose herself. She didn’t realize how much her heart was pounding until she turned her head and found Diamere staring across the room at her. Instantly, a shiver of desire tore through her, and she could feel her pulse quicken.
He’s single
. After all those years of hoping and wishing, was it possible to finally—

Nope. She wasn’t even going to go there. Yet she couldn’t stop herself from watching him with fascination as he helped out behind the bar. It wasn’t long before he was laughing, his deep robust voice traveling over to her table.

The years had been good to him. Diamere was thicker, wider than she remembered. Shoulders broader. Chest massive. It was definitely a good thing. She always had a thing for a man with a rugged build. Feeling someone pinching her under the table, she flinched and snapped her head toward her friend.

“You’re still drooling,” Essence said, and started laughing.

Frowning, Kelly wiped her mouth, just to make
sure she wasn’t serious, then reached for her drink and finished it. If Essence noticed her staring, that meant her attraction for Diamere was way too obvious—not a good idea. The last thing she wanted was for Diamere to think she was interested in him…again.

Kelly found herself looking in his direction once more and realized she needed something, anything, to break the attraction she was feeling for him. Trying to regain control of herself, she forced her eyes away. There was no way she was falling for him again, she decided with a stubborn frown. She had already wasted enough years waiting, hoping that someday Diamere would notice she was all grown up. And when he’d married another woman, it had been like a kick in the gut. Still, it was exactly what Kelly had needed to force her to finally get over her schoolgirl crush and realize she and Diamere could never be. Even though he was single now, nothing else had changed as far as she was concerned.

She remembered what she’d learned over the years. A man who got too deep under a woman’s skin could ultimately become her downfall, and Kelly wasn’t about to let that happen. Besides, she needed to focus on completing her master’s degree and the upcoming school year, not Diamere.

But as she stared across at his handsome face and found him looking back, Kelly realized that staying away from Diamere Redmond was going to be easier said than done.

D
iamere had been watching Kelly since she first stepped into Ja’net. The second he spotted her, his libido had kicked into gear. Even now he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Especially not with her dressed in a red tube top that dipped seductively low on her chest. He loved her new hairstyle. Gone were the short, natural curls and in their place was straight, shoulder-length dark brown hair combed back from her face. The style emphasized her luminous eyes, voluptuous mouth and high cheekbones.

That wasn’t the only thing that had changed. Sure, it had been almost seven years since he’d last seen her, but even then she had always struck him as expressive and confident. But now she seemed even more poised and elegant than ever before. And of course there were her
eyes. Large, cinnamon and round with a mesmerizing quality he’d never noticed before.

Diamere had met Mark when Kelly was in junior high. Back then he’d never thought of her as anything but a little sister. Until one night when everything changed. It was the year Mark returned home after a deployment to Germany, the very same year he discovered that, during his absence, Essence had given birth to his son. It was Christmas, and Mark had brought Essence home to meet the family. The memory of that evening would be forever etched in Diamere’s mind.

From the moment Kelly stepped into the room, the very air he’d been breathing seemed to get snatched right from his lungs as he stared at her. And the second his eyes perused her shapely body, sensations hit him with the force of a tornado.

And now? Now his pulse was racing and blood was flowing hot through his veins. From the instant he’d first gazed into the eyes of the girl who had transformed into an amazing woman, he had felt an instant jolt identical to the one he was experiencing now.

Diamere knew he’d had a reputation for being a ladies’ man, and back then there had been other women. But it was his best friend’s little sister who had captivated his attention that holiday season. Kelly was different from the women he typically dated. He preferred them tall and high maintenance, while at five foot three, Kelly fit perfectly under his chin. She was small but had plenty of tantalizing curves.

A waitress standing at the end of the bar called for a Heineken beer, drawing Diamere’s attention. He reached into a cooler and slid one across the bar, then returned
his attention to the beauty sitting at his private table. They had some unfinished business.

Seven years ago he had been ready to give her his heart when Ryan had announced she was pregnant with twins. A muscle in his cheek twitched at the thought of the last several years. He had done everything he could to provide for his wife and what he thought were his children. It wasn’t until Nichole fell from a jungle gym and was rushed to the hospital that he discovered his daughter had a rare blood type that belonged to neither him nor his wife. When he confronted Ryan, she’d finally confessed that not only were the twins not his, but she had started dating their real father again.

Theirs was a bitter divorce. Ryan took everything, yet nothing hurt Diamere more than losing his girls. Afterward he’d vowed never to let a woman get that close to him again. Over the last six months he had dated occasionally, but none of the women stirred him the way Kelly Saunders had done before, and was doing now. This was the first woman to arouse more than just his sexual desires since his divorce.

Standing behind the bar, Diamere turned and looked over at the table. His gaze swept across her face again, and he found himself focusing on those succulent lips as memories of the hottest kiss he’d ever experienced flooded back into his mind. It had happened with Kelly, and now, seeing her again, he knew once was not enough.

A part of him was intrigued by what he was feeling, while on the other hand he felt that maybe it was best to leave well enough alone. He had learned the hard way to stay clear of love. It had been a painful lesson.
Ryan had ripped his heart from his chest because he’d lowered his guard and given himself to her completely. And because of her he was no longer interested in commitment. Not now. Maybe not ever. Once burned was more than he could deal with. But that didn’t mean he and Kelly couldn’t spend time together, enjoying each other’s company.

Diamere couldn’t retract the smile that claimed his lips. He knew everything happened for a reason. And as far as he was concerned it was time he did something about the deep stab of desire that attacked him each and every time he looked at Kelly.

Kelly saw Diamere and Mark coming her way. Diamere’s sensuous smile caused a sweet craving to invade her body. He wore dark slacks and a crisp white shirt that defined his broad shoulders, yet he still managed to look the part of successful businessman. And that made for one extremely sexy and dangerous man.

“Drinks are on me,” he said, and lowered another cosmopolitan onto the table in front of her.

“Thanks.”

Diamere took the seat across from Kelly, where she had no choice but to look his way. Their eyes collided several times before she swung on the seat and stared off at the crowd below.

“How have you been?”

At first Kelly pretended she didn’t hear his question, then turned her head. “Oh, I’m sorry, did you say something?”

He smirked, flashing those deep dimples. “I asked how the last few years have been treating you.”

She reached for her drink before meeting his eyes,
where she recognized genuine interest. It made her wonder if maybe Mark had told Diamere more than she cared for him to know. Leaning across the table so he could hear her over the thump of the music, she said, “I can’t complain. I’m back teaching at Baer Elementary School with Essence.”

“That’s great,” Diamere replied, then brought a glass of cognac to his lips.

She nodded. “I got lucky. The teacher they had gave birth to her first child in June and decided not to return. That opened the door for me to come back,” she said between sips. “Other than that I am a thesis away from a master’s in elementary education.”

“That’s wonderful.” Diamere looked truly impressed. “I always knew you would be great at whatever path you chose.”

For some reason the compliment made her feel even more nervous, so she lifted her glass and, instead of sipping, drained it in one gulp.

Diamere gave her an amused look. “You ready for another?”

Kelly had a feeling she was going to need quite a few if she was to get through tonight. “Sure. I don’t get out much. Tonight, I’m planning to live a little.”

“Or a lot,” she heard Essence mumble under her breath.

Kelly gave her friend a warning look and was grateful that Essence decided to change the subject.

“Diamere, I’m loving your club, but you really need to rethink your waitresses’ uniforms.”

He glanced at Essence with a look of bewilderment. “What’s wrong with their uniforms?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with them?” Mark chimed in,
but didn’t miss the evil look Essence tossed his way. “Not that I’m looking. Sweetheart, the only woman I have eyes for is you.”

Kelly studied the women moving across the floor dressed in short black shorts and formfitting white T-shirts with Ja’net spelled in big letters across their ample chests. She hadn’t really paid their outfits any attention, but Essence did have a point. Dropping her head, Kelly tried to hide her laughter.

Diamere took a sip from his glass and shrugged. “It’s a business move.”

Disgust flashed across Essence’s face. “It’s a sexist move!”

Mark reached across the table for his wife’s hand and squeezed it. “Man, forgive my wife.”

Kelly couldn’t resist giving her two cents. “She’s right. This isn’t a strip club.”

“No, but sex sells,” Diamere countered.

Essence crossed her arms defiantly. “We’re not talking about sex. We’re talking about your nightclub.”

“Uh-oh. Watch out,” Mark warned.

Turning her head, Essence glared at her husband and replied, “Stay out of this.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I can’t just sit back and let the two of you gang up on my friend.”

Kelly snorted. “Who’s ganging up? Essence just asked a question. She wants to know why his waitresses are dressed like hoochies, and Diamere has yet to answer.” For added measure she stuck her tongue out at her brother.

Diamere looked from Kelly to Essence, clearly amused. “Before you climb on your soapbox, I’ll have
you know I allowed the waitresses to come up with their own uniforms.”

Essence’s jaw dropped. “They picked that out?”

He nodded. “Yep. They’re here to get paid, and if dressing like that increases their tips, who am I to object?”

Smiling, Essence leaned back in her seat. “Well, if the tips are that good, then maybe I should apply.”

“What?” Mark cried in protest, before Diamere could say a word.

“You heard me.” Essence stroked her husband’s hand. “Sweetheart, you said you’d like to take a family vacation later this year. With the money I could make working here on Friday and Saturday nights, in
that
outfit, I’d have the money in no time.”

“The hell you will!” Mark barked, then took an angry swig from his bottle of beer.

Kelly gave an eager nod. “It sounds like a wonderful idea. Sign me up, too.”

Mark lowered his drink to the table with a thump. “The only place I want my wife on Friday and Saturday nights is at home in my arms.” The music changed just then, to a new, slow beat. Mark rose and turned to Essence. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s dance.”

Eyes crinkled with laughter, she looked at Kelly and winked before taking her husband’s proffered hand, then followed him to the small dance floor in the corner.

“Are those two always like that?” Diamere asked with an amused look.

Kelly nodded. “Pretty much.”

The waitress returned with a tray of drinks. She lowered it onto the table, then left to help another customer. Diamere lifted one of the martini glasses and
set it in front of Kelly. Suddenly at a loss for words, she reached for her drink and took a sip, grateful for the way the cold liquid soothed her dry throat.

“Care to dance?”

Kelly glanced over her shoulder at the couples holding each other intimately on the dance floor. Goodness, there was no way she could be that close to Diamere and maintain her composure.

He leaned forward. “I don’t bite.”

Tilting the glass, she took another sip, then rose from her seat. Kelly swung the strap of her small white Dooney & Bourke purse over her bare shoulder, then placed her hand in his. The moment she felt the heat of his hand, those familiar sensations began snaking up her arm. She gasped and looked up at Diamere. The intense expression in his eyes told her that he felt it, too. His strong fingers closed around hers and he led her to the dance floor. When she stepped into his embrace, she instantly felt his masculine warmth. As they swayed together, he pulled her even closer.

“It’s good to see you again.”

Kelly lifted her head and glanced up at Diamere, then wished she hadn’t. His eyes held hers and she couldn’t do anything but stare back at him. His good looks mesmerized her. “It’s good seeing you, too,” she heard herself admit. It was several seconds before either of them spoke again.

“This might sound hard to believe, but this is the first time I’ve danced at my own club. When I heard that song I knew it was time to do something about that.”

“Why is that?”

“I needed an excuse to hold you in my arms again.”

Kelly felt a warm rush flow through her midsection
as his piercing gaze continued to bear down on her. “You’re making me blush.”

“Good,” he said as he leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. She shivered. “As long as you’re blushing, I know I’m saying the right things.”

Kelly lowered her cheek to his chest again. Closing her eyes, she relaxed and allowed the beat of the music to take over. She leaned into Diamere’s embrace and let him take the lead, realizing she was more than willing to follow. It felt heavenly to dance in his arms and be so close. She might as well enjoy remembering what it felt like to be held by Diamere Redmond because soon she would be in the backseat of Mark’s car, heading home to Wilmington.

The next song was just as slow. Moving closer, she curved her arms around Diamere’s neck and enjoyed the rhythm of his hips against hers. Other than swaying from side to side, she had never been much of a slow dancer, but moving with Diamere was easy. As she became caught up in the dance, she found herself wondering what would’ve happened if things between them had been different. With an exaggerated sniffle, she pushed that ridiculous thought aside. There was no point in wasting energy musing about what-ifs. She had done that way too much in her last relationship and had come to the realization that some things just weren’t meant to be. Nevertheless, it didn’t stop her from appreciating being held in the arms of the most handsome man in the club. Diamere Redmond was a gorgeous, fun-loving guy, and any woman would be lucky to have him.

The next song was a fast number, and Diamere was skillful and sexy as he moved, spinning Kellis around
and pulling her back into his arms. Fast and slow, they went from one dance to another.

“I see you can still dance,” Kelly remarked.

“Thanks, you’re not half-bad yourself,” Diamere said as he escorted her across the balcony. Instead of returning to their table, he led her toward the spiral staircase.

Kelly gave him a curious look. “Where are we going?”

“I want to show you around the club.”

Still holding her hand, he led her down the stairs and through the crowd. Kelly noticed several women looking her way, jealousy apparent in their eyes. A warm feeling of pride filled her chest, and it took everything she had not to smile. It felt good being by his side, holding hands as he led her down a long hall. Several people called out Diamere’s name. He merely waved or nodded his head. Before long, they were all alone, walking side by side.

“I see you’re still quite the popular one. I bet you love getting all that attention,” Kelly teased as they stopped outside an elevator.