His Sexy Bad Habit (20 page)

Emerson awoke with a start when he felt the faint brush of fingers against his bicep. Looking down at Casey’s sleeping face, he groaned inwardly.
Serena
had been all he thought about last night when he drunkenly stumbled into his hotel room with his arms wrapped around Casey. Kissing her had been like kissing an ice cube. She had none of Serena’s fire, none of her passion and when he’d gotten her into bed, Casey had been a boring and uninspired lover. To get satisfaction he’d closed his eyes and pretended he had been diving into Serena’s wetness.

Casey had pushed him back. “That hurts,” she’d cried out.

When Emerson had opened his eyes and saw he was buried inside Casey and not Serena, his erection shrank. He had hopped out of bed, mumbling an apology to Casey. Then he’d gone into the bathroom and splashed water on his
face. When he’d returned to the bed, Casey had been asleep and Emerson was grateful.

Why did I bring her up here?
he thought as he glanced at Casey as she yawned and stretched her arms above her head.

“Morning,” she said.

“Morning,” he replied.

Casey propped up on her elbows and looked at Emerson. “So, last night obviously wasn’t about me.”

“We were drunk. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

“Were you thinking about her?”

“Let’s not get into this. We both want Serena and Antonio to split up. What we did was a mistake.”

Casey rolled her eyes and hopped out of the bed. “You’re right. A mistake and not a good experience.”

Emerson laid back and looked at her. “Let’s be honest here. Last night wasn’t about either one of us. You wanted me to be your brother-in-law as much as I wanted you to be Serena. So, there is no need to take this personally.”

Casey pulled on her clothes and looked down at Emerson. “You’re right. No one can ever know about this.”

“It’s already forgotten,” he said.

Casey grabbed her purse and slammed out of the room.

Emerson was tempted to call Serena. He longed to hear the sound of her voice and hoped he could convince her not to fight him on the
movie. She still wanted to be a star and he was determined to make her one.

Antonio quietly crept out of bed, careful not to wake Serena. She needed to rest. He knew the fight with Emerson Bradford was taking a lot out of her. Heading down the hall, he saw that A.J. was still asleep as well. Walking into his son’s room, he roused the little boy. “Hey, man, time to get ready for camp.”

A.J. yawned and sat up. “All right.”

Antonio touched his forehead. “Are you feeling all right?”

A.J. shook his head. “I really couldn’t sleep last night.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged his shoulders and dropped his head. Antonio lifted his son’s head. “What’s wrong, son?”

“Well, when I used to go to sleep, sometimes I would dream of Mommy, but I didn’t last night and I think it’s because I like Serena. Aunt Casey said that I was going to let her replace Mommy in my heart.”

Seething, Antonio forced a smile. “Your mother will never be replaced in your heart. When your aunt says those things, she is speaking from her own hurt and pain. We’re all still kind of sad that Mommy had to go to heaven.”

“But I don’t want to forget Mommy like Aunt Casey said I would,” A.J. said.

“That won’t happen. I won’t let you forget your
mom.” Antonio drew his son into his arms and hugged him tightly. “I’ll talk to your aunt. She shouldn’t be telling you those things.”

“Okay,” A.J. said, his voice sounding lighter as he headed toward his closet to get dressed.

Antonio watched his son, wondering why Casey kept saying things to A.J. to upset him. That was going to stop. She needed to mind her own business and quit making A.J. feel bad about liking Antonio’s girlfriend.

Moments later, A.J. was dressed. He and Antonio were heading downstairs to grab a quick breakfast of Pop Tarts and milk. As they headed for the door to leave, Antonio heard a car door close. When he opened the door, Casey was standing on the porch.

“What are you doing here?” he asked when he saw her.

“Good morning,” Casey said as she looked at A.J.

Antonio turned to his son and told him to get in the truck. “Casey, you need to leave. I’m sick of you trying to poison my son,” he snapped.

“I’m trying to protect my nephew since you seem to be putting your libido first these days,” Casey said. “But have you thought about what you’re teaching him?”

“I told you not to question how I raise my son. And stop telling him that he’s going to forget his mother. Do you even care what your venom is doing to A.J.?”

“I know you’re having fun with Serena and you’re excited because you have someone in your
bed now. But have you considered that she is sharing more than one bed?”

Antonio sidestepped her and snapped, “That’s what your sister did.” As he got into the truck, he forced a smile for his son and started the truck without saying a word about Casey.

After dropping A.J. off at Discovery Place, Antonio headed back home and was happy to see that Casey was gone. He was getting really tired of her drama. Despite the fact that he was allowing her to be a part of A.J.’s life out of respect for Marian’s memory, if she didn’t change her ways, he was going to put his foot down and she wouldn’t see his son again.

“Serena,” he called out as he headed upstairs to his bedroom.

“I’m in the bathroom,” she replied.

Antonio opened the door and found Serena laying in the garden tub. Bubbles covered most of her body and a wide smile spread across her face as Antonio took his clothes off to join her. “Is this how you start your day?” he asked as he eased into the bathtub. The warm water seemed to get hotter as Serena stroked his thigh.

“I wish I could say it was, but your tub is so big, I wondered just how clean we could get in it,” she said.

Antonio brought his lips on top of hers and kissed her gently at first, but when she flicked her tongue across his lips, his desire rose like the sun in the morning sky. She wrapped her leg around his waist and pulled him against her as their kiss deepened. He ached to be inside her, but he
knew they had to be protected. Serena placed her hand on his chest and pushed him backward. When he was against the wall of the tub, she planted herself on his lap and took the soap and rubbed it across his chest, circling his nipples and sending shivers of desire up and down his spine. Then she rinsed the soap off and kissed his erect nipples while stroking his growing erection. She inched up his body, licking his neck slowly and making him cry out.

“I need to be inside you,” he moaned.

“I need you inside me,” she called out.

Antonio lifted Serena up as he rose slowly from the tub. It didn’t matter that they were soaking wet as he led her to his bedroom and laid her across the bed. He retrieved a condom and placed it on the pillow as he stroked her damp skin. His fingers danced across her nipples as Serena writhed underneath his touch. Soon, Antonio replaced his fingers with his tongue as he sucked and licked her nipples until she released a guttural moan that let him know she was beyond ready to feel him. He slipped his hand between her thighs and stroked her until her knees quaked. Slipping his finger between the wet folds of her flesh, he sought out her throbbing bud.

“Please,” Serena cried. “Need. You.”

“Just let me do one thing first,” he said as he spread her thighs apart and planted his face in her wet valley. Antonio licked and sucked her most sensitive parts until her desire poured on him. As hard as he was, her heat, sweetness, and
wetness made him even harder. With his free hand, he reached for the condom, ripped it open and rolled it into place. Serena wrapped her legs around his waist as he lowered himself on top of her and kissed her with an urgent need. Pressing her hips into his, Antonio dove into her valley. She moaned as she ground against him. Pleasurable sensations rushed through her body as he pumped his hips in and out.

Antonio and Serena became one, their hearts pounding in sync as they rocked and rolled across the bed. When they reached their climax, Antonio thought he felt the earth pause while he released himself. Serena clung to him, shivering with pleasure. He turned on his side and held her tightly.

She kissed his cheek. “Maybe we need to start the day like this more often.”

“Yes,” he said, then glanced at the clock. “Although, half the morning is over.”

“That just means nighttime is right around the corner,” she replied with a grin. “You know, I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Antonio stared into her eyes and smiled. “Luckily for you, you won’t have to find out.”

Serena reached up and stroked his cheek. “Being in your arms makes me feel safe and I feel as if what we have is real.”

“That’s because it is,” he said, then kissed her softly. “Being with you is easy and I’m glad you gave us a chance.”

“I gave us a chance?” she asked as she propped
up on her elbow and looked down at him. “I do believe I chased you for a year.”

“You did, but I’m talking about a chance to be something real. Something more than what we have between the sheets. I’m glad you let me in to get to know the real you. Every tantalizing inch,” he said as he stroked her hip.

“Well,” she said, “you made it easier than I thought it would’ve been. Antonio, I’ve never known anyone like you.”

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“Absolutely,” she said as she leaned her head against his chest. “After everything that happened with Emerson, I never thought I’d allow another man to get this close to me. I didn’t want to ever get hurt again. That’s all I thought love was—pain and suffering.”

Antonio held her face between his hands and looked down into her eyes. “Love isn’t supposed to hurt. I guess we fell for the wrong people.”

Serena locked her fingers with his. “I know I did. But you and your wife built a family together.”

Antonio shook his head. “Still, it wasn’t enough for her. Marian, as much as I loved her, showed me that she was spoiled. I think what attracted her to me was the fact that her parents didn’t like me. The first few years of our marriage were good. Then after she had A.J., it seemed as if she was bored. Her family had finally accepted me and she couldn’t be the princess in revolt anymore.”

“How did you meet her?” Serena asked. “I
can’t see you being attracted to the princess type.”

“I’m not going to say I was fooled, but I was young and she was beautiful. Marian was easy to fall for and she knew that—used it to her advantage. When I fall for a woman, I fall hard. I had no idea that she was upset with her parents and wanted to prove a point. By the time I proposed, I thought we were in love and would have a happy life together.”

“But you knew she was using you?”

“No. I knew that I loved her and that’s why we got married. Looking back, I could’ve done things differently but had we never gotten married, I wouldn’t have my son.”

Serena nodded. “That’s true,” she said. “Everything happens for a reason. If I hadn’t been stood up at the altar, then I would’ve never come back to the South and needed a contractor.”

“Funny how things work out, right?” he said with a smile.

“It is,” she said, then looked over at the clock on the nightstand. “Is it really that late?” Serena groaned as she realized all she had to do, including interviewing a new bartender so she could have her evenings free to be with Antonio.

“I guess neither one of us thought about work today,” he said, making no effort to let her go.

“This is so much more fun,” she said as she snuggled against his chest. “But the girls are going to kill me if I don’t get to the restaurant soon since I’m the one screaming for a bartender.”

“At least let me fix you something to eat before you leave,” he said.

Though Serena knew she should’ve just left and headed home to get dressed, she wasn’t going to pass up the chance to spend a few more minutes with Antonio. She followed him into the kitchen and watched as he moved like liquid while preparing a late breakfast. Smiling, she thought about how she needed to tell Jade that she was right about Antonio.

“Juice or coffee?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts.

“Both,” she said as she hopped off the bar stool, and crossed over, and kissed him sweetly.

“Maybe I should offer you coffee and juice more often,” he said after they broke the kiss.

“You’re really sweet. Antonio, I never thought I’d say this again, but I’m really falling in love with you.”

He brushed his lips across hers and smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Serena placed her hand on the flat of his chest. “I’m not going to act as if I’m good at this or that I’m not afraid. Love hasn’t been that kind to me. I don’t really share my feelings because I don’t want to look weak. I don’t want to be hurt.”

“I’d never hurt you and my love won’t make you weak. All I need from you is everything. I want you to be able to love me and open up to me,” he said as he took her hand and brought it to his lips.

She felt as if all the fear in her eased off her
shoulders as Antonio stared into her eyes. “You can trust in me,” he said.

“I know,” she said, then kissed him softly.

Antonio wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Feeling his thick erection against her thighs, Serena didn’t want breakfast, coffee, or juice and she didn’t give a damn about interviewing anyone. All she wanted was standing right in front of her.

When Serena walked into Hometown Delights, the lunchtime rush was in full swing. All the tables were full and the hostess had a line of people waiting for a table at the door. As she headed for the office, Kandace grabbed her by the arm. “So nice of you to show up two hours late,” she said. “No need to ask where you’ve been.”

Serena didn’t even try to hide her smile or deny that she’d been with Antonio. “Well, how did the interviews go?”

“Who cares? I want to know if this man knows what he’s done for you? Serena, I can’t remember seeing you smile this much—ever.”

“Well, I haven’t had much reason to smile,” Serena said, then she turned and faced Kandace. “I’m going to tell you something and I’d appreciated it if you kept it to yourself.”

“You’re pregnant?” Kandace asked.

Serena pursed her lips and rolled her eyes at her friend. “You’re just being silly now.”

“What is it, then?”

“I told Antonio that I love him,”

Kandace waved her hand. “I thought you were going to tell me something I didn’t know. We all knew that.”

“Whatever. How could you all know any such thing?”

“Serena, all anyone had to do was watch you two together and they knew you had fallen hard for that man. I’m just glad you admitted it to yourself without the need for an intervention. You know how hardheaded you can be.”

“Where are Jade and Alicia?”

“In the office waiting for you. I won the bet,” Kandace said.

“What bet?” Serena asked as they walked out of the dining room.

“That you would get here around one-thirty,” she said as she looked down at her watch. “It’s one-fifteen. Jade and Alicia had you in around three. Actually, Jade said you weren’t going to let that poor man up for air.”

“She’s one to talk,” Serena said. “Why are you still here?”

“Because Alicia roped Solomon into headlining her business conference and he’s about to close a deal with James and Maurice’s company for a new hotel on Lake Norman.”

“So, how are you going to finish your honeymoon?”

Kandace smiled. “He’s the boss, so he doesn’t work twenty-four hours a day. You’re not the only one having fun.”

“Excuse me. I’m just glad he’s making you happy.”

Kandace opened the door to the office and all eyes focused on Serena.

“Damn,” Jade said. “I lose.”

“I don’t appreciate you heffas betting on my love life,” Serena said as she walked over to Alicia and pushed her off the chair in front of the computer.

“Hey,” Alicia said as she laughed. “Jade’s idea. We just went along with it.”

Serena took Alicia’s seat as Alicia took a seat on the sofa. “Well, do we have a bartender?” Serena asked.

“Yes, no thanks to you,” Jade said. “He starts tonight.”

“Great,” Serena replied with a big smile.

Alicia looked from Serena to Kandace and then to Jade. “Did y’ all see that?”

“What?” Serena asked.

“That big Kool-Aid grin on your face.”

“And it has nothing to do with a bartender,” Jade said. “That’s all about Antonio Billups.”

“So what? Now we can spend more time together since I won’t be chained to the bar.”

“This thing is getting serious,” Alicia said.

“Getting?” Kandace said. “Already there.”

Serena smacked her lips. “You can’t keep anything to yourself.”

“Please, like we didn’t know you were head over heels for that man,” Jade said.

Serena smoothed her hair. “He knows, too.”

“What?” Alicia asked. “You told him?”

Serena nodded and smiled. “Antonio is special. I think he could be the one.”

Alicia grabbed her chest as if she were Fred Sanford. “Hell has surely frozen over,” she said, then fell into a fit of laughter.

Serena balled up a scrap of paper and tossed it at Alicia. “Oh, shut up.”

“This calls for drinks,” Jade said. “The Ice Queen has melted.”

The women laughed, even Serena.

Antonio checked his watch before heading to the front porch to do some woodworking. He hadn’t carved anything in a while and today he wasn’t doing it because he was upset or needed to take his mind off Marian. He was carving because he wanted to make something for Serena. He’d noticed how she looked at the woodwork around his place, so he figured he’d make her a set of bookends. Since he had time before he had to pick up A.J., he could get a good start on the project. He was so engrossed in his work and thoughts of Serena he hadn’t noticed Casey pull into the driveway or march up the front steps.

“Antonio,” she said.

He looked up at her and cocked his head to the side as he continued carving. “Didn’t I ask you to call before you show up here?” he snapped. “I’ve said all that I needed to say to you this morning.”

Casey placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Yes, you said quite a few things, but you didn’t let me say anything.”

“Well, A.J.’s not here for you to fill with lies, so I could give a damn what you have to say, Case.”

She reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out her cell phone. “Are you serious about Serena? I mean, you’ve only been sleeping with her. You see what she was before she came to town. Hell the whole world has seen on the Internet what you’ve been getting.”

“Casey, you should go.”

“No. You think I’m jealous or that I’m trying to put an end to some great romance but I’m really trying to look out for you.”

Antonio rose to his feet. “The last thing I want or desire is you looking out for me.”

“But I don’t want to see you hurt again and that’s what Serena is going to do to you,” Casey whined.

Antonio placed his hand on his sister-in-law’s shoulder. “Stay out of my life. Go home, Casey.”

“Not until you see what kind of woman you’re dealing with. Serena is no better than a common slut.” Casey held her cell phone up to Antonio’s face.

He looked at the image on the phone’s screen and his heart instantly broke. There was Serena locked in a kiss with a man.

“That’s the movie director.”

Antonio turned his head away. “When did you—when did this happen?”

“Yesterday,” she said. “I was at the Westin and there they were in the bar, looking very cozy. Then she came here. I’m sure she didn’t even shower in between romps with you and him.”

Antonio struggled to keep his emotions in check. He didn’t want Casey to see how he really felt—on the inside, he was smashed.

How could she kiss
him
and then come to my house and tell me how much she cared about me and how she didn’t want to be hurt,
Antonio thought bitterly. She was the one who was hurting him. He should’ve known she wasn’t over that guy. She’d given up too much for Emerson and no one could turn feelings off completely. With that man showing up in Charlotte, she probably didn’t expect to feel anything for him, but did.
Still, she didn’t have to lie to me and pretend we were going to have a chance for a future together,
he thought.

“Are you all right?” Casey asked.

“I asked you to leave.”

“Look, don’t kill the messenger,” she said. “Wouldn’t you rather find out now than get blindsided later?”

Antonio grabbed her shoulders and turned her toward the steps. “Leave,” he snapped.

“I’m here for you if you need me,” she said as she headed down the steps.

Antonio slammed into the house and pondered how he should handle this thing with Serena. Even more important, how was he going to tell A.J. she wasn’t going to be around them any longer? He regretted ever introducing his son to Serena. As he headed for his truck, he decided to take A.J. to Disney World after all. He needed to get away.

The image of Serena kissing another man took him back to that dark place where he’d languished
days before Marian died. He’d walked into his home and found her in the arms of her lover. She hadn’t apologized and hadn’t tried to excuse her indiscretion. In fact, she’d told Antonio that he was boring and had forced her to look outside her marriage for passion.

He in turn had told her that she could get out and he didn’t give a damn if she lived or died since her world revolved around her carnal needs. Marian had laughed in his face, then tossed divorce papers at his feet as she flounced out of the house hand in hand with her lover.

He couldn’t face that again. If Serena wanted to be with the man in the picture then to hell with her.

Serena was about to head home for a much deserved nap after her meeting with her friends about the upcoming relaunch party. Everything was set. She was so glad she didn’t have to worry about finding a date for the party because Antonio would be by her side. As she walked out of the restaurant, she ran into Casey. Serena was about to sidestep her and head to her car, but Casey grabbed her arm.

“I hope you know that Antonio is wise to who you really are,” she said smugly.

“What are you talking about?” Serena asked. “You know what, I don’t even care.”

Casey smirked at her and shook her head. “I knew from the moment I saw you that you weren’t
right for Antonio and now he knows it, too. I hope you and Emerson are happy together.”

“What are you babbling about?”

“I saw you kiss him, and thanks to the fact that I captured it on my phone, Antonio knows you’re a low down backstabbing slut as well.” Casey flashed the image on her phone in Serena’s face. “One thing Antonio won’t stand for is a woman who is dishonest.”

Serena blanched as she looked at the image. “Like you? If you saw what happened, then you know that I slapped Emerson seconds after he kissed me!”

“So? All that matters is what Antonio thought when he saw this picture. He’s through with you.”

Serena pushed past Casey and dashed to her car. She had to get to Antonio and tell him that kiss wasn’t anything. As she drove, all she could think about was how he must have felt when he saw that picture.
Why didn’t I just tell him everything last night? Then Casey would ‘ve been looking like the fool. Maybe he saw through her façade and knows the picture didn’t mean a thing.

When she pulled up to Antonio’s house, she saw that his truck was gone. Serena pulled out her cell phone and dialed Antonio’s number. The voicemail picked up immediately and a feeling of icy dread crept up and down her spine. “Antonio, it’s Serena. Please give me a call when you get this.” She thought about sitting in his driveway and waiting for him, but she was sure that when he returned home he’d be with A.J. and she didn’t want to cause a scene in front of
the little boy. Backing out of the driveway, she headed home to wait—silently praying Antonio would call her.

When she arrived at home, Serena paced back and forth in the living room looking at her phone every few minutes to see if Antonio had called. After twenty minutes of silence, she called him again and once again her call went directly to voicemail. She didn’t leave another message. She simply got into her car and drove back to Antonio’s house. She was not going to let Casey ruin the best thing that ever happened to her.

Serena sped to Antonio’s house and hoped he would hear her out. She imagined that seeing her kissing Emerson flooded Antonio with memories of his cheating wife. He had to know Serena wouldn’t betray him like that.
Please,
she thought,
if I saw a picture like that, I wouldn’t believe it didn’t mean anything.
For one second, Serena wished she was as smooth as her father. Then she realized she had the truth on her side. All she needed to do was find Antonio and get him to listen to her.

Arriving at his house, she saw Antonio and A.J. carrying luggage to the truck. Serena slammed the car in
PARK
behind his truck and rushed over to him. “Antonio,” she said breathlessly.

“Hey, Miss Serena,” A.J. said brightly, the exact opposite of the dark look that Antonio gave her as he opened the driver’s side door and angrily tossed his bag inside.

“Hi, A.J.,” she said, never taking her eyes off Antonio.

“Son, get in the truck,” Antonio said through clenched teeth. He turned to Serena. “What do you want?”

“Can we talk for a moment?” she asked.

“Actually, no. We’re about to leave,” he said as he placed his hand on the door handle.

“I know what your sister-in-law showed you, but I can explain.”

He rolled his eyes and opened the door. “I think the picture said enough. Move your car.”

Serena folded her arms and stomped her foot like a petulant child about to have a temper tantrum. “Not until you listen to what I have to say. That picture isn’t what it seems and I’m not moving until you listen to me.”

“There’s nothing you can say that I want to hear. You sat in my house and said all of that flowery bullshit about falling in love with me and not wanting to be hurt when you’d been kissing the guy who you claim to hate. This, I’m not going to deal with again. If you want to be with him or anyone else, don’t let me stand in your way.”

Serena closed the space between them and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look into her eyes. “You are all that I want.”

“I’m sure you said the same thing to him before you shoved your tongue down his throat,” he said as he pulled away from her. “My son and I have a reservation to make. Move your car.”

“Antonio, he kissed me and I slapped him,
kicked him in his nuts, and pushed him away. You don’t see that in Casey’s picture, do you?”

“What I see is you kissing a man you’re supposed to hate just moments before you came here. You lied to me and that’s what I see when I look at that picture.”

“It didn’t mean anything and that’s why I didn’t tell you about it. It was five seconds of my life. Are you going to throw away what we feel for each other because of a five second kiss that I didn’t want?”

“I’m taking my son to Disney World and you’re in my way.”

Serena glared at him. “So, this is how it’s going to be? You’re going to go away and just toss aside what we have? What I thought we were trying to build?”

“I’m not throwing anything away because it’s obvious we don’t have anything if you found it so easy to lie to me.”

Tears welled up in Serena’s eyes and she fled to her car. If that was how Antonio wanted things to be, then fine. She could walk away. She had a life before him and it was waiting for her in Atlanta. Serena cursed herself for falling in love when she knew it would only end in heartache. As she took off down the road, her cell phone rang and for a moment, she wished it was Antonio, but she saw that it was Kenya.