Lovers Premiere (Kimani Romance) (9 page)

“Oh, really?” He looked back over at Sofia who was now mouthing questions to Ramell, trying to figure out what her uncle was saying.

“This just means that I made the right decision in merging our companies together. Plus, it means that our business is still technically family-owned. I have to be frank with you, I've been up nights worried about all of this. Now I feel as if a giant load has been taken off my shoulders.”

“It does?” he asked.

“What?” Sofia whispered, creeping over to him.

Jacob continued. “I was up every night. Doing this deal made me feel like I was somehow stabbing Sofia in the back. She has worked very hard in the company and in a lot of ways I should have made her full partner years ago. At the same time, all those hours she puts in had us all worried. Now that you two are going to officially be a team, well…I know that you're going to look after her best interest and not let her take on too much. Frankly, I think you are a Godsend.”

Ram smiled. “I can't tell you how much it means to me to hear you say that, Jacob.”

“You love her, don't you?” Jacob asked.

Ram's gaze caressed Sofia's face while he spoke from the bottom of his heart. “For as long as I can remember.”

“I knew it!”
Jacob's laughter thundered through the phone so loud that Ram had to pull it away from his ear for a second. “Is she there right now? Her aunt and I would love to talk to her.”

“Yes. She's right here.”

Sofia shook her head and backed up.

“He wants to talk to you,” Ram insisted.

“No. No.” Ram thrust the phone under her ear. “Noooo— Hi, Uncle Jacob.” She forced a smile into her voice, but gave Ram an evil look.

“Congratulations, Sofia,” Uncle Jacob boasted. “I was just telling your husband how thrilled your aunt and I are about this wonderful news! Even though I question the venue you and Ramell selected. A black Elvis impersonator?”

“What? How did you—?”

“It's all over the news. The media followed Akil Hutton and his new girlfriend there thinking that they were about to get hitched and instead got tons of footage of you and Ramell getting married. It's a little unconventional, I admit, but it looks like it was a lot of fun.”

“We were on the news?” Her gaze shot back over to Ram.

“Don't look at me,” he hissed. “You're the one that proposed to me.”

Sofia covered her hand over the phone.
“What?”

He shrugged. “I take it you don't remember that part, either.”

“Clearly. I was drunk out of my mind,” she hissed. “Why didn't you stop me?”

“You seemed fine to me. Besides, I was drinking, too,” he reminded her.

“Hold on, Sofia,” Uncle Jacob interrupted her next retort. “Your Aunt Lily wants to talk to you.”

“Wait, Uncle Jacob.”

“Sofia?” Her aunt's soft voice drifted over the line. “Baby, is that you?”

Sighing, Sofia dropped down onto the bed. “Yes, Aunt Lily. It's me.”

“Baby, I'm so happy for you,” she sniffed. “I've always suspected that you two had strong feelings for each other. And I prayed for so long that someday you both would get together.”

Sofia frowned. “You did?”

Her aunt laughed. “Please. I think we all did. I remember back in the day that boy must've proposed to you every day of the week. Your mother and I used to find it adorable.”

The mention of her mother instantly brought up many conflicting emotions that glossed her eyes with tears.

“Aww. You used to tease that boy mercilessly,” Lily said. “Personally, I'm thrilled that he hung in there. You two are perfect for each other—but for a while it seemed like you were determined not to realize it.”

Sofia didn't understand where all this was coming from. People thought that she and Ramell were perfect for each other? Sure, once upon a time she used to fantasize that one day they would get married, but that was a long time ago. She was only a child.

“Aunt Lily, I think that there's something I should tell—”

“The only thing I hate is that we all couldn't be there—Elvis impersonator and all.”

“Yeah. About that—”

“So you have to let me throw you two a big reception. It'll be tight since we're still planning Rachel's wedding
and all, but you
have
to let me do this. I've been looking forward to this day for so long.”

A long pause hung over the phone while Sofia tried to come up with the right words. Instead of admitting that she was just seconds from telling Ram that she wanted an annulment, she said. “We would love for you to throw us a reception, Aunt Lily.” Her gaze jumped back up, this time to see Ram's startled face. “Nothing would make us happier.”

W
hile Ramell and Sofia headed to Los Angeles, they were still dancing around just how they were going to handle this whole marriage thing. Their cell phones and emails were overflowing with congratulatory messages from friends, colleagues, studio executives and even tabloid magazines and bloggers. For a moment, they were being treated as if they were celebrities themselves. The embarrassing part was just how much of their wild night was documented.

In the world of camera phones, it seemed that everywhere and everything they did that night ended up somewhere on the web. Ramell made it clear that he liked the ones with her dancing on club tables. For Sofia, it was the video of Ramell's debut strip performance.

“I would've gone Full Monty if you would've let me,” Ram said while he flew them into the private airport.

“That would have played well on
Entertainment Tonight
,” she chuckled.

“I want to know why you stopped me,” he said, glancing over at her.

“Maybe because even in my drunken state I realized that we needed to hold on to
some
dignity.”

“Or maybe you didn't want to share me with all those other women,” Ram suggested. “I kind of like the idea of you being possessive.”

“Oh, please.” She straightened herself in her seat while her fingers flew across her iPad. She was rapidly transforming back into her old self, with her ever present Bluetooth hooked onto her ear and her ability to type ninety words while still holding a separate conversation.

Ram shook his head. “Do you have to do that now?”

“Do what?”

“Work. We have a lot of stuff to figure out, Mrs. Jordan.”

Her fingers tripped over themselves at the sound of her new title. She wanted to be irritated, but the truth of the matter was that her heart quickened a little bit whenever he called her Mrs. Jordan and parts of her even tingled a little.
What the hell is going on?
She glanced over at him and met his smiling eyes. One thing was for sure, Ram certainly didn't seem bothered by landing himself a new wife at all.

She forced her gaze away and coughed. “What sort of stuff do we need to figure out?”

“Oh, I don't know. Things like…where are we going to live?”

“What?”

“You don't think that it might be a little strange that if we return home and go back to living in separate houses?”

“I guess that's a good point,” she conceded, and then thought about it for a moment. “How about my place?”

“You live in a high-rise.”

“Yeah, so?”

“So. Now that we're a married couple maybe a house is more appropriate?”

“Meaning your house,” she said, crossing her arms.

“I do happen to have one available,” he reasoned. “And you don't have to worry, I have excellent taste. It's not your run-of-the-mill bachelor pad.”

“Says you.”

“Says everyone. It was actually featured in
Architectural Digest
last summer. Of course, I had to take down the sex swing, but if you want we can get it out of the attic.”

Her head whipped back over to him.

“It was a joke. Ha. Ha. We're supposed to laugh at jokes, remember?” Ram reached over and elbowed her playfully. “You really need to learn how to lighten up.”

“Have you ever thought that maybe you play too much?” she challenged. Now she had to try to get the image of her riding on his swing out of her mind, even though she was partly intrigued.

“One can never play too much, sweetheart.”

It was the endearments that were doing her in.
Baby,
sweetheart, honey, Mrs. Jordan.
Each one sounded and felt like a lover's caress and was undoing the foundation of everything she thought she knew about herself.

“So would you like to go out with me when we get back home?” Ram asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Well, it sort of just occurred to me that despite our knowing each other for all our lives, we haven't officially gone out on a date.”

“We don't have to date.” Sofia shook her head. “We're married now.”

He laughed. “Yeah. I guess we sort of put the cart before the horse here. But I'd like to take you out. Plus, I hear that married couples are bringing dating back with a vengeance.”

She shook her head but a smile curved across her lips.

“Does that mean we have a date?”

Sofia tried to stifle the small flurry of excitement fluttering in the pit of her stomach. Why was she feeling like this and why couldn't she stop it? Self-discipline was something she prided herself on, but since Ram charged back into her life it'd been more or less thrown out of the window entirely.

“Yes? No? Maybe so?” he asked.

“Well where do you plan on taking me?”

“Ah. Ah. Ah.” He took his hand off the controls to wave a finger in front of her. “I want it to be a surprise.”

She lifted her eyebrows but still couldn't wipe the smile off her face. “All right. Fine. May I at least know when this post-marriage date is going to take place?”

“Sure. How about tomorrow night?”

“Oh. I don't know if I can do tomorrow night.” She pulled up her calendar on her iPad. “I think—”

“Whatever it is, cancel it,” he said.

“What?”

“You heard me. Cancel it.” He gave her a look that made it clear that he was being serious. “I think that with everyone knowing that you're a newlywed they will be more than forgiving of you canceling whatever it is you seem to think is so important.”

“My business
is
important.”

“You mean
our
business, right?”

She opened her mouth to continue arguing, but once again realized that there would be no point. Ramell had a cool, logical answer for everything. “Fine. I'll cancel.”

“Great! See, now that wasn't so hard, was it?”

She folded her arms with a huff and pretended to be annoyed. At least that would have been true a few days ago. Lately, she was finding his take-charge attitude to be a real turn-on. Maybe there was something else in her blood pressure medication because ever since she started taking those things, she hadn't been acting like herself at all.

With just a few minutes left in their flight, Sofia leaned her head back and closed her eyes. But she was totally unprepared for the images that splashed in her mind. Images of Ram sliding off her shoes and of him kissing her on her ankle and then working his way up her inner thigh. Her body started tingling like crazy. She drew in a soft breath, sure her body temperature was rising.

The pictures inside her head were so vivid she swore that she could feel his fingers peeling her panties from off her hips. She squirmed in her chair.

“So beautiful,”
his voice echoed inside her head as he parted her legs. When his head dropped in between them, Sofia's eyes sprang open.

Ram looked over at her, concern written on his face. “Are you all right?”

Panting, Sofia placed a hand over her heart and stared at him.

That only made his frown deepen. “Sofia?”

“Y-yes. Yes. I'm fine,” she lied.
Was that a dream or a memory?

He gave her a look that said he didn't believe her, but he let it go.

They touched down at the airport and they were both surprised to see a few photographers waiting there, snapping away.

Sofia was thrown off guard. While her agency may represent some of the most talented people in Los Angeles, the spotlight rarely hit her personally nowadays. It was a little reminiscent of the days after her parents' death. She couldn't imagine why anyone would be interested in the life and times of a Hollywood agent in the tabloids, but there they were.

Ram quickly escorted her to his white Porsche and peeled out of there as if he was trying to qualify for a drag race. While he played speed racer, Sofia glanced around the spotless, leather interior.

“What?”

She shrugged. “Nothing. I was just thinking that this is the sort of car a confirmed bachelor would drive.”

“Well, just say the word and I'll trade this puppy in for a minivan in a heartbeat.”

He grinned devilishly at her and she had the sneaky suspicion that he meant it.
Kids?
Things were definitely moving too fast for her to wrap her brain around. They were going to start dating after getting married and now they were going to discuss kids before they had sex? Or did they have sex already?

Another image of Ram's head dipping low to suck one of her nipples into his mouth filled her head along with him running his teeth lightly against the sensitive tip. She twitched and her panties grew moist. She covered a hand over her mouth when she could hear her own sighs echoed in her ears.

“Are you sure you're okay?” Ram asked.

“Yes,” she said as she started fanning herself. “Don't you have an air conditioner in this thing?”

“It's cool and the windows are down,” he said.

“Well… I'm hot.” She reached over to the console herself and put the air on full blast.

Ram just gave her a stern look and then shook his head. What man really understood women anyway? He was trying to wing this whole marriage thing himself. So far, Sofia hadn't said anything about getting an annulment, but she wasn't exactly acting like a gushing newlywed, either. Hopefully on their first official date tomorrow, he could put all his cards on the table and convince her to really give this marriage a try. He knew in his heart that he could make her happy. He had known it for years.
But if she still needed time, he was more than willing to give her as much of it as she needed.

He arrived at her penthouse at the Beverly Hilton. She tried to just hop out of the car and grab her own bags, but Ram wasn't having any of that. He parked and insisted on bringing his wife's luggage up to her penthouse.

“That's not necessary,” she insisted.

“Oh it is necessary. And besides, I
want
to do it.” When she folded her arms, he added, “You need to get used to letting a man take care of you.”

He placed a finger against her mouth before she could say anything to argue with him. “I'm not talking about financially. I'm talking about emotionally.” Their eyes locked. “Everyone needs someone to love and to hold. Someone to share their darkest secrets with. To laugh and play with.” He reached up and cupped the side of her face. “You know—how we used to do.”

Sofia stared into Ramell's eyes and was instantly transported back to a time when she trusted him with all her secrets, a time when she knew without a doubt that one day they would be together forever. That moment in time now felt like it was yesterday. And in many ways, he was the same Ram, waiting on her to hand him her heart.

“You love me,” she said. It wasn't a question.

He smiled. “I have
always
loved you.” He leaned down and slowly drew her lips into a kiss. It started off soft and slow but it quickly heated up to the point that their mouths delved into each others like they were completely ravenous for one another.

The next thing Sofia knew she was sliding her arms up
around his neck so that she could pull him closer. Yes, he tasted like chocolate, and yes, he was the most addictive thing she'd ever known, but most importantly, he tasted like love. Sweet, heady, and completely intoxicating. Now that she recognized the taste it consumed her and knocked down walls that she never even knew she had erected. When she managed to pull their lips apart, her chest heaved like she had just traveled the entire world in less than sixty seconds.

Ram's devilish smile slid into place. “Now may I help take your bags up to your penthouse, Mrs. Jordan?”

Hell. She forgot that they were still standing in the parking deck. What happened to her hatred of public displays of affection? “Yeah. That would be nice.”

“Good.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I kind of like convincing you to see things my way.” Ram grabbed her bags from the trunk and when they turned to head toward the building, Sofia's sister stood there smiling.

“Rachel.” Sofia blinked. “What are you doing here?”

“What else? I came to see you.” Rachel walked over to her older sister and drew her into a hug. “The last time we talked I think it's safe to say that you were a little…out of it.”

Sofia laughed. “That's putting it nicely.” She kissed her sister's cheek before she pulled out of her arms.

“But after seeing that kiss, I know now that there's absolutely nothing to worry about.” Rachel turned toward Ramell. “And I guess that makes you my new brother-in-law,” Rachel said, sweeping her arms open wide.

Ram lowered Sofia's luggage and quickly embraced
Rachel in a hug. “Hey, I always wanted a little sister.” And just like that the two clicked. They had always known each other, but the recent marriage made them instant best friends. Ramell retrieved the bags and together all three of them walked up to Sofia's penthouse.

When they entered the luxurious apartment, Ram asked where the bedroom was and Sofia hesitated. She had another jolt of everything moving so fast, but then shook it off to show him the way. Rachel stayed in the living room to give them a few minutes of privacy.

In the bedroom, Ram set her bags on the bed and took a look around her peach and gold bedroom. “Nice.”

“Thank you.”

“It's not as nice as mine, of course, but it's nice.”

“We're having a contest now?”

“I'm just saying.” He shrugged his shoulders. He walked over to her and swung his arms around her waist. “Make sure when I come and pick you up tomorrow that you pack enough clothes to stay at my house for a while.”

She drew in a deep breath.

“I have more than one bedroom you know. There's no pressure.”

Sofia flashed the simple band around her fingers. “No. There's just a wedding band.”