Promises (6 page)

* * *

Solomon was relaxing in the garden when he noticed that Alex had arrived home. His body’s response to her in the library had shocked him. If it hadn’t been for the sudden appearance of her friend, he’d have fucked the ass off her right there and then. He knew he had to do something about his infatuation, and soon.

He
studied her as she flung open the back door, her hand moving to the back of her neck and massaging it tiredly. Arching like a cat, she thrust her breasts out, causing him to suck in his breath as he looked on. He wondered how soon it would be before she spotted him.

Then
she froze, and he knew she had seen him.

Rising
, he inched towards the small wall covered with a smattering of tiny star-shaped flowers. “Any chance of a coffee?” Flashing a smile, he noticed the frown that marred her forehead. He was curious what thoughts were going round in that mind of hers, but he knew damn well that she was trying to decide how to respond to his simple request.

Alex’s first
instinct was to tell him to go to hell. Instead, she decided to lay down some ground rules so he understood that coming onto her wasn’t an option. Just because he was a neighbour didn’t mean she would be on hand to offer personal services, much as she’d like to.

“Yes, come on over
. I think we need to have a little chat.” Her own emotions scared her because she knew damn well that she wanted him. She prayed she was capable of keeping her randy urges under control. She didn’t do relationships, and a blast of intuition told her he that he didn’t, either. It had been a one-night stand and a bloody big mistake that she didn’t intend to repeat. She hoped!

Solomon frowned
. So far, all the ‘little chats’ he’d had with women had meant trouble. Nevertheless, he moved forward. Not bothering to pull on his shirt, he swung his legs over the low fence and loped into the kitchen.

“Sugar, mil
k?” she asked.

A
ll she could think about was how he’d loved her tongue caressing a certain spot, and how she could make him groan aloud with a mere touch and flick of her thumb.

“Strong and black
.” He stood admiring the sweet curve of her ass, lush and peachy.

Alex
imagined him cupping her cheeks, kneading them gently. Her soft whimpering would urge him on.

“Here
.” She placed the coffee cup down before him.

Before that moment, s
he hadn’t realized just how small her kitchen was. His presence overwhelmed it. She cursed how her hand trembled, and a small amount of coffee dribbled over the edge of her cup. It was his fault. Why wasn’t he wearing a shirt? Her gaze fused on his ripped torso as she leaned back against the worktop. She didn’t realize that her blouse had opened, providing a tantalizing glimpse of her breasts.

Solomon
noticed.

“You wanted to talk t
o me?” He ignored his coffee and moved in front of her, his hands sliding across her hips, holding her in place.
I can take you here, honey.

“Yes, we need,
err, we have to ….” she stuttered and stumbled over her words, wishing he’d step back and let her think. He was so close that she was lucky she could breathe. Ducking beneath his arm, she shot over to the sanctuary of the opposite end of the kitchen, all of a few feet away.

Solomon turned and leaned back where she’d been moments earlier
. He tilted his head and watched her, trying to gauge her reaction. A wickedly confident grin pulled at his lips.

“This can’t happen again
,” she began, trying to find the right words. What she really wanted was for him to rip her knickers off, throw her to the floor, and fuck her hard. Till she was screaming his name, begging for the sweet release only he could achieve.

Her breathing
came faster as she thought about it.

W
hat she had to do was keep one hell of a distance from him. She couldn’t allow him access to her world. He’d turn it upside down. He already had, though, she realized belatedly. Nothing was ever going to be the same.

“What can’t happen again?” he asked. He stared at her chest rising
and falling with deep breaths as if she’d been running, her palm flat against it, steadying. His voice rolled over her in one sexy swoop, deep and sensual, washing sanity away.

“This, I mean
, the last time we met, the, err, only time.” She fell over her words. Even to her own ears, she sounded like an incoherent, stuttering idiot.

“What are you trying to say?”
He folded his arms and leaned back against the worktop, his relaxed stance belying how he felt. His fingers clenched and unclenched, a film of dampness layering his palms He cocked his head to one side.

“I don’t want you coming on
to me.” She ran a hand through her hair, again wishing he’d cover up. She also wished she hadn’t used that description. She’d love for him to come on to her with the force of an erupting volcano.

H
er gaze slipped over him, hot and scorching. Her eyes remembered every nook and cranny of his muscled body. She flushed, thinking of how he’d driven into her writhing body, what he’d done to her.

Solomon grinned
. “I wasn’t, I was just being neighbourly.”

“I’ve heard it called a lot of things, but never that
.” Alex tried to suppress the chuckle that rose at his audacity.

“
Now, if I was coming on to you, I’d do this.” Pushing away from the kitchen unit, he unfolded his arms and advanced on her. His dark blue eyes glowing, he pinned her down.

“Whoa, I don’t want this.
” She backed away, halting when she felt the doorknob dig into her. “I mean it, Solomon. Don’t touch me.” She held the mug of coffee in front, her brilliant green eyes flashing dangerously.

Solomon paused
and glanced down at the mug, its contents spilling out in her trembling hands, and stopped. He glanced at her red hair, at the hot coffee that splashed over the rim. The way her eyes flicked nervously over him, the glint of anger he saw in them. Red hot and fiery, taking no prisoners.

“Didn’t you enjoy our love making?” he asked softly,
as he cast a sizzling glance over her face, waiting.

Jesus, d
id he have to ask that question?
she thought with irritation. He knew the answer. He’d heard her moans, her screams when she’d come, shuddering, against him. “Do you need to ask?” she eventually replied, staring deep into her mug of coffee.

“Judging by your reaction to me now, yes
.” He reached over and grasped his coffee cup, his expression mutinous as he pinned her with his gaze.

She
wished this conversation was over. All their ‘little talk’ was doing was refreshing her craving for him. She couldn’t bear any more tormenting memories of what he’d achieved with his oh-so expert hands and tempting mouth.

She was
experiencing a stirring deep in her stomach and realized her fanny had already set its sights on his dick, aching and wanting more.

She’d never realized before how singularly disengaged her sex was from her brain.

His deep blue eyes fused with hers. “I’d like to make love to you again,” he whispered. “What do you say?” There was an intensity about him, in the way his breathing shallowed, frustration seeping from his pores.

Alex closed her eyes, almost gro
aning. Of course she wanted him. Badly! But he was no longer a stranger with whom she could indulge her fantasies. He was real, flesh and blood, and too sexy for his own good. Or hers. She couldn’t make love to him again. She’d go insane trying to keep her emotions detached.

Solomon watched her close her eyes
and noted how her white-knuckled fingers gripped the mug. He took a glut of air and swallowed.

His lips curled into a
smug grin as he grew more confident of her reply.

With a casual ease
, he swiped a hand across his crotch, hiding the hard-on that was straining against the fabric of his jeans. His gaze returned to her blouse, noting how her nipples puckered beneath the material. He shuffled in discomfort as his erection grew more insistent.

Alex looked
towards him. Reading the passion in his face, she noted how his pupils had turned dark, almost black. She swallowed. “I say ….” Her voice was low, husky. “You’ve finished your coffee, now there’s the door.”

T
he astonishment that flashed across his handsome features was hard to miss. Obviously he wasn’t used to being turned down.

Solomon op
ened his mouth to say something but his mind went blank. He was reeling from her clipped and casual piss-off line. Rising, he placed his mug down on the table with a soft click, the only noise in the room. He gave her one last searching look, then turned and left.

It was only then that Alex released
the breath she hadn’t been aware of holding. Her hand trembling, she emptied her mug in the sink and watched with detached fascination as the dark liquid swirled against the cold steel

She hoped she hadn’t
made the biggest mistake of her life.

S
olomon stepped over the fence, but instead of going indoors, he lay on the recliner in the yard. His arms folded beneath his head, he stared, deep in thought, at a crop of clouds smudging overhead. Little did Miss Alexandra Powell know that instead of dampening his interest, she’d well and truly stoked his fires. He was so hot he felt like he was in hell, and now he was more determined than ever to bed her.

She
was an enigma.

Dressed
like a middle-aged woman, yet wearing sexy suspenders underneath. She refused to let him make love to her, but she had acted like a whore in the bedroom.
A first-class one at that
, he thought with approval. He pulled at a blade of grass, popping it in his mouth and chewing thoughtfully, debating his next move. He decided that he wasn’t going to let her out of his sight. Wherever she went, he would follow, eventually wearing down her resolve.

B
ecause he knew she wanted him. What he couldn’t work out was why she wouldn’t admit it.

* * *

Alex ran upstairs, anxious to get out of her ‘widow’s garb,’ which was what she called the horrendous uniform she wore. She threw it on the floor along with the piles of clothes littering her room. Fishing out a pair of shorts and T-shirt, she dressed and slipped on her sandals.

Solomon
, who lay stretched out on the sunbed, was aware of her peeping through the kitchen window. He hadn’t missed the way she practically drooled over him. Sol let her have her look. He wasn’t vain but he understood his body’s virtues. It was well-muscled and his chest held a smattering of dark hair. His taut, tanned skin glistened in the late afternoon sun.

Solomon
’s body was honed to perfection from intense work-outs in gyms throughout the country. Noticing her disappear, he listened carefully and heard the front door slam shut. When he strolled around to the front, he saw her ambling down the avenue. Following her, he couldn’t take his eyes off her backside, which was almost falling out of her tiny shorts. A definite improvement from her library clothes, he was forced to admit.

He followed her down to the beach front, to the small outside bar he’d passed earlier when he was exploring the small bay.

Alex sat down at the table, relishing this time of day. When a shadow was thrown over her, she glanced up with an impatient sigh. “What are you doing here?”

“Same as everyone else
, I imagine.” Solomon’s blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “Taking time out to have a drink.”

The hostility emanating from her was obvious, so he moved to a nearby table and took a seat, deciding to keep some distance between them.
Deliberately, she turned her back on him and ordered a drink. His lithe frame caught her eye as he strolled up to the bar. She also didn’t miss the amount of interest he was generating with the females. She stirred her drink with the long black straw, stabbing angrily at the ice cubes. At the sound of his deep baritone laugh, she glanced up to see him enjoy a joke with a tall leggy brunette.

He really
is the male version of a tart
, she thought and stared moodily into her drink, the brief peace and tranquillity she’d experienced dissipating. Casting one final glance towards the bar, she knocked her drink back and decided to buy a bottle of wine on the way home. She would enjoy the solitude of her garden without being forced to watch him basking in another female’s attention.

Solomon
saw her leave and noted the direction she headed. Finishing his drink, he loped behind her and waited outside the supermarket she’d stepped into.

Alex
held her bag close to her chest and tried to stop the bottles from clanking. The three for a tenner offer was too good to turn down. Walking out of the shop with her head bent, she almost crashed into Solomon.

“Are you following me?”
Why wouldn’t he go away? She could refuse him only so many times before her resolve caved. The temptation to give in was overwhelming, but common sense was still overriding her fanny’s horny plea.

“Yep
,” he said, a small grin tugging at his lips. He took a curious peek into her plastic bag. “Throwing a party?”

“Yes
. For one,” she snapped, furious with him as he ambled alongside. “Now where do you think you’re going?”

Solom
on shrugged his shoulders, his T-shirt draped off to one side. “Same place as you. Home.” He waited for her to carry on walking.

“Well just don’
t talk to me.” She turned and stormed off. Her sandal caught on an upraised piece of pavement and she fell forward with a startled screech, clutching her precious cargo close to her chest. Solomon’s arms snaked around her and he held her tight, determined not to miss out on an opportunity to hold her.

“And don’t touch me eith
er,” she said, deciding to ignore the fact that he’d saved her from falling flat on her face. And even worse, smashing her bottles. She could feel the heat of his body sizzling against hers and realized one of his arms still remained around her. His hand circled her back and, with barefaced cheek, snuck down to cover her ass. Taking his hand in hers, Alex disdainfully dropped it. “Especially there!”

“I seem to remember you enjoyed
my hands on your butt.” He grinned, unabashed, and looked down into her rabid face.

“Well I don’t now, ok
ay?” she shouted, livid at her body’s reaction to him. He was positively addictive. She didn’t know what the hell was wrong with her and decided to give Roger a good going-over tonight. Maybe that would stop the wicked pulse she felt between her legs. She moved away from him, determined to break all contact. Then she spun around and marched down the pavement.

“You could have said thank you
,” Solomon called out as he admired the way her backside swayed. He visualised her sitting astride him whilst he held those scrumptious hips tight and pumped hard into her.

“Thank you!” she yell
ed, without turning around.

S
he slammed the door to her house so roughly that it was still vibrating when he sauntered up to his. Solomon grinned. In the kitchen he picked up a cold bottle of beer and settled himself outside, knowing she’d be out sooner or later.

Alex glared at
him through her kitchen window. Pouring a large glass of wine, she continued to shoot evil looks at him, unable to miss how oblivious he was to her heated gaze. She swung the back door open, carefully placed her bottle on the table, and added her tumbler glass. Then she sat down, ignoring him.

Sol
grinned and watched as she picked up her book. Her expression appeared impassive, as if she wasn’t enjoying the story or even actually reading the words. The silence continued, as did Sol’s attention on the redhead. He was determined to get into her knickers. It was becoming a matter of pride. He never had this problem, and worse, he knew she wanted him. What he couldn’t figure out was why she was denying him.

Alex dared
to peep over the cover of her book and stared straight into his face. He sat comfortably on the low wall dividing them, his leg dangling loosely.

“Now what?”
She shot him a glare before helping herself to a large gulp of wine. It was warm, with no ice cubes, yet it still slid down her throat despite the fact that she preferred it chilled.

“Just looking
. No harm in that, is there?” He shrugged his shoulders. “What are you reading?”

“A book
,” she snapped.

Solomon sighed.
She really isn’t making this easy
, he thought
. I hope that when she finally wears down the sex is as good as I remember
.

“What’s it about?”
He didn’t care in the least, but at least it was a start and he really couldn’t think of anything else to talk about. He took another swig of beer and tried to suppress his grin.
Okay
, he conceded to himself,
there’s a lot I could say, but I don’t think she’d like that type of conversation.

“You wouldn’t be interes
ted.” She was unwilling to tell him what kind of books she read.

“How do you know
?” he pushed, swinging his leg over the wall and inching closer.

“Look, can I just read this
in peace?” She drained the rest of her wine.

Solomon
wondered where the hell the bottle had gone, then watched her move to get another. He could see her body dip and undulate before she steadied herself. She ambled inside, returning with a new one.

Solomon
raised one eyebrow.
She sure is going for it. If she wants to get blind drunk, though, that’s up to her.
For a second he debated whether to use it to his advantage, but then dismissed the thought. Tipsy, yes, but he wanted her to remember what he intended on doing to her.

“
Are you working tomorrow?” He stared in amazement when she filled the glass to the brim. Most women he knew drank out of wine glasses, but she had to have a bloody tumbler full of the stuff.

Alex nodded
. The frustration of the day evaporating, she regarded him speculatively. “How come, in all the places you could have chosen to live, you ended up next to me? I mean what are the odds of that happening?”

If only you
knew, honey,
thought Solomon. Pushing off the wall, he prowled towards her, took a seat, and placed his bottle on the table. So far so good, she hadn’t told him to get lost. Yet.

“Fate
,” he said, noticing that she’d given up reading her book. She folded a crease in the page and closed it with finality.

“Hmmm
, I don’t know. It’s strange. Very strange.” She leaned back and sipped from the glass, studying him with growing suspicion.

“
How come you moved here?” he asked, trying to divert the conversation from himself.

“To get away from my mother
.” The drink was beginning to loosen her tongue.

“Why?”
He peered down into his bottle. It was definitely empty, and he decided to get another one.

“Because she’s a pain in the
ass. Trust me, she’s a nightmare.” Alex shook her head in dismay. Through her blurred vision she had spotted his empty glass and rose unsteadily to get him a drink. “I’ll get a glass for you.”

Solomon grinned
, watching her totter into the kitchen before returning and banging the glass down on the table, misjudging where the top lay. “Help yourself,” she slurred, sinking into his lap. She took hold of the arm that coiled around her hip.

“Mmm
, you’re so comfy.” She leaned back and reached out for her glass. Solomon groaned as she arched, her breasts sailing before his eyes.

“
Yeah, whatever,” he muttered, realizing she’d gone from tipsy to drunk in the space of a few seconds.

After d
raping an arm around his neck, she slurped from her glass and bounced up and down. “Yep, nice and comfy.”

She didn’t
notice his pained expression as he looked down at her shuddering breasts. They called out to him. He itched to put his hands around them, could feel himself getting hard at the thought.

“
Hey, what’s that?” She peeked down and gave him a wicked smile. “I think something has just come up.”

“That’s my boy
,” she whispered, dropping the glass she’d clung to. It fell to the floor and bounced on the grass, the contents seeping into the dark earth. Bending her head, she nuzzled his neck, nipping and sucking. “You want me, Sol?” she muttered, trailing her tongue across his lips, dipping to taste him. Pressing softly against his lips, she pushed her tongue inside. Solomon stole over it, sucking the sweet fruitiness.

Unable to stop himself
, he snaked his hand up, grasping her breast and flicking across her nipple. He kneaded it softly, welcoming her soft moan, before scooping her into his arms and striding purposefully towards the house.

Alex kicked the door closed and
her fingers curled across his neck, her arms snapped tight around him. He carried her with ease, taking the stairs two at a time. Only one thing was on his mind, and that was quenching the thirst that was driving him crazy, losing himself in her delicious body.

“Bedroom
’s that way.” She dotted tiny kisses across his throat and pointed at an open door.

He stared around in shock
. “Holy shit. What happened in here?” The devastation was terrifying. Piles of clothes were strewn around the room, which he assumed had a carpet, but for the life of him he couldn’t see one.

Alex shrugged
and pulled his head down to her eager lips. She scraped her nails over his back and he shuddered beneath them. Dropping her slowly to the floor, he clasped her tight to him, letting her feel his erection.

Alex
smiled up at him, a sexy sinful grin teasing her lips.

Then s
he raised a hand to her head and passed out in Solomon’s arms.