Scandalous Heroes Box Set (155 page)

Les turned his stocky body to her to direct his full attention to Eminence. He crossed his arms over his chest, covering yet another one of his colorful knit sweater vests. He reminded her so much of that affable morning show weatherman who dropped a lot of weight. Unlike that man, Les kept his smile hidden.

Eminence smiled before taking a sip of the punch she’d retrieved as soon as they had arrived to the afterhours function. Damn. She tasted strawberries, cherries, and grape flavors all swirling around in the red beverage, but not a drop of alcohol. What had she expected with this bunch?

Safe. Eminence sought that in her life and in her man. She couldn’t be upset that she’d caused a kink in their fortress and had to explain her verbal intrusion.

“I was just thinking how strange it is that here we’re eating and drinking in a library, and I remember as a kid being told to never bring any food or beverages in here.” Eminence smiled to sell her story. She even attempted a little giggle, which didn’t suit her personality.

A couple of people standing around her smiled. She thought she had even heard one person giving her a polite chuckle. Les on the other hand smirked. Eminence figured the only way to sell her story would be to keep her stare directly on Les. She did, almost daring him to look away first, for him to back down and let her have her due.

The rotund man wouldn’t have been her normal man to date. She’d been out with tall, gorgeous men of all different shades who ended up breaking her heart. She decided that looks couldn’t drive her decision. She had to think about the total package. A safe man with a safe job would ensure she would have a secure future.

“We can only eat and drink in this area.” Les swung his stubby arms around their space. “We can’t go near the books.” He pointed to the shelves of colorful books as though he had to show Eminence.

Eminence slid her foot over the carpeted floor. She’d worn the flats to make Les more comfortable so that she didn’t tower over him. Compromise. She recognized that her obliging attitude would only take her so far. Right now, she would use it to give Les his space.

“I think I’ll get some of those cookies I see over there.” Just like Les, she pointed to a platter full of cookies near the door.

Eminence didn’t think it could be possible that Les’s dark skin darkened even more as he watched her walking away. Then he gleamed his million-dollar smile that attracted her to him in the first place. Of course, he reserved that pleasant expression to the group around him.

Les turned away from her and faced the other librarians. He continued his dull tale of the ebook wave and catching teenagers making out in the reference section.

Of course as a teenager, Eminence had never done that. Too afraid of the possible repercussions had she gotten caught, she stayed away from risky behaviors like that. What could she gain from taking a chance on the unknown? The query had her thinking about her old high school flame who never left her thoughts even after fifteen years.

Just thinking about Keys Tanksley had her skin tingling. Thanks to his love of all kinds of sports, Keys had a massive body, tall and full of muscles. Keys certainly hadn’t been the only white man she’d dated. Eminence had dated other white boys and boys of all other races before Keys. Keys, with his blue eyes, had kept her body humming. Her flesh warmed every time she thought about him, then and now.

His hands. No matter how long she lived, Eminence would always remember his large hands that gave her both pleasure and a bit of pain.

The pain had her insides quivering. Keys had a way of questioning what she wanted. A simple kiss and taking his large hand and coasting it down her body would turn into something more.

He would stop his hand on her breast and circle his thumb around her nipple. As soon as he got it hard, Keys would pinch her nipple, increasing the hardness until she screamed. She hadn’t screamed from being hurt, but pleasure, a strange reaction considering it made her question what romance and satisfaction should be.

Other times, Keys would simply hold her hand and do this thing that drove her crazy. In the union of their joined hands, he would curve his middle finger and stroke her palm, away from nosey stares. No one knew about him brushing his fingertip over her palm except for the two of them. The sensation tickled her at first, making Eminence smile. The more he dragged his thick middle digit over her sensitive flesh, the more she imagined him doing a similar stroke with his cock inside her.

Keys would take his time moving his finger over her skin. As though he knew what Eminence would want, would like, he would press his fingertip using different pressures with each pass. Hard on some. Soft and easy on others. Each time he flicked his tip over the soft ridge underneath her fingers, she imagined Keys using his tongue on her and not his finger. With the way her clitoris throbbed on each flick, Eminence couldn’t help but see Keys nestled between her thighs and using the tip of his tongue over her sensitive nub. She felt her clit twinge now just thinking about his skilled hands.

Stroke. Tickle. Twinge.

Stroke. Tickle. Twinge.

Keys had played with her body like an expert. His strange expertise had her running away from him and her home. Why not? Her father had done the same thing, ran when he couldn’t handle the pressure.

As much as she loved the way Keys played with her body, she could forget how he messed with her mind. He had been her first true heartbreak. The other relationships she’d had after Keys hadn’t reached the level of seriousness like it had with Keys. Then again, could she really call a high school relationship serious? With a man like Keys Tanksley, yes, she could.

Eminence parked herself next to the refreshments area. She picked up a peanut butter cookie and took a small nibble. She allowed the sugary peanut butter taste to roll around on her tongue, tempting her taste buds while allowing herself a small breather. When she brought her gaze up, she caught her reflection in the shaded glass door.

Back in school, her classmates had called her gangly. In college, she’d been given the “statuesque” label. With Les, her height had been an issue. He had gone so far as to ask her to hunch down, hang her head low. Eminence could be accommodating, but she wouldn’t walk with her head down for anyone. The flat-soled shoes would be her compromise. 

Eminence continued staring at her reflection. For this summer night, she chose to wear a long maxi dress. When she moved, the flowers on the dress floated like they had been thrown in a lake. If only she could be that free, that careless.

She could if she would allow herself to be that way. Eminence reached into her purse and retrieved a piece of mail she’d gotten two weeks ago. The all-black, glossy invitation to a club opening called Reign seemed to come out of the blue and possibly to the wrong person.

Eminence stuck to the same routine. Same grits and toast for breakfast. Same spinach salad and tangerine for lunch. Same protein-plus-vegetable combination dinner every night. The only change she’d made to her routine came when she bought a tablet to read her books. Instead of going to a bookstore on Friday, she would go straight home and buy a book on her device. The fact that she’d stuck to this routine for years and still managed to meet Les amazed her.

Eminence stared at the invitation again. It had come from her former best friend, Jordyna Hampton. She hadn’t spoken to her in years, not after what Eminence saw between Jordyna and Keys, her man. The fact that Eminence hadn’t torn up the invite and forgotten about that time in her past had her scratching her head.

Eminence Dutton, account associate at Pyle Enterprises, didn’t do nightclub openings. She didn’t stay out at all hours of the night. Doing the expected would keep her employed, doing the same job at the same company. Although she could do a supervisor job, she didn’t want to take that leap.  

Supervisor jobs at Pyle Enterprises didn’t come by that often. When one opened, it did have her wondering about the possibilities. Eminence had certainly worked hard to get a plum position like that. She loved working at Pyle. Each time she’d looked at the job posting, she imagined doing the interview, getting the job, pulling up stakes in Virginia Beach, and moving alone to Maryland.

“Having fun?” A matronly woman touched Eminence on her arm.

Eminence snapped out of her thoughts enough to shove the invite back into her purse and offer the kind woman a smile. “Having a great time.”

“Oh don’t lie on my account.” She shook her head. “I know these things are as dry as toast. My name is Margo. I work with Les.” She held out her hand to Eminence.

Eminence moved her cookie to her hand holding her cup of punch in order to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you.” 

She scanned the stranger. Now she looked like a typical librarian. The older woman allowed her light brown hair to carry several sprigs of graying strands. She kept her well-worn light blue cardigan sweater buttoned at the top and allowed the bottom of it to be opened to show off her loose-fitting dress with small purple flowers. Her glasses hung off a chain that she had looped around her neck. Down to her black orthopedic shoes, Margo reminded Eminence of her grandmother. The only thing out of character on her had been the small butterfly tattoo on her hand between her thumb and index finger. Even this woman had a wild side.

The woman glanced back at Les. “He sure knows this library inside and out.”

Eminence nodded her head, but kept her lips shut tight. She certainly wouldn’t want anyone putting down her dream job. She wouldn’t say anything negative about Les’s library gig.

“And you came here with Les?” the woman asked as she scanned Eminence from her hair down to her toes encased in flat, strappy sandals.

“This is only my fourth date with Les.” Eminence nodded.

She glanced at him. Although he fit in her plan, Eminence had to account for attraction. Security or not, she didn’t feel a romantic pull to Les. Maybe more time would change that. Like the old saying went, Rome hadn’t been built in a day. She could be patient. Eminence had certainly held a grudge longer than she thought she would.

“Really?” The woman tilted her head like a confused puppy. “You don’t look like Les’s type.”

“Oh, and what type is that?” Eminence wanted to know how people saw her more than what they assumed Les wanted in a woman.

Before the woman could answer, Les approached the duo. This time Eminence didn’t cover her disappointment with a smile. As she watched the affable man approach her, Eminence fought the urge to drop her cookie and punch, and run out the door like a bad high school prom date.

“Margo, don’t keep—” Les hesitated before he said what Eminence meant to him. “—Eminence away from the rest of the party.”

Eminence’s scowl deepened. Les hadn’t called her his girlfriend. He hadn’t even labeled her as a friend. The word “lover” would never come from his lips. She had a plan for when she got intimate with a man. It would take at least fifteen dates or three months, whichever came
last
, before she would open herself up intimately with a man. Sex ruined burgeoning relationships. She wanted to get to know a man first before any physical connection like that happened.

“I won’t keep you two away from the action.” Margo winked at Les and smiled at Eminence.

As soon as Margo got out of earshot, Eminence wasted no time in talking to Les. “We need to—”

Les halted her speech with a speech of his own. “Thank you for coming to this event with me. I know a library function can be boring.”

Eminence managed a small smile worthy of Mona Lisa. “Look, Les, I—”

He interrupted her again. “And you look so pretty tonight.” Les brought his hand up like he wanted to brush a curl away from her face.

All night she’d been waiting to be touched in any way. Sparks danced over her body in anticipation of the connection. It wouldn’t be like Keys’s touch on the palm of her hand, but she would take it.

Les disappointed her. He lowered his hand and took a step back. Maybe he had his own standards as far as when he got intimate with a woman. Maybe keeping them waiting for his touch ranked high on his list.

“Were you going to ask me something?” Les nodded toward the party area with his colleagues.

“Yes.” Eminence finished off her cookie and punch, still wishing it held a bit of alcohol. She wiped her mouth. “I have this invite to a club launch.”

“Book club?” Les cocked his head.

Eminence tried holding back the laughter but it escaped her mouth before she could arrest it. “No. A nightclub. An old high school friend is opening up a club and she invited me to it. Me plus one. Care to be my plus one?”

Les looked like he wanted to reject her. His lips curved down into a frown, and lines etched in his forehead. “When is it?”

Eminence smiled. At least Les entertained the thought. “Next Friday night, about the same time as this event.” She made sure to mention the timing so that Les wouldn’t offer a reason not to go.

If Eminence planned on going to see her former friend, she would need support. A fifth date that would test their bond would let Eminence know if Les could be the one for her.

“Let me think about it and get back to you.” Les offered a solid nod to support his noncommittal answer.

Eminence crossed her arms over her chest. With any business deal, she would have to do some negotiating. She would have a week to convince him to go or she could just stay at home. Going to a club opening had her nervous. Like many things that made her nervous, she wanted to back away from it.

She would never go to a club solo. She hadn’t when she and Jordie snuck into one as teenagers. She wouldn’t be starting anything new now. Jordyna had been the only person to get her to do something out of her comfort zone. If it hadn’t been for her and that one rebellious act, Eminence probably wouldn’t have done something else risky that same night.

Eminence brushed her hand against Les as they walked back to the group. Les pulled his hand away and instead pointed to his coworkers.

Yes, she would need to decide what to do in all aspects of her life. If she wanted to make this relationship work, Eminence would have to put in some work to get it to be what she wanted. Unlike her parents, she would make sure not to give up so easily on the relationship. She would put off applying for the supervisor job located in Maryland. She had a great job, and Les could be good for her if they both worked at the relationship. No need to rock the boat.