Sizzling Seduction (18 page)

She had never hated Celia.

She probably never would.

Celia did know that Sophie could no longer be Celia’s friend. If Sophie had tried to continue to be Celia’s friend after she picked her brother over their friendship, she would have been even more miserable than she had been al these years. She knew that with certainty.

She had made peace with the Lord many years ago when she decided that she wouldn’t act on her desires. But she had never made peace with herself. And for that reason, happiness was never destined to be hers.

P
atrick couldn’t believe that he had finaly found
the one.

He certainly never knew or believed that a woman like Aisha Mil er could have possibly existed. Just being around her soothed al the cold and hardened parts of his life. And he was so in love with her son that he couldn’t wait until the day when he could make it official and become a real father to the young boy.

The only problem was that Patrick wasn’t sure if Aisha felt the same way he did. He was wil ing to lay it al on the line and stick around to find out, though. After months of getting to know her and her son, he had fal en madly in love with both mother and child.

He had a special lineup planned for her Valentine’s Day weekend that he hoped she would enjoy. She was spending the weekend at his place. The first night he would wow her by preparing a fancy dinner, and on Saturday night

—Valentine’s Day—he was going to take her out for dinner and dancing at a fancy nuevo soul supper club. It was going to be a group outing with his brothers and their wives.

Luckily for him, he prepared meals al the time at the fire station. But this meal was special. It was his first weekend off in a while and he wanted to make it extraordinary for Aisha. She had been holding up rather wel , letting Dil on go with his father for the weekends. And Patrick knew it was extremely difficult when he had to work or when she didn’t have the book club to keep her busy. But she kept an upbeat attitude and she had at least stopped talking about taking Dil on and moving away.

“It smel s wonderful in here.” Aisha sniffed the air and pouted. “If I weren’t about to enjoy this wonderful meal, I would be jealous of you in here cooking like this.”

“Don’t be jealous, love. As Dil on says, you make the best baked chicken and rice in the world.” He chuckled when he noticed her eyes narrow. “Here, taste this.” He held the wooden spoon, fil ed with sauce from his chicken Marsala, to her lips and she sipped.

“Mmm…You are awesome. That was so-oo good. I’m starving. Feed me. Feed me.”

“Patience, love, patience.”

“You need any help? I can do something or make something. I can do the salad.”

“Okay…the veggies and stuff are in the crisper and—”

“Cool! I’ve been dying to try this thing I saw Pat and Gina do with a salad on ‘Down Home with the Neelys’—”

“You know what? This is my treat for you and we can’t have you in here working when it’s supposed to be my treat to you now, can we? How about you go and pick out some music instead?”

She stopped by the refrigerator door and frowned. “But I want to help you.”

“I know, and you can help by relaxing, turning on some music, having a glass of wine and letting me spoil you this evening.”

“Mmm-hmm…How about if I just made a plain old boring salad and didn’t try to create anything I’d seen on TV?

Would you want me to help then?”

“If that’s possible for you to do. If you can take out and use only the ingredients I have set aside for the salad, then yes, I’d love for you to help me.”

“Fine, I’l make your old boring salad.”

“Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, croutons and Italian dressing. It’s al in the fridge.”

“Mmm-hmm…” She opened the fridge and took out the ingredients. She washed them and sliced and diced them into a perfect salad.

“Now wasn’t that easy?” He teased.

“Too, easy…Hey how about I boil up some eg—”

“Nah, that’s fine.”

She poked out her lips and scrunched up her eyes for a minute before brightening. “That bottle dressing is so pedestrian. If you have some EVOO and some mustard and some vinegar, either red wine vinegar or apple cider, although I’m sure I could improvise and use regular vinegar.

I don’t see why not.” She got up and started looking through the cabinets.

“Um…EVOO? What’s that? And more important, what’re you doing?”

“I’m going to make a wonderful homemade salad dressing for your regular, plain, boring salad. EVOO is what Rachael Ray cal s extra virgin olive oil. Cute, huh?”

“Yeah, cute, but unfortunately, we don’t have time for a homemade dressing today. Dinner is ready and I can’t wait for you to taste it. So just have a seat and I wil serve you, my sweet.”

“Oooo…I like that. Okay, but next time, I’m cooking for you. I’ve got a bunch of new recipes I want to try out.”

“And I can’t wait to try them. But tonight, it’s al about me serving you. So go sit down.” He gave her a gentle pat on the behind and she giggled.

Once the food was served and they were both seated, he poured her a glass of sauvignon blanc and then poured himself a glass. He held up his glass for a toast and she fol owed.

“To us.”

“To us,” she repeated.

“So, tel me, love, what is it about trying new things in the kitchen that moves you so much? You’re a good cook.”

“Yeah, yeah, I make the best baked chicken and rice…

Boring…”

“Have you thought of maybe not improvising with the new recipes until you’ve been cooking them for a while first? Or maybe you can improvise with the so-cal ed boring dishes you already make wel …throw a different seasoning on the baked chicken, you know?”

She shot him a look and twisted up her lips. “I suppose.”

She took a bite of her food. “This is real y good. The chicken is so tender and juicy. And the sauce…Mmm…

This sauce is to die for. I think I official y can’t stand you now. Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“The firehouse. We are each responsible for meals on different days and where most of the guys would have their wives make something and bring it in, as a single guy, I had to prepare my own dishes. And ordering out for that bunch would have burned a hole in my pocket after a while.”

She nodded and then she got a devilish look on her face. “So have you had any more scantily clad women breaking into your home lately? Whatever happened to Crazy Courtney? We haven’t heard from her in a while.”

“Thank goodness! I went to visit Aunt Sophie the other day and she said that Courtney hightailed it back to Trenton and is no longer talking to her.”

“How’s your aunt?”

“She’s fine. She was surprised to see that I stil stopped by to see her. I think my brother, Jason, my dad and I are the only ones who do. But as crazy as she is, she is stil my aunt. She’s always tried to look out for me. Plus, she knows better than to try and do anything to mess up my relationship with you. I think Aunt Sophie has final y calmed down.”

“I don’t know if I’d count her out yet. From what I heard from Minerva and Samantha at the book club, Aunt Sophie is a mess. She gave Penny and Samantha hel . And she tried to give Minerva hel , too.”

Patrick laughed. “Minerva is a tough cookie. She has to be to put up with Lawrence.”

“Your brother is a big ol’ softie, just like you.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that. He has a reputation to uphold. And so do I. I’m gruff and grumpy Patrick.”

“With a smile like that? I don’t think so. And I know Cee Cee, Dil on, Joel Jr. and Jason Jr. would disagree. No, let’s face it, you’re a big ol’ teddy bear.”

He winced before chuckling. “Speaking of my partner in crime, how’s Dil on adjusting to his weekend visits with his dad? How are you adjusting?”

“I think we’re both adjusting as wel as we can. I’l tel you what made me feel a little better about it is today before he came for Dil on, I was having a hard time getting Dil on to get ready. And Dil on said his dad hardly spent time with him anyway. He spent most of his time with Grandmother and Grandfather.”

Disgusted, he snapped, “So he’s pawning Dil on off on his parents?”

“No,
my
parents! Can you believe that? My mother can’t cal me or come see her grandson at my house because her husband, my father, forbids it. But she can babysit her grandson during the weekend for her trifling, abusive, lowlife ex-son-in-law. Does that make any sense to you?”

Patrick had to lean back and scratch his head on that one. He couldn’t imagine anyone being able to keep his mother away from her grandbabies. Also, the thought of Bil taking Dil on away from his loving mother over the weekends only to leave him in someone else’s care both baffled and angered Patrick. He couldn’t understand it. If he were lucky enough to have a son like Dil on one day, he’d gladly spend every moment he could with the kid.

“The man is an idiot. And, sorry to say it, but your parents are idiots, too.”

But their loss is my gain, because I don’t ever intend to
let you go.

“Yes. I know. The thing is, even though I’m glad my mom is getting to spend time with Dil on, and I know she real y wants to, she’s too afraid of my dad to just come to my house and see her grandson. I don’t want Dil on picking up any bad habits from them, either. My dad can be real y harsh and some of the things he says to my mom…The way he speaks to her…his tone…” She shuddered.

“Dil on wil know better, Aisha. We’l teach him better.”

“Dil on wil know better, Aisha. We’l teach him better.”

“We?”

“That’s right—
we
. I’m in it for the long haul, love. You just try getting rid of me.”

She broke out laughing and took a sip of her wine. “Oh, I gave up trying to do that a week after I met you. It became very clear to me that you had no intention of going away. So I figured I’d let you hang around.”

“That’s right, smart girl. I like my women smart.” He got up and started clearing off the table.

“And you came in handy, too. Just look at this delicious meal you prepared.” She got up to help him.

They worked together to clean up the kitchen and put away the dishes. Then he poured them each another glass of wine and led her into the living room. He turned on the CD player and Luther’s “Take You Out” fil ed the room. He took their glasses, placed them on coasters and pul ed her into his arms.

“You know this is my theme song. You had a man begging for a date for a long time before you said yes. I felt like Luther…” He sang along with the lyrics. “Can I take you out tonight?”

She grinned and swayed with him to the mel ow beat and Luther’s soulful crooning. “I didn’t make you beg that long. And al those outings we went on with Dil on felt a lot like dates to me.”

“A brother had to do what a brother had to do. I had to take any opening I could, because I couldn’t let you get away.”

“Aw…That’s the cutest reason for stalking and using a woman’s kid to get at her soft spot I ever heard.” She laughed when he frowned.

“I’m not a stalker. That’s my brother, Lawrence.” He spun her around.

“I’m going to tel him you said that when we see him tomorrow.”

He gave her another whirl. “Tel him. I tel him that al the time.” He chuckled and pul ed her close when another of Luther’s greatest hits came on.

“I love how close your family is, how tight that family bond is…. Everyone is just so nice and so close. I’m glad Dil on is seeing this. I wouldn’t mind at al if he grew up to be the kind of man you and your brothers are.”

His heart became so ful he almost stopped moving.

Hearing those heartfelt words from her almost did him in. It almost made him tel her how much he loved her and never wanted to let her go. It made him want to tel her that he would be proud to be a role model for her son; that he wanted to be a second father to her son if she’d let him. But she wasn’t ready to hear any of that. Even though he had made more progress with her in the past few months than he ever could have imagined, there was no way she was on the same page as he was.

“Dil on is a great kid and I know he’s going to grow up to be a fine and upstanding man.”
I’m going to make sure that
he and the rest of our children are all the best people they
can be, love
. Since he couldn’t tel her what he was feeling, he figured he would show her.

he figured he would show her.

He swooped down, captured her lips in a kiss and poured al the love his heart was feeling into it.

Aisha swore that she had never been kissed like this before—ever. Every time he kissed her he almost made her believe that he was real y hers forever, but this time she did believe it. The kiss gave every single doubt in her mind a run for its money.

His tongue moved forward as if it were on a mission. It cased the perimeters of her mouth with deliberate and decided probing. He flicked the roof of her mouth, caressed her inner cheeks and trailed her teeth. He seemed to be getting to know every part of her mouth and she was more than wil ing to let him.

His hands tightened around her bottom, squeezing and pul ing her forward. The closer she got to him, the more she could feel his heated arousal for her. She moaned because the memories of each mating they had shared were just
that good
and the anticipation of what was to come was just
that unbearable
.

They moved together to the music for a while, tongues and bodies tangled in a heated connection that neither wanted to break. It was only when their desire had sizzled over to the point of almost short-circuiting and exploding that he broke the kiss and slowly, methodical y begin to undress her. He removed her cream sweater set first, leaving the pearls and her red lace bra.