To Hold and to Heal (BWWM Interracial Romance) (3 page)

             
She smiled and walked over to the bed, letting the underwear slowly drop to the floor exposing her large ass. Behind her she could hear him kicking and pulling off his pants.

             
She turned and sat on the bed. In the half shadow of the room she could see him, naked. There were scars all along his left side but his eyes trapped her attention. They flicked over her as he moved towards the bed in an awkward gait.

             
He sat down next to her, his weight lifting her slightly. One hand grasped her face and turned her to meet his mouth. The other slid between her legs finding her heat and wetness. He pushed her thighs apart, stroking her clit. Nice shuddered and moaned against his mouth.

             
He pushed her back on the bed and slid his fingers into her. He moved his fingers slowly in and out of her, letting his thumb run over her clit. Waves of pleasure were building inside of her body.

             
“You’re so wet,” he murmured pulling his hand away. She whimpered, and he smiled and moved his slick fingers over her swollen clit. Her hands tightened on his arms. “Tell me what you want,” he whispered, his fingers teasing her pussy.

             
“Oh God! I want you inside me,” she half begged, half shouted.

             
He nodded, pushing her back on to the bed. He let his left leg hang straight off the edge of the bed, using his right to hold his weight, “Are you on the pill? Or something?”

             
She shook her head slowly. He held up a finger and reached for the bag next to the bed. Digging around for a few moments he pulled out a condom and ripped the wrapper open with his teeth. Rolling the condom on, he bent towards her. The tip of his cock shivered at her opening. He rubbed against her and she moaned.

             
She wrapped her arms around his neck as he slid into her. He moved slowly, letting her body adjust to him. She gripped his back, panting as he teased his cock into the tight space of her, willing her body to open to him. He kissed her lips, keeping his body close to her as her hands pushed against him, willing him further, deeper. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer. She felt the pleasure building up in her, demanding to be pushed over the edge.

             
He pulled her up suddenly, his arms around her, her legs straddling his thighs and pushed her down onto him, burying his cock inside of her, filling her with him. She rocked against him, nonsense spilling from her lips to the sound of his moans and gasps. Her hips moved faster until finally she felt a break within herself. A shuddering wave of pleasure washed over body as he released deep inside of her warm wetness. He pulled her face up from his shoulder and kissed her gently before laying down beside her.

             
She rolled over onto her side, facing away from him. She was pleasantly sleepy. He settled into the bed next to her breathing softly. As he wrapped his arms around her, his heat beating back the sudden chill in the room, the reality of the situation came back.

             
This wasn't permanent. It was only for one night. He stroked her hand. “Stay,” he whispered. “For the night. This can be over in the morning, but everything is so perfect right now.”

             
She nodded feeling the lie inside of herself. Because it wasn't perfect. Not for her. This was a stolen moment and soon her reality would come back.  He pulled the blanket over their bodies and curled himself back around her body.

             
Nice listened to his breathing change and deepen. When she was sure he was asleep she slipped out of his embrace. The sudden cold made her shiver. She gathered her clothes up and dressed quickly. Slipping out the door quietly, she waited until she had turned the corner to put back on her heels.

             
She pulled her cell out of the tiny clutch and called a cab.

Chapter Two

             
Nice slept fitfully, with intense green eyes haunting her dreams. Finally giving up, she decided to go do some housekeeping at the bar.

             
She showered, washing the remnants of the past nights adventures and his scent off of her skin. She scrubbed what makeup remained on her face off and instantly felt lighter. She thought about washing her hair, but then decided that would be too much trouble. She was only going to clean up the bar.

             
Climbing out of the shower, she wrapped a towel around herself and took in her reflection. Bags sat under her eyes like bruises. Her normally caramel colored skin looked pale. Too much to drink the night before and not enough sleep were not an attractive combination. She turned away from her reflection. It wasn't as if it mattered. She didn’t need to give the bar patrons something else to ogle at. By ten they would be too drunk to notice that she was less than a beauty queen anyway.

             
She pulled the shower cap off and started brushing the tangled mess of what was left of her curls out while she ran through a tally of what was left to do in the bar. Floors, tables, the bar needed waxed.
The kitchen could probably do with a good scrub, lord knows that Bill isn't doing it,
she thought to herself as her brush grabbed a particularly nasty tangle. She yanked at it impatiently, pulling the whole knot out by the roots.

             
And suddenly the scent of him filled her nostrils as if it had been trapped in the one bit of hair. She closed her eyes and let herself fall back into that moment. His hands on her skin. Shivering, she imagined his hands finding their way up her dress. Thinking of his kiss, the way his mouth felt against hers, questioning, seeking.

             
She shook the thought away. She didn't have time for daydreams. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and left the bathroom. It was still early, but she could tell that it was going to be a hot day. She sighed, toweling off the remaining drops of water.

             
She pulled on her usual work clothes. A pair of cut off jeans and a tank top. After a moment of thought, she slipped on a slightly stained white undershirt instead. With all the work to do in the bar, she didn't want to mess up something nice. When she stepped out of the bathroom, the green clutch caught her eye. She walked back to her dresser and picked up the bag. It was almost the exact color of his eyes. They had been so bright and intense when he looked at her.

             
Shaking her head, she shoved the purse in a drawer. She had too much on her plate to waste time fantasizing about Al from last night. She shoved her stuff into her pockets and slipped out of her bedroom door. Tiptoeing down the hall of the small apartment she bypassed the living room. Her father's deep snores echoed in the tiny space. She shook her head, grabbed her sneakers and went out the front door, locking it gently behind her. Nothing angered her father more than being woken up from his alcoholic haze.

             
Outside the humid air was already heating up. Thank goodness the bar was only a few blocks away from the apartment. It didn’t take long before the short walk was over and she was on the front steps of the Speakeasy Bar.

             
The bar was an absolute dive. She knew that. Everyone knew that.

The damn place had been forced on her after her father had gotten too messed up to run it by himself. Unlocking the door, she let herself in. The air was dusty in the weak morning sunlight. Turning on the lights in the bar she looked around. All of the booths had ripped seats with stuffing falling out. She would have to cover the new rips with tape before they opened. She wondered if she should let the bank just take the place. Shaking her head for even considering such a thought, she got to work.

             
A long while later, the entry way bell rang alerting Nice that someone had entered the bar.

Shit! I forgot to lock the damn door!

“We’re closed!” she yelled out.
She’d been cleaning for hours and had started sweating. She wiped her brow with her forearm and came out from the back of the kitchen.

             
“I'm sorry but we're not -” she stopped mid sentence.

             
He’d combed his hair back from his forehead and his green eyes were clear and wide with shock. Where as she was standing in trashy stained up clothes, he was wearing a pair of slacks and button down shirt, the sleeves rolled up above the elbows. He leaned on the cane with one hand while the other held a gift wrapped box.

             
“I'm looking for Nice,” he said softly, not pronouncing it like everyone else in the Basket Carry pronounced it, like “have a nice day” but like the city in Southern France. The sound of her real name sent a hot shiver through her body.

             
Her eyes flicked to the picture on the wall next to the bar. The photo of her brother in the army with his unit. There standing next to him in the photograph was the man who stood before her now.

             
“Alden. Your name is Alden,” she said.

             
He nodded and swallowed hard. “Bernice? You look different-”

             
“Than I did last night? Yeah well, you clearly had a different objective then,” she said. Heat rushed to her face. Last night had obviously been some sort of set up. He’d known who she was all along and played her like a fool.

             
He lifted the hand with the cane using two fingers to signal peace. “Different from your picture.” He sat the box down gently on the nearby table. Pulling his wallet out of his back pocket, he took a folded picture out and handed it to her.

             
Nice took it from his offering fingers. The picture was from her high school graduation. Nearly eight years before. She handed the picture back to him and he shook his head. “It's yours. I should’ve. . . never had it in the first place.”

             
She refolded the picture and pushed it into her pocket. “I've grown up a bit since then. What are you here for? Putting flowers on a grave?”

             
He pushed his hair back with his free hand. “Can I sit down?”
             

             
Nice crossed her arms, wary of his presence. “Sam's been dead for three years. What are you doing here? Just swung by to fuck his baby sister?”

             
He let out a breath. “I couldn't come sooner. Could we please sit?”

             
She sighed and motioned to the table. “What were you doing at the club? How did you even know I was going to be there?”

             
He looked up at her frowning slightly. “Nice, please, sit down with me.”

             
Her face was an immovable mask as she sat, but she could feel her heart pounding against her chest.

He was really here.

His green eyes were locked on to hers as she slid into the chair across from him. She looked at the box he had set on the table just to break his steady gaze.

             
“So,” she said, fighting the shake in her voice. “What were you doing there? Did you like, I don't know, follow me to the bar?”

             
“No! God no! That was a coincidence. You saw how close it was to the hotel. I just wanted to be out before I had to do,” he motioned to the bar, then to her, “this.”

             
She raised an eyebrow. “You didn't have a problem doing “this”,” she said pointing at herself, “last night. You expect me to believe that you had no clue who I was? You heard my friend say my name!”

             
He raised an eyebrow. “No, I heard her say 'nice'. Something about you leaving her and then nice. I thought she was being sarcastic. I'm not some sort of spy, Nice.” There was a slight edge to his voice, to match her own,

             
“Everyone says my name like that. Everyone.”

             
“Well your brother didn't and I'm not from around here.”

             
“I'm supposed to believe you? That's a really big coincidence. The girl you're here to see just happens to be in the random club you went to. Yeah, right.”

             
“I'm telling the truth. I just got lucky. I'm sorry. I didn't even know who you were.
You
told me your name was Ann!”

             
“Well I thought you were just some guy trying to pick up a girl to fuck!” she hissed back.

             
“I wasn't! I told you that we didn't have to do anything!”

             
“I only agreed to sleep with you because I thought I was never going to see you again!”

             
Alden threw his hands up in exasperation. “This isn't how I wanted things to go.” His eyes flicked away from her as he continued. “I came here to apologize to you personally. About Sam.”