Was it Good for You Too? (22 page)

“No. Stop!” Tailan panted.

He froze. “Did you say no?”

She nodded, and he released her instantly.

“What kind of games are you playing, Tai?” he said through his teeth.

“There's a condition,” she said.

“Condition?” Delvin repeated. “A condition for what?”

“For having sex with you.”

“Let me guess,” he crossed his arms and he continued through his teeth. “He wants to see my medical history first,” Delvin huffed, “This guy is something else! He gets to make love to you
plus
four other women and—”

“Amir wants to watch.” Tailan crossed her arms this time.

Delvin's erection did a complete nose dive. He peered at her, taking in the solemn expression. “What. Did. You. Say?”

“Amir's one stipulation is he gets to watch us having sex.”

“Oh, so I did hear it right,” he snapped, glaring at her. “What kind of sick, twisted—”

“Not sick. He's seeking to prove a point.”

“And what point is that?” he snapped.

“I can't tell you,” she answered, her golden skin flushed an angry red. “All I can say is that if he's right, one time is all it'll be between us.”

“And if he's wrong?”

She shrugged.

“Suppose I don't want to play his foolish game?”

“Your loss,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone that caused him to bristle. “Because unlike you, I have a marriage that provides everything I need—including the option to take a lover.”

Delvin was against her in a hot second. “Suppose I take you right here and to hell with what he wants?”

“We both know you won't,” Tailan answered. “I know you know that
no
means
no
.”

She was right. Taking a woman against her will was something he would never do. What had happened to Tailan growing up was one of the main reasons he didn't do rape scenes in his movies or even scenes where the lines could be blurred. That had limited some roles for him, but he was adamant.

Delvin backed away from her and said, “So when is this tryst supposed to take place?”

“The when and where is your choice,” Tailan stated. “Actually, everything's on you.”

He grinned, rubbing his jaw. “We might as well have a central location … something close by. The best place for this to happen is—your bedroom.”

“He'd never allow it,” she gasped. “That's our Sanctuary. Our place. Don't be an ass, Delvin!”

“You said it was my choice,” he protested, feigning an innocence he didn't feel. “I choose
his
bed.”

“Then I refuse!” she said. “I won't have that memory with me for the rest of my married life.”

“Who says you're going to be married to him for the rest of your life?!” Delvin waited several moments before he conceded with a mild, “All right. But I have a request of my own.”

Tailan stepped away from him, circling around to the other side of the overstuffed sofa.

“What's good for him, is even better for me,” Delvin said as he tracked her every feline move. “If he wants to watch me with you, then I want to watch
him
with you.”

“Now
that
will never happen.”

“Yes, it will,” he said. “You fight for him in ways you never fought for us.”

Tailan made fast tracks for the door. “I won't dignify that comment with a reply.”

Before her hand touched the lock, Delvin had her pinned to the wall. Their breaths mingled as he pressed a hand between her thighs and stroked softly, teasing her to the point of distraction.

“Then let me rephrase it,” he groaned. “Tai, you're missing
his
point. He demands to watch you with me. That shows how much he loves you,” he spat. “How much he
cherishes
you. I'd
never
allow another man to have access to my most prized possession.”

She stared up at him and gritted through her teeth, “And therein lies the problem—possession.” Her hand squeezed his wrist, and Delvin stroked her with a touch so light, she trembled with the onset of an orgasm.

Tailan struggled to get out of his reach, “I belong to him because I want to, not because I have to.”

Delvin felt his cheeks heat up.

“Yes,” Tailan forged on when he said nothing. “There's a pointed difference between you two—he is sacrificing his queen for a night to ensure the balance of his kingdom. You, on the other hand, would wage war and destroy all you've built to be the winner of
nothing
.”

Delvin did everything in his power to rein in his anger. He eased his play between her thighs and whispered, “I know all about sacrifice. I've lived with it for seven years.”

“Your choice, not mine. I never had to wonder who loved me more—the man who put me first, or the man … who threw me away,” she said, leveling an icy gaze at him.

He abruptly released her and was filled with so much tension he could taste it. Delvin leveled her with a resentful gaze.

Tailan gave it right back with a haughty side order of, “I'm still wet. Excuse me while I go home and make love to my
husband
.”

Delvin's tethered control snapped its bonds. He pressed her again to the brick wall and spread her creamy thighs. Tailan's eyes had an ugly gleam behind them as she flashed a bitter smile and said, “Check.”

“Really?” Delvin growled.

Tailan shivered as he slid her lace panties to the side. His long fingers teased her sweet spot.

Her lids dipped. As he played, his mouth pressed hot sultry words against her ear. “Let him watch.” He circled her tiny knob of nerves. “I look forward to his look of defeat when you scream my name.”

He sank two long fingers inside her and stroked. “And a word of caution to you as well, my dear.” He pulled out his fingers, which were slippery from her nectar and focused solely on her pearl. “It's been months since I've indulged my
needs
.”

Delvin looked at her. Her eyes were glassy with arousal, her face flush with passion.

He inserted his fingers again and treated her to a series of caresses against her pearl with his palm. Her panting gasps were like music to his spiraling hunger.

“I intend to unleash all my pent up passion with every thrust into your body,” he warned. “Your cries of pleasure and screams of ecstasy will fuel me until you beg me to stop.”

His fingers were lighting quick as he took her over the edge. She cried out, but it was never heard. He swallowed her scream as she climaxed in shivering ripples.

Delvin ended the kiss as Tailan's legs turned to rubber and she sagged against the wall. “Making up for lost time will be the most intensely satisfying experience of your entire life.”

Delvin waited while she mechanically straightened her clothes. When she appeared somewhat composed he teased, “Check
mate
.”

With that, he released her, and she practically staggered out of the basement.

“Send your husband my regards,” he called after her.

Chapter 26

Tailan took a seat at the dining room table. Amir was on her left, and Delvin sat to her right. Her husband's face was nearly unreadable. Delvin's expression was calculating and shielded. The encounter with him yesterday had unsettled her to a point that it had her twitchy. Delvin's touch, his lips were like fire and ice fighting for dominance. She never felt that way with her husband. Amir brought a different kind of pleasure.

“He understands what is required?” Amir asked.

Tailan took a sip of coffee, studying both men intently.

Delvin drawled a simple, “Yes,” in a deeper voice than she had ever heard, then gave Amir a lopsided grin.

Amir was not pleased with that answer or Delvin's stance. “Understand that I am only doing this because it is necessary.”

“Yes, but we both know that this is all about Tailan,” Delvin admitted. “Maybe that's what you're afraid of.”

“I am not so naïve that I am blind to what holds her in marriage to me,” Amir confessed. “I only know that you broke her heart once, and it almost killed her and the daughter she carried.
Your
daughter.”

Tailan choked on her coffee and coughed into her napkin.

Delvin's smile disappeared as he looked to Tailan for an explanation.

Amir slid a glance in Tailan's direction and said, “I did not take her for one who would wish to endure that kind of disappointment again.”

“Oh, I won't disappoint on any level.” Delvin eased back in his chair. “Your daughter, Neena, is accepted into my family with no issues. Can you say the same about my daughter?”

Tailan's coffee cup clattered on to its saucer. “You two keep this pissing contest up, and I'll send you both packing.”

Both men dialed it back a notch.

Delvin caressed her arm. “You said I should choose the time and place as well as what happens between us.”

Tailan looked over to Amir. His stare was deadly. She eased out of Delvin's reach. “That's not allowed.”

“What are you talking about?” Delvin asked, frowning.

“Open displays of affection,” she said softly. “It's forbidden in front of him.”

Tailan jumped, and Amir flinched as Delvin burst out laughing. He was gasping, trying to pull it together. Tailan shot him a look of pure irritation.

Delvin came to his senses and said, “That right there, is one for the books. He can't watch me touch you, but he'll be all eyes when it comes to me making love to you?”

“We aren't making love right now,” she countered and edged a little closer to Amir.

“This is foreplay,” Delvin teased with a smile Lucifer would envy.

“You're going to push him too far, Delvin.” She locked a steely gaze on him. “And you'll be the one with regrets.”

Delvin gathered up his glass of water and took a swallow. “You're forgetting one thing,” he said, with a pointed look to Amir. “I have nothing to lose. Neither of you have considered or taken into account that
this
man”—he thumbed his chest—“can grow, learn, and … change.”

Tailan focused on Delvin. Her eyes narrowed as though seeing him for the first time. This arrogant side of him, the competitive side of him, were two of the things she least liked about him when they were growing up. His relentless determination was exhausting, but his delusion that he was entitled to things was the main reason their relationship fell apart.

“Have you changed?” Tailan asked in a solemn tone. “Have you really?

“You shall see.” Delvin stood and swept a look to both of them. “I choose this Saturday. I'll start with breakfast, a walk on the lake like we used to, dinner, maybe theatre…” He cast his eyes directly to Amir. “Feel free to join us for the grand finale.”

“I said
one night
,” Amir shot back.

“Oh, but making love starts long before one hits the sheets,” Delvin countered, reaching into his blazer pocket for his keys. Delvin tossed eye contact between Tailan and Amir and explained, “It starts in the mind. Tailan is not the same woman that I knew back then. Surely you won't have an issue with me finding out more about the woman who will share my bed for
one night
. She deserves at least that.”

Tailan's heart was pounding. She had to take her hand off of the cup to keep it from clanking on the saucer.

Amir glared at Delvin, his hands gripping the edge of the table.

“Goodnight, wife,” Delvin said.

When Amir didn't react to the jaunt, Tailan had the urge to kick Delvin as he moved to the door. He looked over his shoulder at Amir and added, “Goodnight …
husband
.”

Chapter 27

Delvin had pulled out all the stops for his evening with Tailan. She was still reeling from the whirlwind day they had spent together. She could tell that he had put a lot of thought into the preparation of their outing. A light breakfast early in the morning. A leisurely walk on the lakefront and then over to Michigan Avenue for a mini shopping spree. Lunchtime was just plain old-school fun as they indulged in a ride on Navy Pier's Ferris wheel, a few slices of Italian heaven at Flo & Santo's, then capped it off with some naughty but very tasty Garrett's Cheese and Carmel popcorn.

Tailan had to admit, the outing was relaxing and enjoyable. In those carefree hours she spent with him it was as if she was a kid again—a young girl traipsing down the path of love and friendship. Delvin had wanted her to remember their good times. And at the moment, she was hard-pressed to ignore the feelings.

The day was lazy, but the evening crept closer. Somehow a part of her was delighted that the time to share their passion had arrived.

Delvin didn't skimp on the location for their one night. On the contrary, the minute she, Delvin, and Amir entered the Mermaid Towers II on Magnificent Mile in downtown Chicago, she realized that Delvin was playing for keeps. This suite was a hot commodity, with a waiting list six to nine months long at any given time.

Delvin had to have purposely selected the suite to annoy Amir. The space shouted success, luxury, and glamour—all the things Tailan deserved, yet Amir was not in a position to provide.

As they toured the suite, Amir said, “I see you spared no expense for tonight, Delvin.”

Delvin led them to one of the massive bedrooms and turned on the lights. “I have your wife for one night.” He turned, giving Amir an arrogant look. “I need to make every minute count.”

He showed them to the master bath. “I'll give you two a moment to prepare.” His eyes delivered heated sparks to Tailan. “When I return, the three of us will begin.”

Tailan blinked in Amir's direction and again to Delvin. “I don't understand. Tonight will be just us.”

Delvin shook his head. “No,” he looked to Amir. “This game you're playing starts tonight—ends tonight.” He looked directly to Tailan. “You both agreed I get to choose the when and the where.”