“There are advantages to having a big family,” she said.
“And there are disadvantages. Everyone thinks they have the right to get into your business.”
After snapping her seat belt in place, she pushed a lock of hair back from her face and looked at him. “Do you have family members who get into yours?”
He chuckled. “They try, but over the years, I’ve learned how to deal with it. I tell them what they need to know and nothing more.” Before closing the door, he asked, “Are you comfortable?”
“Yes. This is a nice car.”
“Thanks.” He closed the door of his black Porsche Macan, then walked around to the front to get in on the other side.
***
Desiree watched him, her lips still tingling from the raw heat of his kiss. She had tried to downplay its impact on her senses, but it was damn near impossible. The man kissed as if he was branding her mouth to forever be his. As if he were learning every aspect of it, and hinting at the delights to come. His taste was still on her tongue, and his scent overwhelmed her. It seemed that after not engaging in any sexual activities-including kissing-for close to two years, every part of her had suddenly become revitalized. It was as if Cobra had somehow taken the genie out the bottle, and now, she was going to have a hard time getting it back in. She didn’t like the thought of that.
As he moved around the car, it was like watching confidence in motion. Definitely a Barack Obama walk—relaxed and smooth. But with the perceptive way his head was aligned with his every step, she knew Cobra could claim it as his own. She would call it theCobra Sexy Stroll.
When he opened the driver’s door and slid onto the leather seat, she noticed how the denim material of his jeans stretched across a pair of taut thighs—thighs she’d felt against hers when they had kissed. Why was that fact so solidly rooted in her mind?
“You good?” he asked her.
She slid her gaze from his thighs and met his eyes. Had he caught her staring at him? “I’m good.” Deciding that she would not let him get the best of her, she asked. “And what about you, Cobra? You good?”
A smile spread across his lips—a smile that could wet a woman’s panties. “Desiree, after kissing you, I couldn’t be better.”
If his words were meant to stir her, trigger strong desires within her, then their kiss had already done that. However, she would keep that to herself.
Desiree glanced out the window as Cobra drove through the streets of New York, headed toward Harlem. The car was a smooth ride, and the red leather interior spoke not only of luxury but also high energy. “This car suits you.”
He chuckled. “How so?”
She shrugged. He was conceited enough—she wasn’t going to add to it, even if, like his car, he was beautifully built and moved with effortless elegance. Instead, she said, “It gives a good ride.”
He brought the car to a traffic light and glanced over at her. She had deliberately said something she knew nothing about, but wanted to shake him up a bit, loosen some of his smooth control by making outlandish statements. Especially since sheknew that he’d taken a vow of celibacy and could do nothing about it.
She met his gaze, and suddenly the car’s interior felt heated. “And how do you know what kind of ride I give?” he asked.
“I don’t. I’m just imagining what it would be like because of your personality and the image you project. But that doesn’t mean I want to find out,” she added quickly. Then, deciding to poke the bear again, she said, “Besides, I would hate for you to disappoint me.”
“Did I disappoint you with my kiss, Desiree?”
She decided to be honest. “No.”
“Trust me, I wouldn’t disappoint you in the bedroom. I’ve never disappointed a woman I’ve spent time with. No real man would.”
Aimery had. And he was rumored to be the hottest man on legs.“Let’s just say I’ve experienced the opposite.”
She looked away when she realized, a little too late, that she had given Cobra too much information.
“Trust me, Desiree, I don’t doubt my skills in the bedroom. And I don’t even have any doubts about yours.”
She shrugged. Then, thinking she’d poked the bear enough for now, especially when she had revealed more about her personal business than she should have, she glanced out the car’s window, appreciating the beauty of the night, as well as the silence between them.
When she’d first arrived in New York to live with her grandfather fourteen years ago, she’d moved into his place on the Sharpe Estate in Long Island. She loved the house because being there had reminded her of all the summer visits she’d had, when she was a child—to see her grandparents. Her grandfather had worked a lot back then, but the time Desiree had spent with her grandmother was still a special memory for her.
Desiree could vividly recall her grandmother, who had died when she’d been around ten. She remembered accompanying her parents to the funeral and how sad she had been knowing she would never see the kind and wonderful grandmother whose name she had been given.
She remembered Allison Sharpe as a stately, refined, and beautiful woman who always smiled and had a heart of gold. And during those summers, she’d also had plenty of love, time, and attention to give to a little girl who’d been neglected by her parents.
