He’s barely touched me and my body is more alive than it’s been in years. I have a feeling that he’s about to prove my theory about men like him wrong.
I throw my drink back in one gulp and the excess dribbles out of the corner of my mouth. I lift a hand to wipe it away, but quicker than I can get it to my mouth, he’s next to me.
“I’ve been thinking about kissing you since I laid eyes on you.” He leans over and licks the droplet away. My giggle turns into a gasp when he shifts to press a lingering, open-mouthed kiss to the spot on my neck right below my ear. His stubble scrapes my cheek and jaw and sends a rush of gooseflesh down my spine.
My head lolls back and his hot, soft tongue strokes a sensual path over my pulse point. “Oh yes.” I grasp my seat to keep myself from falling out of it. The sensation is incredible.
“We should go. Right now, before we give the dining room a show.” He lets go of my hand, fishes a money clip out of his pocket, and throws a spray of hundred-dollar bills on the table. “Come on.”
“Yes.” I put my hand in his outstretched one and let him lead me out of the restaurant. We walk through the lobby like we have every right to hold hands and somewhere in my mind I’m aware of how reckless I’m being. But at the forefront of it, I don't care.
What has playing by the rules got me?
We get on the lifts with a crowd of people. He puts himself between me and the crowd and presses his hard body into mine.
I look up into his face and find his eyes trained on my lips. “I want to kiss you right now.”
“We’re in public.” I tip my chin in the direction of the other occupants.
His eyes never leave my face. “I don’t see anyone but us.”
My pulse kicks into high gear at the gravel in his voice.
So,thisis chemistry. I smile at him. “I want you to kiss me, too,” I admit on a whisper.
He moves so fast, cupping my head in one hand and grasping my hip with the other, that I laugh in delighted surprise. My laugh turns into a soft inhale when his lips touch mine in a soft series of sweeps. My eyes drift closed and I savor the feel of him, the smell of him.
It’s spicy, warm, sexy.
He licks the inside of my parted lower lip and pulls away.
I groan in protest and open my eyes to find him gazing down at me. “Damn. My father always said Ghanaian women were the sweetest. He was right.”
I grin at him like a fool. “Wait till you taste the rest of me,” I mutter.
He growls and places his hand on the wall next to my head. “That’s what I’m talking about. I’m going to make you—”
A cleared throat brings me crashing back down to earth and we both turn to face our captive audience.
Everyone is facing front and my face flames in the judgmental silence that fills the car until we get to our floor.
I should be ashamed. My mother would excommunicate me from the family if she knew I was practically fornicating in public. But I’m not ashamed, and my mother isn’t here. I just wish everyone was gone.
“Oh my God.” I let out the laugh I'd been holding as soon as the doors close behind us. “They’ll never forget us, that’s for sure. I hope you’re not planning on running for office one day,” I say through my giggles.
It’s been a very long time since I’ve felt anything like this. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt it before. That kiss was so brief. But intimate and intense enough that I’m glad we only have tonight. I want to be present and vulnerable and make the most of this because, in all my thirty-eight years, I've never had a night like this and if this is my one chance to taste glory, then I’m going for broke.
I deserve this and my body is primed. We walk in silence, hand in hand to his suite. I have a flutter of apprehension when he presses the keycard to the door handle, but my feet move me forward and my nerves don’t have anything on my excitement.
He opens the door to a suite with wall-to-wall windows that face the Tidal Basin. “Wow this amazing. We can see the cherry blossoms from here.”
“It’s why I stayed here. I love this view.” He stands in front of the windows and I admire the way his slacks hug his ass.
“I like this view, too.” I kick off my shoes and walk over to stand behind him. He turns to face me. His eyes are molten brown and restless.
“So, you’ve never kissed a girl from Ghana before?” I ask putting my hands on his waist.
He leans forward, kisses my cheek.
