Authors: Niobia Bryant
∞
Chloe closed the mystery novel she was reading in her attic room and checked the time on the watch on her slender wrist. It was six-thirty P.M.
She had seen both Devon’s and Deshawn’s trucks parked in the back about an hour ago, so she knew Nana Lil would be calling everyone down for dinner soon. She could have easily helped her prepare dinner, but Nana Lil would not let her near her kitchen. She swore Chloe would burn something, not season it right, or break a nail into the food. She shook her head with a smile.
If only she knew.
Chloe decided to have a quick shower before dinner and moved quickly around the spacious area gathering her bath essentials. She knew Devon’s routine and he always showered as soon as he got in from work. The bathroom they shared should be free and clear. She removed her clothes and slipped into her navy blue cotton PoloSport robe before padding barefoot downstairs and into the bathroom through the hall entrance.
She had found it odd that the bathtub and shower curtain were completely dry, but she quickly turned the water on to the right temperature. She stepped into the claw foot tub and pulled the shower curtain closed. She longed for a hot bath, but she always saved that luxury for when Devon was away at work, not wanting to intrude on his time.
It crossed her mind, as it frequently did when she used the bathroom that Devon was on the other side of the door in his bedroom. She knew he could hear the shower running and thus knew she was in there.
He probably wishes I would go down the drain with the water,
she thought as she lathered her loofah with Pleasures perfumed bath gel. She laughed as she began to rub her upper torso with it.
Once she felt like she had touched every inch of her body with the loofah and then followed it with her wash cloth, Chloe rinsed off and remained standing in the shower, inhaling the steam as a sort of mini-spa technique she frequently used. She felt a pang of loneliness that she tried to push away.
After her debacle of a love affair with Calvin, Chloe had successfully steered clear of becoming involved in another relationship. The pain of Calvin’s betrayal had scarred her deeply, and the wounds were just beginning to finally heal. She wasn’t going to open herself up to be hurt again.
There had been many men who tried over the years, from the rich and famous like herself to the delivery boy from caterers during photo shoots, with everything else in between. She had been wooed by flowers to actually being kidnapped by a friendly but adventurous photographer in his loft.
All attempts failed.
So maybe it was a blessing in disguise that Devon hated her guts because never had she felt so instantly drawn physically to any man.
Why did he dislike her so?
Why did she want his body?
Who knew the answer to either question . . . only God above. And no matter how rich and famous Chloe was, that was one powerful connection she didn’t have!
∞
Devon slammed the office’s cordless phone onto the base in anger. He’d been on the phone for more than an hour, along with Alicia, trying to find out what happened to the shipment of imported terra-cotta tiles from Spain. The tile was ordered six months ago for Chloe’s foyer and hall, and should have been delivered yesterday. When Alicia had called the company to inquire about the shipment this morning, it was MIA: missing in action.
If the suppliers didn’t find where the costly, handcrafted tiles had gone, then they would have to reorder. That would delay the completion of the house. That meant more months of Chloe living in the attic above him.
That was a no-no.
Could he take any more of her?
No!
She was clouding his thoughts, arousing all his senses, and filling his body with desire for her against his better wishes. He didn’t want to want her. She was another Elissa, and he wasn’t giving in to that again.
Besides they always fought like cats and dogs or ignored each other—
Wait!
He refused to finish his line of thought. He refused to even rationalize or contemplate the relationship he had with Chloe Bolton.
Alicia jumped up and down excitedly in her seat, the phone clutched in between her ear and shoulder. He focused onto her side of the conversation as she jotted down information.
“And your name . . .” She scribbled it down on the notepad. “Well, Warren Berkeley, Jamison Contractors is holding you personally responsible for getting our shipment here first thing Wednesday morning . . . uh huh . . . your number again . . . okay. No problem.”
He sat up straight in his chair when he began to realize that Alicia had found the shipment. As soon as she hung up the telephone, Devon picked her petite frame up out of her chair and gave her a big bear hug with a kiss on the cheek.
Alicia melted on the inside from the feel of his body pressed into hers, and she wished it was one of promise, desire and love, instead of gratitude and friendship.
“Thanks Alicia, you’re an angel.”
She smiled and warmed under his appreciation. “Just doing my job, boss man.”
“Well enough work for today. Will you stay for supper? I’ll follow you home if it’s late. I know how that car acts up on you.” His eyes searched hers.
What else could she say but a breathless, “Yes!”
“Come on, let’s walk over together.” He put his hand to her elbow, helping to guide her steps, after they cut off the lights and locked up the office.
They laughed over Devon’s expression when she first told him the shipment was lost. Soon they entered the house through the kitchen entrance in the back. Nana Lil was at the sink taking her medicine, comfortably dressed in a cotton caftan of bright yellow. Her face warmed at the sight of them.
“Alicia’s gonna stay for dinner.”
She smiled with pleasure. “That’s fine. As a matter of fact I’m gonna put you to work.”
Devon nudged Alicia playfully with his arm. “While you women do your job fixing dinner, I’ll go shower.”
Lil sucked her teeth and Alicia rolled her eyes heavenward. “Careful I don’t get barefoot and have a baby right up in here!”
She used both of her hands to push him out of the kitchen, with a playful swat at his backside. Devon raced up the stairs and almost collided with Deshawn, who was just stepping out of his room.
“Hey slow your roll, Dev.”
He did slow his tracks, but only momentarily. His skin felt like it was itching from the day’s worth of dirt on it, and he wanted to take a shower . . . bad. “Problem solved with the shipment of tiles.”
Deshawn threw a thumbs up signal as he descended the stairs.
Devon finished climbing the stairs, stripping off his work clothes as soon as he shut his bedroom door behind him. He balled the soiled items up and threw them into his laundry hamper. Naked, he walked over to the closed bathroom door and listened.
No sound of the shower running and the door was unlocked. He thought he had made sure it wasn’t occupied by their house before he opened the door and walked in.
∞
Chloe stepped out of the shower, the warmth now gone. She felt so refreshed and her flat stomach growled in hunger. Mentally she prepared herself to ignore Devon. She swore not to let him get to her. She reached for her towel but before she could get a grasp on it, the door swung wide open.
They both froze in surprise as their eyes roamed freely over each other’s naked forms. The same electricity crackled between them as at their first meeting. The desire was so hot they both felt like they stepped in the very bowels of hell, but this could only be paradise ... the Garden of Eden. A man and a woman that were meant for each other . . . destined for each other . . . wanting each other. Their minds said no but their bodies said yes, and eventually how could they resist?
∞
Devon’s eyes clouded with desire, missing no details, capturing everything for memory. The slender neck with a mole above her collarbone; shoulders that rounded above long shapely arms; beautiful pendulous breasts with round aureoles that oddly were large, with her nipples hardened into tight buds. Her waist was small with a strawberry shaped birthmark on one of her curved hips above long, shapely legs. The triangular bush that hid her rawest femininity was curly and black. He had a desire to play in it.
How could his body help but react.
She was divine!
∞
Chloe let her eyes devour every bit of the muscled man she saw, achingly aroused by the sight of his malehood surrounded by curly hairs, hardening and lengthening before her very eyes. Her pulse raced and her very center throbbed with desire for the thick, lengthy piece of him. His body was lean and hard, with his muscled neck and powerful chest. A desire to lick the contours of the washboard hardness of his abdomen filled her. She wanted to be held with his strong, sculptured arms and have her legs entwined with his.
Jesus!
∞
Only seconds passed, but it seemed an eternity. No words were spoken, but none were needed.
∞
Devon turned and walked out of the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind him. He was surprised to find that his hands and body trembled with desire for her. His swollen member still stood erect and curved away from his body. His heart raced, his chest felt light and his stomach burned like hell.
“Damn,” he swore. “She probably thinks I walked in on her on purpose.”
Then he became embarrassed. The woman saw him naked for goodness sake! And his body had betrayed him in front of her. How could she not think he was a pervert?!
He knew she had left the bathroom because he heard the door leading to the hallway close firmly, probably done intentionally so that he knew for sure that she was finished.
Why didn’t she lock
both
of the doors? If she had, he wouldn’t be sitting on the edge of his bed with an erection, desiring a woman that was exactly the type of woman he didn’t need!
∞
Chloe was prowling back and forth across the attic floor.
Why hadn't I locked that damn door leading to Devon's room?
She growled in frustration and embarrassment. The man had seen her stark naked and she’d seen . . . every glorious bit of him.
How was she gonna face him now?
∞
The informal seating arrangement for dinner did not help things for either Chloe or Devon. She had been the last one down to dinner and when she entered, her eyes had immediately met with Devon’s. They held for a few seconds before they both looked away.
Chloe couldn’t help but wonder if he caught a flashback of seeing her naked, and she flushed with warmth. Heat rose from her toes to her ears with embarrassment. If she had been Caucasian, she would have been beet red.
Nana Lil sat near the entrance with an empty chair to her left, then Deshawn with Alicia sitting near the back door and Devon next to her with another empty seat to his left. If she sat between Deshawn and Nana Lil at the circular table, then she would be across from Devon. The only other available seat was directly next to the man. She didn’t know which was worse, sitting next to him or across from him, able to look directly in his face.
“Hello Alicia,” she greeted the other woman as she took her seat next to Deshawn.
“Hi.” Alicia smiled at her, obviously forced, before turning her attention back to Devon.
Chloe studied the woman as dinner progressed and saw the love that she had for Devon in her eyes as they spoke. It was evident in the way she used every opportunity to touch him, and how most of her attention was focused on him. It was hardly the behavior a best friend would show.
Was the adoration reciprocated?
Chloe studied him beneath lowered lashes. This would be hard because Devon was not one to show emotions, so who knew? Sure, right now he appeared as if he treated Alicia like a little sister, but maybe he didn’t show sexual affection in public. He was definitely not the extrovert that Deshawn shamelessly was with his constant but harmless flirting.
Why did jealousy burn her looking at Devon lean his handsome dark head toward Alicia?
When Alicia playfully rubbed Devon’s cheek, Chloe was so startled by the bold move that she dropped the fork she held in her hand, sending it clattering noisily to the floor.
All eyes immediately were on her.
“Clumsy I guess,” she weakly explained as she retrieved the utensil.
“Devon, reach behind you and get Chloe another fork.” Nana Lil jerked her head in the direction of the kitchen drawers.
Devon did as asked and when he handed the fork to Chloe their eyes met again. She swore she felt the spark of electricity between them radiate through the metal.
They both thought of what happened between them upstairs.
Chloe’s breath caught in her throat when she thought she saw desire in his eyes. Under his scrutiny she nervously licked her lips and her heart stopped when his eyes dipped down to watch the innocent act.