He sucked in a deep breath, feeling the affect of Dominique’s gaze as if it were actually touching him, and he could tell she was as much aware of the magnetism between them as he was. And also, like him, she was powerless against it.
“You ready to go?” he finally asked, hoping conversation would at least soften the sexual tension surrounding them.
“Yes.”
He reached out and took her hand. “Come on. I’ll walk you home.”
In silence they walked the three blocks to the condos where she lived, holding hands.
“I don’t live far from here,” he finally said after they had walked through the gated entrance and she had exchanged greetings with the guardsman on duty.
She glanced up at him. He was smiling, and she wondered what he’d found amusing. “Really? Where do you live?”
“Three blocks away from the park.”
She stopped walking. “You live here? In this same complex?” she asked as her eyes widened in surprise.
“Yes.” His smiled deepened. “It seems we’re neighbors. Now isn’t that a coincidence?”
His voice, she noted, sounded husky and sexually charged. The sound of it sizzled along her every nerve ending. She saw their being neighbors more of a convenience than a coincidence, and could tell by the look that he was giving her that so did he.
She sighed when they reached her front door. Although she was tempted to invite him in, she decided it would not be a good idea. Too much sexual current was flowing between them, and she had a feeling that if they were alone they would overcharged and end up galvanized. Besides, she needed time to deal with this latest bit of news that he was her neighbor.
“What are you doing tonight?”
“Having dinner with my family.”
“And tomorrow?”
“I’m a Big Sister to a little girl who I promised to take to a movie.”
He nodded. “Then how about having breakfast with me Saturday morning at my place?”
She swallowed. “Breakfast? Saturday morning? Your place?”
He chuckled. “Yes, that was the gist of my invitation.”
She didn’t say anything for the longest while, then asked, “What time?”
“Whenever you get there. I get up and jog around the same time I usually do each morning, and should be back home and showered by eight.”
Dominique thought of all the reasons she shouldn’t go to his place for breakfast, the main one being anytime the two of them were alone things tended to get out of control. A part of her wanted a little excitement in her life, but still she knew she had to be cautious with everything that she did.
“Okay, I’ll join you Saturday morning for breakfast, but only if you let me bring something.”
“All right, you can bring the orange juice.”
She smiled. “Orange juice it is.”
***
“You came alone?”
Dominique couldn’t help but smile when she leaned forward to place a kiss on her grandmother’s cheek. Every Thursday the family got together for dinner at her grandparents’ home. “Yes, of course I came alone. Why is that so surprising?”
Before she could walk away and join the rest of the family in the living room, Constance Kincaid caught hold of her oldest granddaughter’s wrist. “Wait just a minute, young lady. Where is the young man I’ve been hearing so much about?”
“And what young man is that?”
“The one Ruth claims could pass for Sidney Poitier’s grandson.”
Dominique couldn’t help but grin. Everyone, including her grandfather, knew of her grandmother’s fascination with the movie star, which had spanned well over fifty years. So for her to believe any man could resemble Mr. Poitier was definitely an honor.
Deciding not to pretend she didn’t know who her grandmother was referring to, she said, “I have no idea where he is, Gramma. I don’t keep up with him and he doesn’t keep up with me.”
Her grandmother released her wrist with a frown on her face. “And just what sort of relationship is that?”
“None. Contrary to what you may have been told, Jordan Prescott and I are not an item.”
“Then what are you?”
“Acquaintances.”
Constance Kincaid snorted. “Acquaintances don’t carry on the way I heard the two of you were doing in your chambers, young lady.”
Dominique raised her eyes to the ceiling. Evidently it had been too much to hope that for once Michelle could keep her lips zipped. “You can’t believe everything you hear, especially if it comes from Michelle.”
“Ruth backed up her story.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. Now, if you’re through with your little interrogation, may I go join the others?”
A few hours later, Dominique thought that if another person asked her about her relationship with Jordan, she would scream. She tried convincing herself that their questions were understandable, since she hadn’t shown any interest in a man in over a year, but enough was enough. Heaven forbid if they found out Jordan was her neighbor and that he had invited her to breakfast at his place Saturday morning. She couldn’t help but smile. It was a secret she would share with no one, especially with her mouthy sister.
“Is there any reason you’ve washed that same plate five times?”
Dominique quickly glanced down at the plate she had in the sudsy dishwater. “Oops, I guess my mind was elsewhere,” she said, finally rinsing the plate and handing it to Michelle to dry. As part of the Thursday night dinner ritual, she and Michelle always washed and dried the dishes, since they never contributed to the cooking of any of the food. She and her sister were of the same minds that if you couldn’t microwave it, why bother?
Michelle threw down her dishtowel. “Okay, sis, ‘fess up. What is it that you’re not telling me?”
“A lot, since you talk to friggin’ much.”
“Everyone would have found out anyway. Do you honestly think Ruth didn’t know what was going on in your chambers?”
Dominique glared at her sister. “Maybe. But it wasn’t your place to give her an account of anything.”
“And I didn’t. It’s not my fault she drew her own conclusions.” Michelle giggled. “But you have to admit, there
was
a lot of action going on in your chambers. Jordan Prescott was really getting down on your mouth.”
Dominique rolled her eyes. “I really don’t want to discuss him with you.”
Michelle nodded. “Suit yourself. But will you answer one question for me, please? I promise to leave you alone if you do.”
“And what question is that?”
“When will I get to meet his brother?”
J
ordan, slightly damp from his shower, had put on a pair of jeans and was pulling his T-shirt over his head when the doorbell sounded. A warm, heated feeling settled in his stomach when he realized Dominique had arrived for breakfast.
As he moved toward the door he told himself to stop worrying about how things would pan out between them. Her acceptance of his invitation to breakfast had both surprised and delighted him, and he didn’t want to do anything that would make her regret coming. He discovered that complete and total honesty between them was the key. She knew he wanted her, and how much. However, it was just as important to him that she understood what he didn’t want, which was a serious enough relationship that would put the thought of marriage on any woman’s mind. He had been there and had done that, and had no intentions of going there again.
He opened the door and before he could utter a greeting, he found himself helplessly staring at her. She was breathtaking and enticing. His gaze, of its own accord, scanned the length of her body. She was wearing a pair of jeans that fit tight over the lushness of her full hips. Her T-shirt for once was not a size too large but was a perfect fit that managed to keep her voluptuous breast in place. However, it did nothing to hide the protruding nipples pressed against it. He wondered how he was supposed to sit across from her at the breakfast table and concentrate on his food and not on her chest.
“Are you going to invite me in, Jordan?”
His gaze was drawn away from her chest to her face, and he felt like a complete idiot for having stood there devouring her with his eyes the way he had. But he was a man and some things couldn’t be helped, like a man’s reaction to a sexy woman. “Yes, I’m going to invite you in, but I need to warn you that you look good enough to eat,” he said in a husky voice that willed her to say something to such a bold statement. His muscles pulled tight in his stomach when she smiled.
“Then it’s a good thing I’m not on the menu this morning, isn’t it?”
“Hmm,” he said, tilting his head and giving her a slow, considering look. “Adding you to the menu would be easy enough.”
Dominique felt excitement roil inside of her as she met Jordan’s gaze, hot and expectant. She sucked in an unsteady breath as she read his thoughts completely. From the first he had wanted her and hadn’t hid that fact. Neither had he been coy or manipulating in his pursuit. Instead he had been up-front in letting her know what he wanted. And in his own straight forward way of saying things and speaking just what was on his mind, intimate or otherwise, he was letting her know that this morning would be no different. Once she crossed the threshold into his home she would be at her own risk. Although she believed he wouldn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want to do, she was pretty convinced that he had every intention of talking, feeling, or tasting his way into her panties and subsequently into his bed. If she allowed it, she would be his breakfast, lunch and dinner. A delicious shudder raced through her at the mere thought of that.
And it didn’t help matters that he was standing before her simply oozing in sexuality. It should be against the law what his body did to a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Scandalous at best. Tantalizing at worse. It was obvious he had recently taken a shower. Parts of his skin were still damp, and he smelled incredibly clean, manly and arousing.
Her gaze was drawn to his midsection. The tight denim of Jordan’s jeans didn’t give much room, and his erection was indiscreetly bulging against the zipper, straining for release, like if it expected to be freed from its torment any minute now. She was tempted to reach out and stroke it, to let it know the feel of her hand, her fingers, and her touch.
She blinked, surprised at what she had been thinking. She normally didn’t have such wanton thoughts. She was a commitment-seeking type of woman who much preferred a serious and steady relationship with a man. But a part of her cruelly reminded her that a serious and steady relationship is what she thought she’d had with Kenneth, and how wrong she had been. Maybe it was time for her to take a whole new approach to life. And judging from how often Jordan had invaded her dreams since she’d met him, he was just what she needed to get things moving in that direction. Suddenly the thought of engaging in recreational sex wasn’t such a bad idea.
Her heart began thumping wildly in her chest. It was a foregone conclusion that eventually they would sleep together. She knew it, and she had feeling that he knew it as well. She was no longer adverse to an affair of shared passion just as long as she felt comfortable with the person and they both knew it was a relationship that wouldn’t go anywhere.
“So can I add you to the menu this morning?”
This morning!
That would be rushing things a bit. It had been a little over a year since Kenneth, and she needed time to get used to the idea of sharing a bed with someone again. Dominique inhaled a deep breath, returned her gaze to Jordan’s face, and managed to say, “No, not this morning.”
His gaze burned into hers. He stepped outside the door to stand directly in front of her. They stood so close they were almost toe to toe. “But some other morning?” he whispered, his voice ultra-sexy and disturbingly raw.
She only hesitated briefly before saying, “Yes, some other morning.”
They stood silently looking at each other for a long moment. His face suddenly became tense and the look in his eyes turned serious. “I don’t want us to do anything until you’re absolutely sure you’re ready. But do know one thing, Dominique. For me this isn’t a game, so don’t tease and don’t promise anything you won’t deliver.” He took a step back to once again stand in the doorway, letting her know what he expected and that the decision was hers.
A nervous shiver passed through Dominique. She wondered if she would be able to meet his expectations when the time came. His words made her realize just what she was getting herself into, and since he hadn’t let her inside his home, he was still offering her an out.
But she didn’t want an out. He had awakened feelings in her that she wanted to explore with him. In a few months she would turn thirty, and it was time she stared enjoying life to the fullest. And she had a feeling he wasn’t interested in a serious involvement any more than she. But she had to be sure.
“I’m not interested in any type of serious involvement with anyone, Jordan.”
He lifted a brow, glad to hear that. “Neither am I.”
“All I’m interest in is recreational sex.”
He lifted another brow. That was a new one on him. “Recreational sex?”
She nodded. “Yes. Sex for enjoyment, but I want an exclusive partner for as long as there’s interest on both sides.”