Falling for Autumn (12 page)

As he walked over to the railing and admired the rich South Pacific scenery, he vaguely overheard Jaleen mention his name to the women. He hoped he wasn't implying that he was his wingman or that he was single. That may be the case, but in his heart, he wasn't up for grabs.

Last week at movie night at Autumn's home, it had gone much better than expected. Listening to her describe what she'd gone through with her ex had been harder than he'd ever imagined. The experience had impacted her deeply, and even though he was a firm believer in certain things happening for a reason, it was a lesson he wished she could have avoided. The rest of the night had gone smoothly. She'd curled herself into his arms as they'd watched a comedy, and by the end of the movie, they had both fallen asleep on the couch. He hadn't awakened until the morning when he felt her stir in his arms.

With any other woman, the situation may have been awkward for him, but with Autumn, it had felt right. Perfect. They just fit.

“Care for company?” Autumn said as she slid beside him.

“Your company? Always.” He meant the words more than she probably realized.

“I'm not sure if I thanked you for listening to my story the other day...”

He cut her off midsentence. “You'll never have to thank me for listening to you. I wanted to know your story and I appreciate you trusting me enough to tell me about your past.”

“Most of the men I've come across haven't felt that way.”

“Good thing I'm not most men.” His eyes captured hers, daring her to deny what he was saying. He needed her to understand how he felt. He wanted her to know that even though the ball was in her court, he wasn't going to stop trying to get to know her. Friendship. Relationship. He didn't put too much thought into one versus the other because all he knew was that he wanted her—all of her—in any capacity.

She looked away first and stared out into the ocean, but he kept his eyes trained on her. He'd never been the jealous type, but he wouldn't spend the next six days in Bora Bora watching the other groomsmen flirt with her and pretend as if she wasn't the main thing on his mind. The
only
thing on his mind.

Chapter 13

“T
his place is absolutely breathtaking,” Autumn said as she entered the overwater bungalow that she'd be residing in for the next six days. The pictures she'd seen online had been beautiful, but not nearly as stunning as experiencing the resort firsthand.

The stilted thatch-roofed villas of the resort were nestled around a crystal clear turquoise lagoon. She hadn't been around the entire resort grounds yet, but from the minute they'd exited the boat, she'd been impressed with the attentive staff.

She walked into the living room area that was complete with beige wicker furniture, plush white cushions and decorative pillows. Slipping off her sandals, she wiggled her toes against the cool exotic wood showcased throughout the entire space. Pockets of glass-paneled floors offered an amazing view of the fish and plant life in the lagoon. The bathroom was complete with marble double sinks, a standing waterfall shower and grand cast-iron tub.

As she turned the corner to the bedroom, a large king canopy bed came into view with clean white sheets and vibrant pillows that matched the ones in the living room. Her eyes wandered to the open glass doors that led to a wraparound deck. Stepping outside, the sun kissed her skin and reflected off the water. The outdoor plunge pool looked so enticing, she almost slipped off her sundress so that she could cool off.

She walked to the edge of the deck and peeked over at the stepladder that was there so guests were only steps away from a dip in the lagoon.

“Pretty amazing, isn't it?”

She turned to the side at the sound of Ajay's voice. “Are you staying in that villa?” She had been the first person to be shown her room, so she wasn't sure if maybe he was just checking out Summer's, Danni's or Jaleen's villa, or if it was his.

“It's Jaleen's.”

“Oh,” she said, trying to hide her disappointment. “Okay.”

“Did you want it to be mine?”

She sighed as she glanced at him across their decks. At this point, she was pretty sure he knew how much she enjoyed his company. “What do you think?”

“I think you wanted our villas to be next to one another.” His lips curled into a smile. “Which is why I'm glad this is indeed where I will be staying. Even if it hadn't been, I would have made someone switch with me.”

“If that's how you want to start this trip, you should prepare for retaliation.”

“I have a feeling I'd like the way you retaliate.” Even from a distance, her body warmed under his gaze. She was already intrigued by her attraction to him, but after the way he'd comforted her when she'd told him the story about her ex, she hadn't been able to think about anything but the bet they'd made. The agreement that he could work on changing the way she viewed herself in relationships while she would try to get him to lose control during intimacy. It wasn't lost on her that by making that agreement, there was no way they wouldn't be taking their relationship to the next level.

“We should probably get ready to meet the others,” she suggested. The bridal party had promised they would meet with Winter and Taheim as soon as they had all arrived so that they could discuss the plans for the week leading up to the wedding.

* * *

It was their first night in Bora Bora, and already the day had been busy with planning. Guests would be sprinkling in over the next few days, and the only rule that Taheim and Winter had for the bridal party was that she wanted them all there early. Of course, since a couple of the groomsmen and bridesmaids were married, their significant others had already arrived, so the welcome beach bonfire was in full swing.

“Seriously, can you stop staring at her for one minute?”

Ajay cut his eyes at Jaleen. “Aw, Jay, I didn't know you needed my undivided attention.”

“He doesn't get it, Ajay, but I think one day some woman is going to make him want to turn in his player card.” The comment came from Jaleen's friend and business partner Daman Barker, who was also a groomsman and married to Elite Events cofounder Imani Rayne-Barker. All four founders of Elite Events Inc. were present since Imani and her sister, Cydney Rayne-Miles, were the lead planners for the wedding and were working closely with the resort's event planner. The other two cofounders, Mya Winters-Madden and Lex Turner-Madden, were bridesmaids and married to Winter's cousins Malik and Micah Madden.

“Ha! Y'all are some fools if you think I'm going to let some chick get my nose wide-open. There isn't a woman in the world who could tame me.”

Ajay and Daman shared a knowing look.

“You both can look at each other all you want. I know myself better than y'all do. Just because everybody in Chicago seems to want to get married lately, that doesn't mean I'm suddenly going to change my mind. I'm happy for each of you, but I'll keep my player card, thank you.”

“You say that now. Then suddenly you meet a woman who makes you think about things you never used to think about.”

“Ajay, man, I already know how you feel about Autumn. That's why I played matchmaker with you two. But I'm not the type of man a woman settles down with.”

“You're damn right,” Danni said as she approached the men. “And any woman who is able to finally break you of your bad habits will have a helluva lot of work to do.”

“Who said my habits are bad?”

Danni perched one arm on her hip. “Why did one of those women you were flirting with on the boat curse you out when we were at the bar?”

“How am I supposed to know? I was just as confused as you were.”

“Oh, I wasn't confused. She claimed you had just been in her villa and then she saw you flirting with one of the resort staff members.”

“She's nuts if she thought I would only talk to her on this vacation, so that's her fault. I never implied otherwise.”

“We can talk about your doggish ways later. I actually came over because Imani was looking for Daman.”

“Is she okay?”

“She's fine. Just feeling a little under the weather.”

Ajay wondered if that was code for saying she was pregnant with their second child. They hadn't made an announcement, but in addition to engagements happening all over the place, babies were being born.

A feminine laugh caught his ear toward the other side of the bonfire. He turned in time to see Luke approach Autumn.

Man, this dude won't quit.
Even though on his birthday, Luke told Autumn he was just flirting to make him jealous, he didn't believe for one second that Luke had walked over to her for the same reason.

“Your assumptions are right, you know,” Jaleen said.

Ajay took a sip of his drink. “About what?”

“About Luke trying to hit on your woman.”

“She's not my woman.”

“Men are so complicated,” Danni said, shaking her head.

“All I'm saying is that Luke and I were talking earlier and he was talking about how sexy Autumn looked and how a little friendly competition between men didn't hurt.”

“This dude clearly doesn't know me. And he's not competition. To compete with me, we have to be on the same level, and she's not interested in him.”

“How can you be so sure?” Danni asked.

“Look at her body language,” he said, nodding his head toward Autumn and Luke. “She's bored by whatever it is that he's saying to her. You can tell her smile isn't genuine, it's forced.” Ajay observed them a little more closely. “He doesn't even care about what she's saying. He's looking everywhere but in her eyes. He's not connecting with her and she looks as if she wants to excuse herself, but she's trying not to be rude.”

As if she'd heard what he said, Autumn excused herself from the group and walked toward the dimly lit path leading to the bar.

“Wow,” Jaleen said. “I'm impressed.”

Ajay didn't even hear the rest of whatever it was that Jaleen and Danni were saying to him. He was too focused on following Autumn, and he wasn't the only one. Luke was coming from the other side of the beach.

When he was a couple of feet away, Ajay quickened his pace and caught Autumn by the waist.

“What the—” Her words were momentarily hushed when he placed his hand over her mouth and pulled them both into the lush trees. Moments later, Luke glanced around the path, obviously trying to figure out where they were.

Her eyes twinkled in amusement as she pieced together why he'd pulled her off the path. He slowly removed his hand from her mouth as they both waited for Luke to leave. After a few more seconds, he finally went back to the beach and they were able to release the laughs they were both holding in.

“You were watching Luke and me at the bonfire?”

“You mean watching Luke attempt to flirt with you? Yeah, I was watching.”

“Attempt?” she asked, adjusting her back on the tree that she was leaning on. “How can you be so sure that he didn't succeed in his flirtation?”

“Come on, you know me better than that.” He brushed a couple of strands of hair out of her face. “Your body language was indifferent, yet friendly. You didn't want him to feel bad, so you smiled. But your smile was forced. Don't get me wrong, he's definitely attracted to you. But he doesn't see
you
.” He pointed to her heart. “Wanting to get you into bed and wanting to actually get to know the real you are not the same thing.”

She fidgeted, causing her thigh to brush against his crotch. “Am I to assume you don't want to get in my bed?”

“I'm not going to answer that.”

“Why not?”

He placed his hands on each side of the tree. His gaze fixated on her lips. “You already know I want to get you in my bed. And I'm confident that you also know I want to get to know you as much as I can, too.”

“I know,” she said, dipping out her tongue to moisten her lips. “I want that, too.” When her tongue dipped out of her mouth for a second time, he couldn't resist tasting her again.

She lifted her head at the same time that he dropped his and seized her sweet honey lips.
This is what I've been waiting for.
He was slowly learning that any time not spent kissing Autumn Dupree was a waste of time. When he wasn't kissing her, he was thinking about kissing her...dreaming about kissing her. It was crazy how much she occupied his thoughts. How much he was enthralled with her mind, not just her body.

When her arms wrapped around his neck, he felt her leg located closest to his crotch begin to lift. He removed one hand from the tree to grasp her thigh and hold her steady. Her thigh was hot to the touch, and feeling her milky skin in his hands only made him increase the kiss.

A woman this soft should never be allowed to wear clothes.
He didn't want anything damaging her delicate skin, so he switched their positions so that his back was to the tree instead. She nestled her delicious body in the cove of his legs, neither of them breaking their kiss.

Their kiss slowed when he heard the sound of drums beating in the close distance, which signaled that the Polynesian dance was about to begin.

“Our families will kill us if we aren't present to watch the dance. I think we have to give the welcome speech right after,” she said between kisses.

“Taheim will understand.” He dragged his lips from hers to place kisses along her neck and collarbone.

“Winter won't understand.”

“You're going to have to say something more convincing to get me to stop kissing you right now, because I don't give a damn if they get mad at us.”

“Something told me you wouldn't care.” She eased her head away from him and attempted to step out of his arms. “Ajay, I don't want to stop, either, but we really need to get back. We have five more days left in paradise, and that's plenty of time for us to pick this up at another appropriate time.”

Deep down, he knew she was right. But damned if he cared. “Okay, then, you have to leave out first.”

“Can't we just go to the bar and get drinks before returning? People will just assume we were there the entire time.”

He looked down at the bulge in his pants. “No can do, sweetheart. I need you about twenty feet away from me if you want me to return to that bonfire.” She peeked down at his pants before lifting her head back to his with a big smile on her face.

“There is nothing funny about me returning to that party with a bulge in my pants. It seems every make-out session with you leads to embarrassment for me. A grown-ass man looking like a horny-ass teenager.”

She let her body fall back into his arms. “Maybe just a couple more minutes,” she said as she slowly brought her lips back to his.

I could get used to this
,
he thought as his tongue continued to meet hers stroke for stroke.