Just One Taste (Kimani Romance) (7 page)

“Me,” she said surprised. “How am I a problem?”

“You’re very inquisitive. But, okay, to answer your question, right now my problem is that I’m standing here with a beautiful woman enjoying a great evening dedicated to a very worthy cause and all she’s interesting in taking about is my business life. That’s most definitely a problem.”

She smiled, nodding. “You’re good.”

“Yes, I am, very good,” he said seductively.

“So, Chase, what else are you good at?” She flirted openly.

He smiled. “Is that finally a question of interest?”

“Down boy. No, I’m just curious. Do you collect stamps, play checkers, scuba dive, salsa in the moonlight…?”

“I play chess. Perhaps we can play sometime after dinner.”

“Are you asking me out to dinner, Chase?”

“Yes, I believe I am.”

“Umm, look, you seem like a nice guy, and I don’t want to lead you on or give you the wrong idea. What happened between us the other night was… It was just a kiss. It wasn’t expected and certainly wasn’t planned. It didn’t mean anything and it wasn’t an invitation to pursue me. I’m not looking for emotional intimacy or anything serious like that.”

He smiled. “I understand.”

“Good,” she said, then turned to walk away.

“Now, may I ask you a question?” he asked.

She turned. “Sure.”

“What
are
you looking for, Nikita?”

She opened her mouth, and then closed it quickly. She knew going in this direction was dangerous. She was already too attracted to him and temptation was pushing her right in his direction. “We’re both rational and single adults with physical needs. There’s obviously an attraction between us, so I suggest we satisfy our more carnal needs and dispense with the pretense of societal formality.”

He laughed out loud. “Okay,” he said slowly, then paused, considering what she had just suggested. Suddenly there was laughter coming from down the hall. They paused as a man and woman walked by, smiled and kept going.

“I’m looking for just sex,” she said plainly.

“Just sex,” he repeated.

“Yes, just sex. No commitments, no feelings or emotional attachments, just physical connection.”

He nodded. “I can do just sex,” he said. “And for the record, I asked you out for dinner, Nikita. I didn’t ask you to marry me and have my children. That’ll come later,” he joked, and then winked.

She chuckled, amused by his genuine humor. “Funny.”

“So, as they say, your place or mine?” he asked.

Chapter 7

C
hase followed Nikita’s red taillights through the city then out beyond the Key West Airport on Overseas Highway to Stock Island. She turned right at the second exit and drove down through the small community to the end of the peninsula. They continued down to an unpaved road. A few minutes later she pulled up beside a small A-frame beach cottage with a narrow wraparound porch surrounded by large mature palm trees. The house seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. He watched as she got out, walked to the back, and then leaned against the rear of her car, looking straight out into the night.

Chase parked beside her, then got out. Mirroring her actions, he leaned against the rear of his car.

“Nice car,” she said, looking straight ahead.

He nodded. “Thanks.”

“What kind is it, an Aston Martin?” she asked.

“No, it’s a Fisker Karma. It’s a plug-in hybrid. It gets great mileage and it’s very good for the environment.”

“Because of course Titan Energy Corporation is so concerned for the environment.”

He smiled. “Exactly,” he said, noting her obvious sarcasm. “You’re not an environmentalist or I wouldn’t be here. So what are you?”

“Curious,” she said, glancing over to him.

“Curious is good.” She looked away and they lapsed into a brief moment of silence. Chase looked up at the sky. The dark cloudless night hung heavy as the luminous moon shone down. A hot, sultry breeze swelled up around them as they stood side by side looking out into the silent night. It was quiet and serene. The taste of salt air laced his lips and the brackish smell of the ocean wafted gently in the air. He listened to the sound of waves crashing in the near distance. They were obviously close to the water. “It’s nice here. Very still,” he said breaking their easy silence.

She nodded. “Yes, it is. It’s peaceful. I can usually only come here on the weekends.”

“This isn’t your home, is it?” he wondered aloud, turning to see her profile. Again, she stole his breath in the deep blue dress and strappy stiletto heels. Her hair was pulled up loosely and secured with a silver clip and she wore tiny diamond-stud earrings, two in each ear lobe along with a single dangle of diamonds. Her eyes were dusted with a glimmer of shadow, and the soft brush of color on her cheeks added to her natural blush. Her lips were gently touched with mauve lipstick, and the faint floral aroma of her delicate fragrance perfumed the air around her.

“No, it’s not my main residence. I have a condo in the city, sixth floor, great view.” She sighed peacefully and looked up at the millions of stars in the sky. “This is my hideaway. I think everybody needs something like this—a place to go where they can release.”

With his eyes still hypnotically on her, he moved away from his car to stand right in front. She looked up at him with a seductive smile that nearly burned his insides to cinders. His arousal, which had started the moment he saw her three days before, was complete. Slowly, unhurriedly, he leaned down and kissed her lips tenderly, then he kissed and nibbled along her jaw and down her neck. “Tell me,” he whispered close to her ear, “am I your release, Nikita?”

She closed her eyes. He was turning the simple act of kissing into a world-record event. Her mind clouded and she floated dizzily on each heart-stopping, knee-weakening, toe-curling nibble. He nuzzled closer still, sending a shock wave of hunger raging through her system. A burning heat flowed inside of her like lava down a mountainside, pooling in a pit of smoldering desire right between her legs. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, nodding absently. “You are tonight,” she whispered.

“And what about tomorrow?” he questioned, leaning back to tip her chin up to meet his eyes. They stared eye to eye; neither flinched nor looked away. There was something there, something between them that was more than just desire. They both felt it.

“Tomorrow is a long way away,” she said.

He leaned close—just inches from her parted lips. His chest brushed against her protruding nipples. She quivered inside. “So all you want is the physical,” he said. She nodded. “Tonight and in the future,” he clarified. She nodded again. “Then I guess we should make the best of what we have right now.”

He kissed her hard, ravaging her mouth with more passion than she knew existed. It was insatiable. It was too much and not nearly enough. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her close, careful not to lean her back against the car. Intensity matched desire as their heads turned side to side, pressing deeper and deeper, devouring the rush of wanton need. When the kiss finally ended he dropped his mouth to her neck and nibbled gently, contrasting the ravaging kiss. Each tiny kiss made her stomach clench and quiver.

“You are such a bad idea for me,” she muttered breathlessly.

He nodded. “Mmm-hmm, you’re right, I am.”

She bit at her lower lip as his mouth found hers again. The kiss exploded into a fusion of surging anticipation. Wild and unrestrained, they couldn’t get enough. Then all of the sudden the fervent passion slowed to seductive teasing once again. He tenderly embraced the smooth curve of her neck, cradled the back of her head and dipped his forehead to hers. He waited a few moments, then he leaned back. “Maybe we should go inside.”

She nodded. “Yeah, good idea,” she said, taking his hand and leading him down the narrow path to the front door. She opened it and walked into complete darkness. She toggled the light switch, but nothing happened. “Hold on. The bulb must have blown out.” Seconds later a light came on in the small living room. “Come on in,” she said, “and have a seat. I’ll be right back.” She turned on the sound system as she walked by. Smooth jazz began playing instantly.

Chase walked into the small living room and looked around. It was the perfect beach cottage with distressed oak floors, scatter rugs and whitewashed walls with matching wainscoting. There were two large, white linen, overstuffed loveseats separated by an oblong coffee table topped with several cookbooks, one authored by Nikita Coles. He picked it up and thumbed through the pages.

It was a mixture of colorful food and table settings, photographs, recipes, party planning guides and anecdotal suggestions for avoiding kitchen disasters. He turned to the page with a photo of Nikita laughing with a man at her side. Chase recognized him instantly. He was her ex-fiancé, Reed Blackwell.

He knew the story. Nikita and Reed were engaged but he had apparently wanted to still play around. Reed walked out on her the day of their wedding, then returned five days later married to his best friend’s sister and begged Nikita to take him back. She refused. When his family found out that he’d given Nikita land and this cottage as an engagement gift, they were furious and demanded it back. She refused and the courts all sided with her since she’d legally bought it from him for one dollar and a kiss. That same land was now worth millions and even more to Titan. Chase shook his head. “Hell hath no fury…”

“Hey, remember me?”

He turned, seeing Nikita standing in the archway holding a bottle of wine, a corkscrew and two glasses. The lights behind her made her glow in stunning brilliance. He smiled in pure admiration. She walked over to see what he was holding. He turned to the front cover. “Your cookbook looks pretty interesting,” he said. “Where can I get a copy?”

“Unfortunately you can’t. It’s out of print now. But it did pretty well a few years ago. Wine?” she offered.

“Sure.” He put the book back on the coffee table and took the bottle from her. She held the glasses as he opened it and poured, then placed the bottle down. She handed him his glass and he held it up to toast. “Here’s to releases.”

She smiled, toasted and sipped her wine, then sat down in one of the comfortable love seats. He sat beside her. “You’re a very private man,” she said. He nodded. “I have a feeling you know a lot more about me than you let on. But I don’t know much about you.”

“You didn’t search me on the internet?” he questioned.

“Yeah, I did,” she admitted freely. They both knew everyone searched Google for everyone. “But there’s not a lot of personal information listed on you—only a lot of business stuff that seems to bring up more questions than they answer. For instance, it doesn’t mention an ex-wife or an ex-fiancée, so I assume you’ve never been in a committed relationship.” He nodded. “There was something that mentioned that you were in an accident recently.”

“I was. My car hit some ice and I slid into a tree.”

“Are you okay?”

He smiled and nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. It happened several months ago. What else do you want to know about me?”

“You have a slight accent. Where are you from originally?”

“I was born in Alaska. When I was two weeks old my mother moved to Europe for a new start. I’ve lived in France, Switzerland, England, Italy and a few other countries.”

“So you’re from all over. Where do you live now?”

“Mostly in Alaska, sometimes in France,” he said evasively.

“How many languages do you speak?”

“Not as many as I should. English, French and Italian get you around Europe very easily if you don’t go too far into the local dialect variations. There’s also Hyōjungo Japanese, which can get you around most of the Far East, and Swahili, Berber and Yorùbá are a safe bet in Africa.
Êtes-vous impressionné?
”

“Oui, très,”
she answered in French without even thinking. Then she smiled and a brief moment of awareness passed between them. They were connecting and it felt comfortable.

“I like your home. It’s very inviting. I assume the coast isn’t too far away.”

She nodded. “Actually it’s a few blocks away. This area is built up on a higher level because of storm surges. For some reason it makes it sound as if the waves are just outside the front door. Would you like to see the rest of the house?”

“Sure.”

She held her glass and took him to the small, connected dining room, and then to her kitchen. It was, of course, immaculate and filled with every imaginable appliance and cooking convenience, as well as being by far the largest room in the house. There was also a small kitchen nook to the side with a stained-glass bay window, comfortable cushions and a large selection of cookbooks on the surrounding bookshelves. “That’s a nice touch,” he said, “I really like this area. It looks comfortable and cozy.”

“It’s one of my favorite places.”

He looked at her. “I bet this is where you create your recipes, right?”

“Sometimes, but I have another much larger alcove in…” She paused a few seconds, then continued, “My bedroom.”

“Oh,” he said. The one word seemed to mean a thousand others.

She continued the tour then, taking him back to the front foyer then up the stairs to the second floor. There was a narrow hallway with three closed doors. She opened the closest one and walked in. He followed. She flipped a switch and soft lighting illuminated her bedroom. She went straight to the center of the room, then turned to him. “And this is my bedroom,” she announced needlessly.

Nikita watched as he walked around, nodding approvingly. She tried to see the space for the first time as he did. Her bedroom was one huge area that encompassed most of the top level. She’d had a wall knocked out between two of the three bedrooms to increase the size of the master bedroom suite. The room was efficiently divided into a small office area with a desk, cabinets and a lounge chair, and a bedroom area with a queen-size bed. Then there was the alcove area, which as its large size would attest was more like a second sleeping area.

Chase walked over, sat down in the alcove and looked at her. His smile was pure pleasure. “Come here,” he barely whispered.

She walked over to stand right in front of him. She leaned down and kissed him tenderly.
“Alors, vous voulez à faire amour ce soir?”

He smiled.
“Oui. Sì. Ja. Sim. Nidiyo. Yebo. Hai. Shi. Da.”

She laughed at his extended answer. “Okay, okay, I get it. I think I can take that for a yes.”

“Oh, that’s very definitely a yes,” he said.

“Good.” She set her glass down and took his hand. He stood and followed her as she guided him to the bed and sat him down. She helped him remove his jacket and then loosened and pulled his tie free. She unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it from his pants. His chest was bare and his muscles were tight and well defined. She smiled seeing him. He was magnificent. She touched him and he jerked slightly. “Ticklish?”

He shook his head. “Aroused.”

She nodded, then went over to the nightstand, opened the top drawer and pulled out a condom.

He leaned back and watched her. “Only one?” he queried.

She turned and smiled, then pulled out one more. He chuckled, got up and walked over to the nightstand and stood right behind her. He reached in and pulled out two more. She instantly felt his erection press against her. Her stomach quivered. He was definitely hard and ready.

She turned into his embrace. Having Chase here with her gave her several delicious ideas. She touched his bare chest, pushing him to sit down on the side of the bed again. She turned around so he could unzip her dress. She let it fall to the floor, then stepped out and faced him. Standing in her blue lace panties and matching strapless bra, she looked down at him. He licked his lips staring in admiration. She smiled. This was exactly what she wanted to see, the perfect reaction.

He reached up and ran two fingers over the sweet swell of her budding breasts. He licked his lips again, then let his hands drift down to her waist and around back to her rear. He held, cradled, massaged and then caressed each cheek, feeling their perky roundness. He squeezed gently then released her. He looked up into her hooded eyes. “Do you have any idea how much I want you right now?”

She knelt down on the bed, straddling him. The hardness between his legs stuck out at her instantly. “Yeah, I think I have a pretty good idea.”

They were now face-to-face, eye to eye and mouth to mouth. She reached up between them and unsnapped her bra. Her breasts bounced free, her nipples pointed directly at him. He dipped his head down to lick the tip of her nipple. She gasped and quivered. When he licked the other, her body jerked back and her stomach quaked, but he held her in place. An instant later he captured her in a mouthful of torturous pleasure. His masterful tongue tantalized her as his lips and mouth devoured her. She held tight to his shoulders as her mind shattered into a million pieces.