Pretty Packages (5 page)

Career criminals,
Giada surmised. She could spot professionals a mile away. No first-timers would know exactly where to break a window in order to best reach the latch. No first-timers would move that fast, either. Hannah’s nineteen-inch den television set was already being handed out the window from one thief to the other.

In the hood, Giada might not have called the cops. Snitching was heavily frowned upon there. It was also dangerous since the thieves just might be your next door neighbors or some relatives of theirs.

In the suburbs, one tended to look out for one’s neighbors more. Some did so out of the goodness of their hearts. Others did so because they simply didn’t want their property values to go down due to rampant crime. In Giada’s case it was a little of the former, most of the latter.

She retrieved her cell phone from her purse and called the police. She told them in great detail what was going on across the street. With her keen eye for fashion, she even described what the thieves had on, down to the expensive white sneakers on their feet.

Unlike the hood, the police were there within five minutes. They didn’t catch the thieves in the Jones house since they’d left the scene by then, but they did catch them trying to leave the neighborhood in a car they had parked up the street. The stolen merchandise was with them.

Giada followed through with her Good Samaritan act by going down to the police station, pointing the guys out in a lineup, and giving an official statement. She was assured that her identity would be protected and so feared no retaliation from the thieves. She was also told that the owner of the house had been contacted.

Later that night, the Joneses showed up at Giada’s home to thank her for her good deed. Hannah had a cake in her hand, a smile of gratitude upon her lips, and glossy eyes full of emotion.
Kentucky
had something else altogether in his eyes—respect.

Before tonight, his chocolate pools had held passion, lust, and an abundance of desire when he looked upon Giada. They had never held respect for her.

Giada found herself highly turned on by that new look. When that look was followed by heartfelt words of gratitude from
Kentucky
’s own mouth, she actually felt heady. Yet it was when he stayed behind to humbly apologize for misjudging her as shallow and self-centered that Giada nearly had an orgasm right there on the spot.

Seeing
Kentucky
so meek made Giada feel powerful. It was the greatest aphrodisiac. Even Mercedes seemed to be mesmerized by
Kentucky
as she sat silently in the corner, looking up at his tall frame in awe.

“I will gladly accept your apology, if you will finally give me that rain check,” Giada said, taking full advantage of this opportunity now that Hannah had gone back across the street to oversee the work the carpenters were doing to her den windows.

Kentucky
’s eyes bucked.

Giada smiled. She knew she had surprised him yet again . . . and turned him on . . . immensely. Now she had to keep the flames burning hot in order to finally get what she wanted—his body.

* * * *

Kentucky
’s eyes instantly lowered to Giada’s swaying bottom as she turned around and walked farther into the living room with the cake in her hands. That red tank dress she wore was formfitting and hugged every curve she had. No visible panty line meant that she was either wearing a thong or no panties at all.

Kentucky
was on fire now.

“This ain’t what you want, Giada,”
Kentucky
replied, refusing to budge from by the front door. He had to fight this attraction, lest
it
and
she
reduce him to a nothing with nothing.

“Oh, but it is,” Giada replied, licking her full lips as she looked back over her shoulder at him. Her eyes seemed to devour him. Looking away for a second, she fondly instructed Mercedes to go upstairs. The obedient dog quickly obeyed.

“I’m out of your league, remember?”
Kentucky
reminded her.

“Not sexually. Sexually, I think you just might be in a league of your own.” Giada placed the cake on the coffee table and sat down on the brown sofa nearby. “Come have a sit down, Kenny.” She patted the seat beside her. “Let me play in
your
league tonight.” Again, she licked her lips and devoured him with her eyes.

Kentucky
took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, feeling himself weakening already. “Giada—”

“Look, I probably put my life on the line tonight by pointing those bad guys out,” Giada interrupted. “Don’t I have the right to request how I want gratitude to be shown to me for my act of bravery?”

“Can’t I write you a check instead?”
Kentucky
offered, trying to appeal to her sense of greed even though everything in him wanted to take her up on her offer. Like Giada, he remembered their heated night vividly, too.

“You and I both know you can’t afford my price on your salary.”

Kentucky
could have refuted that statement, but he didn’t. That would surely spark her interest in him on a whole other level. He silently cursed the desire surging through his veins, the weakness he obviously had for Giada in order to even consider her request at all. Had this request been made by any other woman, he would have walked out a long time ago, despite her good deed to his family.

“What’s your fascination with me, Giada?”
Kentucky
asked, still trying to avoid the inevitable. “I’m sure you can find plenty of men to have sex with you. Richer men. Handsomer men.”

“I’ve had richer men and handsomer men. What I haven’t had is
you
,” Giada replied, giving his muscular body a slow perusal.

Kentucky
felt heat everywhere her gaze fell. His body was hard beyond anything he’d ever known before. Even his baggy jeans couldn’t hide his prominent arousal.

“Unless you want a quickie, I’m gonna have to come back later. I have to make sure things are in order with Mama and the house.” Inside
Kentucky
hoped that his absence would give Giada time to come to her senses. He needed time to come to his as well.

Giada nodded in understanding. “You can come back later. In the meantime, come get a little taste of this.” She leaned forward, scooped up a thick patch of icing from the side of the cake, and held it out for him.

“I already know how Mama’s red velvet cakes taste.”

“Not on me you don’t.” Giada lowered the top of her tank dress and smeared the icing across her generous bosom.

Kentucky
involuntarily licked his lips at the sight of her beautiful icing-covered breasts. Though he could tell that they’d been augmented, he didn’t care. Most men didn’t care about such things as long as they
felt
natural.

“Come taste me, Kenny,” Giada prompted in a sensual purr.

Oh, the woman was ruthless in her pursuits. She should have been a lawyer because she’d definitely just won her case with this man.

Kentucky
’s feet seemed to move of their own accord. Soon he was kneeling beside Giada. Licking from south to north, north to east, then from east to west, the ravenous man removed every trace of icing off her globes. He got his greedy hands involved by gently squeezing and kneading her.

* * * *

Giada moaned at
Kentucky
’s thoroughness. Amazement filled her heart as she watched him do his thing. She couldn’t believe she was getting so hot so fast. She was even more amazed about getting this excited for a Plain-Jim man like him.

Suddenly Giada let out a loud gasp as
Kentucky
cupped both melons together and descended upon her twin peaks. She moaned just as loudly as she watched him work that beautiful mouth of his to both of their satisfactions.

“Yes!” Giada whispered, arching her body even closer to him. Her legs seemed to have a mind of their own as they opened in invitation.

As if he was fully aware of her sensual invitation,
Kentucky
sent one of his hands below. She gasped again when he took a dip in her core and found her dripping with liquid passion. She was ready for him. So ready.

Kentucky
moaned this time, which was music to Giada’s ears. “Get that, Kenny,” she urged, grinding against his hand. “Get it now, baby.”

Instead of getting anything,
Kentucky
suddenly withdrew from her. “I’ll be back later,” he said, swiftly standing. He immediately headed toward the door.

Giada’s eyes were wide in disbelief. “You’re leaving?
Now?
Surely there’s time to squeeze in a little something.”

Kentucky
paused and looked back, giving her a feral look that made her literally tremble with need.

“If I so much as touch you right now, Giada, you will have more than a little something
in
you, and there will be more than a little something done
to
you. Since Mama is probably wondering what’s taking me so long over here as it is, I need to go before she comes back to investigate.”

Disappointment settled into Giada’s soul. “Are you really coming back later? If not, I’ll take that quickie now.” She pulled up her dress even higher and spread her legs wider in invitation.

Kentucky
let out a low growl of need as his eyes zoomed into her intimate landscaping. It was beautifully maintained and trimmed to perfection.

“I gave you my word, and I always keep that,” he said, dragging his eyes upward again. Turning toward the door,
Kentucky
paused and looked back again. “By the way, I’m disease-free. Are you?”

“Of course.” Giada felt the heat of offense in her cheeks. She immediately snapped her legs closed. “I just got the results of my latest checkup on Monday. I’m definitely disease-free, and I have an IUD to prevent pregnancy.”

“Good, I’ll need to see those test results when I return. I have mine in my wallet if you want to do the same.”

“I sure do,” Giada retorted, angry because he’d led the way in common sense. She usually brought up protection issues with her sexual partners first. So why hadn’t she done so with
Kentucky
?

Had Giada actually been about to have unprotected sex with him a few minutes ago? If so, why him? Did she trust
Kentucky
that much already?

Giada continued to ponder those things as the fine giant of a man took a temporary leave of her.

* * * *

Outside,
Kentucky
was disappointed that Giada hadn’t used her offense at his health question to call the whole thing off. Well . . . most of him was disappointed. A smaller part of
Kentucky
wanted to see this night through to the delicious end.

Chapter Five

Giada found
Kentucky
to be a man of his word. Around 2 a.m., he returned to her home just like he said he would.