Sultry Pleasure

She was glad for his understanding, but she wanted to scream. Her brother knew he could count on her for so much that he often turned to her instead of taking care of the simplest things himself. Like this. Why hadn’t he called AAA and used the membership she had gotten him a couple of years ago when he’d first gone off to college? She sighed quietly and wrapped a hand around Marcus’s solid arm, compelled to touch him even if it was in the most innocuous way.

“Thank you,” she said.

“No. Thank you for coming out with me tonight. I know you had other plans.”

“This is much better than the night I had planned. There definitely was no unlimited champagne at the office.”

He smiled. “If you want, I can take care of that for you. I can arrange for a Dom Perignon fountain at your desk so you can think of me every time the bubbles hit your tongue.”

His words made her flush with reaction. They made her recall the recent taste of him on her tongue. The twisting shaft of heat that had flared into her as his tongue stroked her mouth. She lifted a hand to toy with her earring, a distraction from reaching out to touch him, to pull him back to that dark corner of the restaurant for more kisses. More everything.

“That’s a little too decadent for me,” she said when she could finally speak again.

“I’m sure you’d get used to it fast.” He was talking about something else, seducing her, and she was allowing it to happen.

Diana grabbed her purse more tightly, cleared her throat. If she stayed in his presence any longer, she just might let her brother fend for himself. “Are you ready?”

At her car in the hotel parking garage, Diana fought the feeling of regret. She didn’t want to leave Marcus. But instead of dwelling on what could not happen, she got on her tiptoes to share a good-night kiss with him. A sweet, lingering kiss.

“I want to see you again,” he said, his arms wrapped tightly around her.

A warmth grew in her belly at his tone. It was a heady feeling, knowing that he wanted her. No other man had ever been that passionate about being in her company; none had shown such urgency and desire for her. It was flattering. And sexy beyond belief.

Diana gave him her number. “Call me,” she said.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” He slipped his cell phone back into his pocket. “Or maybe later on tonight.”

Diana kissed his mouth again, pulling back before he could deepen their contact, then she opened her car door. “Talk with you soon.”

“Count on it.” Marcus stepped back, sliding his hands in his pants pockets.

Under the bright lights of the garage, he was even more handsome. Golden-brown skin. The top lip of his full mouth thinner than the lower. His face sculpted and regal like the statue of an Egyptian pharaoh she’d once seen on the History channel.

Diana forced her gaze away from him. She climbed into her Nissan SUV before she could change her mind, started her car with trembling hands and drove away.

Chapter 3

Diana rolled over in bed, her short yellow nightgown twisting around her torso, tugging at her breasts. Still mostly asleep, she bit her lip and kept her eyes closed as the sensation of being bound in her clothes meshed with the fantasies playing behind her eyelids. Marcus kissing her. His body pinning hers to the bed while his hand slipped between her thighs.

Her lashes fluttered open, her lips parted, her thighs pressed together as she conjured Marcus. His golden eyes. His kiss. How she had not wanted the previous night to end. As she remembered how he had caressed her sensitive nape during their slow and intense kiss, she squirmed against the sheets.

Another movie flickered behind her eyelids. Marcus sliding his hands under her dress as he pressed her against the wall at Gillespie’s. His masculinity hot and hard against her belly, his tongue sweet in her mouth.

The phone rang then, jolting her against the bed. At first, she ignored it, savoring the remnants of the dream. Then her eyes flew open.

What if it was Marcus calling?

She jumped up and ran toward the urgent ringing from the kitchen counter. But by the time she got to the phone, the ringer stopped. She looked at the screen.

It had been her mother. She didn’t even think about calling her back.

With a drag to her step, she walked through her bedroom to the bathroom. There, she used the toilet, washed her hands and stared at her lips in the mirror, imagining they were still swollen from last night’s passionate kisses.

Last night. Marcus. Her brother’s interruption.

She sighed, abruptly feeling her body’s exhaustion.

Diana leaned heavily against the sink. Between her brother’s call for help, his rambling conversation afterward and her preoccupation with her date with Marcus, she should be dead to the waking world. But she was wide awake, eagerly anticipating Marcus’s call.

Last night, in more ways than one, she had not been pleased. After driving through the congested streets of Coconut Grove, she found her brother with his foot propped against a fire hydrant, the blinkers of his rusty old Buick flashing, the hood up. But he was talking to a woman. Some pretty young thing in a short skirt and with a glint of gold in her mouth.

Diana waited with Jason until the tow truck came, followed the truck to the mechanic’s, then drove her brother home to his little one-bedroom apartment in the middle of the Black Grove. And, of course, she hadn’t been able to simply drop him off. He wanted her to come in for a drink, to take a seat on his ratty sofa and talk about their mother, about life, even the field trip he and other budding marine biologists at the university had taken earlier that week. By the time Diana had staggered home, it was after five o’clock in the morning.

Barely three hours later, she was, unfortunately, very awake. With her cell phone in hand—she could almost convince herself she wasn’t waiting for Marcus’s call—she walked through her small house, the tiles cool under her bare feet. In the kitchen, she put the ingredients for her morning smoothie in the blender.

She was swallowing a second mouthful when the phone rang. A surge of anticipation darted through her as she grabbed the phone.

But it wasn’t Marcus. It was her mother. Again.

“Good morning, Mama.” She tried her best not to sound disappointed as she sagged against the counter.

“Diana, what were you thinking?” Cheryl Hobbes-Freeman’s angry voice snapped at her through the phone.

“What?”

“I’m looking at you in the paper. How could you?”

“How could I what?” She set her glass on the kitchen counter, confused. What was her mother talking about now? “Slow down and explain yourself, Mama. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Although she didn’t know what this latest problem was, Diana could easily picture her mother’s ruffled state. Hands wildly gesturing as she walked the circular path of her backyard garden. Surrounded by her tall hibiscus bushes and towering bright red ginger plants, her slender figure already dressed in a T-shirt and cropped pants despite the early hour. The only concession to the morning would be that her always neatly pressed silver hair was still wrapped in a silk scarf from the night before.

“The newspaper!” her mother said shrilly, her voice rising through the phone. She lived all the way in Hialeah, but the way her tone cut, she might as well have been standing in Diana’s kitchen. “Don’t tell me you haven’t seen it.”

She heaved a sigh, even after all this time not fully able to deal with her mother’s dramatics. Jason got a B in Chemistry—complain to the principal! Her sister, Luna, was five minutes late from school—call the police! Diana looked around her brightly lit kitchen, the pristine cream countertops, the curtains open to let in the brilliant sunshine. She silently fought against the infection of her mother’s mania.

“My paper just came, but I haven’t read it,” she said.

“Get the paper,” her mother commanded. “Open it to the society page.”

Society page? Her mother only bought the Sunday Herald for the mountains of coupons she could get her hands on. Remarried to a man who happily supported her, she didn’t need to clip coupons. But it gave her something to do with her days aside from gardening and talking on the phone to each of her three children at least once a week. Children she only saw every six months or so by mutual agreement.

Diana opened the paper. As she turned to the page, her mother practically shouted into her ear.

“Do you see it? Do you?”

The paper had photos from the previous night’s party. The headline read Prism Luminaries Shine at Annual Miami Philanthropists’ Gala.

The headline said just about the same thing every year. The photos and article about the gala took up all the first page of the society section. It had pictures of the women’s dresses, their jewelry, a rundown of who was who, which man was single and which couples looked radiant that night. Diana skimmed over the words to the photos. And froze.

Someone had taken a photo of her and Marcus. To be fair, it wasn’t just of them, there were four other couples, too, because the paper seemed to be especially focused on speculating about the marriage situation of each pair pictured. The camera had caught her after the party, of course. She was in front of the hotel and in midstep, Marcus’s hand on the small of her back as he guided her into his gleaming silver car.

It was a lucky shot. The photographer had caught her looking up at Marcus, a half smile on her lips while his face was seriousness itself, filled with a suave confidence that she’d fought against nearly the entire night. Nothing was scandalous about their pose, although it was obvious they were leaving the gala and heading somewhere together. Under their photo, a suggestive caption showed the newspaper had done its research: Miami billionaire playboy and business mogul Marcus Stanfield escorts Diana Hobbes, assistant executive director of local nonprofit Building Bridges, from the gala and off to a night on the town.

Diana touched the grainy surface of the paper that memorialized what had happened between her and Marcus last night. She didn’t see what was wrong with the photograph. It wasn’t as if the papers had speculated that she and Marcus were dashing off from the party to have a wild night of sex.

“Mother—” She made her voice placating.

“You don’t know who he is, do you?”

“He’s just Marcus, Mama. I met him last night.” Diana was getting irritated at her mother’s suggestion that she had done something wrong, that she should already know what that thing was and be groveling on her knees because of it.

“Turn the page,” her mother snapped.

On the next page, the reporters were done with the frivolous details of the Prism Gala and now talked about the powerful people there, their money and their business deals. There was another photo of Marcus, this time taken with another man. The two men had been caught side by side, in mid-conversation at what could have been a cocktail party. Marcus had a glass of dark liquor in his hand while the other man was caught in midgesture, his empty hands chopping the air. The other man was older, a couple of inches shorter than Marcus and wore power like his own skin. He was handsome but coldly so—his harder face was all too familiar to Diana. Her eyes dipped lower on the page to read the caption under the photograph: Power runs in the family. Multibillionaire businessman Quentin Stanfield and his son, Marcus.

She sagged against the counter. Marcus was Quentin Stanfield’s son? Diana made a strangled noise. “But—but...”

“But nothing!” her mother shouted. “That man who had his hands all over you last night is his son. That bastard who ruined your father and drove him to shove that gun in his mouth.”

Diana shook her head in denial. No, he couldn’t be. Their night had been too perfect. He had been perfect.

“You can’t see him again,” her mother said.

Something caught in Diana’s throat. “No, I...I won’t.” She swallowed. “Listen, Mama. I have to go now. I have something I need to do.”

Her mother’s tone instantly changed. “Are you all right?” She abruptly swung from manic to reasonable in a head-spinning moment, something else Diana had never gotten used to.

“It’s not because of what I said, is it?” Her voice was muffled, as if she was pressing her mouth too close to the phone. “If that’s what it is, you only met him last night. It should be easy to toss this one back.” Her mother paused. “He’s a bad seed, baby. Just like Quentin Stanfield. You don’t have to end up like your father because of him.”

Diana wanted to tell her mother how ridiculous and unlikely it was for her to end up like her father. Suicide at the age of forty-two had left behind three children and a mentally precarious wife. No one could do that to her, but because of what his father had done, she couldn’t see Marcus again. She just couldn’t.

Her fingers curled into the edge of the kitchen counter. “I’m fine, Mama. I just woke up too soon, that’s all. I’m going to get off the phone now. I’ll talk with you later, okay?”

“Okay. But call me. Otherwise I’m coming over.”

But they both knew how idle that threat was. Her mother had created a stable life with her second husband and rarely left her house.

Diana could only nod as she clutched the phone to her ear. She stared down at the newspaper with the photo of Marcus and his father. The two men looked nothing alike. Nothing. But that didn’t prevent the truth from being what it was. Quentin Stanfield had killed her father as surely as if he had put the gun in Washington Hobbes’s mouth and pulled the trigger himself.

She slowly put the phone down, seeing in her mind’s eye her clinically depressed and suicidal father walk out of their house for the last time. Cheated out of his pension and unable to work, Washington Hobbes had only seen one route to escape his troubles. And it was a route Quentin Stanfield had shown him.

Because of this, Diana couldn’t have anything to do with his son.

Chapter 4

Marcus woke late for his own party. By the time he roused himself from his bed, practiced his tai chi and made it outside for the brunch festivities, it was well past two in the afternoon. But his efficient staff had worked their usual miracle, creating a shaded oasis on the grass with tables, tents to shade his fifty plus guests from the sun and more food and drinks than they could reasonably consume while a DJ played smooth R&B from the raised stage. Maxwell, fresh from his recent European tour, stood by the side of the pool, shades over his face, while a few groupies and members of his entourage gathered around him. He was set to perform after brunch.

Biscayne Bay glimmered in the afternoon brightness, its waters splashing with a soft and soothing sound against his tethered yacht and the dock. A small boat floated past the house in the water, its sails a sharp whiteness against the Miami cityscape.

Marcus was chill—mellow and relaxed from his night with Diana. And although his body had been primed to have sex with her, in the light of morning, he still felt satisfied. Refreshed. Her effect on him was damn near miraculous.

But he knew he should leave her alone. She was nothing like the cotton-candy women who floated in and out of his bed, glad for a taste of the luxurious life before they went on to something else. Diana was serious and passionate, and eventually she would want something from him. Something he couldn’t give.

For now, though, he ached to get his hands on her again.

Standing on the pool deck, Marcus stretched under the bright sun, felt the thick muscles in his back flex and release under his shirt and his abs tighten, pecs leaping and settling with his movements. He released a long breath. It was already a good day.

“Are you showing off that sexy manliness just for us?” A vaguely familiar voice broke into his thoughts. He turned from his view of the bay to see a woman he’d once spent a long weekend with. Cassandra something. Or was it Christina?

She was a pretty girl with long, loose black hair, wearing a red bikini top and tiny shorts. She had a friend with her—a blonde with a short, asymmetrical haircut but otherwise similar to his former playmate. Her white bikini showed off well-augmented breasts and a flat stomach decorated with a diamond belly ring.

Marcus knew he once thought Cassandra/Christina was gorgeous, definitely sexy enough to invite into his bed, but compared to Diana’s understated elegance, both women looked like they were trying too hard.

“Not this time,” he said in response to the question.

“Why, honey? We’d love to see what you’ve got to show.” She approached him with a bold look on her face, wetting her lips.

Her friend was a little more cautious, but he could see from the way they were looking at him what was on their mind. Not long ago he would have taken them up on their offer, but he wasn’t interested. Marcus stepped back and jerked his head toward Maxwell, who was laughing with a couple of guys from the band.

“I’m not feeling that today,” Marcus said. “But maybe the star could use some love.”

The friend shook her head, bangs fluttering down over one eye. “We already tried. We’d have to get in line.” The woman’s eyes drifted over Marcus’s body, then settled for a long moment at his crotch before meeting his eyes. “The line is shorter over here.”

Marcus was instantly repelled. “Sounds like a nice offer,” he said sardonically. “But I’m not taking any applications today. It’s all about the party and Maxwell.”

She bit her lip, still looking him over. “That’s too bad.”

Cassandra/Christina pressed her luck, too. “Come on, Marcus.” She stepped close to him, slid a hand under his shirt and touched his bare stomach. “We can spend some time in the pool house, all three of us. Then maybe go shopping in the morning.” The muscles of his belly clenched at her touch, and he just barely stopped himself from shoving her hand away.

“Like I said before, no, thanks.” Then he removed her hand from under his shirt and walked away.

* * *

By six he was ready for everyone to leave. But, of course, they were just getting started. Women were already swimming naked in the pool while half the party danced on the long patio to the DJ’s sounds. All Marcus wanted to do was talk to Diana.

When he finally got a free moment, he took his phone from his pocket, walked away from the sounds of the party and dialed Diana’s number. But Marcus got her voice mail. He called her three more times throughout the evening but never reached her.

By the time the party ended at nearly six in the morning, he was half wondering if she’d given him the right number. But it was her voice that greeted him each time.

Bleary from alcohol and not enough sleep, he called the private detective he kept on retainer and asked for everything about Diana. Her address, all her phone numbers, where she worked, even her parents’ information. Tomorrow, he would find her.

* * *

Marcus pulled up to the large, white, two-story Craftsman house that looked newly built, a graceful building that stood out like a swan among the older, weathered ugly-duckling houses on the street. The house’s only resemblance to its neighbors was the presence of black “burglar” bars over every one of its wide windows. A sign nearly as tall as the house itself with the words Building Bridges stenciled across it in dark blue stood proudly in the front yard.

The neighborhood held the quiet of late morning. It was too early for the kids to be out of school, too early even for the lunch crowd that would walk the streets to the nearby corner store. Not far from the building, a group of boys leaned against a front gate. Their pants sagged and hair was knotted up in dreadlocks, and most of them wore the uniform of backward baseball cap, white undershirt and oversize shorts.

Marcus gave them a nod as he strode toward Building Bridges, pocketing the keys to his car. Three empty rocking chairs waited to be filled on the front porch of the immaculate house. The wooden floors of the porch gleamed with polish, and a bronze mailbox sat just above the doorbell. Marcus rang the bell and waited. A young woman appeared in the doorway.

She was slender and short with skin the soft brown of the outside of a coconut. The girl had her hair pulled back in a ponytail that emphasized her doe eyes and rounded cheeks. Wearing a white blouse, black skirt and sensible shoes, she looked like she belonged in a Catholic high school. Or maybe middle school.

“Good morning.” She greeted him with a smile, pushing wide the screen door. Marcus caught the edge of the door and held it open.

“Good morning.” He smiled back at her. “Is Diana Hobbes working today?”

“Of course!” The girl looked even more pleased, as if she was glad he had asked for Diana in particular. “She’s always working.” She shoved the screen door wider for him to step through. “Come in.”

She introduced herself as Carla as he followed her inside. He gave her his name in return.

Marcus stepped into an open hallway with stairs on the right leading to the second level of the building. Whereas the exterior of the building was a crisp white, the interior was an explosion of color. Each wall was painted a different shade, and the tile floors gleamed black.

The house buzzed with activity and conversation, excited and urgent. A pair of women rushed past him and up the stairs as they volleyed words. Their heels clacked against the stairs. From behind the pastel-green wall, he heard the whispering of printers and fingers tapping against keyboards. Very faintly, a radio or stereo played smooth jazz.

“Sorry!” Carla said as she sat behind the reception desk in the wide hallway. She scooted her chair closer to the desk. “It’s been a little crazy since Prism this weekend. We didn’t expect to win at all, and now we barely know what to do with ourselves.” She grinned.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” He knew that a Prism award also came with ten thousand dollars donated toward the winning foundation’s operating costs.

“We’re very excited!” Carla clapped her hands. “Are you here to take Diana out to celebrate?”

“That wasn’t the plan, but I’m open to that.” He returned the young woman’s grin. “The company of a beautiful woman like Diana would make my day even better.”

“It would!” The young woman leaned toward him and filled their shared space with the scent of bubble gum and hot chocolate. “She is such an amazing person,” Carla said. “Always working long hours, even after everyone else is gone. She’s tireless. If you ask me, I think she’s the person bringing in most of our donations.” She said all these things as if confessing a secret. “And she deserves a nice lunch.”

Just then, he caught a glimpse of Diana upstairs. A flash of her long legs in pale green high heels, the swish of a black skirt. A ruffled blouse the same color as her shoes. Her high heels tapped against the tiled floor as she walked across the wide space and disappeared into an office. She looked busy and professional. Like temptation itself. He wanted to pull her into his arms to kiss her breathless.

“There she is,” he said, inclining his head in Diana’s direction.

“Just give me a few minutes while I call her down. I’m sure she’d love to talk with you.”

He abruptly made a decision. “No, no. Don’t disturb her. It was a personal matter. I can reach her at home where she’ll have a little more time.” Diana, unlike other women he was used to dealing with, had important things to do, a job she loved. He didn’t want to be selfish and pull her away from that, even for a moment. His pursuit could wait until the evening. “You don’t have to tell her that I stopped by.”

“Are you sure?” Carla asked. “I’m sure she could use a break. She’s been here since seven this morning.”

“No, it’s fine.” Decision made, Marcus reached out to shake the young woman’s hand. “Thank you for your time, Carla. I appreciate you taking a few moments out of your day to talk with me.”