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  “We are making memories, not caring about what others think. Also, I want to see the movie.”

  She threw her hands up and giggled. “We’re going to see Trolls. I can’t wait.”

  He took her hand again. Each time he did that, her heart skipped a beat. “Come, lazy bones. I have to find the right background for a selfie. We can’t end this day without a picture to remember it.”

  “Awe, my first picture memory.” She giggled and limped along.

  It was after nine o’clock when Logan walked her to the door. Nikki leaned her back against it, not wanting the day to end. Without passing words, the weight of his body pressed against her as he took the key from her hand and unlocked the door.

  “Home safe and sound,” he said in a husky low voice.

  The semi-dark apartment had a soft glow from the lamp that was set on a timer for when Nikki worked late. “Yup, home safe and sound.” She had to do something and not let the night end like two teenagers coming home from a movie. “Do you want a glass of wine? There is some left from last night?”

  “I should get going. I want to check on the restaurant before the crew starts cleaning up.”

  “Oh, right. You have been gone all day.” She kept her voice upbeat although she was disappointed he declined. Had he stayed, she would’ve let him peep at her bruise. “I had a great time today, Logan. Thank you so much for creating a childhood memory for me.”

  Logan took a step closer, smiled, and touched her lip, tracing the shape with his index finger. “My pleasure.”

  Nikki got lost in his warm dark eyes, thick lashes, and the even the stubble on his square jaw. Dark hair framed his beautiful face. And that mouth. Don’t get her started on how full and sensual it was. Her lips parted automatically.

  He leaned down to kiss her. The kiss started off tenderly, lips lightly pressing before her mouth opened, allowing his tongue to enter. Nikki’s body melted closer to him as the kiss deepened, drawing out a passion that had her core drenched. His hands moved slowly up her side, higher until one hand reached her bare shoulder, and finally, the palm of his hand cupped the back of her neck. His lips trailed the tender area behind her ear.

  Her breath erupted in little pants. Her eyes closed as his other hand cupped her breast, feathering a thumb across her nipple. She pulled back. “Logan, where is this going?”

  “Wherever you want it to go,” he panted against the side of her mouth.

  His hand massaged her breast harder, making it impossible for air to leave her lungs. He kissed her shoulder, chest, chin and eyes. Nikki bit her lower lip, her body on fire and in overdrive. This, she said to herself, is exactly how sex should feel. This is what I’ve been missing.

  Logan had wrangled her into the bedroom, where they tore off each other’s clothes. Naked, Logan lowered her onto the bed and lay next to her, his hands kneading her breasts, gently pinching each nipple to a stiff peak. Nikki was out of her mind with desire. She should stop him, stop him before it got too far.

  He must have sensed it when his hand moved down her abdomen and stopped on the soft patch of hair between her legs. “Do you want me to stop?” His finger lingered on her sex. She pushed her hips upward, and his finger slipped inside her wetness. He grinned down at her. “I’ll take that as a no.”

  “Right,” she said breathlessly.

  Nikki relished the feel of his fingers rubbing against her, but she wanted to touch him. She reached down and cupped his hard length. His penis throbbed as she wrapped her hand around the thickness of it. “You’re impressive,” she moaned into his mouth.

  She had been too nervous to touch his body the first time, and gawking was out of the question now. What she saw she found beautiful, and she now got to feel the greatness he possessed.

  He chuckled against her lips and didn’t say a word as she stroked his shaft to the point where he had swollen to where it had to be painful. Logan pulled her hand away and ripped open a wrapper slipping on a condom.

  Logan got on top of her, allowing the head of his penis to circle the edge of her clit; she read the hunger in his eyes. She felt it, too.

  On instinct, she spread her legs wider, wanting so badly for him to enter her. He closed his eyes, the muscles in his neck and shoulders flexing as he eased his large erection inside, stretching and filling her completely.

  “Are you okay?”

  She kept her eyes closed and nodded. He began to push in and out of her slowly, and she dug her nails into his shoulder urging him on once the pain subsided. He held her steady and kissed her in a soothing manner, his tongue moving across hers with long, languid strokes. He trailed kisses down her neck and between her breasts, stopping to lick his tongue across one nipple, then the other.

  Moaning loudly, she ran her fingers through his long dark hair, squeezing her thighs tightly around his hips. He responded with a low groan and thrust forward, harder and deeper, picking up his tempo.

  Nikki screamed as the first climax gripped her, seizing her brain and traveling through her soul. Logan didn’t stop pounding at her swollen womanhood, causing wave upon wave of pleasure to pulsate through her. Finally, she heard him groan and grow still. His hips spasmed and she felt him throbbing inside her.

  Releasing a grunt, he collapsed on top of her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, then kissing her face and neck and whispering sensual words into her ear.

  Nikki basked in his warm, strong arms. The very core of her body throbbed and spread outward to the tips of her toes. Pressed chest to chest her body went limp beneath him, feeling content and satisfied by what he’d given her. She wondered as she struggled to breathe beneath his weight if this is what random sex with strangers was supposed to feel like, or did Logan and her share a special connection? If so, she never wanted it to end.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Nikki couldn’t help but look at the clock again. No time had passed since the last time she’d looked at it, and she growled in frustration. This was ridiculous. A man promised to call or text, and she’s behaving like a teenage girl waiting for her crush to hold his word.

  She shuffled the reports that were supposed to be filed for safe keeping. She would do it later. All their files were done electronically now. The hard copies she had were duplicates her boss refused to destroy. She picked up her phone and checked it again. Nothing.

  With a sigh, Nikki glanced at the computer; the program was still loading, leaving the computer off limits. Call him! Her mind screamed. Never! The battle she was having with herself started to scar her.

  Besides, Logan probably wasn’t blowing her off but busy. The restaurant took every spare minute. He’d call when he got time, and if he didn’t, then she would move on and forget he ever existed.

  Like that would happen. Logan Sloan had marked her body for life.

  “Hey, Nikki, are you busy?”

  She looked up, and Gayle was standing at the door. “No, come on in. What’s up?”

  “I have a surprise for you,” Gayle sang in a mysterious tone.

  Nikki heard shoes shuffling by the door. She whipped around, fully expecting to find Logan standing before her with a smile on his face. Maybe Gayle was in the reception area, and she offered to escort him to her office.

  Disappointment filled her when she saw who’d entered—Jabari. Normally that wouldn’t be a bad surprise. However, she wasn’t expecting Jabari ever to pay her a visit.

  “Jabari had lunch with me today since you were too busy to eat. He didn’t want to leave without saying hello,” Gayle said happily, pushing Jabari in front of her.

  The man was a dark chocolate Adonis. Tall, built, smoky dark eyes, polite, and out of her league.

  “How are you, Nikki? You're looking beautiful as always.” His voice was panty-dropping sultry. He took her hand and kissed it.

  Her heart rate increased, and her knees trembled. “I’m good and you?”

  Maybe this was a test of her will. It had been days since she'd talked to Logan. He promised to
call the following day and didn’t.

  “You two talk and I’ll be back soon. I have to run to my office for a conference call. Will you be okay, Jabari?”

  “I most definitely will.” he chortled.

  Nikki stumbled back to her chair and offered the chair across from her to Jabari. “Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, water, pop?”

  “Thanks, but no. I’m stuffed. Gayle took me to lunch at Neeò’s. The food was good.”

  She laced her fingers together to keep them from trembling. “Yes, the food is good there.” Why was she nervous? Gayle didn’t know about her and Logan, and Logan would probably not have remembered Gayle had he not done his usual guest greeting.

  “I’m free this Friday night if you want to go to a movie. I’d love to take you out, Nikki.”

  He winked, and she smiled, thoroughly confused. Jabari was finally asking her out, but she didn’t know where she stood with Logan. Would she be cheating on Logan if she accepted Jabari’s invitation to a movie? She’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to go after lusting after him for so long.

  Of course, she wanted to say yes, but she was terribly confused about how Logan fit in the picture. “Well, I’m not sure how my Friday will be since it's only Wednesday, but give me a call on Friday morning. I might manage to move an appointment or two around.”

  “It’s a date. I can’t wait to spend an evening with you. It is weird that every time I see you, I want to ask you out but…”

  “Yes, you are involved with a woman or coming off a bad break. The timing is never right,” she said interrupting him.

  “I’m totally free now. Gayle keeps insisting we’d be perfect for each other. So I thought I’d give it a shot.”

  She wanted to scratch her head. What did he mean by give it a shot? And exactly what had Gayle said to him? She was a charity case and needed Gayle to get dates or her? “Um, what do you mean, Jabari?”

  “Nothing bad. Gayle thinks you’d be the perfect woman for me. See, I usually date models, and high-maintenance women and those relationships never go anywhere. A woman with simpler needs might be what it takes to make me happy.”

  Great, now I’m a simple woman. I don’t know what’s worse, that or not being a man’s type. Where was Gayle? She needed to kill her and now. “Well, Jabari, I don’t know what you mean by simple, but I’m sure that isn’t me either.”

  Jabari smiled and held up his hand. “Wait, let me start over. You are normal, Nikki. You work, take care of yourself, and are not high-maintenance. I can take you to a barbecue or a fancy restaurant, and you’d be fine with it.”

  She released a long sigh and smiled. “I understand now.”

  “I’m glad we cleared that up. I’m also glad you are available. It is rare a beautiful woman like you isn’t attached.”

  “What can I say; I’m lucky that way.”

  His cell phone rang, and he answered it quick. After a brief conversation, Jabari was on his feet. “I have to run. I’ll call you Friday morning, Nikki.”

  She was barely out her chair before he disappeared from her office. Whoever called had him running. Nikki scooted her chair back to the desk and folded her hands on the desk thinking.

  “Nikki, where is Jabari?” Gayle asked.

  “He got a phone call and had to go.”

  “Huh, did he say where he was going?”

  She shook her head. “Gayle, why would he tell me that? But, we’re supposed to go out Friday night. You and Mike should come; it can be a foursome.”

  Gayle clapped her hands and said, “Cool, he asked you out. So where are you going?”

  She seemed too excited, and that sent up red flags. “To a movie. Girl, did you have Jabari ask me out?”

  “So what if I did, Nikki? You don’t want to go on the cruise now. I know Kenya’s wedding is coming up soon, and that’s bound to have you in the dumps. I’m worried about you retreating more into yourself than normal.”

  “I’m fine, Gayle. Actually, I’m better than fine.”

  Gayle took the seat vacated by her cousin. “What’s going on? And don’t skip one detail.”

  Nikki inhaled a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. She had to get it off her chest, and since Gayle was her only friend, she could trust her. “I slept with Logan.” She saw the color wash from Gayle’s face. Her mouth was open, her eyes had not blinked, and best of all, no words came from her mouth. “Gayle, Gaye!” she said louder and snapped her fingers.

  “I hear you. I’m just trying to picture it and not pass out. When the hell did all this happen, and why are you now telling me about it?”

  “It doesn’t matter when but that we did it and I haven’t heard from him since then. Gayle, I’m starting to feel he only used me to have sex.”

  “Have you called him? Wait, he was at the restaurant this afternoon. I…”

  “What, Gayle? What?”

  “I have to go.”

  “Go where? Gayle, don’t leave this office until you have answered me,” Nikki demanded.

  “Alright. You want my opinion, so here it is. Logan used you. He got what he wanted, and now he’s gone. Still, not all is lost, Nikki. Jabari wants to date you. You’ve always been into him, and he’s Black.”

  “Hold up! What's happening here?” she thought. It was as if she had stepped into a twilight zone of confusion. “What do I do? Should I call Logan and tell him off? I need advice,” she said.

  “My advice is to move on. He hasn’t called, and you shouldn’t call him. It’s a clean break for both of you.”

  “That is not a clean break for me. What if Jabari and I got serious, Gayle. I won’t be able to have sex with him after doing it with Logan. I’ll feel like my mother.”

  “You are not Judith. Jabari is not married, and neither is Logan. And shit happens, Nikki. You made a mistake and slept with Logan, don’t beat yourself up over it. Think of it as him breaking you in for Jabari.”

  Nikki frowned thinking how gross that sounded. She wanted to throw up her lunch. Plus, she noticed Gayle acting unusually strange when she talked. It was like she was hiding something.

  Nikki sighed and looked back at her computer. “I suppose you’re right,” she muttered.

  “Funny, you don’t sound too excited about it. You finally get Jabari, Nikki. Your dream came true.”

  He was her dream then, now she wanted Logan. “Right; he’s my dream come true.”

  Gayle got up from the chair and walked to the door. “Everything will be fine. Forget about Logan and concentrate on Jabari for now. You’ll see, everything will work out fine,” she reiterated as she left Nikki’s office.

  *****

  Logan took off his apron and threw it into the laundry basket. “Ron, I’m getting ready to take off. I’ll see you in a week or two. Hey, only call me only if an emergency arises.”

  Ron shook his head. “You are going about this the wrong way, dude; call Nikki before you leave.”

  “Nope. It’s over, and I’m leaving well enough alone,” he said, taking the selection of personal chef’s knives and zipping them in a canvas case.

  “I don’t know how white people settle differences, but I thought it would be at least rationally. Hearsay is not a reliable source; you need to hear it from her,” Ron said. He ran a wire brush across the grill, cleaning off bits and pieces of charred meat.

  Logan slammed his hand down on the stainless steel countertop. “I fucked up, Ron! I got out of my comfort zone and went with something different. From now on, I’m sticking with my preferences.”

  “Hey, I never said that once you go black, you can’t go back. My words were ‘leave your options open.’”

  Logan snapped his brows together. “I don’t find any of this shit humorous, Ron. I don’t fuck women and leave them unless that’s what they want. Nikki wanted that, and I’m giving it to her. Again, don’t call me unless this damn restaurant is burning to the fucking ground.”

  He stormed out the back door and got
into his car. It had already been gassed up, and he’d packed it earlier for the trip to Pittsburgh.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Logan walked up the sidewalk leading to the house. It had been a while since he’d visited his parents. He had to get away to think and clear his head. Since Axl was in town for a few days, he took that as an opportunity to disappear. Standing on the porch, he caught a glimpse of himself in the glass-plated window and shook his head. He looked like a lovesick fool, all over a woman he didn’t really know.

  He couldn’t help it, though. He liked her, wanted to spend more time with her, get to know her better. But she had done a one-eighty and decided she didn’t want the same. The passion that had erupted between them somehow didn’t matter to her any longer.

  Could her fragile state have played a part in her sudden change of heart? He wasn’t using her for pleasure. Hell, he hadn’t even given her the full Logan Sloan treatment. What she had gotten was a teaser.

  The more he thought about her, the more he realized he could steal her away, kidnap her for the weekend and show her how amazing they would be together. All he had to do was get the courage and do it. There was a connection between them, and he wanted to explore it further.

  “Look who found their way home: my other handsome son,” Elizabeth Sloan said as she hugged Logan.

  “Hi, Mom,” he said, leaning down to hug his petite mother.

  Elizabeth Sloan was a wisp of a woman but had the strength of an ox. She never shied away from hard work or forfeit her obligations at home or at the restaurant.

  “Honey, when you called saying you were coming, I was so excited. Dad and I are not working at the restaurant the next few days, so we can spend it with you and Axl.”

  “It’s good to be home.”

  They’d lived in this house for nearly thirty years, twenty-two thousand square feet of space filled with memories. Worn furniture and stained carpets remained the same in the family room. The chipped tile floor in the kitchen had come from Axl riding his skateboard and slamming into the cabinet.