Hot Like Fire (23 page)

"Kael," Lisha whispered to him sharply as she
pulled his hand back down to his waist.

"You the one taking my attention off the minister to be nosey."

Lisha glared at him as she leaned over closer to
him. "Well, the minister must have been in your
dreams, 'cause in anther minute you would've been
calling in the hogs," she whispered.

",Ssshhh."

They both looked indignant at Sister Ollie, who
had turned around in her seat and was giving them
the evil eye as the rose on the edge of her hat flipflopped from right to left. The woman was one of the
biggest gossips in Holtsville. She could spread a rumor
quicker than the clap ran through a whorehouse.

"She needs to focus on the sermon and stop eavesdropping for some news to carry," said Kael. He made
an odd face at her, and he swore that rose was going
to fly right off as she whipped back around in her seat.

Out of the corner of her eye, Portia Minton
looked at Kade as she snuggled closer to him in the
pew and then slowly crossed her legs, before hitching the hem of her skirt up higher on her thigh. When that didn't catch his eye, she dropped her
hymnbook and then bent over in her seat to pick it
up, giving him a healthy view of the shape of her
derriere. When he ignored that, she leaned over to
him, with her breast pressed against his arm, and
whispered, "You really should call me....

Kade leaned back and drawled, "You're here to
pick up the Word and not men, Sister Portia."

Portia was more than surprised when he rose up a
little in his seat and switched places with his daughter. "Oh no, he didn't," she mouthed as he reached
for Garcelle's hand and held it atop his thigh.

"Are you okay, Sister Portia? You don't look so
good," whispered Kadina.

Portia scowled as she looked down into Kadina's
perky face. She uncrossed her legs, pushed her
skirt back down to her knees, and faced forward
to focus on the minister.

Kadina could hardly believe the sight of her
father and Garcelle holding hands. Her daddy had
said they were dating which meant boyfriend and
girlfriend in her world. She loved it!

She splayed her hands and began ticking off her
fingers. They could go to the movies together. And
out to eat together. And Garcelle could teach her
more Spanish. And they could all go to church together every Sunday. And she would probably have
little brothers and sisters one day.

Oh boy, she thought as she let her feet swing back
and forth in the pew and looked at her hands
again. I love it!

Kaeden tried to pretend that he was not watch-
ingJade's striking profile from where he sat in the
pew behind her in church. He tried and failed miserably. The woman made his palms sweat.

When she happened to glance over her shoulder
in his direction, Kaeden hurriedly look over his
shoulder so that she didn't catch him staring at her
like a perv. His eyes happened to lock with those of
his niece, Kadina. He smiled as she motioned at
her father and Garcelle before she gave him the
okay signal with her hand.

He was turning back around in his seat when
Sister Portia sent him a subtle wink. His mind
wasn't on her and her foolishness.

Garcelle and Kade. First, Kahron and Bianca. Now
Kade's dating Garcelle. What next? Kaleb settling down?
Good grief. He was the responsible brother. He was
the rational and reasonable one. The one most
suited to family life. His brothers had run through
more women than he could count. Not that he was
a monk.

He stole a quick look at Jade. Suddenly, naughty
thoughts of Jade's voluptuous frame flashed in his
head. He cleared his throat and ran his finger
around a collar that was suddenly way too tight. Those
thoughts certainly weren't appropriate for church.

All he could do was ask the Lord to forgive him as
he fought like hell to keep his eyes off of Jade Prince.

Kahron's stomach grumbled where he sat between Kaleb and Bianca in church. His wife nudged
him, with a wrinkle in her brow, as she eyed him.
Kaleb chuckled beside him.

He was starving, and he couldn't help it if his stomach was reading him the riot act. He noticed his
parents turn in their seats, and curiosity made him
follow their line of vision. His mouth dropped open.

Small-town talk. Small-town gossip, my ass. Kahron
winced. Uh, forgive me Lord.

He nudged Bianca and Kaleb, motioning for
them to check out Garcelle and Kade. They looked
over their shoulders as well.

Kaleb grunted in laughter as he turned back
around in his seat. "Looks like the maid hunt is
back on, bro. Another one has bit the dust."

Kahron was happy for his brother, but Garcelle
was his sixteenth housekeeper since he'd moved into
his own home. Sixteen in less than five years. Was
he cursed? Kahron frowned deeply.

"Aww," Bianca cooed to him softly as she took his
hand in hers, with a soft laugh.

Kade swallowed hard and looked away when he
discovered Carlos Santos's set of coal black eyes staring at him. He crossed his ankle over his knee as he
settled back into his seat on the living-room couch.
His face warmed when he thought of the first night
he ever made love to Garcelle ... right on that very
living-room floor. He cleared his throat.

"So how long have you and my Garcelle been
dating?" Carlos asked, his accent pronounced as he
leaned forward in his recliner to offer Kade a cigar.

"Close to two months."

"And this is the first that I know about you two."
Carlos nodded as he frowned. "Interesting."

"Do you disapprove?" Kade asked, unfolding his
leg to lean forward and rest his elbows on his knees.

"Of the relationship ... no. Of your secrecy ...
yes.

Kade nodded. He felt like a teenage boy being
grilled by his girlfriend's father. He thought of his
own love for and protection of Kadina, and had nothing but patience for this man, whom he respected.

"So is that where she has been staying out all
night?" Carlos asked, with a critical eye at Kade.

"Daddy!" Garcelle gasped as she walked into the
living room, having changed out of the dress she'd
worn to church earlier. "We are not children who
need to be supervised."

Kade was relieved to see her. He honestly didn't
know what Carlos was going to ask him next.

Carlos tilted back in his recliner as he lit his cigar.
"When Juan wanted to date my Marisol, he came to
me first for my permission before they even went
on a date. When he wanted to marry her, he came
to me first and asked for my permission before he
even proposed. There is a way to do things. That is
all I'm saying."

"Papi-"

"No, Garcelle. Your father is talking to me, so I'll
address him," Kade said, looking Carlos directly in
the eyes. "I must be honest that it didn't cross my
mind to ask your permission to date Garcelle. In
truth, it's not something I or anyone I know has
ever done. I'm not judging it. I'm just being honest.
You see a pretty woman, you want to get to know
her better, and you ask her if she wants to spend
time with you to get to know you better as well. You
date and you see if something serious can or will develop, and then you bring in the whole meeting of
the families."

Carlos nodded as he continued to smoke his
cigar. He looked at Kade through the smoke.

"So my way is different from your way. It's just a
simple misunderstanding, and no disrespect was
meant at all," said Kade. He looked up at Garcelle
and then back at Carlos. "We've known each other
for years. I know you're a good man, just like you
know I'm a good man."

Carlos looked at Kade a long time-man to man.
"And your heart is free to love another?" Carlos
asked.

The question threw Kade off.

"Papi, we just started dating," Garcelle said, her
words filling the silence. She walked over to Kade
and held out her hand to him. "Come on. Let's go
outside."

Kade rose to his feet. He stepped closer to where
Carlos sat and held out his hand to him.

Carlos stuck his cigar between his teeth before he
begrudgingly accepted Kade's hand.

Kade followed Garcelle out the door and to the
front yard. "Talk about putting a man's feet to
the fire," he joked lightly as they sat down on the
front steps.

"I'm just glad my two crazy uncles weren't home."

Kade just smiled.

Kadina came running into the yard, with Paco hot
on her heels. She ran to the bottom step of the porch.
"Home base," she screamed as she panted heavily.

Paco stopped short as he swiped his long bangs
out of his eyes. "Okay, this time you're it," he said
before he knelt down into a runner's stance and
then took off.

"Bye, Daddy. Bye, Garcelle," Kadina hollered over her shoulder before she flew off the porch and raced
behind Paco, toward the rear of the trailer park.

Garcelle laughed at them. "I'm glad you and
Kadina came to visit me here at my home," she told
Kade as he massaged her neck beneath the soft
layers of her hair.

"Me, too," he told her, fighting the urge to kiss
her nape as she bent over, her head near her open
thighs, with a soft moan.

"I miss you when we're not together," he admitted freely.

"Me, too, lover."

He used both his hands to massage her shoulders.

"That feels so good, Kade."

Just knowing he was making her feel good was
making him feel hot. He felt himself harden between his thighs. Would thing ever cool off between
them? "It'll be getting cool soon," he said, seeking
a diversion from his erotic thoughts as he continued to knead her shoulders.

"Hmmm."

"I was thinking next Saturday we could take the
kids to the pond and have that picnic," he offered.

Garcelle looked over her shoulder at him. "I
would love that, especially including Paco. We're
very close. Much closer than either of us is to our
older sister."

Kade shifted on the step and lifted his leg over
Garcelle so that she was sitting between his thighs.
"You hardly talk about her."

"I hardly know her. She moved to Texas when I
was in high school. She's a lot older than me. We
talk on the phone some, but she has her life, and
we have ours."

Kade frowned at the obvious distance between them, but he said nothing. He focused on putting
his hands to work.

"You know, I had no idea you were such a good
masseur," Garcelle said from beneath the layers of
her hair. "I can only imagine what you could do if
I was stretched out on a bed."

Kade's hands paused at the image of Garcelle,
nude and gleaming with oil, as she lay on her stomach as he massaged her calves, the backs of her
thighs, her buttocks, and her lower back. He would
start with his hands but then would use his lips to
taste every delicious inch of the soft skin covering
the toned muscles of her body. Garcelle had the
kind of body that made a Coca-Cola bottle look as
straight as a ruler.

Garcelle looked over her shoulder at him again.
Their eyes locked, and his heart raced when he saw
her eyes were smoldering.

The interior of the SUV was hot and dark as Garcelle lowered the front passenger seat and climbed
into the backseat, where Kade sat waiting for her.
Being in the backseat of his SUV, surrounded by
trees and dense brush on a dark and lonely country
road, made everything about this heated moment so
intense. Very intense. They giggled. They kissed.
They whispered to each other. They bumped into
each other as they struggled to remove their clothes.

Down to her panties and bra, Garcelle straddled
his hips. There was just enough of the moon's light
to see his handsome face as she unsnapped her lace
bra to free her breasts. Instantly, he brought his
hands up to massage them. At the feel of his hands and his mouth on her nipples, she gasped hotly
and arched her back.

"Kade," she moaned as she reached down between them to stroke his curved hardness.

Kade pressed the condom into her hands and
clenched his jaw as she quickly covered his length. He
slid his fingers inside Garcelle's panties and roughly
pushed them to the side. He lifted her slightly, with
an arm around her waist, then lowered her.

"What if someone catches us?" she whispered
against his chin before she bit it lightly.

"Everyone knows if the SUV is rocking, you don't
come knocking." Kade planted rushed and heated
kisses over her face as he moved his hands down to
grab the softness of her buttocks. They both gasped
as her warm and wet tightness surrounded him like
a sleeve.

They laughed a little before Garcelle began to
work her hips. The steam their bodies created rose
to coat and fog the windows of the SUV as it rocked
gently from left to right.

Bianca looked up as Mimi and her father walked
into her kitchen, hand in hand. Kahron followed
behind them and leaned in the doorway. Bianca's
face filled with surprise. "I didn't know you were
in town, Mimi," she said, rising to her feet to hug
her close.