In Bed With Her Boss (Kimani Romance) (13 page)

She met his passionate gaze and asked sweetly while she continued to stroke him, “You okay?”

He shook his head. “No, I think I’m dying.”

“Umm, not before you get to experience this.” And, before D’marcus realized what she was doing, she slowly dropped to her knees and took him into her mouth.

The next groan he released was one of profound pleasure and not that of a dying man.

“W
ell, did you enjoy your time in California?”

Opal smiled over at her sisters and cousins. She’d been back in town less than a day and they had arrived at her apartment, bringing bottles of wine and boxes of pizza. Now that their stomachs were filled and the wine had loosened their moods, she was ready for the questions to begin.

“Yes, I enjoyed it. San Francisco was simply beautiful.”

“And what about the tyrant?” Ruby didn’t hesitate to ask. “Did he give you a hard time?”

“Did anything happen between the two of you?” Pearl asked almost before Ruby had finished her question.

Opal tried to hide her smile. D’marcus had given her something hard all right but it hadn’t been a hard time. And, yes, something had happened between the two of them, something she wanted to keep private for now. The time she’d spent with him had been simply wonderful and the memories would be etched in her mind as well as her heart, forever. He had brought out her sensuous side and she had enjoyed sharing it with him.

“No, he didn’t give me a hard time and, no, nothing happened.”

To steer her sisters and cousins away from asking any more questions about her and D’marcus, she presented them with the souvenirs she had purchased for them at Fisherman’s Wharf. Then, after bringing her up to date on Reverend Kendrick’s sermon the Sunday before, her family decided to call it a night. However, before they left they all promised to be there to help her move the following weekend. Everyone left except for Colleen who claimed she needed Opal’s help on a report she had to present to her employer on Monday.

It took Opal a few seconds after closing the door to know Colleen did not have any report she needed help with. From the way her cousin was standing in the middle of the room with her arms folded across her chest, Opal knew Colleen had not accepted her rendition of how things had gone in California as easily as the others.

“Okay, Opal, what’s the real deal with you and D’marcus Armstrong?”

Opal shrugged. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Don’t you?” Colleen countered. “Then explain that glow that’s all over your face. And how about that funny-looking smile, the one you have on your face, even now?”

Opal shook her head. She could fool her sisters some of the time but never Colleen.

She couldn’t help but smile. She was bursting with so much love for D’marcus that she wanted to share it with someone and she could think of no one better than the person she considered her very best friend. “Okay, I’ll be honest with you,” she said, walking across the room to sit down on her sofa.

Colleen curled up on the sofa facing Opal. The inquisitive expression on her face, Opal thought, was priceless. She reached out and took her cousin’s hand in hers.

“The most wonderful thing happened to me while I was in San Francisco with D’marcus,” she whispered.

Colleen’s eyes filled with even more curiosity. “What?”

“I realized that I loved him.”

Colleen nodded. “And what was the reason for this big eye-opener?”

Opal smiled. “Spending time with him, getting to know him better…and being with him.”

Colleen lifted a brow. “Being with him how?”

Opal chuckled. “Being with him intimately. D’marcus and I became lovers.”

She could tell from the expression on Colleen’s face that her cousin was trying to absorb what she was saying and also trying to determine if she thought her announcement was a good thing or a bad thing.

“It’s a good thing, Colleen,” she decided to say. “I love him.”

Colleen nodded slowly. “Okay, and how does he feel about you?”

Now that was the million-dollar question, Opal thought. And truthfully, it was one that could be answered rather easily. “D’marcus hasn’t gotten over his fiancée’s death and, because of it, he has no intentions of ever falling in love again or committing himself to anyone.”

“So you’re saying the two of you are having an affair?”

Hearing Colleen say it so blatantly hit home for Opal, made her again realize that
was
the only thing she and D’marcus were sharing—an affair that would lead nowhere. She loved him but he did not love her. But she would depend on her love being enough. And, when things ended, she would have memories of a special time in her life, a time she would rather have with him than anyone else.

For that reason she felt no remorse or regret when she met Colleen’s gaze and said, “Yes, we’re having an affair.”

For a long moment Colleen was silent. Then she quietly asked, “And are you okay with that, Opal? Are you okay with knowing that one day he might get tired of what the two of you are sharing and just walk away and not look back?”

Colleen had never been a person to sugarcoat anything. She called it as she saw it. But what her cousin didn’t know, Opal concluded, was that she was seeing something totally different. She was seeing a man who’d had a lot of hurt and pain in his life, first losing his parents and then losing the woman he loved. He was a special man, a gifted man, a man who had the ability to make her smile, laugh, feel feminine and sexy and make her experience things she’d never had before, both in and out of bed. She couldn’t help but blush when she thought about all the things he had done to her, all the things she had done to him, all the things they had done to each other.

“Opal?”

She blinked. Colleen was saying something to her. “Yes? Did you say something?”

“I don’t want him to hurt you.”

Opal reached for Colleen’s hand again. “And he won’t. I know the score. I know D’marcus’s feelings. I’d be a fool not to say I’m hoping that one day he’ll grow to love me as much as I love him, but I’m not holding out for miracles. I just want to live one day at a time, with him in my life. And, when the time comes for him to go his way and for me to go mine, I will find the strength to do just that.”

“And what about your job? Have you forgotten that he’s your boss?”

Opal shook her head. “No, I haven’t forgotten, but he has assured me that one has nothing to do with the other. We plan to be discreet but I won’t sneak around and I doubt he will, either.”

Colleen’s hold on her hand tightened. “If you’re satisfied and happy with the situation then so am I. And, no matter what, I’ll always be here for you if you ever need me.”

Smiling, Opal reached out and the two of them hugged. Deep down she knew what Colleen said was true. She would be there for her when and if the time came. A part of Opal was hoping that it never would.

On Wednesday Opal anxiously sat at her desk. D’marcus was to return to the office today. She had spoken to him on Monday but the conversation had been all business since he’d been in a meeting with others around. But later that night he had called her, taking the role of the lover she had left in San Francisco. He had told her how much he missed her, how he wished he could have talked her into staying over the weekend. He had been invited to several social functions and had wished she’d gone with him instead of him having gone alone.

Lost in thought, she nevertheless heard the door to the office open and and saw D’marcus walk in. Opal had to immediately downplay the smile she had for him when she saw he wasn’t alone. Three of his department heads were following in his wake.

“Good morning, Opal,” he said in a businesslike tone.

Following his lead, she replied, “Good morning, D’marcus. Welcome back.”

He smiled. “Thank you and it’s good to be back. Please hold all my calls until my meeting is over.”

“Yes, sir.”

She almost laughed out loud when he glared at her. Keeping a straight face, she then said, “Yes, D’marcus, I will do that.”

The meeting lasted all of three hours. When the department heads left, D’marcus remained in his office because he had several important phone calls to return.

Opal went to lunch and, when she returned, the phone system on her desk indicated that D’marcus was still on the phone. Since he had skipped lunch as usual, she had picked him up a sandwich and soda at the deli downstairs.

Easing his door open she stepped into his office to place his lunch on his desk. He glanced up at her and smiled as he continued his phone conversation. She then slipped back out the door, as noiselessly as she had entered.

It was approximately thirty minutes later when he came on the intercom and said, “Opal, will you step into my office for a minute, please.”

She had been in the middle of typing a report. She saved the data and closed down the screen, noticing her hands were shaking. This would be the first time she would face him alone since returning to town after they had become intimate.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked into his office with her notepad in her hand as professionally as she could manage. “Yes, D’marcus?”

She saw that he had finished his lunch and was leaning against the front of his desk. He stared at her for a moment before saying, “Come here for a moment but please lock the door first.”

Her heart began pounding furiously in her chest as she did as he asked, then crossed the room, coming to a stop in front of him. “Yes?”

“Thanks for lunch.”

“You’re welcome.”

He took the notepad from her hand and tossed it on his desk. He then reached out and cupped her chin in his hand. “I missed you,” he said huskily. “Probably more than I really should have.”

She smiled because he actually looked confused at that. “Poor baby,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Would it make you feel better if I told you that I missed you just as much?”

“A little. But I’d really feel a lot better if you give me a kiss to show me just how much you missed me.”

“Umm, I can handle that.”

She leaned forward and brought her lips just inches from his and then she darted her tongue out of her mouth for a quick sweep of his lips. She felt him shudder, heard his quick intake of breath and felt the hardness of his erection pressed against her middle. She smiled and then went in for the kill.

She captured his mouth with hers, hungrily, aggressively, choosing her moves carefully, one stroke at a time, opening herself up to all the emotions she felt. They were emotions she was transferring to her kiss. She knew he felt it when he began responding, proving that, when it came to sexual matters, he was a master.

His tongue captured hers, sucked on it, held it tight, stroked it, did all kinds of erotic things to it. This kiss was what fantasies were based on. It was what dreams were made of. And he was giving both to her. Blood hadn’t flowed this freely in her veins since she’d left California.

Knowing it was time to come up for air, she pulled her mouth away. But not before tracing the outline of his lips with her tongue.

“Come to my place later,” he whispered against her moist lips.

“It has to be later,” she said quietly. “I’m going to a prayer meeting at church tonight.”

He nodded. “Then, afterward?”

“Yes.”

She took a step back. “I need to get back to work.”

He chuckled. “So do I but I don’t know how I will after that kiss.”

She gave him a saucy look. “But I’m sure you’ll manage.”

When she got to the door he said, “Oh, by the way, Dashuan Kennedy is supposed to show up within the hour.”

She knew the reason D’marcus was meeting with the young man. “All right. I’ll send him in when he gets here.”

“Yes, you do that.”

She smiled over her shoulder as she left his office.

Dashuan arrived an hour late and walked in as though he expected her to get up from her desk and bow at his feet. “Your boss is supposed to see me,” he said cockily, leaning a hip against her desk. “Let him know I’m here.”

Opal gave him a crisp glance. “Certainly.” She then punched a button on the intercom on her desk and said, “D’marcus, Dashuan Kennedy is here to see you.”

“All right, please send him in.”

She glanced back up at Dashuan. “You can go in now.”

Instead of moving, he continued to stand there. He had his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

She lifted a brow. “Is anything wrong?”

He chuckled in a way that actually grated on her nerves. “No, nothing is wrong. I just noted you call him D’marcus. It’s not Mr. Armstrong anymore?”

“What?”

“That Saturday I was here for that meeting, every time you addressed him it was Mr. Armstrong. What happened?”

His question as well as his observation annoyed her. “Nothing happened. D’marcus decided he wanted us to operate on a first-name basis.”

An all-knowing, cocky smile touched the corners of Dashuan’s lips. “Oh, that’s how it is, huh?”

Opal refused to give him the benefit of an answer to that. “D’marcus is waiting. I suggest you go on in,
Mr. Kennedy.
”

His cocky smile turned into a frown. “Whatever.” He then turned away from her desk and opened the door to D’marcus’s office.

In less than twenty minutes, he was storming out of it, saying in a raised voice, “You’ve made a huge mistake, Armstrong, and I’m going to make sure it’s something you live to regret.”

“I
thought you would never get here,” D’marcus said, opening the door and gently pulling Opal inside his home.

His mouth quickly captured hers and she responded immediately, not resisting when he lowered her to the carpeted floor.

“Aren’t you going to give me a tour of your home?” she asked when he began removing their clothes.

He smiled at her. “Later. Right now I want to concentrate on giving you something else.”

When he had her completely naked, he leaned back on his haunches and looked at her. Unable to help himself he reached out and began touching her. First, he went straight for her breasts to give them his full attention. Moments later, his mouth joined his hands as he cherished that part of her. Then he hungrily moved to her stomach. It was flat, smooth, soft. He drew circles around her navel with both his fingers and his tongue. Then he eagerly moved lower, to the part of her he desperately needed to taste. Reaching down, he cupped her thighs and lifted her up to meet his mouth in a very intimate kiss.

“D’marcus!”

He held her tight when she began squirming beneath his mouth. But, when his tongue went deeper, she held on to him for dear life, holding his head to her, refusing to let him go anywhere, which he had no intention of doing until he’d gotten enough of her. Something he doubted he could do in this lifetime.

When he felt her shuddering beneath his mouth, he continued to hold her until the last tremor had left her body. Then he stood and reached for the condom in his pants pocket and put it on.

“Now I’m going to show you just how much I missed you,” he said, rejoining her on the floor.

“I thought you already did.” She held out her arms to him. “Show me again.”

And he did.

Emotions rammed through Opal with every stroke he made into her body. Sensations she knew she could only feel with him were seeping through her pores and her pulse rate was increasing at an alarming rate. And all because of D’marcus and what he was doing to her, what he was sharing with her.

“D’marcus!”

“Opal!”

They came simultaneously, reaching the pinnacle of sexual height together as they clung to each other. Something had snapped, making them shudder uncontrollably, making them shatter into tiny pieces.

It was on the tip of Opal’s tongue to tell him how much she loved him, but she held back. Those were words she could never share with him no matter what. So she thought them to herself, pressed the feelings deeper into her heart and when, moments later, he pulled her into her arms and held her close in his arms, she held him in hers, as well. If she could never tell him she loved him, then she was determined always to show it. Maybe one day he would accept the love she had to offer.

“Dashuan was pretty upset when he left the office today,” she said as they sat at his kitchen table drinking hot tea. After making love they had gotten dressed and he had given her a tour of his home. It was decorated beautifully, but it lacked warmth.

“Yes, and I wish I could say he’ll get over it, but I can’t. There is something about him that I can’t put my finger on.”

Opal smiled. “You mean besides him being just outright rude, obnoxious and conceited?”

D’marcus grinned. “Yes, besides that. I’m hoping the suspension without pay will give him something to think about. He’s used to spending money, so I think we hit him where he lives, so to speak.”

“I don’t like that threat he made against you today,” she said softly.

D’marcus shrugged. “Don’t worry about it because I’m not. Kennedy’s all mouth.”

Then, as if wanting to change the subject, he said. “So, how’s the packing coming along?”

She grinned. “It’s coming. I still have a lot to do.”

“You’ve contacted movers?”

“No, I’m basically using my family and some friends.”

He nodded. “Will they be able to handle everything?”

“Just about. You’ve seen my place. I don’t have a lot.”

“You have a nice place. I could tell it’s where you’ve made your home. This, on the other hand, is just a place where I eat and sleep.”

His words touched Opal deeply. He had his home in California which he’d said he really didn’t consider home, either. She wondered if he would ever live somewhere that he’d think of as home.

“Don’t do that.”

She glanced over at him. “What?”

“Bunch up your forehead like that. It means you’re in deep thought about something.”

She tilted her head. “And how do you know that?”

“I used to watch you a lot in our meetings. I could always tell when you were about to come up with an idea or a suggestion.” His comment surprised Opal. She’d never realized he had been studying her that closely.

“And then there are the times you have a tendency to tap your fingers. That lets me know when you’re annoyed about something.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Umm, so you think you can read me well?”

“I think so.”

“So what do you think this means?” she asked, standing up and slowly removing her blouse.

He leaned back in his chair and smiled. “That’s easy. It means you want some more of what I gave you earlier.”

“And this?” she said stepping away from the table and shimmying out of her skirt.

“Same thing.” He looked her up and down. “You are one brazen woman.”

“If I am then it’s your fault. Before you came into my life I was the tamest person you could ever meet. And now I’m doing things I’ve never done before.”

“But you’re doing them with me,” he pointed out, getting up from the table to remove his shirt.

“Yes, and that’s why I said it’s all your fault.”

“Okay, if you have to place the blame somewhere,” he said, coming around the table toward her.

“I do.”

“Then, I don’t mind being it,” he whispered softly, before pulling her into his arms. “Have I ever told you how much I enjoy seeing you naked?”

“No, I don’t think you have.”

“Then, let me go on record here and now. Opal, I enjoy seeing you naked.”

“Thanks.”

And then he kissed her and she felt it all the way to her toes. He released her mouth and, before she could catch her breath, he swept her up into his arms and headed toward the bedroom.

Saturday, midmorning, Opal stood with her hands on her hips as she stared at all the boxes that cluttered her living room. D’marcus had encouraged her to take yesterday off work so today wouldn’t be too hectic. She had taken the day off, but the day was still hectic. Her sisters and cousins had shown up bright and early, bringing breakfast with them. Amber had convinced her that no one could possibly do any work on an empty stomach, which was the reason they had brought so much food.

At least they also brought reinforcements in the way of family friend Luther Biggens. Even Reverend Kendrick surprised Opal and came by, saying he was available to help out until noon, then he had to leave to counsel a couple planning to get married.

Not surprisingly, that announcement set off a heated debate between Pearl and the minister as to whether or not such a thing was still needed in this day and age. Opal rolled her eyes. It seems Pearl would pick the least little thing to do or say to get on Reverend Kendrick’s last nerve.

“It was nice of the reverend to drop by to give us a hand,” Opal heard Ruby say behind her.

She turned to her sister in time to hear Pearl say, “Well, I’m glad he’s gone. Listening to him on Sundays is bad enough.”

Opal shook her head. “What do you have against Reverend Kendrick, Pearl? You seem to deliberately argue with him about something whenever he’s around.”

She shrugged. “Can I help it if we don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things? Besides, the man is too traditional. Even our former minister, God rest his soul, wasn’t always shoving family values down your throat. Reverend Kendrick makes it seem like it’s a sin and a shame to have fun. I bet he wouldn’t give a party girl a second look.”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Of course he wouldn’t. He’s a minister. I certainly wouldn’t want some floozy as the first lady of our church. I hope, if and when he does find a wife, she’s someone to complement him.”

“You would think that way,” Pearl said glaring at her sister.

Opal knew it was time for her to intervene. Before she could open her mouth to do so, the sound of a masculine voice stopped her. “Need any more help?”

She jerked around to find D’marcus standing in her doorway looking at her with a very sexy smile on his face.

“I like your family,” D’marcus said later that day after Opal had finally gotten moved into her new home. “Even the one who thinks I’m a tyrant seems nice.”

Opal couldn’t help but laugh. If he liked her family then she felt comfortable telling him they liked him, as well. After finding a private moment to rake her over the coals for not leveling with them about her relationship with D’marcus, they’d told her that they thought he was even more handsome up close and that he seemed like real people. She figured they thought that way because Luther liked him. Luther had been a close friend to the family for so long her sisters trusted his judgment in most things. They probably figured, if Luther hit it off with D’marcus, then they should like him, as well.

D’marcus looked around. “Where did everybody go?”

Opal smiled. “They left to bring back food. One thing you’ll discover about my family is that they like to eat.”

He chuckled. “I noticed.”

She knew he was recalling how at lunchtime Luther had gone to a chicken place and brought back an entire bucket of chicken with all the trimmings. Everyone had stopped to eat and only once their stomachs were full did they get back to work.

“I will say this about your family,” D’marcus said, “they know how to work together.”

“Yes, once they stopped disagreeing about where I should place my plants. It really doesn’t matter since I have so much more space here.”

Opal was glad she had made the move. She had met a couple of her neighbors already and they seemed to be older, settled couples, not like the party animals from her last place. “I appreciate you coming over to help. You really didn’t have to do it.”

“Not help my best girl? Are you kidding?” he said grinning.

Opal smiled, wishing he thought of her as his
only
girl. But she knew that was too much to hope for. “Are you going to hang around for dinner? They should be back soon.”

He shook his head. “No, I need to head out. Williams and Hennessy are coming over and we’re looking at video footage of a college basketball game. There’s a kid who has really caught our eye.”

He pulled her closer into his arms. ‘What’s on your agenda for tomorrow?”

“I’m going to church and then I’ll be having dinner with my family. Would you like to attend church with me?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

She could tell from his expression that going to church was a touchy subject, but she refused to let it go. “When was the last time you went to church?” she asked him.

He answered right away. “Six years ago.”

Not since his fiancée had died. She’d bet the last time he’d set foot in a church had been when he’d attended Tonya’s funeral. “Okay, but if you change your mind, call me. But you have to catch me early because I also attend Sunday school.”

“I won’t be changing my mind.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to go. If it’s okay, how about if I drop by tomorrow just in case there’re some framed portraits or pictures you want hung on the walls.”

She grinned, knowing his interest in coming over to her place tomorrow had nothing to do with hanging pictures on her wall. “By all means, please do so. And, since you’re willing to be so handy, I’m sure there’re a number of other things I can get you to put together.”

“Okay, let’s not get cute,” he said, leaning over and brushing a kiss on her lips.

She melted against him and D’marcus liked the way her body fitted against his. “My bed is going to feel lonely without you in it.”

She had spent Thursday night over at his place because she hadn’t had to go into the office Friday morning. In fact, he had made love to her before leaving her there in his home to go to work. She wondered if that’s how things would be if she was married to him. Would he wake her up before leaving for work just to make love to her? She quickly snatched the thought back when she vividly remembered that marriage was not in their future.

“You haven’t been in my bed yet,” she said, leaning back in his arms and gazing up at him.

“Thanks for reminding me. I will definitely make that my top priority the next time I come to visit.”

And then he pulled her into his arms—to make doubly sure she understood he was deadly serious.

D’marcus sighed deeply as he stepped into the church. The realization of where he was sank in and he glanced around. Yesterday Opal had invited him to come, and he had turned her down. Now here he was, still not sure how it had happened. What compulsion had brought him here? All he knew was that after thinking about her all night, even within the depths of his dreams, he had awoken that morning with an intense desire to see her. He wanted to be with her and spend time with her, and he knew she would be here.

Her cousin Colleen was the first to see him, since she was standing at the door as an usher. Smiling brightly, she walked him down the aisle toward where Opal was sitting. The choir was singing and the congregation was alive, actively participating and reminding him of the last time he had been inside a church. It had been for Tonya’s funeral. The minister had referred to it as a happy occasion instead of a sad one. D’marcus hadn’t agreed with the man’s assessment, especially when his heart had been grieving the way it had. And for that reason he’d sworn he would not set foot inside another church. He shook his head. Opal was certainly making a liar out of him.

When Colleen walked him to the row of seats where Opal was sitting, Opal glanced over at him as he crossed in front of several people to reach her. “You’re here,” she whispered in utter shock, moving to make room for him beside her on the pew.