Queen of His Heart (14 page)

“Oh, my…awww…I'm cooomming,” she moaned.

“Well, come on then, baby.” His flat abs bounced hard against her firm booty, causing it to wiggle and jiggle like Jell-O.

Jalila started coming, screaming and crying at the same time.

Keenan was next. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and stroked so hard and deep that it sounded as if the front door was about to bounce off its hinges. “Ooohh…Jaaalilaaa,” he growled. What poured out of him felt like rocket fuel blasting him into the stratosphere. When he finally drifted back to earth, he discovered himself panting against the back of Jalila's shoulder.

Pulling out of her, Keenan turned and headed toward the stairs.

Jalila knelt on shaking legs and retrieved her robe. “Where are you going?”

“To your bedroom,” he said simply and then glanced over his shoulder. “Are you coming?”

She smiled. “Yes.”

“Good.” He winked. “Now get your fine ass upstairs.”

J
alila was positive that she was paralyzed from the neck down. When the morning sun peeked through her bedroom's high windows and warmed her naked body, she couldn't find the strength to so much as lift her toes she was so exhausted. The same thing couldn't be said for her Energizer lover. Clearly he had awakened with a morning hard-on and was looking for a hole to bury it in.

“I know you're awake,” he whispered.

Jalila moaned.

Keenan chuckled. “What happened to all that bragging you were doing last night?” He pulled her closer so that she could curl up against his hard frame. “I guess that means I won and you owe me breakfast in bed,” he said, kissing her mussed hair and then her shoulders.

Breakfast?
“Uuuh,” she groaned. No way was she going to be able to climb out of bed and actually do some work.

“You know breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Should I tell you what I'd like to eat?” Keenan eased a hand down in between her thighs. “Something sweet,” he murmured. “Something that I can really sink my mouth into.” He brushed aside her hair and then nibbled on the base of her neck. “I want something that smells like strawberries but tastes like honey.”

Finally understanding his meaning, Jalila smiled. “Oh, is that right?”

“That's right.”

She turned her head and her long lashes fluttered open.

Keenan smiled. “Good morning, beautiful.”

“Morning.” She noticed the droplets of water in his hair, sparkling like diamonds in the morning sun. “You already took your shower?”

“Just got out.” He brushed a kiss against her nose.

“No fair. I wanted us to take one together.”

Keenan's eyebrows hiked. “Well, a man can never be too clean.”

She laughed and then scattered kisses against his scruffy chin. “You need a shave.”

“I thought you'd like the rugged look.” He leaned down and rubbed his cheek against hers.

Jalila squealed at the irritating friction. When she tried to roll over so she could face him, every muscle in her body screamed. All those positions last night had come back to haunt her.

“My poor baby.” Keenan helped her roll over. “I told you not to try that spinning helicopter move again.”

“You did no such thing.”

He shrugged. “Well, I meant to, but I was too busy rolling my eyes to the back of my head.”

Jalila laughed.

“Now what are we going to do about my breakfast?” he inquired.

She smiled wickedly into his twinkling brown eyes and couldn't decide whether what she felt for him was the beginning of love or just lust. “I don't know. What did you have in mind?”

“How about I show you?” Keenan slowly inched down the bed, raining kisses down her body as he went.

“Has anyone ever told you that you're insatiable?” she asked.

“No. Because this only happens when I'm with you,” he admitted, cupping his large hand beneath her butt.

When his tongue dipped inside to taste her body's morning honey, Jalila released a long dreamy sigh and stretched her head back against the pillows. This was one hell of a way to wake up in the morning. In the distance she heard a door slam close. A second later, Cujo was barking up a storm.

Keenan's head popped up. “What in the hell?”

“Oh, hell, it's that dog again,” someone's voice drifted up from outside her window.

“Omigod! It's nine o'clock.” Suddenly it hit with a backup generator of strength, and Jalila scrambled out of bed, wrapped the top sheet around her body and raced to her window.

“Okay,” Keenan said.

“The camera crew!”

“Awww hell.” He finally bolted out of bed, but then tripped over the sheet that she had stretched from the bed to her body over at the window. He hit the floor with a thud and then bounced up as if he was made out of rubber. “Where're my clothes? What did I do with my clothes?” He scrambled around in a circle, frantic.

Ding-dong!

Woof! Woof!

“Oh, God. What are we going to do?” She glanced around, raking a hand through her hair.

“I need my clothes. Where're my clothes?” He sounded like a broken record.

Woof! Woof!

“Did you bring them up here?”

“What?”

“You undressed downstairs, remember?”

Keenan slapped his hand against his forehead.

“I'll go get them,” she volunteered. “They're scared of Cujo so they're not going to come in. Just stay here and I'll be right back.” She raced to the bedroom door.

“Jalila.”

“What?” She turned around.

“You can't go down there like that.”

She glanced down. “Oh, right.” She found her robe near the foot of the bed and then raced to the door.

“Hurry,” he hissed.

“I'm hurrying. I'm hurrying.”

Once again, Jalila was racing toward the front door.
Keenan's clothes were right where he'd left them—discarded on the floor.

Woof! Woof!

“Cujo, stop!” She unlocked the front door and poked her head out.

The cameramen were already standing ten feet back.

“Can you guys give me a few more minutes while I put my dog away?”

“Sure. Sure. Take your time,” one of the guys said. “We'll wait.”

Woof! Woof!

“Thanks.” She closed the door and then rolled her eyes. “C'mon, Cujo. Let's go in the backyard.”

Cujo, of course, put up his usual struggle. When she finally got him into the backyard, she tossed him a doggy biscuit and then raced toward the stairs. “I'll be back down in a second,” she yelled toward the front door and bolted up the stairs.

Rushing into the bedroom, she handed Keenan his clothes and then doubled over to try to catch her breath. “I'd better jump in the shower,” she mumbled.

“No. No. No.”

“No?” She glanced up and then blinked at the shredded mess Keenan held up. “What the hell?”

“Look at my clothes,” he said, alarmed.

Her bewilderment only lasted a few seconds. “Cujo,” she whispered. “I am so sorry. Cujo must have gotten bored and just…”

“Sorry? Now what am I supposed to wear?” He held up his pants—little more than thin strips dangling from a waistband.

“Well, maybe you could wear something of mine,” she suggested.

“You have men's clothes here?”

Jalila shook her head. “Well, no. Not exactly.”

He frowned. “Then what on earth could you possibly have that could fit me?”

“I don't know.” She shrugged and then looked him over. “Maybe a…skirt or something.”

“I'm going to pretend that you didn't say that. Do I look Scottish to you?”

“Hey, don't snap at me. I'm trying to help.” She folded her arms. “Nobody told you to leave clothes downstairs for a Great Dane to play with.”

“I was a little preoccupied…and I don't remember you complaining about me taking my clothes off last night.”

Jalila snapped her mouth shut because she wasn't quite sure if he was hurling an insult or a compliment at her.

“Ms. Goodwyn?” a male voice filled the house.

She gasped. “They came into the house.”

“Great.” Keenan huffed.

Jalila once again rushed toward the door.

“Wait,” he called after her. “What are you about to tell them?”

“I'm going to tell them that I'm about to jump in the shower. They won't come up here for that. That should give us some more time.”

Keenan had another thought. “Nitara.”

“What?”

“Is Nitara here?”

“I don't know. I didn't see her.”

“She's going to recognize my car.” He started panicking again. “I've got to get out of here before she shows up.” Keenan darted toward the window. “Is this ledge sturdy out here?”

“I don't know. I've never had the compulsion to go out there and try it out.”

“Okay. Uhm. Give me your robe.”

“What?”

“Your robe. I'll wear the robe.”

Following his irrational thinking, Jalila stripped out of her robe. At the sight of her naked body, Keenan experienced another erection.

Jalila's eyes bulged. “Stop that.”

“What do you want me to do?” He gestured toward his hard-on. “Sometimes it has a mind of its own.”

“Well, hurry up and put the robe on and cover up,” she ordered.

Keenan slid an arm through the sleeve, but there was no way the short robe was going to fit. “Oh, just forget it.” He tossed the robe down and then hurried into the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” she hissed.

Keenan quickly returned, wrapping a towel around his hips. “This is just going to have to work,” he said.

“You know, we could just go downstairs and tell them.”

“Yeah, that should go over well with the network.” He went to the window and pulled it open. “It'll look like I'm running some kind of scam.”

“Are you sure that you want to do this? What if you break your neck?”

“It'll make one hell of a story on the six-o'clock news,” he joked. “I'll call you later.” He gave her a kiss and then swung one leg through the window.

“Keenan, I don't know about this,” Jalila said worried.

“I gotta think.” He paused. “Look, just go on with the taping today and then we'll think of something later.”

“Ms. Goodwyn?” the cameraman called out.

“Yeah. I'll be right down,” she yelled and then returned her attention to Keenan. “I still don't like you going out on that ledge.”

“I'll be fine.” He kissed her again. “But thanks for worrying about me.”

“But what about my date tonight?”

“Go. But I forbid you to have a good time.” His eyes held a stern warning.

“Forbid?”

“No kissing—and no bikinis.” He swung his other leg out the window. For a second, if anyone was looking, they would've had a great peek at Keenan's big package. “I'll come see you after taping. Eleven o'clock.”

Jalila smiled. “Eleven o'clock,” she repeated. However, she felt guilty about seeing Tion tonight. She hadn't gone into this expecting to lead men on.

Keenan slid out of the window and down onto the ledge.

Jalila watched him for a few seconds and then shut the window.

 

Nitara was running late.

She'd experienced some car trouble after her hus
band left for work and had to call around for a ride out to Jalila's place. She'd tried to locate her M.I.A. business partner to no avail.
He's probably sleeping in late with a booty call
. In the end, she had to settle on convincing Dee Dee to pick her up. With the crew settling in to their shooting schedule, it wasn't really necessary for her to be on set every day, but she'd always liked to stay on top of things whenever she and Keenan had a production in the works.

“I really appreciate this,” Nitara said. “I owe you one.”

“It's not a problem,” Dee Dee said with her usual sunny disposition.

“You don't have to stay out on the set all day. I can get a rental car delivered out here later.”

“Don't worry about it. I'm actually curious to see how everything is going.”

“It's going pretty well. The first date went well, but I gotta tell you, it feels like the show is missing something. I dunno. We need a ‘wow' factor or something.” She shrugged. “Jalila is a fascinating girl and all, but what distinguishes our show from any other reality show?” Nitara stroked her chin in contemplation. “We need to kick it up a notch—a plot twist or something.”

Dee Dee slowed the car down. “What's that?”

“What?” Nitara followed Dee Dee's line of vision and tried to assess exactly what the young assistant was looking at. Before she could ask, her gaze finally zeroed on something moving on Jalila's roof.

“Is that a man?” Dee Dee asked.

Nitara squinted, hating that she didn't have her
contacts in. She reached for her purse and then pulled out her rarely used eyeglasses.

“It
is
a man.” She leaned forward. “And if I'm not mistaken, he's just wearing a towel.”