The Pleasure's All Mine (22 page)

“The bible as we know it was rewritten in that part of the world where the sun’s still shining right now. I’ve got time.”

“Raven!” Pierce’s stern voice made them both turn.

Eric glanced at his mother, who dipped her head sheepishly before holding out her arms. Her son flowed easily into them for a warm embrace that lasted several moments. Then he shifted the documents and his well-earned coconut prize in his hands and took off toward MEG’s private jet, shoes clattering on the pavement.

“I’m not mad!” Raven yelled to him.

Eric turned and ran back part of the way. “Promise?”

Her lips quivered a bit before she frowned.

“What about Auntie Avie?”

Raven’s eyes narrowed as she folded her arms over her bosom. “Now
she’s
fired.”

“You can’t fire her!”

“Okay, then
you’re
fired.”

Eric held back a grin. “You can’t fire me, I’m your son.”

“We’ll see about that,” she teased, barely holding back a smile of her own. “Wait until I talk to my lawyer.”

“Now might be a good time to point out that you just fired your lawyer,” Pierce added.

“And you—”

His hands went up to ward off the verbal attack. “Hey, I’m just stating the obvious.”

She turned to Eric. “Okay, after I get her to fire you as my son for unlawful interference, then she’s outta here,” Raven said with a jerk of her thumb.

“Then who’s going to go over your contract with my new company?” Pierce asked.

Raven grimaced and scratched her head. “Haven’t thought that far ahead.”

Eric whipped out his cell. “Hey, you two are killing me! Get it together.”

“Don’t call Ava—”

“I’m not calling Aunt Avie; I’m calling my girlfriend.”

Raven’s expression froze over. She had totally forgotten about this Marie person. “Eric!”

Too late! He’d bolted again.

She would have taken off after him but Pierce grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the ground. “Raven, let him go.”

“I need to talk with him. He’s too young to have a serious girlfriend!”

“No, he’s not. He’s almost eighteen, about to go to college, and has traveled and experienced more than most twenty- or thirty-year-olds.”

“But he’s still just a kid,” she whined, eyes moist with concern. “One mistake and he’s—”

“A girlfriend is not a mistake. Sex before he’s ready is a mistake.”

She huffed and paced the concrete.

“Raven, he’s growing up. You have to get used to that. He’s smart and a good kid. I’ve seen a side of him you haven’t. Your son is the least of your worries. The boy can outthink some of MEG’s VPs.”

She paused, then perked up. “Really?”

“How do you think he was promoted
twice
in
one
month? And to a paid position at that? Unheard of for an intern and a first for anyone at MEG.” He gave her a moment to think that tidbit of info over. “Within the first week, he cut through the chaos, came up with a plan, and made two decisions leading to projects that were both worth millions. He doesn’t know it, but I’m giving him bonus points for every sale.”

Raven was speechless.

“The boy’s a planner, baby; his brain is still running strong on just fumes when everyone else has hit empty.” Pierce looked away toward the place where Eric had just made his exit. “If I could have a child, it would be one just like your Eric.”

The look that flashed in his eyes made Raven’s heart go out to Pierce.

“
If
you could have a child?”

Pierce locked gazes on her as he said, “There’s less than a one-percent chance that I can get a woman pregnant.”

She blinked, but seeing his slightly pained expression, held her question at bay and came back with a simple, “Well, that works fine because I love children, but I didn’t enjoy pregnancy one single bit. And have no intentions of going through that ever again.”

Raven didn’t make eye contact and Pierce knew she was avoiding the real question. She had probably made the connection that it was the reason Jennifer went to Sim. Finally, he offered, “It was a childhood illness that took away that ability. Still hasn’t kept me from wanting a child, possibly adopting.” Pierce watched her expression for signs that she was adverse to that process and when nothing seemed definitive, he shook off his emotions and said, “And Eric’s young woman is a sweet, smart college student from a good family and she’s only nineteen.”

“Good Lord.” Raven slapped a hand to her forehead. “She’s an
older
woman!”

Pierce laughed heartily, all vestiges of sadness disappeared. “I don’t believe you’re getting all riled up about this.”

“It’s not funny, Pierce.”

“Yes, it is,” he said, escorting her toward the hangar entrance.

“He’s still a few months away from turning eighteen—”

“Baby, he’s a well-mannered young man, and you should be proud of him. He’s passionate, determined, and thorough. And he pulled off one of the greatest, most successful blind dates in the history of the world. Neither one of us could top that.”

“No fair,” she pouted, “it was all by deception. It might not have happened if—”

“So, you don’t melt every time I do this?” Pierce kissed the small curves of her neck.

She quivered, but recovered with a callous, “Nope.”

Pierce tried again, then waited.

“No fair,” she said, favoring him with a pout.

“I’m not trying to play fair. I want you in my life, Raven. I don’t care how you got here. My only concern is keeping you here.” He kissed her passionately and she tried like hell to hold back but failed—miserably.

“Oh, come on, you two can do better than that.”

Pierce and Raven glowered at Eric who, for some reason,
still
hadn’t made it onto the plane. He held up his hands to ward them off. “Mom, I can’t leave knowing that you might be mad at me. I know I was wrong for…”—he shrugged— “…dipping in grown-folks’ business. But can you honestly say that the way things turned out is such a bad thing?”

“Somewhere in there, a true apology lurks beneath the murky depths of bull—”

“Can’t blame me for trying.”

She waggled a finger at him, saying, “And that innocent little teenager act is over, mister.”

Eric lowered his eyelids and looked at her through his lashes, but his smile made Pierce give him an encouraging one of his own.

“Okay, okay.” She reached for him then. “I love you.”

“I love you, more, Mom.”

She ruffled his wavy hair.

“So did I do a good thing?” His eyebrows lifted comically.

Raven pointed behind him. “Get your little behind on the plane!”

Eric extended his hand to Pierce, who took it and pulled him in for a hug.

“Take care of my mother,” he whispered as the breeze ruffled his waves. “It’s called M-a-r-r-i-a-g-e.”

“Don’t you worry, little man.”

“And don’t forget that little talk we had earlier,” he said, pointing a finger at both of them. “You know, about protection and all that.”

“Boy, I will whip your—” Raven called out but only saw Eric’s back as he ran for the plane and actually made it inside this time.

“So is he right?” Pierce turned her back to face him, touching both sides of her face with his hands. “Can we do better?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You said you don’t feel anything when I do this.” And he kissed her again, more insistently.

She shuddered slightly, but her voice remained steady. “Not a thing.”

“And you don’t feel anything when I do this?” He brushed his lips across the exposed areas of her breasts.

Raven gasped, trembled, but recovered quickly again. She looked at him, and shook her head.

He leaned in, stroking her thighs. “How about—”

Raven pulled back. “Hey!”

“Something?”

Raven adjusted her sarong. “Nothing.”

Wait until they got home. She’d show him
something
all right!

❤ ❤ ❤

As Pierce opened the door to their suite, Raven touched his shoulder gently. “You seem a bit shell-shocked. You barely said a word all the way home.”

He took her hand, escorting her into the living room. “I’ve always planned my day, planned my life; it’s unsettling when things aren’t going according to the way I think they should. I pride myself on order and for the past few days life has been unpredictable.” He tweaked her nose. “Which, by the way, I’m beginning to enjoy. But it sounds like it’s total chaos back home. I know how to manage the kind of chaos that Sim creates. I know his strengths and his weaknesses. I don’t think Steve and Eric realize exactly what they’ve set in motion. This affects more than just them and me. When Sim feels betrayed, he can go on a rampage. And right now I don’t know who he’ll go after first. The fact that I’m not there to manage the drama worries me.”

“Everything will work out just fine.”

“You don’t know how much I’d like to believe that.” He pulled her down onto the sofa. “Let’s not talk about that now.” He leaned over to the table next to them and switched on the stereo, skimming past the island music until he found a contemporary jazz station. She lay in his arms, relishing his masculine scent. His arms held her securely, as though he were afraid a brisk wind would whisk her away. Well, there was no way in hell she would run this time. She wanted him, too—and it was time to step up her game.

Writing the simple details of the way a man felt, his touch, his smell, and even his taste was wonderful. Experiencing them firsthand? Well, in the words of the MasterCard commercial—was priceless. Even the soft rhythm of his breathing aroused her. She felt as though someone had turned her knob from
entrepreneur, mother, and provider
to
hot-blooded vamp
. How could that have happened?

She loved him. Of that one thing she was sure. No matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise: It was too soon, she didn’t really know him, she couldn’t possibly feel this strongly about a man. And the frightening thing was, she had no idea how this would play out. But not knowing what to expect was also…exciting? Yes, exciting. Just as her only child was preparing to leave for college and anywhere else his young mind would take him, a prime companion for her to love had fallen into her lap. Evidently, the universe didn’t like empty spaces.

“Baby.”

“Hmmmm.”

Pierce stroked her arm. “Relax and stop thinking.”

“I’m not thinking, I’m musing.”

“Explain the difference.”

“Well,” she said, seductively, tracing her finger over his broad chest, “there’s not much, but—”

“Like I thought. I’ve stopped thinking, so
you
stop thinking, musing, analyzing—”

“All the bases covered, huh?”

He kissed her forehead. “You, my writer friend, leave me no choice.”

“Well, since I can’t do what I do best, what do you want me to do?”

“Funny you should ask.”

Raven’s lips twitched. She was trying to hide her amusement when she saw a mischievous glint in his eye.

“If I didn’t know any better,” he stroked her bottom, “I’d say you have an itch you’d like me to scratch.”

Raven gave a throaty chuckle. “Damn, I knew you were brilliant. Keep it up, smartass, and the only lovin’ you’ll see will come canned from the adult toy store.”

His smiled widened. “You know about those?”

“I was born on
a
day, it wasn’t
yester
day.”

Pierce’s lips lifted into a small smile before a peal of hearty laughter followed.

The music switched to the soulful sounds of Boney James playing “Lights Down Low.”

“How about that dance you promised me?”

He stood and pulled her to the center of the living room.

She swayed suggestively, her hands weaving slowly around his neck. The music ebbed into her soul as she followed his every move. Then he spun her out, and she milked the turn by dipping her hips in a sexy move that made his eyebrows shoot up. Ha! He wants a dance? He doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into. She broke from his grasp, raising her hands above her head. He froze, his gaze traveling the length of her body, resting on her hips, which began to sway in a slow, sensual rhythm.

Raven heard the sharp intake of breath as his hands fell to his side, tightening into fists. She whirled past the kitchen, stopping just beyond the door, and swizzled her hips, rolling them shamelessly to a rhythm that demanded his full attention. Sashaying toward the master bedroom, she crooked her finger before disappearing through the door.

His footsteps clattered across the tile then muffled as he covered the carpeted areas. She watched the conflict—desire and control—play out over his face, then turned to give him a view of her seductive dance from the rear. She switched on the radio next to the bed, quickly scanned to connect with that same station, then turned back just in time to see a normally controlled Pierce lick his lips and swallow hard before charging in through the door.

Slowly, she released the sarong, then pulled the bathing suit straps down until the material fell open, exposing her breasts for a brief moment before she covered them with her arm.

His expression was so awe-stricken, she felt empowered.

Allowing the suit to fall to the floor, she never slowed her hips in their side-to-side assault on his senses.

Pierce slid onto the bed, never taking his gaze off her.

She moved to the rhythm, her shoulders, breasts and arms swaying as she danced, dipping down to pick up the sarong to use as a fabric shield.

Pierce swallowed, then folded his hands on his lap like a schoolboy in the principal’s office.

Raven only gave him a glimpse as she pulled the material back into position.

His eyes bucked wide, as his lips pressed together.

Raven laughed, the silky sound echoing in the bedroom. She lowered her body almost to the floor, swaying her hips every inch of the way, then snapped up, trailing a single hand over her legs, thighs, stomach, baring her breasts, and body completely. She lowered her hips again, picked up the bathing suit, and flung it at him so it nearly wrapped around his head.