“It’s true,” she giggled wriggling her wrists some more, but when I wouldn’t let them go, she reached up on her tiptoes to kiss me.
I turned my head to the side, and she frowned.
“W-what’s the matter?” she whispered shaking her head. Her eyes fluttered. “You don’t want me?”
“The opposite,” I answered quickly. “I do want you, but I want to show you that the bullshit those girls said isn’t true.”
Her eyes softened as the trepidation erased.
I bent my mouth to hers and kissed it. “Stay the night, Tash,” I begged. “If we have sex, we have it – but not right now. I just wanna’ hold you. Maybe pop some popcorn and watch a movie?”
She smiled the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen on a woman. “I’d like that,” she whispered.
I searched through my drawers and pulled out a long-sleeved flannel shirt. Then I undressed her, calling myself a jackass the entire time, as my eyes feasted on her bare, brown curves.
Her eyes glinted as I buttoned the front. “Looks like somebody is having second thoughts,” she teased me.
“I can’t lie, Tash; and if I didn’t think you’d believe those bitches, trust me when I tell you, I’d have you riding my cock like a biker chick.”
She laughed and so did I.
She climbed into the bed and I clenched my bottom lip between my teeth when I got sight of the curve of her juicy ass. If I wasn’t an ass man before this, I was now.
I threw her the remote and she started flipping channels as I hurried into the kitchen to pop the kernels.
“Anything you wanna’ watch?” I called out.
“What about Legally Blonde?” she called back, and then she yawned.
I hated that fucking movie, but for her I’d watch it.
I poured the popcorn into a bowl and grabbed two beers before going back into the bedroom, but by the time I got there, my Tasha was fast asleep. The television screen was blank, and the remote sat loose in her hands. Her head was propped up on the pillows, but her neck was bent at the most awkward angle.
My arms loosened as I stared at her, struck by her beauty, and after a second of pointless gawking, I rested the popcorn and beverages on the night table and slid in the bed next to her. I readjusted her, so that she was nestled next to me. Instinctively, she rustled against me and rested her head on my bicep.
I kissed the top of her head and looked up at the ceiling. “I want a girl like you,” I whispered, and then I fell asleep next to her.
Chapter Thirteen
Simone
By the time I was finished at the spa, I was whisked away to my interview. The entire time, Dinah was on the phone making arrangements and scheduling meetings. Already, she was planning my next book tour, even though I hadn’t written the damn book.
“Can you go easy on the pressure?” I muttered when she finally hung up from one call.
“You work well under pressure,” she replied peering at her phone. “That’s what you told me anyway… and I don’t mean just with the books.”
I rolled my eyes at her and tried not to smile. I was thinking about Jaxson again, even though I was using every bit of my willpower not to.
She started tapping a message onto the screen and that was when I noticed her frown.
“Damn, your phone is blowing up almost as much as Jaxson’s was yesterday,” I muttered, bitter. “What’s got your face all twisted up like that?”
“Nothing,” she claimed. “I’m just handling something that’s popped up about your interview.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine,” she said as the limo pulled up next to the radio station. She clicked the phone off and grinned at me. “Hello New York! Simone Storm is about to enter the building, Let’s get it, woman.”
As I strutted into the radio station, I was sexy and I knew it. The hair was up in a top knot, but it was way more elaborate than what Jaxson could have produced. I’d even considered doing another hairdo, just to switch it up a bit a secretly spite him, but that would be petty and pointless. The makeup was on fleek, thanks to the rejuvenating spa session, and as I made my way to the station, I garnered the looks of several men who were crowded in the hall. The minute I walked by, their activity stopped. I gave them a sassy once over, before quickly dismissing them.
Damn, Jaxson. Why’d you have to go and mess up like that?
‘Tasha, I’m sorry…’
The words from the scene slammed me and I stumbled through the studio door.
Dinah gripped my arm. “Storm, you all right?”
“Girl, I’m fine,” I said, readjusting myself. “These new heels are the real deal, though.”
She side-eyed me and I ignored her.
“Hey!” Two hostesses jumped to their feet and rushed in my direction. One jutted her hand out for me to shake and the other started bowing before me, like I was the Goddess of Eroticism and Romance.
“Simone Storm, it is such a privilege and an honor to have you on our show today,” the one said, shaking my hand until I thought it would come off my arm. “I’m Lisa.”
The one offering reverence chimed in. “And I’m Rochelle. We’re so psyched to interview you about your series.”
“And the sexy Evan Hanson,” Lisa added.
I smiled, but it was tight. “It’s a pleasure to be here,” I said. “Any opportunity I get to talk about my characters, I jump on it.” I turned and introduced Dinah, who offered the women a kind, but businesslike smile before waving goodbye and heading out of the door, eyes pinned onto her phone.
“Let’s get this show started,” Rochelle encouraged. “As you know, we have thousands of listeners who tune in every night to hear our thoughts and opinions on the latest romance releases.”
“Yup!” Lisa agreed. “When we announced that you’d be on the show last night, we were bombarded with calls and emails. The listeners are thrilled about this show.”
They handed me a pair of earphones and I fitted them over my hair, then I settled in the seat and waited for the show to begin. After a bit of commentary and a few commercials, I was taking the stage.
“Hey, hey, hey LoveTalk Radio!” Rochelle sang into the microphone and settled in her seat. “Y’all know what time it is.”
“Y’all better know,” Lisa came in on cue. “We’ve only been anticipating this moment for twenty-four hours!”
They laughed.
“But the countdown has ended, ain’t that right, Chelle?”
“It sure has because the one, the only, the stunning, Simone Storm is in the house!” Sexy music kicked off in the background and I figured it was time for me to say something.
“Hey Lis and Rochelle. Hey LoveTalk!”
“Heeeyyyy!” they sang back.
“So, Simone Storm, we’re gonna’ jump right into it because we have an hour and we want to use the time wisely. There’s so much for us to talk about. You have two books out and you’re working on your third,” Rochelle said.
I leaned closer to the mic. “Correct.”
“Your Forever Yours series is hot, hot, hot!”