Love on the Rocks Read online

  Her eyes sparkled with delight, blinding him with their intensity and warmth. Raising his glass high in the air, he flashed an even bigger smile. “How about a toast?”

  Placing his free hand on her waist, he pulled her close, and breathed in her sweet, decadent perfume. His stomach rumbled, and he didn’t know if it was because he was hungry or because she smelled so damn good. Desire barreled through him, but he didn’t act on his impulse. Given the choice, he’d skip dinner and go straight to dessert. It was a challenge keeping his hands to himself, but he admonished himself to be patient.

  “What should we toast to?” he asked, his voice thick and husky.

  Their eyes locked. Then, in a voice that fanned the flames, she leaned forward and said, “To new beginnings.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “What’s the matter with us?” Warrick asked, eyeing Tangela from across the table. They’d fumbled through small talk, then sat in silence while they waited for the main course. In the hopes of re-creating their first date, he’d asked the chef to prepare all of Tangela’s favorite foods. Every dish was full of flavor, rich with seasoning and layered in rosemary and garlic. “We’ve known each other for almost ten years, but this feels like a blind date.”

  “I don’t mean to be quiet, but the food is so good, it’s hard to eat and talk.”

  “I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” Her face was the picture of happiness and the flickering glow of the candles magnified the twinkle in her eyes. Tangela was the same woman he had met and fallen in love with all those years ago, but she was different, too. “I never thought about it before, but in some ways we are strangers. We’re not the same people we used to be.”

  “I am,” she argued. “I lost some weight, but I’m the same fun-loving girl inside.”

  Pointing at her with his fork, he swallowed the piece of chicken in his mouth and said, “You’ve changed the most! You were on the cover of People and you were on Ellen.”

  She wore a coy, closemouthed grin. “You saw my interview?”

  “Payton was watching it in the staff room and I caught the tail end of it.”

  “What did you think?”

  “You were nervous, but—”

  “Was it that obvious?”

  “Not to the audience, but I can read you better than anyone. When you’re uncomfortable, you shift in your seat, crossing and uncrossing your legs.” He lifted her hand, intertwined their fingers and flashed a dirty little grin. “It’s adorable, sexy even.”

  Tangela laughed. “You’re very observant. I didn’t even realize I did that.”

  “Want to know something else?” He wet his lips. “I think you’re stunning.”

  “Flattery will get you everywhere,” she quipped, downplaying his praise.

  “Angie, these aren’t lines. You're all those qualities and more.” Tangela was the woman of his dreams, but it wasn’t her shapely thighs or her long legs that excited him, it was the way she treated him. She supported him, cheered him on and spoiled him. “Do you hear that? Our song is playing.” As if overtaken by emotion, he took her hand and squeezed. “I’ll love you when your hair turns gray…” He continued singing.

  Warrick couldn’t sing worth a lick, but she giggled at his off-tune rendition of the Musiq Soulchild song playing on the stereo. Every time she heard “Don’t Change,” her thoughts turned to Warrick and she mentally relived all the good times they’d had.

  “May I have this dance?” he asked, standing and bowing gallantly at the waist.

  That got a smile out of her. She couldn’t resist that look and he knew it. Sliding her legs from underneath the table, she said, “I’d love to.”

  Inside the living room, they swayed their bodies in time with the beat. The song soothed, caressed and uplifted. It was about hope, possibilities and overcoming the odds and made Warrick reflect on how far they’d come. He lost himself in every movement of Tangela’s hips. Wanting more of her, all of her, he pulled her into a body-enveloping squeeze. They stood so close, he could smell red wine on her breath and feel her raging heartbeat.

  Warrick ran his hand along her back. Staring down at her, he read the expression on her face and felt his stomach muscles knot. Their chemistry couldn’t be denied any longer. The glint in her eyes said what she couldn’t. She wanted this, needed this, desired him as much as he did her. Doubts filled his mind, but he dismissed his thoughts. It all came down to what he wanted in life and he wanted her.

  Starving for her kiss, he lowered his head. When their lips touched, a thousand bolts of pleasure zipped down his spine. It was an awesome, unexpected feeling and he needed more. Much more. Her body was his wonderland and every part of her, from her neck to her breasts, was sensitive to his touch. She was his heart, his desire, his future, the single best thing that had ever happened to him. He wanted to please and be pleased and the freedom of being in the moment, kissing and touching and stroking, intensified his desire.

  “My life’s been empty without you,” he whispered.

  He drew her tongue slowly into his mouth and sucked on the tip. Warrick knew the sexiest region on his body was definitely his lips and he knew how to use them. Soft and sensual, they reached hungrily for her, crippling her resolve and pushing her to the brink of delirium. For as long as she lived, she’d never, ever get tired of his kisses. Or the feel of his fingers in her hair. Wanting to savor the moment, she cradled his head in her palms, deepening the kiss.

  “Letting you go was the biggest mistake of my life.”

  His announcement stunned her. “It was?”

  “I love you, Angie. All of you. Your scent. Your eyes. Your sexy little mouth.”

  Tangela held her breath. Warrick had a way of making her feel beautiful and it wasn’t anything he said, it was the depth of his kiss, his loving gaze and the tenderness of his voice when he whispered her name. It didn’t matter what size she was, he appreciated her full, womanly curves and called her his queen. “What if Ricardo comes back?” she asked, her voice breathless with anticipation. She felt his hands under her dress, tracing the top of her thong, then massaging her butt, warmly, expertly, reverently. Abandoning herself to the sensuousness of the music, she closed her eyes and threw her head back. “I don’t…want him…to catch us.”

  “He was only scheduled ’til nine. He’s long gone.”

  Rattled, breathless and desperate for more, she shoved his sweater up over his shoulders. All the kissing and dancing and grinding had whetted her erotic appetite so much that her nipples hardened and her heart rate spiked when she felt his erection against her thigh. She felt light, like air, no, lighter still, she thought, as her eyes fluttered closed.

  They collapsed onto the couch. Adrenaline pumping, hormones raging, Warrick pulled her down on top of him and showered her face with hot, wet kisses. Insane with desire, he unzipped her dress, yanked it down over her hips and tossed it onto the living-room floor.

  Squeezing her breasts, he ran his tongue around a nipple before plucking it into his mouth. His fingers slid inside her and a curse shot out of her mouth. Tangela liked what he was doing. His touch was sweet, his lips divine, his kiss exhilarating. Rotating her hips, she rocked with such force, the couch banged against the wall like an old wooden headboard. He teased her, tantalized her and stroked her to a superintense orgasm that stole her breath. Warrick knew her body intimately, privately, and took great pleasure exciting her. He stroked her to her desired destination and her temperature soared when he whispered in her ear.

  Discarding his undershirt and boxer shorts, he rejoined her on the couch, naked.

  “Warrick, you have such a gorgeous body. I could never get tired of touching you,” she confessed, stroking his chest. Enraptured, she stared at this incredible male specimen standing before her. They continued kissing, but Tangela didn’t want any more foreplay, she wanted the main course. She felt a fire in her belly, a raw, deep-rooted hunger that no one could fill but him.

  “Do you have any condoms?”


  “We never used condoms before,” he pointed out, tracing his finger along the inside of her thigh. “I don’t have any here. You’re not going to make me run out to get some, are you?”

  “Warrick, I want us to have a good time tonight, but safely. We’ve both dated other people and…well, you know.”

  Tilting his head down, as if in deep thought, he rubbed a hand over his head. He was obviously having a problem with his conscience, which could mean only one thing: he’d bedded more women than Mick Jagger. The thought of Warrick with someone else made her heart ache.

  “I haven’t been with anyone else.”

  The revelation was like a thunderbolt in the chest and even something as simple as breathing was a challenge. None of this made sense. Warrick loved sex. Or at least, he used to. When they stopped making love, she’d thought he’d found another woman, but now she knew it wasn’t someone else, it was something else stealing his energy—work. Struck for words, Tangela waited until her head cleared before she said, “You’ve been celibate for two years?”

  Warrick winced. He hated that word. Although he’d never use it to describe his sex life, it was painfully accurate. Unlike Quinten and the guys, he’d never felt compelled to put as many sexual conquests under his belt as possible. The truth was, if he couldn’t have Tangela he didn’t want anyone. “I haven’t had time for anything but work,” he lied smoothly. “And whatever you do, don’t tell the guys. They’d tease me mercilessly if they knew.”

  He chuckled, but Tangela didn’t laugh. Sitting upright, her heart began to thud and her hands shook just enough for her to rethink what she was doing. Staring down at the floor, she peered around the couch in search of her clothes. Tangela wished she had something to cover herself with. A cushion, a magazine, the remote—anything. Her dress along with her bra and panties were strewn across the floor, while she was stuck to the leather sofa freezing to death. Great, now she was cold, horny and humiliated. “This was a mistake. I have to go.”

  Gripping her shoulders, he bent down and grazed his lips across her mouth. He looked into her eyes and stared deep. What he saw bothered him. Tangela was worth the wait and Warrick didn’t care if they made love in a week or a month. All that mattered was that she was finally back in his life. “I didn’t invite you over here to have sex, Angie. That’s not what tonight is about. I want a relationship with you.”

  His smile was real, but she heard something in his voice. Disappointment, definitely, but there was something else, something more….powerful. She’d never seen him this vulnerable before. It was sweet, endearing, charming even. Raking a hand through her hair, she deliberated over what to do. She didn’t want to leave, but the mood had changed and the tension was stifling. “This isn’t how I thought the night would end,” she confessed, turning her body away from him.

  “Me, neither,” he joked, lifting her chin. Their eyes aligned, and for several seconds, he couldn’t speak. God, she was beautiful. Naked, with nothing on but her diamond jewelry, her wet, pouty lips begging to be kissed, she made something as simple as breathing difficult. “There are lots of other things we can do besides making love, you know.”

  “Really? Like what?”

  Grinning, he dropped to his knees and slowly parted her long, glistening brown legs. “Close your eyes and relax. You won’t be sorry.”

  Swathed in a fluffy blue towel, Tangela padded over to the bathroom mirror and sprayed on perfume. Her flight wasn’t for several hours but she wanted to be long gone before Warrick woke up, and he never slept past six. That gave her forty minutes to get dressed and hit the road.

  Applying eyeliner required supreme concentration, but it was hard not to think about Warrick and all the delicious things they’d done last night. When he’d dropped to his knees and positioned his mouth between her legs, she’d been a reluctant participant, but once he started licking and sucking and probing, she’d given in to the delicious sensation of his mouth on the most sensitive part of her body. He’d slid his tongue around every curve, contour and slope. Pleasing, sucking, caressing.

  Shamelessly arching her back, she’d gripped his head, drawing him deeper still. His tongue snaking in and out of her center had stroked her senselessly. When she came for the second time, she’d collapsed onto the bed—breathless, dizzy and spent. But good loving could do that to a girl. The stereo must have been set to repeat, because it was still playing when she’d woken up hours later and Warrick lay beside her, snoring louder than a tractor-trailer.

  “You weren’t going to leave without saying goodbye, were you?”

  The eyeliner fell from her hand and landed in the sink. Eyeing him in the mirror, she watched him stretch, then pat back a yawn. Remembering the plastic shower cap on top of her head, she snatched if off and tossed it on top of the toilet seat. “Warrick, hi. Good morning.”

  “How did you sleep?”

  “Fine, thanks.” Hyperaware of his presence, she lifted her eyes from his bare chest to his face. His gaze held her captive for several seconds. When she came to, she apologized for being in his way. “If you give me ten minutes, I’ll be dressed and out of your hair.”

  “You’re leaving?” Coming up behind her, he watched her in the mirror, a frown stretched across his face “Your flight isn’t until tonight. I thought we’d spend the day together.”

  Mesmerized, she scarcely heard a word he said. That long, meaningful look brought back memories. Hot, erotic memories that made her nipples throb. His erection grazed her butt and her mouth went dry. What was the matter with her? He hadn’t touched her, but she got wet just thinking about them making love. When it came to Warrick, she had two minds. She loved him, but by the same token, she was afraid he’d break her heart again. Bound and determined to leave with her heart still intact, she said the only thing she could. “We had our fun, but now it’s over. I think the correct protocol in this situation is for me to leave.”

  “The correct protocol?” His voice conveyed his surprise. “It sounds like you’ve done this sort of thing before.”

  “Hardly, but I know it would be a bad idea for me to stay.”

  “Says who?”

  “Says Glamour, Cosmo and every other women’s magazine.”

  “You shouldn’t believe everything you read,” he joked, wearing a crooked smile. “Don’t rush off. Hang out for a while and keep me company.”

  Tangela stuck to her guns. “Warrick, I don’t want things to get complicated between us. We both know what this was and—”

  “No, enlighten me. I don’t know what this was.”

  Words escaped her. But that was known to happen when he was around. “We had a great night. Let’s just leave it at that.” Serious, but hoping to lighten the mood, she said, “What happens in the Big Easy, stays in the Big Easy, right, Warrick?”

  “With our history, it could never be just about sex.” His hands careened down her shoulders. “I want more and I know you do, too.”

  “We’ve been down this road before,” she said, leaning heavily on the last word. “I still want to get married and have a big family, while you want—”

  “You, Tangela. I only want you.”

  She stood motionless, completely and thoroughly enthralled. He kissed her slowly. Full of tenderness and love, the kiss felt too good to be true. Aroused, but unwilling to concede defeat, she broke away, refusing to lose control as she had so many times before.

  “You know what my favorite part of last night was?” Stepping forward, he dropped a kiss on her bare shoulder. The pleasure of her scent, her voice, her smile, excited him every time. It was hard not to picture her naked underneath the towel, but he kept telling himself, focus, focus, focus. “The best part of last night was holding you in my arms,” he confessed, brushing his nose against hers, “I’ve wanted you ever since I saw that People magazine cover, but I didn’t want us to make love until I was sure.”

  “Sure of what?”

  “That you loved me.” Warrick breathed deeply. In Tang
ela, he’d found more than just a lover, he’d found a confidant, a helpmate, a best friend. She was his rock, his ace, the single most important person in his life. They had love, respect and truth, all of the criteria for a successful relationship, and he wasn’t losing her a second time. “After you left, life became an endless stream of board meetings, conference calls and late nights at the office. That’s what I thought I wanted, but when I saw you at the Hawthorne party, I realized I was dying a slow death without you. If I’ve learned anything since you left, it’s that…”

  Her eyes grew moist as she listened to him speak. Conflicted voices whirled in Tangela’s brain. No, she wasn’t going to confuse a night of passion with true love. They were attracted to each other, but that didn’t mean they were soul mates. Truth was, she wanted him to paw her, grab, grip and squeeze until she was insane with desire. Then, she’d get dressed and be on her merry little way.

  Gripping her shoulders, he turned her around, so they were standing chest-to-chest. Face flushed, legs weak, she watched as he loosened her towel and sucked in a gasp when it fell to the floor. His hands were in her hair, then along her hips and down her thick thighs. Keeping her back straight, her body upright, she gripped the edge of the sink for support. How was she supposed to resist him when he was doing all the things she loved? Sucking her earlobes, tweaking her nipples, rubbing his penis hard against her. She opened her mouth to protest, but when he smashed her breasts together, aggressively licking each one, a moan fell from her lips. “Warrick, I don’t want this.”

  “Yes, you do,” he insisted, nudging her legs farther apart. “I ran out and got condoms while you were in the shower, so this is going to happen and it’s going to happen now.”

  He ran his thumb along her vulva, parting and spreading her lips wide open. His touch weakened her, crippled her, making her feel delirious with need and excitement. Swallowing a whimper, she allowed her head to fall back. She was breathing hard, her eyelids were heavy and she felt sharp, intense jolts of pleasure. “If you didn’t love me, you wouldn’t be here. And you wouldn’t have spent the night in my bed, but you did, which means…” He cupped her chin, forcing her head up, forcing her to meet his eyes. “You still love me.”