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“I didn’t do anything. My mother, on the other hand, made arrangements for us to get a sneak peek at everything the government has.”
China shook her head slowly. “Why am I not surprised?” She tossed back her drink.
“Because you know my mother.” Alexander folded his body onto his extra-wide and extra-long sectional. He stretched out his long legs and laid his head against the sofa’s high, round back. “The rain’s really coming down now,” Alexander observed.
“Yes, it is. It looks like we’ll be here a minute. Just another late night at the office, thanks to you.”
“Hey, we have alcohol and snacks,” Alexander offered.
“There is that.” Her sarcasm came through loud and clear.
China rose from the chair and went to join Alexander on the daybed portion of the sectional. She curled up, pulled down the decorative throw that was hanging across the back of the sofa and covered her legs. China laid her head against one of the large pillows.
“You know we didn’t do anything wrong, right? Whatever this is about, we will handle it.” China raised her head slightly and said, “The right way.” She gave him a knowing look.
Alexander laughed and turned toward China. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a new man?”
“You don’t tell me about every woman you sleep with.” China laid her head back down.
Alexander’s heart sank and his breath caught in his throat. He didn’t understand why. China had never been his, so why did he suddenly feel a sense of betrayal? “Oh, it’s like that?” His left eyebrow rose.
China pushed out a breath. “No, it’s not. This was only our second date and it got cut short thanks to another one of your emergencies...nonemergency call,” she said, closing her eyes.
Alexander had refused to explore why lately he found himself having emergencies that required China’s immediate attention whenever she was out on dates. “Oh...sorry.”
“No, you’re not,” she said, keeping her eyes closed.
No, I’m not. Alexander watched the rise and fall of China’s chest with each slow breath she took. He marveled at the curve between her neck and shoulder, and the delicate way her hands lay at her sides. Alexander had always been attracted to China, but for the sake of their friendship, he’d buried his attraction and complicated feelings for his best friend. He hadn’t always had the best track record when it came to his relationships with women. Alexander never wanted to do anything that would jeopardize their friendship; however, his overwhelming feelings now had him...questioning that wisdom.
* * *
“China,” Alexander whispered.
It was a sound that sent a warm, familiar tingling throughout her body. “Yes...” China could feel the warmth of Alexander’s breath on her face and her body began to respond in ways that it shouldn’t.
“You ’sleep?”
“Maybe.” China slowly opened her eyes to Alexander’s face inches from hers.
“Can I ask you something?” Alexander pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear before running the back of his right index finger slowly down the side of her face, and China’s nipples instantly hardened.
What the hell is wrong with you, girl? This is Alexander. “Of course.” But you really need to stop touching me.
“Have you ever wondered what it would be like?” Alexander held her gaze as he imprisoned her chin with his thumb and index finger. “Between the two of us.”
China blinked to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. After all, this was her best friend talking. The one person she trusted above all others. The only man whose friendship she cherished more than any sexual desire that she may have had for him. “Yes, but...”
Alexander captured China’s mouth in a mind-melting kiss that she responded to with just as much fervor. “I want you,” he proclaimed, coming up for air. Alexander ran his tongue across her lips, removed her hair clip and buried his fingers in her hair. He slid his tongue across her jaw and down her neck.
China’s body begged for surrender while her mind was trying to fight through the thick fog of her unrelenting desire. What the hell are you doing? This is Alexander. He’s a brilliant businessman and the best friend you’ve ever had but when it comes to making long-term commitments to women he’s just not that guy. “I...I’m not...”
Alexander raised his head, looked into her eyes and said, “I’ll stop if you want me to.” His eyes roamed her face. “Please don’t want me to.”
“I just don’t want to ruin things between us,” she whispered before leaning forward, kissing him gently on the lips. “But I can’t seem to stop touching you, either.”
“It won’t. I promise.” Alexander kissed her on the corner of her mouth. “And please don’t stop touching me.”
China had always wondered what it would be like to make love with Alexander...to be devoured by him. The thought of spending one rainy night together seemed harmless, especially with the new direction that her life would soon be taking. It was a direction she knew Alexander would support but never agree with. Now might be the only time she could satisfy her curiosity without lasting repercussions. China confined Alexander’s face between her hands and kissed him as though it would be her last opportunity. They kissed each other with urgency, as if each was afraid the other would change their mind.
Clothes were ripped off and thrown across the room. Alexander retrieved a condom from a hidden compartment inside the drawer of his coffee table. China threw her head back and laughed at the move. “Well, it is Friday night and you were a Boy Scout.”
“What?” Alexander frowned.
“Always being prepared...and you even have creative hiding places for your personal items, too,” she teased.
Alexander silenced her with another heart-piercing kiss. He ran his nose and lips along the edge of her cheek and down the side of her neck to her shoulder. Alexander slowly kissed his way down the valley of her breasts to her left nipple, where he sucked and pulled as if she was providing him with the sweetest nectar.
China arched her back and moaned, “Yes, Alex...yes.”
Within seconds Alexander had rolled the condom on, had China’s left leg over his shoulder and her right hooked around his waist, and he was buried deep inside of her. The initial thrust of his hips sent China’s body into a crazed frenzy. She had never felt so reckless and complete all at the same time, and she loved every moment of it. The idea of maintaining her celibacy was quickly fading to the background.
Their sexual roller-coaster ride was something China had never experienced before. Alexander made sure they both enjoyed every peak and valley before they took that last intense dive over the edge. They both lay naked, flat on their backs across the daybed, trying to catch their breath.
“That was—”
“Cr... Crazy!” China said between gulps of air.
“Exhilarating,” he corrected, turning toward her. “Who knew you were so flexible?”
China turned her head toward him. “You should have. How many gymnastic competitions did you come see me in?”
“Yeah, but that was years ago. I had no idea you could still do the splits, and in so many different ways, too.”
China laughed and covered her face with both hands. “Shut up.”
“I’ll be right back.” Alexander made his way to the bathroom.
China dropped her hands. “Girl, what in the hell did you just do? You can’t even blame it on the alcohol,” she said to herself, giggling.
Alexander returned and scooped China up into his arms. “What are you doing?” she asked, loving the feel of his sweaty skin against her own.
“Shower time.” Alexander carried China into the bathroom, where they showered and made love again. After helping China dry off, Alexander offered her one of his dress shirts that he kept at the office. She slipped it on and they returned to the daybed where they lay snuggling, watching the rain and falling asleep in each other’s arms.
Chapter 2 (#u93864a0c-b2bd-5e15-bfce-7d37258b9b2b)
China woke to the sound of her cell phone beeping. She was naked and lying on top of a sound-asleep Alexander. At some point in the night they had made love again, but this time decided to forgo showering or clothes. Making love with Alexander had been better than China had ever imagined. His powerful yet gentle touch had awakened emotions that she knew she had to bring under control. China eased off Alexander, reached for his dress shirt that was now on the floor and quickly wrapped her body in it.
The automatic shades on Alexander’s windows had kicked in, preventing the morning sunlight from shining completely through the room. China picked up her phone, read the message and moved over to the conference table that sat on the other side of Alexander’s large mahogany desk. She hit her phone’s redial button and waited for the call to connect.
“Good morning, Jackson.”
Jackson Weatherly, a successful pediatric surgeon from a wealthy family of physicians, was China’s date from the previous night.
“You okay? I got worried when I didn’t hear back from you,” he stated, his voice full of concern.
“I’m fine,” she said, not quite sure if she really believed that. “Things got a little crazy here last night.”
“You’re still at the office?” Jackson’s voice raised an octave.
“Yes.”
“Wow, talk about dedication,” he replied.
“That’s one way of putting it.” China covered her eyes with her left hand and shook her head.
“How about I come pick you up and take you out for breakfast?”
“Not today, Jackson. I have some loose ends I need to tie up here.” China knew that no matter how wonderful their night may have been, giving in to her desires for Alexander had been a mistake. He wasn’t prepared to give her the one thing she so desperately wanted: a child. “How about brunch tomorrow?”
“Sunday it is. I’ll pick you up at eleven,” he promised.
“See you then.” China ended the call, sensing she was no longer alone.
“A loose end, am I?” a deep baritone voice asked.
China turned to find a naked and erect Alexander standing with his arms folded, glaring down at her. She quickly diverted her eyes, but her body was already responding to the sight. No matter how hard she tried, China knew she couldn’t hide her physical response to the man who’d provided her with an unendurable amount of pleasure all night.
“Put some clothes on, Alexander.” China shifted in her seat, trying to relieve the instant pressure rising between her legs.
Alexander’s expression dulled. “Oh, it’s Alexander now. Last night it was yes, Alex...right there, Alex...how do you like this, Alex?” He turned like a defiant child forced to follow his parents’ orders. Alexander reached for his pants and quickly slipped them on.
“That was last night, which was—”
“Don’t you dare say it was a mistake,” he said to the back of her head.
China placed her phone on the table, turned and met Alexander’s angry leer. She could almost see the fury radiating from his body. China stood, walked over to him and placed both hands on his chest. She stared up into his eyes and said, “No, it wasn’t a mistake. Last night was curiosity being explored. It was a magnificent experience that’s over and can’t happen again. We’re friends, remember?”
Alexander dropped his arms, placed his left hand over hers and sighed. “Always.”
“Good.” She pulled her hands free. “Now finish getting dressed and give me a ride home.”
“You really don’t think we should even talk about last night?” His forehead puckered. “Maybe see where this thing could lead.”
“No. One night doesn’t change the people we are...what we want. Our friendship works because we don’t try to push our individual needs and wants onto each other,” China reminded him.
“That’s because for years our needs and wants have always been in sync.”
China twisted her neck and raised her left eyebrow. “Almost all of our needs.”
“You mean the kid thing.” Alexander placed his hands in his pants pockets.
“Yes, the kid thing. I want them and I’m building my life around having them, and you’re indifferent on the subject. That alone prevents us from going any further than last night.” China placed her right hand on her hip. “You can wait until whenever to have children. Women aren’t so lucky. I know firsthand what it’s like to have an older parent and I won’t do that to my child...hopefully children.”
China had been raised by a single mother in the military, and while she’d loved the travel and different adventures they got to experience, having an older mother with sensitive, fair Irish skin prone to wrinkles had made things uncomfortable for China growing up; people assumed that her mother was her grandmother. Her mother’s love of the sun hadn’t helped the situation, either. She’d died from an aggressive form of skin cancer before China’s twenty-first birthday.
“You’re barely twenty-nine years old, China, and you sound like you’re on some deadline,” he declared, his apathy on the subject clear.
I am. “I need someone who’s of the same mindset as me when it comes to having children, and I think I may have found someone.” China started gathering up her clothes.
“Have you, now?”
“I’m not discussing this with you right now, Alexander.” Between thoughts of her mother, China’s own desperate need to create a family and dealing with feelings that being with Alexander unleashed, the last thing China wanted was for Alexander to see her break down; his kind heart and big strong shoulders would be hard to resist. She was drowning in emotions and needed space to pull herself together. China disappeared into the bathroom.
* * *
Alexander watched China retreat to his private bathroom. “Dammit,” he said, as he pounded his right fist into his left hand. Even after a rambunctious night of lovemaking with China, Alexander’s body still craved her unlike any other woman he’d had. He wasn’t sure what this thing between them was, but he was determined to figure it out. He was not going to just give up. Alexander was moving toward the bathroom when he heard his office door open. He turned just in time to see his family’s matriarchs cross the threshold. Watching China walk away from him while his mother and aunt walked toward him as he stood in his office shirtless had Alexander wondering if the last couple of minutes had been a nightmare.
Victoria Langston Kingsley and Elizabeth Langston Kingsley, Alexander’s mother and aunt, had inherited their father’s floundering corporation, and with the help of their husbands—brothers Alexander and Harrison Kingsley—the sisters turned their struggling company into one of the most successful privately held oil and natural gas companies in the country.
“I told you he’d be here,” Victoria proudly declared, entering the office wearing a gray-and-white St. John suit with gray pumps. She wore a small amount of makeup and her hair was pulled back in a tight, conservative bun. Victoria was athletically built and looked nowhere near her fifty-plus years. She was carrying a white cardboard box with a large envelope on its top, placing it on the desk before Alexander could offer his assistance. “In a crisis, where else would he be?”
“That you did, sister dear. Like mother, like son,” Elizabeth said, brushing a long, curly strand of hair behind her ear and looking just as young and fit as her sister.
“Mother...Aunt Elizabeth, what are you doing here?” Alexander asked, briefly looking over his shoulder and grabbing his T-shirt as he moved into his office out of the lounge. He pulled the shirt over his head before kissing his mother on the cheek.
“Well, good morning to you, too,” Victoria replied, tilting her head.
Alexander placed his right hand over his heart. “My apologies. Good morning, ladies.”
“Better!” Victoria said, her mouth set firm.
“Good morning, nephew. You do realize that you have a striking home, right? Try staying in it more often,” his aunt advised before pulling Alexander into her arms for a hug.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Alexander promised, stepping out of her arms. “Don’t you both look lovely this morning.”
“I look lovely.” Victoria pointed to herself. “In that long, flower-print dress, with its giant matching hat that’s in the car, Liz looks like a painting.”
“A Rembrandt,” Elizabeth snapped back before taking a seat at the conference table.
“More like a Warhol,” Victoria countered.
Alexander laughed. “What brings you two here on a Saturday morning?”
“If you’d checked your messages you’d have seen I’ve been trying to reach you,” Victoria explained.
Alexander retrieved his phone from his desk. “What’s so important that it couldn’t wait until I got back to you?”
“Or at least until after our board meeting this morning,” Elizabeth added, checking her watch.
