Finally, she decided on being as honest as she could without revealing too much of herself.
“No, I’m not tired of you. I just don’t want you to get tired of me. It could happen easily if we keep going at the rate we’ve been going.”
Carlton could only look at his wife in shock. Did she really have no idea how captivated he was by her? Did she really not know that he could never tire of her? That he would eat, sleep, drink and inhale her if he could? That the thought of spending two measly weeks away from her and the beautiful baby boy that she had given him was driving him mad?
She really had no clue of the power she held over him and that amazed him. Sure that he wore his heart on his sleeve as far as she was concerned, he could also tell by the troubled look in her eyes and her apprehensive posture that she really worried he might one day grow tired of her. Suddenly struck with a desire to remove all her worries, he pulled her tight.
“You don’t have to worry about me ever getting tired of you.”
Considering him thoughtfully, she smiled. “That’s sweet of you to say.”
“I’m not trying to be sweet. I’m being honest.” He tried to think of a way to convey his sincerity. Given the way their relationship got started, it would be difficult to get her to see that his feelings for her went deeper than the sex, even if the sex was pretty damn incredible.
His feelings for her ran so deep that he was afraid to explore them lest he drown in them. He’d seen what that kind of uncontrolled devotion had done to his parents and he grew up without them because of it. He didn’t want to relive that legacy with his own wife.
“I will never tire of you.” Bending his head, he brushed her lips with his own, resorting to the only form of expression that didn’t leave him feeling totally exposed and vulnerable.
The openness with which she accepted his kiss sparked his desire even more than he could have imagined. Her mouth was sweet. A simple kiss from her could bring him to his knees. The feel of her lush body under his hand sent a jolt to his gut. If anyone had told him that she would become even sexier and even more beautiful after giving birth to his son, he would have thought the person crazy.
Pushing her back on the bed, lifting her beige cashmere skirt and pulling down her silk panties, he bent to kiss her in a more intimate way. The subtle moans coming from her urged him on and his tongue took on a life of its own. Once he had positioned her thighs to grant him the exact amount of access he desired, he used his hands for a more pressing and important task. The fingers of one hand spread her folds and allowed his tongue to dart back and forth, sapping up her juices with deft precision. The thumb on his other hand, unwilling to miss out on the action, made circles around her pleasure point until soon the core of her constricted almost violently against his tongue.
She moaned again, but there was nothing soft or fragile about this moan. When she shook with the last bits of her orgasm, he stood and hurriedly disrobed. He joined her in bed just as she was about to curl up into the splendor of her aftermath.
“Not so fast, precious. I’m nowhere near finished with you.”
He fought back a laugh as she tried to be helpful, all the while still in her postorgasmic daze. He straightened her and started to take off the rest of her clothing. Her eyes fluttered half open, half shut, and her lips curled into a delicious little smile that made him work all the more diligently.
Trying to help by lifting her hips as he pulled off the skirt, she managed to lift her torso just the few inches that made removing her bra easier. When he was done he examined her for a full minute before the hardened extension of him lurched in protest.
Gazing at Carlton, her eyes fully open, Latonya opened her legs and her arms reached upward toward him. He looked magnificent in his chiseled muscular perfection. Every ripple on his body called out for her to touch it and she could barely wait for him to join her.
He allowed the tip of his penis to tease her folds. She felt her chest constrict and she took a sharp intake of breath as she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. He entered her fully then, quickly with urgency. He felt like heaven.
“Oh, baby, you feel so good. You’re so hot and so damn sweet. I don’t know what I’m going to do for two weeks without you.” Carlton plunged deeper inside of her.
He grabbed her behind and rocked in her. She opened her mouth and let out a sigh just as she felt the soft spasms of her orgasm wrapping tightly around him.
“I love it when you come for me, darling. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life. Promise that you will only share this with me. Tell me that you’re mine.”
“Oh, Carlton. Oh, God.” Her body quivered and shook with the beginning of another orgasm.
He thrust deeper and harder. His voice, somewhere between a grunt and a growl, demanded, “Say it for me. Tell me that this belongs to me. That you are mine.”
Gazing at him with half-open eyes, she swore he was seeing clear into the depths of her soul. She felt as if he was pouring himself into her, all of him.
“Yes, Carlton. I’m yours. I belong to you. All of me belongs to you.”
Her words tipped him over the edge. His body shook and she felt him shudder in her arms. When it was over he collapsed, but not before cuddling her closely to him. She never wanted him to let her go.
Chapter 12
After spending a week indoors with her sick child, Latonya was finally coaxed out of the house by Pamela, Jillian and Gran. Pamela had to practically push Latonya out of little Carl’s room. And Jillian pulled her the rest of the way out of the house. The older women felt that she didn’t get out enough, and that she could at least enjoy lunch and some window-shopping.
Happy that her grandmother could get around almost as well as she used to, Latonya gladly joined them.
Although in her late sixties, the full-figured Evelyn Stevens could give women twenty years her junior a run for their money. In fact, the men who stood in front of the neighborhood liquor store had given Gran the nickname sexy-round-brown. She’d laugh and tell them she was going to pray for their wicked souls before prancing off. She wasn’t as round as she used to be due to a doctor-ordered diet plan brought on by the stroke. However she still had what she called meat on her bones. Her flawless brown skin held the slightest makeup. And since she refused to go gray, her jet-black hair—compliments of Dark and Lovely—was pinned up in a French twist.
The fact that the Gran and Jillian had become fast friends pleased Latonya, but it also meant that she had to deal with the two of them telling her what to do instead of just one. The two of them together were like a tag team. Adding Gran’s tall, full-figured, God-fearing demeanor to Jillian’s short, small-framed, sassy persona made for a powerful one-two punch. Latonya just hoped she had the stamina to deal with both of the opinionated women at the same time.
After spending the morning shopping for bargains with them, she treated them both to one of the fancier restaurants in downtown Miami. It pleased her to be able to take them to such an upscale place.
“So, Peanut, tell me what you’ve been up to and how is my great-grandbaby?” Gran’s question seemed innocent enough.
Jillian jumped in and answered before Latonya got a chance to even open her mouth. “Child, you should see how she hovers over that little boy. He didn’t have anything but the sniffles, a little bitty cold. She could have gone to Barbados with her husband. But, no, she couldn’t trust anyone else to take care of her baby boy.”
Latonya glanced at Jillian and noted that the small spitfire was on a roll.
Shaking her head, Gran frowned theatrically before she spoke. “Mmm-hmm, you’re going to spoil that baby boy, Peanut. You need to get out more. In fact, now that he’s two, you need to go on back to work. You’re just sitting home all day waiting for Carlton to come home. You didn’t go through all that schooling just to sit home, did you?”
So much for Gran’s innocent concern. The lunch date had quickly turned into an inquisition.
“Evelyn, child, I tell her the same thing. But I don’t think Carlton wants her to work. I can’t see why he doesn’t. He always was a little controlling. Tell the truth, all them Harrington men are controlling from the senior to the junior—God bless the dead—to the third and, if we’re not careful, the little fourth. I’m telling you, Evelyn, you should see how that little baby boy has his mama wrapped right around his little finger.” Again, Jillian flooded the air with her thoughts on the matter without being asked.
Latonya studied the two women. They meant well. She knew that without a doubt. Since both women had gone through relationships where the men hadn’t stuck around long, they had raised their children by themselves. They were of the don’t-sit-around-and-depend-on-no-man school. Gran had always told Latonya to be sure that she could take care of herself. She took their advice in the spirit that it was given. However, she planned to spend a little more time with her child before going back to work. And she refused to believe spending time with her son would do him harm, no matter what the older women said.
Gran frowned as if she’d tasted something bitter. “You’re going to spoil him and then he won’t be any good for anyone. You should know better, too. You weren’t raised with a silver spoon in your mouth. You better be careful with that boy. If he gets too bad, he can’t come stay with great-grandmama. Because I don’t go in for all that foolishness.” Gran took a sip of her tea and shook her head.
“Well, Evelyn—”
