He took her hand and led her down the hallway to his door. She was too busy trying not to tinkle that she couldn’t even pay attention to the beautiful architecture of the building. As soon as he opened the door and flicked the light switch, she burst through and kicked her shoes off.

  “There’s a bathroom right there in the hall,” Adrian said to her, but she was already racing toward it.

  She barely cared to shut the door. She hiked her dress up and plopped down on the toilet, happy she’d decided not to wear panties that night. She was also happy that it was just a number one and not a number two. Kiesha didn’t think she’d ever be able to look at Adrian the same if she stunk up his bathroom the first time she ever went to his house. When she was done, she washed her hands and left the elegant bathroom. She found him sitting on one of his barstools patiently waiting for her.

  “You good?” he asked.

  “Much better now, thank you,” she said and spun in a circle, taking his place in. “Wow, Adrian. This is really nice.”

  She walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room and was blown away by the view of the city. It was beautiful. What she would give to wake up to a view like that every day. He walked up behind her and stood so close she could feel his warm breath on her neck.

  “Thank you. This is where I stand sometimes to clear my head. It helps to see everyone down there living their lives. It makes mine seem less important.”

  “And that helps you?”

  “It does. Because it reminds me that everybody has something going on, and that helps me be honest with myself about anything and everything. Maybe it can do the same for you.”

  “What do you mean?” she breathed.

  “In the car, you didn’t finish your statement.”

  “I wasn’t going to say anything important,” she lied.

  “Don’t lie to me, Kiesha.” His voice got lower and deeper.

  Adrian placed his hands on her sides and slowly let them slide to her stomach. She inhaled a sharp breath when he pulled her to him. She felt his warm body on her and almost let her head fall back into his chest, but she tried to keep it together. But when she spoke again, her tone was low and soft.

  “I was . . . I was going to say that Cam is nice, but my mind is always on you. I don’t understand it, because you don’t want me. But this short time with you has felt like a lifetime, and every second I spend with you, I think I fall for you even more.”

  “Why do you think I don’t want you?”

  “You fucked Megan the night of our event.”

  “You showed up with Cam.” Adrian sighed behind her. “I don’t usually admit shit like this, but I’m a man, and I can admit when I’m wrong. I was jealous when you showed up, looking how you were looking, with him by your side and not me. I didn’t get it at the time. I just knew how I felt. Angry. And I kept thinking about the two of you, of him and you having . . . you know. And it made me even more jealous, so I fucked Megan. But the whole time, I was wishing it was you.”

  “That’s stupid as hell. You were mad at me, so you fucked somebody else?”

  “You fucked Cam.”

  “No, I didn’t! I’ve never fucked anybody before. I’m a virgin.”

  Kiesha didn’t mean to blurt it out like that. She swore she felt a pause in Adrian’s breathing. His hands loosened on her stomach, and he turned her around to face her. He looked her dead in her eyes, and she gave him the same energy back. There wasn’t disbelief in his eyes. More like shock.

  “You’re a virgin?”

  “Yes.” Kiesha rolled her eyes. “I’m not a nun or anything. It just hasn’t happened yet.”

  “Wow,” he said and took a step away from her.

  That hurt her.

  “Now what? You don’t like me anymore?”

  “No, no, that’s not it. I just feel like a fucking idiot. I really thought you and Cam—”

  “Well, we didn’t.”

  Kiesha crossed her arms and leaned against the window behind her. She felt him staring at her again, but she kept her eyes on the ground. She didn’t know why, but she couldn’t look at him. She didn’t know how she had gotten herself into a love triangle, but she had. And the person who was going to get hurt in it didn’t deserve it, but she knew who she yearned for, who she truly wanted, and it was the man standing in front of her.

  “Kiesha,” Adrian finally said and tried to grab her hands.

  “Don’t,” she said and kept her arms tightly crossed. “You can take me home now.”

  “All right, if that’s what you really want.”

  “I do.” Her lips moved, but her body didn’t.

  She finally looked at him and felt flutters throughout her whole body, not just her stomach. Her eyes told him the words her lips couldn’t, and he just nodded. Adrian reached for her hands again, and that time she didn’t resist. He pulled her to him and put her arms on his shoulders.

  “I want you,” he breathed down at her, holding the small of her back. “So much so that I’ll be done with my rules to try this for real. If you’ll have me. I don’t care about what you have going with Cam. That shit is dead to me. You were mine the moment I laid eyes on you.”

  “Oh, Adrian,” she said right before their lips locked.

  Their kiss was so deep and passionate it felt like Kiesha was floating. It took a few moments for her to realize she actually was. Adrian had scooped her up off her feet and carried her to his bedroom. They only broke their kiss when he placed her gently on the edge of his bed. He stood in front of her, and she rubbed his bare chest all the way down to his six-pack. Her lips kissed him there, too. She wanted to feel him inside of her, but she was afraid. Still, her clit throbbed at the sight of his erection. Her hand caressed it through his jean shorts, and he moaned.

  “I’ve never done anything before except kiss,” she told him.

  “Are you sure you want to do this then?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I’ll show you.” He leaned down and placed another kiss on her lips before exiting the room. When he came back, he was holding a warm towel in his hand. “Lay back, baby.”

  Trusting him, she did as she was told. She watched as he gently lifted her dress, spread her legs, and marveled at the sight of her fat kitty cat. A low moan escaped his lips again, and he shook his head at the beautiful sight. He used the rag to wipe her off, from the rooter to the tooter. She found herself giggling. She forgot she had used the bathroom, but she wasn’t embarrassed. She was happy that he was a clean man. When he was done, he set the towel to the side.

  “What now?” she asked.

  “Now I devour you,” he said and positioned his head between her legs.

  She didn’t have time to have another thought before she felt the first lick on her clit. That first clit lick turned into many, and when she felt his lips wrap around it, her back arched. She’d never felt anything so pleasurable, and many cries slipped through her lips. Her juices began flowing like a river down his chin, but that seemed to turn Adrian on even more.

  “I’m going to start with one finger, okay?” he told her, and she nodded.

  When he put his middle finger at her tight hole, Kiesha braced herself. She felt the pressure as it slid in and out of her, but quickly the pleasure came with it. As he fingered her, he kept licking her clit. Her hips swirled to match the strokes of his finger thrusts.

  “Fuck, Kiesha, you’re turning me on,” he said in between licks. “This wet-ass pussy. I’m gonna do two fingers now, okay?”

  She nodded again, letting him know that she was ready. That time, she felt a small nipping pain, but it went away. He was handling her with care and began making the “come here” motion inside of her love tunnel. Kiesha had to grip the comforter of his bed tightly to keep from running away.

  “Adrian! Adrian. I’m . . . I’m . . .”

  “Let it come, baby, let it come,” he urged and proceeded to beat her clit up with his tongue.

  Finally Kiesha exploded. Her orgasm felt like the flood after a river dam broke. Her lips and legs mirrored each other as they quivered. Her brow was crinkled, and she uttered love cries. Adrian came up for air and kissed her again deeply.

  “I think that’s good for tonight,” he whispered, but she shook her head.

  “I want more,” she told him hungrily. “I want you inside of me.”

  “Kiesha . . .”

  “I want you, Adrian.”

  He couldn’t turn her away. Not when she was lying there looking as sexy as she was. Kiesha pushed him off of her, and he scooted up onto the bed so that his back was against the pillows. She crawled sexily toward him and straddled him. He watched as she pulled her dress over her head and revealed her perfect body. His hands explored every inch of it, squeezing her voluptuous bottom, and he ended up holding on to her perky breasts. Her brown nipples tantalized him so much, and soon his mouth was wrapped around them, sucking ever so gently. And whichever one wasn’t in his mouth at the time was pinched and rolled by his fingers.

  “Adrian,” Kiesha moaned, throwing her head back. “Oh, Adrian.”

  She ground on his erection, making him grow even more excited. He knocked the pillows from his bad and flipped her back onto her back. Afterward, he took his shorts and briefs off right before reaching into his nightstand for a condom. Her eyes grew wide looking at how big his manhood was, but it didn’t make her want to tell him to stop. In fact, she grew hornier. Her vaginal walls were yearning to be separated.

  “Kiesha, you’re so beautiful,” Adrian told her, stroking himself as he stared down at her. “Damn, you’re so beautiful. You’re going to make me fall in love with you. Is that what you want?”

  “Yes,” she answered truthfully.

  “You want this dick all to yourself?”

  “Yes!”

  “After tonight it’s yours. Only yours.”

  He rolled the condom down his shaft, and Kiesha opened her legs wide so he wouldn’t have to. He looked pleased at her eagerness. He positioned his tip at her opening and lay down on top of her. He kissed her neck and her ear while caressing her hair. The first thrust he made sent the tip through, and Kiesha tensed up. He began whispering sweet nothings in her ear in between his kisses, causing her to relax her body again. That time when he thrust, he did it a little harder, granting him more entrance. The last thrust he gave, he was all the way in. He sucked his teeth at how tight and wet she was. He stroked a few more times slowly, but when he was sliding in and out with ease, he picked up the pace.

  Soon her pained cries turned into moans. She wrapped her arms around him and put her mouth by his ear. She wanted him to hear how good he was making her feel. Tears had welled up in her eyes. They were happy tears. Everything about that moment felt right, and if she could stay there forever, she would have. But once again, biology had other plans. She once again felt her orgasm building up, and by the way Adrian was beginning to jerk, his was too.

  “Ahhhh!” they moaned loudly in unison as they climaxed together.

  She saw fireworks behind her eyelids. When the feeling subsided, Adrian collapsed off of her onto the bed. She wanted to say something, anything, but there were no words to describe the cloud she was riding. Instead, she snuggled closely up to his body, welcomed his arms around her, and fell into a deep sleep.

  Chapter 25

  The ride home the next morning was a silent one. There, however, were a lot of smiles between Kiesha and Adrian. Not only that, but the only time he let go of her hand the entire ride was when he stopped to grab her some breakfast.

  Kiesha was still on a high from the events of the night before. She couldn’t believe that she wasn’t a virgin anymore, but then again, she didn’t feel any different. Except when the flashbacks hit her, and then all she felt were chills. There was a shadow looming over her, though, and that shadow was Cam. She knew she would have to tell him the truth sooner or later, and the sooner, the better.

  When Adrian slowed to a stop in front of her house, she looked for her mother’s car. Kiesha knew she would be curious as to who was pulling up in such an expensive car. But she had gotten lucky. Her mom didn’t seem to be home.

  “So,” she said when he parked.

  “So,” he repeated, leaning back into his seat and looking at her.

  “Did you mean everything you said last night?”

  “I said a lot of things last night. Pinpoint something.”

  “About giving up your rules for me?”

  “Hell yeah! You think I’m going to be one of them ‘hit it and quit it’ type of men?” Adrian asked, and Kiesha made a knowing face. He couldn’t help but laugh. “That was the past. I’m starting fresh with you. I meant everything I said.”

  “Good, because now I understand why I see girls going crazy behind dick. Hell, I even understand why Megan was so pressed. Speaking of her . . .” She gave him another look.

  “I’ma handle that. I’m not going to let anything get in the way of what I want to build with you. But you have to do the same.”

  “I know,” Kiesha told him and sighed. “I’ll handle it. I’ll see you Monday?”

  “If you’re my girl now, I’m not waiting until Monday to see you. I’ll be back tonight to take you to dinner.”

  His words were music to her ears. She grinned and leaned forward to give him a kiss goodbye. She loved the way his lips tasted. Once Kiesha had gotten her fix, she got out of the car with her food and went inside her house. As she thought, it was empty, but there was a note on the fridge. It was from her mom, telling her that she had a last-minute meeting with a client. Perfect. That meant she could do what she needed to do. She screamed and spun around in a dreamy circle before falling onto one of the dining room chairs. Kiesha’s hands found their way to her chest, and a fit of giggles came from her lips. She was so happy that she couldn’t eat.

  However, that happiness came to a pause when she finally checked her phone. There were a few missed texts from London, but there was one from Cam that tugged at her chest.

  I was at the club last night too. I saw you leave with Adrian. Everything okay?

  She stared at the message for a long time. Kiesha knew Cam deserved a face-to-face explanation, or maybe even a phone call. But she opted to take the easy way out. Her thumbs began typing out a message to him, and she hoped it didn’t come off too harsh.

  I did leave with him, and there is something I need to tell you. I like Adrian. More than like him. I didn’t know things would go as far as they did with you, and I was just young and experiencing life. I also didn’t know the two of you knew each other, so I’m so sorry about it all. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. You are a great person, and we had some good times. But I choose him. And if you never want to talk to me again, I understand.

  Kiesha sent the message before she lost the nerve to. She went to set her phone down, but the loud ding signified that a message had come in. It was from Cam. Kiesha forced herself to read it.

  Yup.

  That was it. Just “Yup.” She didn’t know why it made her chest feel so heavy because she didn’t regret it. Suddenly it hit her. She realized she’d done to Cam exactly what Stacy had done to her. The only difference was that she’d had the decency to tell him about it. The only thing was that it didn’t feel so decent. And she hoped it didn’t create a rift in whatever business the two men had together.

  The ringing of the doorbell jarred her from her thoughts and back to reality. She smiled big, thinking it was London. She couldn’t wait to tell her all about the night before. Kiesha all but skipped to the door and swung it open.

  “Girl, I—” She stopped talking midsentence when she saw that it wasn’t London standing at her front door.

  It was Malcom. And he wasn’t alone either. Standing next to him was a man who resembled him greatly, all the way down to the scowls on their faces as they stared at her.

  “Damn, Stacy wasn’t lyin’ when she said your and your mom’s crib was nice,” he said, looking all in her house.

  “What are you doing here, Malcom?” Kiesha asked tersely.

  “Oh, my bad. I’m rude as fuck. This is my brother Drako, and we were just dropping by to give you a message.”

  “I don’t need a message from you. I thought Adrian told you to stay away from me.” Kiesha told him and tried to shut the door.

  Drako put out a hand and stopped it from shutting. In fact, he forced it open farther. She tried to close it again, but he was too strong, and he smiled at her efforts.

  “It’s funny you bring up Adrian,” Drako said and looked around the quiet neighborhood. “Because the message we have is for him. I don’t like how he tried to punk my little brother last night at the club.”

  “Is that the message? Because you can tell him that yourself.” Kiesha rolled her eyes.

  “Nah. The message we have is louder than that. In fact, it comes wrapped in a nice bag. A body bag.”

  His eyes twinkled menacingly. Before Kiesha could react, he pulled out a pistol from his waist. Thinking he was about to shoot her, Kiesha turned to run away.

  “Grab her!” Drako instructed Malcom.

  Malcom grabbed her before she could get too far into the house, and when she tried to fight him off, he punched her hard in the side of the head. Kiesha instantly collapsed, and before she blacked out, she felt them scooping her up and carrying her out of the house.

  Chapter 26

  Cam wasn’t a man who normally let his personal feelings get in the way of business, but the anger he felt in his chest was what caused him to drive all the way to Adrian’s condo. After reading Kiesha’s message, he couldn’t believe that Adrian would do something so low-down and dirty to him. He knew she was the girl he was dealing with. Granted, if she had been any other girl, especially in that short amount of time, he wouldn’t have cared. But Cam was really starting to feel her. Kiesha was young, but she moved different from all the other girls her age. Her mind matched her grown-woman body.