My Only Desire
Her face warmed. “No. Um, not at the moment.”
Taariq moved closer. “Do you want one?”
Damn. He doesn’t waste any time. His directness overwhelmed her. “Actually, I just need to find my roommate Roxanne and head out,” she said, escaping while she could still think clearly.
Taariq’s full lips kicked up into a wicked smile. “Sorry, l’il Ma. I didn’t know you scared so easily.”
“What? I’m not scared,” she bluffed.
“No?” His brows arched while his eyes roamed over her again. It was so intense that Anna swore it was a physical caress.
“If you’re not scared, why are you running away? I don’t bite … unless you ask me to.”
Anna swallowed while her nipples hardened inside her lace bra. As luck would have it, that was the exact moment when his gaze lowered.
“Since I know it’s not cold in here that must mean that you’re excited to be near me.”
Anna’s entire body blazed with embarrassment. “Wow. What a big ego you have.”
“Everything is big on me, baby.” He inched closer and glided his finger up the side of her right arm.
Anna gasped at the way her entire arm tingled. The playful glint in Taariq’s eyes morphed into something dangerously predatory within a blink. No doubt that if she stood there much longer, he was going to have her legs up around his waist—the crowded party be damned.
She removed his finger from her arm. “Let’s get one thing straight—I’m not your baby.”
“You could be. The night is still young.”
Anna rolled her eyes. “I gotta go.” She attempted to step around him only for him to grab her wrist and pull her back.
“All right. All right. My bad. I’m sorry. Can we start again?”
She pulled in a deep breath while she actually thought about it. “I … I’ve got a test … tomorrow,” she lied.
Taariq stretched up a dubious brow. “On a Saturday?”
“It’s a make-up test,” she covered. One look in his eyes and she knew that he wasn’t buying it.
Instead of calling her on it, he just hitched up his shoulders and widened his smile. “A rain check then?”
“Yeah. Sure.” Don’t hold your breath.
“All right. I don’t need a brick building to fall on my head. You’re not interested. I get it.” He tried to shrug off the rejection, but she could tell that it was something that he wasn’t used to. Then, he dipped his brows together as if suddenly a thought occurred to him. “You’re not …?”
“What?”
“You know.” Taariq winked as if he’d worked out a missing piece of the puzzle before leaning in close so that his minty breath would warm the side of her face. “You don’t bat for the other side, do you?”
Anna’s mouth fell open. “What?”
“I mean—I know that sort of thing gets explored with you ladies when you’re away at college.”
She was dumbfounded. “No. I’m not gay.”
The mischievousness returned to his chocolaty gaze. “Good. Then I still have a chance.”
Not in this lifetime. Anna, now completely turned off, pushed past him and then shoved her way back through the dancing crowd. She spotted one of the girls that lived two dorms down from hers and headed in that direction. “Hey, have you seen Roxanne anywhere?”
Jade turned, sloshing whatever she had in her plastic cup onto the floor. “What?”
“Roxanne. Have you seen her? ”
“Silly, my name isn’t Roxanne. It’s Jade.” She giggled in a drunken stupor. “Roxanne went upstairs a few minutes ago. Don’t you even know your own roommate?”
“No, I meant …” Anna waved her comment away. “Oh, never mind.” She turned and once again pushed her way through the crowd. Mercifully, she made her way upstairs but was then forced to try to figure out where to search next with there being so many rooms.
That is until she heard Charlie’s familiar laugh followed by Roxanne’s annoying giggly snort coming from a room directly to her right. From that moment on, she operated more on instinct than actual thought. She moved toward the closed door with her outstretched hand and her heart already breaking. By the time she opened the door and saw Charlie and Roxanne, tearing at each other’s clothes, her weak heart had already shattered into a million pieces.
Chapter 2
Big, fat alligator tears swelled in Anna’s eyes as she watched Charlie and Roxanne laugh and giggle while they playfully tore at each other’s clothes. She didn’t understand why they didn’t spring apart after having been caught in the middle of the act. But then she realized that her loud screaming was just happening inside her head and they didn’t know she stood there like a dummy watching them. When Roxanne pulled Charlie’s open mouth toward her exposed breasts, Anna finally uprooted her legs and backed away.
From there, she was vaguely aware of rushing back down the stairs and plowing through the crowd. A shove here, an elbow there, she didn’t care who got hurt as long as they got out of her way. But after five minutes, the door seemed to be getting farther away, not closer.
Anna swiped at a few tears only to discover that her entire face was soaking wet. Just great. She was a weeping mess in front of the who’s who of Morehouse and Spelman College.
Just hurry up and get out of here!
Anna moved so fast that she clipped someone’s leg and was sent sprawling toward the floor. She thrust out her hands, hoping to break her fall, but was surprised when a strong arm wrapped around her waist and jerked her back up as if she was tethered to the end of a bungee cord.
“Whoa there.” Taariq laughed, setting her back on her feet. “You know I’m beginning to think that walking isn’t your strong suit.” He chuckled once, but then the humor melted from his face when he took in her expression. “Hey. What’s wrong?” He swiped at one of her tears.
“Nothing,” Anna lied, and then tried to shove her way out of his arms.
Problem was that he just tightened them and held her in place. “Look. I might be many things, but blind is definitely not one of them. Tell me what’s wrong. Did something happen upstairs? Did someone do something to you?”
“I said it’s nothing.” She shoved again and he reluctantly let her go. It was a good thing, too, because she nearly choked on the sob that was lodged in her throat. Anna could feel hysteria creeping up on her, but she told herself that if she could just get outside for some fresh air that she’d feel better.
Shove. Push. Shove. Push.
The door still seemed so far away. Stay calm. Keep it together.
Shove. Push. Shove. Push.
Another sob bubbled up. Finally she stormed out of the house and sucked in a healthy dose of the night’s crisp, fresh air. The wind blew across her wet face and cooled her down a couple of degrees. She exhaled and from the corner of her eyes, she caught a few curious stares. Pull yourself together. Anna mopped her face dry and then started down the front stairs.
“Yo, Anna. Where are you going?”
Anna glanced up and saw a small ring of girlfriends jog up the stairs.
“Don’t tell me that the party is whack,” Emmadonna said, settling a hand on her thick hips. “You know how long it took me to get ready for this mess?”
“Three hours,” Ivy chirped, irritated. “Not to mention you used up all my hair gel—again.”
Emmadonna’s neck swiveled. “Damn. I said I’d buy you another jar. You’re the one who wanted me to come to this party and you know I couldn’t come without getting my finger-wave in tight. Shoot.” She patted her rock-hard hair. “I came to get a man tonight.”
As usual Emmadonna’s sister-girl act put an immediate smile on Anna’s face.
“You’re always looking for a man,” Anna reminded her.
“You can’t find what you don’t look for. Ain’t that right, Ivy?”
“Whatever.” Anna shrugged her shoulders.
Emmadonna swiveled her neck and jabbed her other hand onto her hip. “Soooo … did you do it—or did you chicken out? Don’t tell me that you chickened out with Charlie tonight.”
Anna’s jaw clenched.
“You did, didn’t you?” Emmadonna rolled her eyes. “Girl, what am I going to do with you? How are you going to get out of this friend zone if you don’t tell Charlie that you’re feeling him?”
“Look, Em—”
“No. You look.” Emmadonna swung her heavy arm around Anna’s shoulders and started to lead her back toward the frat house. “That boy is waaay too fine to just keep on your friend list. I know you’re feeling him and I seen him look at you.”
“He looks at everything with two legs and two breasts,” Anna muttered dejectedly.
“Well, there you go! You’re his type.” Emmadonna laughed. “Now get your butt on in here and—”
Anna dug in her heels and shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I was leaving.”
“Leaving?”
“It’s just ten-thirty.”
“I know. I just … have a lot I … um—”
Emmadonna wasn’t trying to hear it. “Girl, if you don’t get your butt in here …”
Anna wrenched herself from Emmadonna’s hold. “No. I said I’m going home.”
Emmadonna gave chase, surprising Anna with her speed and agility when she snatched her by her arm at the bottom of the stairs. “Whoa. What the hell? What happened in there?”
“Nothing,” Anna lied. Unfortunately, Emmadonna wasn’t buying it.
“Something gotta be wrong with you running out of here with your tail tucked in between your legs. Now spit it out.”
More partiers arrived and tried to squeeze their way past the girls. Impatient, Emmadonna tightened her hold on Anna’s wrist and then tugged her off to the side. “C’mon, now. We’ve been best friends for forever. I know you better than you know yourself. What happened?”
At that moment the dam broke. Tears tripped over Anna’s lashes and then streaked down her face at a pace that startled her friends.
“Oh, my God. He turned you down,” Emmadonna concluded and then pulled Anna into her strong arms for a smothering hug. “I’m so sorry.”
Anna’s eyes bugged as she struggled to get air into her lungs. When it was clear that was nearing on being impossible, she started whacking her friend on the back in hopes that Emmadonna would catch a clue and release her. She did. Just a mere second before Anna blacked out. Coughing and sucking in air, Anna managed to shake her head.
“Are you going to be all right?” Emmadonna asked, referring to Anna’s broken heart and not her possible broken ribs.
“I’ll live,” she said with mild conviction. “I just want to go.”
“What did he say?” Emmadonna insisted. She always went in for the juice. “Do we need to roll up in here and curse his butt out? ‘Cause you know I will.”
Emmadonna lived to curse people out. Drama was her middle name. “No.”
“Humph! I’ll be right back.” Emmadonna turned.
Anna knew that her protest had been overwritten and that she’d have to confess more than she wanted to in order to stop her well-intentioned friend from getting rowdy. “Charlie didn’t say anything.”
Now Ivy peered over Emmadonna’s shoulder to stare Anna down. “So what happened?”
Anna mopped her face again and wished that the earth would just open and swallow her whole. “He didn’t say anything because I didn’t tell him. Okay? Now can we just drop it?”
“You punked out?” Ivy asked, frowning. “Damn. Do you need me and Emmadonna here to go in and pass him a note to ask if he likes you? He can check box yes or no.”
Anna huffed in frustration. “Why can’t you just leave it alone?”
Emmadonna cocked her head as she read Anna’s face easily. “There’s another woman.”
Jackpot. The two women’s gazes clicked as the friends finally read the truth in her face. Frankly, none of them should’ve been surprised. Charlie was a ladies’ man. He’d never hid or denied that. She should have just left well enough alone. They were just friends—so why did she feel so used?
“So, who is the bitch?” Emmadonna challenged as she started to remove her earrings. “Did anybody bring a jar of Vaseline?”
Ivy dug into her purse. “I think I have a small jar.”
“It’s Roxanne.”
They froze.
“Roxanne … as in your roommate? That Roxanne?” Emmadonna checked.
Anna nodded. “So? Do I have your permission to leave now?” She was on the verge of having another tidal wave of tears hit her and she would rather it happen when she was alone. “And since Roxanne was my ride—any chance one of you mind driving? ”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Ivy announced, hip-bumping Emmadonna’s plus-size frame out of the way and swinging an arm around Anna’s shoulders. “Screw Charlie … and the horse he rode in on.”
“Yeah,” Emmadonna cosigned, tossing Ivy’s jar of Vaseline back into her purse.
“I never liked that weave-o-rific heifer anyway.”
A small smile returned to Anna’s lips. It was funny to see soft-spoken Ivy get a little feisty on her behalf. “Don’t get mad at Roxanne. She doesn’t know that I like … liked Charlie in that way.”
“Is there something wrong with her eyes?” Emmadonna countered. “Stevie Wonder can see that—”
“Em, please. Just drop it.” Anna pinched the bridge of her nose to stave off a massive migraine.
“Come on, girl. We’re going back in there.” Emmadonna took one arm and Ivy grabbed hold of the other and together they started marching Anna back into the party.
“What? Wait.”
“No waiting. Once you get thrown off a horse, you don’t just lie on the ground and wait for another one to just trample all over you.”
“Yeah,” Ivy said. “You pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back on that sucker.”
“Cowboy metaphors? Really?” Anna twisted her face as she was once again shoved back through the fraternity house. The music seemed ten decibels higher. The bass pulsed in perfect time with the thin vein pounding along her temple. Bumping and grinding bodies made the whole place look like it was just seconds from turning into one mass orgy.
“Hot damn,” Emmadonna said, shaking her thick booty. “This is the joint right here!” When she then dropped it down low and then picked it up again, a young brother rolled up on her and tried to show her what he was working with. “I’m going to catch up with you two a little later,” she told Anna before drifting away.
Anna stared after her friend, stunned to be abandoned within seconds of entering the party.
“Don’t pay her no mind,” Ivy consoled. “You know men are her weakness. What we’re going to do is have ourselves a good time. Charlie Masters is not the only shark in the sea—and the fastest way to get over one man is to get under another one.”
Anna frowned. “Come again?”
“Girl, that’s what my momma told me and she has never steered me wrong.”
“Your mother has been married like eight or nine times,” Anna reminded her.
“She practices what she preaches—and trust me, every husband is better than the last.” Ivy laughed.
“All right. What the hell?” Anna conceded the fight. It was clear that none of her girls were going to let her escape this place so that she could go back to her dorm and cry her eyes out.
“Really?” Ivy checked.
Anna bobbed her head. “Yeah. But I think I need a drink first.”
“Then a drink it is! “ She snatched Anna by the hand and proceeded to tug her through the throng of people—yet again. In the crowded kitchen, the girl bypassed the beer keg for the harder stuff on the counter. Before Anna knew it, she was tossing back tequila shots like she was on spring break in Cancun. Next thing she knew, the alcohol snuck up on her and started numbing her heartbreak.
Soon all thoughts of Charlie melted away and all that existed was the jamming beats bumping throughout the house. She closed her eyes and started rocking her hips. She was feeling good—damn good.
“Oooh. So you do know how to loosen up,” an amused baritone said from behind.
Anna turned to see Taariq once again hovering above her. “Of course I do. Don’t look so surprised.” She lazily ran her fingers through her hair, suddenly fascinated by how soft it was. Yep. She was drunk, but not so much that she didn’t catch the way Taariq’s gaze tracked her fingers and how a glint of lust had returned to his eyes. Suddenly, Anna’s playful smile became flirtatious while her own gaze dragged down Taariq’s body. God. Help. Her.
“Tell me something, Taariq. Do you have a girl?”
Next to her, Ivy choked and then sprayed out her drink. Undoubtedly, she was just as surprised as Anna at her boldness.
“No.” Taariq moved closer so that his firm chest could brush against her breasts. “I don’t have a steady girl.” Their eyes were open invitations, ones that they were both eager to accept.
Anna held one last shot in her hand and she tossed that sucker back for a sweet burn before handing the shot glass over to Ivy. “I’ll catch up with you later,” she whispered with a wink.
Ivy’s brows arched while amusement hugged her lips. “Well, all right then, giiirrl. Work it out.”
Taariq wrapped an arm around Anna’s shoulder and led her back toward the main living room just when TLC’s song “Creep” blasted over the crowd.
“Oh. I loooove this song,” Anna moaned, shaking her hips and snapping her fingers.
Without missing a beat, Taariq pulled up to her bumper and got in where he fit in. They moved together as if they had been doing so all their lives. But the heat was turned up when Taariq’s hands started roaming all over her body. It started low on her legs and then glided up her firm thighs before finally rounding her hips. Everywhere they went, he left a trail of fire that at that moment she was willing to let consume her.
Then everything started to blur. They were laughing and the room was spinning. Not to mention, she was hot as hell and could feel beads of perspiration start to roll down the sides of her face and even drench her neck. Anna did notice that Taariq’s chest wasn’t the only thing firm on him. He had biceps to die for and huge shoulders that beckoned her to rest her head.
The music changed up and En Vogue’s “Something He Can Feel” had everyone grooving a little more sensually. However, in their case, Taariq was the one soliciting all kinds of feelings. For once in her life, she was just going to roll with it. She wasn’t going to bog herself down by overthinking every little thing like she usually did. This felt wonderful and she wanted to take things up a notch.
Taariq’s hand roamed from around her waist to take a bold position on her apple-shaped booty. When there was no objection, he squeezed—and she moaned. That was a signal for him to move in closer. He inhaled her flowery scent while she nearly overdosed on his seductive cologne. Heaven opened up in her mind and before she knew it, she was floating on thick, fluffy clouds without a care in the world.
“You sure do know how to move,” Taariq whispered up against her ear. “Is that a skill you just have on the dance floor or do you know how to move in other places?”
Anna opened her eyes and stared into Taariq’s dark lustful gaze. “I’ve never had any complaints.” Of course her list of partners could be added up on two fingers so it wasn’t like that qualified her to have a comment box.
“Is that right?” He pulled his full, bottom lip in between his teeth and dropped his gaze to her hypnotic cleavage again. “So what are my chances of finding out?”
Anna turned just when Charlie and Roxanne descended the stairs, giggling and clinging to each other. Their clothes were crumpled and Roxanne’s hair looked a hot mess. If it wasn’t for the alcohol, Anna’s jealousy would’ve reared up and she would’ve flew across the room to snatch all that whack-yaki weave out of her head. But for now, she was still floating and enjoying the low simmering fire Taariq’s body and hands started across her body.
“I’d say that your chances of seeing all my moves have just increased to a hundred percent,” she said sexily.
Surprise lifted his brows, but he wasn’t about to wait around on the dance floor on the off chance that she might change her mind. His arm transformed into a hook and he proceeded to direct her toward the stairs—and Charlie and Roxanne.
Anna dug in her heels and then tried to back away.
Given how fast his erection was stretching toward his knees, Taariq feared a sweet opportunity was about to pass him by when Anna started backing away. “What? What’s up?” However, when he glanced down at her, she was still smiling.
“Tell you what. I think I have a better idea,” she cooed.
“Oh?” He liked the sound of that. “What do you have in mind?”
She nodded as she moved closer and pressed against him. “How about you take me back to my place?”
Taariq whipped out his car keys and winked. “You ain’t said nothing but a word.”
Chapter 3
Anna’s head was spinning when she climbed into Taariq’s black SUV. There was a small voice shouting in the back of her head, asking whether she knew what she was doing. But she drowned out the annoying question by humming Whitney Houston’s “Shoop, Shoop.” No thinking. No over-analyzing. This was going to be a world better than just crying into her pillow about a secret crush gone south. Much better.
Taariq opened the driver’s door and smiled at her as he climbed in next to her. It was amazing how his frame and his presence just filled up the space. It almost took her breath away. She cocked her head and stared at him. How come she had never really noticed him before? The question fumbled in her mind while he put the keys in the ignition. Maybe it was because she’d always seen him just in passing—and then only a couple of times.
“Are you ready?”
Good God. His black gaze was absolutely mesmerizing.
She eased across the seat and lifted his arm and then draped it around her shoulders. “I’m more than ready,” she purred with her gaze drifting down to his full lips. Damn. He even had a perfectly shaped mouth. I wonder what he tastes like.
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind was she leaning in close, puckering her lips.
Taariq smiled and rolled with it.
Pure chocolate with rum filling. She released a long, winding moan while lifting her hands to cup his handsome face. Jeez. She could drink from his lips for the rest of her life as far as she was concerned. Nothing she had ever tasted had been so rich and decadent. Anna inched closer and moaned louder.
Taariq’s arm fell from her shoulders and then looped around her waist. In the next second, his moans mingled with hers. Soon they both forgot about their need for oxygen, they just fed from each other’s mouths as if they were each other’s manna from heaven.
When Anna couldn’t starve her lungs of oxygen any longer, she eased back and gasped for air. “Oh, my. You taste really good.” Did she say that right? It kind of sounded slurred to her own ears.
“You’re pretty delicious yourself, baby.” He winked and finally started up the car.
Instead of easing back over to the passenger side, Anna chose to snuggle up against Taariq’s broad shoulders. To her delight they were as strong and comfortable as she had imagined. She sighed and closed her eyes. Even then her head was still spinning like a carousel.
“So where am I going?” Taariq asked.
“Spelman dorms,” she murmured and then gave her building number. She shifted a bit, but only so that she could sink further into the crook of his arm. Once she found her spot, she was in heaven.
“Are you all right?”
“Uh, hmm.” She sighed. “I’m just getting comfortable.”
“All right.” He chuckled and then pressed a kiss against the top of her head.
Aww. How sweet. She slid her arms around his waist like he was her favorite teddy bear. No doubt if she wasn’t slightly liquored up at this moment she would’ve thought her being all hugged up with a guy that she hardly knew was highly inappropriate. Her parents raised her with more sense than this. It was just … well, it just felt right to be where she was. Especially after what’s-his-name broke her heart tonight.