Page 3 of Rules Of Engagement: St. Louis (In The Heart of A Valentine #17)

SIX MONTHS LATER

“Can I have a moment of your time?”

I took the phone off speaker and placed the device to my ear for more privacy. In the back seat of my black car service vehicle, I glanced out the window and crossed my legs to keep my pussy from pulsating like it did when Christian’s voice serenaded my eardrums.

“You’ve got it.”

“I mean, in person.”

My brows dipped and I glanced at my watch. “It’s not our day.”

“Yes, I understand that but there’s something I need to run by you before our day arrives. It won’t take long. I’m hoping to make it worth your while.”

A ripple of warmth cruised through me. “My interest is piqued. What are you up to?”

“Twenty minutes,” he said. “Thirty,” he backtracked.

My lips curved into a smile that I desperately tried to fight back.

“I’m on my way to an appointment, Christian. My guest is waiting for me.”

“In that case, forty minutes.”

Laughter burst from my mouth, and I heard him suck his teeth.

I imagined his handsome face, that five-o’clock shadow, those succulent lips, those soft brown eyes that turned into a dangerous naughty gaze as if he was ready to tear me apart.

I squirmed again, shifting in my seat, unable to keep my pussy still.

“I think you’ve lost the plot, lover.”

“Oh I’m so much more than that, aren’t I?”

Warmth ignited, sending heat flourishing over my skin.

The truth was, he was so much more. During the last six months Christian and I had met up, we’d yet to consummate our situationship.

Instead, we’d found joy in foreplay, with our mouths, our hands, while deepening our knowledge base of each other through conversation.

From time to time, we spent nights together, not fuckin’ but holding each other.

We were a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, we were everything…

and nothing at all. Ghosts in the wind. Once our time was over, we’d split and not bring each other up in our personal lives.

Like we didn’t exist until those stolen hours.

“You want to be.”

“So what if I do?”

“I’d say slow down. We’re doing so well with our arrangement.”

Silence filled the line then… “Okay, I’ll allow it. For now.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Christian was charming if nothing else, but our arrangement was so deliciously exciting that I couldn’t imagine ruining it for anything more.

.. well, except the D. I did want that. And I would have it.

But the foreplay had become so heavily enticing that I giggled deep in my throat just thinking about it.

“So…” he said. “Forty minutes?”

“Twenty.”

“Let me come get you.”

“I’m already on the road. Give me an address and I’ll come to you.”

He rattled off an address that was located in a neighborhood that I’d passed a time or two but never ventured inside of, surprisingly. It was an affluent African American neighborhood, filled with two and three-story houses, manicured lawns, playgrounds, and probably a stiff HOA.

When I arrived in front of a two-story house, it was how I imagined from the outside, mimicking a few of the others in the neighborhood.

My door opened and instead of my driver, Christian stood there, holding his hand out to which I accepted.

He drew me from the car, into the breadth of his chest, and the scent of his spicy cologne enveloped me.

If my pussy was a kitten, she would’ve purred no doubt, and now because I’d seen him before our arranged meeting, I’d suffer dreams of his smell, and taste, until we met again.

This was the type of torture I could deal with, but didn’t want to simultaneously. Nevertheless, here we were, together, outside of our time. The first three buttons of his shirt were undone, and the column of his throat teased me, beckoning me to lean in and bite him.

Be calm, Naomi.

“Hello, beautiful.”

I smiled up at him, and my nipples hardened at the sight of his strong structural jawline and succulent lips. His gaze held me steady, and like a dog in heat my pussy thumped harder.

“Hello, yourself, handsome. I hate to rush things, but time is of the essence. Why are we here?”

He twirled me and we walked around the car and stepped on the sidewalk.

“I came across an idea recently. Well, I’ve been thinking about it for quite some time. Instead of meeting at hotels and Air BnB’s, we should have a shared space that is just… ours.”

My brows rose. “Like a house?”

“Exactly like that.”

He led me with the grip on my hands to the front door. Inside, the smell of new house hit me with freshly painted walls, high tray ceilings, Italian tile floors, a huge living room, dining room, and an open kitchen made for a chefs dreams.

“This is amazing, actually.”

“You think so?”

“I do.”

In the kitchen I ran my hand over the marble countertop, turned to the isle, and leaned across it, my ass spreading as I bent.

“This little section is cute for a few reasons,” I murmured, smirking and rising to turn around, colliding with Christian’s chest.

“You mean like this?” Christian grabbed my hips and lifted me, sitting my ass on the top while hiking my skirt up my thighs.

I shuddered. “Yes. Like this.”

His hand slipped around my neck and his mouth crashed into mine, pulling a moan from my gut. “Mmmmm…”

Tingling. I was tingling everywhere now, the thumping in my veins igniting with each suckle he pulled from my tongue.

His grip deepened, his other hand now on my hip, pulling me tighter, closer to his pelvis.

I wrapped my legs around him, panted in his mouth, feeling my nipples grow harder along with the budge pressing against my pussy from his pants.

Ding dong!

He pulled away from my mouth slowly, sucking off my lips, his heavy-lidded gaze steady, drinking me in. I inhaled a deep breath.

“Expecting company?”

“At our house?”

I smirked. “Sure. Our house.”

“It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

I stared at him, not sure if I was hearing him how he meant.

Ding dong!

“I guess you better go see who and what they want then.”

He leaned forward, placing his hands on either side of me, locking me in.

“What if I don’t want to and don’t care. I only have twenty minutes with you. I want every second.”

The tingling heightened across my flesh. “Ten now. And as good as that sounds, you’re the man of the house so you have to go find out.”

A growl moved through him, and I stuck my tongue out, licked up his lips then kissed him.

“Go.”

He leaned his forehead against mine, shivered, then stood to his full height. I watched him walk away and attempted to reason with the feelings coming on strong for him. I didn’t need to want him in that way. The way we were was fine. It was fine. It was fine.

Voices piqued my interest, and I left my spot and strolled to the front door where Christian was talking to a black couple on the steps. Christian turned to me as I stopped beside him.

“Honey,” he said, amused. “This is Brandy and George, our neighbors.” He lifted a pie I hadn’t noticed until now. “They’ve brought a pie to welcome us to the neighborhood.”

Brandy, a woman who appeared late thirties but was probably late forties, nodded, her hair was a pixie cut on one side and a bob on the other.

“I was just telling your husband that the neighborhood gathers every second Saturday of the month for game night at the community center. Pool, spades tournaments, dominos, pretty much every game you can imagine.”

I glanced up at Christian. “Yeah, honey, I think it’s a nice idea, don’t you?”

I couldn’t fight back my smile. “I do. Thank you so much for the invitation, Brandy and George. If ever we can fit it on our busy schedules we will be there.”

They nodded. “Well, we won’t disturb you much more. If you ever need anything let us know!”

“Same to you.”

They waved and left, and I could feel Christian staring at me as I watched them walk away. I gave him my attention.

“Does this mean this house is ours?” he asked.

“How much does it cost?”

“The cost is no issue.”

“Says…”

“Says me.”

“Because you’re going to buy it without a thought?”

“For transparency. This is an invitation home. It’s rented, not available for purchase. It’s meant to be temporary for temporary situations.”

Something about that statement made sadness creep into me.

“But,” he continued. “In the event that temporary becomes more… we can choose a house together, and still, it’s on me.”

And just like that, the sadness was sucked away from me and yet, I didn’t understand why I cared.

“You’re so sweet. Have I ever told you that?”

He bent down to kiss me when my watch beeped. “Hmmm… times up.”

I slipped out of the way of his kiss, exiting the house and strolling to my black car. At the back door, my driver opened the door, and I glanced back at the front steps to see Christian standing there, watching me with the intensity of a starved animal.

“Get us back on route, Jeffrey,” I said to my chauffeur.

“Yes ma’am.”

I winked at Christian, and he winked back, and for the rest of the evening, nothing else could occupy my thoughts.