Chapter 4
JUDAH
Ihad no idea what made me do what I did other than that I had been staring at her lips all evening. There were no regrets, and I wasn’t about to apologize for a damn thing.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Uhm, I . . . yeah.”
“Good, then I did my job.”
“Your job? Someone sent you to dance with me and kiss me?”
I frowned because, what the fuck? “Alex, I’m forty-four. The last thing that I do is take orders from someone else when it comes to a woman. I danced with you because I wanted you to get out there and have some fun. You’d been working hard all day, and you hadn’t relaxed at all.
“I kissed you because I’ve been staring at your lips for so damn long, it was impossible for me to ignore them any longer.
Seeing those tears in your eyes fucked with me.
Nobody should be crying at a wedding unless they’re happy tears.
Those weren’t happy tears you were crying.
I know that my brother is the cause of it, and I want to beat his ass. ”
She laughed and wiped another errant tear.
“No, it’s not just that. We truly weren’t meant to be, and I’m okay with that.
I was just wondering if I’ll ever find my person.
I’ve spent the last eight years planning other people’s weddings, not including the two years I spent being an apprentice, and I just can’t help but feel that my time will never come. ”
I reached out and wiped another tear from underneath her eye with my thumb. “Your time will come when the man God has prepared for you is a complete masterpiece.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. He can send nothing short of that for you, beautiful.”
She inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled. “I need to go check on things and make sure they’re all wrapped up.”
“No, you don’t. Your associates did a wonderful job of clearing out the venue. The cleaning crew is in there now, and they are overseeing them. Serena told me to tell you that everyone’s been paid and that, if you wanted to, you could head back to your suite for the night.”
Her shoulders dropped, and it looked as if she had peace. “She’s a godsend. I need to give that woman a bonus for how she’s come through for me today.”
“And you need to do something very special for yourself.”
“Like?”
“Uhm, . . . I make a mean brownie a la mode.”
She giggled. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. If you care to head to my suite, I’ll hook you up.”
“If it wasn’t bad enough that I’ve danced and drank champagne at an event, you want me to go to your suite too?”
“You’ve been friends with our family forever, Alex. Drop those reservations and relax, okay? Nobody will be around to see you go to my suite, and if they did, they probably wouldn’t think anything of it. Besides, everyone’s gone.”
“Gone?”
“They all headed back up to the villa. Only I remained behind because I was looking for the missing wedding planner.”
“Oh no! Was everyone looking for me? That’s not good for my reputation or my business.”
I grabbed her hands and squeezed them in mine. “Girl, chill out. Let’s get you some of my brownie a la mode.”
“Seriously, where have you been all these years, Judah? I’ve seen all your brothers, but not you.”
She licked the back of her spoon, clearing off the whipped cream and homemade caramel sauce that I whipped up for the brownie. I watched as she dipped her spoon back into the French vanilla ice cream and scooped some up along with the brownie concoction.
“I’ve been around.”
“You haven’t been in Cherokee Springs.”
“I moved to Miami, with the hopes that if I took my wife closer to her family, things would work themselves out.”
“And they didn’t, I’m guessing.”
“No. They didn’t.”
“What happened to you? You were so in love with Jessica.”
“It takes two people in the marriage to be in love, putting in the hard work, and wanting to succeed, for it to work. When only one of those people are doing that, it’s doomed to fail.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s no biggie.”
“So, what are you still in construction?”
I cleared my throat, trying to eliminate the pride that always rose within me when I discussed my career.
“Yeah. I took my savings and invested in a small startup construction firm a few years back. Things kept growing, and I started getting projects here in Georgia, which led me to open another location here. I just relocated in October.”
“So, you’ve only been back what, six months?”
“Six months exactly. My COO is overseeing the operations in Miami.”
“That’s amazing, Judah. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you.”
“You must think that I’m a fool. I’ve worked so hard to build this company only to allow it to be used to make a fool out of me.”
“Baby girl, my brother was the fool for letting you get away. Business is business.”
“That’s just it; he didn’t let me get away. He broke up with me.”
“Well, that makes him an even bigger fool. I mean, I knew that nigga was a few cards short of a deck, but I didn’t realize he was dumb as hell.”
We laughed, and she scooped the last of her brownie onto her spoon.
“What was the reason you and Zack broke up, if you don’t mind me asking?” I asked, referring to my brother, Issachar, by his nickname.
She lowered her head and muttered, “He said that I was emotionally distant and cold. That I didn’t have the emotional intelligence to maintain a serious relationship. He also might have said some things about my bedroom performance.”
My heart clenched in my chest. I wanted to go drag that nigga from his suite and beat the shit out of him.
I lifted her head again and wiped away a tiny dollop of whipped cream by her mouth. “I hope you didn’t believe him.”
“Haven’t had sex in two years,” she whispered, staring into my eyes.
I covered her lips with mine because I didn’t want to hear those words. Couldn’t believe my little brother had fucked over a woman so badly that he left her damaged and insecure.
My hand rested at the base of her neck, and I ran my fingers over the pulse point there repeatedly. I took delight in the fact that my touch seemed to be increasing the rate at which her pulse beat.
She was sweet and fruity like the champagne we had devoured earlier. Although she had only a couple of sips, it had saturated her mouth with explosive flavor.
Alex gripped my shirt collar between her fingers and tugged, pulling me closer.
I wrapped my arms around her back and lifted her onto my lap.
Settling down deeper into the couch, I caressed her back, taking my time with her.
Although I wanted to taste and experience every part of her, my approach to handling her would be completely different than the one Issachar used.
When she came up for air, I asked, “Am I moving too fast, Alex?”
Her lips were plump and swollen, and her eyes were heavy with desire. She shook her head, but she spoke no words.
“Tell me when to stop. While I might be a gentleman, I won’t pretend that I have any restraint right now.”
“I don’t want you to use any, Judah.” She dove in for another kiss.
My hands lifted the skirt of her dress up and around her waist. I gripped her ass in my hands and softly kneaded it.
She had ample ass for me to play with, and I loved that.
My exploration of her body continued when I removed her dress from her body, which I admired.
There was nothing left on her but a lavender thong and bra set.
“I’ll ask you this one time and one time only. Can I have you tonight, Alex?”
“Just for the night?”
“No promises beyond the moment unless you want it.”
“Tonight is all I want and need,” she stated eagerly and smiled before she dipped her head for another kiss. I lifted her and carried her into the bedroom portion of my suite. When I set her on the bed, she reclined on her elbows, and I spread her legs before me.
I slid my fingers between her wet and swollen flesh and kept my gaze trained on her. The way her eyelids lowered and flew open, how responsive she was at the slightest touch, and how her nipples hardened when I blew across them told me that she was ready for me.
I slid my fingers from inside of her and sucked them clean.
She reached out and gripped my curls between her fingers, staring at them as if she were in awe.
“What?”
“You’ve been wondering about my lips all night, and I’ve been wondering about your curls forever.”
“Forever?”
She nodded. “I’ve always been attracted to you, Judah.”
I brushed her lips and silenced her for a moment.
“They’re so soft and moist,” she whispered in an almost reverential manner when I pulled back.
“That’s the same thing I was about to say about your kitty cat,” I replied, hooking her legs over my shoulders and dragging her back toward me.
“Oohh, Judah,” she cried out, writhing her hips as I continued fingering her.
“You’ve laughed for me, smiled for me, now let me see if I can get you to scream and cream for me.” I teased her, wiggling my tongue.
“Please, Judah, please,” she begged, rocketing her hips off the bed.
That was all I needed to hear before my lips covered her lower ones and sucked the dew from her folds. She was warm, wet, and slightly sweet and yet tangy at the same time.
I slid a finger into her creases and prodded her while I sucked her. After this time with me, she would have no doubts about her performances or her emotions. I was the emotional pussy checker, and I came to right all the wrongs tonight.