Mahogany Sin by Kellee Gilmore
Edric lived exactly two blocks from Mahogany Sin in a high rise that was thirty floors. I as standing on top of a roof surrounded by the most amazing view of the Chicago skyline I had ever seen. I stood there with my hands on the railing in complete awe of my city. New York’s skyline has absolutely nothing on this breathtaking view.
The roof had a pool surrounded by pool chairs and a small Jacuzzi just to the right. As I
walked around the side of the building, I noticed a small greenhouse enclosed by glass walls. The roof was a lot more lavish than what I had expected. I walked to the edge of the balcony to further enjoy the view, as well as calm my nerves a bit.
“Isn’t this amazing?” his voice reflected a small measure of the awe I felt at the moment.
“It’s magnificent, thank you for bringing me here. This is a view I wouldn’t want to miss.”
“You’re welcome. Thank you for agreeing to come. Would you like a glass of wine?”
“Sure,” I replied, grateful for the liquid courage. He walked towards one of the tables and I
followed him. We sat down on one of the soft cushioned chairs next to each other and he poured us both a glass of wine.
“So Valerie, tell me about yourself. What do you like to do other than keep track of people’s
money?” he asked with that sexy smirk I’d seen entirely too much of tonight. How much of that was a girl supposed to be able to handle before giving in to her basic instincts?!
I took a sip of my wine, “I like to read and I enjoy cooking.” Then I fired a question at him.
“How many clubs did you say you own?”
“I don’t think I did say, but including Mahogany Sin I own four. What type of books do you
like?” He quickly turned the conversation back to me.
“I usually read paranormal books.” As soon as I answered he released a short chuckle and
then quickly cleared his throat, attempting to mask it. Instead of responding to his obvious
amusement at my preference in books, I just fired another question right back at him,
“Where are you from?”
“Originally I’m from London but I’ve bounced around quite a bit. I’ve lived in the U.S. for
the past ten years.”
“Oh really? Do you get back to London often?” I was intrigued. I hadn’t noticed an accent.
“Not so much. All of my family has passed away or moved to different cities or countries.”
“Oh, that must be rough,” I said sympathetically. I understood not having much family
around. It’s been just my mom and I for as long as I can remember. My father died when I was only two years old, my mom was an only child and I don’t have any siblings.
“Not really.” He was short with his response and didn’t bother to say anything else about it
so I moved on to a different topic. We talked for a little while longer, sharing superficial facts about ourselves, not really getting into anything too personal. Two glasses of wine later, he looked down at his watch, “There was another reason I brought you up here.” He stood up and held his hand out for me to take.
I was relaxed with the wine coursing through my body and took his hand without any
hesitation, letting him lead me to the railing. He pointed up towards the left and I turned my head in that direction. He stepped closer to me so that he was right behind my shoulder, close enough that I could feel the warmth from his body radiate against mine. I kept my eyes to the sky and was rewarded when the fireworks began. It was a gorgeous display of multi-colored lights shooting through the air and exploding, raining down bright yellows, reds, blues and every color in between.
As we stood there watching the fireworks I felt butterflies in my stomach, but I also felt a
strange familiarity with him in that moment that I couldn’t really explain. He made me feel a little unsettled all evening but right now I felt drawn to him and comfortable around him. His warmth against my back grew from warm to scorching as he leaned down to whisper in my ear, “Valerie, I hope I’m not being too forward… but would you mind if I kissed you?”
Now the butterflies really began to flutter, and I turned around to face him. Even though I
barely knew him and he’d made me feel like I couldn’t even remember my last name, the need to kiss him was overwhelming. That desire overrode my gut instinct that was telling me he was a player and that he’d probably kissed a thousand women with those succulent lips. Nevertheless, I could give a damn about that as they were focused on me right now. I looked him in those hypnotizing eyes and nodded my head in consent. He leaned down towards me and softly pressed his lips to mine. I felt my whole body go from toasty warm to scorching hot the instant our lips made contact. He pressed his lips firmly to mine and gently cupped my face with his large hands. My body sparked to life in my most intimate places as he opened his mouth slightly to deepen the kiss. I melted into liquid fire as his tongue entered my mouth and tasted me. His kiss was so devastating that it sent me spiraling out of my body and the only thing that existed was his tongue in my mouth, his hand sliding down my body and his steel erection pressing into my stomach. I was engulfed in his kiss and his touch and didn’t care if I ever came back up for air. The feeling was unreal, it was almost as if he ignited something inside of me that I had no idea existed.
I somehow managed to snap back into my body and pull away from the kiss before things
went too far. “Stop… We need… to stop.” I said quietly between shallow breaths. I refuse to sleep with this man after knowing him for barely five hours! My days of one night stands were long behind me and I will not let this man take me there again, no matter how he made me feel.
He looked at me with those bedroom eyes filled with lust, “Why do we need to stop? I
wouldn’t think less of you if we didn’t.”
“Whether that’s true or not, I’d think less of me.” I paused, “Maybe I’d better get going.” I
was firm with my response.
“Okay,” he reluctantly conceded, “let me walk you to your car.”
He opened my car door for me and before saying goodnight, offered me an apology, “I’m
sorry if you felt like I was pressuring you. I just got caught up in the moment and didn’t want to end our kiss. Please don’t think less of me.”
“Don’t worry about it. I appreciate the apology though.” I was genuinely thankful for his
apologetic gesture.
“Can I have your phone number? I’d really like to see you again.” There was that
unbelievably sexy smile again, how could a girl say no to that?!
“Sure,” I replied with a big grin on my face as I rattled off my phone number to him. He put my number into his phone and sent me a quick text message so that I’d have his as well.
He leaned down and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before I got in the car and drove
away.
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T.D. Harvey Author 