A Christmas Affair (14 page)

It took several strokes for her to find the strength to flutter open her long lashes.

“I want you to know who is inside you—who has always been inside you.”

Her mouth sagged into an elongated “O” as his hips grinded harder to the left.

“You’ll never be rid of me, baby,” Lyfe panted. “You belong to me.” With that declaration, he slanted his mouth across hers and delved his hot tongue into her mouth where it danced and seduced her own.

Soon, small orgasmic quakes started trembling as far down as her toes, then they climbed toward her calves, knees and thighs. By the time the pressure started building in her clit she was squirming in his arms, trying to figure out how to prepare for something that felt like a tsunami heading her way. At long last, she just surrendered and took the force of her explosion head-on.

Corona tore her lips away and cried out. The sound magnified as it reverberated throughout the empty staircase.

“It’s freezing out here!” Amanda complained, racing down 34th Street behind Melody.

“Just hurry up,” Melody said, dodging patches of ice like a seasoned ballerina. “The faster we get there, the faster we can get out of the cold,” she told her best
friends. After her aunt had hung up on her, Melody had called her grandparents, asked what hotel they were staying at and told them that she was on her way to come see them. They were ecstatic—they only had a phone relationship with their granddaughter since her mother never wanted to return to Georgia, and her grandparents could never afford to come to New York.

But it didn’t affect things too much. She usually talked to them every Sunday night, and in the last two years they had actually been able to see each other via the internet. Now that she had their hotel information, she had every intention of digging for more information about this Lyfe Alton character.

“I can’t feel my legs,” Carrie complained. “And I think my lashes are trying to freeze together.”

“Ohmigod, you two!” Melody rolled her eyes. “Just hurry up. We’re almost there.”

But even a few minutes felt like a lifetime in this blistering cold. Melody didn’t even care that, by the time they rushed into the lobby of the Four Seasons, she could no longer feel her face. She just made a beeline to the elevators.

“Will you wait up,” Amanda shouted. “What’s the hurry?”

“I don’t want Aunt Tess to leave.”

“I thought you were going to see your grandparents?” Carrie said.

“I will—
but
after I talk to Aunt Tess. I know if I press hard enough she’ll crack. My grandparents will just toe the line of waiting until my mother tells me about my father. They’ll be too hard to crack.” She pressed for the elevator again. “Why is this damn thing
taking so damn long?” She jerked away. “Where’s the staircase?”

“What? We’re taking the stairs now?” Amanda groaned. “I’m starting to feel like we’re in PE class.”

“C’mon, slackers.” Melody laughed as she found the staircase and rushed inside. “It’ll help you warm up faster.”

There was some more groaning and complaining but they continued to race behind her. They managed to jog up two flights before a strange sound reached their ears.

Melody came to a full stop. “Shh. Do you hear that?”

Huffing and puffing, the girls struggled to quiet their breathing to listen. Slowly, one by one, their mouths fell open.

“Is that what I think it is?” Amanda asked, her eyes bugging.

Carrie giggled. “Somebody is making out.” She walked over to the railing and tried to glance upward.

“Stop it.” Melody laughed. “What if they see you?”

“Me? They’re the ones who should be embarrassed.”

“I wonder who it is.” Amanda said, starting to take off up the stairs.

Melody quickly grabbed her by the arm and hissed. “Get back here. What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m being nosy. What does it look like?”

“I don’t think so.” Melody wasn’t in the mood to try and embarrass anyone, so she dragged them back out of the staircase. “We’ll take the elevator.”

Carrie and Amanda issued a final groan of complaint before leaving the mystery lovers alone in the staircase above them.

Lyfe roared in the sweaty crook of Corona’s shoulder. He had never in his life been able to come back-to-back
like this. The little devil in his head was steadily trying to convince him that he could go yet another round.

“Wait. Wait,” Corona panted, clearly struggling to catch her breath.

He forced himself to hold back, but he didn’t release her. He didn’t think that he could ever do that again. He didn’t even want to think about how close he’d come to not having this moment. How he could’ve easily made that flight to Atlanta with his tail tucked between his legs. This was all the proof he needed that Corona still had feelings for him; and that perhaps they could bridge whatever differences they may have had.

Hope, something he’d long given up on, pricked his heart and filled his head with wondrous possibilities. After a full minute, the reminted lovers started to ease their grip on one another as the reality of what had just transpired began to take root.

“Ohmigod. What have I done?” She pushed at his chest so that she could lower her legs. However, standing proved to be too challenging, and she slid down the wall and onto the floor.

Lyfe immediately stepped back and kneeled down next to her. “It’s all right. I don’t want you to panic.”

“Not panic?” she said, scrambling across the floor to gather her things and cram them back into her purse.

“Whoa. Whoa. What are you doing?”

“I’ve got to get out of here. I have to go.”

“Wait. Slow down. Let me help you.” He grabbed several lipsticks and handed them back to her. “I think that we need to talk about what just happened.”

“What’s there to talk about? I just screwed around on my fiancé!”

Riiiiiinnnng! Riiiinnnng!

Both of their heads jerked toward her cell phone, which sounded like it was miked up to a bullhorn in the acoustic staircase. On the screen popped up a picture of the very photogenic Rowan James, with his name typed above it.

“Ohmigod,” Corona moaned again, while shame and embarrassment colored her entire face. “What am I going to tell him?”

“Well, first, you might want to tell him that you’re having second thoughts about your wedding.”

Riiiiiinnnng! Riiiinnnng!

“What?” Corona twisted up her face as she grabbed the phone, shut it off, and then crammed it back into her purse. “Who said that I was having second thoughts?”

He blinked, caught off guard. “Well, clearly what just happened—”

“What just happened was a mistake,” she declared, jumping back to her feet. “It meant nothing. It changes nothing.”

She couldn’t have caused more damage if she’d pointed an assault weapon at him and unloaded an entire clip. Seeing the effect of her words, she quickly tried to repair some of the damage. “I’m sorry. I—I … this was just wrong.” She shoved her skirt back down her legs and made a halfhearted attempt to button her blouse. “I gotta go!”

Corona took off running, even though her legs were like Jell-O.

“Corona Mae,” Lyfe shouted, cramming himself back into his pants before taking off after her.

“Please, just leave me alone,” Corona shouted, hearing him closing in on her.

“We need to talk!”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” she insisted. Knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to outrun him on the staircase she shoved through the doors of the next landing and raced to find the elevator bay. As luck would have it, the door was just closing, and she managed to slip through it before Lyfe caught up.

“Corona Mae!” Lyfe thundered behind her.

The door closed. When the elevator started its descent, her entire body imploded with relief and the tears streamed down her face.

“W
hat’s the room number again?” Carrie asked, scanning the hallway of the tenth floor.

“Here it is,” Melody said, pointing. When she stopped in front of the door she took a second to draw in a deep breath and calm her nerves.

Sensing her nervousness, her two best friends wrapped their arms around her shoulders and gave her an encouraging squeeze.

“Don’t worry,” Amanda said. “We have your back.”

“Yeah,” Carrie said and then tossed in a wink. “We got you, girl.”

“All right. Here goes.” Melody lifted her hand to knock. But before she got a chance, the door swung open and an incredibly handsome giant towered above them.

“Oh, hello, ladies,” he said in a hypnotic baritone.

One by one, their mouths dropped open, and their legs seemed to take root where they stood.

“Oookay.” He chuckled under his breath and then struggled to squeeze by them. Once he’d gotten by, he continued to laugh to himself while he strolled down the hall.

The three teenagers’ gazes followed him until he disappeared into another room.

Amanda was the first to find her voice, “Did you see him?”

Tess’s voice floated toward the door. “What on earth is going on here?”

Melody turned and then watched her aunt gasp with surprise.

“Ohmigod. It’s my baby!” She threw open her arms and didn’t have long to wait before Melody stepped into her embrace. “I can’t believe it. Look how big you are!” She pulled her niece out of her arms so she could take another look at her. “I can’t believe it, you look so much like your … “ She caught herself.

“Like who?” Melody seized on the opening.

“Like your mother,” Tess covered.

Needless to say, they both knew
that
was a lie. No one had ever thought that Melody looked like her mother. Her skin was darker, her eyes lighter and she didn’t have a clue where she had inherited her dimples from.

“I hope you don’t mind me and my girlfriends just dropping by,” Melody said, turning and waving her friends into the room.

“Uh, of course not,” Tess said, smiling at her friends. “The more the merrier.” She walked over to the door and glanced out into the hallway before shutting it.

“Soooo,” Melody began. “Who was your friend?”

“Uhh … my friend?”

Melody didn’t know what to make of her aunt blushing as hard as she was. “Is he your boyfriend or something?”

Tess threw out a genuine laugh. “Hardly.”

And still, Melanie noted, she didn’t answer the question. She cut a look over at her girlfriends, who were still feverishly fanning themselves.

“All I know is that’s the kind of man I want when I grow up,” Carrie said, leaning over toward Amanda. “Did you see how wide his shoulders were?”

“Forget that. What about that smile?”

Tess laughed. “All right, ladies. Get a hold on your hormones. You have plenty of time before you have to start worrying about boys.”

“Boys?” Carrie volleyed. “We’re talking about men. And I won’t mind waiting a lifetime for someone like him.”

Tess shook her head and then turned her attention back to her niece. “Sooo, how did you know where I was staying?”

“Grandma,” Melody answered nonchalantly, as she shrugged off her backpack and pulled out one of her mother’s diaries.

Tess groaned. “Sweetheart—”

“Aunt Tess, please. You just got to help me. I just know that this Lyfe Alton has to be my father. The timeline fits and everything.”

“Honey, it’s just—”

“And, please, please don’t tell me to talk to Mom. She keeps saying that she’ll tell me when I’m older, and I can’t wait anymore.”

Her aunt looked like she was weakening, but she only said, “It’s just not my place to talk to you about this.”

“Whatever you tell me, I swear I won’t tell Mom.”

“And if I don’t tell you anything?”

Melody drew a deep breath. “Then I’ll find him on my own.”

Lyfe was convinced that he needed his head examined. It was the only logical conclusion. How many times was he going to let Corona Mae make a fool of him? After sharing something so beautiful, he was now returning to his hotel room feeling dirty and used. Hell, all that was missing to complete the humiliating experience was her tossing money in his face.

And yet, he still had hope. Was he crazy? Was he a glutton for punishment?

“No. This is what I get for listening to my brother.” He punched the button for the other elevator and waited. There was no point in racing down to the lobby. He was sure that by the time he got there, Corona Mae would be long gone. No. He needed to fall back for a minute, give her a little space and then come at her another way.

Lyfe ran that plan through his head again and liked it even better the second time around. By the time his elevator arrived, a smile was carving back on to his face. As he stepped into the compartment and pushed for the tenth floor, his mind started to rerun images of the hot quickie in the stairwell.

There was so much passion in Corona’s kiss and so much heat in her touch that she’d had him, once again, feeling like the seventeen-year-old kid who had been so desperate to please her. Of course there were a few major changes. He liked to think that this time he knew
what the hell he was doing. But the amazing thing was that he still knew all her G-spots and had worked them accordingly.

Hell. If he could get her into a bed … or even a floor again, he would certainly show her a few new tricks. Of course, there was the voice in the back of his head screaming to remind him that she was now an engaged woman. But, while that was true, Stevie Wonder had famously crooned that all in love is fair. Lyfe was officially declaring war on Rowan James for the prize of his life.

The elevator dinged and the steel doors slid open. Lyfe took one step out before a young teenager plowed straight into him.

“Oops. I’m sorry,” she said, hardly glancing up at him.

“It’s no problem.” He smiled and then moved out of the way so that she could catch the elevator.

“Melody, wait up!” Two other teenaged girls called out, racing down the hallway. The moment they saw him they slowed up, and two huge smiles spread over their faces.

Lyfe tipped his head. “Afternoon, ladies.”

That launched them into a fit of giggles as they joined their friend in the elevator.