Essence of Desire (5 page)

“Thanks. So how much of your time can you spare tomorrow?”

She lifted a brow. “I cleared my calendar for the rest of the day. How much time do you want?”

“Depends. How about if we go to Roscioli?”

“Roscioli? There’s not one here in Summerlin. As far as I know the closest one is in Memphis, and that’s a three hour drive from here.”

“Umm, not if we fly. I’ll have the company jet.”

“Must be nice.”

She heard his sexy chuckle. “It is. I’ll send a car for you around eleven tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

“Good night, Roxie.”

“Good night.”

She hung up the phone and again reminded herself that lunch tomorrow was strictly about business. He had paid a lot for the Potters’ Estate and was putting a lot of money into it to make it the way he wanted. Therefore, it stood to reason he would want to meet with her and find out how things were going.

She picked up her book to resume reading, trying to get back into her novel and get Robert out of her mind.

***

The car Robert sent was right on time, and the driver was extremely courteous. The drive to Summerlin airport didn’t take long although it was located on the outskirts of town. It was small and few commercial airlines flew in more than once a day.

Once they had reached their destination and the car had driven through the gate, it wasn’t long before she saw Robert. Dressed in a business suit, he was standing near his company jet and talking on his BlackBerry. He looked in their direction when he saw the car approach and ended the call.

When the car came to a stop, he waited for the driver to open the door for her. Then with a smile he walked over to greet her and placed a quick peck to her cheek. “Hello.” He glanced down at her outfit, a stunning skirt set in navy and gold print. The style was perfect for her figure and the bold colors highlighted her complexion. “You look great.”

She grinned. “Umm, just a little something I put together.”

He laughed. While growing up it had been her dream to be a fashion designer and for a while as a teen she had made her own clothes. She had depended on Robert and Colt to chauffeur her around town to various fabric shops looking for the right material. In compensation, she had made them a couple of shirts, although she’d never recalled seeing either wearing them. It was in her last year of high school that her interest switched from clothes design to interior design. But even now to relax she would occasionally pull out her sewing machine and go to work. “Well, it’s good to know you’re still good at that,” he said, leading her up the steps of the jet. “And we’ll be in Memphis in less than thirty minutes. I had Hazel make reservations so getting in won’t be a problem.”

She nodded as she glanced around at the insides of his jet. So this was how the rich and famous lived? Must be nice. She figured that it had to be, and again was proud of his success, but then she really wasn’t surprised. Both he and her brother might have spent a lot of their time hot on the heels of willing females; they had also excelled in their studies and graduated at the top of their class.

He led her over to a pair of seats that faced each other. “You take one and I’ll take the other,” he said. “It’s time for us to buckle in so we can take off.”

She eased into the leather seat and snapped her seatbelt in place and when he did the same and smiled over at her, her stomach did flips at the intensity of his smile. And then there was the warmth that suddenly began seeping up her spine.

She wasn’t all that crazy with the thought that for the next half hour she would be facing him, staring right in his face and he would be staring into hers. Like he was doing now. She broke eye contact, turned away to glance around the plane some more. It was nice with a kitchen area and even had a sleeping area. She couldn’t imagine making love so far up off the ground, in the sky. It would give soaring into the clouds a different meaning.

“Would you like something to drink?”

She glanced back, met his gaze. “Yes, thanks.” Needing a drink was an understatement. Already her hands were feeling damp. She crossed her legs. The juncture between them was feeling damp as well. How long had it been since she’d enjoyed a man sexually? Not since her breakup with Darrin. That meant a little over two years. No wonder she could actually sit across from him and envision what was behind his zipper.

Memories swarmed over her when she recalled the time she’d almost seen it. It was the night she had stayed with him at his parents place after that incident with Jordan. She had awakened and gone looking for him. He had been downstairs just stepping out of the shower. She had accidentally walked in on him but he had been swift to cover himself with a towel.

She watched as he unbuckled his seatbelt and moved over to the bar. After pouring two glasses of wine he returned and handed one to her before taking his seat again. Her lips still felt dry and she licked them again before taking a sip of her drink. Nice. Delicious. It was hitting the spot in a soothing kind of way. After taking a few more sips she began feeling relaxed.

“You get to do this often?” she asked, watching him take a sip of his own drink.

“What?”

“Jet-set to different places.”

He chuckled. “No, in fact I rarely use the jet any more. Like everyone else, I’m trying to cut costs.”

“But you like holding on to it,” she pointed out.

“Yes, one of my perks I refuse to part with. I worked hard for my achievements and one of the things Colt and I both said we planned to own one day were private planes.”

She nodded. “And that’s a goal you’ve both reached,” she said, thinking of her brother’s own private plane. It wasn’t a jet but a very nice Cessna. Both he and Cinnamon had their pilot licenses.

“Do you want me to go ahead and get started on giving you a report as to how well things went this week with your house?”

He shook his head. “No, we can do that over lunch. Just ease back and relax. Enjoy the flight. We’ll be there before you know it. Besides, I have a couple of documents I need to look over.”

“All right.” And after taking another sip of her drink, basically emptying the glass, she sat it aside and eased back in her seat. By the time the pilot announced on the intercom that he was ready for take-off, she had closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

***

Robert glanced over the top of the report he was reading and looked at Roxie, studied her features. She was absolutely stunning, even when she slept. She was breathing slowly and he wondered if she was dreaming and if so, what kind of dream was she having.

He was tempted to unsnap his seatbelt, ease over toward her, and thrust his tongue into her mouth. He always enjoyed kissing and could now admit at one time—hell more than once—he had thought about kissing her. Like that morning after the Jordan affair, and she had awakened feeling embarrassed over the entire episode and weeping over what a fool she’d been to assume the guy had liked her, and would understand changing her mind about sleeping with him.

She had walked in on him practically naked after taking a shower. He had quickly grabbed a towel to cover himself before she had dived into his arms, tears and all, crying her heart out. He had picked her up, carried her into the living room, and cradled her in his lap while she’d continued to cry. He had hoped and prayed that his mother wouldn’t choose that moment to return from the hospital.

It would have been hard to explain why he was half naked with Roxie in his arms. All hell would have broken loose and his very conservative parents would have demanded a wedding immediately, thinking she had been compromised.

That had been the morning when he had come close to kissing her. But he had found the strength not to do so; reminding himself repeatedly that she was Colt’s sister. It had worked, thank goodness.

And then at Colt’s wedding when the wedding party was taking photos, he had surprised himself as well as Roxie when he had turned her in his arms and had kissed her on the lips. But, he hadn’t gotten any tongue-play. And what good was a kiss without the use of your tongue? However, even now he remembered how soft her lips had been beneath his.

Why was he remembering that point so vividly now? He shifted in his seat and glanced down at his watch. They should be landing in a few moments. Good. He wasn’t sure how much longer in his celibate state he could handle sitting across from Roxie without thinking about waking her up to sink his mouth into hers.

With her mind going non-stop on ideas for the makeover of Robert’s home, Roxie tried presenting the pros and cons regarding some of the changes he wanted to implement. She would be the first to admit most were feasible; however, some would present a construction worker’s nightmare with the building codes imposed by the city. Others may incite a protest from his neighbors. That particular possibility was what she was explaining to him now.

“You want to expand your courtyard to include formal gardens with a gazebo,” she said.

He nodded. “Yes, and what type of problem can arise from that?” he asked, taking a sip of his wine.

“Presently, your neighbors on the right are enjoying the view of your lake from their upstairs bedroom windows.”

“And?” he asked. Judging from his expression she could tell he clearly was not seeing where that might pose a problem.

“If you proceed with your plans to put in large flowering plants and a mass of greenery, as well as to erect a sizable gazebo, that could hinder their view of the lake,” she tried to explain.

He leaned forward and met her gaze. “And I’m supposed to be concerned that my neighbors will no longer be able to see into my backyard? As far as I’m concerned that’s a good thing.”

Roxie fought to hide her smile. Given Robert’s reputation with the ladies, not being able to see into his backyard might be for the best. Otherwise, the neighbors might get to view more than they bargained for, definitely more than just the lake.

They went round and round on that one piece and he wouldn’t budge. She decided to table it for later since she hadn’t ordered anything from the nursery yet. She still had time.

“Lunch was delicious, Robert. I can see why you decided to come here,” she said.

He smiled. “I’ve always liked Roscioli. Colt and I used to double date and come here all the time,” he said.

She chuckled. “Yes, I know, and then convince your dates after bringing them here and feeding them real good that the two of you were too tired to drive back to Summerlin, which provided a good excuse to find a hotel to stay for the night.”

“And just how would you know that?” he asked with a wry frown.

She couldn’t help but grin at him. “You and Colt were so convinced I was absorbed in Nickelodeon that you carried on your hit calls like I wasn’t there. You would be surprised what got picked up by my delicate ears.”

One look into his face and she knew her awareness of what he and her brother had been doing somewhat embarrassed him. So, she decided to go ahead and enlighten him some more. “You don’t know just how fearful I was when you and Colt were at Howard University, that the two set of parents would have to race toward DC just to get you two out of the pound.”

He raised a questioning brow. “The pound?”

She smiled sweetly. “Yes, the dog pound.”

He was slow but he finally caught on to what she was alluding to and said. “So you thought we were dogs?”

“As doggish as two guys can get.”

Although he tried to remain cool she could tell he’d gotten offended. “We never forced any female to do anything they didn’t want to do.”

She had to agree with him. “Yes, you and Colt were always respectful. But the two of you were also very smooth and able to convince them that sleeping with you was what they really wanted to do. You can’t deny that you and Colt had your game together.”

And while she had his attention, she said. “I don’t hold the women blameless, mind you. I’m sure they got what they wanted just as much as you did.”

When he didn’t say anything, but stared into his wine as if in deep thought, she went on to say. “I’m waiting to see what’s going to happen with you.”

That got his attention and he glanced up at her. “Happen with me how?”

She shrugged. “You know what they say about payback being a bitch. Colt, as far as I’m concerned, got off pretty good. He met Cinnamon and fell in love, and although she didn’t make it easy for him, he survived and is now happily married. But you’re still out there, single, happy-go-lucky, still the playa-playa, with no signs of wearing down or ever settling down.”

Robert took a sip of his wine, thinking Roxie didn’t know just how wrong she was. She would be surprised, probably amazed, if she knew he no longer was trying to acquire notches on his bedposts, and that he’d been celibate for as long as he had. Every time he thought about all he could have lost had Mariah been successful in her charges made him lose sleep at night. All he had worked years to acquire and build could have come tumbling down as a result of her lying tongue. Knowing the extent of damage she could have done had disturbed his libido in a way that he was yet to recover.

He figured there was no use in telling Roxie how far from the truth she was, without her wanting to know facts and details, the why of it all, and he didn’t intend to share any of it with her.