The Sweetest Thing (23 page)

Looking over her shoulder Rachel watched him eyeing her, his eyes darting downward and back. The intensity of his stare made her knees buckle and she pressed her forearms and palms against the wood surface to support herself, still waving her buttocks in invitation.

Behind her, Dwayne moved to the office door and locked it. She turned to sit atop the desk and watched as he moved back to stand in front of her. He lowered his zipper, slowly freeing himself from the confines of his pants. Rachel looked to his face and he smirked. She reached a hand out to help him open his fly and he slapped her hand away, shaking his head. Rachel bit down on her bottom lip as he undid his pants, allowing them to drop to the floor. Sliding off the desk she dropped to her knees in front of him. His hardening member was bouncing inches from her face.

Leaning forward, her mouth open, Rachel stuck out her tongue and licked the head of his member. Dwayne grinned, clenching his muscles as a wave of heat shot through him. The vein on the top of his organ pulsed in anticipation. She ran her tongue down the underside of his shaft until she reached the top of his testicles. She licked one and then the other, then slid her tongue back up the side. Drawing her tongue down the length of him a second time and then back up the other side, she paused to flick the underside of the head, which had Dwayne quivering with anticipation. Sensing his excitement Rachel leaned forward and enveloped his head with her mouth. She swirled her tongue around the fullness of him and he moaned. She felt him growing harder and thicker beneath her lips, his warm flesh filling her mouth. Glancing up to his face, she saw his smile was triumphant, moving her own smile to widen as she eagerly sucked more of him in.

Rachel’s head bobbed back and forth, drawing him deeper and deeper into her mouth until she felt him hit the back of her throat. Dwayne gasped as he grabbed her head, his fingers twisting in her hair and Rachel moaned. He pumped his hips, easing himself past her lips, slowly pulling back then thrusting back into her mouth as he pulled her head forward. In and out, faster and faster, the intensity of each stroke had her breathing harder and harder, Dwayne panting in sync above her.

He suddenly arched backward, pulling himself from her mouth. “Stop, don’t,” he said, “I don’t want to come in your mouth.” Still holding her by the hair he pulled her to her feet, capturing her mouth beneath his, his lips and tongue tangling with hers.

“What do you want?” Dwayne asked, his kisses running from one side of her face to the other. “Tell me what you want.”

Spinning in his arms Rachel leaned back over the desk. Reaching behind her with both hands she spread the cheeks of her buttocks apart. She gasped in anticipation as she squeezed the soft flesh with her hands. Full and hard, Dwayne moved forward slapping one cheek and then the other.

“Again,” Rachel gushed. “Harder!”

Dwayne smiled as he slapped her ass again, stinging the flesh until her bottom was bright red and then he slipped his hand between her legs. His fingers stroked her clit, then slid through the door of her secret spot. He coated his fingers with her juices and drew them up to lubricate the puckered door awaiting his arrival.

When she was nice and wet he eased in behind her, pushing her head forward on the desk, holding her down at the back of her neck. Rachel spread her legs wider, bracing her weight on her forearms. He circled her orifice with his organ and she felt him twitch. Dwayne gently pushed himself forward. There was modicum of resistance and Rachel bit down against her bottom lip, the hint of pain moving her to hold her breath. She suddenly pushed back against him and with a hard pop he was deep inside of her.

Dwayne paused, allowing her to get used to having him there and when her body had adjusted to the fullness Rachel began to grind against him. She pulled away from him then thrust herself back against him. Her strokes were slow and easy and then she screamed his name, demanding him to take the lead. She wanted it rough and she said so.

Rachel pushed back hard as she gripped the desk. Leaning over her Dwayne wrapped his arms around her torso and pulled her to his chest. He thrust against her. He pulled back then thrust against her again, deeper and deeper until he’d bottomed out, filling her with more and more of him until she was completely impaled. Rachel continued to rock back and forth with him, matching his thrusts, their two bodies slapping against each other.

Rachel was loving the sensations sweeping between them. She began to clench and squeeze her muscles and Dwayne tightened the grip he had on the back of her head. “Oh, yes!” she cried, the pleasure outweighing the pain. He slammed into her, his round hips and buttocks working into her like the piston in an engine, over and over again.

She talked dirty to him, encouraged him to stroke her harder, praised his efforts and chanted his name over and over again as if she were in prayer. Dwayne could feel his orgasm rising, the heat stirring deep in his pelvis and then Rachel screamed, erupting with a vengeance as she milked him harder and harder, the satin lining of her inner muscles pulsing with pleasure. He exploded blast after blast shooting deep into her inner core until there was nothing else left for him to shoot.

Rachel fell against the desk and Dwayne fell against her, bracing his own weight on his hands. His arms shook, tremors shooting through each of his muscles as he gasped for air. As he began to slowly shrink he pulled himself from her, falling back against the leather sofa. Rachel stood up and moved to his side, dropping down into his arms. He leaned to kiss her lips, his hand cupped beneath her chin.

“That was amazing,” Rachel whispered.

He nodded. “Yes, you were.”

“I miss it when you’re not hard and dirty. I need you to pull my hair and bite me and spank me. It sometimes needs to hurt to feel good. I don’t like it when you’re spending all your time treating me like I’m fragile.”

“But I don’t want to hurt you. Or the baby.”

Rachel nodded, snuggling closer against him. “I won’t ever do anything that will hurt the baby but our lovemaking has never been soft and sweet and I really don’t want it to be.”

“Maybe just once or twice,” he said with a slight smile.

Rachel smiled back. “Maybe.”

Exactly six months after their father’s funeral Quentin asked Harper to marry him. The proposal had come in the middle of the night during an alleged cupcake tasting. He’d hidden a one-and-one-half-carat, princess-cut diamond engagement ring, complemented by lines of round diamonds along a band of fourteen-carat white gold, between layers of blue velvet cake with fresh blueberry crème and cream cheese frosting. The moment had almost been disastrous when Troy had shown up unannounced, grabbing the wrong treat off the silver tray. Every time Harper looked at the ring on her left hand she smiled at the memory.

She took a deep breath, sucking in her size-six waist as Jasmine buttoned the thirty-plus crystal buttons that closed her satin fit-and-flare gown with its bubble-hem skirt, stretched net illusion neckline with accents of embellished lace and cap sleeves. Her gown was understated and elegant and bore no resemblance to the mountain of taffeta and lace that her best friend had insisted was the dress to end all other dresses. She turned to face her grandmother and Jasmine, the two women fighting tears.

“You look beautiful,” Mama Pearl crooned as she tapped her cane gently against the floor. “Absolutely beautiful.”

Jasmine nodded. “Not bad. Not bad at all!”

Harper smiled and she spun around to study her reflection in the full-length mirror. Her smile suddenly faded and she did an about-face. “I’m scared!” she said, her voice a loud whisper.

Jasmine shook her head. “A little late, you think?”

Her grandmother waved a dismissive hand at Jasmine. She nodded. “You should be. Marriage isn’t a game. This is serious business. If you wasn’t scared I’d be worried.”

“But I don’t want to be scared!” Harper exclaimed, her eyes wide. “This is supposed to be the happiest day of my life. I want to be happy!”

“You are happy,” Jasmine said. “You are marrying the man of your dreams in your dream dress with your dream party-planner. Trust me when I tell you, you’re happy!”

Mama Pearl chuckled softly. She rose from her seat and moved to Harper’s side. Harper wrapped her arms around her grandmother’s shoulders and hugged her tightly. The matriarch kissed her cheek. “You are happy,” she said as she stared into the young woman’s eyes. “And we can all see it. When you left home your life was spinning in circles. You were looking for something and you didn’t know what that was. When you came back I could see the change in you. If I thought for a second that this was not right, your behind would be back in Baton Rouge right now. Now pull yourself together and go make that nice boy the happiest man in the whole wide world.”

Harper nodded, a tear teasing her lashes. The conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Jasmine moved to the entrance and peeked out. “Who is it?”

Rachel stood on the other side. “It’s just me,” she said as she moved inside. She smiled, her gown stretched over her very pregnant belly. She looked like she’d swallowed two watermelons.

“Are you going to be okay?” Harper asked. “You look like you’re about to bust!”

Rachel nodded. “I’m good. Three more weeks and I’ll be even better.”

“You look very pretty, too!” Mama Pearl said. “All three of you girls make a beautiful bridal party!”

Rachel smiled. “They’re ready for you when you are,” she said, meeting Harper’s gaze.

Harper blew a deep breath, shaking her arms out to her sides. “I’m scared,” she chimed a second time, her eyes wide.

Rachel nodded. “You are marrying the greatest guy. And he loves you very much,” she said, tears rising to her eyes. “I don’t ever remember Quentin being this happy. Dwayne and I are really excited for both of you.”

Harper reached for Rachel’s hand and squeezed it. “Thank you. I really appreciate that coming from you.”

Jasmine laughed. “Girl, she’s got her own husband now, she don’t want yours!”

“Jasmine!” Mama Pearl and Harper both chided.

Rachel laughed. “She’s right! I really don’t want Quentin. In all honesty I never really did. I’ve always loved Dwayne,” she said as she hunched her shoulders in a slight shrug.

“Well, I’m just glad you three were able to work through everything,” Harper said. “And I’m really happy that Quentin has his best friend back.”

Rachel nodded in agreement. “They really are better together than they are apart.”

“And I’m glad you two can be friends ’cause she really needs someone to keep her on the straight and narrow when I’m not around,” Jasmine chimed.

Harper and Rachel cut an eye at each other, their heads waving from side to side. Mama Pearl moved toward the door. “Y’all come on before Harper changes her mind and I have to take her back home with me.”

Harper laughed. “You don’t want me to come back home with you?”

Her grandmother tossed her a look over her shoulder and smiled. She winked an easy eye at her granddaughter. “Jasmine lets me date!”

 

 

“They’re like a gaggle of hens,” Quentin said as he and Harper danced cheek to cheek in the middle of the room.

Harper looked over to the large table where Mama Pearl, Miss Alice, Mrs. Porter, and Mrs. Todd were holding court. She nodded. “I wonder what they’re talking about because they look like they’re up to no good,” she said.

“I can only imagine them talking about what a beautiful bride you are and how handsome a groom I am.”

Harper tossed them another look. She shook her head and laughed. “No, they’re well past that!”

Quentin laughed. He pulled her closer and leaned to kiss her lips. It was sweet and gentle and one of many he planned to share with her in their lifetime. “That’s okay because I’m saying you are the most beautiful bride in the whole wide world.”

Harper grinned. “Well, thank you, Mr. Elliott. You have great taste!”

“You’re very welcome, Mrs. Elliott!”

Harper’s eyes widened. “Mrs. Elliott! I really like how that sounds.”

Quentin cupped her face between the palms of his hands. “So, do I!” he said as he kissed her mouth. “So, do I!”

 

 

“Now, Jasmine’s the one I’ve always had to keep my eye on. Baby girl could be fast if you didn’t put the brakes on her,” Mama Pearl was saying. “Them two could get into some things when they were together but for the most part my Harper was a good girl.”

Miss Alice laughed. “I know Troy and Quentin gave Everett a run for his money. And, Dwayne was quite the scamp, too!”

“I used to think boys were far easier to raise than girls,” Mrs. Porter interjected, “but my own son definitely proved me wrong there.”

“He seems to be doing quite well,” Miss Alice noted, turning her gaze to Dwayne and Rachel who were sitting at a table across the way. Dwayne was sitting with one arm around her chair and the other casually rubbing her pregnant belly. Rachel was leaning with her head on his shoulder and the two looked quite content.

Mrs. Porter nodded. “I think so. He had me worried for a while but he’s proving himself to be quite the man. It’s helped that Quentin has been around to support him.”

“Like father like son,” Miss Alice noted with a reflective smile. “Quentin takes right after his daddy.”

“Everett was a good man,” Mrs. Porter said, “and a good friend. I owe a lot to him. He gave me the strength to get out of my situation.”

Mama Pearl reached out and tapped Mrs. Porter’s hand. “No woman deserves to have a man beating on her. You did the right thing to leave.”

Mrs. Porter nodded. “It was hard but it was the best thing I could have ever done.”

Miss Alice took a sip of her coffee. “I’ll be honest, Evelyn, I had some concerns about those two,” she said, gesturing back to Dwayne and Rachel. She tossed Dwayne’s mother a knowing look.

Mrs. Porter met her stare. “So did I, because you know as well as I did that Dwayne wanted to be just like his father.”

“Did he want to be just like him or was he looking for his daddy’s approval?” Mama Pearl questioned. “’Cause my Harper spent most of her life trying to get her mama’s approval. That’s why she never got to know her daddy the way she should have. Broke my heart.”

Mrs. Porter paused in reflection before she answered. “It was probably a little bit of both.” She blew a deep sigh turning to eye her only son. Then she smiled. “Dwayne can act a fool if he wants to but my new daughter-in-law will have something for him. Turns out that little girl is smarter than I thought.”

“What do you mean?” Miss Alice questioned.

“Dwayne didn’t sign a prenuptial. If the marriage doesn’t work out Rachel will get fifty percent and child support for my grandbaby and if she’s as good of an attorney as I’m told, I imagine he’ll be paying quite a hefty amount in alimony as well. He’ll definitely be his father’s son then,” she said with a little chuckle. “Like I warned her, if a man hurts you with his hands, hitting him in his wallet can be sweet retribution. Ask me how I know!”

The women laughed heartily.

“They look like they’re really in love,” Mama Pearl said. “It just warms my heart to see young people in love like that.”

“I do believe it’s love,” Miss Alice said. “And I know Quentin and Harper are going to have a lifetime of happiness. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the other two.”

“And we’ll send up much prayer,” Mama Pearl added.

Mrs. Todd chimed in. “Just look at ’em. They’s a pretty, pretty couple. And Everett’s baby girl is a beautiful bride!”

Miss Alice smiled. “Yes, she is. And Quentin is a dashing groom.”

“Everett would have been tickled to death to see both his babies so happy,” Mrs. Todd said.

The other three women nodded in agreement.

Mrs. Todd reached into her purse and pulled out a large, silver flask. She tossed a glance over one shoulder and then the other. “This seems like a perfect time fo’ a toast,” she said as she unscrewed the cap and poured a shot into her coffee cup.

Mrs. Porter pushed her cup across the table. “I’ll have some of that.”

Miss Alice and Mama Pearl both did the same.

“Just this once,” Mama Pearl exclaimed. “It is a special occasion!”

And laughter rang heartily through the room.

 

 

Troy was standing outside the bakery door when Rachel and Dwayne stepped out, saying good-bye. “Leaving?” he asked as Dwayne wrapped a lace shawl around Rachel’s shoulders.

Dwayne nodded. “We are. Rachel’s not feeling well.”

Troy shifted his gaze to study the woman’s face. “You’re not in labor, are you?”

She smiled, shaking her head. “No, not yet. Just tired and feeling very large.”

He smiled. “You look good though.”

“Thank you very much. So when are we going to be doing this for you?”

“Doing what?” he asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Getting married!”

Standing behind her, Dwayne vehemently shook his head. He waved his hands in the air. Troy grinned and when Rachel looked over her shoulder toward her husband, Dwayne stopped, pretending to be serious in the conversation.

“You’re not funny, Dwayne,” Rachel said.

He laughed. “Just helping a brother out,” he said, his hands lifted in surrender.

“You need to think about finding someone special to settle down with,” she said. “You can’t be an eligible bachelor your whole life.”

“It’s actually working for me, Rachel. I’m not sure why I would want to fix what’s not broken,” Troy answered.

Dwayne nodded. “Enjoy it while you can,” he said.

Rachel tossed him a look. “What are you trying to say, Dwayne?”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t
trying
to say anything, I said what I had to say. Troy should enjoy being single while he can.”

Troy laughed. “Thank you!” he chimed as Rachel rolled her eyes at the two of them.

“Well, I don’t agree,” she started. “I think . . .”

Dwayne shook his head, cutting her off. “It’s time to say good night, baby. Say good night, please.”

She rolled her eyes a second time, sucking her teeth. “Tch! Good night, Troy.”

Dwayne extended his hand and the two men bumped fists, embracing in that one-shoulder hug men were renowned for.

Troy leaned and wrapped Rachel in a warm embrace. He gave her tummy a light pat. “You three be safe, please.”

He watched as the two walked off hand in hand. A slow smile pulled at his lips. He turned to stare through the bakery windows. The crowd was still going strong and he laughed out loud as he watched Harper and Quentin doing the Booty Scoot line dance with the old women in the room.

As he stood in reflection, his arms crossed over his chest, one hand cupped under his chin, a soft voice resonated from the sidewalk behind him. “She’s a beautiful bride! They look very happy.”

Tossing a glance over his shoulder, Troy wasn’t expecting to see the two young women who were standing together. Both were dressed in hijabs, traditional Islamic garments that represented their religious beliefs. Covered from head to toe, all that was visible were their hands and eyes. He smiled politely and he sensed that the woman who had spoken was smiling back. Her companion pulled at her elbow, seeming uncomfortable about talking to a stranger. The hesitancy showed in her young eyes.

Troy’s gaze moved back to the woman who had spoken and he responded, “That’s my baby brother and his new wife. They are very happy,” he said politely.

The woman’s eyes smiled in response. “We didn’t mean to interrupt. Our father had told us about this bakery and my sister and I were hoping it might have been open.”

Troy nodded. “Not a problem. It’s closed today but you’re both welcome to come inside for some wedding cake,” he offered.

The sister shook her head, pulling on her sibling’s arm. The more outgoing woman shook her off, her gaze indicating her annoyance.

“Thank you,” she said, “but my sister and I wouldn’t want to interrupt. We’ll come back again when you’re open for business.”