Writing Witchy (Witch Hunters) (9 page)

Truly, he enjoyed kissing her. But there was only so much he could take. Her fingers slid into his hair and angled his head so that she could deepen the kiss. Keith groaned.
She moved closer to him and his hands flew to her hips, holding her back. He couldn’t take the feel of her pressed against his erection. The few inches that separated them were the only things keeping him from exploding in his pants.

His hands slipped on the slick satin of her pajamas and he gave a strangled moan as she fitted their pelvises together.
She gasped, but didn’t move away. The pressure made his hips jerk involuntarily. He gripped her shoulders and broke the kiss. “Imani, please….” His voice was rough and husky. “I-I need to change for bed.” It was lame, but it was the first excuse that popped into his mind. Hell, he was lucky he could think. All his blood had rushed south.

As he waited for her reaction, h
e kept his eyes averted. With the intensity of his emotions, his irises had to be glowing. His breathing was ragged. Imani stroked his chest, her own breath coming in small pants that aroused him further. He let his head fall backward onto the couch. “Please, Imani, I want to keep my promise to you, but you’ve got me close to begging.”

“Keith, you have no idea how much I admire you.
Being with you…I’ve never felt this way before. It doesn’t mean that I’m ready to make love with you. That still scares me, but I would like to take this farther.”

While he was encouraged
that their relationship was different from those she’d had before and that she trusted him, he had never been so aware of his personal limitations. Even so, he couldn’t help but ask, “What do you mean?” In response, she took his hands and placed them on her small waist. She pushed them higher and higher until he cupped her breasts. Damn! She wasn’t wearing a bra.

He
went still. “This is such a bad idea,” he muttered even as his hands flexed over her soft flesh. He had large hands and she filled them to overflowing. Her stiff nipples stabbed his palms. He flicked them with his thumbs. Imani’s reaction was immediate. A moan escaped her lips as her head fell back and her hips undulated upon his. He bit his lip to hold in a howl.

Imani clenched his shoulders. “Oh, that feels so good.”

He tugged her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. Her breath hitched and she squirmed as though she couldn’t stay still. “I want to suck these. Would that be okay?” A whimper was her only response. Deciding that meant yes, he latched onto one breast while he continued to stroke the other. He nibbled and suckled until her shirt was soaked. Frustrated with the cloth hiding her skin from him, he yanked until the buttons slipped from their holes. She gave a startled cry as his mouth closed over her nipple again. But she didn’t stop him. Her fingers slid into his hair and held him close.

“Oh, God, Keith!” She was practically writhing in his lap
, riding his erection. He could smell her arousal. After several hot minutes, she leaned back, her wet breast popping from his lips. Her breathing was choppy as she slid off his lap. “That’s-that’s enough. I-I…Thank you.”

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. He willed his erection away when all he wanted to do was toss her onto the bed and fuck her until neither of them could walk.

    “Are you okay?” He couldn’t answer. Though he moved his lips, no sound escaped. “Keith, I’m sorry. I asked too much from you.”

She made a move to touch him and he flinched away. He swallowed. “Give me a minute. Just…I need a moment.” When he felt his eyes would no longer glow, he met her gaze. She looked worried and hurt. “Why don’t you get in bed? I’m going to take a shower
.” As quick as his body would allow, he stood and made his way into the bathroom.

He stripped off his clothes and turned the water on.
Cold, though he doubted it would make a difference. Nothing would ease him or satisfy him like being buried in Imani’s sweet pussy. He groaned. Thinking like that was not going to help.

Focusing on the promise he’d made to Imani, he stepped benea
th the icy spray. He shivered as the cold water sluiced over him. After what seemed an eternity, he realized he was going to have to take matters in his own hands. Though there were two beds in their suite, he wouldn’t be able to sleep in the same room with her in his current state. He needed some relief.

Wrapping his hand around his thick erection, he recalled the feel of her breasts, the taste of her skin beneath his tongue, and the smell of her arousal as it wafted up from between her thighs.
His strokes were firm and brisk. Imagining all the ways he wanted to be with her had him spilling into his hand. Sagging from the strength of his orgasm, he moaned her name.

He cleaned up and finished his shower. When he got out, he remembered that he hadn’t brought his pajama pants into the bathroom with him.
He covered himself with a towel and hoped that Imani had taken his advice and gone to bed.

Though she was in bed, she wasn’t asleep. Lying on her side, she was facing the bathroom door so that she couldn’t possibly miss him when he cam
e out. She’d turned off all but the bedside lights. His pants lay across the end of his bed. He maneuvered them beneath his towel without exposing himself and slid beneath the sheets.

He reached for his lamp to turn it off.

“Keith, are we okay?”

“I promised you and I don’t go back on my promises.”

***

In the morning, Keith woke groggy and ill-tempered. Imani seemed wary
, and well she should as she was the source of his poor night of sleep. Cognizant of the fact that they were sharing a bedroom, he’d decided not to visit Imani in her dreams. It would have been too risky. Of late, he’d been using the dreams to get to know her better and to forge a greater emotional bond. Ironically, Imani often steered their visions toward sex. They’d yet to make love because he felt it would be somehow breaking his promise to take her even in a dream.

Last night she had caught him off guard by initiating the visit herself. The woman kept amazing him. As a non-witch, she shouldn’t have been able to slip into his dream.
And yet, she had. He’d been talking to his brother on the day of his wedding and Imani had come to him and taken him away to a fantasy garden filled with lush brightly colored flowers and sunshine. She was too vivid, too visceral to be anything but the real Imani. He’d let her lead him to a bench where she’d kissed him and touched him much as she had before they’d gone to bed. Once again, she’d wanted his hands and his mouth on her breasts.

It was no wonder he woke up cranky and with a cock as hard and
as uncomfortable as a steel rod in his pants. The sun had barely risen when he went to shower to handle his wayward body. Imani was only beginning to stir when he came out of the bathroom. He mumbled an excuse about breakfast and made his escape.

In reality, he needed some space. He didn’t want to be one of those assholes who got pissy with his woman when he was denied sex. He’d never expected to sleep with her, but damn, this was harder than he’d thought it would be. Literally.

***

Imani pushed around the baby carrots on her plate. The view from the SkyCity Restaurant at the Space Needle was amazing. Her prime beef tenderloin was cooked to perfection. It should have been a romantic evening capping off their day of sightseeing. She’d been to Seattle many times but she’d never visited as a tourist. She’d enjoyed yesterday immensely. But today was different. Keith was stiff and preoccupied. Oh, he made a visib
le effort to behave normally, but she could tell he was upset with her about last night. She appreciated that he hadn’t brought up the subject of sex with her. However, if he was going to silently sulk about it, she’d rather he had it out so that they could address the matter openly.

But he said nothing and it made her nervous. Was he regretting their agreement? Oh, God, could he be contemplating dumping her?

Keith cleared his throat. “Um, how is your beef?”

“It’s good. How’
s your salmon?”

“Delicious.”

A beat of awkward silence followed. Imani put down her fork. She wasn’t hungry anymore. It wasn’t her to ignore a problem. She’d rather face it head-on and have it out rather than stew over it. “Keith, are you angry with me?”

“
No, of course not.”

She sensed that he was being honest, but she couldn’t leave it at that. “There’s clearly something bothering you. You’ve been distracted all day.
”

“I’m sorry. The last thing I want to do is ruin your weekend.” He
emptied his wine glass. “I beg you for your patience. I’d rather not discuss it until I’ve had more time to wrap my brain around the situation.”

She frowned. “What situation?”
she asked, her tone sharper than she’d intended, but she’d been worried since last night. His vague answers weren’t reassuring.

He winced. “
I don’t mean to upset you.” His eyes met hers before darting around the restaurant. “Kissing you is the most…” He broke off with a strangled noise, his gaze focused somewhere over her left shoulder.

Imani turned in her seat as Keith stood to acknowledge the approach of a dark
-haired goddess in a black blouse and charcoal gray skirt. Both items molded her curvy frame to perfection. She had long raven hair that was pulled back from her beautiful face into a high glamorous ponytail. A sensual smile stretched her full lips as she kissed the corner of Keith’s mouth. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, Imani supposed that she could have been aiming for his cheek.

“Fancy meeting you here,” she was saying.

“Um, yeah. We were doing the tourist thing. What brings you to town?”

“This and that,” she replied with a flirtatious shove to his shoulder. “Don’t you look handsome? But then you always cleaned up well.” She turned to Imani. “And who is this lovely creature?”

Keith looked even more uncomfortable than he had before. “Um, Harlow, this is Imani. Imani, this is Harlow. She’s helped me with research for my books in the past.”

“Oh, are you also a librarian?”

Harlow laughed. “Oh, no. I’m…well, it’s difficult to explain. Listen, I don’t want to interrupt your dinner. It was nice meeting you. I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon. Keith,
call me
.” She swept off as swiftly as she’d appeared.

Keith resumed his seat and refilled his wine glass.

“Well, I guess you have a type.”

“What’s that?”

Imani cast a significant glance down at her bosom. “She’s an ex, right? You like busty women.” She tried not to be upset that he hadn’t introduced her as his girlfriend, and failed miserably.

His eyes dropped to her breasts before meeting her
gaze. “Harlow and I are just friends. We’ve never been anything more.”

“Not that she doesn’t want
more,” Imani surmised.

“She knows I’m unavailable.”

“Umm-hmm.” Unavailable or not, Harlow was interested. Fantastic, she thought sarcastically. Just what she needed—an attractive woman after her man… But she couldn’t say anything about it without sounding jealous. Or insecure. Which, she was. Harlow didn’t look to be the sort who wouldn’t enjoy sex. In fact, she appeared to revel in her sexuality. Could she compete and win against such a confident, sexy woman who was also his friend?

He grinned at her, the first genuine smile she’
d seen from him the entire day. “As I was saying before Harlow arrived, kissing you is the most pleasurable experience of my life.”

Chapter Nine

Imani couldn’t resist hugging the soft cream
-colored bear. The fur was as plush and luxurious as it looked and the filling made the stuffed animal pleasantly squishy. “I love it,” Imani said to Thea. “I’m getting this for the baby.”

Thea patted her gently rounded belly. “Baby James or Jamila says thank you.
”

“He or she is quite welcome.” She put the bear in their basket.
“Besides, I owe you for checking on Asha while I was away.”

“
I told you that was no biggie. Which of these blankets do you like the best?” Thea asked, indicating a pale yellow blanket and a blanket that was a mix of baby blue and pastel pink. Both were furry and Imani couldn’t resist touching them.

“This one,” she said, picking up the blue and pink one. It was softer than down. “My God, why don’t they make these for adults?”

Thea laughed and added the blanket to their growing pile of baby items. Though Dwayne was excited about the baby, Thea had burned through his patience when it came to shopping. Thus Imani had been appointed as her surrogate shopping partner. It was a position she enjoyed. Only looking at all the tiny clothes and other baby items made her long for something that she may never have.

Keith had never revealed what had caused him to become so distant. But he didn’t really need to. She knew it was about their lack of a sex life. It was the same every time. This wasn’t her first foray into attempting to have a sexless relationship.
She’d dated a little after the break up with Colin. In the beginning, her dates always claimed they could accept her aversion to sex, but they always thought she would change her mind. But when it became apparent that she wouldn’t, they grew angry and brooding. And then they cheated. Or they broke up with her.