The Blacker the Berry (7 page)

Instead of disappointment marring her face, Tamara sat up with a grin. And opened her nightstand drawer. “No worries. I have some in the drawer.” It took only a few seconds to find the box of condoms and dig one out. When she handed it to Russell, he stared down at the shiny black wrapper with a mixture of relief and jealousy. A look that wasn’t lost on Tamara. “What?”

“I’m torn here.” Russell took the condom from her hand and ripped into the foil. “Don’t know whether to be pleased or irked.”

Licking her lips, Tamara slipped her hands between her thighs and boldly caressed herself. “You better make up your mind, before I finish without you.”

The hell she would. “Oh, I don’t think so.” His eyes heated with desire as he sheathed his cock and moved onto the bed next to her. “This is my ride, sweetheart; I decide when and how you come.”

“Says who?”

“Me.” Settling himself between her thighs, Russell took his cock in hand and brushed it against her hot center. As much as he would have liked to sink balls-deep inside her chocolate trove, he needed to make sure she wanted it as much as he did. “Tell me you want me to fuck you.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” She moaned, squirming beneath him.

“No.” And he wasn’t going to be satisfied until she answered him. And if he didn’t get satisfaction, neither would she. Russell was in charge of this rodeo, and it was about time she knew it. “You want my cock. Ask for it.”

“God, I’m going to kill you.” Tamara arched underneath him as if trying to seat his cock inside her.

“Probably, but not until I die with pleasure. Say it.”

“Damn it, fuck me! Give me your cock. Please.”

“My pleasure.” Russell didn’t let the words slip all the way past his lips before he pushed deep inside her hot, moist passage.

His teeth clenched at the rush of pleasure he felt from being buried within her. Her tight, wet pussy hugged his shaft as he rode her back into the mattress. The way she snugly fit around his cock was pure poetry in motion. In a word, being inside her was exquisite. “God, you feel so good.”

“I…was about…to say”—she paused as she fought to catch her breath—“the same thing…about…you.”

“Finally, we agree on something.”

“Less talking. More fucking.”

“Now who’s bossy?” Even as he complained, he picked up his pace. Russell didn’t have a problem following a good idea when he heard one. Or embellishing on one, either. Rising to his knees, he slipped his hands under her hips, tilting them higher. Then thrusting forward, he sank even deeper into her softness.

She wrapped her legs around him and urged him on with choppy, breathless moans. The erotic sounds were almost as sexy as the feel of her nails digging into his back.

No matter how he pounded her, how he filled her, it wasn’t enough for him. He had to get deeper. Drive harder. Fuck her until everything that made him whole was melded into her.

Her heady moans were soon drowned out by the sound of their labored breathing and the squeaking of the well-used bed. She melted in his hands, giving in to the pleasure he gave her. His movements became stronger and more frantic as he drove them higher and higher to the precipice of their beckoning release.

“Harder…God…please…” She gasped as he pulled back then lunged forward, burying himself in her again. Her sweet sheath welcomed him over and over until Russell could no longer tell where she began and he ended. It was a never-ending loop of pleasure that surrounded them both.

Russell didn’t want this feeling to ever end, but as Tamara clutched at him, her body trembling under his, he knew she was on the verge of climax. Her body bucked back against his as she fought for her release. Reaching between them, he found her clit and stroked, once, twice. With a silent scream, she stiffened for a moment and then tightened, drawing him in as her body rippled with her orgasm.

It didn’t take much more to send Russell careening off the edge right after Tamara. With a few sharp, rapid thrusts of his hips, he came, biting back her name as he did. Blood rushed to his head as the semen rushed out of his cock, making him feel light-headed, but powerful all at the same time.

With a soft groan, Russell released his hold on her hips and gripped the edge of the condom. He slowly pulled from her body, pleased to see that, despite the pounding, the condom had held up. The only cream on it was hers, which added to the delicious aroma of sex filling the air, making his mouth water.

His cock, despite the ball-shrinking orgasm it had just had, jerked in response. “Down, boy,” he muttered, as he reached over to her nightstand and grabbed a tissue.

“Talking to me?”

“No, my cock.”

“Does he answer back?” She laughed as she moved off the bed.

“No,” he said as he removed the used latex. “He doesn’t listen, either.”

“Don’t get freaky now, cowboy.” Russell watched her luscious ass as she walked across the room to an open door he could only assume was the bathroom. When she came back out after a few minutes, he himself went into the room, pleased to see it was just what he was in need of.

He quickly disposed of the condom and cleaned up the evidence of their romp before joining her back in the bedroom once more. Instead of being under the covers near sleep as he’d half expected her to be, Tamara had pulled on her shirt and panties and was working on her shorts.

Suddenly Russell felt completely underdressed. Normally he was the one who was quickly dressing to hightail it out the door. “Is this my cue to leave?” he asked, half kidding.

His comment seemed to surprise her. “Did you want to stay?”

“At least until my balls dry off, if that’s not too much to ask.”

Her lips quivered as if she was biting back a smile. “I guess not. What kind of hostess lets her guest leave with wet balls?” Tamara dropped her shorts back on the floor.

“My thought exactly.” Now that was much better. Russell grabbed his boxers and pulled them on.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“Sure, as long as it’s not tequila.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

She headed into the kitchen, and Russell followed, strangely unwilling to have her out of his sight. She reached up to pull a glass from the cupboard, her T-shirt rising to reveal her rounded ass. His cock, which had started to finally deflate, perked up with interest once again.

Good Lord, what was wrong with him? In a vain attempt to focus on something else, anything else other than the bounty in front of him he asked, “So are you going back up to Ty’s this weekend?”

She put the glasses on the island, then turned to the refrigerator and pulled out a gallon of orange juice. She brought it back to the table and began to fill the glasses. “I want to, I’m just not sure if I’ll be able to.”

“I don’t mind giving you a
ride
.” The pun lingered in the air between them for a second, before Tamara, with all her quick wit, fired back.

“So I see.” She chuckled lightly. “But I’m still not sure yet. What about you?”

“Yes. I promised Sandra I would go with her to her parent’s house for their annual charity dinner.” When Tamara stiffened in midpour, Russell realized how his statement must have sounded to her, especially since they’d just had sex. He quickly added, “It’s not a date or anything.”

“It wouldn’t matter if it was.” She finished pouring as if nothing had occurred, and took the bottle back to the refrigerator.

“It wouldn’t?”

“No. I’m not the boss of your penis, Russell. You’re more than welcome to let him out to visit anyone you want.”

He stood in stunned silence for a moment. Had he imagined that brief second of stiffness or what? She didn’t care. What the hell! Hadn’t they just had some of the best sex ever only moments ago? Now she was almost encouraging him to go screw someone else. It didn’t make any sense.

When she cleared her throat, he looked over to notice she was holding out a glass of juice to him. He blindly reached for the glass, still unable to understand this woman who was so unlike any other woman he’d ever met.

And because Russell was Russell, he was incapable of allowing this conversation to just fade away. “What do you mean, exactly?”

She tilted her head and stared at him, as if it was
he
who was slightly mad and not
her
. “Um, I thought it was pretty clear. You don’t owe me any explanations. It’s none of my business really.”

“None of your business? We just fucked not more than five minutes ago.” He felt compelled to point out the obvious since she’d apparently missed it.

She crossed her arms over her ample breasts, a frown furrowing her brow. “Yeah, we fucked. So what? We’re not married, not dating. Hell, right now I don’t even know how much I like you.”

He opened his mouth to retort, but she held up a hand, cutting him off. “No, let me finish. I have no right to tell you what to do, and you have no rights to me, either. We had sex. It was good. End of story.”

“Not likely. I want to see you again.” His words surprised him almost as much as they obviously surprised her. Tamara took in a quick, sharp breath and stared at him wordlessly for a few seconds. A few seconds too long. “Well?”

“We’ll probably see each other a lot. I’m still going to visit Charlotte, and I’ll still need a ride. You agreed to pose, unless, of course, you’re backing out.”

Pose. Rides. What did any of that have to do with what he just said? “No, I’m not backing out, but that’s not what I meant, either, and you damn well know it.”

“Russell, get over yourself. You’re in postcoital bliss. Go home, sleep it off, and by the weekend, you’ll be thanking me.”

“For what?”

“Letting you off the hook. Look, your balls have got to be dry by now. I think it’s time you headed home. I’ll give you a call if I need a ride, okay?” Tamara turned on her heels and stormed from the room, leaving Russell staring in her wake.

Let him off the hook? What the hell had he missed?

Chapter Seven

“So did you kick him in the balls?”

“I didn’t, but I really wanted to.” Even though she was on her lunch break, Tamara kept her voice low. She couldn’t afford to lose her job, and as pissed off as she still was at Russell, she knew if she started talking too much about what happened last night, she’d just go off and start cursing. Something she probably shouldn’t do in the teachers’ lounge. “Can you believe him, telling me about his nondate, seconds after leaving my”—she lowered her voice even more—“bed?”

“I like Russell. I really do, but even I’m having a hard time resisting the urge to maim him.”

“Don’t resist on my account.”

“Tell me again, what exactly did he say?”

“Exactly.” Tamara switched the phone to her other ear and held it there with her shoulder so she could open her diet soda can. “That he’s taking that Sandra woman to her parents’ for some dinner, but not to worry, because it’s not a date.”

“Well—”

“No.” Tamara stopped her well-meaning friend. “It’s a date. You know it, and I know it.”

“But maybe he doesn’t consider it a date.”

“It’s the principle here, Charlotte. I’ve been in some hit-and-forget type relationships my damn self, and the rules are very clear. It’s an ‘ask and don’t tell’ booty policy. I truly could have gone my whole life without knowing he was about to tap her this weekend. My whole life.”

“Maybe he isn’t going to.”

Even though she knew Charlotte couldn’t see her face, Tamara made a deadpan expression anyway. “Did you see the same woman I saw?”

“Yes.”

“He’s going to hit it.”

“Ty doesn’t think he even likes her.”

“Likes her? What are we, in grade school?” Charlotte’s rich laughter spilled over the lines. “Besides, what do like and sex have to do with each other?”

“When did you become so cynical?”

“When did you stop being cynical? Wait,” Tamara said. “Never mind. I already know my answer. You know, venting to you was a lot more fun when you weren’t infected with the love virus.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

“Liar.” Tamara took a deep drink from her soda, wishing there was a bit of rum mingled in there with her cola.

“Let me ask you this.” The tone in Charlotte’s voice warned Tamara that she wasn’t going to like what her friend had to say. “If this is just a hit it and forget it thing, then why do you care who he hits next?”

The tone never lied; besides, logic had no place in this conversation. “I don’t care.”

“Who’s the liar now?”

“Don’t make me hang up on you.”

“You better not, heifer.”

“And why not?”

“Because if you do, I won’t get to tell you about a very interesting phone call you got here today.”

Tamara snorted. “If Russell wanted to talk to me, he could have called my house.”

“It wasn’t Russell.”

“Oh.” Embarrassment for assuming it was Russell warred with surprise because it wasn’t. Tamara had been more than sure he was going to try to get back in her good graces. Showed what she knew. “Then who was it?”

“Christian.”

“Who?” The name didn’t ring a bell.

“You know, the hot blond you were dirty dancing with the other night.”

“Hot blond. What are you…oh. Him? You think he was hot?”

“Oh yeah.”

“He was all right.” He had seemed nice enough, but he wasn’t really her type.

“Just all right?”

The shock in Charlotte’s voice had Tamara frowning. “What?” Did Russell and Charlotte see something she didn’t? “He doesn’t do it for me.”

“Not like the dark, handsome cowboy does, huh?”

If she wanted sarcasm, she would have talked to herself. “My lunch is over. I have to go.”

“Your lunch is not over. I can tell time, you know.”

“Yet you can’t tell when it’s time to let something go.”

“Okay, fine. Be that way. Just don’t pretend with me, missy. I know you better than you know yourself.”

“I know you better than you know yourself,” Tamara mimicked in a lower tone. “Shut it. I need to get back to work.”

“Fine. Aren’t you interested in why Christian called?”

“Because he had a date when he could pose?” She could always use a few more men to round the pictures for her show.

“No, he wanted to ask you out.”

“Me?” Had fat chicks with major attitude come back in style when she wasn’t looking or what? “Man, what is it with white men where you live? It’s like they have blackitis. See what happens when you move to a town where there are no people of color.”

“You shouldn’t be so damned sexy,” Charlotte teased.

“Don’t hate.” Tamara shook her head in bewilderment. “Man, that’s just crazy.”

“No, what’s crazy is he wants to invite you to a charity event his parents are throwing. Small world, isn’t it?”

“And getting smaller by the second.” If she didn’t have bad luck, she wouldn’t have any luck at all. “So he just happened to mention all of this when he called? You didn’t grill him or anything?”

“Would I do that?” Charlotte’s voice rose an octave higher, a sure indication she was lying.

“Uh, yeah, you would, nosey.”

“Hey, I wasn’t going to give out your number to just anyone.”

“Give out my—you didn’t?”

“Oh, but I did.”

“Good-bye, Charlotte.” Tamara moved the phone from her ear, intent on hanging up, when a shout had her pulling it back.

“Wait, are you going to go with him?”

“I have to go to Jule’s bachelorette party Friday night, remember?”

“The charity party isn’t until Saturday,” Charlotte smugly informed her.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you wanted me to go.”

“I do.”

Confused she asked the obvious question. “Why?”

“Maybe to show Russell a thing or two.”

“You are a troublemaker.” Of course, if the situation were reversed, it would be the exact thing she would have suggested Charlotte do.

“And that’s why you like me.”

“Good-bye, Charlotte.” Tamara finished off her soda and stood. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Tonight, call me after Christian calls you.”

“He’s probably not going to call.”

“Don’t bet on it.” Charlotte’s laughter carried over the connection.

Tamara shook her head as she closed the top down on her cell phone. He wasn’t going to call. Of that, she was sure.

* * *

Once again, fate felt the need to point out to Tamara just how little she knew about men and life in general. As she stood in front of the floor-length mirror inside the door of Charlotte’s walk-in closet, she prayed to end the night without having to hear a single “I told you so” from Charlotte.

“Oh, I love that dress on you.”

She loved the dress as well. The simple black formal dress complimented her curves, dipping low to highlight her breasts, but had nice thick straps to cover the fact she needed to wear a bra for support. The empire waist allowed the fabric to drape over her not so attractive areas and covered her flaws nicely.

“Thank you.”

“I’m sure Christian will too.” Charlotte waddled up behind Tamara and pretended to pluck at a nonexistent string on her dress. “You know, Christian, the guy you’re going out with tonight, even though you didn’t think he was going to call.”

So much for prayers. Tamara glanced down at her bare wrist and tapped a nonexistent watch. “Fifteen minutes exactly.”

“What’s fifteen minutes?”

“The length of time it took you to say I told you so.”

“I would never say I told you so.”

“Right.” She let the sarcasm drip off her words. “By the by, Christian told me he invited you and Ty to the party. I’m surprised you’re not going. I thought you might want to see the drama or lack thereof, for yourself.”

“First of all, there will be drama.” Charlotte held up one finger. Then added another. “Second, I’m on doctor’s orders not to travel.”

Concerned, Tamara turned around until she was facing her friend. “You had an appointment recently?”

“No, this isn’t recent.”

“But last weeken—”

“Was last weekend.” Charlotte lowered her voice and glanced behind her to the closed bedroom door. “But between you, me, and the bambino, Ty can’t stand Sandra or her family. He says she’s all about the paper, and I’m not talking about the folding kind.”

That didn’t surprise Tamara in the least. She’d only met the woman once, and she could already tell she was interested in only how deep Russell’s pockets ran. So that answered one question, but it left another. “Why are we whispering?”

“Because Russell pulled up while you were in the shower.”

“So?”

“I might have forgotten to mention you were going to be here this weekend.”

“You—”

“Ah, ah, ah.” Charlotte took a step back and placed her hand on her belly. “Babies can hear, you know.”

“We wouldn’t want junior there knowing how devious mommy is, now, would we?”

“Nope.”

“You are so evil.”

“I know.” Laughing, Charlotte turned around and headed to the bedroom door with Tamara fast her on her heels. The shorter woman, even despite her increasing size, was still pretty nimble on her feet, and she was out the door before Tamara caught up with her.

“Slow down, woman, before you hurt my godchild, so I can hurt you.”

She skittered to a halt as the hallway bathroom door opened, and Russell stepped from the steaming room. He was dressed as formally as she and very obviously wasn’t expecting to see her standing there. She watched as his eyes widened and then narrowed as he took in her appearance.

“What are you doing here?”

Vowing to kill Charlotte
, Tamara thought, but wisely said differently. “Going to a party, same as you.”

“What?”

“Yes,” Charlotte butted in. “Apparently Christian was so taken with her, he begged me for her number so he could invite her himself.”

That wasn’t exactly the way it happened. More like Christian said he had had a good time with her, and he wanted to know if she wanted to attend the party. He even mentioned, in a very kind way, that it would be as friends only, since his parents weren’t exactly comfortable just yet with him bringing his boyfriend around. His little confession was the only reason Tamara agreed to go with him, but also one she wasn’t going to share with anyone else. So instead, she just smiled and held her tongue.

“Was he now?” The words were clipped and far from pleasant. “And now you’re going out with him?”

“Just to the party.” Tamara smiled wider, all the while plotting ways to do murder and avoid the death penalty. “So I guess I’ll be seeing you there.”

“You can count on it.” Russell bit out the words before turning on his heel and stomping down the hallway to his room. Instead of slamming the door as she’d expected, though, he closed it with a quiet click. Somehow that seemed all the more dangerous.

“Damn, there are going to be some fireworks tonight.”

Tamara rolled her eyes, silently agreeing with her friend. She just hoped she could avoid being in the crossfire.

* * *

If looks could spank, Tamara would be bare-assed and over his lap for her outlandish behavior. It was bad enough Russell was stuck at a party he didn’t want to be at, but to make matters ten times worse, Tamara was there as well. The only big difference was she seemed to be having a good time.

How the fuck was that possible? Unlike him, she didn’t know a single soul, yet it was she who was standing around talking to people, while he stood solitarily by the wall, staring at her as if he was waiting for her to sprout a second head. Hell, maybe he was. Maybe the other head would belong to the woman he’d spent the weekend with at Ty’s or the woman who had come undone in the sexiest of ways beneath him in bed a few days back.

Just thinking of her sweet, earthy scent and the feel of her hot, tight pussy had his cock begging to delve into her once more. Of course, that urge ran a close second to the one he had of spanking her silly.

“If you stare any harder, I might feel the need to call security.”

Without looking away from Tamara, Russell replied to Christian’s less than amusing comment. “I’m just keeping an eye on a friend.”

“Hmm…that’s interesting.”

“What?”

“That you think the two of you are friends.”

The amusement in Christian’s voice had Russell seeing red. “We’re more than friends, if you must know.” Russell turned to stare at Christian, giving the man the weight of his ire to add punch to his words. “Much more.”

“So I figured. Aren’t you just the popular guy? First my sister, now Tamara. Tell me, Russell”—he cocked his head in thought—“when do you sleep?”

“Is there a purpose to this conversation?”

“Yes.”

“Then get to it.” Russell wanted to get back to nefarious designs on Tamara and her ass.

“My sister isn’t blind. I’d take care if I were you, of who you watch and why. Sandra isn’t the kind to take a slight, even a small one, lightly.” Didn’t he know it. Ever since they’d arrived, she’d been acting perturbed. It probably didn’t help that he’d tried to get out of bringing her two days in a row. He didn’t want to be here. He wasn’t arm candy for the terminally rich and bored. And if it wasn’t for the fact that she was shoving his promise down his throat, he would have never showed.

“Don’t worry about Sandra. She’s a big girl. We both knew what the score was when we started…” Russell didn’t want to say dating, because in truth they never did. Theirs was a relationship of physical satisfaction only. Nothing more. Nothing less. “…seeing one another. Neither one of us will walk away brokenhearted.”

“Who says I was worried about my sister?” Christian’s parting words were like a shot in the dark. It was loud, confusing, and completely out of the blue.

What the hell was that supposed to mean
? Russell wondered as he watched the other man walk away and join his sister across the room. Christian leaned down and whispered something in her ear, which caused her to turn around and glare menacingly in his direction. Something that wasn’t lost on Christian, who began to grin like a loon.

Irritated, Russell shook his head, and turned his back toward them.
There was something very wrong with that family.