I nodded, but didn’t say anything. It was obvious what the place was.
“Her husband beat the hell out of her in front of her son, and then she called you to help her? And you were going to go over there at night, by yourself?” The accusation in his words stung a little bit.
“I would’ve been fine,” I defended.
“Right, and what if he was home? You make a habit of rescuing clients with violent spouses?”
I closed my eyes, too tired to deal with anything this substantial at the moment. “Xavier, thank you for the ride. I apologize for inconveniencing your evening,” I retorted, moving to get out, when he grabbed my arm.
“Yo, I’m sorry. You didn’t inconvenience anything. I was just worried. That’s some dangerous shit to get involved with.”
You’re telling me,I thought.
“She needs to get the police involved. What if he—?” Xavier’s words were cut off when my mouth collided with his. I pressed my lips to his, softly biting his lower lip and then licking it before I pulled back. I licked my lips, savoring his taste on them.
“I always wanted to see if your lips were as soft as they looked,” I said, just above a whisper. “Turns out, even softer.”
“Yo, Chanel,” he spoke, but I held up my hand.
“I can see myself inside,” I stated, quickly exiting and allowing the doorman to hold the door open for me.
“Good evening, Ms. Richards.” Antonio inclined his head.
I waved, passing him and not even bothering to look back to see if Xavier was still there. I didn’t stop moving until the elevator door closed behind me. I leaned against the back of the elevator as it carried me up to the fifteenth floor. I wrapped a hand around my lower belly, which still had butterflies fluttering around in it after that kiss.
It was brief. I don’t even think he kissed me back, but I meant what I’d said about his lips being softer than I’d ever imagined. I’d kissed him out of instinct. I’d wanted to change the topic from Anne Marie and her husband to something else. The only thing I could think of at that moment was to reach out and touch him. So that’s exactly what I did. And I wasn’t ashamed to say I didn’t regret it.
Sure, I’d likely be embarrassed the next time I ran into Xavier, but I could blame it on my being tired, the alcohol I’d consumed earlier in the night, or being traumatized by the events of the night. All plausible excuses…but the reality was, I did it because I wanted to. I’d had a crush on Xavier for longer than I could remember. As a teen, my mother had called it puppy love, but we were full-grown adults now. Xavier was in his mid-thirties, and I had just turned thirty. This wasn’t puppy love anymore. But I knew it wouldn’t go any further than a crush and one simple kiss in a car at two o’clock in the morning. I mourned the idea that I’d never get to feel those lips again as I let myself into my loft-style condo.
Kicking my shoes off and leaving them by the door, I padded down the hallway until I reached my bedroom. Peeling off my sundress, I opted not to wear any pajamas, and crawled into bed in just my panties, shutting my eyes to the rest of the world for the next few hours.
Chapter Four
Xavier
“Come on, X. I know you can do better than that weak shit,” Jason mocked as I struggled to lift the final rep of the chest presses.
“Man, fuck you, Jay. I don’t see your ass bench-pressing two-hundred-and-eighty pounds,” I retorted as I sat up on the bench, wiping the sweat from my face.
“Man, whatever. You’re just looking a little light today. You have a rough weekend?” He smirked.
“Nah, I ain’t get into nothing this weekend. I had to tie up some loose ends for my trip to D.C. this week and visited some of my spots. We’re gonna start live music on Friday nights atGrant’s,so I spent the weekend lining up interviews with bands and a few artists for that spot.”
I stood, stretching, feeling good after my rigorous workout. Jay and I both had crazy busy schedules, but whenever we were home, we’d hit the gym first thing in the morning, every Tuesday and Thursday. It helped that the luxury gym was located in the same office building that housed his law firm, and just a few blocks from my main office.
“That’s what’s up, I been telling you for a minute it was time to up the entertainment over there. You’ve got the cash flow for it, and it’ll likely bring in even more revenue, not that the place needs it.”
“I know man, but you know I like being cautious with mine.”
“True,” he grinned. “You ’bout to hit the treadmill?”
“Yeah.” I liked to end my workouts with at least a three-mile interval run to get my heart pumping and a good sweat. “But I wanted to talk to you first.”
He stopped short from gathering his towel and the weight-lifting gloves he’d taken off. Peering up at me curiously, he jerked his head at me, urging me to speak.
“When’s the last time you spoke to Chanel?”
I saw the surprise on his face at the mention of his sister.
