Lamar did not realize his hands were shaking until he attempted to put on the latex sheath over his erection. He wanted their first time together to be not only extraordinary but also memorable, and he wanted to be the last man in her life.
Cradling her face between his hands, he searched her face in the light coming into the bedroom. “I want you to know that I want you now and I’ll want you tomorrow and every day thereafter, Nydia. And I want you to understand that this is not about sex.”
She closed her eyes and nodded. “I know that.”
His rapacious mouth charted a sensual path from her lips to her warm throat, shoulders, and breasts. He suckled her until she arched off the bed, and then continued his downward journey with the intent of tasting every inch of her silken skin. “Don’t, baby,” he cautioned when she reached for his head. Lamar felt her muscles tensing when his breath swept over the soft down covering her mound before he kissed her inner thighs.
* * *
Nydia was filled with foreign sensations that frightened her. The pulsing between her legs increased, growing stronger, hotter, until she feared climaxing as Lamar’s tongue was doing things to her body she had never experienced before. It was her first time for a man to put his face between her thighs, and she knew from the runaway beating of her heart and the soft flutters that were giving way to contractions that she was on the verge of having an orgasm.
“Lamar!” His name, torn from the back of her throat, faded as her head thrashed back and forth on the pillow. He wasn’t making love but torturing her.
He moved up her body and positioned himself between her trembling legs. They moaned in unison when he entered her, her arms going around his neck. She caught her breath as her tight flesh closed around his erection, bringing another rush of moisture from her body. Nydia held onto Lamar as if her life depended on him. Tears of joy leaked from beneath her tightly closed eyes as orgasms overlapped one another, each stronger than the last. It was as if she had waited all of her life for a man to bring her to heights of ecstasy where she was able to hold nothing back and surrender all of herself to him. She’d just returned from her last free-fall when Lamar buried his face against the pillow cradling her head and groaned out his own triumphant release.
He lay on her body, she feeling his strong heartbeats against her breasts. Nydia reached up and cradled his head, holding it as if she feared losing him. “I love you,” she whispered.
It was a full minute before Lamar replied to the entreaty torn from the depths of her heart. “I know, because I love you, too.”
She moaned in protest when he pulled out and left the bed. Turning on her side, she stared at the window as rain came down sideways. It was as if she was no different than her fellow innkeepers. They’d succumbed to the charm of New Orleans and its men. Hannah had St. John, Tonya had Gage, and Jasmine had Cameron. Now it was her turn with Lamar.
If anyone had predicted she would fall in love with a man with a child she would not have believed them. And when she married Lamar not only would she get a husband, but also a daughter. She was smiling when he returned and got into bed with her and pulled her buttocks to his groin.
“When can I expect seconds?” he whispered into her hair.
“I’ll let you know. After this, I know I have to go back on the pill.” Those were the last words she said before falling into a sleep reserved for sated lovers, unaware it would be a while before Lamar joined her.
Chapter 20
Nydia and Lamar had spent two full days together in her suite, loving and making love, when she got a call from Tonya. “What’s up, Mrs. Toussaint?”
“Nydia, you need to come to the inn. There’s been a smoke condition, and Hannah is about to lose it.”
She went completely still. “What happened?”
“The guys installing the elevator claim a cable caught fire and they put it out, but there’s smoke all over the house. I didn’t call Jasmine because in her condition she needs to stay calm, and the smoke might harm her and the baby.”
“I’m on my way.” Nydia saw Lamar staring at her. “There was a fire at the DuPont House and—”
“I’ll take you,” he said, interrupting her.
“Thank you,mijo.”
Lamar reached for his keys while she picked up her purse. “There’s no need to thank me, sweets,” he said, taking her hand.
Nydia tried to remain calm as they left the CBD for the Garden District. She knew how anxious Hannah was to open the inn, and the fire would set the grand opening back once again. First it had been getting various permits approved, then she had to contend with the main gate protecting the property malfunctioning. The last was to get approval for installing the elevator to accommodate the elderly and handicapped, and now Hannah had to deal with smoke after all the walls had been painted and repapered.
The rain that had been falling for three days appeared to be tapering off, and as Lamar maneuvered through the gates leading to the historic residence, pinpoints of sunlight pierced the dark clouds.
Nydia was out of the Volvo within seconds of Lamar turning off the engine. She ignored the vehicles of workmen lining the curving driveway as she raced into the house. The smell of acrid smoke burned her lungs and nostrils when she entered the great room. Hannah was sitting on a chair with her face buried in her hands. Tonya rested an arm over her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. Several men in coveralls were standing off to the side of the elevator.
Lamar, only a few steps behind her, walked over to peer into the elevator shaft. “Who’s in charge here?”
A short, slightly built man wearing a white bandana on his head stepped forward. “I’m the foreman.”
“Are you aware that you used the wrong cables?”
The foreman’s face darkened noticeably. “You’re mistaken!”
