Seized By Seduction

“And do what? Wait for him to stick his hand in the cookie jar again so I can go to jail to protect him? No thank you. I’ll pass. Three years of serving time for a crime I didn’t commit was three years too long. But I don’t expect you to understand that. Now, goodbye.” Not giving his father a chance to say anything when there was nothing that could be said, he clicked off the phone.

Plans were still on for him and Ryker to get together tomorrow. Then he would head back to Charlottesville by evening time. For now, he intended to put his father as well as his phone call, out of his mind. The only person he wanted to think about was Randi. He’d never been involved in a long-distance affair. In a way, long-distance equated to long-term, but would that be such a bad thing? At least he wouldn’t have to worry about her showing up unexpectedly at his place, and while he was on assignments, out of sight would mean out of mind. Then, whenever he felt the urge to spend time with her, mainly sleep with her, he could take the drive from Charlottesville to Richmond. He figured it wouldn’t be more than an hour on Interstate 64. Unless he decided to take the scenic route for a more relaxed drive. Either way, the destination was the same. Randi’s arms and her bed.

He licked his lips, thinking of the kiss they’d shared. He was convinced he could still taste her and hadn’t wanted their kiss to end. And the way she’d wrapped her arms around his neck, clung to him, plastered her body against his, had made blood pump through his veins like crazy, especially in his groin. Hell, he was still throbbing down there. Hard as a rock and causing an ache against his zipper.

The instant he’d inserted his tongue inside her mouth, he’d known heaven. Her taste had been delicious, and he had deepened the kiss on instinct to get more of it. His greedy-ass tongue had shifted from one side of her mouth to the other while exploring and tasting as much of her as he could. Desire for her must have practically taken over his senses since they’d done that standing in a public place. But at the time, he hadn’t given a damn. The only thing he’d wanted was her. A part of him had known she would turn down his offer to go to his hotel with him, but shit, you couldn’t blame a man for trying.

When the car behind him blared its horn, Quasar realized the traffic light had turned green. He smiled as he headed to his hotel while thinking next weekend couldn’t get there quick enough.

* * *

RANDI WAS STILL floating on a cloud when she entered the guest bedroom. The house was quiet, which meant everyone was asleep. Evidently not, she thought moments later upon hearing the knock on her door.

Placing her purse on the dresser, she crossed the room. She hoped she hadn’t awakened anyone when she came in. Easing open the door, she really wasn’t surprised to see Anna and Haywood standing there. Anna was holding a bottle of wine and a bottle of grape juice, while Haywood was dangling three wineglasses between her fingers.

“Is there a reason for this late-night visit, ladies?” she asked, moving aside to let them enter.

“What do you think?” was Haywood’s flippant reply. “You owe us an explanation.”

“Do I?” Randi asked, closing the door behind them. “And aren’t the two of you worried you’ll be missed by your husbands?” The last thing she needed was for Trey or Zach to show up knocking on her bedroom door, looking for their wives.

A smile curved Anna’s lips. “We intended to talk to you, so we concocted a plan to wear them out tonight. It worked. They’re sleeping off all those org—”

Randi held up her hand to stop her cousin from providing any further details. “Too much information. Besides, I get the picture.”

A part of her was happy for her sister and cousin and for the close and openly affectionate relationships they shared with their husbands. But then, she’d have been the first to admit she’d grown up around a mother and father who’d raised the bar when it came to love, happiness and being openly affectionate. There was so much love displayed between her parents that it was something she’d gotten used to over the years, and she couldn’t imagine it any other way. Because she’d grown up around so much love, she naturally wanted the same thing for herself. That was one of the reasons she’d found Larry’s rejection so painful.

Randi crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed while watching Anna pour wine in two of the glasses and grape juice in the third. Not for the first time, she couldn’t help but admire her cousin’s beauty, a result of her mixed heritage of black American and Vietnamese. “I don’t recall asking for a nightcap,” she said, knowing the only reason Anna and Haywood were there was to pump her for information.

“Chill, sis,” Haywood said. “You owe us some answers as well as a debt of thanks for keeping Trey and Zach from drilling your guy. And don’t pretend he’s not your guy. I saw you before the twins did, and the two of you were holding hands, looking all lovey-dovey.”

Randi didn’t say anything as she accepted the glass of wine from Anna, who only smiled at her, obviously satisfied with letting Haywood handle the inquisition. “So what do the two of you want to know?”

“Who is he and how did the two of you hook up when you just saw him the other night?” Haywood asked.

Randi took a sip of wine, appreciating the tingling flavor on her tongue. However, she was certain that nothing could replace the taste Quasar had left in her mouth. “Remember when, a few weeks ago, I told you about that guy I met in Charlottesville?”

Haywood raised a brow. “Yes. The one from your dream. Your intended at the crime scene.” She paused midsip of wine, and Randi knew Haywood had connected the dots when she placed her wineglass down and stared at Randi. “That was him, wasn’t it? He’s the guy.”

“What guy? What dream? What intended?” Anna asked, looking back and forth between Haywood and Randi.

“You can fill her in,” Randi told Haywood. “I’ll be back after changing into something more comfortable.” She grabbed the mini caftan from the foot of the bed and headed for the connecting bathroom.

Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it. She was still in a state of euphoria from a day spent with Quasar, and she needed some pull-yourself-together time and not interrogation time with her sister and cousin. But still, their untimely interruption couldn’t eradicate the memories of Quasar’s kiss. She felt as if she was in some sort of daze whenever she thought about it. All she had to do was close her eyes to remember how masterfully he had taken her mouth and the sensations that had swept through her body.

She knew all the time they’d spent together that day should have prepared her for the moment of the kiss. After all, she’d been drawn to his mouth practically all day. Her entire body had literally throbbed every time she looked at it...especially while watching him eat those oysters and drink his beer.

But nothing could have prepared her for that kiss. And it was a kiss that still had her insides tingling something fierce. A kiss that had scorched her all over and branded her mouth permanently. The moment his tongue entered her mouth, her senses had shut down and wicked temptation had taken over. She’d even heard herself purring.

Drawing in a deep breath, she pushed away from the door and eased her jeans down past her hips. It had been her intent to shower and go to bed to dream and fantasize about the coming weekend, when she would see Quasar again. Now thanks to Haywood and Anna, the shower and bed had to wait until she appeased their nosiness.

She slid the caftan over her head, loving the smoothness of the silk fabric against her skin. Drawing in a deep breath, she left the bathroom to rejoin Haywood and Anna. She could tell by the look on Anna’s face that she had questions. “Okay, Anna, what do you want to know?” she asked, grabbing her wineglass off the nightstand.

“Does Quasar Patterson know that the two of your futures have been pretty much mapped out?”

The answer to that question was simple. “No. Right now all he knows is that we’re very much attracted to each other. The reason we spent the day together is that he’s trying to figure out why.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier if you told him?”

Randi settled back on the bed. “I can’t do that. There are circumstances we have to overcome before we can have a future together. Namely, we have to earn each other’s love. If I were to tell Quasar that he and I are destined to have a future together, what do you think he’d do?”

Haywood chuckled. “Probably run in the other direction, fight it like hell or try to prove you’re wrong.”

“Yes, he would. Right now he thinks the attraction is of a sexual nature, and he’s operating on that assumption. It will be up to him to discover different.”

“What about you?” Anna asked after taking of sip of her grape juice. “How do you feel about all of this? Having the man you’ll spend the rest of your life with chosen for you, instead of you choosing him yourself?”

“I chose Larry and look what it got me,” Randi said, sipping her wine. “I admit it’s kind of overwhelming, but I’ve known that’s the way it would be for some years now. That year spent by myself on Glendale Shores and having Gramma Mattie come to me the way she did helped me not only understand my gift but also accept and appreciate it for what it is. It wasn’t love at first sight for me or Quasar. What we are is sexually attracted to each other. That much is pretty obvious and what’s driving things right now. I have a mental block where he’s concerned, and it’s deliberate. Maybe that’s a good thing. But then, I had a mental block when it came to Larry, as well.”

After taking another sip of wine, she said, “I have to believe my future is being directed for a purpose, and in the end, if things work out and Quasar and I do earn each other’s love, then it will be well worth it.”

“He’s certainly not a hard man for a woman to love,” Haywood said, fanning herself. “Looks good to any female’s eyes. The man is definitely hot. How did you manage keeping your hands to yourself today?”

Randi chuckled. “Who said I did?”

Haywood’s eyes widened. “Does that mean the two of you—”

“No! How could you think such a thing, Haywood?”

“Easily. Like I said, he’s hot. And...you’ve been gone all day. When we saw you this afternoon, you said the two of you were going to Uncle Marlon’s for dinner. I doubt you closed the place down, so I can only assume you went back to his hotel with him.”

“Well, you assume wrong. We took in a movie, and afterward we stopped by a café for coffee and dessert,” Randi said, shaking her head.

“Sounds like the two of you enjoyed yourselves.”

Randi smiled. “It was nice. However, I know that I have my work cut out for me. I’m well aware that Quasar’s main interest in me right now is all about getting me into his bed. We have to develop a relationship not centered on sex.”

“When will you see him again?” Haywood asked.

“Next weekend. He asked if he could visit me in Richmond, and I told him that he could.”

Anna placed her empty glass aside. “Well, I think the two of you looked good together. He’s handsome and you’re a natural beauty. The two of you will make beautiful babies.”

Randi nearly choked on her wine.

CHAPTER EIGHT (#u7210caa9-9a38-576b-be8c-b97a090d9292)

“I SAW HER this weekend.”