Red Velvet Kisses

“Okay girl,” she said to herself. “You can’t hide in here forever.” Fluffing her curls and reapplying a coat of red lipstick, she exited the bathroom, running right into a solid chest. Caught off guard, she tripped over his feet and twirled around so suddenly that she sent them both tumbling to the ground.

“Ouch,” she said, landing hard on the man. When she heard him let out a loud groan, she looked up at his face. Oh, great.

“I’m sorry,” she said as she attempted to get off of him.

“We have got to stop meeting like this, lingerie girl,” Micah said, not easing his grip on her. Lingerie girl...that’s kinda cute. Unfortunately, the way her purple summer dress was gathered high on her thighs was not cute at all. She was sure a part of her panties were showing.

“Can you let me go now?” she asked as she struggled out of his arms. He finally let her go. When she stood, she nervously glanced around to see how many people were around to witness their fall.

“You’re so adorable,” he said to her before taking a step forward.

Here we go with this word again. She took a step back. “I’m sure you say that to your girlfriend, too.” Real subtle Lex.

“What girlfriend?”

“The one who kissed you on the cheek in the lingerie shop today.”

“That woman was my cousin, Winter Dupree,” Micah said with a laugh. “She owns Bare Sophistication lingerie boutique and she needed me to watch the store for a few hours. The store just opened and she doesn’t have much staff right now.”

Cousin? Just kill me know. “And on that embarrassing note, I think I’ll go back to join the group,” she said leaving him in the hallway.

“Don’t turn around. Just keep walking,” she said to herself. But even with the warning, she had to know if he was staring at her. When she reached the end of the hallway, she slightly turned her head. Micah was still standing there with his hands in his pockets and a sly smile on his face. He looked handsome. And downright dangerous. Mercy.

Chapter 1 (#ulink_2a0ed83e-d7e0-57c5-914a-4f579720514d)

Three months later...

Lexus Turner stared out of her window seat on the CTA bus as she admired the holiday shops and boutiques festively decorated along the Magnificent Mile. She loved living in downtown Chicago, but driving in traffic often made her nervous, so she opted to take public transportation instead. Doing so allowed her the opportunity to admire her beautiful city and embark on some of the best festivities Chicago had to offer.

Lexus completely ignored the loud hustle and bustle of Chicagoans getting on and off the bus as they made their way through downtown for an array of winter festivities. When she reached her stop, she stepped off the bus and breathed in the crisp November air. Soft flakes were beginning to fall and the loud salt trucks caused a few pedestrians to take cover under store awnings to avoid the swinging salt from the trucks’ brushes. Some people disliked the busyness of the city, but Lexus loved the constant activity and noisy atmosphere.

As she made her way into the tall skyscraper and arrived on the floor where her company was located, she admired the new logo that was intricately painted on the main office glass door. When Lexus, Imani, Cyd and Mya had joined forces and founded Elite Events Incorporated, they could have never predicted their company would take off so fast. They each ran their respective divisions while alternating as lead planner on each event the company booked. Lexus considered herself lucky to be able to run a successful business with those closest to her.

“Good morning, Ellie,” Lexus said to the office assistant as she began removing her snow-white scarf and jet-black peacoat.

“Good morning, Miss Turner.”

Before she made it completely through the second glass door that separated the lounge from the main office, Cyd met her halfway.

“Lex! Great, you’re finally here,” Cyd said as she led her through the hall to the back of the floor where the conference rooms were located.

“Why the rush, Cyd?” she asked with a smile as her warm brown curls bounced around her shoulders.

“Well, we need to decide who will lead a 35th anniversary party that Micah Madden wants to have for his parents. He has a meeting down the street so he dropped by the office a few minutes ago. Mya told him we could all meet with him before he leaves for his own meeting,” Cyd explained.

The smile fell from Lex’s smooth caramel face the instant she heard that Micah was in the office.

“Judging by the look on your face, that’s exactly how I thought you would feel,” Cyd said with a giggle. “That’s why I came out of the room to warn you.”

Three months ago Shawn proposed to Cyd and she happily accepted. The two were getting married next summer and Lex and Micah were both in the wedding party. Unfortunately for Lex, that meant she would be seeing a lot more of Micah as the wedding grew closer.

“A meeting? How convenient. Seriously, Cyd, I don’t even understand why he has to plan a 35th anniversary party for his parents anyway. Why not plan a 40th anniversary party like any other normal person.”

“Actually, the percentage rate for people who have 35th anniversary parties is very high and increasing every year,” Micah said, standing behind Lex and Cyd. “My parents have never had a grand anniversary party so I think it’s long overdue.”

Crap, what are the odds, Lex thought to herself as she dropped her head to the floor. Of course he’s standing right behind me. The man always had a way of sneaking up on her.

“I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you,” Micah stated, sensing her thoughts. “I had to step into the hallway to take an important phone call.”

Lex recovered from her embarrassment and lifted her head before turning around to face Micah.

“Hello, Lexus Turner,” Micah said as he extended his hand to greet her. There he was...in the flesh. The one man she wished didn’t occupy so many of her thoughts. Most people called her Lex instead of Lexus, but her full name rolled off his tongue as if he said her name every day. Better yet, by the deepness in his voice, you’d think he said her name every night.

“Hello, Micah Madden,” Lex said, taking her cue from him and saying his full name, as well. “It’s good to see you again.”

Micah stood there observing her, his eyes burning a hole through her snug-fitting sweater dress. When his eyes left her dress and reached her lips, they lingered there for a while. On instinct, she licked her rosy colored lips trying to stop the pulsating feeling between her legs. Every time she was near him, she couldn’t help but be consumed by his presence. The first quality she studied on him today were his muscular arms that were clearly visible through his white fitted dress shirt. The second quality she observed were his perfect white teeth and sexy dimpled smile. The third quality she liked was his unique sense of style. The man could wear a pair of sleek slacks and slim black tie like no other, and always looked as if he’d just walked off the runway.

“Likewise,” Micah finally replied as he finished appraising her. “You look very nice today LG.” She wished she knew why he thought it was okay to call her LG. He had started calling her LG two and a half months ago at Cyd and Shawn’s official engagement party. It was short for lingerie girl. No one knew what it meant except for the two of them and when anyone asked, she never told them. He always called her LG after initially greeting her as Lexus. What is with this guy? If she ever got the nerve, she would question him about it. She wanted to question him now, but she couldn’t. Secretly, she liked the way it made her feel. Even saying the nickname he’d given her, Lex thought he made it sound heavenly.

Cyd cleared her throat.

“Oh, and you look very nice as well, Cyd,” Micah replied.

“Why, thanks,” Cyd said as she flipped her jet-black hair over her shoulders. “It’s so nice of you to finally notice that I’m standing here. I was about to tell you both to take it to the bedroom.”

“Cyd!” Lex exclaimed loudly. “Really?”

“No, she’s right,” Micah interjected. “We should handle this.” At Lex’s raised eyebrow he continued. “I meant that we should get started with the meeting. I wasn’t referring to the bedroom comment.”

Lex breathed a sigh of relief.

“Unless there’s something you want to tell me,” Micah stated aloud, looking solely at Lex.

“Nope, nothing to tell,” she responded a little too quickly.

“You two are hard to watch,” Cyd said as she shook her head and glanced from Lex to Micah. “Let’s just go into the conference room. Imani and Mya are waiting.”

While Micah and Cyd were making themselves comfortable at the conference table, Lex decided to pour a much-needed cup of coffee. She took her seat next to Imani, but not before she cut Cyd a slicing look of irritation.

Cyd responded to the look by innocently lifting her hands and eyebrows in indication that she didn’t understand what Lex was referring to.

“Ha! Yeah, right,” Lex said aloud, although she hadn’t intended to.

“Is everything okay?” Imani asked.

“Yup, everything is fine,” Lex replied. As long as I keep my hormones in check.

“Great! Now let’s get down to business. As you all know, Micah would like to throw a 35th anniversary party for his parents in their Arkansas hometown. First things first, we need to decide who will lead this event.”