Alana was at a loss for words, something that no one close to her had ever witnessed. Alana always had a comeback, usually something smart and snappy. But tonight she just enjoyed the feeling of Roland’s arms around her and his body next to hers as they moved to the sultry music. They had three dances and when the jazz trio took a break they drifted off the floor with their hands locked together. It was as if neither of them could think of a good reason to let go, so they didn’t. They stayed together for the rest of the reception.
Roland was pleased with the new turn of events. He’d been unable to stop staring at Alana all day. It was the first time in weeks that he’d been able to spend any significant time with her and he meant to take full advantage of every minute. Alana Sharp Dumond was an elusive, mysterious beauty that he wanted to get to know better and as soon as possible.
She’d looked gorgeous during the ceremony in the strapless gold brocade and chiffon dresses worn by the bridesmaids, but she looked even better at the reception. The dresses had an overskirt that his sisters informed him was a peplum with a demi-train, which was removed after the ceremony for dancing. Now he could see her beautiful long legs.
It was easy to figure out that the Sharp women were sisters; Alana, Adrienne, Alexis and Ava were all chocolate beauties with shining black hair, beautiful skin and petite figures. When his best friend, Jared, had introduced him to Alexis the first time, Roland had immediately asked if she had any sisters at home. When Jared got finished laughing at the remark, he told Roland that she had a houseful of them and he could have his pick. But when he’d met Alana, he’d known that he wasn’t looking any further. Alana wasn’t making things easy for him, however.
Whenever he saw her in a crowd of people, she was warm and friendly, full of humorous conversation and borderline flirtatious. How she was in a one-on-one situation he didn’t know because she was a master of avoidance. He’d asked her out a few times and she always managed to have some ironclad reason not to go. Normally he would’ve moved on and found a more willing companion without giving her a second thought. He was far from conceited but he wasn’t unaware that he had a certain magnetism when it came to women. He was the oldest of seven children; there were five younger sisters between him and the youngest, his brother, Glenn.
He’d spent his adolescence ducking and dodging the myriad of besotted friends of his sisters, all of whom wanted him for their very own. It was something of a relief to him when he went off to college so he hadn’t had to worry about hurting some young girl’s feelings. One thing he wasn’t used to was being ignored, though, and Alana’s behavior was close to a total shut-out. Normally he would have returned the favor and gone on his merry way, but there was something about her that captivated him.
He was having a great time with her, going from table to table talking to family and friends. His family had come down from Chicago for the festivities, as they had been close to the VanBurens since Jared and Roland were small boys. Alana and his sisters had hit it off when Jared and Alexis got married and they were gossiping like sorority sisters while Roland had a chance to look at Alana as much as he liked.
Her glossy black hair was twisted into some kind of updo that showed off her long slender neck and drew attention to her oval face with the big almond-shaped eyes. Her features were delicate but sensual, especially her lips. They were a perfect cupid’s bow, but plump and inviting like a ripe plum. Everything about her was fine and elegant, from her slender shoulders and arms to her long, artistic fingers. It was hard to believe that she was a mechanic, but she owned Custom Classics, the top auto repair and custom paint shop in Columbia. Her business was the best place in South Carolina to get a car restored to its former glory, especially if it was a vintage model. She even had offers for reality TV; producers were constantly after her to make a series about her business but she turned them all down.
He would have been content to watch her for hours, but his youngest sister, Pamela, chose to tease him about his fascination. She’d taken a vacant chair next to him and started meddling, which was one of her favorite things to do.
“Your eyes are gonna fall out if you don’t stop looking. I think you’re drooling, do you want a bib?” Her eyes were full of merriment, but her lips were barely moving, a trick she’d mastered years ago when she wanted to talk in church, in class or anywhere else she was supposed to be quiet.
“Quiet, you nosy wench,” Roland said with an unmistakable note of fondness in his voice. He loved his sisters madly even though their sole purpose in life seemed to be to get on his last good nerve. “Go find yourself something else to do besides get in my business or my retaliation will be both painful and public.”
Pamela grinned wickedly as she glanced with great interest from Alana to her big brother. “You need to take a picture, it’ll last longer.”
“That’s original. Never heard that one before,” Roland muttered as he gazed at the delectable nape of Alana’s neck.
“I mean it,” protested Pamela. “There’s a photo booth over there. You should get this moment commemorated because it might be the closest you get to her for the rest of your life.” She yelped as Roland thumped her on the back of her head.
He did follow through with her suggestion, though. After Alana took her last sip of champagne they went over to the booth and found it empty. They attempted to sit on the bench but his long legs took up most of the room so she sat on his lap. Her perfume was as sweet and captivating as she was and as she closed the curtain he inhaled the fragrant essence that was one part Chanel No. 5 and three parts Alana.
The camera clicked as they smiled into the lens and made funny faces. She closed her eyes and planted a big smacking kiss on his cheek, which he returned. Their eyes met and by an unspoken mutual consent their lips touched softly and deliberately before merging into a powerful kiss. Roland was right; her lips were like fragrant plums dipped in champagne and the taste released a powerful longing in him. Their tongues mated and lingered, stoking the growing fire between them.
Alana’s arms went around his neck and he pulled her closer to him, crushing her soft breasts against his rock-hard chest. His hands slid down to her slim hips and she pressed against him harder as one slim hand stroked his smoothly shaven head. It could have gone on and on but the curtain was suddenly pushed aside by two smirking women, Pamela and Ava.
“I told you they were in here,” Pamela gloated.
“You two should probably get a room somewhere,” Ava advised. “There are children and old people here, you know. You could give somebody a heart attack.”
“I should have known you would find each other,” Alana said with a resigned expression. “Aren’t there some interesting men out there for you to torture?”
Pamela grinned and said, “Yes, there are, but this is more fun. How much will you pay me to keep these pictures off of Facebook?” She was reaching for the photo strips when Roland grabbed her wrist firmly.
“I’ll let you live, how’s that?” He gave her the expression that she knew meant business and since Alana was giving Ava a similar look, they decided to leave.
“We can go spread gossip, that’s almost as good,” Pam said pragmatically.
Roland and Alana looked at each other and burst out laughing. “Is there any lipstick on my mouth?” he asked.
Alana assured him there wasn’t. “This is the non-smear, perma-shine kind. No smears, I promise.”
“Well, in that case, I think we need to finish what we started,” he murmured, just before his mouth joined hers for one more mindlessly sweet kiss.
