heat began, starting at her toes, winding its way along the lines of her strong legs, settling for a moment in her hips, rising to the pit of her stomach, then returning to that hot, dark, damp place where she held him, exploding in a torrent of white light and pulsing, shuddering release.
Chad held her there, suspended, wouldn’t let her go, turned up the heat with a deeper thrust, pulled her closer, sealed their bodies, letting his empty completely into hers.
For several moments they lay there, locked together in the final throes of aftershock, the tiny tremors continuing, their breath pushed out in deep, hot riffs.
And they kissed, touched, slept, still connected.
The blare of a car horn jerked Simone out of her daydream. Blinking quickly and shaking her head to clear the vision, she eased across the intersection.
Her heart was racing and she could feel a distinct wetness between her legs.
Chad.
Sure, there’d been other men in the four years since that single night. Some momentarily took her mind away from him, but generally not for long.
Chad.
Tonight would be the first time she’d seen him since she watched him board the plane to Uganda. Four years. Things changed. People changed. Had he? Had they?
No strings, remember?
Chapter 3
Vaughn wearily changed out of her fitted navy blue suit and hung it among the rows of other tailored suits and dresses that filled her walk-in closet. She pulled in a long breath. Somehow, she’d have to ease into the next gear and raise her energy level if she expected to play hostess.
Her day at her congressional office had been grueling at best. The phone rang nonstop from seven-thirty that morning with calls from reporters, her constituents and colleagues, all wanting to know how she felt about the latest instance of police shootings—and most of all, her feelings about her stepdaughter Samantha’s caustic statements.
Her head throbbed as she padded barefoot to the bathroom and popped two extra-strength Tylenols without water.
She gazed intently at her reflection in the goldframed mirror. An attractive, deep brown face confronted her. She could see the fatigue in the subtle puffiness around her almond-shaped eyes and the tension that drew a deepening furrow between her tapered brows. Vaughn slowly turned away at the sound of the bedroom door opening, then closing.
A sudden, familiar warmth inched its way through her body and a smile eased across her full mouth.
She stepped out of the bathroom. The expectation and excitement she felt the first night she’d met Justin Montgomery still made her heart race six years later.
The instant he saw her, all the tension melted from his body and he remembered all over again why he’d married her. Vaughn was everything he’d wanted in a woman. She was intelligent, sensitive, determined, beautiful and the most incredible lover. Even in her forties, Vaughn Hamilton-Montgomery could give these young girls a run for their money.
“Hey, baby,” he crooned, quickly wishing that the rest of the night would be theirs and not shared with the arrivals of their daughters and Chad. But that was selfish. Unfortunately, when it came to Vaughn, that was the way he felt.
Vaughn crossed the carpeted floor and became enveloped in Justin’s strong embrace. Instinctively, his long fingers gently kneaded the taut muscles of her back, then her neck.
Languidly, she lifted her chin, her rich mouth eagerly awaiting to be baptized by his.
The kiss was slow and sweet, the tenderness born from years of knowing each other flowed through them.
Marriage was bliss, Vaughn thought, feeling her body warm to a sizzle, and she wouldn’t change a thing—except the loss of their baby. For that she would always blame herself—her drive and her ambition—the catalysts for her marriage. She’d known how much Justin wanted a child between them, and she’d deprived him as surely as if she’d told him no. And now it was too late, she was sure. They’d made love without protection for all the years of their marriage—and nothing.
She held him tighter, lingered over the kiss a bit longer. Every day, for the rest of their life together, she would make it up to him. That was a promise she had no intention of breaking.
Justin, with a groan deep in his throat, reluctantly moved away. He gazed down into her eyes.
“You look tired, babe.” He brushed her shoulder-length hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Rough day, huh?”
Vaughn released a heavy sigh. “That’s putting it mildly. It was totally draining.” She took a seat at her dressing table, crossed her ankles and swiveled the chair to face Justin. “There’s going to be trouble, Justin.”
He slowly nodded and lowered his muscular frame onto the edge of the bed. “I know. And it looks as if our daughters are going to be right in the front of the line.”
Vaughn pressed her lips together. “You know they’re both right. Things have gotten totally out of control. Not just here, but across the country.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and shivered. “It’s terrifying, especially for black males.”
“Believe me, I agree one hundred percent. But I guess I’m just like every other parent—why my children?” He chuckled derisively.
“I know. But I’m proud of both of them. They have the kind of values and vision that’s been lost these past generations. After the sixties, we became complacent, Justin, simply because we could drink at water fountains, sit where we wanted on a bus or in a diner, and move into neighborhoods we’d been banned from.”
“Legally mandated integration was just a Band-Aid for what really ails this country. Racism,” Justin added. “The Band-Aid covered the sore for a while, but now the decay is oozing out of the sides. The hate is still festering underneath.”
“I’m willing to do whatever is needed to support them on the congressional floor, or in the street,” Vaughn said, the fire underscoring her words.
“And so am I.”
They held each other with just a look, their commitment to themselves and their children needing no more words.
Justin pushed out a breath, and slapped his palms on his thighs. “So—what time is this shindig?”
“Nine.”
Justin checked his watch. “I promised Chad I’d pick him up at the airport. His plane lands at seven.”
Vaughn rose and gently kissed his lips. “Go take a quick shower and change. You don’t want to rush.”
Justin grinned. “Yes, dear.”
She playfully swatted his arm. “I’ll go see what Dottie planned for dinner, while you’re in the bath.”
Dorothy Beamer had been hired during Vaughn’s abbreviated pregnancy to help around the house and look after Vaughn. Dottie was more than just hired help, she was her friend. When Vaughn lost the baby, Dottie insisted on staying,
