wrapped in nothing but a sheet and a beguiling smile.
Kade laughed as he wrapped his arm around her and easily picked her up to press his lips against her smooth neck.
“Bye, Kaeden,” Garcelle said sweetly, waving over Kade’s strong, broad shoulder as her husband stepped deeper into the house and used his foot to close the door in Kaeden’s face.
He fought the urge to be jealous of his brother’s happiness as he jogged down their steps and climbed back into his car again. Kade had found love twice in his lifetime. First with Reema, whose unfortunate passing had sent his brother spiraling into a life filled with mourning, and then with Garcelle—a fiery and sultry woman who helped him learn to live and love again.
Kaeden started to just go home to his own town house, but the thought of another lonely night forced him to head over to his brother Kahron’s. Knowing the chemistry he always witnessed between Kahron and his wife Bianca, he didn’t want to run up on another scene of seduction. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed the cell of the brother that he favored so much.
“If only I could pull all the women Kahron used to,” he drawled, slowing down to pull his vehicle on the side of the road out of traffic.
“Whaddup, bubba.”
“Where you at?” Kaeden asked.
“We’re dropping KJ off to his PaPa Hank and then I’m driving with Bianca to Knightsville for a horse about to foal.”
Bianca was a veterinarian who operated her practice on her father’s horse training farm. Kaeden’s involvement with the various farms his family operated only went as far as handling the paperwork and paying the employees, but he knew horse foaling could take all night.
“I was gone drop by for some family QT,” Kaeden began as he watched for a break in traffic to swing his vehicle back down Highway 17. “But I’ll catch you guys another night.”
“A’ight.”
Kaeden dropped his cell phone onto the passenger seat. His sister Kaitlyn was off on one of her misadventures being twentysomething and carefree with her other spoiled friends. He knew his brother Kaleb—the ultimate bachelor—was already at his usual after-hours hangout, Charlie’s, playing whist and drinking beer. Not in the mood for that, he steered toward home.
Kaeden lived on the outskirts of Holtsville near Summerville in a new subdivision of stately town-homes. He steered his vehicle down the various turns and curves and was home in less than fifteen minutes. As he parked his car in the driveway and walked across the yard, he felt the urge to make love. He shook it off. Although he was in his late twenties, sex was not the all of his desires.
“Thank God,” Kaeden drawled sarcastically.
Once he was inside, he paused in the doorway, wishing his wife was in the kitchen cooking dinner and that his kids were running to jump into his arms. It was a home of great style and substance. A home that was a testament to his business success. A home that was ready to be filled with family and love.
Jade finished her five-mile jog on the treadmill, grabbing her hand towel to blot the sweat from her chest before she stepped down onto the floor. She picked up her water bottle, placing it to her lips before she tilted her head back. Once her thirst was quenched, she stepped forward to study her figure in the full-length mirror covering the entire rear wall of the gym.
She turned this way and that in the white fitted tank top she wore with lime green shorts with a white trim. She frowned a little. It wasn’t that she hated her body, especially considering she had been overweight up until she discovered dieting and exercise in high school. In total irony, the chubby kid shed the fat and revealed a brick house body that drew men to her far more than she wished—and not just because she had a friend. No matter how much she exercised, her assets weren’t going anywhere and neither were her proportions. Full breasts, small waist, wide hips, thick thighs.
Just like her mom—sexy divorcée Deena Rockwell-Prince, who was forty-three but looked and acted every bit of thirty…or younger. Being just seventeen years younger than your own mother had its ups and downs.
In the mirror, her eyes focused on the scene behind her and she rolled her eyes at four men standing together watching her like a hawk. She locked the cap on her water and turned to walk to the steam room. Unfortunately, her admirers were in her path.
“Whaddup, baby girl?”
“Damn, you fine as hell.”
“Whoo-oo-hoo!”
“’Cuse me,” she said politely in that husky voice of hers as she edged between equipment and a tall, buff brother in red who looked like a walking steroid commercial.
Whap!
Jade froze as her eyes widened in pure shock and disbelief. One of them had slapped her bottom as if she was walking the strip during Black Bikers Week. Jade whirled on them, and she knew from the smirk on the face of the light-skinned brother looking like the poor man’s version of Boris Kodjoe that he was the culprit. She eyed him boldly as she placed her hands on her hips and placed one size nine Nike sneaker in front of the other to reach him. “Oh, oh, Jay,” one of the men warned playfully.
Jade reached out and grabbed his crotch so quick that she caught him completely by surprise. “What’s the matter? Don’t you feel complimented by me touching your body without permission?” she asked as she squeezed a bit. “I’m just showing my appreciation.”
“Dayummmmm!” the other men roared in unison.
“Now…let’s both play hands off.” With one last jiggle, Jade released him and turned to walk away, desperate to wash her hands.
She was glad to be out of range of the oversized juveniles. She took a quick shower and then wrapped a towel around her body to enter the steam room. “Thank God,” she sighed, glad that it was empty as she pressed her body against the steam bench and inhaled deeply and slowly.
She knew time was not on her side because she had an early day tomorrow, but for now she was going to enjoy this small luxury.
Jade knew she looked like a video vixen who wanted to be pampered and treasured, but at heart she was—and would always be—a fiercely independent tomboy. She hunted. She fished. She rode horses. She rock climbed. She liked to go camping. She was all about the outdoors.
It seemed only natural for her to start her own business as an outdoor tour guide. Wild-n-Out Tours was her baby and the brainchild of her co-partner, fellow guide Darren Jon. It had been costly to begin the business with purchasing liability insurance, buying the equipment, office space, and used vehicles for transportation of groups, but things were finally beginning to pay off. Thankfully they were able to acquire a small business loan and get lots of help from family. For the first year they mostly operated their services on the weekend, but in the last six months they decided to expand because of the warm weather and increased business. They both were finally beginning to feel good about their decision to leave their factory jobs and join together to blend their mutual off-hours outdoor adventures into a viable business.
She smiled a little at how their business friendship had recently blossomed into them casually dating. So far everything was good. She wasn’t looking for a full-blown relationship, but it was nice to have someone to chill and go to the movies or out to dinner with.
With
