was a man with marital allergies. Her brothers Donovan and Dexter had shown her exactly what that looked like.
As if on cue, said brothers walked into the space and up to where she and Jackson were standing. A part of her was glad to see them as they’d provided an escape of sorts. But the other part knew that her reprieve was over. She’d avoided both her father and Donovan this afternoon, but she was in for a grilling later on tonight. “Hey, bro,” she said, reaching up to give Dexter a hug. “I didn’t think you were going to make it.”
“I just got in,” Dexter responded, eyeing Jackson as he gave his sister a hug.
“How was Baltimore?”
“Cool. Rainy.” Dexter took a step back. “Why are you so dressed up? And what happened to your hair?”
“Dressing up is normally required at a black-tie event,” Diamond sarcastically answered. She fingered her hair. “Do you like it?”
“Yeah, it looks good.” Dexter held up his fist to Jackson for a pound. “Hey, Boss.”
“Dexter,” Jackson responded, before turning to greet Donovan, as well. “Hey, Don. This is why I had to cut our meeting short, man. If I’d known you were coming here, I would have let you know.”
“Looks like there’s a few things I might need to know,” Donovan replied, before turning to Diamond. “I didn’t know you and Diamond were hanging out.”
“Just formally met her today, man. And now I see why y’all have been keeping her under wraps!”
“Yes, just how has that happened?” Diamond asked Donovan. “How is it that you, Dex and Dad have known Jackson ‘Boss’ Wright for a while now and I’d never met him before today?”
“No need,” Donovan said with a shrug. “You’d never been a part of the construction projects before, and most of our initial meetings took place at Boss’s office.” What Donovan didn’t share was that it was also to protect his baby sis from getting hurt. He knew that Diamond wanted to get married and knew that Jackson was a Casanova. Like oil and water—those two ingredients didn’t mix well. “Don’t let the smooth talk fool you, baby sis. This is a great businessman, but he doesn’t let the grass grow under his feet…if you know what I mean.”
“Don’t worry, Donovan. Our interaction is strictly business.”
Jackson chuckled but instead of responding to Diamond’s comment, still smiling, he addressed Donovan instead. “You’re being a bit hard on a brother, don’t you think?”
“Just keeping it real,” Donovan replied, his gruff words tempered by a smile of his own.
“Should Diamond grant me the pleasure of her extended company, I’ll be the perfect gentleman.”
Donovan eyed Jackson skeptically, even as he nodded at Erin, who was motioning for him from across the lawn to join the group she now entertained. “You do that,” he said, giving the construction owner a fist pound and then leaving the group.
Dexter smiled as a gorgeous Latina sidled up to him. “Hey, Maria,” he said, giving her a light kiss on the lips. “I think I’ll freshen up my drink and then we’ll take our seats. The concert is about to begin.”
“Shall we join them?” Jackson asked Diamond.
Diamond thought about sitting next to Jackson while listening to the sultry sounds of smooth jazz, feeling the breeze from the ocean and experiencing the accidental brushes of his fingers across her flaming skin. Not a good idea. “Thanks but I think I’ll network a bit more. Oh, and Jackson, I meant what I said to my brother. The interaction between us is to be strictly business. Have I made myself clear?”
Jackson slowly nodded. “Got it.” He stood there watching and appreciating her “business” as she walked across the lawn to join her friends.
Chapter 7
Diamond shifted in her seat, hoping that she didn’t look as unnerved as she felt. For the past thirty minutes, she could have sworn that she’d felt the heat of Jackson’s gaze on the nape of her neck. She’d known the moment he sat down directly behind her not because the woman next to him had immediately introduced herself and her husband but because there was a vibe, an energy, between them that alerted Diamond to whenever he was within touching distance. With every note that oozed from Paul Taylor’s saxophone, Diamond felt the heat in her body rise. She watched Paul’s nimble fingers as he keyed the melodious notes, but in her mind, Jackson’s hands were on her body, playing a song written for her alone.
“Do you want a drink?” Diamond asked her brother, right in the middle of Taylor’s solo.
Donovan looked at her questioningly. “You’re getting one right now?” he whispered.
Diamond nodded as she composed herself.
“I’ll have a beer.”
“I’ll be right back.”
She eased into the aisle and headed to the bar. Taking deep breaths, she willed her heart to stop its erratic pounding and for her body to behave. Before reaching the bar, she decided to take a quick stroll around the gardens, regain her poise, get the drinks and then take her seat once the song ended. The sun had set, and the night sky had come alive with thousands of stars surrounding a bright, full moon. Lamps were strategically placed throughout the garden, highlighting the various shrubs, flowers and other greenery. Diamond took the path nearest the bar and headed toward a fountain near the end of the garden’s east side.
Just before she got there, a hand reached out and grabbed her.
Diamond gasped, and in that moment, a tongue on a mission slipped into her open mouth. A strong arm wrapped itself around her waist, and another hand massaged the nape of her neck. The woodsy smell of Jackson’s cologne engulfed her, and even though her mind was telling her to pull back, slap his face and curse him out, her traitorous body was pressing against his, even as her tongue engaged in a languid duel. Before she knew what was happening, her arms had reached around to stroke his broad back, and she marveled at the power created by sinew and bone. Somewhere in her mind she felt one of his hands muss up her short do. Jackson moaned and deepened the kiss. His other hand traveled from her shoulder to the small of her back and lower still until it cupped her round, firm booty as if the most natural thing in the world to be doing on a night like this was to be ravished in a moonlit garden while jazz played in the background.
Jackson slowly raised his head and blazed a trail of kisses from her mouth to her neck and back to her temple. “I said I’d be a gentleman,” he whispered, even as he nipped her earlobe with tiny love bites, “so I should have asked to kiss you. But an apology at this point would be insincere. You taste way too good for me to feel sorry for what just happened.” Jackson ran a firm finger down Diamond’s arm. “May I kiss you again?” he asked. His voice was as soft as the kisses he’d rained down on her face. Her nod was almost imperceptible, but her acquiescence was all Jackson needed to raise the stakes. He pulled them deeper into the shadows, backed her against the ivy-covered brick wall and once again plundered her mouth with his tongue. His hips mirrored the movement of his tongue: slow, rhythmic circles as he thrust up against her.
Diamond wasn’t even aware that she was joining in the dance of this slow grind until she felt Jackson harden beneath her. Then she felt
