The Best Thing He Never Knew He Needed (35 page)

Desmond crawled back up so
he was facing her again. “And you’re going to be the best mother a
set of twin babies could have.”

Sherita leaned forward to
kiss his lips. “I hope they have your eyes.”

“
They will. I have strong
genes.”

“
I can believe that,”
Sherita said, running her index finger across his lips.

“
I hope they have your
everything else,” he told her. “I don’t think I can put up with
another
me
.”

Sherita laughed. “I don’t
think I can put up with another
you
, either.”

“
Oh, really?” he said,
shifting his body so he was hovering over her again. “I hope you
can put up with another round of lovemaking because I want you
again.” He lowered his lips to hers and, just like that, they were
making love again for the second time tonight.

CHAPTER 45

Victor laughed with joy as
he popped the cork from the champagne bottle. “Well, my friends,”
he said, “It looks like we’re nearing the end of this project and
what a collaboration it has been. It has truly been an honor to do
business with such an elite group. Your name suits you. You truly
are champions.”

“
We’re just doing what we
do best,” Dante said.

“
And you do it better than
anyone else, Victor said. “Desmond, I’ve never had anyone lay out a
campaign like the one you did for Service Swap. Excellent
work.”

“
I’m glad I was able to
exceed your expectations, Victor,” Desmond told him.

“
Certainly. By the way,
where’s your wife? She’s not joining us this evening?”

“
She is. She’s just
running a little behind schedule…should be here shortly.” Desmond
checked his watch. She should’ve been here by now.

“
Oh, here she is now,”
Emily said, watching Sherita meander through the aisle to reach
their table.

Desmond looked up at her,
feeling heated blood course through his veins at the sight of her.
Beautiful wasn’t a good enough word to describe the woman he’d made
his wife. She was breathtaking, turning heads as she made her way
to the table in a little black dress. She told Desmond she would be
late since her hair appointment ran late. She’d usually do her own
hair, but she wanted to look as professional as possible at the GHC
resort tomorrow. So, she instructed her stylist to flat iron her
long, curly strands so that her hair was silky straight, hanging
down her back and framing her face.

Desmond couldn’t take his
eyes off of her. She had the nerve to wear red lipstick on those
juicy-sweet, succulent lips he savored last night and this morning
before he went to the office.

What are you doing to me,
Sherita Champion?
She was looking so
beautiful, Desmond entertained the thought of cutting this pow-wow
with Victor short, taking Sherita by the hand and leading her back
out of the door and back home where he would have her all to
himself. Somehow, he found enough willpower to keep his desires at
bay. He had her for a lifetime. There was no need to rush anything
when it came to their relationship. Their marriage.

“
Hi everybody,” Sherita
said. “Hi Victor.” She reached to shake his hand. “It’s good to see
you again.”

“
You as well, dear,”
Victor said. “I’d just asked Desmond if you were joining us
tonight, and here you are.”

“
Sorry,” Sherita leaned
down and whispered in Desmond’s ear before she sat down. “Yeah,
here I am,” Sherita told Victor. “What did I miss?”

“
I was just telling these
men how satisfied I was with all of their hard work.”

Sherita smiled, feeling the
intensity of Desmond’s stares against her face, passion radiating
from his eyes. He loved to do that, she knew. To stare at her. Just
the fact that he was looking caused a chill to rip through her –
that, and it was freezing cold in the high-class restaurant. The
thin dress she wore, that hovered around her knees, didn’t do
anything to provide warmth.

While Victor poured glasses
of champagne, Desmond stood up, took off his suit jacket and draped
it around Sherita.

“
Thank you,” she said,
looking at him. She instantly felt a warm sensation all over her
body, and she was positive it had nothing to do with the
jacket.

“
You’re welcome,” he told
her as he sat down again. Then he leaned closer to her, smelling
perfume that nearly intoxicated him somewhere around her neck. In
her ear, he whispered softly, “I want to taste.”

Sherita met his gaze.
“Taste what?”

“
Your lips. I haven’t seen
you since I left home this morning and you walk in here, looking
downright tantalizing and don’t even give your man a hug or a
kiss,” he said, palming her thigh. “I want your lips.”

“
Des,” she said in a
breathless whisper, turning to look at him, seeing desire in his
eyes.

Desmond leaned closer to
her, seizing her mouth with his, taking a gentle kiss. A long one.
A slow, deliberate, explorative one. It didn’t matter they were at
the table. In public. At a fancy restaurant or in front of family.
It’s not like they hadn’t done this very same thing before. So
Desmond took what he wanted, causing whimpers to escape her throat
in the process.

Moments later, he released
her lips, then face-to-face, he whispered, “Now I want to
touch.”

She smiled. “Touch
what?”

She closed her eyes when
she felt his fingers threading her hair.

“
I’ve always loved your
hair, just like I love everything else about you.”

“
Thank you, Desmond.” She
took a small kiss from his lips, then held his gaze.

And for that moment, it was
only the two of them at the table, lost in their love for each
other.

“
You’re as beautiful now
as you were the first day I laid eyes on you…the first time I knew
you would be mine,” Desmond said, but he was done with whispering.
He didn’t care who heard him at this point.

Emily looked at Melanie and
smiled.

Dante looked up at
Dimitrius and gave him a single nod.

Victor looked directly at
Desmond and Sherita when he said, “You lovebirds have me missing my
wife.”

“
How is Florence, by the
way?” Dimitrius inquired.

“
She’s a little better,
but I don’t think she can tolerate New York weather like she used
to. I’ve been trying to convince her to move down south, but she
just won’t budge. All her family is there, you know.”

“
Yes, that’s
understandable.”

Victor took a sip of
champagne. “Speaking of family, I was hoping I would get to meet
your darling twins, Desmond.” Victor was still under the assumption
that Ezra and Grace were Desmond and Sherita’s children.

Desmond grinned. He knew he
had to set the record straight. “Well, Victor, that’s going to be
hard to do since they’re not even born yet.”

Victor’s face contorted
into a confused mess. An old man should never frown like
that.

Melanie laughed.

Emily, though turning red
in the face, successfully withheld laughter while Sherita had a
smile on her face.

“
Not born yet…what do you
mean?” Victor asked. “I saw you at the park with the
kids.”

“
Those weren’t my
children. I
love
them like they’re mine,” Desmond said, “But they are actually
my niece and nephew, Grace and Ezra.”

“
And your children?”
Victor inquired.

Desmond smiled and turned
to look at Sherita, feeling an overwhelming bout of joy. “My
children are right here,” he said, gently placing a hand on
Sherita’s stomach. He looked back at Victor and said, “We’re having
twins.”

Sherita smiled.

Victor chuckled. “Well
isn’t that just wonderful. I guess I had it all wrong.”

Dante grinned. “Yeah. You
did. Ezra is our son,” Dante said, throwing his arm around
Emily.

“
And Grace is our
daughter,” Melanie said, looking adoringly at Dimitrius.

“
She’s our miracle baby,”
Dimitrius said, then kissed Melanie on the cheek.

“
Isn’t this just
wonderful,” Victor said. “I feel the love in this family…makes we
wish I would’ve done business with you a long time ago.”

“
No worries,” Dante said.
“We’ve had one successful venture, and we look forward to the
opportunity to work with you again Victor.”

Dimitrius nodded.
“Indeed.”

And then all eyes shifted
to Desmond. Was he even aware of what was going on? Probably not?
His tongue was lost somewhere in Sherita’s mouth, buried so deep he
could swallow the girl. He couldn’t keep his hands off of her, nor
his lips.

Dante smirked. “If Desmond
could talk right now, I’m sure he would agree with us,
Victor.”

Desmond followed
Sherita
home, anxious for the chance to
kiss those cherry red lips again. When she’d parked in the
driveway, he’d parked behind her, hurried out of his car then swept
her off of her feet, heading for the front door and on to his
bedroom – their bedroom – where they made love that was so intense,
neither of them could hardly move afterwards. All they could do was
pant, take in air and release it forcefully.

After a few moments, she
looked at him and said, “Why can’t you come with us tomorrow, Des?
Everybody is going to be at the resort but you.”

“
I told you sweetheart…I
have to wrap up a few things with Victor.”

“
He’s not capable of doing
that himself?”

Desmond grinned. “No. He’s
not.”

“
Oh, Des,” she pouted,
sliding closer to rest her head on his chest, listening to the
fast-paced rhythm of his unsteady heartbeat. “I don’t want to go
without you.”

Desmond glided fingers
through her hair. “You’ll be fine, sweetie. And I’ll be there on
Sunday.”

“
Okay,” she said,
downcast. “I guess that’ll have to do for now.”

“
Hey,” Desmond said
propping up on his elbow. When his eyes met hers, he said,
“Everything will be all right, baby. Tomorrow is your time to
shine. You get to show everyone how talented you are.”

Sherita smiled. “Before we
left the restaurant, Emily told me it was an all-white affair, even
for me.”

“
It is…the brides and
grooms are all wearing white. We decided for that to be the theme
this year.”

“
But why do I have to wear
white?”

“
Just to blend in with the
theme of everything, baby.”

“
I don’t even have a white
dress nice enough for this type of thing. Emily said she was going
to get some guy named Steven to have something sent to my suite,”
she said, finding Desmond’s hand. Holding it.

“
Steven is the operations
manager at GHC. He’s accustomed to working last minute miracles. If
Emily said he would have you a dress, then you can bank on
it.”

Sherita closed her eyes.
After a few minutes of silence, she said, “Des.”

“
Yes? I’m still awake.
What’s on your mind, baby?”

“
I was curious about
something.”

He cracked a smile. She was
always curious. “What’s that, Rita?”

“
Why would you ask for my
father’s permission to marry me when we’re already
married?”

“
It was more about me
talking to him man-to-man…getting a feel for his personality. And I
wanted him to know that his baby girl, his only child, was safe in
my hands.”

Sherita smiled. She
was
safe. She was happy.
She was in the arms of the man she loved.

CHAPTER 46

Sherita’s mouth fell open
when she stepped into the suite, taking in the lavish, top-floor
penthouse. Floor-to-ceiling windows, colors of gold, peach and
beige splattered all around. She continued on exploring the place
and after stepping into the second bedroom, she saw a dress laid
out on the bed.

The dress…

The off-white look of it
made the dress appear vintage. Layers of ruffles gave it an
elegant, classy feel. This was way too formal for a photographer.
How was she going to sprint across the sand to capture priceless
moments of couples tying the knot while she was wearing a
gown?

“
There’s no way I can wear
this dress,” she said in a monotone. She rubbed the back of her
neck, relieving the stress that settled there.

When she heard knocks at
the door, she hurried there to answer, watching Emily walk
in.

“
Hey, Ri-Ri,” Emily said
playfully. “Where’s this dress? Steven was downstairs bragging
about how good of a job he did finding one for you.”

“
Ugh, it’s in here on the
bed,” Sherita said, walking towards the bedroom.

“
By all that grunting, I
take it you don’t like it.”