Lovers Premiere (Kimani Romance) (7 page)

“All right. But I will cash that sucker in before the end of the night.” He winked. A tray of champagne floated by and Ram quickly chased it down and then offered her a flute. “Let's make a toast.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” She accepted the glass. “What shall we drink to?”

“To us,” he said, simply.

Her brows rose.

“…and our new business merger. May we enjoy years of success together.”

She relaxed a bit and then tapped her glass to his. “To us.”

Their eyes locked over the rim of their flutes while they each downed a sip of champagne. Just a few short moments later, they separated as they networked through the crowd. At exactly five o'clock, Akil Hutton took to the small stage and introduced his newest artist to the Playascape label.

The guests applauded as Charlene Quinn made her way over to the microphone. Feeling slightly giddy, Sofia couldn't wait until Charlene opened her mouth and shocked everyone with her powerful voice. When she did there was a collected gasp. Charlene wasn't the barely legal teenybopper that could only carry a note with the help of Auto-Tune, which was all the rage in music nowadays. Charlene was a beautiful and welcome throwback artist who could do things with her voice that could only inspire envy. Listening to the emotional song
“The Journey,” Sofia's gaze drifted across the room and had no problems finding Ram in the crowd.

Luckily there was another tray of champagne drifting by so she quickly snatched up a glass and drank its contents just as Charlene was hitting the song's climatic ending. The room erupted into thunderous applause. Charlene smiled humbly and thanked everyone before stepping off the stage.

The second glass of champagne must have gone straight to Sofia's head because suddenly she was feeling…good. She looked across the room again and locked eyes with Ramell.

Damn good, in fact.

T
he Eleventh Annual Latin Grammy Awards was a unanimous hit. The evening was filled with spectacular music and dance. All of the performers were magnificent and the cheers from the crowd just made the evening feel like a four-hour-long concert. Akil Hutton won his first Latin Grammy and gave an emotional shout out to the new woman in his life, Charlene Quinn, and then of course reminded everyone to look for her debut CD coming out in the spring.

After the show ended, everyone started drifting out of the venue to head for some of the many sponsored after parties. Sofia and Ramell made their way over to the Eye Candy Sound Lounge. Sofia loved its high-tech touch tables that allowed people to project images over the dance floor. Ram wrapped an arm around her waist and shouted over the music.

“I think I'll take that dance now!”

“You got it.” Sofia quickly tossed back her chocolate martini and then slipped her hand into his. With the multicolor-lighted disco floor and the strange electronic images floating overhead, Sofia was experiencing a sensory overload—and she loved it. She threw her hands up in the air and rocked her body to the beat like she didn't have a care in the world.

Never being more than a few inches away, Ram matched each erotic thrust of her hips with one of his own. In no time at all it was just them and the music. Sofia was saying things with her body that she never dared to say aloud. If he touched her hip, she'd touch his. A few times, she'd turned around to roll her butt up the front of his crotch, swivel her hips and then spin away.

Ram was so turned on that he couldn't think straight. He had never seen this side of Sofia before. She was sexy, wild and making him horny as hell. After about an hour on the dance floor, they returned to their table and ordered a few more drinks.

Sofia ordered another chocolate martini and when Santana's “Smooth” blasted through the speakers, she climbed on top of the table along with a few other girls and shook her moneymaker for all it was worth.

Ram bobbed his head along with the music and mouthed the chorus when his eyes met with Sofia's.

Give me your heart, make it real. Or else forget about it.
The seductive smile she shared gave him such a strong hard-on, it was a wonder that he didn't just sweep her off the table, toss her over his shoulder and take her back
to their suite. But he made sure that she could read that thought in his mind.

Eventually, she did hop down and Ram was right there to catch and spin her around. There was a skip in his memory because the next thing he knew they were actually at a roulette table, a game Sofia claimed she had never played before, but was suddenly begging to play. Thrilled to see her smiling and having a good time, Ram removed a few Benjamins from his money clip and handed them over.

The croupier exchanged the money for chips with the pit boss watching and then asked everyone to place their bets. Sofia took all of her chips and placed them on five.

“Are you sure?” Ram asked.

“No. But that's why they call it gambling,” she reminded him, and then planted a loud, smacking kiss on his lips.

“Then let's let it ride.”

“No more bets,” the croupier called and then proceeded to spin the wheel.

Sofia locked her arms around Ram's neck and proceeded to watch intently as the white ball was dropped into the spinning roulette. “Are you having a good time, Mr. Jordan?”

“Actually, I'm having a wonderful time,” he answered, sliding his hands up and down her back.

“Five! The lucky number is five!” the croupier called out.

Just as Sofia was about to plant a kiss onto Ram's lips, she realized the number that had just been called.

“Five! That's me! That's me!” She started bouncing up and down. The entire table erupted into cheers while Sofia performed a mini-dance and then smacked Ram hard on the rear end.

Caught off guard, he jumped and then laughed at her antics. They played for a few more rounds, the crowd cheering as Sofia's chips really started to mount. More drinks flowed and the next thing Ram knew they were at the craps table. Sofia developed her own dance and threw the dices down the stretch. Each time she would draw a seven and their entourage would grow even larger.

“You're hot tonight,” Ram commented, shaking his head.

“Yeah? So what are you going to do about that, lover boy?” She playfully pulled on his tie so that she could draw his lips closer. When she laid another kiss on him, the table went wild with hoots and hollers.

“God, I have to bring you to Vegas more often,” Ram panted when she finally released him.

Sofia just smiled. “Let's go find another dance floor.”

“Your wish is my command.” He handed over his V.I.P. card and informed the pit boss to cash them out and that they'd pick up their winnings later before leading her and their entourage out of the casino and over to another after party at Pure nightclub.

As the hour ticked later and later, both Ram and Sofia's dancing grew hotter and hotter. They drew many eyes and much finger pointing, but neither paid any attention to it. They were both ying and yang, grinding on the dance floor and just enjoying the night. Sofia couldn't
remember the last time she had ever felt so free, so alive. Every time Ram's gaze roamed over her body she felt beautiful and sexy. If she had her wish, this night would never end.

Somewhere along the line, someone in their newfound entourage suggested going to a club called Jump! So they all piled into a stranger's limousine and ended up at another high-tech club. The surprise was that it was a strip club, but not just any strip club.

“Oh hell no.” Ramell said and turned right back around toward the door.

“Wait. Wait.” Sofia grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back. “C'mon. This could be fun.”

Ramell groaned as he allowed her to turn him back around. His frown deepened at the sight of the muscled and oiled men all pumped up and gyrating on the stage. “I don't want to watch this.”

Sofia ignored his complaints and pulled him along. He wasn't the only one. A lot of the guys that had played tagalong were also trying to make their way back toward the door. However, the women were going buck wild, including Sofia, who continued to drag Ramell closer toward the stage.

He hung his head and hoped that this was just going to be a pit stop. When the dancer finally left the stage with his teeny-weeny briefs filled with dollar bills, he expelled a sigh of relief.

“You should go up there,” Sofia yelled above the crowd.

“Say what?” He tried to pull back.

“C'mon.” She smiled. “You can do it.” She kept pulling him toward the stage despite his horror.

When the women saw what she was doing they all started cheering.

“What's this now?” The D.J. blasted over the club. “Is it amateur night on the stage?”

The women screamed louder while Sofia shoved Ramell harder.

“C'mon. You know you got the body,” she teased.

“I'm not getting up on that stage.”

The D.J. spoke out again over the loudspeaker. “Let me give you a little something to dance to, my man.” He began to spin a popular new song and the women in the club damn near went into hysteria.

“Fine. If I have to get up here then so do you,” Ramell said as he grabbed Sophia by the wrist and pulled her onto the stage alongside him.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed and a spotlight was directly aimed at the couple. Sofia stood in the center of the stage, giggling until she felt a feathery touch drifting down her arm. She shivered but then she was quickly spun around to see Ram rip the buttons off his shirt with one-hard jerk and then do a sexy body wave that had the women screaming so loud it made her eardrums ring.

Ram sent his shirt sailing into the air and rocked his hips as he pulled up his white t-shirt to reveal his perfectly bronze chest with his tight, mountainous muscles.

Without thinking, Sofia reached out and smiled at his dewy texture. Smiling, Ram spun her around and pressed her back against his chest while his large hands dropped
to her thighs and then slowly inched their way upward. The heat that blazed up Sofia's body was so intense that beads of sweat dotted her hairline and rolled down the side of her face.

The women that were screaming around the stage no longer mattered. Sofia was losing her mind because she alone could feel Ram's hard-on grinding against her round bottom. It was suddenly hard for her to breathe. His hands inched higher and when he was just a flick away from exposing her Victoria's Secrets, he whipped away from her again to perform a few more body waves and hip rotations.

Money rained down onto the stage despite the fact that Ram never took his eyes off of Sofia. He crooked his finger and beckoned her toward him. When she stood inches from him, he unsnapped the top button of his slacks and offered her, and her alone, a peek inside. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but Sofia wasn't about to pass up a golden opportunity. So she peeked and her jaw nearly hit the floor at his impressive size.

The women went wild. They all wanted to see what she saw. But with her face heating up, she finally slapped a hand in front of his pants and prevented him from peeling those bad boys off. Suddenly, she wasn't in the mood for sharing. “Don't you dare.”

“Problem?” he asked, wickedly.

She grabbed hold of his wrist and tugged him off the stage.

“Boo!”
The jilted women shouted, but a giggling Sofia and Ram paid them no mind as they tried to make
their way to the door. They were still laughing when they piled into a cab and headed back to Mandalay Bay.

“You know I look ridiculous, right?”

She glanced at him without his shirt and T-shirt and decided, “Actually, I think I prefer you like this.”

“Really?” He dragged her over to his side of the cab and pressed her against his chest.

“We can always arrange it so that I could see you like this more often,” she said, walking her fingers up his chest.

Ram's brows jumped. “I'm listening.”

Smiling up at him with her hand pressed over his heart she asked, “Ramell Jordan, will you marry me?”

A
t three-thirty in the morning, Sofia and Ramell stumbled into the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel, giggling and clinging on to one another. Behind them, Akil and Charlene entered, shaking their heads. They were still dressed in their gown and tuxedo, only Akil had draped his jacket around Charlene's exposed shoulders as they came in from the night. It was clear that they didn't know what to make of this latest development. They were surprised when Ram called them as they were leaving yet another after party. Both of them looked exhausted and might've been headed for bed had Ram not called and asked if they wanted to serve as witnesses to his wedding.

“Are you two sure that you want to do this?” Akil asked.

Charlene nodded. “Yeah. This seems kind of sudden. Maybe you guys should just…sleep on this?”

Sofia laughed and wrapped her arms around Ram's waist. “Don't be silly. Ram and I have been planning to get married for…” She looked up at him. “How long?”

He smiled. “A gazillion years.”

They erupted into giggles while Charlene and Akil just looked at each other and shrugged.

A black Elvis Presley impersonator emerged from a curtain of multi-colored beads with a grin as wide as Texas. “Evening, folks. What can I do for you on this early morning?”

Sofia and Ramell took one look at the man in his bedazzled jumpsuit and had another fit of giggles. This time, even Akil and Charlene joined in.

“Are we looking to have a double wedding this morning?” he asked eagerly.

“No. It's just us,” Sofia answered excitedly.

“First, do you happen to have a shirt I can buy or rent?” Ram asked.

“Sure. We can hook you right up,” Elvis bragged and then disappeared into the back.

While he was gone, Sofia and Ramell peppered each other's faces with kisses. To casual observers they looked like young lovers who couldn't keep their hands off of each other. When Elvis returned he held up two suits. One was a pale blue suit complete with bell bottoms and satin lapels. To add insult to injury, the accompanying white shirt had enough ruffles to do Liberace proud. The other suit was a black and silver sequin number that was equally hard on the eyes.

“Just a basic white shirt will do,” Ram said, snickering. “I may be drunk but I'm not
that
drunk.”

Elvis shrugged his shoulders. “As you wish.” He disappeared and returned with a brand new white dress shirt still in its package.

“Perfect.”

“Great.” Elvis clapped his hands together. “Now let's see about getting you two married.”

For the next ten minutes Elvis showed the couples rings and different wedding packages. They settled on the Elvis Blue Hawaii Special, mainly because it came complete with two traditionally garbed hula dancers. Sofia and Ram giggled their way through the entire ceremony. Still they managed to get their I Do's out and were immediately showered with rice while Elvis busted out with his microphone and launched into a jacked-up rendition of Blue Hawaii. He didn't really bother trying to sound like the King of Rock-n-Roll. If anything he sounded more like Isaac Hayes. But it didn't matter. Nothing really mattered at that moment.

They were married.

Amazingly, after they left the chapel they all stopped at another club so they could share a celebratory drink. There was more dancing involved and Sofia stopped nearly everyone she saw to show off the simple silver band and declare that she was indeed a married woman now.

Cheers went up and cameras came out. Sofia and Ram made several silly poses. At long last when the hour ticked closer to five o'clock, Sofia struggled to keep her eyes open.

Ram stretched up a brow. “I don't believe it. My little Energizer Bunny is actually wearing down?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Sofia looped her arms around Ram's neck and nibbled on his lips. “I think it's time we get back to our honeymoon suite.”

“Aww. Honeymoon suite, eh? I kind of like the sound of that.” He kissed her and explored her mouth like it was the eighth wonder of the world. She moaned and melted against his body.

“Get a room,” a member of their second entourage shouted, causing everyone to laugh around them. In dramatic form, Ramell swept Sofia up into his arms and received a round of applause.

Sofia smiled against his lips. “I'm so happy right now.”

He met her gaze. “That's all I ever wanted you to be.”

“Good to know.” She snuggled closer. “But if you want to see me ecstatic then I suggest you get me to our room, lover boy.”

“I'm on it.” He turned toward the group. “Good night, everyone. Me and the missus have plans.”

“Woo hoo!” they all cheered.

“Say goodnight, Sofia.”

“Goodnight, Sofia,” she chimed, giggling.

With that, Ram swooped out of the club and carried her all the way over to the hotel portion of the luxurious casino. In the elevator, Sofia insisted that she wanted to be the one to punch the number for their floor, only for her to do it with her left big toe. “Hey! What happened
to my shoe?” Not until that moment did she even realize that she was just wearing one.

Ram frowned. “I have no idea.”

“Oooh,” she pouted. “But I loved that shoe.”

“Don't worry,” he said, nibbling on her lower earlobe. “I'll find it for you.”

“You promise?”

“Yeah. I promise. Now kiss me.”

“Gladly.” She turned her head and captured his addictive lips in another soul-stirring kiss. Sofia loved kissing this man. She loved how her thoughts would get all woozy and how her body would heat up and tingle from the tips of her toes all the way to the ends of her hair.

Neither one of them heard the elevator again or even saw another couple step into the small compartment along with them. They were in their own world where only they existed. Ram lowered her legs, but kept her body pressed up against him and one wall of the elevator.

Sofia couldn't stop moaning as she felt her husband's hands roaming up her long legs and traveling up her inner thigh. When his seeking fingers skimmed along the edges of her lacy panties, she quivered. But when he shifted them over to the corner of her thigh and then dipped his fingers into the dewy lips to tease the tip of her sex, she nearly came unglued.

“You like that, baby?” he asked, abandoning her kiss-swollen lips in order to concentrate on her sexy scented neck.

“Uhm, hmm.” Sofia's eyes fluttered open and she was finally able to see that the same couple they had shared an
elevator ride with yesterday was now gawking at them. In normal circumstances she would have been embarrassed, but right now all she could do was giggle.

Ram lifted his head. “Oh. So this is funny to you now?”

She shook her head and then pointed over her shoulder.

He turned and then offered the couple a smile and a wink. “Morning,” he said, lowering his hand from beneath Sofia's dress. A bell dinged and the door slid open to offer their escape route. “Have a good day.” He took Sofia's hand and together they raced out of the elevator.

Sofia clamped her other hand over her mouth and started laughing so hard her sides hurt. It didn't help that she was hobbling with one shoe on and one shoe off. “Did you see their faces?”

“Forget about them.” He waved it off and slid his card key into the lock and then surprised her by sweeping her back into his arms.

“I believe that this is tradition,” he said, and then picked her up to carry her over the threshold.

“Weeee!” She waved her hands high over her head as Ram then proceeded to spin her around. Suddenly everything was funny so they just looked at each other and cracked up. Soon enough their laughter faded and their smiling eyes shifted into desire.

“Well, Mrs. Jordan, what would you like to do now?”

Those wonderful tingles returned. “I don't know. I
was sort of hoping that we can do what most newlyweds do on their wedding nights.”

He stretched one eyebrow high up on his face. “See. That's the reason we're so perfect for each other. We think alike.” He kissed her again. “My bedroom or yours?”

“You choose.” She started pulling on his shirt, popping off one button at a time.

“Let's start off in your bedroom. Maybe we'll go to mine on round two.”

“And for round three?”

“Damn. We might have to stop for a bowl of Wheaties and a vitamin B shot.”

“You do what you have to do, baby.” She drew his lips in for another kiss while he walked her toward her bedroom. Unfortunately, since he was distracted by her hungry kisses, he whacked her head against the wall as he moved down the hallway.

“Oww.”

“Oh. I'm so sorry.” He chuckled. “Are you okay?”

Laughing herself, she rubbed the top of her head only to have him do it again when he made a turn into her bedroom and she hit the door frame.

Thump!

“Ouch. Are you trying to kill me?” she laughed.

“When you're with me, I want you to see stars, baby,” he joked, and then finally set her down.

“One way or another.” She laughed. Like before, their laughter slowly faded and the chemistry that had always existed between them started to crackle. Suddenly she felt small standing in front of him. But not vulnerable.
The idea of being devoured by a man of his size and strength actually triggered an anxiousness that had her entire body vibrating. One part of her wanted to say
don't hurt me
while the other wanted to shout,
take me however you want me.

“Turn around,” he ordered.

With a smile, Sofia did.

Gently, he swept her long hair over her left shoulder in order to expose the back of her neck. Lightly, he planted small kisses along her shoulders while he slowly unzipped her dress. When he peeled the thin straps from her shoulders, her breathing thinned and she became lightheaded once again.

“Do you know how long I've waited for this night?” He moved toward her collarbone. “How long I've dreamed about making love to you?”

She shook her head though the question intrigued her.

“A gazillion years,” he said, spinning her around as her dress fell to the floor. Before she could respond, he crushed their lips together. In his head it was as if the heavens had opened their golden gates. He made quick work of unhooking her strapless bra. When it fell to the floor and her full breasts stood at attention before his greedy eyes, he knew without a doubt that he could die a happy man tonight.

“You're so beautiful.” He cupped her breasts with his large hands and then smiled when he felt her tremble. “So beautiful,” he repeated, rubbing the pads of his fingers against her nipples. In no time at all they were as hard as
marbles and she was panting like she was in the middle of a marathon.

“Do you mind if I taste you?”

“Please,” she begged.

Ram's head dipped low and then he sucked one hard nipple into his mouth, lightly scraping the sensitive flesh against his teeth. She hissed and then quivered, letting him know that he had set off a mini-orgasm. He did it again and received the same results. Her trembling hands cupped his head, her fingers raked through his close-cropped hair. He eased her down onto the bed, their hands and mouths exploring one another.

Sofia no longer cared that she could hardly breathe. She just knew that she needed Ram inside her as fast as possible. However, he wasn't on that same game plan. His slow and deliberate moves made it clear that he was in no hurry. He wanted to taste and savor her for as long as possible. Her heart raced like a thoroughbred in the Kentucky Derby. It all seemed like so much but not enough at the same time.

While Ram feasted on her breasts, she lowered her hands from his head and glided them down his neck and then across the wide span of his back. But that was as far as she could go since he started to inch down her body, his mouth planting wet kisses directly down her center. The pleasure was so intense that tears started to leak from the corners of her eyes.

Ram discovered her G-spots were her right nipple, her belly button, and the tiny area on the back of her left knee. To him she looked like a lost angel, quivering and thrashing among the bed's pillows. He took one leg and
slipped off her lone metallic shoe before peppering kisses around her ankle and then working his way upward. Her moans grew louder when he reached her thighs. By the time his lips brushed against the crotch of her panties, she was calling on God. But what he longed to hear was his name falling from her lips.

His hand roamed to her slender hips and then peeled her delicate panties off. With the morning sun now peeking through the windows, he liked the way the golden rays highlighted the V of brown curls between her legs. It was like her own private halo.

“So beautiful,” he whispered again while parting her legs. Her glistening pink bud peeked through her brown lips. Ram sucked in a breath as he reached down and spread her open for a better look.

With a groan, he dropped his head and lapped his tongue gently against her feminine pearl. Instantly her knees rose up while she sank deeper into the bed.

“Oh, Ram,” she sighed.

His heart took flight at the sound of his name falling from her lips. Ram's light laps became a quick and steady drumming. The sweetest honey he'd ever tasted dripped and then poured out of her body until it completely coated his tongue. And still it was not enough.

He settled further down the bed until his abs laid flat against the mattress and her legs were hooked over his shoulders. He looked like he was just settling in for a good meal.

However, Sofia's long legs wouldn't stay still. They kept fluttering on the side of his head like a big butterfly. Then an unmistakable pressure started to build in her
lower belly and her manicured toes started to curl. Her eyes sprang wide open as if suddenly realizing that it was all too much. No way could she handle what was coming.