Forever Waiting Read online

  About an hour after we got home, I couldn’t take the guilt anymore. “Hey Tay, wanna go get some dinner?” I called. She didn’t answer me, so I knocked on the door of her room. ”Come on Tayla, don’t give me the silent treatment. I’m sorry I blew up at you.”

  Still no reply. Finally, I opened the door and walked in to find her sitting on her bed, with her laptop open and headphones on. I tapped her shoulder to get her attention, and she slammed the cover of her laptop shut.

  “What’cha doing?” I asked.

  “Umm....nothing, just doing some research for our big job,” she shrugged innocently. “I found someone online for our lighting and other stuff. He comes highly recommended.”

  “Oh, that’s great! I was planning to put you in charge of lighting and some behind-the-scenes stuff for the fashion show. It sounds like you’re ahead of the game! We need to find the perfect venue though. I want it to be amazing.”

  Tayla gave me her best smile and climbed off the bed. “I’m sure it will be totally amazing. Let’s go do some shots.”

  “We can’t go do shots, we a have a flight at eight in the morning. We cannot miss it!”

  “Fine. You’re such a bore, you know that, Lan? Let’s go get some food then.”

  “I am not boring, I’m just responsible. Now let’s go get some sushi and maybe we can have some sake,” I said. Sake sounded good to me, so we walked to the sushi place at the end of our block.

  We landed at LAX late in the afternoon, and there was a black SUV there waiting for us when we arrived. Tayla looked at me and said, “Damn, I could get used to this on the daily.”

  I smiled at her and shoved her ass in the car. We arrived at Johan’s condo, and I went straight inside to check it out. I was amazed at the place. It didn’t look like just a condo, but more like a small mansion. From its white rustic exterior to the posh marble floors inside, it was marvelous! I thought to myself, If I were to have a condo it would be just like this. Well, I thought, that is if I shit out enormous amounts of money, but hey—you never know.

  I looked around for Tayla to see her reaction, and realized that she hadn’t followed me in. I looked outside to the driveway and there she was, with her low-cut tank top, leaning into the driver’s window. I had to admit he was very good looking. Tayla was a beautiful girl. She had long, curly brown hair and a very shapely body, with a big booty and boobs to match. She always had her fair share of admirers, wherever we went.

  “Hey Tay,I need you inside, please.” I saw her smile at the driver as he gave her a small piece of paper and drove off.

  “Hell yeah!” she exclaimed as she walked through the door. “I got me a booty call while we’re here. Ethan is taking me out tomorrow night!” She started doing her happy dance, and I just shook my head and thought about how long we might actually have to be here.

  Our first two weeks in Los Angeles had flown by. The boutique we had been talking with turned out to be a bust, but in the course of networking with other owners we had found a space that was available, and Johan had decided to open his own store. In addition to working on getting the store ready to open, we were busy with setting up meetings and researching different venues for the fashion show, which would introduce Johan’s line as well as promote the new store. Tayla and I booked an area inside the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. The venue was just the right size for the fashion show, and guests could enjoy dinner and drinks afterward. We were doing a final tour of the venue before signing the contract, and as usual, I found myself talking to thin air.

  ”I think Johan is going to love this place! What do you think, Tay?” I asked, then turned to find that Tayla had disappeared again. “Tay?... Tayla!” I said, raising my voice. My friend had pulled her famous vanishing act. “I wish you would stop doing this shit to me,” I said with exasperation. “I am trying to work.” I turned a corner into the hallway, flustered, and ran right into Tayla, but she was not alone. Oh no, she wasn’t.

  “Hey Lan!” she said in a strangely sing-song voice. “I wanted you to meet the owner of the company I found for the lighting and production work for the show.” I looked up and could not believe what I saw: A six-foot tall, lean Alpha male with brown hair and the bluest eyes I had seen, at least in the past eight years. Zaine Brooks was standing right in front of me and all I could do was stare. The look on his face was not a pleasant one, and the look I gave Tay let her know she was in for a very bumpy ride home with me.

  “Zaine, this is my friend and the director of the fashion show, Landrey Steele.” She acted as if she thought we didn’t know each other. Zaine and I just stared at each other, without blinking, and I felt as if all the air had been sucked out of my body. Finally I rallied, and spit out the first thing I could think of.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” I stuttered, holding out my hand. He did something I would have never expected.

  “Cut the bullshit, Landrey. You know who I am.” He started pacing in front of me, running his hands through his hair with frustration.

  I looked over at Tay. “How could you do this? Why can’t you just mind your own business?”

  I felt tears welling in my eyes, and I ran out of the building and into the back of the waiting SUV. “Take me home,” I ordered. Ethan thankfully asked no questions, and took me back to the condo. I ran inside, grabbed Tayla’s bag and put it outside on the front terrace, and locked the door. She would get the hint that I needed my space when she showed up at the house later, and hopefully just go home with Ethan, who she’d gone out with a couple of times.

  Two hours passed as I sat in the condo with the lights off. As it got dark, I lit some candles. I didn’t want any harsh man-made light to add to the headache that had been growing steadily since I left the Design Center. I heard the front door open and said, “Go away, Tayla.” I couldn’t deal with her at that moment.

  I heard footsteps coming down the hall, but no one spoke. ” I mean it! You need to go somewhere to let me cool off for the night.” I got off the couch and walked down the hallway. Instead of Tayla, standing in the hall was Zaine.

  “Shit, how did you get in here?” I blurted. He dangled Tayla’s silver key in his hand. I felt more fury surge through me. “She gave you the key to our place? What the…”

  “Stop talking now, Landrey!” Zaine commanded. I stopped talking abruptly. He was so angry! I didn’t know what to expect him to say, but I had imagined over the years how it would go if we ever crossed paths again. He looked so good, I was kicking myself for not giving this man a chance. He oozed sex and power, and I just knew he had accomplished what he set out to do. He visibly worked to calm himself before he spoke. “Landrey, when I saw you round that corner at the center I could not believe who I was seeing. What are you doing in L.A.?”

  “I … I’m here for my job. I won’t be here long.” It was all I could think of to say, and hey, it was the truth. I just made it short and sweet.

  “So you had nothing to do with looking me up, or hiring my company for the show?” he asked, clearly not buying it.

  “That was Tayla’s job. I basically do everything else.”

  “So she knew nothing about who I was when she called me?” Zaine said with a look of disbelief.

  “I’m not sure,” I faltered. “But knowing my friend, she knew exactly what she was doing.” He took a step toward me and I shrank back.

  ”Why didn’t you come to the airport, Landrey? How could you do that to me? I thought you and I had something, you know? I waited. Even missed my flight. I stayed there almost all night waiting for you, and you never came. Why?”

  I didn’t know what to say. All this time I’d figured he would just consider me a bitch and forget about me, but it was clear that he had thought about me. All the years I had wanted him, he wanted me back—and I let him go.

  “Zaine, I’m sorry. I guess I was just scared. I didn’t think you were serious. I … I am so sorry. It was too good to be true for me.”

  “So that’s it?” he a
sked. “You expect me to believe I offered you a great life out of nowhere, and you thought it was a joke?”

  “I … Yes, I did.”

  He got angry with me. He came toward me so fast, I thought he was going to hit me and I flinched. But Zaine wasn’t Ryland. He stopped in front of me and held my face in his hands, gazing down at me for a moment before he placed his silky lips against mine. At first I resisted, but after a second I felt myself give in to everything that I had been dreaming about for the past eight years. Our lips met, our tongues gently exploring each other’s mouth. The moment was perfect. We kissed for a long time without letting go, then Zaine leaned back and took a breath.

  He took his suit jacket off and threw it over the back of the couch, then started unbuttoning my shirt, slipping it over my shoulders. When it fell to the floor I froze. My brain was on overload and fighting for composure against my libido. I had waited for this moment for such a long time, and I decided to take whatever I could get.

  Zaine caressed my breast, rubbing my nipples through my bra. I let out a moan from low in my throat. I grabbed his shirt, fumbling with the buttons. After all the years that had passed, I wasn’t expecting him to still be so toned, but good Lord, he was beautiful. I stopped and stood back and looked at him. “You’ve been working out haven’t you?” I asked coyly, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

  He just pulled me to him and said, “Shut up, Lan.” That was all I needed. We went after each other with so much passion that I couldn’t believe what I was doing and who I was about to do it with. We were going at it like wild animals and we could not touch each other fast enough.

  Zaine unhooked my bra and watched it tumble to the ground. He sucked on my pebble-like nipples, and I moaned out in joy. I started to pull at the zipper on his pants and slid them, along with his boxer briefs, down to his ankles. He groaned loudly, and I fell to my knees, stroking his big, beautiful cock in my hand. There was already a drip of precum at the tip, and I licked it off, then licked up and down his shaft and started fucking him with my mouth. He threw his head back in ecstasy and he couldn’t hold back.

  “I’m going to come, Lan,” he moaned softly. I felt his balls tighten and he spread his warm seed all the way down my throat. He then guided me up to my feet, picked me up and carried me over to the couch. I was so ready for whatever he had to give me! I was dripping wet and just waiting with anticipation. He slowly tugged down my panties and tossed them on the floor. Leaning over me, he started kissing me, down the side of my neck to my nipples. He took each one in his warm mouth and flicked them with his tongue. He was making his way down my body, and my toes were curling from the touch of his mouth.

  When he got down between my legs he looked up at me with those beautiful blue eyes and gave me his prize-winning smile. He placed each of my legs over his shoulders and started parting the way to my folds. He licked gently around my clitoris, avoiding it, making me insane for him to just take it in his mouth. Finally he gave it a light but generous lick and sucked it between his lips. He then gently stuck in one, then two fingers and guided them in and out of me while he played with my clit with his tongue. I was so close to something I had not felt in forever, and it was amazing. Panting and moaning, I gave out light sigh of pleasure. At the last lick, I found my release, not just once, but one right after the other... and God, I couldn’t breathe afterward.

  He looked up at me then, and continued kissing back up my body, back over my stomach, to my breasts and coming up to my mouth. I could taste myself on his tongue, but at that point I didn’t care. I heard the tear of a condom wrapper and watched as he rolled the condom onto himself. I felt so close to him at that moment. We stared at each other, both breathing heavily as he put his mouth to mine and thrust slowly into me. I was in awe, my body limp from the euphoric sensations I was feeling.

  “You’re so tight, Lan,” he said.

  I smiled and started moving my hips with his, keeping time rhythmically with him. He picked up the pace and started thrusting into me so hard, it was all I could do to keep from going over the edge. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I tightened around his cock and screamed out his name. He pumped one last time and I could feel his warm release. I was so tired I couldn’t even speak, and neither could Zaine. Both of us were at a loss for words. I knew in my head I would never forget this moment. As we lay there breathing together, he gathered me in his arms and we fell into a pleasant sleep.

  I woke up the next morning, sore and happy but with no man by my side. I sat up and saw a note on the end table.

  Hmm, I thought. “I am not done with you yet” could mean he was planning on making me scream again later, or “Oh God, what have I done? We need to talk.” Either way, I could not wait until I saw him again.

  I walked upstairs and laid out my clothes. It was going to be a long day of ordering people around and selecting contractors for the fashion show. I also had to find furniture and staff for the store, which was supposed to open in four weeks, and Tayla was nowhere to be found. When I did find her, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with her. I got dressed, grabbed a muffin off the counter and ran out the door to where the black SUV was waiting for me. Ethan opened the door for me and there, in all her smiling glory, was Tayla.

  “Good Morning, darling! Sleep well?” she questioned, moving her eyebrows up and down.

  “Fuck you! You’re lucky I’m even speaking to you,” I snapped. I was mad at my friend, but I kind of wanted to hug her at the same time. I kept my gaze focused toward the window as we drove to the Design Center. Tayla had arranged for several contractors to come in to discuss various services we needed for the show. She also told me that a representative from Zaine’s company was going to meet with me so I could give him a run-down on the lighting and visual effects I wanted on the screens during the show.

  I was making notes on a conversation I’d had with a contractor when a tall, sandy-brown-haired guy with blue eyes walked over to me and smiled. “Are you Landrey Steele?”

  “Yes, that’s me.” I stood up.

  “I’m Aaron Brooks, Zaine’s brother. I’m here to work out the lighting with you.” I’d known that Zaine had two brothers, and that he was the middle child. From what I could tell Aaron was the older brother. He looked me up and down, not missing one inch of my body, and smiled. I heard a muffled “God damn!” but I pretended I didn’t hear what he said.

  “Excuse me, did you say something?”

  Not embarrassed at all, he replied, “Well, let me say this. You are one fine looking woman!” I stopped dead in my tracks, looked at him, and rolled my eyes.

  “Um, thanks, I guess,” I said sarcastically.

  “I mean, Zaine told me you were pretty, but not fucking Victoria’s Secret fashion model pretty!”

  I took a deep breath and said matter-of-factly, “I’m flattered that you think I’m pretty, but we really need to get to work.”

  “Ooh, and you’re feisty too. I like that,” he said.

  “Look if you don’t stop, I’ll call your brother and have him send someone else down here, okay?” My voice conveyed my annoyance with him.

  “Look, I mean no disrespect, but for years all I heard was Landrey this, Landrey that. I never knew how to picture you, that’s all,” he said. “You shocked me.”

  “Okay… well now that you’re shocked, I’m going to introduce you to my assistant Tayla. She should be over by the stage.”

  We walked over to where Tayla was laying out pictures of the models that were coming to be screened for the show. She turned around, and scowled in disgust when she saw Aaron.

  “You!” she said scornfully. I thought at first that she was talking to me, but when I looked over at Aaron he had a big cheesy grin on his face.

  “What’s up doll” he said.

  “Um, you two know each other?” I asked, totally confused.

  “Oh yeah, we know each other,” Aaron said suggestively. Tayla was in full-fledged pissed off mode.

  I held
my hands up in the air to signal them both to calm down. “Okay, so I know there’s something that happened here, but I really don’t want to hear about it right now. Can we please get shit straight for this show?”

  “I’m all ears,” Aaron said, and finally settled down to look at the ideas I had. What I wanted was complicated, but I thought It would look amazing. Aaron assured me that they could deliver on my ideas, and was getting ready to leave when I heard his cell phone ring in his pocket. He answered it in front of me, so I could hear his whole conversation.

  “Yeah, she’s right here, dude. She is fucking hot.” Aaron was a piece of work. I hoped he would do a good job or I would have to kick his ass. I reminded myself to ask Tayla how she knew him, but put that off until later. Aaron hang up and turned to me, and the look on his face was interesting to say the least.

  ”Hey. My brother would like for you to come to the office so he can see your plans. He wants to see if he can add anything to what I’ve already done. He has the layout of the building here, so he might have some good suggestions.”

  ”Okay,” I said, my heart pounding as I thought about seeing Zaine again. “I could meet him there in an hour, if that’s okay? I have a few more things to finish up here.”

  “Sure thing, hot stuff. I’ll tell him.” As he walked away I thought, that man is something else—but he sure is good-looking.

  I arrived at Brooks Images an hour later with butterflies in my stomach. I didn’t know what last night meant to Zaine, but it was scary for me. Just because we’d had hot monkey sex doesn’t mean we were okay. We didn’t really talk about the past, but if that could be put aside it was all right with me. I already knew I’d messed up and I did not want to hear it anymore.