The next morning, Lana awakened in Derek’s bed, seven hundred miles away from her home. Looking around, she had to admit, that Derek’s place was both beautiful and comfortable. She snuggled deeper underneath the fluffy comforter and Egyptian cotton sheets. Damn, her man lived in style.
Lana smiled as a pair of strong arms pulled her closer. She felt the kiss on the back of her neck and arched her back into a hard body. Warm hands rubbed her naked skin and her smile broadened.
“Lana…”
She clenched her thighs and sighed as the sensual kisses moved to her shoulder. Lana reached back to caress his bearded face.
“I could wake up in this bed every day,” she whispered.
“Just the bed?” Derek asked lifting his head.
Lana laughed. “I guess you could be here too.”
“I’m the only one that’ll be here,” he said pointedly.
She turned to face him. “Good morning, Derek.”
He pushed her hair away from her face and kissed her softly. “Good morning, Lana.”
“Is it really morning?” she asked. “It feels like we just went to bed.”
Derek glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “We’ve been here a few hours.”
Lana laid her head on his chest. “Do you have work to do today?”
“It’s Saturday, so the office is closed,” Derek told her, gently stroking her back. “But I’d like to take you somewhere.”
She looked up. “Where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere that I promised.”
Lana looked confused. “Okay, I’ll bite…where is that?”
“You’ll remember once we get there.” He said reaching for his phone. When he switched to the camera, Lana pulled the covers over her face.
“Don’t start that!” she yelled from underneath the sheets.
“Come on baby, you know the drill.”
“No,” Lana protested. “I don’t want to take pictures.”
Derek pulled at the covers. “Just one.”
“You always say that and then it’s a bunch,” she reminded him. “At least let me wash my face.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
She peeked out from the covers. “Really?”
He nodded and she slowly slid from the bed naked. Lana headed towards the bathroom then stopped and looked back at him with the phone in his hand, trained on her.
“Derek!”
He gave her a sexy grin. “I think I like videos even better.”
Her mouth fell open and she covered herself before running into the bathroom. Lana heard his laughter as she moved to the sink. A few minutes later, he joined her in the mirror.
“I can’t believe you!” Lana told him while he snaked a muscled arm around her midsection.
Their eyes met in the mirror and he positioned the camera to catch their reflections. Lana became entranced by the beauty that was them, as she gazed at their naked forms.
“Now this…is perfection,” Derek growled in her ear. “Look at it.”
When their eyes caught again, Lana couldn’t help but smile and Derek snapped the picture. He showed her the finished product and she looked back at him.
“I agree.” Lana touched her lips to his. “This is perfection.”
******
A few hours later, Lana was seated next to Derek in another private car headed to his surprise. He’d told her to dress comfortably, so she’d chosen a casual outfit that was both sexy and practical. Her hair was in her back-up bun, thanks to him.
Derek was typing on his phone as Lana stared out of the tinted window at the passing scenery. “Are we going to see the monuments?” she asked and he turned to her.
“We can do that this week,” he answered.
“Am I going to like this?” Lana asked.
Putting his phone away, he slid an arm around her shoulders. “I hope so.”
Lana frowned. “That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in your decision.”
“Trust me, it’ll be fine.” He looked her over. “You look so pretty.”
She pursed her lips. “Don’t try to sweet talk me.”
He moved closer. “You know you’re pretty.”
“Okay, Derek.” Lana glanced at his attire of jeans and a casual shirt and shoes.
“So pretty, that I dream about this face,” he whispered.
She watched him. “You’re nervous, I can tell. Which isn’t like you…so what’s going on?”
The car stopped and Lana glanced out of the window before doing a double take.
“Derek, why is there an airplane out there?”
He cleared his throat. “It’s a private charter.”
Lana turned. “Where the hell are you taking me?”
The driver opened the door on Derek’s side and he exited. Lana took a deep breath then followed him onto the tarmac.
Derek slid an arm around her waist and gently led her to the waiting plane. Lana glanced back at him as an attendant welcomed her up the stairs. When she was seated, Lana stared out of the window then turned to him.
“Where are we going?” she asked quietly.
“Virginia.”
Her eyes widened. “We could’ve driven to Virginia.”
“I only get you for seven days. I have to make things happen quickly,” Derek told her.
“You’re taking me to your home…” Lana said softly and he nodded.
She smiled. “Why didn’t you just say so?”
Derek leaned closer. “I don’t know if you’ve realized this, but you take a long time to decide things.”
An attendant arrived with glasses of champagne and served them both.
“So this is how you roll?” Lana asked looking around the plane.
He smiled. “I have connects in D.C.”
“I see,”
Derek lifted his glass. “Drink up baby, you might need to be a little tipsy to take in my Momma.”
Lana laughed. “I thought you don’t like me tipsy.”
Leaning in, he kissed her. “That’s when I’m having my buffet.”
Touching her glass to his, Lana took a sip of the cool liquid and let it slide down her throat. The plane took off a short time later and Derek took her hand.
“You look so pretty,” he told her again.
“You told me that in the car,”
He lifted a brow. “I know and you didn’t respond.”
Lana chuckled. “Thank you Derek. If I’d known I was going to meet your mother, I would’ve tried to look even prettier.”
“That’s why I didn’t tell you,”
“What?”
“Momma knows the real.” He looked her over. “You look perfect.”
Lana shook her head. “Oh, I don’t look like the woman who flew in to wake up in your bed?”
“You look like the woman I fell in love with,” he told her.
“You know you can talk that talk.”
He tasted her lips. “We’re not staying overnight although my mother will try to encourage you to do so,” he told Lana.
Giving him a sexy look, she asked, “Is there a reason we’re not staying overnight.”
“Yes, we didn’t bring luggage and you’re spending every night you’re here, in my bed,” he confirmed.
Lana kissed his cheek. “I have no complaints about that.”
Derek and Lana spent the rest of the short flight in each other’s arms. They landed and he led her to the door. Together they walked down the stairs, hand in hand, until they reached the ground.
“Baby Boy!” Derek heard the voice and threw his head back.
“What the hell is she doing here?” he muttered under his breath.
Lana turned to the woman that approached them and knew instantly this was Derek’s sister. She walked up to Lana with her arms open and hugged her tightly.
“You’re so pretty!” she exclaimed.
Lana returned her hug and laughed softly. “Thank you, so are you. I’m Lana.”
“I’m Dina, Baby Boy’s oldest sister.”
Derek frowned. “Don’t call me that.”
Lana laughed and Dina hugged her brother. “I’m sorry…I’m messing up your game?”
“How did you know I was here?” Derek asked suspiciously.
“Derek, you had Gina confirm the plane for two passengers.”
He shook his head. “I swear I’m firing her.”
“No, you’re not.” Dina told him. “Now, come on, Momma’s cooking up a storm.”
Derek turned to Lana and placed a hand on her back to lead her to the waiting car. Dina looked around as they walked away.
“Hey, where’s your luggage?”
Derek kept walking. “Not staying.”
“Momma isn’t going to like that!” she yelled to him.
“Oh well,”
Dina laughed. “Ooohhh, Baby Boy’s not playing.”
On the drive to Ms. Wells’ home, Lana watched the siblings interact. Derek had insisted on driving and Dina had finally given in.
“You know I drove here,” Dina said getting in the back seat.
“Well, I’m driving now,” Derek told her, closing her door. “You’re not about to chauffeur me around.” He then held the passenger side door open for Lana and helped her inside.
While he walked around the car, Dina leaned forward. “I love messing with him, but that’s my heart.”
Derek climbed inside the driver’s seat and started the car. He looked back at Dina. “Can you sit back and put a seatbelt on?”
“Can you just drive the car?” Dina questioned.
Shaking his head, Derek took off.
“Welcome home,” Dina told him.
“Thanks, you too. I didn’t know you’d be here,” Derek said glancing at Lana.
“Oh, I wasn’t going to miss this.” Dina said happily. “And I was already in town.”
Derek glanced back at her. “For what?”
“Giving a lecture at Hampton on our Constitutional crisis.”
He smiled proudly. “That’s my sister.”
Lana looked back at Dina. “That’s wonderful.”
“Thank you,” Dina replied. “But Derek is the star.”
“Don’t start Dina,” he moaned.
Lana smiled at Dina. “I know, he’s so impressive,” she told his sister.
“Et tu Lana?”
Dina laughed. “You just concentrate on driving. Let us womenfolk talk.”
Lana and Dina talked and joked all the way to their destination. When they arrived, Dina jumped out of the car and rushed inside and Derek watched her while he went to open the door for Lana.
“So this is about to be a circus,” he told her as she stood in front of him.
“I like the circus.”
Derek kissed her solidly. “I’m going to remind you of that.”
Lana wiped her lip gloss from his lips with a thumb. “I know.”
Smiling, he led her inside his mother’s home where the aroma of delicious food assaulted her nostrils. Derek walked her through the home into the kitchen, where Dina stood next to her mother with a smile.
“I told you he was bringing her, Momma,” Dina whispered.
Derek glared at his sister as his mother walked over to where he stood with Lana. He switched to a smile and introduced Lana.
“Momma, this is…”
“I know who this is. I told you to bring her here,” his mother cut him off. “You’d better not had brought anybody else.”
Lana smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Ms. Wells.”
His mother touched Lana’s face gently. “So chocolate, so pretty.”
Derek rubbed his eyebrow. “Hey Momma.”
Ms. Wells hugged Lana tightly, just like her daughter had. “Welcome home, baby.”
“Thank you,” Lana said touched.
She then turned to her son and held out her arms to him. “And welcome home to you to, baby.”
Derek hugged his Momma and she rocked him from side to side. He kissed her cheek and took her hand.
“You look good, Momma.” He looked around. “There’d better not be an old man sniffing around here.”
She fanned a hand at him. “Boy, be quiet.” Ms. Wells smiled. “You know it’s more than just one.”
He laughed along with Dina and Lana.
Derek showed Lana into his mother’s living room at her orders. Lana walked around seeing pictures of Derek as a boy. She turned to him with a smile.
“You wore glasses?”
He groaned. “Yes, glasses, braces…the whole nerd gamut.”
Turning back to the pictures, she touched one of the frames. “You were still so cute, though.”
“Yeah, okay…”
She looked at the photo with him and four other girls. “You’re the only boy.”
“And the youngest, “he confirmed. “Hence, the Baby Boy tag.”
“I knew you had four siblings, but I didn’t know you had all sisters.”
“It was like having five Mommas,” he told her. “Which is why I was ready to get the hell out of Dodge.”
Lana turned to him. “They clearly love you a lot, according to Dina.”
“My sisters used to kick ass. They’d beat up boys over me.”
She thought about Dina. “I can see that.”
Laughing he joined her at the mantle. “Then I learned how to kick ass all by myself because I got tired of my sisters taking up for me.”
“The whole Wells family was dangerous, huh?” Lana asked.
He nodded. “My sisters aren’t like the sweet Sable sisters.”
“I don’t know…we’ve had a share of scrapes.” Lana confessed.
“Really, with who?”
She shrugged. “Kids in town. We were those black girls that lived in a hotel and didn’t have a Momma.”
Derek turned to her. “They harassed you?”
Lana bit her lip and nodded. “We were teased about our hair, our skin, our home, everything…”
“Daddy eventually got us a tutor and we homeschooled, before we fought all the kids and he killed all the parents. I got so accustomed to being at the Inn, it became my safe place, and the place where I knew that everyone I loved was also safe.”
Derek took her into his arms. “Aww, baby…”
Lana laid her head on his chest and breathed. She’d never voiced how she felt about the Inn to anyone before, but she’d wanted Derek to understand her connection to the place she loved. He lifted her face and saw the tears shimmering in her eyes.
Derek kissed her forehead then looked into her eyes. “I love your hair, and your beautiful brown skin. I’ve even found that B-cups are pretty nice…”
Lana smiled through her tears. “I love you…”
Derek wiped her cheeks and kissed her softly. “You’re going to make me want to start working on Lavender’s vision.”
“A little boy…” Lana whispered.
“I swear his name won’t start with an ‘L’. Y’all got too much of that going on.”
Lana laughed softly. “I can agree to that.”
Dina entered the room. “Did you see Derek in his little glasses?” she asked.
“Yes, I did.” Lana answered. “He was so cute.”
“Yeah, okay…” Dina replied.
Derek frowned at her. “But look at me now,” he told her.
She nodded. “That plastic surgery turned out well.”
Lana looked at Derek and he glared at Dina. “Real funny…don’t hate because I turned out the finest.”
“You all right,” Dina told him. “I mean, I’ve seen better.”
He wrapped his arms around Lana. “All that matters, is what this pretty woman thinks.”
Lana stared up into his handsome face. “Sorry Dina, he wins this one.”
Derek laughed and kissed Lana while Dina smirked. “See, I thought we was going to be cool, Lana.”
“I can’t lie…” Lana protested.
“Yes, you can.” Dina told her. “Wait until you meet the others, we’ll help you with that.”
They all laughed as Ms. Wells joined them. “Okay, you two…scram! I need to sit down with Miss Lana.”
Derek looked concerned as Dina hid a smile.
“Uh, Momma…” he began.
His mother turned to him. “Uh, Momma what?”
He checked his watch.
“That means nothing to me,” his mother told him. “But that is a nice watch.”
Dina grabbed her brother’s arm. “Come on before she pulls out the belt.”
Derek looked at Lana and she gave him a nod of approval. Like a little boy, he frowned and left the room with Dina following.
“Fix your face!” his mother called after him.
The two women took a seat on the sofa and Ms. Wells studied Lana. “I know you have to be more than a pretty face, so tell me about yourself.”
Lana smiled slowly. “I run our family-owned Inn back in Grayling, Michigan. I have a degree in Hospitality. I’ve lived on our land my entire life and I have two sisters and my father.”
“Your Momma?”
Lana looked down. “She died after my youngest sister was born. She had cancer.”
Ms. Wells reached over and touched her hand. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“My sister Lorna is very into natural health. She’s determined to keep all of us healthy and alive. Lorna’s in charge of food and she uses all locally sourced ingredients at the Inn.”
Ms. Wells nodded. “That has to be quite a draw.”
Lana thought about it. “We really don’t harp on that point.”
“In this day, with this healthcare debacle going on, people are looking for healthier alternatives because our insurance may be taken away at some point,” Ms. Wells told her.
“I’ll have to talk to my sister, Lena, when I get back. This may be some great marketing for her and now I even have more ideas.” She smiled at Ms. Wells then reached over and hugged her. “Thank you so much!”
Ms. Wells looked confused. “Okay, I don’t know what I did, but I hope it helps.”
“No wonder your son is so amazing,” Lana told her.
“He is and I’m so proud of him,” Ms. Wells told her. “We try to keep him humble though.”
“I see,” Lana laughed.
Ms. Wells smiled. “Derek is so strong and talented. What’s he’s done, at his age, a black man in politics… is remarkable.” She glanced out of her window. “All these little boys that used to tease him for being smart, look at him now like a King.”
Turning back to Lana, she continued, “He never succumbed to the pressure and has always had his own mind. Derek is needed to do the job he does, and I hope you will let him do it,” Ms. Wells finished.
Lana looked at the woman who’d raised the man she loved. “To be honest, Ms. Wells, until I got here yesterday, I didn’t even realize how important Derek is. He never portrayed himself as someone on his level. He went fishing with my Daddy and helped me clean up spills at the Inn.”
“Derek was raised. He may not have had a father in the home, but he was taught.”
Lana smiled. “He says he had five mothers.”
Ms. Wells laughed. “Yes, he did and he’s our prize.”
“Don’t you miss him, living in another place and traveling all around?” Lana asked.
“I have to let him be the man he was designed to be,” Ms. Wells answered. “He always knows where home is.”