When Xavier swung open the door, his cell phone was still pressed against his ear, but his forward thought was instantly filched. His gaze poured over Corinne’s comfortable look, and although it was a simple summer dress, her four-inch heels and the way the fabric lay against her body made his dick excruciatingly hard pronto.

“Handle it,” he said into the receiver, ending the call straight away. “Hey,” he said to her.

“Hey,” she responded, unable to hide a blush. “Are you busy, or can I come in?”

Xavier blinked back from his trance and quickly moved to the side. “Of course. No, I’m not busy.”

Corinne stepped inside, giving Xavier a peek at the back of her dress. The thin material hung off her shoulders and covered her back to rest comfortably on the curve of her ass. He cursed inwardly and decided they needed to get out of his room asap.

“Did you need to change?” he asked, grabbing his wallet from the desk.

Corinne twirled around to him, causing her dress to flare on her spin. The rotation was like that of a ballet dancer and It only made Xavier’s manhood grow more rigid.

“You don’t like it?” she asked, almost embarrassed by his question. “I, um, I can change, give me a second.” Corinne turned quickly and rushed to the door, but Xavier met her there as if he’d glided on air.

“No,” he said with a sigh. “There’s nothing wrong with your dress. I apologize.”

They shared a look as Xavier searched for the right words. “You are beautiful, and it’s my own fault that I feel somewhat out of control with you.”

Corinne frowned slightly. “You’re out of control with me?” she said. “I was the one that just jumped you in the hallway a few minutes ago.”

Xavier’s laugh was a grizzly chuckle.

“So I think it’s safe to say that I’m out of control with you,” she added.

“How about,” he slipped his arms around her, “we’re both a little on edge.” Corinne nodded. “I won’t lie to you, Corinne, I’ve never been in this situation before.”

“What situation would that be?”

“In like with someone I barely know.”

“Why do you think that is because honestly, I was just trying to figure it out myself.”

They both chuckled.

“I’m not sure, but I can’t stop myself from wanting to investigate it.”

Corinne shuddered in his arms. She would hate to fall in love with Xavier, and he didn’t return her sentiments. That would be a disaster. The thought made her want to retreat, but her feet never moved.

“What do you think about that?”

Corinne cleared her throat then smiled. “I’d like that, too.”

Xavier exhaled a long breath then his forehead sank into hers. They stared at each other, and the tip of her nose touched the bridge of his. There was a lingering peppermint scent coming from his mouth, and it wrapped around her face and warmed her all over.

“Let’s have dinner here,” she said. “I don’t want to go to a restaurant.”

Xavier closed his eyes and pondered on her request. Being in his room was probably not the best idea since he didn’t know how much of a stance he could continue to take with her sexy ass modeling around in that dress. He needed to put his mind elsewhere and fast.

“We’ll eat on the terrace,” he said. Pulling to a stand, Xavier slipped his hand in hers and drew her along the stretch of the room to the double doors. “Give me just a second,” he said, leaving her to look out of the windows.

Xavier marched across the suite and found the room service menu. As he ordered a light entrée, his gaze drove from her four-inch heels up her chocolate legs. They disappeared underneath the dress right before he was allowed a look at her plush ass. His body blazed, casting a surrendering heat over his skin; he thought to come out of the shirt, but that consideration was quickly abandoned. It would only intensify things between them, and he was trying to keep it civil.

After ordering, he approached her from behind and paused near her rear. Corinne could feel the heat radiating from his body, and it made her want to fall into the comfort of his chest. Xavier reached around her and slid open the door to the terrace.

“Our dinner will be here shortly.”

“Thank you,” she said, taking a step out on to the balcony.

Xavier matched her paces, and together they stood side by side overlooking the city.

“Tell me about your childhood, Corinne. I’ve heard that you were a tomboy, but I can’t imagine you that way.”

Corinne turned to him with her mouth agape.

“Who told you that?”

Xavier chuckled and slipped a finger down her face then pinched her chin. She shivered but stayed on course with her questioning.

“I have my ways of getting the information I need.”

Corinne’s mouth was still open.

“The same way you got the information about what flight I would be on?”

“Well, I had to pull out the big guns for that expedition,” he said.

Corinne laughed and cut her eyes at him to peer. “Well when I was young, yes, I was a tomboy. I liked playing football, getting dirty and climbing trees.” That last statement made Corinne think about climbing Xavier’s tree and just that quickly her mind had shifted to the gutter. Her face flushed with a blush, and she bit down on her lip.

“I’m trying to imagine you playing football,” he said.

She put her hand on her hip. “You don’t think I can?”

Xavier’s gaze drove down to meet the connecting limb to her hip, and when he spoke again his voice had grown deeper.

“What would you wear to play football?” As soon as he finished the question, he wondered why he’d asked.

Corinne smirked. “Either a pair of boy shorts or some elastic tights.”

Xavier’s gaze grew darker. Instead of imagining Corinne as an adolescent with the garment on, he imagined her the way she was now, with all of her thickness stuffed into a pair of elastic tights. To keep his hands to himself, he slipped them inside his pockets and took in a deep breath of fresh air.

“Trust me,” Corinne continued, “I was a force to be reckoned with.” She smirked over at him.

“I don’t doubt it.”

“Besides that, I was what they called back in high school a crossover.” She went on. “I was book smart and popular. Not that popular people couldn’t be smart or vice versa, but in high school, either you were known for your popularity, or you were known for your academics, but never both. But there I was, the prom queen that dated both jocks and nerds, donated to causes I thought were important, and could put the valedictorian out of his misery in a political debate.”

“Impressive,” he said. “What charities did you donate, too, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“When I was fifteen, I started noticing those commercials with the kids that were in other countries. It would say, $38 dollars a month would take care of one kid’s nutrition, health insurance, and shelter. I thought about how normal it was for me to have a roof over my head, meals every day and clothes on my back. That was the moment I realized I had to do something. I started a summer job that year working at the zoo. I was only making a few bucks an hour, but I saved my checks and when I had enough, I started sending in $38 dollars a month. I received packets and information on a child I was funding, and it brought tears to my eyes. I was so happy to the point where I imagined one day I would get to meet her.

“What was her name?”

“Natasha Kaweme,” she said.

“That’s beautiful, and so are you.”

Corinne smiled and dropped her eyes. “It felt good, and I was genuinely happy.”

He heard the edge that her voice created before she ended the sentence. Seeing the change in her energy, Xavier called out to her. “Corinne, look at me.”

Her gaze rose to his. “What happened?” He asked.

Corinne shook her head. “It’s childish, as soon as I think, ah, I’m over it, I think about it again and realize there’s still some pain there.”

Xavier waited for her to go on, keeping her cloaked underneath the drape of his lids.

Corinne shook her head. “It’s childish.”

“I’m not here to judge you. I just want to know you. That includes everything about you. Hurts, pains, fears,” he pulled her close, “challenges, achievements, embarrassing moments.” He pulled her closer and smiled and so did she, then they held a long eye on one another. “What happened?”

Corinne sighed. “My uncle Bennie stopped over one day. You know they say everyone has that family member that offers unsolicited advice?”

“Yeah.”

“That was Uncle Bennie. He came in and saw me looking over letters and pictures the organization had sent and went into a rant about how I was wasting my money. Those kids weren’t being taken care of with the funds I was sending, I was just feeding into a money hungry scheme.”

Corinne braced her hands on his chest and pushed off him, slightly removing herself from his arms. She turned and began a slow stroll across the terrace.

“I immediately felt awful. I wanted to call him a liar, but he was so convincing that it broke my spirit. My mother walked in on his ranting, and she kicked him out but never dispelled his points. I was crushed.” She paused then turned back around to face him. “Like I said before, childish, right?”

Xavier’s face had lost its emotion, and Corinne wondered if she sounded foolish.

“It was childish of your uncle to do that to you, but you can’t help who you’re kin to.”

Corinne nodded. “That is so true.”

“Where was she from?”

“Um… Zambia, I recall.”

“East Africa?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever been there?”

Corinne’s eyes widened, and she blinked like a swiveling Rolodex.

“You’re asking me if I’ve ever been to East Africa?”

“I take that as a no.”

An award-winning smile spread across her face. “No, I haven’t.”

“You seem surprised that I asked. You do have the ability to travel pretty much anywhere with your occupation.”

“Yeah, but I’m usually in the same places on rotation. Do you know how incredibly excited I would be to go to Africa?”

Her expression was bright, and the excitement shown tugged at Xavier’s heart. “We should go then.”

Corinne gawked, thoroughly taken aback. “To East Africa?!”

Xavier chuckled. “You’re beginning to sound like a broken record,” he said.

“I just, I’m just…” There was a knock on the room door.

“You’re just what?”

“Shocked.”

“Why?”

“It’s not a question I would’ve ever considered one would ask.”

“But you’ve never been with one like me, either.” He moved closer to her. “So, what do you say. Let’s go to Africa.”

Chills fled down her skin. Xavier wasn’t playing games. There was a swift knock on the door again.

“I’ll be back,” he said, going to grab their room service.

Corinne watched him disappear into the suite and with a hand, she covered her heart. Her mind tossed, going back and forth about being in Zambia. It would give her so much joy to experience the visit that she almost cried. He wouldn’t play with her about that, would he? No, of course not, and Corinne would never turn down a trip like that, especially with Xavier.