Chapter Nine
“I never asked you, what do you do for a living now that you no longer fight?”
“I took over my father’s company, Rose Bank and Trust Credit Union. I was appointed the CEO and Chairman.”
“So, you took over the company before you retired from boxing?”
He dipped his head in agreement.
“Is that the reason you put up your gloves?”
“No,” was all he said. He turned the focus back to her, no doubt wanting to change the subject.
“It seems we have something in common, Samiyah.”
“Which is?”
“Finances.”
This time it was Samiyah who agreed with a nod, “This is true,” she agreed. “I think we have more in common than finances. When we first met I heard you speak in French. Are you familiar with the language?”
Jonas noticed the empty glass that sat in front of her. He took the opportunity to change his tongue. In French he spoke.
“Would you like more wine, sweetheart?”
Delighted, Samiyah responded in the Indo-European language, “sûr.”
“Excuse me,” he said catching a server who was passing the table. Jonas was given immediate attention. “My lovely companion would like another glass of your Pinot Grigio, and I’ll have a glass of scotch.”
The server left hastily to make their drinks.
“How did you know I was drinking Pinot Grigio?”
“Because I watch your lips move every chance I get, and I saw you place your order.”
Samiyah inhaled a sudden breath; her tongue tracing her lips like they had a mind of their own. Sure enough, Jonas watched the tantalizing dance; his eyes now smoldering.
“I’m fluent in Italiano, Español, Français, and English. My father constantly spoke to us about learning other dialects. ‘If you expect to travel the world one day, son, then you better know how to speak the language,’ he’d say.” Jonas smiled as he reflected.
“So, we all took classes in grade school, and by the time we were in high school, those languages were just as fluent as English. With that being said my favorite of them all without a doubt is Français mi amour. It is by definition the language of love.”
Samiyah wondered if she was literally melting right in front of him. Her insides were molten, and she could swear she smelled smoke. He licked his lips. “So tell me, when did you learn the lover’s language?”
Samiyah was trying to hold it together. The last thing she wanted was to let him know how much he flustered her. “Much like yourself I learned in school, except my aunt was big on traveling, and whenever she’d come around, she spoke to us in a foreign language. If I talked to her in English, she’d ignore me until I spoke in French. It used to annoy me as a child, but I’m thankful for it now. I can’t say that I’m fluent in anything else, but I’m sure you wouldn’t mind giving me a few lessons.” The fire that burned in his eyes officially engulfed her.
“I most certainly don’t mind at all.”
Needing to calm her raging hormones, Samiyah asked, “Did you travel alone or did you come with someone?” She realized that line of questioning wasn’t ideal if she wanted to escape their flirtatious repartee.
Jonas drew her in with a charming smile. “I traveled with my brother Jaden. My employees came at their leisure.”
“You have six brother’s, right?”
“Yes, Jaden Jordan, Jonathon, Julian, Jacob and Josiah.”
“The Rose Clan,” she crooned.
A deep-set rumble of laughter left him. “That’s what they call us.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, why does each of your names begin with J?”
“My father and mother had a rule. If they had boy’s my pop would name us, if they had girls, my mom would. Our mother was the apple of my father’s eye; he wanted to pay tribute to her by naming us all a name that starts with a J since her name is Janet. My mother did things a bit differently, whereas my three sisters hold my fathers middle and last name only. I used to watch my parents interact with each other and could tell their love was immeasurable.”
The server appeared with their drinks.
“That’s very sweet,” Samiyah offered. “I didn’t know you had sister’s, too.” She took a much-needed sip of her wine.
“Yes, three sisters, triplets, Eden, Phoebe, and Jasmine Alexandria Rose.”
“Wow, that’s a big family.”
“You don’t know the half of it. We’re a true clan, hence the nickname.”
“Your mother is a very lucky woman to have a man that loves her unconditionally.
“Yes, she was the love of his life.”
Samiyah noticed the past tense and wanted to pry more but could feel the discomfort coming from him. Jonas reached for his glass and took a sip of his scotch.
“It’s a shame real love doesn’t exist like that anymore.” Samiyah said.
With the conversation shifted to a lighter topic, Jonas’ hazel eyes seemed to spark.
“Tell me,” he said, “What happened?”
Samiyah knew exactly what he was asking. “Do you really want to know?”
“I do.”
“David and I were high school sweethearts. In any competition we would win as a couple and were always voted most likely to succeed.” Cruel laughter left her. “What a joke that was. We were young and in love. That’s what I thought, anyway. He told me he didn’t want to live without me and I believed him. We got married when I was twenty-three.
We couldn’t afford the dream wedding I wanted, so we went to the courthouse. And we didn’t get much of a honeymoon, more like a one night stay at the Holiday Inn. I didn’t let that faze me; I was just happy and excited. I thought, we would be, most likely to succeed. But then not long after, he became distant and rude. I couldn’t figure out where his attitude was coming from. I self-checked myself daily to make sure I wasn’t fueling his anger, but it continued to happen.
Five years into our marriage I found out he was cheating. He was taking a shower and I’d decided to come home on my lunch break. His phone was on the counter, and it buzzed. I answered it without a second thought, and she asked to speak to him. I didn’t automatically assume the woman was his lover until I told her he was showering and requested she leave a message.”
Samiyah chuckled, “She called herself his fiancé.” Samiyah shook her head. “I was so taken back by it that I checked out for a full sixty seconds. As you can imagine everything went downhill from there; I wasn’t what he wanted. When it came to light, he didn’t deny it. He never gave a reason why I wasn’t enough for him or what changed. He just tossed me to the curb like trash.”
Samiyah took another sip of her wine.
Jonas reached across the table, covering her hand with his. “I’m sorry. You know what they say,” Jonas said.
“I’m afraid I don’t.”
He kept his focus on her eyes. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
A nervous laugh chorused from her. “I don’t know if I’ll ever find out.”
“And why is that?”
“I’m not putting myself on the market. I have no desire to go through the emotional stress of wondering, worrying, or hoping I’m doing everything I need to, to keep a man.” Samiyah shrugged. “It’s not worth it.”
“Don’t be so sure. I hope I didn’t ruin your mood, but I need you to know David’s a fool.”
She blushed. “Don’t I know it.” They chuckled softly.
The server arrived with their food, steam rising from the plate. He produced two glasses of water with lemon.
“Enjoy,” he sang, disappearing just as quickly as he came.
Jonas left his seat and occupied the seat next to Samiyah. His sudden closeness caused her nerve endings to stand on edge.
“Shall we pray?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Jesus wept, Amen.”
A burst of laughter drifted into the atmosphere. “Really?” she chorused, “That’s all you got?”
“Don’t judge me.”
They laughed some more as he unfolded the cloth napkin that held the silverware wrapped tightly in an elegant display. He dug into the pasta twisting the fork holding one hand under the silver utensil as he fed her with the other. Her mouth opened and closed slowly around the fork sending a thrill of pleasure through him.
There was no way they were making it through this meal. Again, Jonas fed Samiyah, his libido losing its mind a little more with each lick of her mouth. Jonas remembered the sweet sauciness of the lips between her thighs and his carnal needs revved with want.
“You have something right here on your face, let me,” he said leaning in to lick her chin up to the corner of her mouth. He captured her lips with his, and their tongues mated doing a dangerous salsa that made Samiyah moan into his mouth. She couldn’t take it anymore, and neither could he. Jonas’ hands explored her waist, back, and neck pulling her so close she was practically in his lap. Their kisses became heavy as they panted and tasted each other’s flavor.
“I need you now.” Samiyah said. “Now, now, now, now, Jonas.”
Her begging was his undoing. He pulled away from her and rose taking her hand in his leading her out of the lounge. Jonas strides brought them to the elevator just as it dinged and opened. A group of ladies filed out, all giving Jonas a sexy glance. With purpose, Jonas stepped aside pulling Samiyah with him. He keyed in a code that would take them straight to the penthouse floor without making any pit stops.
When the doors closed, he turned to Samiyah lifting her by her bottom, her legs wrapping around his waist like it was natural to do so. Samiyah curved her arms around his neck, and Jonas placed her against the mirrored elevator glass wall. They devoured each other with Jonas leading a blaze of hot kisses from Samiyah’s mouth to her neck and breasts. He grabbed the thin layer of material and ripped the dress from her glorified body. Samiyah yelped and salivated at the animalistic determination in his eyes.
Jonas feasted on her smooth skin working his way down her chest. With ease, Jonas lifted her higher as he got on bended knee. Samiyah’s thighs sat on his broad shoulders, and she gasped holding on to his head with her back arched and shoulders propped against the elevator walls. Samiyah moaned when his tongue found the most delicate part of her. The sheer panties were no match for his skilled tongue. As they rose higher, the adrenaline that pumped through them was strong enough to make them run a marathon.
When they finally reached their destination, Samiyah was on the verge of an orgasm. Gently he eased her back down to his sturdy waist, and they kissed as he walked and carried her into his reservation. Jonas continued to the bedroom crawling on top of the king size mattress with her underneath him. Samiyah hurriedly helped him remove his button-down t-shirt revealing a sexy presentation of washboard abs.
He was so perfect and in the blink of an eye, Jonas no longer wore the cargo shorts. With her eyes on him, Samiyah watched him discard his briefs. When he stood, she almost died at his girth. My Lord in heaven. He went to the bedside table and retrieved a condom wrapping his masculinity in front of her. As he crawled back on the bed, Jonas kissed her toes, ankles, and legs. He left a trace of steamy kisses up her thighs and smoothly removed her panties. Samiyah rolled to her belly.
“Will you unbuckle my bra straps, please?”
Her request was met with a naughty smack on her buttocks. She yelped, and her bottom bounced in response to his love tap. He unbuckled her straps, and kissed the round firmness of her backside. Samiyah threw the bra to the floor, and turned her head causing her hair to toss as she stole a look over her shoulder at him. She opened her legs inviting him to her love boat where she hid rocky waves and angry seas.
He met her back with tender warm lips sending a whirlwind of shutters up her spine. Jonas entered her from behind and Samiyah’s mouth parted, opening wide at the immense intrusion. With each breath she took was an inch he gained inside her womanly core. Jonas’ engorged erection was met with a waterfall of love that sealed him tightly like a matching piece of a puzzle. He started off slow and patient with the pace of a musician stroking the cords on a violin.
Jonas placed passionate kisses across Samiyah’s shoulder blade, as he moved in and out, back and forth. Her moans became louder with each time Jonas drove into her. When Samiyah tilted her head sideways, Jonas stole kisses up her neck his tongue danced with her earlobe.
“Aaaaaah…” Samiyah trembled, and Jonas met her lips for an exotic masterful kiss.
One hand slid down her back to grip her waist with such a firm hold that Jonas was sure to leave fingerprints. He pulled her into him, her back arching and her bottom suspended in the air. Her knees trembled, and without warning, Jonas pummeled into her, his pelvis slapping against her ass, bold, heinous and headstrong.
She called his name, “Jonas…” Her voice sang in wrapped passion.
“Yes love, is this what you wanted?”
“Oui…oui…” she panted in French.
Jonas pulled out of her, flipping Samiyah over in one smooth motion to enter her from the front. On his way down to her breasts, Jonas stretched Samiyah’s legs back as they came to rest on his shoulder blades. With his mouth to her breasts, he engulfed a nipple, sucking and teasing her brown areola, one after the other. Samiyah’s head fell back, and she cried out to Jesus. His tongue lashed out, circling her heated skin as he penetrated her with monstrous strokes.
The room filled with their songs of praise as they both edged to the brink of their peak. Jonas’ palms sank into Samiyah’s skin tracing a path up her neck. He held on with a firm grip sinking sharp teeth into her flesh.
“Jonas!”
Her floodgates opened as Jonas rocked into her with supersonic speed. They made love for the better part of an hour, switching positions, going from the bed to the floor and back again. When Samiyah reached her breaking point, her shouts were garbled when Jonas sunk another powerful bite into her neck. With her body going into spasms, Jonas cupped her butt, lifting her closer to him as he drilled into her like a mine worker.
He whispered in her ear soft and slow, “You’re all mine now, come with me, baby.”
And she did. God help her soul. The orgasm was so fierce her entire body tingled with the sensitivity of a hot furnace. Right with her, Jonas release was just as powerful, and he grunted and groaned through the beautiful exoneration. He rolled them to the side, and they panted trying to catch their breaths. Samiyah looked over at him with awe. Where had he been all twenty-eight years of her life? She didn’t have time to think about it before she drifted off into a restful sleep. Jonas watched her chest rise and fall in a quiet slumber. Samiyah was all he was missing and more. There was still much to learn about her, and he was ready to explore the debts of Samiyah Manhattan.