Chapter 18

It was so funny to hear her say that when he had been to real estate mogul Donald Trump’s opulent Florida mansion a few months ago, but he held back that information. K.C. wasn't sure she was ready for the fact that he personally knew the other man.

“Gabrielle you are beautiful and you’ll soon learn that Jarrod doesn’t stand on ceremony even if he is related to the Queen of England.” he said reassuringly and saw her eyes grow even larger.

K.C. decided it was time to distract her and do something he had been dying to do since last night by putting  that pretty mouth to use.

He leaned closer to place his lips against hers for a sweet kiss that made her moan into his mouth. She shivered from the touch of his lips against hers and K.C. fought hard not to introduce a little tongue. He kept enough of his senses to know that sitting in front of his friend’s house tongue kissing Gabrielle was not a good idea. 

K.C. drew back to see her eyes slowly open and despite his best intentions the pull was too strong for either one of them to ignore. He put placed his index finger under her chin and drew her willing body towards his to lick the seam of her lips which opened slowly beneath his.

Her hands came up slowly feeling the solidity of his broad chest and K.C. slid a hand into the thick hair at her nape to deepen the kiss. He felt the warmth of her hands through the fabric of his shirt but she was pressing against his chest and he drew back regretfully.

The petrified look in her eyes was replaced by a heavy lidded sensual expression as she licked her lips and K.C. would have given anything to be able to take her somewhere more private and indulge their senses in each other.

“I’m okay there’s no need to kiss me senseless K.C.” She said huskily.

Her heart still pounding and her lips tingling from the kisses as she looked at his sexy mouth with a regretful sigh.  God he smelled so good that citrusy, marine scent mixed with his own body chemistry sent her pulses tripping and her nipples were puckered against the material of her bra.

“Are you sure about that Gabrielle, I would hate to know that I didn’t do a thorough job of curing you of mansionitis.” He told her with a quirk to his sexy lips.

“I’m sure you’ve cured me Dr. Whitfield and you should know that pink lip gloss is your color but maybe not for this venue.” She teased with a flirty smile, and reached across the console to wipe off his lips with a napkin he took out of the glove box.  

Rielle looked around seeing the trimmed stand of ficus trees several yards away from the parking area on the left that backed a hedge of salmon colored bougainvillea, a vibrant pop of color against all of the greenery.

By the time K.C. had come around to help her out of the vehicle the solar lights were coming on as the sun was beginning to set. Rielle who had grabbed her bag and jacket and almost dropped them when she felt the tingle go up her arm as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

She looked up at him for a moment and pulled her gaze from his to take in the rest of the landscaping a smile on her face. Palm trees were scattered throughout the front of the property along with sago palms and fragrant Carissa holly shrubs contrasted with the rich brown mulch were strategically placed in front of the house.

They walked back to the flower draped portico with white columns and up a trio of steps that led to a massive set of carved mahogany double being guarded by sitting white plaster lions.  

A smiling Jarrod wearing a brown polo shirt and plaid short pants with bare feet opened the door and Rielle could see that the grand house suited his tall physique.

“Welcome to my sanctuary.” He said standing aside so that they could enter and he noticed the hand holding with a quirked eyebrow but only K.C realized.

Gabrielle was too busy taking in the spacious foyer with white colored walls with Italian limestone flooring. A large orange hand-blown glass bowl sat atop a round African mahogany table centered beneath a beautiful multicolored chandelier also made of glass in the high white beamed coffered ceiling. The flowing style of the glass reminded her of the beautiful work of master artist Dale Chihuly.

Jarrod smiled at her wide eyed look used to people’s reaction to the entrance of his house because sometimes when he was away on an extended trip and came back to the island even he forgot how beautiful his home was. 

There was a pale aqua painted niche filled with delicate white and purple phalaenopsis orchids in black ceramic pots to her right. Straight ahead was a long window lined corridor that led to what looked like a sitting room and beyond that the blue Caribbean Sea.   

He closed the door behind them and she could hear male and female voices and the smooth dulcet tones of Jon Lucien playing in the background.

“Thank you for inviting me to your stunning home, Mr. Stewart.” Rielle said politely looking up into his lean face and saw their host’s dark blue eyes roll.  

He had this bad boy rocker attitude about him that was kind of sexy but after being around K.C. for the past few hours even his tanned good looks and long swimmer’s build barely fazed her.

“I see K.C. hasn’t rubbed off on you yet little girl. I will only answer to Jarrod from your sweet lips. I don’t stand on formality and you forget we met a few years ago so we ain’t exactly strangers darlin.” He said going from a property British accent to a Texas drawl seamlessly, his voice deep.

“Wow you’ve got skills. You are definitely on the wrong side of the camera.” she said unthinkingly after blinking in surprise.

Camille, pretty in a long pale yellow bandeau topped dress, center parted hair straight down her back ala Cher with large mother of pearl earrings in her ears and wedge heels and Georgie who was wearing a short red tunic style dress with gold thread at the neckline and hem, an armful of gold bangles and gold gladiator sandals came from a room on the left and heard her.

They all started laughing along with Jarrod, and K.C. smiled but he noticed that Rielle had dropped his hand when the other two women came out of the kitchen.

He just hoped that she wasn’t one of those females who wanted to sneak around. He had dated all kinds of women of all races and never had one been ashamed to be seen with him. K.C. knew some women didn’t like PDA but he was from a family of touchers and he was no different.  

His father was liable to give him a cuff across the back of his head as soon as hug him and he remembered his father and uncles even his very proper grandfather roughhousing with his siblings and himself on the family room floor when they had their Sunday afternoon dinners when they were children. His mother was very affectionate and as a teenager he could recall her embarrasing him by kissing him goodby at school. 

A frown crossed his face as he realized that he had been living a lie with Tiffani because she had shied away from him, going so far as to shower right after they were intimate. She had made him feel like he was soiling her.

Abstaining for two months prior to the wedding  per her request had been no hardship when she practically ran for the bathroom instead of enjoying some snuggling post coitus like most women preferred. 

The other problem they'd had in the bedroom department had been the frequency of them being intimate which had not been as often as he would have liked. He had been concerned about those issues finding them to be unusual but he had been trying to be a considerate lover and had hoped that Tiffani was just shy with him.

Discovering that she had been cheating on him had explained her behavior but it had been humbling to find out that he was not the great judge of character he thought himself to be. That should have been another sign that he had made the wrong choice when he realized his pride had been hurt and not his heart.

K.C. had seen the loving relationship between his parents from childhood and he wanted that for himself unfortunately he had thought that Tiffani with her impeccable pedigree was the right woman to have that with. She had proved him wrong on that score and he would be damned if he had another relationship like that.