Page 68 of The Sweetest Surrender

Selena’s eyes bulged, and she strolled up to gain a closer look at Jasmine. Jasmine had cut her hair. It was shaved on one side and cropped to the base of her skull. On the other side, her tresses hung long to her shoulder and a golden stripe outlined the spot that was trimmed down.

“I like it,” Selena said.

Jasmine’s eyes widened with euphoric glee. “You do?”

“Yeah, gives you this good girl gone bad kind of look. Only you could pull this off, by the way.”

Jasmine squealed. “When I first had it done, I thought Oh my God, what have I done, but inside I was dancing like this.” Jasmine stood and twirled on her four-inch stilettos then bent over and made her ass clap.

“Heeey!” Selena boasted.

“Give me my child,” Samiyah said, taking Zoey off her hands. Selena handed her over willingly and pretending to toss dollar bills over Jasmine. “We’re making it rain over here!” The girls guffawed.

“Well, there’s the Selena we’ve all grown to love,” Phoebe said. Phoebe turned her head side to side as she scrutinized Jasmine’s new look. “It’s something I’ll have to get used to.”

“Jasmine, you’re so bold and out of control. What am I going to do with you?” Eden asked.

Jasmine stood and pointed at each of them, singing Jennifer Hudson’s Dream Girls classic song, “And you, and you, and you, you’re gonna love meeee!” Her voice rang out in a howl, and the ladies laughed harder.

“Please stick to your day job!” Claudia said.

Jasmine tossed her arm across her stomach and doubled over in laughter. While she was curved over, Jasmine began to move her thighs and make her ass clap again.

“Heeey!” Selena said, getting in on Jasmine’s dance. They all chortled with utter hysteria just as Martha Jean, Samiyah’s mom, entered the room.

“What’s all the cackling about in here? And look who I found outside trying to figure out if he wanted to ring the doorbell.”

The women turned their attention to Martha with jubilation still haunting their faces. When Jasmine glanced up, it was with a flip of her hair as she stood and met Luke Steele’s puncturing gaze. Jasmine’s laugh was caught in her throat, but her eyes grew, reflecting a sensual gaze.

“Luke!” she said, surprised, as the corner of her mouth curved upward. “What are you doing here?”

Luke stepped further into the room. He was easily, 6’4 with the build of a cock-strong thoroughbred. His shoulders were a muscular tattoo that inked across his toned flesh, tapering off into his corded biceps that almost ripped the sweater he wore to shreds. Jasmine wondered if any of the other ladies were soaking their panties as she was currently. This must have been the equivalent of getting hard as hell for men.

“I stopped by to bring Samiyah and the twins this.” Luke held out a box wrapped in blue and pink baby bottle designs.

“How nice of you, Luke,” Samiyah chimed. “You didn’t have to. I know gifts are not your thing.”

Luke smiled softly. “Jonas has been telling too much of my business to you,” he joked then took his gaze over to Jasmine. His eyes combed over her, taking in the new hairstyle, chocolate brown skin, soft eyes, and full lips. He moved closer to her, and the women in his way made room, parting like the Red Sea. Standing just over her, Luke committed each element of her design to memory, making sure to house the details in a safe place.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he said.

Jasmine instantly blushed, and an exuberant smile was forced upon her face.

“Hey,” she said.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get back in time for Valentine’s Day, but I still got you a little something.”

Luke removed a thin silver rectangular box and held it up for Jasmine to take. Jasmine glanced down then back up into his hazel deep eyes, and her mouth popped open. She giggled as a slow simmering warmth poured down her flesh.

“Oh my goodness, what is it?”

“Open it and find out.”

Jasmine covered her mouth with her manicured hand, giddy as a school girl. She reached down, took the box out of Luke’s hand, and opened it quickly. Her eyes shot back up, and a warm glow penetrated Luke’s expression.

“Oh my God, Luke,” she whispered. “This is, this…”

“This what, girl, hold up a minute let me see what’s going on if you don’t mind.”

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