Page 80 of The Cask

His eyes met mine and something was different. He wasn’t just looking at me, he was seeing me. I felt a tidal wave of emotions—and none of them felt comfortable. I squirmed in my chair.

“Who is it?” he whispered.

There was an uptick in my heart rate. “What are you talking about?”

He reached for my hand and my stomach swirled. “Who is it?”

I opened my mouth to deny knowing what he was talking about, but other words came out. “My father.”

The look he gave me was indescribable. I couldn’t tell if he was empathizing with me or if he felt connected to me. But there wasn’t an ounce of pity. He didn’t say a word for at least thirty seconds. Lifting my hand to his lips, he kissed it softly.

His eyes never left me. “How is he?”

“He’s starting to get worse,” I admitted, saying the words aloud for the first time. “He’s still at home, but he’s started randomly speaking in Greek. Just mid-sentence shifts that he doesn’t realize.”

“My mom doesn’t speak any other languages. She just forgets what she’s going to say and who she was going to say it to”—he paused for a while— “and who we are. She just…forgets.”

“I’m sorry,” I told him.

“I’m sorry, too.”

With our hands still intertwined, we silently sipped.

“It seems the Amontillado has gotten rid of my cough,” he pointed out, sitting the glass down on the table. He stared at me, running his thumb over my knuckles. “What’s your biggest regret?”

“I didn’t go to Greece the last time Dad was well enough to go.” I gave a tight smile. “I was working so I missed the last trip. I just expected there would be more trips down the line. I assumed we would go together last year or this year. I…” I let out a shaky breath. “I took it for granted.” I closed my eyes and took a drink to avoid the emotions that were starting to bubble up. I put the glass down. “What’s your biggest regret?”

“You told me before how proud your parents are of you. You work hard. I haven’t known you that long to know that’s who you are. Your parents, your dad knows that’s who you are. You didn’t miss the trip because you were bullshitting. You missed the trip because you were working. You had no way of knowing. Don’t beat yourself up about doing what you know makes him proud.”

The stinging behind my eyes made me blink rapidly. I tried to look away from him, but I couldn’t. The weight of his words and the way he looked at me threatened to overwhelm me. I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “What’s your biggest regret?”

He finished his Amontillado before he answered. “I worked hard to provide for my family. But I left my sister to do everything for Mom. I figured since I was sending money, paying for the best doctors, making sure there was round the clock care, and making sure everything was okay financially, I was doing my part. But she called me last year and told me she couldn’t do it by herself anymore.” He dropped his eyes to our hands. “She said that I got a chance to live my life and left her to deal with our mother and that shit…hurt.” His eyes flicked up to meet mine. Turmoil swirled in them. “So, when I saw they wanted to do a quick sale of the building across the street, I thought it was a sign. By the time I got everything together and relocated down here…” His words trailed off and his eyes drifted to my family crest. He swallowed hard a few times before he made eye contact again. “She’s in late-stage.”

My heart hurt for him. “I’m sorry.” Without thinking, I put the drink down and climbed in his lap. Wrapping my arms around him, I forced his head into my neck as I held him tight. “It may not seem like it, but the money you sent, helped. The doctors helped. The caregivers helped. Everything you financially provided helped and even though it was a lot for your sister to deal with emotionally by herself, she didn’t have to worry about the financial load of caring for a sick parent. You helped, Omari,” I assured him as he squeezed me tighter.

He lifted his head and gazed at me. One hand moved tenderly over my back while the other brushed my cheek. Without a word, his lips crashed into mine and every thought I had evaporated.

The emotionally charged moment turned into an emotionally charged kiss and everything we were feeling coursed through our veins. He kissed me as if he were thanking me for my words, as if he were thanking me for understanding him, as if he were thanking me for not pitying him. And I knew that because that was how I was kissing him. Worshipful, powerful, lustful kisses that held nothing back.

I moaned in his mouth and then pulled away. “I have another regret,” I murmured.

His gaze alternated between my eyes and my lips as if he were torn between the two. “What’s that?”

“I regret that we didn’t get a chance to finish what we started at my condo.”

Crashing his lips into mine, he took my breath away. I’d never been kissed with that much raw passion before and it weakened me. My heart thumped against my chest as I rotated my ass in his lap. My panties were soaking wet and my stomach was in knots. He pushed my sweater off, and I let him. His fingers brushed my bare skin and I moaned again. I’d never wanted someone as much as I wanted him. The moment I felt him hardening under me, I knew there was no turning back.

I ripped my lips away from his and stood. His eyes were wild and confused. He started to stand up, but I shook my head.

“No,” I told him, turning my back to him and pulling the zipper down slowly. “When you were at my place, you let me see you practically naked.” I hooked my thumb at my shoulder and securely wiggled out of my dress. Bending over in front of him in the black G-string I’d changed into after we closed, I waved my ass in his face while I stepped out of the dress. “Now, it’s my turn to return the favor.”

I heard him exhale as my round ass remained on display for him.

“Ebony,” he groaned.

With my thumb still holding firm to the shoulder, I folded the dress and placed it on top of the filing cabinet. Turning around, I watched his eyes as he took me in. In two steps I was standing before him in just a push-up bra and the smallest pair of panties I owned.

Licking his lips, he moved to the edge of the chair and opened his legs even wider. His eyes locked with mine. “You are so beautiful,” he uttered before his fingertips met the skin right behind my knees. “Every fucking inch of you.” His fingers moved up the back of my thighs until he was gripping my ass. “And I’ve been wanting to feel you come on my dick”—he kissed his way from one side of my panty line to the other— “just like you came on my tongue.”

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