Page 1 of What She Deserves
1
Rashad strolled through the venue, sipping champagne with his date, Natasha, on his arm. As co-owner of a financial services firm, he was representing the company at a silent auction to raise money for the Girls & Boys Club, an organization close to his heart.
“I would kill to get that,” Natasha said, eyeing the painting on the far wall with a spotlight highlighting the canvas.
The framed watercolor was a field of poppies, with a stormy sky in the background.
“Where would you put it?” Rashad asked.
“In the sitting room at the front of the house, where everyone could see it as they entered.”
He could absolutely see her doing that too. Natasha liked to show off, and having a famous artist’s work visible as guests entered her house was exactly what he could envision her doing.
She stifled a yawn. “You still up for a late-night meal before we go back to my place?” she asked.
“I am, but are you? That was a pretty big yawn.”
She giggled. “Don’t worry about me. I can stay up.”
Natasha was a sexy woman. Tall and slender with large, gamine-like eyes and a great mouth whose kisses promised a night of wild sex. She was an attorney, working for one of the biggest law firms in the city and had a huge case load that sometimes meant long days, so he was sympathetic to her plight if she didn’t have the energy to continue the date after they left. That didn’t mean he wasn’t disappointed. This was their second outing, and with the evening going so well, he’d hoped to spend the night at her place and wind those long braids around his fist as he hit it from the back. But because of her yawn, he doubted she had anything left to offer but sleep. And he’d had no intention of sleeping.
“I can stay up too,” Rashad quipped.
She laughed and slapped his arm.
He chuckled, but the laughter died on his lips when he saw outside through one of the windows. Rain poured down in heavy sheets from the night sky.
Natasha followed his gaze. “Oh boy, it’s really coming down out there. Glad we’re in the parking garage and don’t have to make a run for it, though maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Rain can be so cleansing.”
Another reason to like her, she was down to earth. She wasn’t fussy about her appearance, and instead of worrying about her hair, she would have been willing to run into the storm.
“I wouldn’t let you do any such thing. I’d get the car while you stayed behind, nice and dry.”
“Oooh.” She did a little wiggle. “My hero.”
Rashad laughed. Maybe hewasgetting laid tonight.
They continued their leisurely stroll, checking out the available items. He looked at the weekend getaway for two at a luxury resort, which he’d bid on earlier, but two other people had written a higher bid. The trip would be the perfect gift for his assistant for Administrative Professional’s Day, so he added his bidding number below theirs and offered significantly more.
“How much longer do you want to stay here?” he asked.
“Not too much. Matter of fact, I’m ready to go if you are, but I need to dash to the bathroom, and then we can leave. Meet you at the exit?”
“Works for me.” Rashad watched her walk away, her braids swinging from side to side in sync with her confident strides in a simple black dress. He smiled a little to himself as two men turned to watch her pass by.
Walking toward the exit, he wound his way through the well-dressed people in the room. As he sidled past a small group of four, the woman in the group caught his eye. He couldn’t see her face, but the back of her body and the way her shiny black hair spilled past her shoulders gave him pause. A loose-fitting dress in powder-blue flowed over her curves to her ankles and exposed her shoulders with its spaghetti straps.
Then she turned her head to the left, laughing as she gently tapped the arm of the man beside her, and he saw her profile. That’s when his heart ceased to function. The whole world moved in slow motion, and sound receded into the background. He stared in disbelief as she turned her head again so he couldn’t see her face.
Rashad stood there for a moment, frozen as his mind played details of their relationship like a quickly moving slide show. Having her squeeze his arm while hiding her face in his shoulder as they rode the Ferris wheel. A weekend trip to Myrtle Beach where they splashed in the ocean and made love by candlelight each night. Her curled up on the sofa in his hoodie and sweats as they watched TV. The gut-tearing pain of their breakup and the silence in his condo long after she was gone.
“Layla?”
He said her name softly. Too softly. She didn’t hear him over the buzz of conversation in the room.
Drawn to her, he moved closer and tried again, this time louder and in his normal voice. “Layla.”
Her head swung around and so did the head of the man she was with. Her eyes went wide, and her lips parted. She was so damn beautiful that beautiful wasn’t enough of a descriptor to truly express the entirety of her appeal. Gorgeous was a more appropriate word, and she was all woman—with lush breasts, round hips, and a fantastic ass.
