Page 43 of What She Deserves
A weekend away made her fantasies return no matter how much she told herself she shouldn’t go down that road. They were still in the probationary period, but her heart wouldn’t listen. She wanted a future with him. Was it possible he was serious and wanted a future with her, as well?
They remained silent until a waitress appeared to discuss the food options and wine pairings. For the moment, Layla put aside thoughts of marriage and babies and focused on the meal. And what a meal it was.
They dined on cornmeal crusted fried oysters and mixed greens with a honey lavender vinaigrette for the salad course. For the entrée, they ate Châteaubriand, Panko-crusted scallops with parsnip purée, and roasted Brussels sprouts and butternut squash with a balsamic glaze. The meal ended with delicious chocolate hazelnut mousse tartlets topped with house made mascarpone whipped cream. The recommended wine pairings for each part of the meal were the perfect match. At the end of the dinner, all Layla could do was close her eyes and sigh contentedly.
“This has got to be one of the best meals I have ever had,” she said.
The dining room was half empty now, with other guests lingering over wine and several huddled together outside on the balcony in the dark.
“I have to agree with you, that was fantastic.” Rashad patted his stomach.
“I had no idea the wineries in Georgia were this good.”
“This particular area has eight different wineries, and they’ve all won awards, including international ones. Lion Mountain has won over 200.”
“The website did mention some of them,” Layla said.
“They’ve been in direct competition with some of the California houses, and won, andWine Enthusiastmagazine listed them among its top ten wineries for weddings.”
“Do we even need to do the tour tomorrow? You seem to know a lot about this place already,” Layla said with a smile. She’d never seen him so enthusiastic about much other than investing, so she was genuinely impressed by his knowledge and obvious excitement. “How did you find out about this place specifically?”
“Alex. He and Sherry have come up here a few times, and they both enjoyed themselves. He told me I should come up here. It’s a nice place for an escape, don’t you think?”
“Absolutely.”
“And…” Rashad dropped his voice. “We’re thinking about buying it.”
Layla gasped. “What?”
Rashad nodded. “You heard me. The owners want to sell because their kids aren’t interested in taking over. I’m actually here to check it out, see if I agree and if we should take the leap, but they don’t know. So…” He took her hand. “I need your help examining the place, if you don’t mind.”
She squeezed his fingers, excited for him but also delighted that he’d included her in the secret. “I’ll take notes. I’ll do whatever you need me to do. Baby, I’m so excited for you.”
“It’s not a done deal yet, but we’ll see.” He shrugged.
The waitress arrived, and he released her and paid for the meal.
As they strolled back to the cabin, Layla clung to him and rested her head against his arm.
Rashad remarked, “I’m glad we walked over. I need to walk off some of that food we ate.”
“Me too,” she admitted.
Layla shivered, and Rashad slipped an arm around her shoulders. “Cold?”
“A little chilly, but not too bad. I’m from D.C., remember?”
“Oh, right. This is like summertime for you.”
They both laughed.
Inside the cabin, they made their way to the bedroom, and Layla went to stand in the bathroom doorway. She turned to face him. “I’m going to take a shower.”
Kicking off his shoes, Rashad looked up. “Need some help?”
“Yes, please,” she said, in a soft, girly voice.
Her heart beat faster as Rashad came closer. He was so masculine and unapologetically male.
He cupped her face and lowered his mouth to hers, nipping gently at her bottom lip and sliding his hands down her waist, over her curves, as if forming her body from clay.
They undressed slowly and stepped into the large shower stall. Layla rubbed the soapy washcloth over his skin, taking extra care to clean the turgid staff that stood upright between them. His groans encouraged her to continue, and when he took her mouth in a hungry kiss, she pressed her hard nipples into his slick skin.
Layla sucked on his lower lip and giggled against his mouth when he groaned and cursed. By the end of the shower, he had lifted her against the marble wall and took her with a rough thrust, pushing her into the hard surface, hands gripping her buttocks as his hard dick tunneled deep into her body.
Later, they stepped out of the shower and dried off and fell into bed. Layla was content, exhausted but satisfied, and looked forward to the day ahead.
