Page 1 of Mr. Right Now
PROLOGUE
“You know all we can ever share is right now,” Dante Powell said to the half-naked woman standing in his hotel room.
A sultry smile curved her lips. She unhooked her bra and let it drop to the floor, then slowly slid the tiny matching purple panties down and off her long, toned legs.
She sauntered over to where he still stood leaning against the door, transfixed by her smooth cocoa skin. His gaze made a slow tour down her body—full breasts and a narrow waist that flared out to generous hips. A jolt of lust went straight to his groin and he felt his erection getting harder by the second.
Sliding her palms up his chest, she wound her arms around his neck. “Okay, Mr. Right Now, let me see what you’ve got. We don’t have a lot of time.”
In the blink of an eye, Dante’s clothes hit the floor. Yes, their time was short, as she had a connecting flight later, but for some reason, he didn’t want to rush. He wanted to take his time touching and kissing every part of her curvy body. Pushing the thought aside, he reached for his discarded pants, retrieved a condom and rolled it on. “Then we’d better get started. Right here.” He lifted her in his arms, turned and placed her against the nearest wall.
She wrapped her legs around his waist. “Mmm, I like the way you think.”
Their eyes connected and he felt a spark of…something. Instead of dwelling on it, he captured her mouth in a hungry kiss. She moaned, fueling his desire even more. Her head fell back and he trailed kisses along her jaw, exposed neck and back up to reclaim her lips. Dante gently sucked on her tongue while slowly gyrating his lower body to the same rhythm. He reached between them, circled her clit with the pad of his thumb, and slid first, one finger, then a second one inside her.
She shuddered. “Oh, yes. Right there.”
He dipped his head and latched onto an erect nipple. She cried out. He sucked and licked until her body trembled, then lavished the same sweet torture on the other one. Dante felt the tiny contractions and knew she was close, but he wanted to be inside her when she came and withdrew his fingers. She whimpered. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ve got you.” He eased his shaft inside her until he was embedded deep within. His eyes closed and he didn’t move for several seconds, relishing in her tightness surrounding him. He began moving, plunging deep and retreating in a slow, erotic cadence that sent heat spiraling through him. She moaned and arched her back. He kept up the pace, each stroke going deeper and deeper. Dante planted his feet and increased his movements.
“Don’t stop,” she panted.
“I don’t plan to, not until we’re both satisfied,” he murmured, moving faster. He grabbed her hips and guided her to move faster. Her hands dug into his shoulders and her inner muscles clenched him tight. Dante could feel himself teetering on the brink of his control, but he wasn’t ready for it to end. His body trembled slightly and he closed his eyes as the sensations intensified. “Damn, girl,” he said, pulling her into a passionate kiss.
Abruptly, she broke off the kiss and let out a scream as she climaxed all around him. He tightened his hold on her hips, drove into her faster and moments later, he went rigid, threw his head back and exploded. Dante let out a low groan as his eyes slammed shut.
She rested her head on his shoulder, their breathing ragged. “This was the best layover I’ve ever had.”
Dante chuckled softly, aftershocks still wracking his body. The touch of her hand on his face made him open his eyes. She kissed him with a sweetness that went straight to his soul, shocking him in the process. For a brief moment, he fantasized about them getting together again. Then he remembered what happened the last time he let a woman get close to him and dismissed the notion. One night. That’s all they could ever share. That’s all he'd ever want from a woman.
CHAPTER1
“Are you ready for the summer rush?”
Dante glanced up from signing the papers on his desk and nodded at his best friend and business partner, Ryan Hendricks. “Enrollment is up by about twenty-five percent from last year.” The original Impressions youth center, run by another friend, Bryson Montgomery, had prompted Dante to open Impressions 2 Community Center three years ago. They’d met when his tech company donated laptops. Later, he volunteered and enjoyed it so much that he wanted to do the same, providing more children with a safe place to learn and grow. The after-school and preschool programs ran year-round, and they opened full-time in the summer.
“Then it’s a good thing we hired those two new teacher assistants.” Ryan leaned back in the chair and crossed an ankle over his knee. “That reminds me, the new counselor starts today. Man, she isfine,” he added with a grin.
“The only thing we need to be worried about is her doing her job.” They’d had to fire the previous one after some of the students complained about the woman’s lack of empathy. The last straw came when the woman told a student with body image issues to start hanging around people closer to her level of physical attractiveness or make some uglier friends. Dante had fired her on the spot, but it had taken more than three weeks to get the teen back on track. He just hoped the new person had more compassion. Ryan mentioned her being closer to their age—in her mid-thirties—so he’d keep his fingers crossed things would work out. “I’ll meet with her after the staff meeting.”
“Then you can see up close that she’s exactly your type.”
“What is it with you? You’ve been trying to hook me up with one woman after another for the past couple of months. I don’t want to be hooked up. I like my life the way it is. Besides, running the center and the tech company doesn’t leave much time for anything else.” Along with the youth center, Dante served as CEO of the tech company his father started. Thinking of his father made his chest tighten. It had been four years since his father’s death and the pain of losing his hero felt as sharp now as it did then. Forcing the emotions aside, he turned toward his computer and opened his emails.
Ryan stood, stretched and headed for the door. “You aren’t getting any younger and it’s time to let go of the past. And before you start spouting the same bullshit about you have, let me remind you that over the past four years, whenever you’ve taken a woman out, it’s one date and done.” He paused. “Ifyou bother to take one out at all. You can lie to yourself, but I’ve known you for thirty-two of your thirty-seven years, my brother, and what you’re doing isn’t healthy. Maybe you need to be the first one to make an appointment with the new counselor. See you in the conference room for the meeting.” Ryan walked out.
Dante dragged a hand down his face. He had no desire to be in an exclusive relationship. He’d tried that once, had even proposed, but in the end, her betrayal had taken something from him that he couldn’t get back.Never again.Straightening in his chair, he went back to his emails.
“Morning, big brother. You’re holding up the meeting again.”
His head came up sharply. “Hey, Erika. What did you say?”
Erika pointed to the clock on the wall. “The staff meeting. Everybody’s waiting for you.” She frowned. “Are you okay? You’ve been really distracted for the past month or so.”
“I’m fine,” he answered, pushing to his feet. He’d lost track of time answering emails pertaining to both the center and the tech company. He grabbed the folder containing the meeting agenda, a notepad and pen and headed for the door.
Erika folded her arms and blocked his path. “Something’s going on with you, Dante. Ryan noticed it, too. It started right after you came back from that trip to Dallas.” She narrowed her eyes. “Did something happen with the new tech deal?”
Dante sighed. Times like these almost made him regret bringing his best friend and little sister on board. Ryan was bad enough, but Erika—six years his junior—acted as if she had as much right to his personal business as he did. Yeah, something happened. A lot happened, but none of it had to do with the company or the new deal he’d been working to finalize. “Everything with the deal is progressing and there’s nothing going on,” he said instead. He lifted a brow and gestured toward the door. “Do you mind? We don’t want to keep everyone waiting.”
