The sound of the doorbell ringing made her glance over at the clock on the microwave. Damn, Brad was thirty minutes early. Leave it to him. Taking off her apron, Alicia tossed it on the island and then smoothed her hands over the dress she kept buried in the back of her closet for a special occasion.
As she made her way to the front door, Alicia blew out a deep breath and shoved the anxiety from her body. How was it possible that being in front of a camera for millions of people never had her heart pounding as fast as it was at this moment? Was opening the door for Brad really this nerve racking?
“Stop it. You can do this,” Alicia mumbled to herself before she opened the door.
A soft gasp escaped her as her eyes landed on Brad. He stood there, stunningly handsome in a dark blue shirt that could almost be mistaken for black. The rich outlines of his shoulders strained against the fabric making her wish she could see him without it. The top two buttons were open revealing a tantalizing glimpse of a muscular chest covered with crisp light brown hair.
She even liked how his usually clean shaven face had a shadow of a beard that gave him an even manlier aura. “Wow, you look nice,” Alicia complimented when she finally stopped staring long enough to speak.
“Baby, you look damn hot!” Brad eyed the strapless black dress she was wearing especially for him, not that he knew that. “I’m glad you invited me over for dinner because I wouldn’t let you leave the house wearing that killer dress.”
“Oh, really.” Alicia moved to the side, waving Brad inside and closing the door behind them. “What’s in the box?” she asked, pointing to the medium sized box in his hands.
“I’ll tell you in a minute.” Brad set the box on the table and came back to her. “But I want to do something with you first.”
“What do you want?” Like she had to ask because she already knew the answer, but she did anyway just in case she was wrong.
Yanking her into his arms, Brad covered her mouth with his slipping his tongue inside. He moved his mouth over hers devouring its softness. His tongue sent shivers of aching desire racing through her. Alicia wrapped her arms around Brad’s shoulders allowing herself to really get lost in the moment. She was shocked at her own eager response to Brad’s firm lips.
Slowly, he pulled his mouth away to nibble at her earlobe. “Do you know how good you taste? I could make a meal out of that perfect mouth of yours.”
Alicia’s fingers played with the hair at the back of Brad’s nape as she breathed in his cologne. “You taste pretty good yourself, Mr. Drace,” she teased before stepping back. “But if I don’t check on the food in the kitchen we won’t have anything to eat.”
Brad tapped her on the ass as she moved past him. “God, what smells so good?” he asked following her into the kitchen carrying the box.
“I’m treating you to my specialty,” Alicia answered taking the lid off the skillet, she watched as the stream escaped. “It’s chicken with coconut curry.” She tested a piece of the chicken with her fork before replacing the lid, turning off the burner and setting the pan to the side of the stove.
“Are you going to tell me what’s in the box?” She was dying to see what Brad brought with him.
“How about you come and take a look for yourself?” Placing the dessert box on the table, Brad waved at it and then took a step to the side.
Walking over to the dessert, Alicia took a peek at Brad who winked at her. She flipped it open and found a perfectly made chess pie inside. God, she couldn’t remember the last time she had a deliciously sweet slice of chess pie. Her grandmother used to make them every Christmas when she was a little girl and her grandmother passed away ten years ago.
Brad didn’t have a clue what wonderful memories had rushed back to her causing her to blink back sudden tears. She had loved her grandmother so much and it killed her when she had passed away from pancreatic cancer when she was only seventy-six years old. Alicia truly believed a part of her died that day too.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Brad asked, touching her on the shoulder. “Why are you crying over chess pie?”
Closing the box, Alicia glanced up at Brad and the concern on his face touched her. Damn, Brad’s good guy image seemed like the real thing. Alicia brushed a tear away from her eye with the back of her hand.
“Oh, seeing the pie brought back some good childhood memories of my grandmother. She was an outstanding woman and despite being gone for close to ten years, I still miss her like it was yesterday.”
Grabbing her by the arm, Brad pulled her against his chest allowing her body to soak in his warmth. “I know how you feel. I was young when my parents died and I’m an adult now, but the loss hasn’t gotten any easier on me either. I was very close to my mom and dad. It killed a part of me when they died so suddenly.”
Blinking away the last of her tears, Alicia gently pushed Brad away from her. She didn’t want this dinner to turn into a night of sorrows. She wanted to have fun tonight because she was trying to give this thing a chance between them.
“Okay, enough tears already. How about you sit down and I’ll bring the food over to you?”
“Do you need any help?” Brad asked, brushing his thumb over her cheek.
“No, I can get it. Just sit down and relax.” She removed Brad’s hand from her face and went back over to the stove. She needed a few minutes to herself to get her emotions back under control. She wasn’t expecting tonight to take the sudden turn that it had.
Alicia felt Brad’s eyes linger on her back for a minute before he took a seat at her kitchen table where a bottle of red wine was already there waiting for them. While she dished up their food in two large red bowls, Alicia slowly cleared her mind and got herself back under control.
The kiss she’d shared earlier with Brad eased back into her thoughts. Brad could set her body on fire like no other man in her past. He knew how to make love with his mouth and keep her wanting more and more from him. If he hadn’t been the one to pull away, she wasn’t sure where the two of them might have ended up tonight.
Okay, calm down and stop drooling over your dinner date. It isn’t like you haven’t been around Brad before alone.
Alicia quickly got herself together before she embarrassed herself. She picked up the bowls of food and carried them over to the table. She noticed how Brad’s eyes started at her legs and slowly inched their way up her body and lingered on her breasts before connecting with her eyes.
The hot intensity in them almost made her drop the food on the floor. She felt she’d better sit down soon before she fell down.
“Here you go,” Alicia said, placing one of these bowls in front of Brad before taking a seat.
“Thank you. I hope you don’t mind I poured you something to drink,” he said, pointing toward the wine glass.
“No, I don’t. Go ahead and take a bite. Let me know what you think,” she told Brad before taking a bite of her food.
They had been eating for about five minute before Brad finally commented. “This is really delicious. I think I found someone who is right up there with Cherise. Don’t let her taste this or she might try to get the recipe from you,” he teased.
Alicia was honored by the comment because Cherise was a professional caterer which meant she knew her way around a kitchen. “Thank you. It’s a family recipe. I love cooking it when I have the time.” She left out the part about how it usually cheered her up after a bad day.
“How did your first interview go with Lee today?” Brad tossed the question out at her as she was about to reach for her glass of wine.
Placing the glass back down on the table, she tried to think of a way to get out of answering the question. She wasn’t about to tell Brad the truth and how Lee told her what he truly thought of her…again.
“Hmmm…I wasn’t able to really start it today. Some stuff came up and I had to leave early. I need to reschedule with him later on in the week,” she lied.
“Why don’t you just tell me the truth?” Brad asked as he placed his spoon next to his bowl. “Lee was mean to you as usual and you practically ran from the house after he was finished with his derogatory remarks.”
“Who told you that?” She gasped. Alicia knew Lee wasn’t about to admit to his behavior so who told Brad about what really happened?
“Cherise called me right after it happened. She thought you might not tell me and she was right. Why didn’t you?” The anger rang out in Brad’s usually calm and collected voice.
Alicia could sense the barely controlled anger that was coiled in Brad’s body. That was why she didn’t call and tell him about Lee. She couldn’t allow a wedge to form between big brother and little brother because of her. Lee had a right to his opinion and as a reporter she knew and understood that.
“What Lee told me wasn’t anything that I hadn’t already heard before. He was right. I wasn’t giving you a chance in the past like I should have. How can I be upset about the truth?”
Brad’s posture relaxed a little like her answer had helped ease some of his anger, but not all of it.
“Lee doesn’t know anything about you or our relationship. I don’t give him advice about his marriage to Cherise. So, he should give me the same courtesy.”
Alicia seriously doubted that Lee needed any advice when it came to his marriage. He looked at Cherise with such devotion that she was positive Lee would do anything his wife asked him to as long as it was within reason.
“Enough about your brother,” she said. “How about we go to the living room and listen to some music unless you’re ready to call it a night?”
“I’ll never pass up an opportunity to have you in my arms,” Brad said, getting up from the table. “Do you need help with the dishes?”
“Just leave them there. I can get them later.”
Walking over to her, Brad kissed the back of her neck and then pulled out her chair. “Come on, baby. I’m dying to get you in my arms.”
Standing up, Alicia’s senses were spun by the scent of Brad’s raw sensuality and the image his words evoked in her head. She wanted to be in his arms too. More and more she was beginning to like how he was shattering the hard shell that she had built so carefully around her heart.