No Other Lover Will Do. Cheris Hodges
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her name. Now, she wished she’d brought her phone so that she could tell Alicia and Serena about the jerk. They knew how to handle men like that. Serena probably would’ve pushed him into the hot tub and Alicia would’ve made him feel worthless with her biting sarcasm.
Well, if I see him again, I’m just going to ignore the horn dog, she thought as she peeled off her wet suit and headed for the shower.
Still, as she stood in the shower, her mind wandered back to his haunting eyes, and despite herself, when she felt the lick of the water against her neck, she thought of his lips and tongue being there. Kandace quickly shut off the water.
“Get it together,” she admonished. “He’s just trying to score, and you were the only one in the hot tub.”
Just as Kandace finished drying off and rubbing lotion on her skin, there was a knock at the door.
“Yes,” she said as she wrapped herself in the robe and looked through the peephole.
“Delivery for Kandace Davis,” the hotel messenger said. Kandace opened the door and accepted the large white box.
“Wait, let me get you a tip,” she said.
“No need, ma’am. It’s been taken care of,” the delivery man said. “Have a good evening.”
Kandace looked at the box, wondering who sent her a gift. She was sure it wasn’t any of her friends, but no one else knew she was staying there. She looked down at the ivory box and saw that it had come from the resort’s gift shop. There was no card on the outside of the box, so Kandace opened it. Inside, she found a red fur bikini. Kandace lifted the barely-there garment from the box and a card fell to the floor. She dropped the box on the bed and picked up the card.
I want to see you in this and then I want to see it on the floor. It was signed, The Jackass.
“He has some damned nerve,” she muttered as she grabbed the box and then stuffed the bikini back inside. Kandace grabbed a pair of lounge pants and a tank top, then she stuffed her feet inside her Uggs and headed downstairs to the gift shop. The message on the card echoed in her head. I want to see you in this and then I want to see it on the floor.
What in the world made him think she’d wear that bikini, and more importantly, what in the hell gave him the balls to think she’d take it off for him? Kandace stormed inside the shop and walked up to the counter.
“Yes, ma’am, how may I help you?” the clerk asked with a cheery smile on her face.
“I received this,” Kandace said as she dropped the box on the counter. “Could you return it to the sender?”
The clerk lifted the outfit and inspected it. “Oh, it hasn’t been worn.”
“And that is a pity,” a velvet smooth voice said from behind her. “You would’ve made that suit look good.”
Kandace whirled around and faced him. “Just who in the hell do you think you are?” she asked. “And how did you find my room?”
“I’m a man who gets just what I want and right now, I want you,” he said boldly.
Kandace rolled her eyes and attempted to walk past him, but he pulled her against his hard torso and her breath caught in her chest as he brought his lips to hers. Kandace’s body tingled from her scalp to the tip of her toes as he leaned closer and took her mouth with a searing passion that she thought was reserved for Hollywood movies and romance novels. For a brief moment, Kandace lost herself in the kiss, awakened by his tongue dancing against hers. But her common sense took over and she pulled back from him and slapped him with all her might.
“Stay away from me!” she snapped. “Don’t send me any gifts and don’t you ever touch me again.”
He stepped back and studied her body, reading the flashes of anger in her eyes, and the pout of her lips. “Are you sure that’s what you want?” he asked. “Because your body is saying something else.”
“It’s saying get the hell away from me,” she said as she pushed him, then stormed out of the shop. Much to her dismay, he followed her.
“Hey, Kandace, wait,” he called out.
She turned around and glared at him. “What you need to do is stop talking to me as if you know me,” she said.
“You don’t know who I am, do you?”
“And I don’t give a damn.”
“You will. What do you say we have dinner tomorrow night? In the grotto.”
Kandace shook her head in disbelief. “Are you mental? I wouldn’t have dinner with you if you were the last person on earth and had the final piece of meat in the world.” Kandace stomped off and headed for the elevator.
Solomon fought the urge to follow Kandace onto the elevator. The things he could’ve done and the buttons he could’ve pushed with her in that enclosed space. But Solomon knew he had to bide his time carefully. Smiling, he was happy that she wasn’t aware of his reputation or his true identity. Now he’d try something different with a woman—being himself.
CHAPTER 5
Kandace slammed into her room and flung herself across the bed. The kiss played in her mind as she rolled over on her back. His lips were soft, his technique was skillful, and had he not been the most arrogant and pompous jerk she’d ever met, that kiss would’ve affected her core.
Who was she trying to fool? That kiss stirred a dormant part of her that she wanted him to explore, slowly and thoroughly. Stop it, she thought as she picked up the hotel phone and dialed Serena’s number. She knew this call was going to cost her a pretty penny, but she needed to tell someone about this jerk.
“Hello?” Serena said. Kandace could tell she didn’t recognize the number on her caller ID.
“Serena, it’s me.”
“You couldn’t go one day without calling? I’m not telling you anything about the restaurant,” she said.
“That’s not why I’m calling. I need your brand of advice,” Kandace said.
“My advice?” Serena asked. “Are you sure, because I’m not going to be sugary sweet like Jade and Alicia.”
“That’s why I didn’t call them. We need to make this quick. I’m on the hotel’s phone.” Kandace launched into her story about the mystery man, their encounter at the grotto, his gift, and the kiss.
“He kissed you? Just like that, no provocation or anything?”
“That’s what I just said. Now, what should I do?”
“I would cuss him out and…No,” Serena said. “You’re on vacation and you could use a bit of sex in your life. What’s a vacation fling going to hurt?”
“Did you not hear anything I said about this man? He’s arrogant, self-righteous, and I don’t care how good he looks. Besides, I don’t even know his name.”
“How did he find out yours and your room number?”
“Haven’t a clue. Maybe he paid off one of the hotel staffers. I’m tempted to complain to management about this jackass. I came here to relax, not to get stalked.”
“Tell him in no uncertain terms, or better yet, find out who he is and turn the tables on him. If he’s a high roller who can pay people for information, he must be somebody important.”
“That sounds like a lot of work and I’m not feeling it. Besides, I left my computer at home.”
“Then just wait and see what he sends you next,” Serena said. “Look, I have to go. Someone’s at my door.”
“Antonio?”
Serena hung up without responding. Kandace would’ve called her back, but she decided to watch a movie instead. As she flipped