Page 10 of Dark Temptations

Chapter Four

Xavier stepped onto the elevator and made himself push the button to go down. He nodded to the doorman on his way out. When he got in his car, he looked up at her condo, watching one light turn on.

He wondered if she was feeling the same agony of need. The last look of her confused desire-filled expression told him she did. So why was he driving away from her instead of undressing her and fucking her until she couldn’t take any more?

A picture of her in the white dress crossed his mind. It was a visual he’d never forget, but it also told him they were opposite and different from each other. She worked with kids and was sweet as possible, and he built businesses for people to spend time doing everything that made them feel good, just short of being illegal.

White and black, light and dark, good and bad. They would never be able to make anything work because she would be horrified at some of the things he did. He would always be afraid of hurting her feelings or her body when he was too rough with her in bed.

He’d never be able to just make sweet love to her in a missionary position for the rest of his life. When he needed the release only sex could give him, he found a woman that could take him. He was at her for hours, taking her everywhere on her body and as hard as he needed.

Xavier never kept the women after he’d had them once because he didn’t want them to think he needed them for anything other than fucking. He wasn’t ready for another relationship and might never be.

Fuck. He sounded like a bastard, but he’d been like this his whole life, and he’d never be able to change it, no matter how much he wanted Ariana.

He pulled back into the parking lot behind the club, parked the car, and got out. He made his way up to his office without anyone seeing him.

Xavier knew he needed to get his mind on work and off of Ariana, but it was easier said than done. Three hours passed, and he snorted in disgust because he got very little accomplished and was just getting increasingly frustrated.

“Fuck it.” He threw down his pen, gathered some papers, and stuck them in a briefcase. He’d head home and get some sleep. Maybe in the morning, he’d feel like himself again.

****

Ariana finally made herself move toward her bedroom. She dropped the purse on a chair by the bed and stripped off her clothes on the way to the bathroom. She tied up her hair and stepped in under the hot water letting it cascade over her, taking some of the tension she felt.

When the water started to cool, she turned it off and grabbed a towel. She put lotion all over her body before pulling on a short nightgown. After brushing her teeth, she slid into bed. She stared up at the ceiling for a long while, and even though she was tired, her emotions were still too agitated for her to rest.

Her body jerked when the phone inside her purse rang. She scrambled to get it hoping it was Xavier.

“Hello.”

“What happened to you?” Kelly asked. “Macy and I started to panic when we couldn’t find you. One of the bouncers found us and told us what happened, and then we read your text message. But I still don’t understand what the big deal was. So, a few men were trying to get your attention. Why is that bad?”

Ariana rubbed her forehead and sat down on her mattress. “From what I was told, a few guys were being obnoxious, and the manager and one of the bouncers thought it would lead to a fight. They didn’t want that to happen because more people would get involved and people would get hurt, so they made me go home.”

“Why in the hell did they blameyoufor it?” Macy asked.

“They thought the fight would be over me. I tried to reason with them, but they didn’t listen. I’m sorry if I worried you guys.”

“We’re just glad you’re all right. Are you home?”

“Yes, and in bed,” Ariana said.

“By yourself?” Macy asked.

Ariana rolled her eyes. “Yes. So sorry to disappoint you.”

Her friends laughed.

“We learned a lesson tonight,” Kelly said. “The next place we go will have to be tamer than the one tonight.”

“Or you can leave me out of it.”

“Oh, come on, Ariana,” Macy said. “You never have any fun.”

“I don’t enjoy your type of fun. I’d rather read or have a nice dinner or work with the kids.”

Macy grunted. “You won’t be finding a man that way.”

---