Author Biography
Oyebanjo Damilola is a Nigerian and a self-publishing author who also loves to read as much as write. . Currently she is a final year Sociology student at a state university and divides her time between school projects and writing stories.
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Goodreads
OTHER BOOKS BY OYEBANJO DAMILOLA
The Interview (a short erotica)
The Hotelier's Secret Family
Excerpt
Chapter One
“Sorry, I’m so sorry.” More coffee spilled on the stranger’s suit as Imogen clumsily dabbed at the brown coffee stain with her hanky. Her face tingled hot in embarrassment while the man towering over her stood still. She had been in such a rush to enter the elevator, forgetting about the coffee she held. “I’m not usually this clumsy,” she remarked in her defense and then continued. “Really I’m not. Blame this on the meeting I have in like two minutes.” She focused on the dull stain left on the suit, and with a swipe of one hand sent the now crumbled coffee cup into the bin. “My boss will have my hide if I’m late, which by the way I am already." Imogen gave the suit one last swipe. She tried to ignore the vague sense of familiarity that played on the edge of her mind as her fingertips brushed against the hard curves of his stomach. She stepped back to get a good look at him, but the gliding sound of the elevator opening stopped her.
"There you are," Said a familiar voice. It belonged to her boss James Dulcan.
With a sigh, Imogen stepped out of the elevator putting on a bright smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. James returned her simile, his eyes lighting up as he looked behind her at the stranger who must have come out the elevator after her.
“I see you two have met.” She looked at her boss blankly. James gestured to the man standing behind her. “The hotelier you will be going to France with, you just got off the elevator with him.”
Imogen turned back towards the man, her face hot with embarrassment, and almost gasped when she recognized him. She stared in shock into glistening jade eyes that didn’t seem to have changed over the last ten years. Sudden sweat broke out on her olive skin. She fought to look composed but it was almost useless, and light-headedness took control as her boss introduced their latest client, Craig Hall.
A thrill of anxiety, fear mixed with excitement went through her and memories of a night best forgotten rushed back. Imogen stepped forward on shaky legs to greet the last person on earth she wanted to see, much less travel with.
“Ms. Maud?” Craig Hall offered his hand, breaking into her thought.
Impatience flickered in his eyes and she took a deep, controlled breath, hoping to recover her equilibrium. Imogen barely heard what he said but stammered out, “Sir.” Then placed her already damp hand forward for the handshake, expecting him to recognize her, but there was still no hint of recognition in his eyes, none at all. She couldn’t even narrow down the emotions that whispered through her skin, relief at not being recognized or insulted that he didn’t.
“Can we get down to business?” Imogen gritted her teeth at his brisk impatient voice. “Ms. Maud?” There was now a hint of irritation in his voice.
Imogen snapped to reality, her bones stiffening in a defensive stance. She let go of his hand, shocked to discover she felt sorry at losing its warmth. “I will be with you in a minute, sir.”
*** ***
Imogen placed her report on the table and glanced around when she noticed the empty chairs. “Where is James?” a rhetorical question she realized as soon as the words were out. “It’s just you and me for the meeting?”
“Yes, James had an emergency meeting, leaving me here in your capable hands.”
Imogen’s pulse spiked at his words. His tone sounded like he was glad and her eyes narrowed suspiciously, no matter how innocent the explanation seemed. Had he remembered? She silently asked herself.
His eyes held a mischievous twinkle, which made Imogen decide for a second that he had remembered. She pushed the thought away. Surely if he remembered he would have said something, she mumbled to herself. Slowly she took a seat opposite him, grateful for the distance.
“Yes,” his voice caught into her thoughts, almost making her jump in fright. “You know, your name sounds familiar to me but I can’t place it.”
Imogen’s heart ran a hundred meter race in one second. Pressing her finger tips to her pounding temples, she had the distinct impression that he was teasing her. “I’m not sure, you must be wrong.” She looked down at the desk, staring hard at the report. Oh hell, she thought and looked up back at him. A shiver of nervousness glided through her as he scrutinized her with those dark brooding eyes. She watched as he stood and slowly approached in that sexy stride of his that was still committed to memory, and she tried to suppress the lust forming within her. This was neither the place nor situation to start having such thoughts.
“You know, it’s like you were trying to hide something. That was the impression I got earlier. When you saw me, you reacted like you had seen a ghost. This had me wondering if I have met you before. Tell me have you ever left this part of the country?” He continued, “I mean, the last time I came to this country was seven years ago and then I couldn’t possibly have met you.” He paused, stared at her then gave a shake of his head. “Forget it, I’m probably mixing you up with someone else.”
She ignored the chance to tell him. She wasn't going to allow him come with all that power and influence that rolled off him to spoil her well settled life, nor that of her kids. “You are wrong sir and you are probably mixing me up with someone you know.”
“I might…”
He knew, oh God he knew. She frowned. Then why hadn’t he said anything? “But like I said earlier, I have never met you, sir,” she said mildly.
*** ***
Craig forced himself not to grin at the lie.
What he really wanted to do was sit and silently absorb everything about her. From the crisp feminine smell of her perfume, to her neatly styled white-blond hair and deep blue eyes laced by thick curly lashes. A wide smirk spread across his face as he remembered the coffee spill. In her haste she hadn’t even thought to see who he was. The feel of her hands had left a familiar burst of pure lust which had slammed right through him, proving once and for all that his attraction to her was still there. He wanted her badly and all mussed up in his bed.
His gaze trailed to her hands, slender fingers framed by neatly cut nails, but no ring. She wasn't married, he decided. But she could be involved with someone else.
With considerate effort, he shifted his attention to her face and held her gaze not knowing whether to continue the charade. He tried to understand why she looked less than happy to see him and continued to deny it even through her uneasiness gave her away. Was she so embarrassed by what happened between them?
“You do look familiar,” he said slowly. He watched as her fingers twitched nervously and reached for the report, probably as a way to distract herself.
“Oh,” she said.
“Yeah.”
“Well, I don’t know what to say.”
“How about the truth?”
*** ***
A knife could have cut through the thick silence that followed.
Imogen struggled to get control of the whirlwind of emotions that raced through her as he leaned forward. So close, his breath hot on her already flushed ear.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he taunted. “You thought I wouldn’t remember, didn’t you?” Then he whispered, “You are so different from the woman I met in that night club ten years ago, you were uncontrollable then, you even told me your name was Wild Child.” A swirl of the chair had her facing him. She lowered her gaze as he raised her head with his finger. Softly he trailed his fingers down the one side, and then he stopped.
Imogen shuddered, recalling her behavior ten yea
rs ago. The trip to Vegas had been on a whim. It had also failed miserably in her attempt to heal her broken heart and wounded pride, but led her to Craig and straight into his arms. A fierce hunger for the unknown had swept through her and left her breathless the moment she laid eyes on him. It had been as if they were connecting and she had known him for years. That and his jade melancholic looking eyes that had seemed to see deep into her own soul. His smile, when she finally got him to had been infectious and
handsome, soul touching and criminal in its right. Getting drunk with him had been the only pushing she needed to pursue the wild wanting she felt for him. She had become bolder and he just as drunk and charming.
The one time she had lived on the edge, had truly felt passion. As one night-stand went, she had simply slip out the hotel room the next morning filled with shame and no thought to what would be the consequences of that single night of passion.
“I recognized you the moment you tried catching the elevator. You didn’t want me to recognize you, did you?” His Jade eyes were grim, annoyance pressed into every details of his face as he thrust his hands deep into his trousers pocket.
“That’s not true,” she blurted, his words ate deep into her mind. Deep down his taunting hit a mark because he was right. The guilt that had always been there resurfaced, so also the need to tell him the truth.
“Isn’t it?” he snarled and the mouth which had for one night touched many paths of her body twisted in an unpleasant way.
Imogen’s anger was beyond control. He was talking to her like she did something bad. In a breathless voice she asked, “What is your problem? You talk like I’m the sinner and you are the saint. I wasn’t scared a bit. If I don’t want you to recognize me, is it a sin?” She continued in fury, “I knew you seven years ago but…” In anger, she hit the table with her hands, ignoring the tingling pain that followed. “That doesn’t give you the right to talk to me anyway you like, Craig.” She glared at him.
“It damn well gives me the right.”
She shook her head in refusal.
“No?” He nodded. “Oh yes it does. More than you can imagine.” He looked around the office and then smiled with sudden realization. “Given the way you have tried to deny remembering me, I’m sure you wouldn’t want it known just how familiar we are to each other?”
Imogen couldn’t believe her ears. “For Christ sake I was so drunk and young. I was very foolish and I do regret my behavior. But one thing I am not going to allow you do is to make me feel guilty,” she said. Her hands clenched together as anger shook through her. How dare he judge her?
“Really? Then I apologize for doing so, but don’t forget you were the one fussing over me.”
“But you accepted, didn’t you?” she asked, refusing to believe that he would do as he had threatened but one look at him confirmed her fears. He had such blazing anger in his eyes and all because she had pretended not to know him. What would he then do if he discovered her secret?
He stretched his hands open. “Who was I to refuse?” He undid his tie, glaring at her as he sat down.
She stalked off towards the door on footsteps heavy with gloom and anger.
“By the way, I never did forget you all those years, I still want you.” He taunted just as she grabbed the doorknob.
Imogen stiffened and turned back in anger, a list of names to qualify him at the tip of her tongue only to fall hard against him. How he got there was beyond her. “I wouldn’t want you if you were the only man on the surface of the earth,” she whispered bitterly, even through her body showed her how much of a lie it was.
She gasped hard as his hands brought her closer to him, their face mere inches apart. “Craig, no,” She warned weakly.
He laughed, touching her face lightly with his lips. “Liar,” he murmured huskily, his breath coming in slow motion. “You want me, I also want you.” He captured her mouth shutting out any further protest with a kiss that was so beautiful it could only be sinful. It was like stepping into a whirl of tornado and it tasted so achingly familiar. Her mouth trembled under his touch and she silently cursed herself for not been able to resist him. She made a sort of unfilled sound and he released her hands immediately.
His fingers did away with a button and pushed inside her bra. She gave a sharp gasp as his lips closed around her nipple. Just when she would die of wanting he lifted his head.
A slow smile appeared across his lips. She pushed him away, hurryingly buttoning up her shirt. “I hate you,” she spat bitterly. It was a strain for her to even talk but she had to. The kiss had knocked the breath out of her and it had left her hungry for more.
Why did he have the power to make her to respond to him that way? It wasn’t like she hadn’t been kissed this last ten years. Her hormones had to be in overdrive.
Craig fingered his lips as if he could still taste her and it was all he could do not to take her in his arms again. “Oh, no you don’t, that wasn’t the impression I got minutes ago,” he said instead.
Imogen turned towards the door, the urge to smack that smug look off his face tingled at her palm. The need to escape heightened as she tried not to show just how much his words threatened her. She closed the door quietly even when she had the utmost desire to slam it so loud that Craig would have a hearing problem. He sure as hell deserved it and much more, after the humiliation he had just put her through.
The rest of the days passed in a blur and it took all her effort to focus. She kept replaying the morning’s events over in her head. In all the time she had envisioned their meeting again, it was never like this. She hadn’t anticipated how seeing him again would affect and her how she would react. Absentmindedly she drummed her hands slightly on her big polished desk as she looked around her blue painted office and tried to think of anything but the problem Craig represented.
Coming Soon
Under The sky
Excerpt
Chapter One
The sky over Kauai beach was bright like something from a Florida holiday postcard. A mixture of blue mingled with gray clouds and a shining sun, it promised to be a fun filled day. This was one of Rena’s few holidays and nothing was going to spoil it. She stretched out on the white sand beach like everyone, doing nothing but soaking in the sun after a much needed swim in the emerald-blue water. Through her dark tinted sunglasses, she glanced around at the full beach, enjoying the sights of the bubbling tourists at the beach front.
This holiday, away from the stress of single motherhood and a busy decorating company was a long deserved one. Rena sighed with contentment and closed her eyes as she made herself more comfortable on the sun-lounge.
She hadn’t really thought she would enjoy the holiday when her secretary had bought the ticket and made the reservations. When she got off the plane in Hawaii she had fallen in love with the place.
It was a paradise and no other place could be compared to it, everywhere she looked, it was one exotic and beautiful view after the other. The condominium her secretary had rented had a view of the distant beach and exotic greenery. The building itself was filled with tourists just like her, and she had even been lucky to get the condo at such a late time during the tourist season. She ran her hands through the white sand and sighed again. She shouldn’t be getting used to all this enjoyment and fun but God help her. This was sheer pleasure and very much adaptable to, nobody in their right sense would discard a totally enjoyable holiday by the sea. It was just the right and lazy unwinding she needed and a break from her usually sophisticated business façade.
***
Even from a distance, Tred Kimson knew without any doubt that the woman sprawled out so comfortably on the sun-lounger as if posing for a Maximum photo shoot was a beauty. He also felt the instant attraction that flooded through him in a wave of gripping warmth. It seeped up his spine and just below his abdomen as he took in the womanly curves visible. They see
med to beacon his touch, and would probably glide softly beneath his palm.
The direction of his thought sent him into a shocking lack of breath, that he had to stop in his tracks, almost having another beach-runner knock him down. His facial expression was a mixture of surprise and shock. He swore softly at the immediate shift in his hormones towards a complete stranger, as if he was still a lanky teenager who wanted to try out sex for the first time.
But he wasn’t, usually he never let any woman get under his skin, much less want to bed them the instant he set eyes on them. Most time he didn’t even do the chasing, it was usually the other way around. From where he stood along the water's edge he studied her profile in the sun and wondered if she knew someone was admiring her. Most of the women he knew usually did, and took pleasure in flaunting it. He couldn’t make out the exact color of her hair because the sun shone through it making it look black-brown gold.
She seemed unaware of her sex appeal and the admiring looks sent her way because of the way she posed on her sun-lounger. No question this lady wasn’t just like every other tourist, there was a natural glow around her that drew his attention and she seemed to be truly enjoying herself rather than showing off her curve so as to attract an eligible male. Everything about her screamed city, from her sophisticated and yet natural pose to her hair.
He watched engrossed as she trailed her hands through the fine-beach sand. The action awakened a deep hunger in him and he felt his groin respond in kind. This was one hell of a sexy woman and every single movement she made, however innocent, set his hormones pulse racing active. If only she could known what was in his mind, Tred couldn’t even begin to imagine her reaction and on a second thought she might even want him and a grin spread out his face at the irrational thought. What has come over you man, he asked himself and shook his head to clear it, but it was useless.
Hell, he wanted the beautiful stranger and having her would be the only way to get her out of his system. How he knew was beyond him, just the sudden urge to ravish the woman overwhelmed him. An action he had always called primitive. He could barely breathe right from wanting to kiss her full lips, his bet was that they tasted just right.