“Absolutely, “Kent said. “I’ll check the calendar when I get back and I’ll call you to set up a time.”
“Great. Bree, I’ll be finished with interviews this week, then I will contact everyone to set up a meeting about the Grand Opening. Start thinking about what you’d like to serve. Also, I’ll come up with some mock advertisements for each of the classes, and I’d love your input on the cooking and baking flyers.”
“Sounds wonderful,” Briana said. “I’d love to help in any way I can before we leave. I almost wish we still lived here, so I could offer classes full time.”
“Nah, we need you at Culinary School, so you can come back and teach the other instructors the things that you learn,” Rich said as he gave her a hug. “Thanks for coming by guys.”
“Thanks for letting us have a peak,” Nicole said. “I will pull the names for the gift exchange tonight and will text you your person.”
“Perfect, I’m looking forward to it,” Rich said.
He saw them out, then walked back to his office to start on the paperwork.
Chapter Ten
Roni hung up the phone, walked to the window, and stared outside at the vast expanse of Texas land. She brought her hands together and squeezed, trying to minimize the shaking, as a single tear escaped and slid down her face.
She was officially divorced.
She was only twenty-two, and already had a marriage and a divorce under her belt.
She thought of all the dreams she’d had for herself just four years ago.
She’d graduate high school, go to New York, and become a full time dancer.
She was wrong.
Then she’d met Hank, and those dreams had changed. She thought they’d be married, have kids, and have a beautiful life together.
She was wrong.
Instead, the three years they were together had been a nightmare. A series of fights, fists, and tears.
Now she was here, and was truly happy.
Her new dream was to open her own dance studio, enjoy her friends, and be there for Kent and his family.
Was she fooling herself?
Was it even possible for her to ever be happy? How could she trust her instincts, when every one she’d until now date had been wrong?
She should be happy that Hank was finally completely out of her life for good, but all she felt was emptiness.
Roni turned and grabbed her purse. It was getting dark, and the construction crews had probably shut down for the day, but she had to go see her studio.
She hopped in her car and drove over to the warehouse, worried that Rich would be out, and no one would be able to let her in. She wasn’t getting her key until the next day, when everyone met for their first meeting to discuss marketing, resale, and the Grand Opening.
When she pulled into the lot, she saw his Charger and another vehicle. She got out and tried the door, and was relieved to find it still unlocked. She walked inside and saw Rich and the guys she’d seen hanging around before, Jason, maybe, walking down the hall.
Rather than announce herself, she walked straight to the studio.
She walked inside and spun slowly, inhaling deeply as she moved. The fresh paint and varnish smelled like hope. She perused the room, touching ever surface, trying to convince herself that this was real. This time her dream was going to come true.
As thoughts of Hank crept back into her mind, she lifted her leg onto the bar and began to stretch, not even conscious of what she was doing.
She felt foolish for believing he loved her, even after he’d started to hit her. He was the only man she ever kissed. The only man to ever touch her. She felt cheated thinking about it.
Roni felt unsettled and out of sorts. She needed something to bring her out of this funk. Something to prove that she was still desirable, that this divorce wasn’t an ending, but rather, a beginning.
Roni stretched a bit more as her thoughts ran rampant in her head. She heard the front door shut, then the lock being turned. She walked quietly to the door of her studio and saw Rich turning from the front door.
She walked a little more loudly out into the hallway, causing him to start and turn.
“Shit, Roni,” Rich said with a quick laugh. “I didn’t know you were in here. I thought I was alone. When did you get…?” Before he could finish his sentence, Roni catapulted into his arms, her lips fusing onto his.
Rich stumbled back a step, taken off guard, before he caught himself and began to return her kiss.
She could tell he was surprised, but she had to hand it to him, he went with it.
Her back slammed against the wall and her legs came up around his waist, as their kiss became more frantic. Roni put her hands behind his head and in his hair, running her fingers through and pulling lightly. She suddenly became aware that their bodies were touching in every possible way, and she reveled in the feel of the liquid fire running through her veins. She rocked against him and felt the moan that rumbled through his chest.
She broke from his mouth and trailed kisses along his jaw, loving the feel of the roughness of his skin against her smooth lips. She licked his neck and began to suck on his earlobe, when she heard his sharp intake of breath. His response to her was driving her mad and she tried to press her body even closer to his.
Rich’s hand came around to cradle her under her bottom as he backed away from the wall and began to lead her down to his room.
Roni latched on tighter; terrified that he would stop and ask her questions.
He didn’t.
Rich kicked open his door and maneuvered around his space until he reached the bed. He lowered them both slowly, Roni still attached to his body, then rocked into her once they reached the mattress.
Roni moaned loudly, the sensations she was having were amazing. She didn’t know if it was because it had been so long since she’d been touched this way, or because it was Rich that was touching her, but she knew she wanted to go on feeling this way forever. Utterly alive.
Rich kissed down her neck and over the swell of her breast. He brought his hands up to cup her breasts, kissing and suckling her nipple through the fabric of her shirt, before he sat up, looked down at her button down top and ripped it open. Roni gasped and lifted off of the bed so he could undo the clasp of her bra, eager to have his mouth on her flesh.
He didn’t disappoint her.
He removed the rest of her clothing and kissed, nipped, licked, and sucked every inch of her skin. Each touch made Roni more frenzied. The feel of his lips, the rough contrast of his jeans against her, and his fingers. Oh… his fingers. They seemed to be everywhere all at once. Intent on giving her pleasure unlike any she had ever known.
Roni reached for the hem of his t-shirt and tugged, urging him to lift it over his head. Then she worked the button of his jeans, her breath catching when he slid them down, revealing his nakedness underneath.
That first touch of skin on skin felt wonderful. Roni writhed a bit underneath him, wanting to feel his satin skin sliding against hers.
“Holy shit, Roni,“ Rich moaned against her lips. “You’re going to kill me.”
The fact that he was so obviously turned on made her feel powerful. She pushed him lightly, so he turned and lay on his back, giving her the ability to gain more control.
She looked down into his handsome face, then leaned down to kiss the cleft in his chin, before claiming his mouth once more. She felt totally confident and comfortable with him. She wanted to do and say things she’d never felt able to do before, and she was certain she was safe with Rich. Certain he wouldn’t judge her, or be turned off by anything she did or said.
Roni felt her courage rise with each intake of Rich’s breath. With each moan, and with each whimper. She couldn’t believe that she’d just made him whimper, it pushed her over the edge.
She told him to keep his hands above his head, then started her descent down his body with her lips. She loved how smooth his skin was over his hard muscles. She kissed across his c
hest and down over his abs. Then she went back and sucked on his nipples, her body tightening at the sounds he was emitting.
She ran her hands along the length of him, pausing to caress his shaft, her vision greying when he told her to slow down. She slithered back up his body, licking her way up his neck to the soft spot behind his ear before whispering throatily in his ear, “I want to fuck you now.”
Roni brought her lips up to his and kissed him as he stared into her eyes. Pupils dilated. Rich reached a hand out and opened the drawer next to his bed. He pulled something out, closed it, then handed her a condom.
“Be my guest,” Rich said with a saucy grin.
Roni smiled back at him, then moved down to open the condom and slide it over him.
The smile left her face as she rose back above him and looked down into his hazel eyes. She kept her eyes locked on his and she lowered herself onto him, her body expanding to accept the length of him inside.
“God, you’re so tight,” Rich murmured, closing his eyes momentarily, letting the sensation fill him.
Once he was fully inside, he jerked his hips involuntarily, telling her to move.
She began to move up and down, the pressure starting to build within her. She moved faster and faster, moving her body to find the right spot. When she found it she began to move quickly, bending down to kiss him briefly, before pulling back and moving even faster. Rich put his hands on her hips to help her stay in place.
Roni didn’t worry about trying to keep her building passion to herself. She moaned and shouted to Rich, making sure he didn’t stop what he was doing.
Her orgasm shot through her, lighting her body on fire and causing bright dots to color her vision. She wanted to slide down into a puddle on Rich’s bed, but his hands at her hips kept her going until he reached his own release.
Roni lay down on top of him, vaguely aware of their sticky bodies and pounding hearts, melding together as they tried to catch their breath.
Her head was next to his on the pillow, her hair fanned out, and she softly kissed the side of his neck, since it was right there.
As their heart rate returned to normal and reality started to set in, Roni began to come out of her sex crazed haze.
Shit, she thought, what did I just do?
She closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing. God that had been the best sex she’d ever had in her life. Was that normal? Was it always supposed to be like that?
Rich turned his head and she opened her eyes to look into his.
“Hi,” he said with a smile, reaching out to move a strand of her hair off of her face.
“Hey,” she responded.
“I’m not complaining or anything, but what the hell was that?”
His question brought her fully out of the haze and she sat up abruptly, moving off of him, gathering up her clothes, and walking quickly into the small restroom.
Roni cleaned herself up, got dressed and splashed some water on her face. When she felt composed, she walked back out with a smile on her face.
Rich was still on the bed, only now he was sitting with his back against the wall and a sheet thrown haphazardly over the bottom half of his body. His chest and abs were still visible. Taunting her with their magnificence. Now that she’d tasted him, she was eager for seconds.
“You want to talk about what just happened?” Rich asked.
Roni looked at him and shook her head, “Not really.”
Rich chuckled at that.
“I’ve got to get going,” Roni started as she started to inch towards the door.
Rich got up off of the bed, the sheet sliding to the floor as he walked over to reach her.
Roni stood frozen in place at the site before her.
Holy shit, she’d knew he’d looked good, but seeing him in his full glory almost knocked her on her ass.
She cleared her throat and tried to look in his eyes.
“You’re leaving?” He asked when he reached her. He put a hand behind her head and pulled her in, kissing her thoroughly before letting her go.
“Yeah,” Roni said. Her voice barely above a whisper. “I’ve got some stuff to do at home.”
Rich rubbed his thumb over her lips, causing her to shiver, and said, “Okay. But we will talk about this, Roni.”
She nodded at him, then turned and fled.
Chapter Eleven
Rich was excited.
Today was going to be his first official meeting with his new employees. He felt like everything was finally real. They were going to discuss schedules, supplies, marketing, and the Grand Opening, plus anything else that came up.
He never thought he’d be so excited for a meeting, but he really was. It was his meeting, in his warehouse, with his employees. Talk about a dream come true.
He may have gone a little overboard, he thought with a chuckle. He had pastries and coffee on the table, with a tablet and pencil at each seat. He had an easel with a white board and markers, ready to show them his ideas and annotate theirs.
Rich looked at his watch, saw he still had fifteen minutes until the meeting started, and headed towards the back to find Jason.
“Hey, man,” Rich said when he saw him walking out of the fitness center. “You about ready?”
“Yeah,” Jason replied. “I was just making sure everything looked good for the tour.”
“Great,” Rich said. “I can’t thank you enough for all of your help.”
“No Problem. I love it here, Rich. I’m happy you took a chance on me.”
Rich slapped the other man on the back and they started back towards the front just as the door open and the other employees started to trickle in.
Rich went into his office to give himself a moment to collect his thoughts. He took a few deep breaths and looked at his notes to remind himself what he wanted to talk about.
He walked back into the kitchen and saw that most of the people were seated and had pastries in front of them. No one was talking yet, but at least they were taking the food.
“Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable,” Rich said. “Get some coffee and pastries. I’ll wait a few more minutes before I begin.”
He went to the head of the table and placed his items in front of him as he sat. Jason sat down next to him and grabbed a muffin from the tray. Rich watched as Jason looked over at Alex, who was sitting across from him and in the middle of the table. She looked very petite amongst the boxing trainers that flanked her.
Alex looked up and smiled at Jason when she caught his stare. Jason quickly looked away, causing Rich to chuckle softly. Alex shrugged slightly, then went back to putting creamer in her coffee.
Briana and Roni came into the room laughing. Rich smiled and said, “Morning.” He indicated that they should take their seats, his stomach dropping at the site of Roni.
Her hair was back in a ponytail and she wasn’t wearing any makeup. She looked like she was on her way to work out, in yoga pants and a form fitting dry-fit top. He couldn’t stop the image of her above him, her face full of passion as she’d found her release.
Shit, he thought, he needed to focus on the meeting or he wouldn’t make it five more seconds without taking her right on the table in front of everyone.
Rich counted to twenty in his head and thought of the highlights he’d watched on ESPN this morning, to clear the images from his mind.
“Thank you all for coming,” Rich began, “We’ll go ahead and get started. I want to begin by going around the room. I’ll ask each of you to introduce yourself and let everyone know what you will be teaching here.”
As his new employees introduced themselves, he thought about what he wanted to talk about next. When Alex was talking, he noticed Jason staring at her with his mouth slightly open, so he kicked his friend under the table.
Jason jerked slightly, and closed his mouth, turning to Rich with a question on his face. Rich gestured with his hand, telling Jason to ease up on the staring. If his friend had any sort of chance with the pret
ty Karate instructor, he needed to keep the creepy factor down to a minimum.
When it was Briana’s turned, he smiled at her enthusiasm as she told the group about the cooking classes she wanted to offer.
He tried to holster his own creepy factor as Roni spoke. He made sure he looked around the table, rather than get caught up in her beauty. But, damn, she was beautiful.
When the introductions were complete, he talked to them about the resale store. He passed out catalogs and told them they had a sheet in front of them that listed websites that they could utilize as well. He said he needed their initial orders to him by the end of the week, so he could have the merchandise on the shelves for the Grand Opening.
“We’ll give them free lessons all day during the opening, utilizing the merchandise that you tell me to order for the store. That way, if there are any specific items you need them to purchase in order to take your class; we will have the items readily available. This will make it easier for you and the client, and you will earn money off of the profits.” Rich explained as they looked through the catalogs.
“Now, can you tell me what classes you plan to offer during the Grand Opening?” Rich asked. Once again having them go around the table.
When everyone had a chance to speak, Rich asked if anyone had any questions for him, or each other, before moving on to the tour. No one did, so he took them out and showed them around the Center.
Once they had the complete tour, he released them to go to their own respective work areas and said he would be in his office if anyone needed anything before they left.
As she was about to walk away with Briana, Rich called Roni over and asked if he could talk to her for a minute.
“Hey,” Rich said softly. “How are you doing?”
“Good,” Roni said simply, not quite meeting his eyes.
“Are you busy later?” He asked.
“I have to work.”
“When’s your next night off?” Rich prompted.
“Why?” Roni asked, looking down at her feet.
“Roni,” Rich said, putting his finger under her chin and lifting her face so she was forced to look at him. “What’s going on? We need to talk about last night. I’d like to take you out to dinner… So we can talk.”