He had to be insane thinking about the woman next to him in such a way. He cleared his throat, edged up a bit more on the couch, rested his elbows on his knees, and did his best to pretend Imani wasn’t even there.
Chapter 11
Imani was more than a little restless. She tossed and turned but couldn’t sleep to save her life. Her body still a sore from earlier, but she was also feverish. It had nothing to do with getting knocked upside the head earlier.
She kicked the thick comforter to the foot of the bed in an attempt to cool down. Frustrated, she whispered into the darkness. “This is ridiculous.” A few moments later, Imani flipped onto her stomach and buried her face deep into the pillows squeezing her eyes shut. After several seconds, one eye popped open then the other.
Imani let out an exaggerated sigh before rolling over onto her back again. It was going to be a long night.
She knew the source of her frustration as she pressed her thighs together, trying to quell the ache between them. Masturbating and a hot shower earlier hadn’t given her the relief she desperately craved. It had been awhile since she’d been intimate with a man, and in all that time she had never been this needy.
There was no denying the reason. Imani didn’t want just any man. She wanted Garrett Hadley.
She continued to mumble to herself. “Doesn’t sound so piggish now does it?” She couldn’t help but recall their earlier conversation when she was all high and mighty. At the moment, releasing a bit of tension sounded pretty damn good. Ugh . . . I’ve turned into a slut monkey. I just met the man.
She had Garrett heavy on the brain. There were so many red flags warning her to STOP. BEWARE. RUN. Yet, she lay restless, staring at the ceiling, and trying to figure out the best way to hook up without appearing like a whore.
Garrett left her feeling confused. She had never experienced such an intense reaction to a man. It was immediate and powerful. To make matters worse, after this afternoon, she wasn’t sure if he still felt the same way. Maybe Aaliyah was right about always acting like one of the guys. It was entirely possible Garrett bought into it.
What was she supposed to do? Imani had always been the pursued, not the pursuer, so figuring out her next move was going to be a challenge.
Imani was well past the question of if she should take matters into her own hands and had moved into the when part of the planning stages in her mind. Of course, she knew hooking up with Garrett was a bad idea. Still, she had no intention of listening to the voice of reason. Something stronger than common sense was calling out to her—probably the throbbing at the base of her sex.
Garrett was leaving in a matter of hours, and that might pose a problem. Time wasn’t on her side. Briefly, Imani closed her eyes still able to visualize those unguarded moments from earlier when his eyes penetrated the deepest parts of her. She wanted to know not only what was behind that tightly held control he seemed barely able to contain, but also how to unleash it.
What was it going to take?
Imani hoped she had read the signs right. Suddenly, she was feeling nervous because Garrett hadn’t given her one sign since their earlier conversation that he was interested in her. If she were honest, all signs pointed to the opposite. Especially tonight when she sat right next to him, and he all but ignored her.
Pissed at herself for being up after midnight, and thinking about a man who probably wasn’t thinking about her, Imani got up out of her bed, walked across the room, and hoisted the window open hoping for a cool breeze. The weather was unseasonably warm for this time of year. If that didn’t work, she would be the one taking a cold shower.
Cough.
What was that? Imani’s bedroom sat just above the porch. Was someone outside? Who would be up and outside this late? Imani stood completely still while listening for another sound. Her heart rate sped up as she hoped she’d heard it right.
Cough. Cough.
There it was again. The Jones’ household only had two men in it, and from the sounds of that cough, the person outside wasn’t Maddon or her father. Inwardly, she smiled at a possible golden opportunity.
In the darkness, Imani ran over to the mirror, barely able to see her reflection if not for the glow of the full moon. She snatched her hair out of a ponytail, shook it out, and threw on a bit of lip gloss. Quickly, Imani removed her t-shirt and underwear. If her plan worked, she wasn’t going to need them.
Opening her drawer, Imani pulled out a pale silk night slip that barely came to her mid-thigh. She shimmied into it, grabbed the matching robe – and a condom.
She managed to change and brush her teeth in just a few moments before tip-toeing out of her bedroom, closing the door softly behind her. As she tread lightly down the stairs, Imani knew all the spots to avoid to keep them from creaking.
The house was dark, quiet. Everyone seemed to be sleeping.
Her heart was in her throat as she contemplated what she was about to
