Page 39 of Mr. Blackwood

I returned to the conference room to find her talking with some other constituents. I pulled her away and took her around the room to introduce her to others. If this was the game she wanted to play, then I would make it easy for her, but she would pay a hefty price for her betrayal.

“You want to dance?” I asked her after a while.

“Sure.”

I pulled her onto the dance floor and rested my hand on her hips. She looked everywhere except in my eyes.

“Beautiful.”

“Yes?”

“What’s on your mind tonight? You’ve seemed distant for a while.”

She smiled shakily and shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just thinking about some of the people that I’ve met tonight. I never dreamt that I would be in the same room as some of them, let alone have the conversations I’ve had.”

“You seem nervous, babe.”

“You’re introducing me to millionaires and billionaires. Excuse me if I’m out of my element tonight.”

I gripped her chin and turned her face toward me. “You sure that’s it?”

She laughed nervously and asked, “What else could it be?”

I covered her lips with mine in a kiss that was commanding and punishing at once. I bit her lip and then her tongue. When she tried to pull back, I gripped the back of her head and held her close. When I finished, I licked the spots that I knew were tender.

Her eyes searched mine, and she glanced around the room as though she wondered if anyone saw us. I turned her face back toward me.

“I missed you, gorgeous. All I’ve been thinking about are the things that I want to do to your body.”

She smiled and looked at me with a sad look. “I’ve missed you too.”

We danced some more, ate dinner, and chatted with several of the guests before I decided it was time to leave. I didn’t want to play the game much longer.

I leaned in toward her and cupped the back of her neck. I brushed my lips against her ear and asked, “Are you ready to leave, gorgeous?”

“So soon?”

“I told you that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on you. I’ve missed you, and I’d rather be in a room alone with you than here with a bunch of people I don’t give a shit about anyway.”

Her eyes widened as she looked up to see if the other guests at our table heard me. I didn’t give a damn if they did, but most of them would only kiss my ass anyway.

“Sure, Jabari.”

I looked up and around at the table. “We’re leaving for the night. You all enjoy the rest of your evening,” I announced.

“So soon?” Juliette asked.

“Yes. I’ve got some things I need to handle,” I explained.

“Told you he couldn’t keep his hands off her,” Steve declared.

“You owe me, buddy. I told you they wouldn’t last the entire night,” Vanessa James, CEO of HRWorx Solutions, declared.

“You bet on us?” Camilla asked in surprise.

Before they could respond to her, I wrapped my arm around her waist and led her away from the table. I waved to several people as we made our way out to the lobby. The band’s live music flowed out into the lobby as I pulled my phone from my pocket. I opened an app and set it to automate.

“They bet on us, Jabari,” Camilla declared in a disappointed tone.