Shara Azod's Flavors- Spiced Rum Read online

  Spiced Rum

  by

  Marteeka Karland

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright© 2010 Marteeka Karland

  Cover Artist: Shara Azod

  Editor: Novellette Whyte

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews. This is a work of fiction. All references to real places, people, or events are coincidental, and if not coincidental, are used fictitiously. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only.

  Chapter One

  "Ohhhhhh," Tabitha groaned and sat up in bed. Or rather, she tried to sit up. Her head pounded like there was no tomorrow and she only got half way before carefully laying back down. Her stomach rebelled something awful, but she gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and lay perfectly still, fighting off the nausea. She moaned again when her head spun. Scooting quickly to the edge of the bed, she kicked the cover off one leg and found the floor with her foot. She'd drunk way too much last night. Spiced rum was a good thing, but only in moderation.

  She waited a few minutes and tried to sit up again. The dizziness and nausea was still there, but not as badly as it had been. This time, she actually made it to a sitting position, her feet firmly on the floor. She was afraid to try to stand just yet, but she was definitely making progress.

  "God Almighty," she groaned again and stood, gingerly.

  "I'm pretty sure God had very little to do with it." The deep, masculine rumble startled her so bad, Tabitha shrieked and jumped up. Only to promptly fall back on her ass. A fresh wave of sickness swamped her and she closed her eyes tightly. "Easy there, sugar. Take your time or you'll be sick."

  "Where am I?" She managed to squeak out the question without throwing up.

  The bed dipped beside her and she knew the man with the voice was sitting next her. He probably didn't look as good as he sounded -- or smelled -- but that was probably for the best. She was hung over, probably looked like hell, and her mouth tasted like three-day-old shit.

  "Here," he said, gently placing a glass into her hands. "Drink this. You'll feel much better."

  Tabitha opened her eyes to slits and looked at the concoction. Bringing it to her nose, she sniffed once. The only thing she could detect was a light lemon scent. Almost like a lemon-lime carbonated beverage.

  "What's in it?"

  "My great-grandmother's secret recipe. Drink."

  Tabitha sipped gingerly. It wasn't bad. Almost tasteless, it held the same hint of lemon-lime its scent did. Three swallows later, it was gone. Gradually, her stomach settled, followed by the pounding in her head. After several minutes, she felt almost human again.

  That was when she realized she didn't have a stitch of clothing on. Her eyes flew to the man sitting on the bed beside her and the blood froze in her veins.

  "YOU!" Pain exploded inside her skull at the horrible screech she emitted, but she couldn't help it. Sitting next to her hung-over, morning-breathed self was her arch nemesis. The one man in all the world she could kill by either gun shot or simply fucking him to death. She didn't care which. Both would be quite satisfying.

  Derk Simons.

  "Easy there, sweetheart," he kept his voice down, for which Tabitha was grateful, but she needed to get away from him. Needed to cover herself or something. The man who had royally screwed her over, the reason for her night of debauchery in the first place, was here. In the rock hard flesh. "Just take it slow and quiet. You can yell at me all you want when you feel better."

  She cradled her head in one hand. "You just don't want me ralphing all over the bed."

  He chuckled quietly. "Well, there's that, too."

  Gently, Derk moved her hand and placed a cool, damp cloth on her forehead. "There. Keep that on your forehead and lie back." He eased her into a reclining position. Tabitha wanted to protest, but she was too damned sick. True, she felt better after his little concoction, but she was far from OK.

  "What happened? How did I get here?" The lunacy of what she was asking hit her with almost nuclear force. She stared at him in horror.

  "What? You didn't enjoy yourself?" His smug grin was almost her undoing. Tabitha was either going to scratch his eyes out for taking advantage of her, or she was going to burst into tears. She'd always thought he was a bastard, but she'd never thought he'd do something like this.

  Despite her resolve, her lower lip quivered. She managed to hold the tears at bay, but anger, humiliation, and the remains of her tattered pride made it impossible to hold in all emotion. She started to lash out at him, but Derk cut her off gently.

  "Relax, sweetheart. I was just kidding. I may be a heartless bastard but I would never rape a woman. That includes incredibly sexy women who hop in my bed and practically beg me to screw them silly. I prefer my conquests to remember our encounters." He grinned mischievously at her. "Makes it easier for me to either get a second encounter, or a glowing recommendation for a new one."

  That stunned her, but not because he really hadn't taken advantage of her. "Why would you want to make me think we'd had sex? That was cruel, Derk. Even for you!" If she'd had a stitch on, she'd have gotten up and stormed out of the room, but her nakedness guaranteed she wouldn't go anywhere. She'd have to sit here and listen to whatever lecture he seemed ready to dish out.

  "I'm not trying to be mean to you, Tabitha." He raised his hands in a "no harm" gesture. "I just wanted you to think about what could have happened had I really been a bastard." He grinned and pushed a curl away from her face behind her ear. The gesture was oddly tender and, despite her anger and resentment, Tabitha's heart jumped a little. "I'm not your enemy, no matter what you think."

  "Oh really?" Tabitha spat. "You've already screwed me once. Why is it so impossible to think you wouldn't do it again?"

  Derk blinked a couple of times before narrowing his eyes in annoyance. "Oh, for fuck sake! It wasn't personal, Tabitha. It was a jukebox!"

  "It was a one of a kind 1940 Wurlitzer 700, Derk! I've saved all my adult life to be able to afford that and, when I finally found one in near perfect condition, you snatched it from right under my nose!"

  "I didn't know it was you bidding on the damned thing or I would have left it alone. I'm tall, but you're damned short and you were standing behind those two antique dealers who are just as tall as I am. All I could see was the paddle you were madly waving over their shoulders" He stopped, stared at her a moment, then chuckled. "It's kind of funny when you think about it."

  "I find nothing about it funny in the least. I really wanted it, Derk." At the mention of her lost, beloved antique, she sighed. "It was so beautiful. And it would look perfect in my living room underneath the aquarium. A Wurlitzer 700! Do you have any idea how rare that is?"

  "Actually, no. But obviously you do." He lay back on the bed then, bracing his weight on one elbow as he looked at her. "What, exactly, would you be willing to do for that old thing?"

  Tabitha started to give him a scathing reply, but her gaze snagged on his chest. The man was seriously fine! He'd moved into the apartment next to hers the previous year and she'd fantasized about him ever since. They'd frequented the same clubs, parties, and circle of friends, but had never engaged in anything more than polite conversation until a few weeks before. That was when T
abitha had confessed to wanting that damned jukebox. It was up for sale at auction after the previous owners declared bankruptcy and she'd intended to buy it, though she hadn't told him that part.

  He wasn't completely naked, but he was shirtless and his hair was still damp from his shower. His boxer briefs hugged his hips and thighs lovingly, and, to her complete and utter fascination, his cock stirred beneath the thin fabric.

  Tabitha's mouth went dry, and not from alcohol induced dehydration. The man was seriously fine! She'd always thought so, but this was the first time she'd seen this side of him. Laying on the bed next to her, shirtless, in his boxer briefs, he was one sexy hunk of man. No doubt about it.

  Then she remembered the whole situation. She probably looked like death warmed over. With an embarrassed groan, she pulled a pillow over her face.

  "I need a shower. And a toothbrush."

  His chuckle sent an excited tingle through her body straight to her clit and Tabitha had to clench her teeth to keep from moaning again.

  "Bathroom's right there," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "No shower in there, but I've got a really big tub. Check the medicine cabinet and there should be a toothbrush still in the pack. You're welcomed to it."

  She mumbled a "thank you" and started to stand… only to remember she was naked as a newborn babe. "Don't suppose you know where my clothes are, do you?"

  He didn't move, but his mouth widened into an infuriating, male grin. "Yep. They're in the washer."

  "Good Lord, do I stink that bad?" Her first impulse was to sniff her pits and, to her utter mortification, that's exactly what she did. She winced and glanced at him just in time to see him smother another smile. Of course, she had to chuck the pillow at him, which only turned that damned smile into a chuckle.

  "No, sugar, but you had a stain right in the middle of your chest where you'd missed your mouth. Figured I'd wash it before it set." The gleam in his eye said there was more to it than that, but Tabitha let it go. Some things were just better left alone.

  "Do you at least have something for me to cover up with? I really don't plan on walking around naked."

  "Nope. All out." Derk hadn't moved from his side on the bed. He just lay there looking at her. Tabitha had a moment to imagine he looked at her with just the tiniest tinge of lust, then she remembered her current state of ickiness. No effin way.

  With a growl and many murmured obscenities, Tabitha snagged the comforter from the bed and stomped to the bathroom without a look back.

  Chapter Two

  Her dramatic exit might have carried more impact had she remembered to pull the comforter all the way around her. As it was, Derk got a terrific view of her very shapely, very rounded ass. All that dark toffee-cream skin sent blood straight to his groin. There was no way she was getting out of his apartment without her knowing how much he wanted her. He'd kept his distance far too long. Had he known just how luscious her ass was, he wouldn't have.

  He waited until he heard her finish brushing her teeth and turn on the water to the bathtub before getting up and following her into the bathroom. She'd shut the door, but not locked it. There was a moment's hesitation before he simply pushed open the door and leaned against the frame and froze.

  Tabitha was bent over the edge of the large, claw-foot tub adjusting the water. Her back arched and her butt practically staring him in the face. Which was when he noticed her tattoos. Not a tramp stamp. She was too classy for that. Oh, no. Low on her back, tattooed over the dimples just above her rear end, were two, green cat eyes. They stared back at him, exotic and naughty, just begging him to swat the dark, creamy flesh… as he pounded into her from behind.

  Derk's knees nearly gave way and there was no way he could suppress the possessive growl that escaped his throat. Hell, he didn't want to suppress it. The quicker she figured out he meant business, the better off he'd be. If she didn't want him, she could leave. If she did, they could get to the good stuff that much quicker.

  Startled, she snapped up straight, only to lose her balance when she spun around and fall backwards into the tub. Water splashed all around her and, to Derk, it was like it happened in slow motion. Her hair fell loose from the clip holding it on top of her head to spill around her face and shoulders in a damp cascade. Magnificent breast bounced once as she landed on her butt, and all that smooth looking skin was sprayed with droplets that seemed to glisten like diamonds. The force of the moment literally drove him to his knees.

  And it wasn't just her sex appeal. She was everything he'd ever wanted in a woman. The sex appeal was a huge part of it though. He was man enough to admit it, too. He wanted her hard. Any way he could get her. But in the year or so he'd known her, he'd seen the woman she was. She volunteered in the community, helped out friends in need, worked harder than any man he'd ever known, and loved her mama to pieces. She was definitely a keeper.

  They just stared at each other for a moment. Derk on his knees on the bathroom floor, Tabitha in the bathtub. Derk desperately wanted to say something witty and seductive, but all he could manage was a groan of surrender as he reached for one of her legs.

  He captured her right ankle and moved to the edge of the tub. There was no way he could have stopped himself from bringing his mouth to the side of her calf, even if his life depended on it. Smooth skin met his lips and he licked a path from her ankle to her knee.

  Tabitha's little gasp only made his cock throb harder. She didn't pull away, or kick him in his face, which he took as a positive sign she wasn't opposed to his explorations.

  "Lovely," he breathed. "Absolutely lovely."

  She whimpered and pulled her leg back and away from him slightly, but when he looked at her, not even attempting to mask his hunger for her, she bit her bottom lip and let him have her leg. Derk didn't wait for her to change her mind. With a little growl of satisfaction, he moved between her legs so he could lavish the same attention on her other leg.

  "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted you in exactly this position?" When she raised an eyebrow at him, he let out a strangled chuckle. "OK, so not exactly this position, but here. With me. Letting me explore all that lovely skin to my heart's content. I want you, Tabitha." He turned her leg outward slightly so he could nip the underside of her knee. She inhaled sharply, but didn't pull away. "Will you let me have you, I wonder?"

  "Derk, I . . ."

  "Shhh," He reached up to place a finger on her lips. "It's a simple question, sugar." He held her gaze, his heart pounding so hard he was sure she could hear him. "Will you let me?"

  After a moment, Tabitha nodded slightly. Derk didn't wait. He needed that lost look gone from her face. She was hung over and unsure of herself and he wanted her to lean on him for support. He would help her through this. Yeah, it was probably going to kill him, but he'd bath her, dry her, put her to bed…

  And hold her all night. Tomorrow, he'd screw her silly.

  If she let him.

  For now, he'd be content with the knowledge that she was here with no immediate plans to get the hell out.

  Derk took this precious opportunity to explore her body. He briefly considered using the loofah or a wash cloth, but squirted a generous amount of bath gel into his hand and rubbed them into a rich lather. It took restraint on his part not to go straight for her breasts, but that seemed a bit crude. Instead, he concentrated on those long, strong legs.

  Her skin was silky smooth and soft as a baby's bottom. He caressed each limb in turn, soaping them with his hands until Tabitha moaned. Her body gradually relaxed when Derk moved on to her arms. By the time he reached her back and finally her breasts, she whimpered in need.

  "Derk, I need you." Her voice was weak and trembling. She reached for him and Derk lifted her out of the tub to wrap her in a thick towel.

  "I know, sugar. I'm about to burst myself." His motions were brisk. He couldn't help it really. His hands shook he was so needy. It was a first for him because Derk always prided himself on his self-control, but it was taking every
ounce of will power he had not to simply shoulder his way between her legs and latch on to that lovely, shaved pussy and dine to his heart's content.

  With a heavy sigh, he finished toweling Tabitha dry, scooped her up in his arms and headed to the bedroom. She'd wound her arms around him and snuggled into his neck, nipping occasionally and Derk's cock throbbed with each little pinch of her teeth. There was absolutely no way he was going to make it. No way at all.

  Gentlly, Derk lay the woman of his dreams on the bed and stepped back to look at her. His cock was screaming at him to sink deep inside her and fuck being a nice guy. Nice guys finished last. But there was no way he could do this now. It felt too much like taking advantage of her and he simply would not do that. He was in this for keeps, not for a quick fuck then on with his life. Hell, even if he was, he still couldn't do it. She wasn't drunk now, but hung over was still a vulnerable state.

  Besides. He wanted her to enjoy this. Who the hell could enjoy sex after a night of self-indulgence?

  Especially when a Wurlitzer 700 was involved.

  She really was beautiful. Laying there, in his big bed, naked save for the covers, she looked at him with a combination of need and innocence. He had no idea how much sexual experience she had, but she just screamed wholesome woman.

  Her long, curly dark hair was piled high on her head, but little ringlets framed her face and spilled onto the pillow. Her dark toffee-colored skin was a nice contrast to the white of the cotton sheets. Dark eyes, wide as she surveyed his large body, drifted up and down his frame making him keenly aware of the hard on he sported between his legs.

  His chuckle, though filled with genuine humor, was tight nonetheless. "Don't look at me like I'm about to eat you, sugar."

  She snapped her gaze back to his face. There was a beat before she came back with, "When is that a bad thing. Ever."

  It was enough to break the tension and Derk laughed lightly as he slid beneath the covers and pulled Tabitha into his arms. She pillowed her head on his shoulder and wrapped her body around his much like a cat might.