This is a story I wrote years ago, no idea why I never posted it.... But I guess no better time than the present. Enjoy! :)
Jerome swirled the champagne in his glass in a relaxed twirl of his hands.... watching the woman across the room toss back her sheen of black hair as she laughed at something her companion said. He could tell it wasn't anything truly amusing; he had always been able to read her that way. Besides, her companion didn't look like the sort who could really make her laugh. "Self-absorbed prick', Jerome thought with more than a little distaste.
But who cared about him?
It was her, Jerome was mesmerized with. Her dark skin practically gleamed in the superior lighting of the large ball room. His own, naturally fair skin paled in comparison. Ah, but he still remembered how obsessed he had been about the contrast of their skins even when he had stroked her arm casually while talking to her. He could never pull his eyes away from the path his hands took over her smooth skin.
And her eyes, god.....those swirling depths could pull him in and never let him go. Would she still be the same? That expanse of smooth, soft skin, those eyes, that husky laugh that used to drive him insane whenever he heard it...
Jerome sipped his champagne, his masculine lips closing over the rim of his glass, and he hoped.
* * *
Amara laughed politely at yet another of Brian's jokes. They weren't that funny really, but what could she do? Brian was her boss' son, so she had to play nice. He was terribly arrogant though, and a complete pain in the ass. Hoping for a distraction from Brian's incessant chatter, Amara glanced around the room.
That's when Amara saw him, dressed in a classy tuxedo that molded the length of his body as he leaned casually against the fire mantel. Intrigued, she let herself look at him for just slightly more than a second, something about him seemed strangely familiar.
Just then someone moved into her line of vision, blocking her view of him. she barely restrained herself from craning her neck to steal another look, even from this distance the stranger had looked dangerous and exciting in his dark suit.
Inconspicuously she tried to turn her head and steal another look, but to no avail. Sighing inwardly, she resigned herself to a night of laughing at Brian's jokes. Every. Single. One. She'd better be getting a pay raise soon.
All through dinner she kept trying to steal another peek at the man she had seen earlier, but he was nowhere to be found. It was strange but she felt as if she had seen him somewhere before. After dinner, she escaped to the balcony on the second floor, away from Brian and all the other guests. She just needed some time to herself, she thought as she sipped her champagne with a quiet contented sigh.
'Hello Amara", a deep voice came from behind her. Amara turned, startled to see the man in the black suit standing right behind her. Her gaze traveled over his designer suit which did nothing to hide the obvious masculine power in the breadth of his shoulders and mouth-wateringly muscular build. Then, she looked at his face and felt a jolt as familiar blue eyes stared intently back at her.
"Oh my god. Jerome?!?"
Amara stared at him gaping, yes, it was Jerome, from her high school. Those same blue eyes and grinning mouth, but everything else had changed. Age had sharpened his features making him look leaner and more handsome than ever. His tousled brown locks only accentuated his masculinity, making him look very dangerous. His body looked hard and unyielding and ultimately delicious.
Jerome moved forward and enveloped her in a warm hug, pulling her flush against his hard body. Strong hands stroked the bare skin of her back in a tingling caress before he pulled away.
'It's been a long time Amara' .
'Yeah, too long. How have you been Jer?"
'I've been doing okay, I went into architecture...that's what I'm doing here actually, the owner of the island wanted me to see if the terrains okay to build an ice rink'
Amara looked out, the wind was light and tropical, stirring the evergreen lightly as it passed over the small island that they were on. 'An ice rink, umm....well that's interesting I suppose.'
Jerome chuckled, 'Hey, I'm being paid to see if it's possible. I didn't say I thought any of this was sane.' Amara smiled.
'So what are you doing here?' He asked, leaning casually over the balcony railing.
'Well, my company sent me here on a sort of a learning getaway. So far the only thing I've learned is to stay as far away from Brian as possible.
'Brian..... And that would be the guy you were talking to earlier. He actually tried to get frisky with one of the waitresses earlier, I had to pull him off her! Bit of a dick. I can't imagine what you're doing with him', a hint of disapproval in his voice.
'Jer, I'm not with him alright. He's my boss' son. Believe me, I am NOT interested.'
'Right...' He looked at her from the side, his gaze silently appraising. And then he smiled at her all of a sudden, disarming her with his shock of white teeth.
'Hey, let's get out of here all right? We'll go for a walk.'
He held out his hand. Amara immediately took it, and then looked at their hands a moment. His long tapered fingers glowed bronze against her dark smooth skin as their fingers entwined. She shivered, the image was almost prophetic, she would think to herself later.
