Mahogany Is The Color Of Devotion

Chapter 4

Lafayette was angry with herself. What had she done? She was supposed to be seducing the man, not helping him with the process of marrying someone else.

And she was a fool to think that he would decline her offer. This was Nicholas for God sakes. The man couldn't very well tell sarcasm apart from real humor.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she had completely forgotten about the book in her hands until it dropped from her grasp. She sighed before reaching down to pick it up, noticing that she was still stuck on page four. She'd never finish the thing at this rate. She marked her page before closing it and leaning back in her seat to think about the predicament she had gotten herself into.

She was normally calm in her decision making. Never quick to answer without thinking and yet here she was...trying to figure out why in God's name she had blurted out something so bloody stupid without thinking it over first.

At that thought she remembered telling Leo about the whole situation and he had laughed, telling her, "Well, maybe you two are right for each other."

She groaned. How was she going to do this? This was much like a novel all in itself, she mused. Quite a silly novel but one that she would most likely read.

And then an idea hit her. Why didn't she think of it before? It was so brilliant she contemplated giving herself a pat on the back. If she was going to help him learn how to court a wife...why not seduce him in the process?

In the end all of his practice would inevitably be real, he'd end up with her anyway. She grinned wide, standing up from her chair. She grabbed her book and made a beeline for the door.

She had an appointment with Nicholas and she refused to be late.

----

Nick felt a nagging sense of...unease. For the life of him he couldn't figure out why? Women had never been his expertise, he was not afraid to admit that. He had courted a few, had shared a bed with some but had he ever really loved?

That he was not sure. It had been years since he had last tried to court a woman seriously, let alone marry one.

So when Lafayette had offered to help, well, he had seen no reason to say no. She was only offering to help. And he saw no reason to deny her kindness...that was until he had thought it over days later. Something just felt strange...a little off.

But still, he ignored the feeling, not quite sure as to why he felt that way in the first place.

He waited in the park, Lafayette had insisted he wait for her there instead of coming by to pick her up. He hadn't found anything wrong with that at all, had merely thought she wanted to start their pretend courtship out in a simple manner: a walk in the park.

His mind wandered to the happiness his best friend had acquired through his marriage and he silently hoped that he too would have such love in his life one day.

"Nick?" A soft, familiar feminine voice called out to him.

He turned and his eyes fell on Lafayette as she hurried toward him. She was a pretty chit. Her skin tone was much lighter than her mothers and yet several shades darker than her father's. She was a lovely honeyed mahogany. Her hair was uncontrollably wavy despite being braided evenly into a top chignon. The dress she wore was a soft baby blue that hugged her waist and pushed her breast up and out.

As she grew nearer, his eyes stayed glued to her chest. Good, God....what was he doing?

He cleared his throat as she came upon him, smiling widely. He looked away for a moment, realizing that he had actually been admiring her with such thoroughness.

"Nicholas?" She called once more, catching his attention.

He turned toward her, smiling softly. "Good evening, love."

She suddenly smiled at him once more, her eyes shining in his direction. He had never noticed how brown her eyes were, nor how hypnotic her gaze was. Her face was heart shaped, her lips full. He even the noticed the few wavy tendrils of her black hair that had managed to escape her updo.

Lord, he was doing it again.

"Shall we go for a walk then? Before it gets too late?" She suggested, her voice soft and calm to his ears.

"Of course." He mumbled in a bit of a daze. Trying to get his mind off of how attractive he suddenly found her. Maybe it was because he had never been with her alone? Or maybe it was because regardless of how pretend this courtship was to be, he was till courting her. And courting her meant that she was a woman, something that he had never seen her as before.

As they began to walk, she grabbed his arm. He nearly faltered in his steps. This was foolish, he thought to himself. She was his best friends daughter. And that's all that she would ever be.

"It's rather dull when there's no conversation." She told him warmly, amusement in her voice.

"You're right. How was your day?"

She smiled up at him. "Quite a good start, though you might want to start conversation with something a little nontraditional, you know. Women this day and age do like a little bit of difference."

He tilted his head at that. "What would you suggest I talk about then?"

She raised her free hand, taping her full bottom lip with her index finger. His eyes were drawn there. "I know, tell me something wondrous that you've done or seen! I've heard you used to travel a lot, do tell me a story."

As she talked his eyes stayed on her lips, watching as they moved to form her words. He nearly tripped over his own feet before looking away. The same sense of nagging unease returned and planted in his chest.

"Nicholas?" Lafayette's voice broke this haze once more and he shook away his strange feelings.

"Yes, a story." He thought for a moment before snapping his fingers in remembrance. "I know one that I'm sure you'll enjoy."