For the music album launch, Gladys wore a purple skirt that ended just above the knee with cowl-necked lavender print top. She’d bought them from a store opposite Silverbird Galleria on a shopping trip with Ayo and Jennifer. She had sprayed the Christian Lacroix perfume Edward gave her sometime ago on her wrists, neck and behind the ears. The outfit was set off by a pair of gold drop earrings, two trendy bangles, a large lilac plaid handbag and gold stilettos.
Edward sat beside her in the VIP lounge of Planet One sending out traces of musky aftershave. He looked more handsome the longer they dated. Right now, his well placed features and the thick dark brows were relaxed and fixed on the musician. His lips were curved in a smile, a lure to her senses. After the few light kisses they shared, she always fantasized about what more those chiseled lips could do. She blinked to clear her naughty thoughts.
Everybody in the hall clapped as the music came to an end. The crowd soon began to mill around and they strolled up the curving stairs to congratulate Edward’s friend Bolaji and his girlfriend. Kanayo was there too and they chatted together in a cluster of settees. The tables and chairs on the lower level were pushed to the sides as some people began to dance.
“She was really good wasn’t she?”
“Oh yes she was, I hear that Kennis Music are after her, she’ll be just the third female on their Label. And wait for it; she’ll be touring with Tuface and Sound Sultan next month.”
Gladys allowed the gossip to flow over her.
“Are you OK?” Edward’s whispered breath fanned her cheek with goose bumps.
She looked over at him and smiled. “The noise is getting to me I think.” The music was being handled by an upshot DJ whose hard beats pounded in her skull.
“Hold on,” Edward said and turned to Bolaji. She didn’t hear what they whispered together before he stood and held out his arm. She grabbed it and stood.
“There’s a quieter room meant for some close friends. We’re supposed to go up there later but since it’s already open we might as well. The rest will join us when they’re ready.”
They left the lounge and climbed some steps to the upper lounge. The room had a cozy ambience, the wide glass doors showing a relaxing view of the swimming pool and hotel grounds. African art adorned the walls and she admired the one of a village setting as they walked to a settee. She relaxed into the plush back and rolled the kinks out of her neck.
“Do you have a headache coming on? The DJ’s music was really edgy.” Edward walked to the unmanned bar and collected a bottle of champagne and two fluted glasses. She admired the fluid grace in his stride, the long legs and the tight buttocks above them.
“Yes, but it started from last week. I missed a Friday deadline to submit some processes efficiency analysis reports. But I’m happy we came out today to take my mind off it for a while.”
“I hope you enjoyed the music by Bolaji’s girlfriend though.”
“The performance was great and the event was very well planned. I also like this venue.” The place had matched its rep for being a trendy and well managed gathering place.
Edward’s smile was affectionate as he sat close up against her. She moved a few inches away, leaving a safe gap between them. The party seemed to be happening on another planet; no sounds penetrated into their little world.
The way he looked at her made her heart thump with expectation and hormones, but she also felt nervous. She was alone in a private room with a very sexy man to whom she was very attracted but she was also wary of allowing the relationship take a sexual turn so quickly. In spite of the space between them she could almost feel the heat of his desire for her. She smoothed the creases out of her skirt. Their eyes met and he smiled at her bashfulness.
“I don’t know what to do with my hands,” she murmured.
Put them on me. Edward quashed that thought before it could go further. “Do you want some champagne then?”
“Yes please.” They burst into laughter. It was almost comical. The sexual tension had been building for a while. During his last trip to America there had been a lot of late night phone calls and some tender exchanges had gone further than they would have.
Edward filled both glasses with the chilled champagne and gave one to her, lifting his in a toast. “To the beautiful lady in my life, Gladys you’re the only girl that I have ever wanted this badly. I just wish you wanted me half as much.”
If only he knew, she thought lowering her eyes to drink from her glass. She could feel him watching her with a hunger that echoed within her secret places. Her breasts felt heavier, the tips tingling against the fabric of her top. She wanted him to touch her right then and to kiss her, but she also didn’t want him to. She shifted on her seat and adjusted her neckline.
“To hell with it,” Edward muttered. He moved closer and put both arms around her. His mouth covered hers in a warm, wet kiss. The feel of those lips against hers was as thrilling as in her fantasies. She fell back on the cushions and tried to prop herself up by the elbows. He deepened the kiss, and her arms give way so that she fell on her back beneath his weight.
Gladys didn’t know the last time she’d enjoyed a kiss so much. His lips were hard and soft at the same time and his mouth a warm haven. When she felt his hands around her waist, she placed her palms on his chest, felt the heavy pounding of his heart through his T-shirt. It aroused her deeply to know how much he wanted her. It thrilled her that he could desire her so much that his hands slightly shook as they caressed her bare arms.
“I want you.” He said in a whisper against her lips, his eyes darkened with passion as they held hers. “I’ve wanted you for months, since the first time I saw you.”
His words brought her back to where they were. She lifted her hands from him to run them through her braided hair. “Edward,” she sighed. “We can’t do this now.”
“Maybe not here,” He lightly stroked her neck his fingers, moving down to the cowl of her neckline. “But it’s so hard not to go further. Having you alone here is torture.”
Gladys sat up and shifted a little. “Anyone can come in…”
As if on cue, footsteps sounded on the steps and in the next minute people were joining them in the room. Edward kept his arms around her and continued to send heated glances her way but she feigned ignorance and smiled as she chatted with Kanayo and the others. Still, he stole a long sweet kiss when he dropped her off at her aunt’s place after the party.
