Lessons From A Younger Lover. Zuri Day
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“We’re here. My front door. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye? Just like that? You call the police on a law-abiding citizen, forcing him away from his scheduled task of squirrel-hunting…and now it’s just…goodbye?”
Gwen put her hands on her hips and raised up to her full five-foot seven. “Look, I said I’m sorry about the phone call. What else do you want from me?”
“Just this.”
The assault was not what she expected. Instead of a hard, bruising kiss, Ransom’s attack was soft, yet deliberate. He rubbed his lips against hers, ever so slightly, as he made circular motions at the nape of her neck, massaging her into submission. Before Gwen realized it, she’d opened her mouth to welcome him and Ransom instantly took full advantage. His thrusting tongue was hot and purposeful against the insides of her mouth, devouring her with a gentleness that belied his strength. He dug his hands into her hair and deepened the kiss. His other hand caressed her back, even as he outlined her lips with the tip of his tongue before plunging in again.
“Please,” she said, placing a hand on his chest and putting as much distance between them as she could still wrapped in his arms. She didn’t know that his desire-filled eyes mirrored her own. “I can’t,” she stuttered.
“Baby, you taste so good. I can only imagine…”
“Well, don’t be imagining anything. You said a kiss was the other…payment…you wanted for my calling law enforcement and you…well…we’ve done that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a busy day tomorrow.”
“The kiss was just the beginning,” Ransom said, undeterred by her stern manner. He liked his women feisty, and loved a challenge.
Also by Zuri Day
Lies Lovers Tell
Body By Night
Lessons From a Younger Lover
ZURI DAY
Kensington Publishing Corp.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
For the little goddess…
Acknowledgments
This book was birthed and written while penning a chapter in my own life that spanned several states and a few countries. Many thanks to Selena James and Natasha Kern, who embraced my kinda crazy and encouraged the journey, and to Jumoke, Daniela, Claude, Grethe, Filipa, Leah, Laila, Daniel, Jesus (whose real name is Orlando, long story), Aunt Ernie, Mom and Dad Rich, Sharat, Valarie, Jody, Kai, Rolanda, Eden, Andrews, and JP, who so graciously hosted, toasted, and/or simply coasted with me during these travels….La Chaim! Also, a very special thank you to Susie Hardaway, Yvonne Turner and Elizabeth Sanderson of Oak Hill Elementary, for your valuable input during my research for this novel.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
1
There were two things Gwen Smith never thought she’d do. She never thought she’d move back to her rinky-dink hometown of Sienna, California, and she never thought she’d come back as a forty-year-old divorcée. Yet here she sat in the middle seat of a crowded plane, at the age where some said life began, trying to figure out how the boring and predictable one she’d known sixty short days ago had changed so quickly.
The first hitch in the giddyup wasn’t a total surprise. Her mother’s dementia had become increasingly worse following the death of Gwen’s father, Harold, two years ago. Her parents had been married forty-four years. It was a tough adjustment. At the funeral, Gwen told her husband that she knew the time would come when her mother’s welfare would become her responsibility. That she thought Joe would be by her side at this crucial time, and wasn’t, was the fact she hadn’t seen coming.
But it was true nonetheless. Joe had announced his desire to divorce and packed his bags the same evening. Two months later she was still reeling from that okeydoke. But she couldn’t think about that now. Gwen had to focus on one crisis at a time, and at the moment, her mother was the priority.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the seat belt sign indicating our final descent into Los Angeles. Please make sure your seat belts are securely fastened and your seats and tray tables are in their upright and locked…”
Gwen stretched as well as she could between two stout men and tried to remove the crook from her neck. Still, she was grateful she’d fallen asleep. Shuteye had been all too elusive these past few weeks, when ongoing worries and raging thoughts had kept true rest at bay. Fragments of a dream flitted across her wakened mind as they landed and she reached into the overhead bin for her carry-on luggage. Gwen didn’t know if she wanted to remember it or not. Lately, her