Playing With Fire Read Free Page A

woman a questioning look.
    Their friend Marsha chimed in. “They didn’t date. All they did was—” she started.
    Roberta interrupted. “What we did was enjoy a mutually satisfying adult relationship. Don’t hate,” she said.
    Marsha laughed. “Like I started to say. What they did never took them out of bed. I doubt she even got a meal out of the deal.”
    â€œOh, I ate,” Roberta said with a laugh. “I ate very well, thank you very much! And he did too. In fact—”
    Taryn held up her hand, stalling the crude comment she knew was coming from her friend’s mouth. “Please, spare us the nasty details.”
    Laughter rang around the table.
    â€œActually,” Roberta said after downing the last of the beverage in her glass, “Romeo is a really great guy and one day he’s going to make the right woman an incredible husband. I just wasn’t the right woman and we both knew it. But we knew how to have really great sex!”
    Marsha shook her head. “I sure wouldn’t mind riding him,” she said with a woeful sigh. “Just one time.”
    Roberta laughed, her head waving from side to side. “He’s not your type,” she said matter-of-factly. “I was thinking he’d actually be a great catch for you, Taryn.” She tossed her friend a raised eyebrow.
    â€œGirl, please! That man’s a dog. Pure hound,” Taryn answered as she rolled her eyes skyward. She tossed Romeo another quick look. “No, he’s too much of a player for me,” Taryn added.
    Roberta shrugged. “Girl, he is not that bad! I wouldn’t count him out if I were you. He’s one of the good guys and there aren’t too many of them left. Trust me when I tell you!”
    Taryn’s gaze moved back across the room, eyeing Romeo curiously. As if he sensed her staring, his gaze suddenly turned in her direction, meeting the look she was giving him. Their eyes locked and held and then he smiled, a sly, seductive bend to his mouth that illuminated his dark face. She felt her breath catch in her chest as she tore her gaze from his, suddenly dropping her eyes to the table and the empty wineglass she twisted nervously in her hands. She took a deep breath and then a second.
    Roberta bumped her shoulder. “If I were you I definitely wouldn’t count that man out just yet.”

Two
    He had made a sizeable profit off other people’s addictions. As Romeo Marshall twirled a bottle of vodka in the palms of his hands, the thought tripped a heavy path across his mind. Upon hearing the ornately carved wooden door open and then close, he looked up from the glass he was filling. A damp breeze preceded the emaciated black man who’d found his way inside out of the evening rain. The old man’s hollow eyes scanned the perimeter of the room. Exhaustion wove an intricate pattern of crimson lace against the white of his cornea. The gaunt figure, nourished by too meager a diet and too much alcohol, stared openly at Romeo, then nodded his gray head hello. Brushing the raw drops of moisture from his shoulders, he eased the heaviness in his limbs toward a small table in the back and sat down.
    Romeo placed the vodka-filled glass on the counter just as his head waitress swept by to pick up her order. “See what the old guy wants,” he said, nodding his head toward the man at the rear table.
    â€œUh-huh,” Odetta replied. Chewing heavily on a stale piece of bubble gum, she rolled her eyes as if annoyed when Romeo winked at her, flashing her a full smile.
    Romeo propped his elbows on top of the long cherry bar, the solid wood supporting the weight of his well-built frame. He watched with amusement as Odetta crossed the room, the strut of her wide hips swaying to the beat of the music. The woman shuffled her way to the man’s side, spoke to him briefly, and then pulled a seat up to the table to sit down beside the stranger.