One Special Moment - Brenda Jackson [69]
Chapter 17
“How does your food taste?”
Colby glanced up from her meal. Her eyes locked with Sterling’s and she drew a deep breath. Why did one man have to look so good?
Since arriving in Barbados three days ago, they had remained at the cottage, venturing out only to take short walks on the beach in the early mornings or late afternoons. But today they had taken a grand tour of the city.
Sugar was the primary crop in Barbados and many, many years ago, the British colony’s numerous sugar plantations were worked by African slaves. Most of the residents of Barbados were direct descendants of those workers. While out and about today, she had enjoyed the Barbados people as much as she had enjoyed the island’s scenery. The Bajans, the name the residents of Barbados called themselves, were very friendly, and as she discovered, the best-educated in the Caribbean. At the marketplace she had conversed with them on a variety of subjects. She had been amazed at how easily they could blend their West Indian identity with a heavy British influence. One of the islanders had recommended this restaurant as an exclusive and sophisticated place to enjoy some of the Caribbean’s cuisine.
She had looked forward to coming here, but now the only thing she could think about was getting back to the cottage, being in Sterling’s arms and feeling his bare skin against hers. For someone who had just discovered her passionate side only days ago, she was constantly anxious at the thought of them making love.
All she had to do was watch his mouth at work doing something as relatively simple as chewing his food, and she would remember that same mouth leaving trails of tender kisses over her body. He could arouse her to the brink of mindless ecstasy with that mouth.
“The food’s fine,” she replied silkily. “How’s yours?”
“It’s okay.”
“Do you think you’ll want dessert?” she asked after several minutes had passed and he was still staring at her with a seductive look in his gaze. The heated desire she saw in his eyes made her pulse jump.
“Yes, I’ll want dessert. But the dessert I want isn’t on their menu,” he answered huskily.
Colby couldn’t help staring at him as the meaning of his words became clear in her mind. A warm, melting sensation rushed through her already heated veins. She briefly closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Her nostrils didn’t pick up the smell of the spicy food before her, instead it picked up the scent of him, all male, arousing and enticing.
“Let’s finish our meal and get back to the cottage,” he suggested softly.
Colby nodded. She returned to eating her meal.
Sterling forced his attention back to his own meal. Suddenly his mind became overloaded with chaotic emotions. It was so unlike him to get caught up in a woman. But that’s all he’d been doing since meeting Colby. He had somehow gotten caught up in her very existence.
He ate absently, his mind and thoughts were in turmoil. Why was she so different from all the others? He lifted his gaze and looked at her again. No matter what she thought, she was indeed beautiful. Her long, thick, black hair was wrapped upward, away from her face, clearly emphasizing her prominent features. Her makeup hadn’t been heavily applied like that of a lot of the women he’d dated. And for some reason, he couldn’t stop focusing on her lips. Those same lips he enjoyed tasting time and time again.
Sterling returned to eating his meal. There was more to Colby than her physical attributes. She was also a person you could talk to. She was a person who knew how to listen.
He lifted his head and again looked at her. She would make any child a good mother, of that he had no doubt. That very thought made him think of his own mother and her visit a few weeks ago. Even though he had tried not to think about it, he had. Angeline Chenault’s visit weighed heavily on his mind at some of the oddest times. Like now.
“She came to see me,” he said simply, as if Colby would immediately