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  Sealed with a Kiss

  B.M. Hardin

  Savvily Published LLC

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright 2014© B.M. Hardin

  ISBN-10:0991528166

  ISBN-13:978-0-9915281-6-5

  This book is solely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any persons, places, events or locales are coincidental. The story is fictitious therefore a nothing more than a product of the author’s imagination.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to all of my family, friends and readers that have supported me from the very beginning of my career. Without all of you…there wouldn’t be an Author B.M. Hardin, so I dedicate this one to you!

  Acknowledgements

  First, God has blessed me with this talent and it is to him that I give thanks and honor for allowing me to borrow such an extraordinary gift.

  Secondly, I acknowledge my family. They have pushed me even when I didn’t want to be pushed so to all of you I want to say thank you.

  Lastly, I want to acknowledge all of those that help me with my writing. Whether it is editing, proofreading, reading and reviewing, all of you play a major role in my success and with helping me become a better writer and author. To you I say thank you.

  B.M. Hardin-

  Sealed with a Kiss- 2014

  Prologue

  What is Love?

  I pretended to be asleep as Leo continued to rub on my back and massage my outer thigh. I felt bad, just a little, but I just wasn’t in the mood. I was under so much stress at work and I had so many deadlines to meet, that now that I was finally home, I just wanted to be left alone. I was exhausted and I didn’t want to be touched.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t love my husband; I did. And it wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy being intimate with him; Lord knows I did. But life was about making sacrifices and sex every night with Leo, just wasn’t at the top of my list of important things to do. Leave it to Leo, I wouldn’t work at all. I would simply be stuck in this house all darn day, and my only job would be to cook his food and be his personal sex slave. But too bad; this woman here had better things to do. She had goals and dreams that were slowly, but surely coming true and it was all because of my hard work and dedication. So, sometimes, Leo had to go without so that I could concentrate on more important things.

  I couldn’t be the only woman who felt this way…right? Oh well, if I was, so be it. If he wanted it that bad he could use his hand…and that nice big bottle of lotion that was sitting on the edge of the dresser.

  Finally, after not moving or responding to his touches, Leo got the hint. He exhaled loudly, rolled out of the bed and exited the room.

  Okay, so maybe I was a terrible wife but he deserved to wait until I was up to it and could fully participate. I was just too tired…why couldn’t he understand that?

  I closed my eyes and made a mental note to myself to find the time one day this week to have sex with my husband. But then again, this week was kind of busy.

  Maybe next week would be better…

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  Chapter One

  ~Love is Patient~

  “So, I was thinking, maybe we could do something this weekend; just the two of us. No phones, no work; just us. Let’s get away, take a little drive and relax. And of course do something else,” Leo flirted with me.

  I looked at him as if he was crazy. He was so silly for even making that kind of suggestion. He knew that that wasn’t going to happen. I might be able to squeeze the sex thing in, maybe, but getting away and going out of town just wasn’t an option.

  “Yeah right, I got work to do all weekend mister. Maybe some other time babe,” I said to him and turned away to avoid seeing the look of disappointment on his face.

  For a while he didn’t say anything, finally he responded.

  “Yeah, what was I thinking? A weekend get away with my wife is absurd. You’re right…we both got a ton of work to do,” Leo said and continued doing whatever it was that he was doing on his laptop.

  For a while, we worked side by side, with only the sound of the keys on both of our keyboards echoing throughout the room. After a while, ever so often, Leo would let out a light chuckle, and then he’d start typing again.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked him after the twentieth giggle.

  “Nothing,” he said bluntly.

  “Sure doesn’t sound like nothing,” I said to him in disbelief. Leo closed his computer and kissed me on the cheek.

  “Like I said, nothing,” and he said and he headed to the bathroom to shower…taking his laptop with him.

  Later that night, I waited for him to make his move. Yes, I was tired but I was going to give in to his sexual requests. It had been a while and since I couldn’t go away as he’d suggested, the least that I could do was to let him have his way with me. I didn’t pretend to be asleep when Leo entered the room. Instead, I gave him a sexy, inviting smile. But strangely, Leo got into bed, shouted out goodnight and he turned his back to me. A few minutes later, nothing but his snores filled the empty spaces of our bedroom.

  He was tired too…I guess.

  ~~~

  I beamed at the sight of my mini-me gliding across the stage. She did it! Thank you God!

  I tell you, at times it was tough, and I do mean tough, but I got my baby girl to the finish line and today, she was officially a high school graduate! Words couldn’t express how proud I was of her. To graduate high school, with honors, and without a baby was almost unheard of in this day in time but my Lizzy had managed to pull it off; that and so much more.

  Lizette had succeeded in getting accepted into four of her top five college choices. She’d chosen to attend Clemson University, just like her daddy and she was actually leaving in only two weeks from today to attend a summer program offered for freshmen. It was all happening so fast and so soon, but needless to say---I was one proud mama!

  As the last graduate made their way across the stage, my husband, Leo, grabbed my hand. Leo and I had been in love for what seemed like forever but in all actuality it had only been about twenty years.

  I was just eighteen years old when we’d meet, but I’ll never forget that day.

  I was home for Christmas from my first semester of college. I’d decided to attend the University of Greensboro. It wasn’t too far from home, Charlotte, NC, yet it was far enough.

  Anyway, with a few weeks off from my studies, I couldn’t wait to get back home to visit my best friend. Norma Jean had been my best friend since we were only five years old. She was the funniest, most exciting, and by far the smartest girl in the state of North Carolina. We were closer than sisters and God knows I loved her more than life itself. We’d done everything together, but unfortunately, when it came time to head off to college, I had to leave her behind. Norma Jean ended up getting pregnant only a few months before we graduated high school, by an older guy. Her future had been so bright and just like that, it was all over. Coming up the way that we did, abortions weren’t up for discussion, so instead of preparing for college with me, she’d had to prepare for a baby. Just like, that she’d had to kiss her dreams of being the first scientist to find a cure for cancer, goodbye.

  Anyway, on my first night back, I was finally able to see my godson for the first time in person. Norma Jean and I sat in her room, laughing and catching up for hours.

  But somehow, things went sour. Not between her and I; but between her and her child’s father. Next thing you know, Norma Jean had convinced me to drive her over to his house so that she could give him a piece of her mind. She despised the fact that he was continuing to pursue his goals and career, while she had to sit at home with a baby. But you know what they say: Momma’s babies; daddy’s maybe. And that’s just the way th
at it is.

  That night, as I waited for her outside in the car, I was minding my own business, when out of nowhere a guy knocks on my car window.

  I stared at the stranger; but strangely, the stranger smiled at me. But smiling or not, I didn’t know him from a can of paint, and rolling down my window just wasn’t an option.

  He was carrying a notebook, so I figured that most likely he wasn’t dangerous; but still yet it was late in the evening and roughly twenty degrees outside, yet he wasn’t wearing a jacket. So as far as I was concerned…he was suspect.

  He knocked on the window again, but still I didn’t move. I simply stared at him and continued to study the stranger with awareness, curiosity and just a tad bit of awe.

  I wouldn’t say that he was a ten; but he was a good, strong seven or eight. He was tall. His build wasn’t too skinny, but it was far from being fat. It was just right. His eyes were bold, brown and large and reminded me of two perfectly round marbles. He had the most intriguing smile; unlike one I’d never seen. It was awkwardly exquisite; flawless.

  But I didn’t care how handsome he was; it still wasn’t enough to make me roll down my window.

  After he saw that I didn’t plan to budge; finally he went on his way, walking into the same exact house that my best friend was in. Come to find out, he was the baby brother of her son’s father. He was our age and he was also home from college, Clemson University, for the Christmas holiday. That night, he’d been coming from his buddy’s house across the street.

  That was the first time that I’d laid eyes on Leo but it surely wasn’t the last. He’d inquired about me through his brother and Norma Jean, and somehow, he’d talked her into giving him my phone number. He’d waited until the day before Christmas break was over to call.

  “Can I speak to Ginger?”

  That’s me. Ginger Faye Davidson; but everybody called me Gin.

  Anyway, all it’d taken was that one phone call for me to see his potential. It’d taken one three hour long conversation to fall in love with him; two hot, and long summers to realize that he was the one, and three more Christmas’s before I was a college graduate, pregnant and officially Mrs. Leo Eugene Davidson.

  That was all of twenty years ago, but it seemed as though it’d only happened yesterday.

  Whether he believed it or not, I was still head over heels in love with my husband; and I always had been. I mean, sure, I didn’t get to show him as often as I should’ve, but still yet, I loved him more than anything else in the world. I was so lucky to have married someone so amazing and as talented as Leo.

  Leo was such a good man. He was charming, hardworking and truly dedicated to everyone and everything that he came into contact with.

  It was just something about him that made a person want to love him. Maybe it was his personality. Maybe it was the way that he talked or the way that he laughed. After all of these years, I could only assume that it was a mixture or the perfect blend of them all. Either way, Leo had stolen my heart and twenty years later, he still hadn’t given it back. Leo was so special to me. We were an impeccable team and together we’d made all of our dreams come true. Together we’d raised our one and only child, and together we’d done one hell of a good job.

  “I did it Ma, I really did it!” Lizette squealed and ran into my arms.

  I hugged her for only a second before she pulled away from me and ran into the arms of her first true love…her father; Leo.

  I smiled at my husband and daughter as they laughed and talked about her accomplishments. I’d never felt so complete in all of my life. For the most part, my job was done. I’d raised my daughter as best as I could. Gotten her through high school, and off to college. No grandbabies as of yet, and no knuckle headed boyfriend putting her up to mischief; at least not anymore. Yes, we had done a good job.

  We headed home to the surprise graduation party that was waiting for her. Lizette adored all of the attention and spent the entire day enjoying the presence of our hundreds of friends and family members.

  “That’s our little girl,” Leo said and kissed my forehead.

  My heart instantly began to melt. After twenty years he still gave me butterflies.

  “I got a surprise for you later,” I joked with my husband, licking my lips to ensure that he got the hint.

  He did.

  But of course he knew that I was just teasing. After the long, tiring day that we’d had, Leo would have been a fool to think that he was going to get lucky. Sorry…not tonight.

  ~~~

  I was crying but they were tears of joy.

  Two weeks had come way too fast, and it was time for my baby girl to hit the road and head to college. And making matters worse, I couldn’t take the drive with her and Leo to drop her off.

  I was on a strict deadline and I just didn’t have any extra time. I was a newspaper columnist, one of the best, and when work called…I went running.

  Lizette waved goodbye to me as they drove away. I blew a single kiss to the both of them and followed behind them, heading for the office.

  Though they were the most important things in my life, my job was definitely the second.

  I absolutely loved it! Journalism was everything to me. I breathed writing and all things literature. I’d always had a way with words and I was even better with putting them down on paper. Writing just came natural to me; it always had.

  “Aw, she’ll be fine,” my boss and very close friend, Desiree said.

  Desiree and I had become very close in the fifteen years that we’d known each other. Recently, she had taken over the role of being my best friend; since Norma Jean moved away. Norma Jean and I still talked when we could be it wasn’t the same. After all, she’d finally gotten married to a man that was Liberian. And only a few days after the wedding, she moved with him to Liberia. So, unless she was going to pay my phone bill, talking to her was at a minimum. But with the distance between us, Desiree had merely taken her place.

  Desiree was a blonde bomb shell. She was as cute as a button too. She was my first Caucasian friend, but I often joked with her stating that she acted like a sista’. Hell, most of the time she acted blacker than me; if you know what I mean.

  Desiree was perky, but was definitely about her business. She had a sweet side, but she could be the biggest you know what, if you pushed one of her buttons.

  Desiree was married to one of the highest paid, black sheriffs’ in the state; who just so happened to be Leo’s big brother. Yep, the same one that was the father of Norma Jean’s one and only son. Of course Norma Jean wasn’t too fond of Desiree; but I absolutely adored her. She was my boss and my sister in-law; no complaints my way.

  “I know. I’m just going to miss her,” I responded to Desiree coming out of my thoughts.

  Okay, so though parenting wasn’t always easy, the bond between my daughter and I was special.

  She was my little princess and though we didn’t always see eye to eye, nothing in the world was more important than the love that I had for her. I just wanted the best for her. Even if that meant that sometimes I had to look like the bad guy.

  “Well, with her gone, you and Leo can get nasty all over the house,” Desiree joked.

  I smiled at her but I hadn’t even thought about that. But she was on to something. Leo and I were definitely in need of some alone time.

  Isn’t it funny how life can throw so much in your direction, all at once, that without realizing it, you tend to forget to take care of the needs of the ones that you love the most?

  I’m not sure that it was even so much as that I forget to do my duties as a wife. I remember them. I just don’t have the time to do them. I mean, don’t get me wrong; Leo and I were still very much in love with each other. But we could both definitely find more time to spend together and I needed to find more time to take care of his needs.

  I was always working; which meant that I was always tired. Leo worked a lot, but of course, working never stopped his hormones from raging.

/>   So, most of the time, it was my fault that our relationship lacked intimacy.

  Just then, I had an idea.

  Before I knew it, my work day was over and I rushed home to take care of a few things before Leo returned. Give or take a few minutes, he was expected to be home within the next few hours, so I decided to whip up his favorite meal; smothered pork chops, cabbage, brown rice and cornbread.

  Once I was done in the kitchen, I headed to shower.

  I couldn’t remember the last time I’d worn lingerie, but I reached in my top drawer and pulled out the sexiest pieces that I owned. I started to put clothes on over them but decided that there was no point in putting clothes on, when hopefully they would be coming right back off. Instead, I grabbed a pair of heels and headed back to the kitchen. I prepared the table and lit a few candles. Everything was ready.

  I only hoped that Leo wasn’t too exhausted from all of the driving; but then again, he wouldn’t turn down a chance to put his hotdog inside of my bun.

  Just as I thought to give my husband a call, the front door opened.

  “Ginger, where are you?” he called out to me but I remained in the kitchen.

  “Gin?” Leo called again, just before turning the corner and entering the kitchen.

  Though it was rather dim, except for the dancing flames of the candles against the walls, it seemed as though he wasn’t too happy about the surprise. I could have sworn that I saw a small frown, but being the man that he was, he made a quick recovery.

  “Wow, what have I done to deserve all this?” he smiled and headed in my direction. I watched his eyes as they scanned up and down my body.

  I had just turned forty, so of course my body wasn’t in top notch condition, but I looked okay. I wasn’t as comfortable in my skin as I used to be, but my chocolate covered body didn’t look too bad in the blazing red, tight lingerie that he’d gotten me for my birthday a few years earlier.