Close Quarters: A Novel (Zane Presents) Read Online Free PDF Page A

my head back. Was this what I had to look forward to with Ellis? Always business first, family second. I’d spent nights waiting for Ellis to come home from the office and he never arrived. Waited for a call that I never received. We’d cancelled trips, rescheduled evening plans—all in the name of business. Sure, most women would kill to be where I was right then, in a relationship with one of the most successful African-American men in the country. But it was moments like these, moments having nothing to do with success, when you started to wonder. Was this the life I wanted? I cherished quiet time at home. Time spent enjoying and loving one another. I couldn’t really complain much. I was aware of Ellis’s lifestylebefore we became involved. I suppose, somewhere deep inside, I thought I’d come first. Foolish me.
    Cool air and barely tepid water awoke me. Ellis was leaning against the granite bathroom countertop, looking down at me. The door was open, allowing a chill to circulate through the room.
    “Can you close the door? The warmth is escaping.”
    Ellis did what I asked. “I apologize for spending so much time on the phone, but it couldn’t be helped.” He unfolded my towel and held it open for me.
    I stepped out of the tub, taking the towel out of Ellis’s hands and wrapping it around my body. “You’re apologizing an awful lot lately.”
    Ellis pulled his sweater over his head. I went to the sink and began brushing my teeth, watching him in the mirror.
    He unbuckled his belt and stepped out of his slacks. “Lina, I explained earlier the importance of this coming week.”
    I rinsed toothpaste from my mouth. “Yeah, you did.” I walked past Ellis and into the bedroom.
    “You’re upset.” He followed close behind me. “Would you have preferred for me to shirk my duties and ignore my responsibility?”
    “Of course not, Ellis.” I sat on the edge of the bed, massaging cocoa butter into my skin.
    “There are always last-minute problems before a drug trial.”
    I went to the dresser drawer and removed my silk chemise. “I understand that.”
    “Then act like it, Lina. I’m going to take a shower.”
    I opened my mouth to respond, but Ellis had already closed the bathroom door behind him. I grabbed my robe and stomped out of the bedroom. I mumbled to myself all the way downstairs to the theater room. I went into the control booth and inserted my favorite DVD.
    Ellis’s home theater could seat up to twenty-five people. Five rows of luxurious, smoky-gray recliners, each with a console for cups and snacks, were arranged in true movie theater fashion—albeit more stylishly cozy. Each row was set on its own platform, descending into the room. I went down the stairs, sliding my toes through the plush carpet, and curled up in the center seat in the middle row.
    The opening scene from The Color Purple displayed across the sixteen-foot movie screen. It should be illegal to view movies at home any other way. I was engrossed in the movie, moved by two sisters being painfully torn apart, when soft lips touched the back of my neck. I turned and Ellis was standing behind my seat wearing black pajama bottoms, tied at the waist with a drawstring. His broad chest was bare. Droplets of water clung to the soft patch of hair between his pecs. I turned back to the screen. Ellis’s hands moved to the back of my head and began removing the pins holding my bun in place. My hair spilled across my shoulders. Ellis massaged my scalp, running his fingers from the roots to the tips of my strands. Upset or not, his touch felt good. My shoulders relaxed and my head moved along with his probing fingers.
    He walked around the seats and sat in the recliner beside mine, extending his hand to me. No words, not a smile in sight. The intensity in his radiating gaze said it all—he was a man not to be denied. I slid my hand into his and went to him. Ellis pulled me down on his lap, positioning my legs across his own. He buried his