Blue-Eyed Hunk E-Book

Jamila Jasper

• Herausgeber: Publisher s23991
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Imani is the new African-American girl in small town Oklahoma.Ajax is the sexy, white rancher tasked with helping her settle into town. Ajax looks at her like he wants to rip her clothes off but Imani has sworn off men forever -- especially suave alpha males like Ajax.Not even Imani can resist the lean, muscular cowboy, no matter how badly she wants to say "no". This interracial romance is so deliciously hot it will melt your device. Reader discretion advised for this sexy, naughty story about an African-American woman and the white man she falls in love with. 

Leseprobe

Copyright

Copyright © 2016 Jamila Jasper Romance

All rights reserved.

www.jamilajasperromance.com

Section 1

Prologue: Imani

Imani was two years away from completing her PhD. Brian had promised her that when she was finished, they’d finally make their relationship official. They’d have a real wedding with all her jealous, single friends. They’d honey moon in Seoul, South Korea at a luxury city hotel. Then, they’d live in New York and get to work starting a family as soon as possible.

Imani couldn’t wait. She loved Brian more than anyone in the world and she was starting to get antsy about weddings and marriage. Many of Imani’s older friends from high school were getting married and she was starting to feel like she would never experience the magic of being engaged or the magic of having a wedding.

Imani waited for Brian to get home from work, busying herself so she wouldn’t fall into impatience. After her classes, she’d gone to his place to clean up for him and to have dinner ready. Brian worked really hard and he appreciated every little act of kindness Imani did for him. Imani knew that she’d proven to him she was “wife” material. All she had to do was keep this up.

Imani connected her voice recorder’s bluetooth to Brian’s set of high-powered surround sound speakers. Every opportunity she could, Imani dedicated to studying. She listened to a recording of her earlier lecture that day while she bustled around Brian’s place cleaning up after him. First, she dried all of Brian’s dishes and put them away. Then, she stuck some white rice in his rice cooker and put some thinly cut chicken breast strips into a pan.

Brian was ascetic in what he ate and he’d insisted that Imani take lessons in Korean cooking a few months earlier so he wouldn’t have to “suffer with her greasy food” for the rest of his life. Imani shook her head as she thought of how dramatic Brian could be sometimes. Her Jamaican cooking wasn’t greasy at all. Brian just couldn’t be bothered to foray into the unfamiliar.

After the kitchen, Imani fussed around Brian’s living room and dining room. His living room was always messy. There were empty mugs with black tea crusted along the sides and bottom. He often left a pair of shoes or two out of place. After cleaning up, Imani worked on running a vacuum over Brian’s carpeting.

By the time she’d finished vacuuming her boyfriend’s carpet, sweat trickled down her back and across her brow bone. Imani wiped her forehead clean and reminded herself silently, to smile. Cleaning up after Brian wasn’t a chore — it was something she did for him, out of love. Women were too reluctantly to go the extra mile these days. It wasn’t a trap Imani was going to fall into.

Imani cleaned Brian’s bathrooms, using vinegar, bleach and some all-purpose cleaner to scrub every surface to bleached white perfection. She was starting to feel tired, but she was at least satisfied with the job that was being done. Imani couldn’t wait until she finished, then she’d take a nice, hot shower, use some of Brian’s beauty products from Korea with the labels she couldn’t understand and the skin care effects she craved.

First, Imani moved to the final area of hard work — Brian’s bedroom. Usually, Brian was neat. He was the kind of guy who swore by self-help books regarding tidiness. When he was stressed, all that Eastern philosophy about “chi” and “feng shui” went out the window, and Brian became a downright mess.

Since his cousin had been visiting — or so Imani remembered — Brian had been stressed.

She moved onto Brian’s bedroom, and began folding clothing, throwing out trash, and stacking books properly onto his bookshelf. A small, balled up piece of cloth on the ground caught Imani’s eye. It was small, maybe a sock or something. Except, Brian never wore black socks. Imani bent down and picked it up, lifting it to her eye level.

A thong. A thong that didn’t belong to her. Disgusted, Imani dropped the item to the ground. What? She had to have made some kind of mistake. There was no way she’d just found a thong in Brian’s bedroom.

Imani ran to his kitchen and found a wooden spoon. She lifted the thong off the ground again and realized that it was exactly what she thought it was. She’d just found women’s underwear on the floor of her boyfriend’s bedroom.

How could this be possible? The past three nights prior, Brian had asked her not to come over because he had a cousin visiting from Korea. Had that all been a big lie? Imani always thought she’d know what to do if she ever found evidence that her boyfriend had been cheating on her. Faced with reality, her response was much, much different.

She flicked the offending item off the spoon and onto Brian’s bed. Imani was in shock. She cleaned the rest of Brian’s apartment and continued to cook dinner while contemplating the item she’d just found. Her mind jumped back and forth between believing it to be definitive proof of Brian’s infidelity and trying to find some excuse for what she’d found in Brian’s bedroom.

Maybe it was his cousin’s and it just got stuck to one of his shoes or his t-shirt. Maybe he’d given his cousin his bedroom and moved to the guest room. As Brian got closer and closer to arriving home, Imani grew more frantic. She knew in her heart that what she’d found was a pretty grim condemnation of her boyfriend.

He was cheating on her. He had to be. She’d be foolish to find a thong on her man’s floor and believe anything else. Imani tried to figure out what to say, how to say it, but she came up short. By the time Brian arrived at home, she was playing the role of the perfect girlfriend.

“Good evening babe,” She said, tiptoeing upwards to kiss Brian on the lips.

“Hey. Is dinner ready?”

“Yup. I made your favorite… Uh… carrot ginger soup and garlic bread.”​

“Nice.”

Brian sat at the dining table and Imani sat across from him. They ate in silence for a while. As they ate, Imani couldn’t help but stare at Brian’s face. Could it be possible that the man she’d been dating for a full year had been lying to her? If he could lie to her about cheating, was there a chance it had happened before?

“Brian?” Imani asked weakly.

“Yes?”

“Uh… nevermind.”

“Listen, the food is fine Imani. I know you’ve been trying to lose weight for me, right?”

Imani nodded.

That hadn’t been it at all. But all of a sudden, she was disarmed by another one of Brian’s criticisms. She knew that Brian was trying to help but something about his “help” always made Imani feel like crap. But Brian had to want what was best for her. He’d promised to marry her. He wouldn’t go out of his way to make her feel like crap.

Still, Imani couldn’t drop the fact that she’d found a thong in his room.

“Brian… While I was cleaning your room, I found a thong.”

Brian tilted his head to the side.

“A thong? Must have been Grace’s. I slept in the guest room while she was here.”

“Oh… Is there a chance I could meet Grace next time she comes?”

Brian shook his head, “I told you… Imani… You’re beautiful, but my parents can’t find out that I’m dating—.”

“I know,” Imani finished, “They can’t find out that you’re dating a black girl.”

“Exactly.”

Brian continued, “Now you know I love you but we have to wait. Koreans are very traditional.”

“Right,” Imani said weakly.

The thong she’d found was still weighing on her conscience. Brian had presented a reasonable explanation but something was still off about what he was telling her. Imani hated feeling this suspicious but she wasn’t getting the answers and the reassurance from Brian that she craved.

“I want to make love to you tonight,” Brian announced after dinner.

“Really?”​

Brian nodded.

“Really,” He started, “But you know I can’t make love to you when you look like this. I want you to be sexy for me. Try to be sexy for me Imani.”

“Oh… okay…”​

“I have needs Imani, alright? I’m not like other men. I need to be stimulated by a woman. Can you do that?”

Imani nodded and stood up from the dinner table. Brian smiled.

“Come here for a kiss and go change.”

She approached Brian and accepted a kiss on the forehead from him. After he kissed her, Imani turned around and walked towards the bedroom. Brian was very kinky by Imani’s standards. She had followed his lead in the bedroom but some parts of Brian’s desires made her very uncomfortable. Imani just figured if she wanted to get the ring, she’d have to put up with a few oddities here and there.

When Imani slipped away from the table, she had slipped Brian’s phone off of it. She knew it was wrong to take his phone, and to spy on him, but she couldn’t help herself. She had to know whether he was telling the truth or not and apparently there was only one way for her to find out. Imani’s hands were shaking as she stood in the bedroom with her boyfriend’s phone.

Brian Choi. The son of a rich Korean millionaire. Graduated from Yale summa cum laude. He was the perfect boyfriend on paper and he had the exact pedigree of the man Imani had hoped to marry. Plus, she was in love with him. Around Brian, Imani always strived to do better. Around Brian, Imani always felt like she was aspiring to something greater.

She unlocked his phone and started scrolling through his text messages. Imani’s stomach turned. She didn’t have to look long before she started seeing text message after text message. Emily. Trina. Jenny. Imani read as fast as she could. Her fingers lost their grip of his phone and it fell to the ground. She sat on his bed and didn’t move a muscle.

Her intuition hadn’t been wrong at all. Brian was cheating. He was definitely cheating. Women — not just one woman — had sent him all kinds of provocative photographs and he had replied in kind.

After a few moments, Brian opened the door to his bedroom and looked at Imani on the bed with a look of frustration.

“Imani. I asked you to change,” He admonished.

Imani pointed at his phone on the floor.

“Give it up Brian. I know what you’ve been up to.”

“You went through my phone?” Brian asked. His face possessed this wounded look like Imani had just stabbed him.

Imani threw her hands in the air.

“So? So what? Now the problem is I went through your phone and not that I have proof that you cheated on me?”

“It’s a serious violation of trust Imani.”

Fury overcame Imani and she began to see Brian’s insanity for what it was. What on earth was wrong with this guy? He’d cheated on her with over three women and he was trying to make this about his precious “privacy”. He had played Imani — and it was clear he didn’t feel any remorse for it.

“I swear to God Brian, I will walk out of here right now.”

“Walk out? Because you broke my trust, you’re going to walk out of here?”​

“You’re sick!”

“How am I sick Imani?”

“Brian. You cheated on me. How are you not even acknowledging this right now?”

“I think you’re really overreacting. Imani, you just need to calm down and we’ll discuss this like adults.”

“This is not overreacting!” Imani exploded, “This is normal behavior to finding out your boyfriend is a lying bastard. You know what Brian, I’m out of here. Call me when you figure out what you did wrong.”

Imani pushed past Brian and collected her stuff. Once Brian saw that she really was going to leave, he began to sing a much different tune.

“You’re really leaving?”

“Yes!” Imani called back at him.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Brian said, grabbing onto Imani’s arm.

She pulled her arm away from him and huffed, “Do not touch me Brian! Do not touch me!”

He pulled away from her and just watched Imani for a moment as she dressed for the weather outside.

“Don’t leave Imani…”​

She turned around for a final word.

“No. I’m leaving Brian. I don’t even know why you’re so calm about this, but it’s clear, I need to get out of here. This? This is over,” Imani said.

She felt tears welling up in her eyes as she turned and left. As Imani made her way home, her sadness started to consume her. She’d been through hard times with Brian before, but cheating? This was a new low, even for him. This was the second time Imani had dumped Brian and she was hoping it would be the last.

Once Imani arrived home, she sat on her bed and cried for a while. Brian. He was so attractive and he’d promised her the exact life she’d been dreaming of. But had it been worth it? Imani knew it would only be self-sabotaging, but she wanted to find out more about the women Brian had cheated with. Women.

“Jesus… I need to listen to myself,” Imani whispered under her breath.

After a good, long cry, Imani knew that she couldn’t wallow in self-pity any longer. She had important academic work to complete. Imani looked at her phone and called her good friend Franco. He was a few years older than her and worked at the government environmental advocacy agency Imani was hoping to be employed at. She’d met Franco the summer she interned there and he had volunteered to help her with her PhD work.

Since then, they’d become quick friends. Hearing that Imani was utterly distraught, Franco agreed to come over. Imani figured that having company would put her mind at ease and allow her to focus more on her work than on the fact that Brian had cheated on her. Brian was always putting her through something. All of Imani’s girl friends were tired of him. Imani had lost her friendship with Kim and with Claire over Brian.

Before Franco arrived, Imani tidied her apartment and changed into a more cozy outfit. At least Franco didn’t care what she was wearing the way Brian did. Imani slipped into cozy fleece-lined black leggings and then an oversized Yale sweatshirt she’d borrowed from Brian a few months back. Imani washed her face and set out a few snacks — carrots and hummus along with some grapes. She knew that Franco was on a health kick and would appreciate a break from tempting delicacies like bagel bites or mini-tacos.

Franco drove up in his red Mazda Protege, dressed in his usual — khakis, a J. Crew button down and a co-ordinating sweater. Franco was trying to quit smoking again, and as he walked up to Imani’s apartment , she could see him visibly agitated. At least he’d shaved off his beard. Franco looked much younger without his beard and Imani could see that it definitely improved his self-image.

He knocked on her door and Imani let him in.

“Hey, how are you,” Franco said, wrapping Imani up in a big bear hug.

“I feel like shit.”

“What happened?”

“I dumped Brian.”

“Oh,” Franco said flatly.

Imani had a vague idea how Franco felt about Brian, but she had never actually asked him. She was used to so much criticism from her friends that she wasn’t interested in hearing more bad news about him.

“What’s that tone about?”

Franco sighed, “Well sweetie, it’s Brian. The guy who told you to lose ten pounds. The guy who told you that your PhD made him wary of marrying you.”

“You don’t understand Franco. He’s culturally different. That stuff is probably normal back in Korea…”​

“Honey, he was born in Virginia.”

“Then I don’t know. Brian loves me and he wants what’s best for me.”

“Then why did you dump him then?”​

Imani closed her apartment door, realizing that Franco had a good point.

“Well… I found some… girl’s underwear on his bedroom floor.”

​“That bastard!” Franco exclaimed, sitting down and crossing his legs. He looked at Imani like he was trying to squeeze the gossip out of her.

“Listen,” Imani continued, noticing Franco’s eager expression, “I didn’t call you over here to spill all the grimy details. We should probably be studying or working on research.”

“Can you give it a rest Imani? For one night? You don’t always have to be Miss Perfect. I mean, you just got dumped. When Professor A got divorced, she wore pajamas to class for a month.”

Imani chuckled thinking back to that time. Franco had a point. She had stopped to feel her hurt, but only for a moment. It was abnormal to push your feelings so deeply beneath the surface. Franco had a point.

“Fine,” Imani sighed, flopping down on the couch next to Franco.

“He cheated on me Franco. I have evidence.”

Franco looked at Imani with sympathy in his eyes, but there was no hint of surprise. Why did everyone seem to have a view of Brian that she didn’t? Imani was head over heels in love with him, but each time Brian did something egregious, no one around here seemed surprised. It was like they were waiting for her to see something that she just couldn’t see.

“What kind of evidence?”

“The underwear. Text messages.”

“Text messages? Who’s the woman, do you know her?”

Imani scoffed, “Woman? Try women. I know he’s cheated on me with at least three.”

“Jeez.”

“I know.”

“Imani, you need to let him go. Like… Forever.”

“I already broke up with him!”

Franco rested his hand on Imani’s arm, “No. I’m serious Imani. You’ve broken up with Brian before but you need to make it permanent this time, okay? Don’t get roped back in.”

​“I won’t!”

Franco shot Imani a look of disbelief. She knew she’d earned that bad reputation given her prior history with Brian.

“You seem calm Imani. Too calm. If you really thought it was over with Brian, wouldn’t you be tearful? Wouldn’t you be making plans to give his stuff back?”

She knew Franco was eyeing the Yale sweatshirt she was wearing. Maybe he had a point.

“I am serious Franco.”

“Okay… Maybe we should study then since you have it all under control.”

Franco reached for his messenger bag, but Imani jut her hand out to stop him.

“Wait,” Imani said, “Tell me why everyone hates Brian…”

Franco chuckled, “Oh, so you think I’m a dummy then? Listen cupcake, I’m not going to compromise my class rank by reading my study buddy for filth about the guy she’s dating.”​

“I don’t get it!” Imani huffed, exasperated.

“I’ll tell you if you ask me again. But you have to promise me that you have what it takes to handle the truth.”

Imani pouted, but her curiosity was pounding in her chest. She had to know. After all the whispers, the judgmental looks and the snide remarks that she’d endured about her relationship, Imani finally wanted to know what people were saying about her and Brian.

“Tell me!”

Franco sighed, “Imani… Brian is racist.”

Imani laughed. She laughed and laughed and then looked at Franco after realizing that he wasn’t laughing along with her.

“What? You can’t be serious Franco.”

“I’m serious.”

“Hello? Franco? I’m black?”

“Really? Hadn’t noticed?”

Imani smacked him playfully and replied, “Franco, I’m serious.”

“Girl, I am serious. Your girlfriends stopped hanging out with you because he makes these racial remarks towards them.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Yeah? Well I’m telling you that I know, he called Kim’s hair nappy and he asked Claire if he could call her a ‘half-negro’.”

“What?!”

“Still think I’m lying? Call them. I’m sure Kim will be happy to tell you everything that’s wrong with Brian.”

“But is that it then?”

Imani had a feeling that Brian’s secret life of inappropriate comments was just the tip of the iceberg.

“Oh you know that isn’t it…”

“I want to know more… Please… You have to help me Franco…”

“I still don’t believe this will stop you from going back to him.”

“Why not?!”​

“Because I know you Imani. And I know Brian. He knows exactly what he has to do to win you back. And when he wants you, that’s what he’ll do.”

“So you think I’m weak?”

“No. I think you’re very strong. I think you’re brilliant. I think you’ll be Dr. Raymond and graduate in the top of your class. But I know that your dating life has always been messy. It’s just the truth, Imani.”

Imani sighed. Franco had a point, even if she didn’t want to admit it.

“Tell me more about Brian… I need to know everything Franco.”

Franco had stories. Loads of stories. As she listened more and more, Imani began to think that she was dealing with a man who led a double life. She almost couldn’t believe everything that Franco said about him. This wasn’t Brian. It couldn’t have been! Sure, he was critical about Imani’s weight, her academics and whether she would be a suitable wife, but it was normal for boyfriends to fuss. Right?

By the time Franco was done, Imani looked at him as if she were about to cry. Franco’s eyed filled with pity.

“I don’t need pity right now Franco,” Imani huffed.

“Sorry. Sorry. Didn’t mean to pity you it’s just that… I get it Imani…”

“Get what?”

“I get why you put up with him. But you don’t have to.”

“What do you know about what women put up with?”

Franco shifted in his seat uneasily.

“Listen. Just… try not to take him back okay? He isn’t good for you and you know it.”

“He inspires me! To be a better person.”

“He criticizes you,” Franco corrected, “And since when has anyone become a better person because of a bully?”

“You know what?” Imani said, “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Talk about something else. Tell me about work.”

“Well,” Franco started, “There might be a position opening up for an intern in the next few months. If you take it, I guarantee by the time you graduate there will be something bigger.”

“Really?” Imani’s eyes lit up. She could always trust Franco to bring her the good news as well as the bad.

“Yes, really,” He said, “And I know you’re near the top of your class Imani. If you get this job, you’ll be sailing smoothly after grad school.”

Imani enjoyed the fantasy. But then she thought of Brian. Brian had told her that she shouldn’t work herself to death while in grad school, or she’d burn out. He’d told her to wait until they’d decided where to move before thinking about work after grad school. Given all that Franco had said about Brian, was it possible that all of that had been a clever hoax to keep Imani stagnant?

After a few more hours of studying and chatting, Imani said goodbye to Franco. As he left, she wondered what it would be like if Franco was her boyfriend. Imani grossed herself out at the thought immediately after it crossed her mind. Franco was a good friend, but he wasn’t boyfriend material. They were too close. Imani wondered what kind of girl Franco did date. He’d never mentioned any girls to her or introduced her to any of his girlfriends, if he’d had any.

In the days after Franco left, Imani was readjusting to her life without Brian. She understood why he’d been so militant about warning her not to get back together with Brian. Now that she was beginning to grasp what it was truly like to be alone for the first time in years, Imani was starting to mourn her boyfriend.

Sure, Brian was a little critical but he spent time with her. He listened to her. He talked to her. Plus, Brian was a very liberal spender. He ensured that Imani had the best of everything she wanted. He hadn’t called her to ask her to return any of the gifts — as far as Imani was concerned, that was a point in his favor.

After two weeks passed after the break up, Imani began to wonder why Brian hadn’t called her. Why wasn’t he groveling and trying to win her back? She wondered if he’d really moved on that easily, or if he was doing this on purpose, and stubbornly waiting on Imani to make the first move.

While Imani was at a café with Franco, Brian called her for the first time since their breakup. Franco glanced at her phone and saw the name flash across the screen.

“Do not answer it,” Franco hissed, snatching Imani’s phone off the table.

“Franco! Give it back!”

Franco held her phone out of reach until it rang out.

“Well, now I have to call him back.”

“Do not call him back!”

“It’s been two weeks since we broke up Franco and he’s calling me for the first time. Shouldn’t I hear him out?”​

“Can’t you see that this is all part of his game Imani? First, he starves you out. Then, you come back groveling.”​

“I’m not groveling!” Imani insisted.

“Yeah, only because I won’t let you.”

Imani pouted and stuck her nose back into her book.

“Oh, don’t get all pissy.”

“I’m not pissy! I’m just… annoyed. You don’t know what it’s been like these past few weeks.”

“Liberating?”

“No,” Imani replied with a scowl, “Lonely.”

“Loneliness isn’t an excuse to get into a relationship Imani.”​

“Easy for you to say. You’re some kind of weird super-human who doesn’t even rely on human contact.”​

“That’s not true.”

“Yeah?” Imani said, “Then how come I’ve never seen you with a woman?!”

Franco chuckled, “Imani… Really?”

“What?” Imani looked at him puzzled.

“Imani, I’m gay…”

Imani’s eyes widened. She’d never really thought about it before, but it sort of made sense.

“Wait… But how come you don’t do… gay… things….”

Franco laughed, “Come on Imani… Just because I don’t fit into your tired stereotype of what a gay man should be doesn’t mean that I’m not gay…”

Imani realized that Franco was right. She’d made lots of assumptions about him; those assumptions were probably a big part of the reason why he hadn’t told her he was gay in the first place.

“Sorry… You’re right… I’m stupid…”

“No… Not stupid. Just ignorant. And I do need human interaction. I’m just private about it. Years of hiding who you are will do that to you.”

Imani suddenly started perceiving her friend with far more depth than she’d realized. Franco was big, burly, handsome and a genius at environmental science. Still, because of who he chose to sleep with, he was walking on eggshells constantly, worried about what he would lose if he dared to reveal who he truly was.

Still, Imani was preoccupied with the fact that Brian had called. Once she and Franco had finished up at the café, she struggled with the temptation to call Brian back. She knew that Franco would be pissed off if she did. But this wasn’t about Franco… It was about her. It was about the life she wanted to have.

Imani couldn’t have that life alone. She also didn’t want to jump back into the world of dating and start all the way over from scratch while she was trying to finish up her graduate program. Just when she was at her weakest, Brian called again and this time, Imani couldn’t resist picking up. If he’d cheated, maybe they could move past it. People moved past cheating all the time. If they were serious, they should be able to handle anything…

“Brian?”

“Hey Imani,” He said, “How are you holding up?”

“Fine,” Imani said, her voice cracking already.