Delectable Desire by Farrah Rochon

the air. It was more than just magical; it was heavenly. The entire night had been heavenly.
    It occurred to Lorraine that she hadn’t thought once about the argument she’d had with her father over the fellowship grant, which had taken up much of her mental energy today. Being with Carter had pushed all of that unpleasantness out of her mind.
    Lorraine tucked herself more securely against his side. “I have a question for you,” she said. “If it’s too personal, please just tell me so.”
    “Shoot.”
    “Back there, you said that you knew how those kids felt to not fit in. What did you mean by that?”
    “Just what I said,” Carter answered. “My last name may be Drayson, but I’ve never felt as if I was truly one of them. Not the way my cousins are.”
    “But you are, ” she said, not understanding. “You’re just as much a Drayson as your cousins.”
    “Biologically, yes, but I didn’t have the same experiences they had growing up. I didn’t live on the Drayson Estate in Glenville Heights. I visited on some weekends, and most holidays, but I went back and forth between my mom and dad a lot. The rest of my cousins spent their entire childhoods there.”
    “Do you get treated differently?” Lorraine asked.
    He was quiet for several moments before expelling a soft sigh. “This may sound stupid, but I’m not sure.” He glanced down at her. “I question it all the time. Am I really being treated like an outsider, or am I reading into things? You know what I mean?” She felt his deep chuckle. “Probably not.”
    “Actually, I think I do,” Lorraine said. He gave her a skeptical look. “I know what you’re thinking. I live in a ritzy penthouse and wear designer clothing. I have it made.” She swallowed deeply. “Well, appearances can be deceiving, Carter.”
    He stopped and turned to face her.
    “I would never think that anyone’s life was all roses simply because they have money,” he said. “I may not be rolling in it to the extent that you are, but I know money doesn’t buy happiness. I am confused as to why you would feel like an outsider, though.”
    “Perhaps outsider is the wrong word. Some may classify it as middle-child syndrome, even though I’m the middle child by only seven minutes. My brother is the golden boy, who could never do anything wrong. Trina has always been seen as the free spirit. My parents tried to contain her, but if you ever met my sister, you would see that their efforts were futile.”
    “So where does that leave you?” Carter asked.
    She paused, measuring her response before she answered, “I was the one who tried to be perfect and often failed miserably.”
    “I find that hard to believe,” he said.
    Lorraine snorted an indelicate laugh. “Perhaps you and Arnold Hawthorne-Hayes should meet for drinks and conversation. He could tell you the myriad ways his mother’s namesake has disappointed him.”
    Carter hooked his finger underneath her chin and lifted her head until his eyes met hers. “He must have the most impossible standards on the planet. I cannot imagine you being a disappointment to anyone, Rainey.”
    Her mouth tipped up in a grin. “He would not approve of that nickname.”
    Carter’s eyes sparkled with laughter. “Then I should probably use it more often.”
    Cradling her head, he leaned in and met her lips in a slow, gentle kiss that was nothing like Lorraine had expected. Given his personality, she had braced herself for a savage plundering, but Carter surprised her with his tenderness.
    She leaned into him, pressing her body flush against his. The heat radiating from every part of him scorched her being, lighting a fire that radiated throughout her bloodstream. A soft mewl escaped her throat as Carter’s hand traveled down her spine, stopping at the small of her back. He cradled her waist, and pulled her even tighter against him.
    His tongue traced along the seam of her lips, urging them to part, but when they did he didn’t