Poker Posse 1: Looking at Rose by Qwillia Rain Page B

edging her thighs open so he stood between them and his hands rested on the countertop beside hers. “For them or you?”
    Rose grinned and shrugged, “Both.”
    “And did you find any before your mother arrived?”
    “A few.” The lie slipped from her lips so easily Rose almost convinced herself.
    Ibraham shook his head, a disappointed frown on his face. “That’s too bad,” he said.
    His look and the tone of his voice threw her. Could he actually be hoping she’d find a man other than him? Did he truly dislike the thought that she’d never been intimate with anyone before and wish she had more experience? She swallowed her own disappointment and asked, “Why?”
    He wrapped his left hand around her waist and pulled her closer to him, then lifted his right and tangled it in the loose ponytail she’d put her hair up in. “Because I don’t share, Rose.”
    His mouth settled over hers, the kiss gentle, coaxing. Nothing like the passion-driven claiming of her lips from earlier at the club. Still, Rose enjoyed the taste of his mouth, the smell of his flesh, the feel of his body as he held her to his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth, urging him to tangle his tongue with hers, to up the heat.
    Instead Ibraham pulled back and loosened her arms. Taking her hands in his, he drew a deep breath and looked deep into her eyes. “Come upstairs with me, Rose.”
    The fingers of one hand released hers and covered her lips to stop the eager agreement about to spill free.
    “Not for sex.”
    Rose protested, “But—”
    His hand cupped her cheek, and he pressed a kiss to her brow. “You need to know what my lifestyle is like before we take that step.” A smirk lifted the left side of his mouth. “I’ll not promise I won’t strip you naked and do just about everything but fuck you, but you’ll leave my apartment knowing what I’d expect from you as my submissive.”
    Disappointment mingled with excitement, but Rose wasn’t about to pass up another opportunity to be with Ibraham. She nodded. “Okay.”
    He lifted her from the counter and led her through the shop to the back door without a word. As she set the alarm and locked the door, the throaty rumble of a motorcycle echoed off the buildings lining the alley. Ibraham wrapped his arms around her, surrounding her with his heat, his scent, before his mouth captured hers in another kiss. Rose wasn’t sure if the low steady vibrations pulsing through her were a result of her arousal or the motorcycle as it moved past them and out to the street, and as long as Ibraham held her, she didn’t care.
    Wobbly with arousal and short of breath, she followed Ibraham through a door and up the stairs to the apartment he occupied over both their shops. While Ibraham toed off his boots and set them next to the door, Rose slipped her sneakers off as well. “This is a lot bigger than the other apartments the property manager showed me.”
    Ibraham took her hand and led her past the gourmet kitchen and the open living room. “Yes. When my uncle told me he was developing a strip mall here in Magnolia, I convinced him to let me have space for my winery. The size of the fermentation tanks didn’t allow for living space over the majority of my shop, so he expanded the original studio design to a three-bedroom, two-bath flat. It covers both your shop and your friend’s bridal shop.”
    The closer they got to the door, the faster Rose’s heart pounded in her chest.
    With one hand on the knob and the other wrapped around her hand, Ibraham stopped and stared at her, his dark eyes penetrating, seeming to slice through the excitement and jitters, calming her nerves. “Do you remember the safe words from the club?”
    This is real. Not just my imagination anymore . Rose drew a deep breath. “Green, yellow, and red.” She was surprised how at ease she sounded.
    He gave an approving smile and nodded. “Very good. When I ask where you’re at, or how you feel,