Page 4 of Widow Mayker

Oh…

He smiled, showing off his stunning smile. Stunning was an understatement. The sun beamed down on his expensive grill and made the diamonds in his mouth come to life in dazzlement. His long, thick hair was braided straight back in thick cornrows. The strands dipped even lower than his chest. His lightly toasted brown skin held a hint of freckles that I found sexy on him. I noted that he looked oddly familiar.

“Vonshae Gunner,” he introduced himself.

The last name jarred something inside me, peeling a name straight out of my past. Detective Gunner. That was exactly who this man favored.

“Hi,” I croaked. Suddenly, my mouth was dry as hell. “May…Maja. Major minus the o and r, add an a, makes the ‘uh’ sound.”

He grinned. “Mm. I like that. A lot.”

His voice…it did something to me that I couldn’t explain. And I was too well-versed in playing men to not understand this feeling that wiggled inside me.

“You know what I think, Maja?”

Shaking my head, I replied, “No, I don’t know what you think.”

His eyes scanned my fingers, then his hand touched mine. He rubbed his thumb over my left ring finger, causing tingling to shoot up my extremity.

“I’m single as fuck. You’re single. It would be a travesty for me to walk away without askin’ you on a date,” he said.

A smile played along my lips, one that was surprising yet inviting. “First of all, how would you know if I’m single? Second of all, I don’t go out on dates with strange men.”

His eyes smiled right along with his plump, moisturized lips. “Ya ring finger is bare, and you think I’m strange?”

“What does a bare ring finger have to do with anything?”

“It has to do with everything. Answer my other question, baby. You think I’m strange?”

Strange? No. Dangerous? Hell, yeah.

“One date. If I impress you enough, you gotta give me a second one,” he bartered.

Biting into my lip to suppress a laugh did nothing. “Demanding.”

“Hopeful.” He leaned in close until I smelled the mint on his breath. “I’ll make it more than worth ya while.”

My body begged me to say yes. She didn’t know the feel of a man and was getting increasingly demanding. With each passing year, she reminded me that one night with a man wouldn’t be so bad.

Liar. I chuckled to myself.

“While it’s tempting, Vonshae… I’m going to have to decline.” He was related to someone I wanted to keep behind me. That part of my life was a touchy chapter.

He rubbed his thick beard and smirked as his eyes twinkled. “What if I don’t let you decline?”

My head slightly leaned back. “Let me?”

Chuckling, he said, “That did sound a lil’ crazy, didn’t it?”

I joined him in laughing. “It did.”

“Aight, how about this? If we bump into each other again, you gotta come up off that date.”

Knowing this man would never see me again, I replied, “You have a deal, Mr. Gunner.”

His smile made me a little uneasy. It warned me that this man wasn’t just any man. Mischief and mayhem resided there.

He’s related to Gunner. Likely, Gunner’s son. Right. But you’re intrigued. I surely was intrigued. Too bad nothing would ever come of it.