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  STRONG HEAT

  The door opened and Lisha looked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened a bit at the man who stepped inside the room. He was tall and broad shouldered with narrow hips. His body was lean but obviously strong and he wore form-fitting jeans with a printed shirt. His face was simply handsome with strong cheekbones, chin and brows. He had long lashes around his slanted eyes and full lips. The silver flecks in his closely cropped soft hair didn’t detract from his looks. Oddly, they enhanced them.

  The brother was all the way fine. All the way.

  Lisha was surprised at how fast her pulse raced and the way she literally felt breathless and alive, like the energy in the room kicked up a notch from his presence. She blinked rapidly to break the spell and looked away from him as she licked her suddenly parched lips.

  Also by Niobia Bryant

  Strong Family Series

  Heated

  Hot Like Fire

  Give Me Fever

  The Hot Spot

  Red Hot

  Friends & Sins Series

  Live and Learn

  Show and Tell

  Never Keeping Secrets

  Mistress Series

  Message from a Mistress

  Mistress No More

  Mistress, Inc.

  Make You Mine

  Reckless (with Cydney Rax and Grace Octavia)

  Heat Wave (with Donna Hill and Zuri Day)

  Published by Dafina Books

  STRONG HEAT

  NIOBIA BRYANT

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  Table of Contents

  STRONG HEAT

  Also by Niobia Bryant

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Interlude

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Interlude

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Interlude

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Interlude

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Interlude

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Don’t miss any of the Strong Family novels

  Copyright Page

  For Tony. Lots and lots of love.

  THE STRONG FAMILY TREE

  “As we grow older together, as we continue to change with age, there is one thing that will never change. I will always keep falling in love with you.”

  —Karen Clodfelder

  Prologue

  “How does that look, Kael?” Lisha Strong asked as she stepped back from the fireplace to study the large lit wreath she’d just hung above it.

  At the continued silence of her husband of over forty years, she looked over her shoulder and then arched a brow to see his eyes resting on the curve of her bottom and not on the Christmas decorations. She cleared her throat and crossed her arms over her ample chest.

  His deep-set hazel eyes slowly traveled up her body, not missing one bit of her curvy form in the deep green jersey dress she wore. “I’ve only got eyes for you, darlin’,” he said, with clear appreciation of the V-neck top and full skirt floating above the thick legs he loved.

  Lisha licked her lips and eyed him with a coquettish smile. It was her turn to take him all in. How good his caramel complexion looked in the chocolate sweater and matching cords he wore. His handsome square face was all the more distinguished by his silver ha ir. His towering height and broad shoulders were still solid and toned from decades of farming. His smile was still the one to make her heart swell just like it did all those years ago. “Our family will be here any minute, Kael,” she said, crossing the floor of their living room to massage his shoulders in an obvious consoling gesture before turning away from him.

  “Oh, hell, no,” he said, wrapping a strong arm around her waist and pulling her body closely up against his. “Lock the door. Let’s spend Christmas in bed.”

  She smiled as he pressed kisses to the base of her neck. “You still sprung after all these years,” she teased, rubbing large circles across his back.

  Kael leaned back and looked down at her. “And don’t you forget that Big Daddy taught you everything you know,” he boasted, his voice low and deep and only slightly playful.

  Lisha moaned in the back of her throat as she let him taste her lips. “Yes, you did,” she agreed with enthusiasm.

  They both laughed until Kael shifted his large calloused hands down to massage her ample buttocks. Lisha felt her resistance ease away as she kissed her husband, bringing her hand up to press to the back of his head with a moan.

  “Aw, man. Viagra is the devil.”

  At the sound of their son Kahron’s drawl, they both opened their eyes and shared a brief look before breaking their kiss and turning to see their entire brood standing in the doorway looking at them. Kahron and Bianca with their six-year-old son, KJ. Kade and Garcelle with teenaged daughter Kadina and toddler son Karlos. Kaeden and Jade. Kaleb, his wife, Zaria, his adult stepdaughters, Meena and Neema, and his son, Kasi Dean, every bit the cutie at close to two years old. And their daughter, Kaitlyn, with her fiancé, Quint, and his fifteen-year-old daughter, Lei.

  All of them. Their family.

  “Viagra my ass,” Kael mumbled for his wife’s ears only, mindful of his grandchildren. He moved away from Lisha with obvious regret. “Come on in, you crumb snatchers.”

  Everyone removed their outer clothing and moved forward to shares hugs, kisses and Yuletide greetings. The house was now filled with not just Christmas décor galore that filled the house with the smell of pine, but also family. Lisha and Kael truly could not regret that as everyone gathered in the living room. Soon they were retelling stories of Christmas morning surprises as they got right to exchanging the brightly wrapped presents surrounding the elaborately decorated tree like a fort.

  Lisha smiled her thanks to Jade as her daughter-in-law turned on the television to a station playing soulful Christmas songs. Soon the sound of the Temptations singing “Silent Night” filled the air, mingling with the comfortable chatter of family gathered together for the holidays.

  As Lisha pressed kisses to Kasi’s cheek she caught Kael watching her from his spot in his favorite leather recliner. They shared a long heated look.

  “Uh-oh,” Kadina said from her spot on the floor by the ten-foot Christmas tree.

  “Oh, leave them alone,” Bianca said, down on all fours as she inspected the wrapped gifts under the tree. “I hope Kahron and I are like that when we are old—”

  “Old!” Lisha and Kael snapped in unison, their eyes now on their daughter-in-law.

  “Der,” she finished with emphasis. “I was going to say old-er.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “It was Christmas Day when I first told your momma I loved her,” Kael said, rocking back and forth in his recliner as he kept his eyes leveled on his wife.

  Lisha’s face softened. “Yes, it was, Kael Strong. Yes, it was,” she agreed, her eyes glowing from the memory.

  “Awwww,” the majority of the women sighed in unison.

  “Best. Christmas. Ever,” she told him.

  Kael nodded. “Damn straight. And it needed to be after everything we went through to be together,” he said.

  They fell silent, lost in the memory as everyone but the children looked on at them as Donny Hathaway’s rendition of “This Christmas” filled the air.


  “Well?” Kaeden asked, walking over to tap his father’s boot with his own.

  Kael frowned a bit, looking up at his second eldest child. “Well, what?”

  “You’re not going to leave us hanging like that, old man,” he said, accepting the mug of hot chocolate Garcelle was handing out from a large tray she carried in from the kitchen.

  “We’re waiting,” Kade agreed, taking a cup from his wife as well.

  “What are we waiting for?” she asked, her Spanish accent heavy.

  “Kael and Lisha were just about to tell us all how they met and fell in love,” Zaria filled her in.

  Kael and Lisha shared a look.

  “Leave out the . . . warm moments please,” Kaleb drawled.

  His siblings all agreed.

  “Was it love at first sight?” Jade asked.

  “Did Kael sweep you off your feet?” Bianca chimed in.

  “What was the first date?” Garcelle asked.

  Lisha held up her hands from the barrage of questions.

  “Did Pop-Pop have any game?” Kadina asked, already sounding like she couldn’t fathom that.

  Kael pretended to look offended before tossing a pillow softly and hitting her full in the face.

  “All right, children, gather up all your Christmas gifts and head up to the playroom,” Lisha said, standing up and herding them toward the wide entrance of the living room. “Dinner in an hour or so.”

  “That is so wack,” Kadina mumbled, accepting her squirming little brother from her father as she was guided out of the room as well.

  Once the room was cleared of children, the adults all settled in comfortably and turned their eyes to the elders of their family.

  Lisha glanced at her husband with love. “I was working as a physical therapist—”

  “And dating a bunch of losers,” Kael added with a playful smirk.

  Lisha shook her head. “The shame of it is . . . he’s right. . . .”

  Chapter 1

  Way back in the day

  “This one will be different. This one will be different. This one will be different.”

  Alisha Rockmon leaned in closer to her reflection in the mirror as she used her pinky finger to remove any of the red lipstick outside of her full lips. She then used her hands to pull the soft ends of her shoulder-length jet black hair forward, liking how the new soft waves framed her round face, emphasized her high cheekbones and the pug little nose she’d inherited from her grandmother. After one last look she turned in the chair and slid on the black wedge heels that matched the wide-leg pants and blouse with sheer sleeves that she wore.

  She looked—and most importantly felt—beautiful. She was in good spirits. She’d had a light snack so that she didn’t eat like a starving man. Her breath was fresh. Her skin smelled of her floral soap. Her manners were in place. She even said a little prayer for God to send her the man meant just for her. She was absolutely date ready and optimistic about the night.

  Just like every other time.

  Lisha released a heavy sigh as she sprayed her pulse points with her Charlie perfume. The last year had been made up of a long line of men coming in and out of her life. Some for a few months or a few weeks. Some for just one night. Regardless, they all had made the choice to move on or gave her no choice but to ask them to be gone.

  Leaving the bedroom of her one-bedroom apartment in Walterboro, South Carolina, Lisha was just sliding her wallet and keys into her clutch when the doorbell rang. The familiar nerves and anxiety of a first date hit her stomach. She forced herself to take a deep breath as she made her way to the front door.

  “This one will be different,” she mouthed before forcing a smile and opening the door.

  “Damn, you look different out of those uniforms, Lisha,” Byron Long said, his eyes taking her in from head to toe before he bent down just a bit to press a kiss to her cheek.

  Lisha closed her eyes and paused with her face still close to his as she enjoyed the crisp scent of his cologne and the nice wave of awareness she felt for him.

  Byron was a surgical resident at the Medical University of South Carolina where she worked as a physical therapist assistant in the outpatient clinic. Their flirtations over the last few weeks had led to him finally asking her out—something Lisha would never have the inclination to do. She didn’t think she could ever be that forward with a man.

  “You clean up nicely too, Dr. Long,” she said, stepping back from him to retrieve her wool overcoat.

  He gently took it from her to help her into it. His hands remained on her shoulders and squeezed them gently. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled softly. “Thanks.”

  His eyes dipped down to her mouth and moments later he pressed his lips against hers before turning her body to face him and then going in for another kiss.

  Lisha froze at the first feel of his tongue pressing against her closed lips. She fought the urge to frown as she backed out of his grasp. A small smack of the lips that took her by surprise? Fine. A deep tonguing down on the first date . . . before the first date even truly began? Never.

  Byron looked apologetic. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist. You look so damn fine, Lisha. Shit,” he stressed, purposefully looking down at his crotch and then looking back up at her.

  Lisha’s mouth fell open at the sight of his penis hard against the zipper of his pants. Lawd . . .

  “Maybe we could skip dinner, deliver in some food and chill right here,” he offered, his black eyes darting over to her floral-covered sofa.

  And with that Lisha’s face became incredulous. “Maybe not,” she stressed, rolling her eyes as she removed her coat and let the waves of disappointment settle on her.

  Byron shrugged. “Okay, we can go eat first,” he said, reaching for her coat.

  “First?” she asked, moving the coat out of his reach to toss over the back of her sofa.

  Byron’s eyes shifted to take in the coat and then shifted back to take in her face. He looked confused. “So are we going out for dinner or not?” he asked, stepping forward to rub and then squeeze her rounded shoulders again. “I don’t mind skipping right to dessert.”

  Lisha brushed her hair behind her ears as she licked her full lips and looked up at the man. “I’m a virgin,” she said bluntly, loving the myriad of emotions that flitted across his face.

  Everything from appearing shocked to looking wary.

  “Not a do-again virgin or a play-play virgin,” she said, actually enjoying when his hands fell from her shoulders. “My eyes have not seen the glory of the coming of a penis.”

  It was crass and she knew it. She wanted to shake him up in his shoes.

  Byron opened his mouth and then closed it.

  “I have made the choice to not have sex until I am married,” she said, placing her hands on her ample hips. “I am more than ready to put on my coat and accompany you to a nice dinner where we can talk and get to know each other better . . . but that is all I have to offer you tonight or any other night.”

  Byron frowned. “So I misdiagnosed the vibe you was putting out?” he asked, sliding his hands into the front pocket of his slacks.

  Lisha smiled at him. “Yes, if you thought the vibe was sexual.”

  He grunted and then turned his head to look out her window.

  Lisha forced herself not to count the seconds that passed as she watched his inner debate. “Are you having a dilemma right in front of me?” she asked dryly in disbelief, already stepping past him to open the front door.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, looking down at her.

  Lisha nodded vigorously as she pressed her hands to his lower back to guide him out onto her doorstep. “Check you later, Byron,” she said with saccharine sweetness before stepping back to swing the door closed in his face.

  BAM!

  “So not different at all,” she said, kicking off her heels and letting them tumble across the rust-colored carpet.

  Lisha wondered why she even hoped for more. Be it
one night or several months, she had yet to date a man who was okay with her holding on to her virginity until she was married. In fact, the real perverts wanted to bed her even more to stake claim on bedding a virgin or because they proclaimed their dick was made to “pop a cherry”—to pop her cherry.

  Dream on.

  Lisha made a face as she walked into her kitchen and picked up the headset of her bright yellow phone. She used her pinky to dial the phone number before turning to press her back against the wall as she waited for the line to be answered.

  “Hi, this is Junie. I’m out living life. Leave me a message and I’ll call you back . . . if I get home.”

  Lisha smiled at the animated tone of her cousin’s voice and just hung up the phone, not bothering to leave a message. Being first cousins and next-door neighbors all their lives, Lisha thought of her more as a sister than as a cousin. Junie was the pop of color in a world sometimes filled with shades of gray, and Lisha could use some of her wildness to distract her thoughts.

  She hung up the phone and walked over to the fridge to pour a glass of white wine. “The Lonely Virgin rides again,” she muttered into the goblet before taking a deep sip.

  She arched a brow just as her front door opened and closed. Lisha felt a very quick moment of apprehension because the apartments lacked an interior hall and the front door was accessible to anyone who climbed the stairs to the second floor. But then she relaxed. It could only be one person—no one else had a key to her apartment. “Junie?” she called out, setting the goblet on the counter.

  “The one and only,” she called back, before strolling into the kitchen wearing nothing but an oversized tie-dye T-shirt that barely hit midthigh of her petite but curvy frame. Her shoulder-length hair was a tangled bird’s nest around her head and her lipstick was smeared across her mouth.

  “Screening your calls, huh?” Lisha asked, waving her hand at the bottle of wine as an offer for a glass.