Just Can't Get Enough by Cheris Hodges

lusty thoughts heat him up all over again. He noticed that she had a sketch pad underneath her arm as she took a seat on the top step of the porch and turned her eyes upward. Darius wondered what inspired her art. Celina’s paintings were very sensual and romantic.
    Before dinner he’d done an Internet search of her work, finding countless sites dedicated to it. Her most popular paintings were of men and women touching, kissing, and being together. The sensuality of her work made him wonder if she was a passionate lover. Darius’s mouth went dry as he watched Celina making long strokes on the paper, as the right strap of her gown slid down her shoulder.
    â€œWeren’t you taught that it is impolite to stare at people?” Celina asked.
    He’d been spotted and all he could do was smile. “I wasn’t staring,” he replied. “I was just trying to get some rest.”
    â€œOutside?” She turned to Darius with a sly smile on her face. “I know this is Elmore, but no one sleeps outside on purpose.”
    â€œI couldn’t sleep and this is what I do when I can’t sleep,” he said, as he stood up and walked to the end of the porch. What he didn’t say was that when he saw her in that skimpy gown, he knew that the only way he’d be able to sleep was if his bed were a block of ice. “What are you drawing?” he asked.
    She shook her head, indicating nothing. Celina focused on Darius as he stood on the end of the porch. “I couldn’t sleep, either, especially after the phone call I got when you left.”
    Darius hoped the call was from her inconsiderate boyfriend, ending their relationship when she needed him most. “Trouble in New York?”
    She stood up, dropping her sketch pad on the porch. “What do you mean by that?”
    â€œNothing. I thought maybe your man called you with some bad news or something,” he said, keeping his voice nonchalant. “Or an excuse as to why he isn’t here.”
    â€œDarius, subtlety isn’t your strong suit, is it?” Celina stood up and walked over to the fence that divided their yards. “I told you at dinner that I was single. Why don’t you believe it?”
    He shrugged his shoulders and placed his hands on the fence. Slow smiles spread across their faces.
    â€œRemember when we used to climb this fence?” they said in unison, then broke out in laughter.
    â€œThink you can still do it?” Darius asked.
    Folding her arms across her chest, she gave him her hardest New York B-girl look. “Is that a challenge?”
    â€œDo you accept?”
    Celina answered him by grabbing the top of the chainlink fence. She stuck her foot through the metal links and climbed over the three-foot fence. As Celina leapt over the top, her gown caught on the fence, causing the back to rip. Darius struggled not to laugh as she tried to hold the gown together.
    â€œAmused?” she asked, her face burning with embarrassment.
    â€œWouldn’t you be? But I’ll give you this, you’ve never backed down from a challenge, even when we were little.”
    Celina placed her hands on her rounded hips, forgetting for a moment that her gown was ripped to shreds. “And what does that mean?”
    Darius smiled. “Do you want a T-shirt to cover your gown—or what’s left of it, anyway?”
    â€œPlease,” she said. “I’m so embarrassed.”
    Darius led Celina into the house, walking just one step behind her so that he could look at what the rip exposed.
    â€œRed looks good on you,” he said, catching a glimpse of her hi-cut bikini briefs.
    â€œDarius McRae, you still don’t play fair!”
    â€œStill?”
    Celina whirled around and held out her arm, pointing to a long faint scar. “Remember this? You just couldn’t stand being beat in a race by moi , a girl. So, what did you do?”
    Darius stifled a laugh. “I