Lessons From A Younger Lover. Zuri Day

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      “We’re here. My front door. Goodbye.”

      “Goodbye? Just like that? You call the police on a law-abiding citizen, forcing him away from his scheduled task of squirrel-hunting…and now it’s just…goodbye?”

      Gwen put her hands on her hips and raised up to her full five-foot seven. “Look, I said I’m sorry about the phone call. What else do you want from me?”

      “Just this.”

      The assault was not what she expected. Instead of a hard, bruising kiss, Ransom’s attack was soft, yet deliberate. He rubbed his lips against hers, ever so slightly, as he made circular motions at the nape of her neck, massaging her into submission. Before Gwen realized it, she’d opened her mouth to welcome him and Ransom instantly took full advantage. His thrusting tongue was hot and purposeful against the insides of her mouth, devouring her with a gentleness that belied his strength. He dug his hands into her hair and deepened the kiss. His other hand caressed her back, even as he outlined her lips with the tip of his tongue before plunging in again.

      “Please,” she said, placing a hand on his chest and putting as much distance between them as she could still wrapped in his arms. She didn’t know that his desire-filled eyes mirrored her own. “I can’t,” she stuttered.

      “Baby, you taste so good. I can only imagine…”

      “Well, don’t be imagining anything. You said a kiss was the other…payment…you wanted for my calling law enforcement and you…well…we’ve done that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a busy day tomorrow.”

      “The kiss was just the beginning,” Ransom said, undeterred by her stern manner. He liked his women feisty, and loved a challenge.

      Also by Zuri Day

      Lies Lovers Tell

      Body By Night

      Lessons From a Younger Lover

      ZURI DAY

      Kensington Publishing Corp.

       http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

      For the little goddess…

      Acknowledgments

      This book was birthed and written while penning a chapter in my own life that spanned several states and a few countries. Many thanks to Selena James and Natasha Kern, who embraced my kinda crazy and encouraged the journey, and to Jumoke, Daniela, Claude, Grethe, Filipa, Leah, Laila, Daniel, Jesus (whose real name is Orlando, long story), Aunt Ernie, Mom and Dad Rich, Sharat, Valarie, Jody, Kai, Rolanda, Eden, Andrews, and JP, who so graciously hosted, toasted, and/or simply coasted with me during these travels….La Chaim! Also, a very special thank you to Susie Hardaway, Yvonne Turner and Elizabeth Sanderson of Oak Hill Elementary, for your valuable input during my research for this novel.

      Contents

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      Chapter 17

      Chapter 18

      Chapter 19

      Chapter 20

      Chapter 21

      Chapter 22

      Chapter 23

      Chapter 24

      Chapter 25

      Chapter 26

      Chapter 27

      Chapter 28

      Chapter 29

      Chapter 30

      Chapter 31

      Chapter 32

      Chapter 33

      Chapter 34

      Chapter 35

      Chapter 36

      Chapter 37

      Chapter 38

      Chapter 39

      Chapter 40

      Chapter 41

      Chapter 42

      Chapter 43

      Chapter 44

      Chapter 45

      Chapter 46

      Chapter 47

      Chapter 48

      Chapter 49

      Chapter 50

      Chapter 51

      Chapter 52

      Chapter 53

      Chapter 54

      Chapter 55

      Chapter 56

      Chapter 57

      Chapter 58

      Chapter 59

      Chapter 60

      Chapter 61

      Chapter 62

      Chapter 63

      Chapter 64

      Chapter 65

      1

      There were two things Gwen Smith never thought she’d do. She never thought she’d move back to her rinky-dink hometown of Sienna, California, and she never thought she’d come back as a forty-year-old divorcée. Yet here she sat in the middle seat of a crowded plane, at the age where some said life began, trying to figure out how the boring and predictable one she’d known sixty short days ago had changed so quickly.

      The first hitch in the giddyup wasn’t a total surprise. Her mother’s dementia had become increasingly worse following the death of Gwen’s father, Harold, two years ago. Her parents had been married forty-four years. It was a tough adjustment. At the funeral, Gwen told her husband that she knew the time would come when her mother’s welfare would become her responsibility. That she thought Joe would be by her side at this crucial time, and wasn’t, was the fact she hadn’t seen coming.

      But it was true nonetheless. Joe had announced his desire to divorce and packed his bags the same evening. Two months later she was still reeling from that okeydoke. But she couldn’t think about that now. Gwen had to focus on one crisis at a time, and at the moment, her mother was the priority.

      “Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the seat belt sign indicating our final descent into Los Angeles. Please make sure your seat belts are securely fastened and your seats and tray tables are in their upright and locked…”

      Gwen stretched as well as she could between two stout men and tried to remove the crook from her neck. Still, she was grateful she’d fallen asleep. Shuteye had been all too elusive these past few weeks, when ongoing worries and raging thoughts had kept true rest at bay. Fragments of a dream flitted across her wakened mind as they landed and she reached into the overhead bin for her carry-on luggage. Gwen didn’t know if she wanted to remember it or not. Lately, her