Free I Just Can't Stop Loving You by Imari Jade

first.
    “Damn,” Tricia exclaimed. The walls, shelving, and desks were littered with photos of her mother. The bookshelves were lined with every book her mother had ever written. There were photos of her accepting awards, giving presentations, and pictures seated at her desk in the New York office writing. There were also pictures of her with some of the other writers and editors from the publishing company and several of her with Harper. “Obsess much?” Tricia asked as she walked around checking out the living shrine to her mother.
    “You haven’t seen anything yet,” Damien told her, taking her hand and leading her out of the room and into another at the end of the hall. “This is my father’s bedroom.”
    “I don’t think we should go in there,” Tricia said, hesitating and a little frightened of what she might find.
    “You have to see this,” Damien said, tugging her inside.
    Tricia gasped. Above the fireplace rested a huge painting of her mother dressed in a sexy black formal gown, wearing a super afro and seated in a high-back wicker chair. Around her neck was big gold necklace, and big gold earrings hung from her ears. Her mother had to be in her late twenties or early thirties. She looked like a Nubian goddess about to conquer a prince of Africa. The painting had been strategically placed across the room, facing Harper’s huge mahogany bed. “Hmm, I knew your father liked my mother, but I had no idea how much.” She quickly gulped down the wine.
    “He’s in love with her,” Damien said, leading her out of the room and back down the stairs to the pool area.
    “Do you think they had a fling?” Her father was still alive back then. He’d succumbed to Cancer when Tricia was a child.
    “I have no idea,” Damien said. “It’s possible.”
    Tricia sat down on one of the lounge chairs. She didn’t think her mother was the kind to cheat. But it would answer some questions, like why she dropped everything to go to Japan a couple of years ago when she didn’t like to fly. And why she looked so cozy dancing with Harper in that YouTube video.
    “Maybe we’re siblings,” Damien teased as she sat down next to her.
    She felt his lips on her neck.
    “If that’s true, don’t you think you need to get your lips off your sister’s neck?”
    Damien took the wine glass away from her and put it on a small table next to the chairs. “No,” he said, continuing down her collarbone. “We’ll just be one big happy family.”
    “Ooh,” Tricia moaned as the wine snuck up her. It made her feel warm all over. Or maybe it wasn’t the wine. Damien’s lips moved from her neck to her mouth. She didn’t remember him putting on a stereo, but vintage make-out music played softly in the background, setting the mood. Shai’s ‘If I Ever Fall in Love.’ Hmm, he has pulled out the big guns . “I thought we came here to swim,” Tricia said once he gave her time to breathe. Damien was a fantastic kisser. She must have been out of her mind to interrupt him.
    “We will,” he said. “Eventually.” He pulled her to her feet and into his arms for a dance. For a white boy, he had some smooth moves. Their bodies rocked sensually against each other and Damien kept his green eyes locked and gazing down into hers. “I’m enjoying this,” he said.
    She knew exactly what he meant. His body felt warm and comforting next to hers. Tricia ran some of her test notes over in her head to keep the lascivious thoughts out, but she failed miserably. His body had hers lit up like the night sky.
    Damien raised her chin and placed a kiss against her lips. Their dancing took on a more erotic sway as he danced her over toward the pool. “Let’s go swimming,” he suggested. He freed her from his body.
    “Where can I change into my suit?” she asked, dizzy from lust.
    Damien shrugged out of his shirt and tossed it on a lounge chair. “What do you need a suit for? We’re over eighteen.”
    Tricia’s gaze landed on his bare