Fervent Billionaire BWWM Romance Series - Books 1 to 3

Chapter One “EXHALE SLOWLY,” the yoga instructor said in a soothing voice. Alexandra exhaled her breath and relaxed her muscles. As she exhaled, she consciously focused on releasing all of her worries. Her body was in the bridge pose, so her navel faced the twirling ceiling fan. “Inhale through your nose,” came the second instruction. Alexandra inhaled and the sound of her breath filled her ears. She held the pose for what seemed like a lifetime as the base of her neck pressed against the floor. “Release,” came the blessed instruction, finally. Automatically, Alexandra moved into corpse pose. She had been practicing yoga for three months and was finally feeling confident about her poses. She knew that there was still a long way to go, but she was getting there. Her mind was relaxed as she felt the warm caress of the sunlight travel along her torso. A smile spread across her face as she focused on existing entirely in the moment. Without thought, she moved fluidly between all of the yoga positions. Her eyes opened and her mind returned when the instructor ended the session, “Thank you for attending, Namaste.” “Namaste,” Alexandra replied with her palms together. As she rolled up her mat, she looked around at the other patrons. All were covered in sweat, all wearing modern yoga shorts and tops. Only the instructor wore the loose-fitting, traditional clothes of Kundalini yoga. Karen, the instructor, stood at the head of the class in conversation with a few of the patrons. Turning away from everyone else, Alexandra studied her figure in the large mirror that lined the wall of the room. Her eyes wandered across her own body and she felt pleasure at seeing the results of her many yoga sessions. The pink and black yoga pants fit perfectly along her dark calves and hips. Slender, yet toned, she admired her own hourglass figure in the mirror. Her eyes glanced at her glistening ebony skin and the few beads of sweat that dotted her skin from the overly warm room. She released her curly hair from the clasp of a bun and watched as it cascaded down her shoulders. With a broad smile, she turned to leave the room. She walked toward the door and placed her hand on the warm metal doorknob. As the door pushed forward, she looked over her shoulder to say goodbye to her instructor. She noticed Karen and a man speaking with each other, their eyes looking at Alexa’s toned figure. Dismissing the glances, she turned away with a cheery wave. A few blocks down the street was her favorite café, the one that she went to after yoga class. As she walked there, she could feel the eyes of other people watching her—mostly men. Not long ago after making a steady income, she had moved to a more upscale segment of town. As one of the few African-Americans in town, she drew stares that ranged from curious to desirous whenever she went out. She did not mind the ogling, but it was the catcalls that ate at her. Catcalls were so vulgar and seemed cowardly. If someone wanted to speak to her, then she would prefer that they were up front with her. She felt that a real man would be one who says what he means and does not just yell something out of a speeding car window. Finally, she had almost reached the cafe. Although she came here every day, few men ever struck up a conversation with her. When she was growing up, the boys in the inner city were always making passes at her. Her move to a better neighborhood had certainly reduced the number of dates she went on. Unwilling to make the first move, she normally waited for her intended date to ask her out. Since moving to this gentrified area, her love life had declined significantly. She knew men were still attracted to her by their appreciative glances, but they never approached the lone black girl. It may be a safer and better place to live, but it left her feeling lonely far too often. The doorbell chimed as she walked in. “Good morning, Alex!” the cafe owner’s son, Benji, called out. “Good morning, Benji,” Alex replied pleasantly as she walked to a window table. A few minutes later, her zebra latte and breakfast sandwich were served. Benji smiled shyly in her immediate presence and returned to his work. She approached the counter to pick up her zebra latte and cream cheese bagel. As she turned to go to her table, Alex realized far too late that there was an actual person behind her. Unable to stop herself, she ended up spilling the coffee. A vain attempt at righting herself led to the bagel falling from her plate. Groaning, Alex bent down to try to clean everything up. Next to her, the person she had bumped into knelt down to help. As she glanced up, Alex realized who it was... the mystery man from the yoga studio. For weeks, she had seen this well-dressed man arrive at the cafe. Every day, she had eyed him inconspicuously from her table. Since she always arrived at the same time after yoga, it was fairly easy to time her arrival to his. Attractive and muscular, his image screamed alpha male. As usual, the man had walked to the counter and ordered a drink. Unlike usual, she had gotten in the way and possibly ruined his suit. She lowered her eyes in embarrassment. “Sorry about that,” she said, “I can get that dry-cleaned for you.” She motioned toward his suit jacket. Smiling genuinely, the man extended his hand. “I'm William.” He motioned toward his clothes. “You don't have to worry about these. I can always get more. It looks like you may need another breakfast though. Mind if I buy?” Alex extended her hand and smiled graciously. “My name is Alex,” she replied. His grip was firm and business-like, yet casual. “I suppose I could handle that.” Mentally, she cursed herself for sounding so enthusiastic at his offer. She didn't need to make it so obvious that she had been weeks—months, in fact—without s*x. He smiled at her again and turned toward Benji to order. Somehow, he managed to look at her like she was the only thing in the world when his gaze was upon her. Under his intense focus, the entirety of the coffee shop and every person within it fell away. During these moments, all that existed was her and him. His eyes explored her face as he finally sat down. Something about her stirred up a carnal l**t within him. He had never really noticed her completely when he stopped by this cafe. Although he recognized her, this sudden influx of desire and attraction was unexpected. It was like Alex had existed his entire life with the expectation of arousing him. Too late, he realized that he was staring at her. To tone down the awkwardness, he motioned toward her yoga mat. “How long have you been practicing?” he questioned. A moment passed before she understood what he meant. “A few months,” she replied. William had a firm jaw line, deep green eyes, and was very well groomed. Not a hair was out of place and his muscles betrayed a healthy habit of weight-lifting. “A few?” he continued as his plain black coffee was handed to him by Benji. Reaching out, Benji placed Alex’s latte and bagel carefully on the table. “Thank you, Benji,” he replied for both of them. “You’re welcome, sir,” Benji responded and returned to the counter. “Three months,” she responded to his earlier query. While she waited for his response, she tried to size him up. From his exacting questions, she judged that he was a precise, confident man. His attire suggested that he existed in the world of business and did quite well. Better yet, he was one of the most attractive men she had ever seen, white or black. It was unfortunate that he had chosen today to meet her. She smelled terrible from working out and had spent the initial meeting covering him with food. Inwardly she groaned before she questioned him again. “Do you do yoga?” “I don’t,” he replied. Alex waited for him to say something else, but he didn't. Instead of waiting for him to continue, she smiled. “What do you do?” “I work most of my waking days. Afterward, I exercise in the company gym when I am able to. My schedule is pretty busy, so I don't always have time.” Her eyes darted over his arms and torso. Visions of his muscular arms wrapping around her body immediately entered her mind. She took another drink from her coffee. He looked at his watch, then back at her. A fleeting look of annoyance passed across his face. Sighing, he turned to face Alex fully. “I have a meeting in five minutes, but I would love to see you again. Maybe we'll meet again at this cafe.” He smiled and shook her hand, but his glance betrayed more than a friendly desire to meet Alex once again. “On no!” Alex jumped up. “I still need to repay you for ruining your suit!” Distracted by this new eye candy, she had forgotten all of her manners. William smiled. “Really, don't worry about it.” He paused. Although he didn't want to frighten her off, there was something he wanted. “What if we had a late afternoon lunch together instead? I would consider that full repayment for this morning's mishap.” She grinned widely before she managed to control her excitement. “That would be wonderful,” she said. He stood up from the table with a wide smile, “I’ll make reservations at Le Jardin at four. See you then?” “See you then!” she replied. With a turn of his heel and a wave to Benji, he left the shop and began to walk down the street. Only the musky scent of his cologne remained behind him. Alex rolled over the prospect of their date in her mind. Le Jardin was one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. Not only had she just agreed to a date with her cafe mystery man, she was going to one of the nicest places in town. She grinned. This unexpected surprise would transform an otherwise boring day into an opportunity for some excitement. Thankfully, she was free this afternoon. Finishing her coffee, she decided to return to her apartment and figure out what to wear.