Desire...

By Takara M. James

What are your desires? Is it intamacy? Is it time and attentiveness? What about love and compassion?

A few married men find themselves caught up with Desiree Carter, a woman who brings out the best and worse in them. The problem is, she's bad luck, and everything that happens to these couples, will end in nothing but devastatio

• Language: English
• Publisher: Writluxe
• Release date: Oct 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781735449661

Takara M. James

Takara James (1990-) was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, to the late Mr. & Mrs. James, grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, where she was raised by her sister after the death of her mother in 1996. She received her education from HBCU Rust College from 2008-2012 but graduated from the University of Phoenix with her Bachelors of Arts in English (2019). Her first book, "Desire," sold over 100 copies within the first week of publication. In 2018, her book "Saving Takara," became a #1 bestseller in Divorce and Family Relationships. Her book "Shit Black Folk's Don't Talk About also received #1 Hot New Release & #1 Bestseller in Children of Abuse and Alcoholics. She will receive her Masters of Arts in English and Creative Writing, with a concentration in Fiction Writing. Her passion for writing dates back to age six where she grew a love for music and poetry. She hopes to someday be a great influencing writer to those after her, as the great writers before her have been! Takara's writing influences are James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, Kimberla Lawson Roby, Reshonda Tate Billingsley, Eric Jerome Dickey, Omar Tyree, R. M. Johnson, Emily Dickenson, William Shakespeare, William Faulkner, Robert Frost and many more.


Book preview

Chapter 1

Desiree

Her mind was open and so were her legs. Her third date with Michael and she was already upstairs in his bed. She was one to believe going to a man’s house was better than going to hers that way once she was done she could leave, no strings attached.

Desiree Carter was young and vibrant. Twenty-six years of age, beautiful caramel skin, and pretty brown hair, she was eye candy. Desiree could never step into a room and be unnoticed. Everywhere she went there was always some guy there trying to sway her into being his muse. At this stage in her life, she hadn’t really considered settling down. She had so much in mind that she wanted to do, so living a little on the edge was primarily how she spent her time. She enjoyed parties, but she also enjoyed the thrill of not knowing what would happen next for her. She just took things at face value, which led her to Rhyan.

Chapter 2

Rhyan

Rhyan Johnson, 62, yellow bone with beautiful greenish blue eyes. He was a bit muscular and kept a clean shaved beard with a nice haircut. He dressed professionally about five days a week with various brand-named tailored suits and nice accessories to give him that business look. Rhyan had gotten a job as the assistant director at UCLA in the business department. Before Rhyan had gotten the job, he was pursuing his writing career with the publication of his first novel Say yes.

Desiree met Rhyan when she applied for the master’s Program in Education at UCLA. He was the first person to greet her in the building. She wasn’t familiar with the campus, so she definitely needed assistance getting around. Hey, my name is Desiree Carter. I’m looking for the admissions office. My pleasure to meet you Ms. Carter, I’d be happy to show you around. Rhyan said, grabbing her hand for a welcoming introduction.

Thank you! she said, batting her eyes and showing a short smile.

That very moment alone made Rhyan more interested than he should have been.

Desiree was single and had undergrad expenses she was paying for. She had always been very smart and had a very hardworking ethic about herself; however, after she sat down with admissions and calculated University costs and scheduled her classes, she knew there was no way she could attend and work both her jobs. Since Desiree had been sleeping on a friend’s sofa for a few months, having the opportunity to stay on campus would have been great. It would have minimized travel between work and school and allowed her an opportunity to have her own space, but she really needed to get together a budget and map out her expenses. Ms. Carter how did things go? Rhyan asked. Really don’t want to talk about it, thank you for your help, Rhyan is it? But I don’t think I’d be furthering my education any time soon. Although Rhyan hated for any student to not seek their full potential and pursue their educational advances, he also found himself attracted to Desiree and wanted to pursue her in more ways than he could ever explain. How about we step into my office and have a chat, that’ if you have a few minutes to spare?"

After sitting with Mr. Johnson, explaining her situation, he was all for helping her, but he needed to use a few resources to map out his plan, in other words he needed to really know what moves to make with Desiree before he tried to escalate his feelings towards her. Before she left his office that day, he handed her his card telling her to call so they could schedule a lunch date and discuss her future as a UCLA student. They planned to meet a few times for dinner, discuss her plans, options for pursing her degree, and what she wanted to do after UCLA, but at the moment it hadn’t happened. The stress of school and work really put Desiree in a tough spot. She had taken Mr. Johnson’s card, but she hadn’t given him much more thought after that. She was too deep in her thoughts. Six months had already passed and not much about her situation had changed. She was still unsure about her living arrangements, trying to figure out a strategy for her current work schedules and now trying to factor in finishing her education. The past six months had been tough mainly because she had a degree that didn’t have any positions available. She’d considered being a substitute teacher, but the income wasn’t consistent, and at this point she didn’t need any more setbacks.

It had been almost a week since Rhyan had given Desiree his card. He’d hoped for a call the same day, even the second day, but as of now…nothing! He sat in his office at home, in one of his most comfortable spots, right near his massive shelf of good reads, with one of his favorite books in hand, Between Lovers by Eric Jerome Dickey, with his glass of Zinfandel Red Wine. The story, which was set in California, was about a lover’s triangle between one man and two women. It was a mix of passion, anger, pain and honesty. Just as he went to turn the page, his phone rang. This is Rhyan Johnson speaking he said in his deep tone. Good evening Mr. Johnson, I hope I’m not interrupting, this is Desiree Carter. Not at all. And call me Rhyan. They carried on conversation for a few hours, finally deciding to set a day & time to meet over dinner, to discuss her future plans. Although Desiree was quite nervous the entire time, she enjoyed the talk and looked forward to meeting with him. So tomorrow night at eight p.m.? Rhyan said. Yes, John’s Grill right? Desiree responded. Yes, I’ll have a car service waiting at your location if you’d like Rhyan said in a gentle, yet professional tone. Oh no thank you Rhyan. I’m actually not far from the restaurant so I’ll meet you there.

Their first meeting for dinner was very formal. They sat at John’s Grill, one of the most popular dining establishments in the San Francisco area, and both enjoyed their desired taste in cuisines. I’ll have the Broiled Salmon, please hold the hollandaise sauce. Desiree said. And for your sir? the waiter asked, looking in Ryan’s direction. I’ll have your Seafood Cannelloni. May I also add the Porterhouse with that? Rhyan said. They both ate their meals with a nice complimentary bottle of Merlot the waiter brought to the table. Desiree was still feeling a bit shy, especially since her meal alone was over