Deception

  My neck straightened as I took a step back. “It is not your place to argue with me.”

  “You can’t fire me from heaven.” Before I could respond, she continued, “And you can’t assure Alexandria’s future from there, neither.”

  “I can.” My hand fluttered to my throat as I glanced around the master suite bedroom that I hated. “It’s the answer I should’ve seen years ago.”

  “No, ma’am. There’s a codicil.”

  I turned back toward Jane.

  “Mr. Fitzgerald know it,” she said. “Mr. Montague, he told him to tell you. He didn’t, did he?”

  I stared into her dark eyes. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying…” She stood taller. “…I see. I listen, and, ma’am, I know.”

  “A codicil? To my father’s will?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Mr. Montague, he do it, just before he die.”

  “Do you know what it says?” I asked.

  “I never read it.” She shook her head. “That’s not my place, but I do know it made Mr. Fitzgerald mighty angry.”

  What didn’t make Mr. Fitzgerald angry?

  I exhaled as my knees gave out and I sank to the edge of the bed. “I-I need to read it.” My mind, which only moments ago seemed clear, now muddied with this new information. “W-why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t know that he didn’t tell you.” She crouched down, until our eyes met. “And that ain’t my place neither.”

  “He didn’t tell me.” I reached for her hand. “Thank you, Jane.” I had three days before Alton’s return. Air filled my lungs, giving me determination I’d thought was gone. Holding tightly to Jane’s hand, I started to devise a new plan. “First thing in the morning, I need to go into Savannah. I need to pay a visit to Ralph Porter’s office.”

  Jane smiled and stood. “Yes, ma’am, I tell Bentley to be ready by nine.” She picked up the cup of pills again. “You going to need these?”

  I shrugged. “It depends on what the codicil says.”

  “How about I hold on to them, so no one finds them?”

  I nodded. “Thank you, Jane. Leave the wine.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  CHARLI AND SILVIA both turned at the sound of my voice. Mindlessly, I scanned Charli’s beautiful frame—unscathed and unharmed. My mind knew it to be true, but the need to confirm it was almost unstoppable.

  “Come here,” I commanded.

  Charli didn’t question the demand as she stepped toward me, her feet bare and her golden eyes wide and swirling with a kaleidoscope of emotion—fear, concern, and anxiety all vied for top billing.

  “Silvia, please give us a few minutes,” I said as I reached for Charli’s hand.

  “Anything you need. I can prepare lunch.”

  I nodded as I led Charli through the house. The pool house had too many windows for my liking. I didn’t know what Silvia was thinking by bringing her out here. Yes, the windows throughout the house had been constructed with bulletproof glass. Nevertheless, that didn’t make them less transparent. Anyone with the right equipment could see directly into the interior. Hell, they could read the time on a watch if they had the right zooming capability and the desire to do so. We passed through the kitchen, living room, and halfway up the stairs before Charli spoke.

  “Where are you taking me?”

  Without answering, I opened the doors to the bedroom where I’d slept for the last four years. The interior was crisp, clean, and relatively austere, decorated in muted tones of brown. It wasn’t as large or as ornate as the master suite, but that room contained too many ghosts. We had enough to battle without thinking about any of that.

  While Charli halted near the door, I silently walked to the windows; like the master suite, they faced the sound. After confirming the lock was secure on the balcony door, I closed the thick wooden blinds. With only slits of light infiltrating our world, I walked back to Charli, or did I float? After the morning we’d shared, having her here, safe and in my arms, felt like a dream.

  I cupped her cheek as my normally sure voice cracked with emotion. “I’m so sorry.”

  Though her face had inclined to my touch, she shook her head. “Don’t be sorry. You kept me safe.”

  The fury I’d unleashed on Deloris, the same rage that refused to stay at bay during my conversation with Oren, bubbled in my gut, the acid burning my throat. “You shouldn’t have to live like this.”

  “Like what? Explain it to me.”

  Letting go of her, I spun in the darkness, wanting to pounce, needing to attack, and yet trying with all of my might to project a sense of calm. I didn’t want to scare my Charli any more than she undoubtedly was. “Someone shot at us this morning.”

  Even in the dim light I saw her lips pale from the pressure as she held them tightly together. Finally she replied, “I gathered that from the conversation. But I didn’t see anything.” Her volume rose. “I didn’t hear anything. How do we know?”

  “You didn’t see her?” My chest clenched. How had she missed the carnage?

  “Her?” Charli asked as she sank to the edge of the bed. “The shooter was a woman?”

  I took a deep breath, wishing I didn’t need to tell her, to explain. However, it was her words from last night, her anger at being unaware that propelled me forward. No doubt this wouldn’t go well, but if she wanted to know, I needed to be the one to tell her. With a deep breath, I knelt beside her knees, taking her hands in mine. “We don’t know who the shooter was, man or woman. Security believes a silencer was used. There was nothing to hear. Our primary objective was to get out of there.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Releasing her hands, I reached for my phone. The news app was usually an annoyance, but today it could explain what I couldn’t. I touched the screen until the story appeared. Once it did, I handed my phone to Charli. As she read, her expression of confusion turned to horror.

  “I-is she dead?”

  “She’s in surgery.”

  Charli stood, rushing past me to get to the bathroom. It must have been her first guess since I hadn’t yet shown her around. I followed and found her kneeling near the toilet.

  “Charli…”

  She shook her head before laying it upon her arm, currently draped over the seat. “I thought I was going to be sick. I want to be sick. But I can’t. I can’t even… That woman, she’s a mother. She was pushing a stroller!”

  I offered her my hand.

  She shook her head dismissively as she asked, “You’re telling me that someone tried to shoot us and missed, hitting a mother instead?”

  “We don’t know who they were trying to shoot. It happened so fast. Security saw her fall, but they couldn’t stop it. She just happened to move between us and the shooter at the right time.”

  “Right time? Nox, that woman is a mother! She’s in surgery and may never see her child again. Her child may never know her because she was jogging near us…”

  Charli’s words trailed away as she crumpled onto the tile.

  I reached for her shoulders. “It’s tragic, but she very well could have unknowingly saved our lives. Saved your life. I’ll help her and her family as much as I can. But, Charli—God forgive me—I’d sacrifice a hundred mothers, a million people to keep you safe.”

  Taking my hand, she stood, her body falling into mine.

  Scooping her into my arms, I carried her to the bed, pulled back the covers, and lowered her body to the mattress, and then sat beside her. With a few adjustments, I ensured her comfort as I arranged the pillows and blankets, all the while trying not to notice the tears that silently coated her cheeks.

  “I’m sorry,” I offered again, wiping a tear with the pad of my thumb. I sat straight, suppressing the emotion my decision evoked. I’d wallow in it later. Now was about being strong for Charli. “The best way to keep you safe is to stop whatever this is between us.”

  Charli’s eyes, which had been nearly closed, opened wide. “No.” Her voice wa
s resilient and determined.

  “I can’t let…”

  She reached for my chest, her fingers lingering on the small buttons of my shirt. “Can I trust you?”

  My gaze narrowed. “Of course.”

  “So what you tell me is the truth?”

  My indignation grew. What the hell was she talking about? “Yes, unequivocally.”

  “You wouldn’t tell me something just to make me feel better?”

  “If you’re talking about that woman, she’s in surgery. As soon as I hear more, I’ll—”

  “No, Nox,” she said, stopping me. “I’m not talking about that woman. I’m talking about what you said to me in the park. What you said moments before all hell broke loose.”

  Head bowed, my chin collided with my chest as I reached for her beautiful face. Even with the tears and frightful pallor, she was stunning. Her current line of questioning returned a hue of pink to her cheeks. “I told you that I loved you,” I said. “I haven’t said those words since…”

  She reached for my cheeks and pulled me closer. Just before our lips met, she said, “I’ve never said those words, and Lennox Demetri…” She brushed a soft kiss on me. “…I love you. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

  The pressure from everything that had happened came boiling out. Moisture threatened my vision as the scene before me lost focus. I pulled her closer, not wanting her to see my weakness. With a lump in my throat, I said, “I love you so much. I can’t lose you.”

  “I’m here. I’m safe.”

  Without thinking I ripped away the blankets I’d only recently used to cover her. As soon as they were gone, I reached for the hem of her shirt and lifted it over her head. “I need to see you.”

  Charli didn’t argue or protest. She lifted her arms and hips, allowing me to remove her clothing, piece by piece, until I’d exposed each and every inch of her beautiful body.

  “Stand up.”

  After only a moment’s hesitation, she swallowed and did as I commanded. Totally nude, she stood before me.

  “Turn around.”

  She slowly rotated as my eyes moved up and down her gorgeous body, scrutinizing her sexy curves, and athletic angles.

  No holes. Not even a scratch. She was perfect in every way.

  With her magnificent body completely bare, I offered her my hand and pulled her to me. Warm and safe, I drank in her presence. Soft, round breasts met me at nearly eye level as I remained seated on the edge of the bed. They fit perfectly in the palm of my hand as my fingers tenderly caressed each one, eliciting soft mews from her lips as her nipples darkened and turned to hard, pebbled peaks.

  Reaching for her waist, I pivoted, returning her to the bed, her long red hair fanning around her serene face. Calm and surreal, she lay still, before lifting her arms above her head and giving herself to me, mine for the taking. With only the tips of my fingers I grazed her warm skin. From the inside of her wrists to her shoulders, her collarbone to her breasts, with both hands I circled her waist and hips. Whimpers filled the room as goose bumps appeared in the wake of my exploration.

  Whole.

  Safe and complete—the mantra repeated until my brain accepted it as fact.

  Her eyes that had watched my every move were now closed as she concentrated on my touch. No longer content to allow my hands the thrill of discovery, my lips joined the mission.

  “O-oh, Nox.”

  I spread her legs and lowered myself to her core. Only moments before she’d been distraught. No longer. Now, her entire body shivered with need. I’d found an outlet for the emotion that had been pent up inside of me, and she was delicious.

  Charli’s fingernails dug into scalp and her knees parted as she encouraged my actions. My first taste was slow and deep, sweet and enticing. Her hips bucked as my tongue lapped and swirled around her clit. I wanted to make her forget, to make her feel safe. I wanted to take her mind to better places. Lick by lick she responded, withering under my command.

  And then the dam I’d attempted to construct within myself burst. My self-control dissolved into her chorus of moans and sounds of ecstasy. No longer did I seek only to please; I was starving for the delicacy before me. Like a man deprived of nutrients, I needed more.

  Her hips writhed beneath my unrelenting grasp as I sucked her essence. Each drop was but an appetizer, a hors d’oeuvre that only whetted my appetite. My name joined the other sounds filling the air around us as her legs stiffened and body convulsed.

  “P-please,” she begged breathlessly.

  I didn’t need to hear more. In seconds my shoes hit the floor. My pants and boxers were below my knees. I released my rock-hard length, now throbbing in my own grasp.

  Her veiled eyes stared into mine. When her gaze dropped to my erection, the smile she’d kept tamed beamed in anticipation as her lower lip disappeared between her teeth. We kissed, my teeth tugging her lip free as her tongue sought out her own taste. Though I wasn’t sure it was possible, I grew even harder.

  Without words, I encouraged her to roll to her stomach and lifted her ass as she settled on her elbows. For only a moment I took the time to appreciate the masterpiece before me. The Mona Lisa or Starry Night couldn’t compare to her beauty: poised, ready, and willing. Charli was picturesque with her entrance and thighs glistening. Her body offered no resistance but pushed toward me as she released a loud gasp and my length slid deep inside. The walls of her pussy stretched and accommodated as they tightened around me. Thrust for thrust, I drove deeper and deeper until her arms gave out, leaving her cries of pleasure muffled by the pillows. My fingers blanched as they dug into her hips, choreographing her movements. Harder and harder, I was possessed. The friction was a drug concoction, a mixture of a stimulant to keep going and a tranquilizer to ease my earlier mayhem. The room filled with her wordless screams as again she detonated, her muscles rigid before finally going slack.

  I pulled out and rolled her so that I could see her golden stare, no longer fearful, her beautiful eyes were hooded, satiated, and satisfied. She whimpered a protest as I once again plunged into her core. Slowly I teased, in and out, my dick purposely rubbing her sensitive clit. So amazingly responsive, she began to again move with me. Our bodies synced in a rhythm of their own. The urgency from before was gone. My only desire was to linger in its wake. This was somehow different than it had ever been. I wasn’t fucking Charli, but loving her. More and slower, her expression morphed, as the realization became clear to us both.

  We were making love.

  I was in Charli and in heaven. In the eye of the storm, I was making love to the new love of my life.

  Again her eyes closed, back arched, and lips formed a circle as we came at the same time. My body trembled violently as a growl tore, not from my throat but from my chest, and I released inside of her. Though she’d fallen slack against the soft sheets, I continued to come, a never-ending fountain as I released more than my seed.

  I filled her with me.

  I was hers.

  When I was finally done, I collapsed, covering her with my body, shielding her from the evil that lurked about us. If I could, I’d keep us here forever. But I couldn’t. Once again, I had work that I needed to do at Demetri Enterprises, business that couldn’t be postponed.

  Her breathing slowed to a point that I wondered if she were asleep. I kissed her forehead and her nose as I pulled out of her. Slowly her lids fluttered as a grin covered her bruised pink lips.

  “I think I’m about ready to fall into a sex-induced coma.”

  My cheeks rose. “I’d like to keep you perpetually induced.”

  “Hmm.” She wiggled beneath me.

  No longer connected, I rolled to the side and pulled her close. “Charli, I still need to leave. I’ll be late for this afternoon’s testimony, but I have to be there.”

  “NO.” THE CALM that had settled over me, lulling me into the coma that Chelsea had warned me about, disappeared. “I don’t want you to go.”

  Nox’s br
ow furrowed. “You’ll be safe. You’re staying here.”

  Reaching for the sheets, I pulled them up to my breast and sat against the headboard. Indignation rose. “No. You said we don’t know who the target was. You can’t go to Washington. That’s where you’re supposed to be. If you go there, you could be walking into a trap.”

  Lying beside me, Nox lifted his arm and covered his eyes with his bicep. It was then I realized he was still wearing his white silk shirt. His tie was gone and I suspected that his pants were somewhere buried in the mountain of blankets, yet his shirt was pristinely white—albeit wrinkled—in the darkened room.

  “That’s why you’re staying here,” he said.

  “What? No. I have class. I already missed today.” Though the scent of sex lingered, my thighs still wet, and my muscles clenched, the mood of moments before was gone. “You can’t go to Washington and expect me to stay hidden in this house.”

  Nox sat up and in one swift move he was before me, our noses touching. “I can and I do. This conversation is done.”

  Common sense told me to let the dust settle, allow him his little show of dominance and then revisit the subject. Then again, if he were in DC there wouldn’t be time for renegotiations. “No.”

  The covers flew as Nox sat, swung his long, muscular legs off the side of the bed, and searched for the rest of his clothes.

  “Don’t you understand?” he asked.

  “Yes. I get it. I get that you’re protective. I understand something terrible happened today. I won’t walk in the park. I’ll let Jerrod drive me everywhere. I have a responsibility to my schooling.”

  “Fuck, Charli, so do I. I have a responsibility and it’s you.”

  He was now standing, straightening his shirt, pushing it down into his pants, and securing his buttons, zipper, and belt. Before I devised a plausible response, he continued, “I was not supposed to be in Central Park this morning.”

  “Yes, I know. You were only there because of…” A cold chill covered my skin as it prickled with fear. “…me.”

  “Deloris has a full team working on this. There was a communication that went out to Jerrod and Isaac about our change in plans. The network is supposed to be secure, but fuck, I’m not sure of anything anymore.”