Brenda Jackson Page 11

  “I’m sorry, Kim.” Duan’s voice was gentle. “That kind of life must have been hell to endure each week.”

  “It was. Because of my father I’ve endured a lot of hell. Forgiving doesn’t come easy for me, and Mom can’t seem to understand that.”

  “And all this time I’ve been the one hosting a pity party thinking the Jeffrieses were the family with all the garbage.” Duane shook his head. “When my mom left, I was angry, madder than hell. I was the oldest and I had Terrence to deal with. He was a holy terror even back in the day. And then there was Olivia, who tried to take Mom’s place. It’s still hard to believe how a woman could leave her husband and family without looking back.”

  He stopped walking and so did she. He met her gaze. “I have one hell of a father, and I can’t tell him enough how much I appreciate him. He had to step in and do both roles as a parent and he did it. I’m sure it wasn’t easy, yet he never complained. I admire him for what he did, and I’m not sure that I could have done the same if I’d been in his place.”

  They began walking again and a few moments later they stopped at a vendor to buy a bag of popcorn to share. When they started walking again she asked, “Have you seen your mom since she left?”

  “I didn’t for a long time, almost eighteen years in fact. She left when I was twelve. A few days before my thirtieth birthday, after I’d celebrated the opening of my investigative firm, I decided to put my skills to the test and find her. I actually wanted to see her. I needed to see her for closure—at least I told myself it was closure. But I was hoping that when I tracked her down and she saw me, she would be remorseful, ashamed for not having the decency to pick up a phone to see how her kids were doing.”

  He shook his head. “But when I found her, there was no remorse or shame on her part, just annoyance at being bothered. She told me, in a not-too-nice way, that she’d gotten out of our life for a reason. She never wanted kids, wasn’t the motherly type and that she didn’t want to renew a relationship with any of us.”

  “Wow, that’s deep,” Kim said.

  “Yes, it was. I caught a plane back to Atlanta to hear Terrence’s taunting that he’d told me so. Somehow he’d known. He hadn’t seen her, he hadn’t wanted to see her and had been determined to move on with his life. He’d accepted her walking out on us at face value. Her betrayal, her abandonment had left its mark on the three of us, but especially on Dad.”

  Kim heard the bitterness in his voice. She knew it well. It was the same whenever she discussed her father with anyone. A father she hadn’t seen in at least five years now. The last time had been at her paternal grandmother’s funeral. He hadn’t looked in the best of health and even then she guessed he was still hitting the bottle and she’d even smelled alcohol on his breath.

  She glanced ahead and saw her mother and Edward. They were standing in line to get on another ride. She didn’t want to think how her mother would handle it if what they suspected about Edward was true. That would definitely be a heartbreaker and her mother didn’t deserve that.

  Duan glanced down at her. “I know you’re still worried about your mom, but you’re going to have to believe that I’ll do everything I can to find out the truth about Villarosas, good or bad. You’re going to have to trust me.”

  She nodded. “I do trust you, Duan.”

  Kim looked away, fearful she might also admit that she had fallen in love with him.

  13

  DUAN EASED OUT OF BED when he heard his cell phone vibrating on the nightstand. He picked it up and quickly moved toward the bathroom. Kim was still asleep, lying naked on top of the covers. He felt his shaft get hard as he entered the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he leaned against it as he flipped on his phone.

  “Kind of late for you, isn’t it, Landon?” he asked, wiping a hand down his face. It was just past midnight.

  “Sorry about that. I’m still at the office.”

  Duan wasn’t surprised. It had been that way for Landon ever since he’d lost Simone, just two days before their wedding day. She and two of her bridesmaids had shared a ride from the bachelorette party. A drunk driver had run a traffic light and the impact had been so great both vehicles had burst into flames, killing everyone involved. That had been close to four years ago and Duan knew Landon was still grieving. “I’m wondering about you not having a life, Lan.”

  Landon’s chuckle came across the line. “Don’t wonder too much, otherwise you’ll sound like my mom. Anyway, I surfed the Internet and found something interesting.”

  “What?”

  “Several old police reports, dated twenty or so years ago. They’re on Villarosas. He went under the name Eduardo Villarosas then. Probably calls himself Edward for short these days.”

  Duan nodded. “What are the police reports about?”

  “Domestic calls. Most were from neighbors complaining that he and his girlfriend were disturbing the peace with their frequent arguments. There is one where the girlfriend placed a 911 call when Villarosas threatened her because he thought she was being unfaithful.”

  “So there were a lot of lovers’ spats.”

  “Seems that way. On one particular call, the girl friend said he threatened her with bodily harm if she moved her things out of the apartment they were sharing. According to the report, she claimed Villarosas has a mean jealous streak. Police suggested she get a restraining order, which she did.”

  “Anything else?”

  “I spoke to Chev. He’s meeting with prison officials today to request time with Stein Green. Hopefully, the man will be cooperative. In the meantime, I’ve located a current address for Edward’s old girlfriend. She still lives in the area, so I think I’ll pay her a visit. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

  From the first, Landon had assumed the disappearance of Villarosas’s second wife was a hit job, a good old-fashioned murder for hire. And if that was the case, it was probably the same for Edward’s first wife, as well. But without a concrete motive or a dead body, the police hadn’t been able to come up with anything that would stick.

  Duan couldn’t wait to hear whatever Chevis could get from that guy in prison. Was he the man Mandy had met up with that day? Had he been a lover or an assassin?

  “Villarosas and I are going fishing tomorrow,” Duan said. “I’m going to engage him in a lot of conversation, but I don’t expect him to say much. He’s been pretty tight-lipped around me.”

  “Yeah, but there’s that one chance he might lower his guard and say something meaningful.”

  “If I can be so lucky,” Duan said.

  “Well, with all of us working on this, something has to give sooner or later,” Landon replied.

  Duan certainly hoped it was sooner. He and Kim were supposed to leave next Sunday and he knew she had no intention of doing that without letting her mother know about their suspicions of Villarosas, proof or not.

  “Let’s hope so,” he said.

  Moments later, he ended the call and softly opened the door to walk out of the bathroom. But he paused when he immediately picked up the scent of a woman. His woman.

  His heartbeat thundered in his chest. This was the second time he’d thought of her as his woman. But then, he would be the first to say his relationship with Kim was rather unique. What was supposed to have been a one-night stand had evolved into something a lot more. The thought of them parting ways on Sunday sent something plummeting deep in his gut. He couldn’t imagine a day of not seeing her, not being with her.

  He glanced across the room and saw her standing at the window. She had put on his T-shirt and had her back to him, unaware he had come out of the bathroom. That gave him a chance to just stand there and stare at her, feeling his body getting aroused in the process.

  Like most men, he’d always had a pretty healthy sexual appetite, but with Kim his craving for sex was downright voracious, as insatiable as it could get. She would tempt him to no end, and the more she did, the more ravenous he became. But with her there were other
things that turned him on, as well. Like the way she would lean into a kiss whenever his mouth descended on hers, and the way she would smile at him for no reason at all.

  Then there was the way she would open up to him whenever she told him about her past. She had allowed him to feel the pain of her childhood, and miraculously, he had allowed her to feel the pain of his, which was something he hadn’t ever done with any woman. His relationship with his mother—or his lack of one—was something he’d kept bottled up inside him. But with Kim the conversation had come easily and without any anger or feelings of guilt.

  And with Kim he could have fun, like the time they’d gone fishing in the Keys on Terrence’s boat, and earlier today at the fair. With a host of other folks around them, they had strolled from ride to ride, vendor to vendor, and for a few hours he had forgotten that their attachment to each other had been nothing but a show. For that period of time their relationship had seemed real.

  Then there was the time when they had sat together on a bench waiting for her mother and Villarosas to get off one of the rides. He and Kim had shared a bag of cotton candy, and he’d gotten turned on watching her tongue dart out of her mouth to lick away the sticky and sweet confection from her lips. Unable to resist, he had leaned over and used his own tongue and mouth to help, and had even gone so far as to lick a bit of the sugar off her fingers. He had to stop himself from kissing her so many times today, kisses he wanted to give her for no reason at all.

  Just because.

  Just because he thought she was simply adorable. Just because she had to be the most sensuous woman he’d ever met. And just because everything they did was spontaneous. Especially when they made love.

  “I hope there’s a reason for that smile, Duan.”

  He hadn’t noticed she’d turned around. “There is a reason, but it has nothing to do with that call I just got from Landon,” he said, crossing the room to place his cell phone back on the nightstand. “The smile has everything to do with you and your behavior at the fair today.”

  She looked at him, surprised. “My behavior? And just what was wrong with my behavior?”

  He forced his conversation with Landon to the back of his mind and crossed his arms over his chest, not bothered by the fact that he was standing in front of her totally naked and fully aroused. She was used to seeing him hard, as well as nude, since that was the way he slept every night. That was the way she slept, too, although she admitted it was something she’d only begun doing since being with him.

  “I couldn’t believe how many of those wild and crazy rides we went on,” he said, grinning. “Most women would have backed off, claimed they were too scary. But not you. Makes me wonder just what else you like doing for kicks.” Not that he didn’t have a good idea. In the time they’d spent together, he had come to know her pretty well.

  “I like to cook, but I wouldn’t say I do it for kicks,” she said, chuckling. “Mainly for survival.”

  Yes, he knew she liked to cook. She had awakened him that Sunday morning after their fishing trip to breakfast in bed—pan-seared pieces of the fish they’d caught, grits and the best buttermilk biscuits he’d ever eaten.

  “Tell me something about you that I don’t know,” he suggested, moving closer to place a kiss on her nose and then her lips.

  “We’ve already covered the good, the bad and the ugly. Besides, I can’t think when you kiss me,” she protested as his mouth slid to her neck.

  “Do you want me to stop?” he asked, sliding his arms around her waist and proceeding to run his hands down her hips, the portion not covered by the T-shirt. He then cupped her naked backside to bring her smack against him.

  “If you stop, I might have to hurt you,” she threatened in a voice that sounded close to a moan. And when he returned his lips to hers, she opened her mouth to take his tongue and wrap her arms around his neck.

  The scent of her aroused him even more, and he deepened the kiss while pulling her closer to him. There was this chemistry between them that had him wanting to lay his hands on her every chance he got. Even when they were just sitting together—alone or with others—he had a tendency to place his hand on her thigh, as if he liked having that connection.

  From the first he’d never questioned why he liked touching her so much. He’d just accepted it, like he was doing now. He no longer had to analyze why things were the way they were between them. Why he enjoyed getting naked with her, sinking deep into her body, and reaching a climax where his release seemed endless, especially when it mingled with hers.

  And why, despite the lust and desire he felt for her, he still enjoy doing simple things with her, such as sharing breakfast in bed, listening to her talk about her job at the hospital, hearing her excitement about going to med school.

  He looked forward to breathing in the same air that she did, looking into her face while they ate, waking up with her scent all over him and her limbs entwined with his. Before being with her, he’d much preferred sleeping alone. Now he wondered how he would ever sleep alone again.

  In an unexpected move, she withdrew her mouth from his. “Hey, Jeffries, you’re slow. You’re already naked, so what’s the holdup with me?” She took a step back and whipped the T-shirt over her head, tossing it aside. “Don’t you like to see me without clothes anymore?”

  If only she knew. “I always enjoy seeing you without clothes, Kim,” he said, reaching out and bringing her naked body back to him. And that was no lie. There wasn’t a part of her body that he didn’t like looking at, touching or tasting.

  “Then I can’t have you losing your touch,” she said, rubbing against him. His erection got harder when it came into contact with her wet heat.

  “I’ll never lose my touch when it comes to you, beautiful,” he said, sweeping her off her feet and into his arms. He headed toward the bed. The primitive male in him wanted her with a need that was consuming every part of his body, sending heat rumbling in his belly.

  She kissed his nose and lips. “I love a confident man.”

  When she slid out of his arms onto the bed, he ran his hands all over her, needing to touch her everywhere. A degree of hot energy surged in his groin, and when she propped herself on a pillow in that position he loved so much, he leaned down and with the tip of his finger traced a path down her throat and chest, pausing when he got to her stomach.

  He drew circles around her navel while thinking about the child she’d said she wanted one day, and wondered about the man who would eventually plant his seed inside her to make it happen. He inhaled sharply when the mere thought of such a thing—Kim having another man’s baby—snatched his breath away.

  Fighting back a crazy impulse that was running through his mind, he removed his hand from her to retrieve a condom from the nightstand. How many of these had they gone through already? Hell, he wasn’t counting and he figured neither was she. The main thing was that they were acting as responsible adults and using them.

  He sheathed his penis in the condom, and when he glanced over at Kim, the eyes watching him were filled with hot desire. He had come to recognize that look—an urgent and silent message that told him how desperate she was for him to get inside her. That thought sent what felt like liquid fire rushing through his veins.

  “You like torturing me, don’t you, Duan?”

  “No more than you like torturing me—the way you’re doing now, lying there with your legs spread open. Whenever I see you that way all I can think about is getting inside you.” But it was more than that. He craved her like a man who craved a woman who was in his blood. His head reeled at the very thought.

  He watched as she took her hand and slid it down to her thigh, then back up to splay it across her stomach, the same stomach he’d gazed at moments ago. Then she shifted her body to spread her legs even wider, giving him a pure, unadulterated visual of what lay between them. His erection stirred at the same time his heart did.

  Unable to resist any longer, he moved toward the bed. “I want you, Kim.�
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  “Prove it.”

  She tossed the words out the moment he placed one knee on the bed and reached for her. “Come here,” he said, lifting her off the bed into his arms and toward his waiting and hungry mouth. And then he tumbled on his back with her on top of him, their mouths still locked.

  Kim gripped Duan’s shoulders and concentrated on kissing him with the same intensity that he was kissing her, with a hunger that was sending hot blood racing through her veins. Their mouths fitted together perfectly, like those Lego blocks she had as a kid, and they mated with a fervor that was unrelenting.

  He raked his fingers through the curls on her head and she gripped his shoulders tightly as their tongues dueled and tangled, sucked and licked while something fierce and potent tugged deep inside her.

  She tried to focus on his mouth and not on what she was feeling in her heart. This wasn’t just sex for her.

  This was love in a way she’d never thought possible.

  She pulled her mouth away and released a moan from deep within her throat, staring down at him. The look in his eyes was as hot and as predatory as anything she’d ever seen. And behind those dark pupils she sensed a need, the magnitude of which had her inner muscles gripping and tensing something awful.

  She moved her hands from his shoulders and took hold of his wrists, placing them on both sides of his head to make him her prisoner, not of war but of love. She could feel her love in every inch of him, in everything about him.

  Holding his hands in her tight grip, she widened her legs and lowered her body toward his erection, angling herself in such a way that allowed for deeper penetration.

  She began easing down slowly and watched in heated fascination as his erection slid between the folds of her sex until she had taken in his entire length.

  She heard the hitch in his breath and saw his jaw tighten. The hands she was gripping felt hot and his solid thickness stretched her, bathing her in sensations until she was shuddering almost uncontrollably.