The Essential Jagged Ivory (Jagged Ivory Boxed Set)

by Lashell Collins

“What are you doing here?” she asked him again with mock annoyance. “I still have another class yet.”

  “I need to show you something. Do you have time to come outside with me for a minute?” he asked.

  “Sure,” she said, taking his offered hand. “Oh, wait!” She stopped to unlace her ballet slippers and take them off. Then she sat them on the table and slipped quickly into her sneakers. “Okay.”

  She took his hand and followed him out of the room. And she was slightly startled to find Clyde, his bodyguard standing by the front door of the studio. Did ever go anywhere without that man?

  Otis led her out of the building and over to the parking lot where his now familiar Mercedes-Benz McLaren sat off to the side.

  “What did you want to show me?” she asked, frowning at him as he stopped at the space next to his car.

  “The car,” he answered simply. Following his gaze to the car in front of them, she saw a very pretty, silver BMW Z4 convertible. The sexy two-seater had rental plates on it, and Brooke’s jaw suddenly dropped. “It’s yours,” he said, holding out the keys to her. “I rented it for you until your car is fixed.”

  “Otis!”

  Her voice was slightly raised and Otis frowned at the expression on her face. She wasn’t excited. She was angry.

  “What? I told you I was going to rent a car for you,” he answered.

  “Otis, this is not a rental car,” she snapped. “A rental car is boxy and domestic, and slightly disgusting. This is … way too much!”

  She was practically yelling at him, and she had a definite attitude. And Otis looked down at her with raised eyebrows and a surprised smirk. This was not the reaction he’d been expecting. She was actually pissed at him.

  “Look, Feisty, I didn’t buy you the car, okay? It’s a rental,” he said, glaring at her. “And by now you should know that when it comes to cars, I don’t do boxy or domestic! But I don’t like the idea of you having to take the bus or bum a ride from one of your coworkers, especially that late at night! So you are going to take these keys, and use that car to get where you need to go until yours is fixed! Do you understand me?”

  She stared up at him, saying nothing, for the longest time, and Otis wondered what was going through her mind.

  Brooke was shocked that he had been so forceful with her, speaking to her as if she were a petulant child. But the crazy thing was that his words somehow made her feel protected and cared for. Cherished.

  “Yes,” she said softly, lowering her eyes.

  “Yes?” Otis stared at her with a shocked frown. “I thought you told me you didn’t submit, Ms. McKenna,” he said quietly.

  “I thought you told me you didn’t do relationships because they didn’t fit into your lifestyle,” she replied, looking up at him again. “This feels like a relationship to me.”

  He stared into her eyes for a moment, thinking about her comment. Then he stepped closer to her and caressed her cheek, leaning down to kiss her forehead sweetly. “Me too,” he whispered. “And as I tried to explain last night … I think it’s past time for my lifestyle to change.”

  “I’m sorry I yelled at you,” she said. “This was just such an unbelievably generous thing to do. Thank you.”

  He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “You don’t have to thank me, baby,” he said softly. Then he smiled. “Besides, this is what sugar daddies do, right?” She playfully punched him in the arm for that one, and he laughed. “Hey … now that you’ve got some wheels, why don’t you come to my place after you get off tonight. The traffic’s usually nonexistent that time of night.”

  “Yeah?”

  He nodded at her, and she smiled.

  “Okay.”

  “If you get turned around, call me. I’ll be waiting for you,” he said.

  “I’ve got to get back inside for my next class,” she said.

  “And I’ve got lunch with an eight-year-old,” he smiled. “Enjoy the car. And be careful, okay?” he warned, thinking about the accident that brought them together.

  He gave her one of his toe-curling kisses and then climbed into his car with his bodyguard riding shotgun, and drove off. And Brooke looked at the keys in her hand and back at the convertible once more before heading back inside.

  Chapter Nine

  “I’m surprised you’re not getting ready at Otis’ place.”

  “Well, I had to work this morning, so … it just made sense to come on home afterward,” Brooke stated as she secured her heart-shaped diamond earrings. And she smiled as she thought about the fact that she and Otis had spent every night together for the last two weeks. She would drive the rented BMW to his place each day after work, whether her day ended with classes at De Luz or dancing at Sparkles. And Otis always found some new way to surprise her.

  That first night, it was by informing her that he’d had the clothes he’d purchased for her moved into a section of the closet in his bedroom. And Brooke had opened his closet to find that the clothes he’d purchased for her first stay had been joined by a few more. There were jeans and t-shirts and casual tops. A few pairs of shoes, both of the flat and high-heeled variety. And, of course, several sets of pretty underwear, and a few nighties.

  ~~~~~

  “Are you planning to kidnap me and keep me here, Mr. Ivory?” she had asked.

  “I just want you to be comfortable whenever you stay here,” he had answered.

  “Do you do this for all your girlfriends?”

  He laughed at her. “I think we’ve established the fact that you’re my first real girlfriend in many, many years.”

  “Hmm. So I shouldn’t hold this wildly inappropriate behavior against you, is that it?” she’d smiled.

  “Well, I am severely out of practice,” he explained, and she giggled at him. “Is it inappropriate to buy you things?”

  ~~~~~

  She smiled at that memory now. But he kept doing those sweet little things, like finding out what her favorite foods were and then having Lourdes make them. And making sure he had her favorite brand of body wash, shampoo, and moisturizer in his bathroom. It was the dearest thing.

  “You’re really nervous, aren’t you?” Shelly asked as Brooke rushed to her closet.

  “Wouldn’t you be?” Brooke asked, frantically looking through her closet. She pulled out a Michael Kors denim mini-dress and looked it over. Stylish enough to be dressy, but laid back enough to be casual. It was perfect. “I mean, weren’t you nervous meeting Neil’s parents?”

  “Yes, but you’ve already met Otis’ parents at that wedding you went to,” Shelly answered.

  “Well, I know, but … I didn’t really get to talk to them,” Brooke reasoned. “This is dinner with his family, Shell!”

  “My God! I can’t believe you’re having dinner with Noah Ivory tonight,” Shelly squealed. “I’m sorry, Brooke. I know that to you he’s now just ‘Otis,’ but … do you realize that you are about to have dinner with the two men who put the Ivory in Jagged Ivory! Does that not blow your mind? You are going to Noah Ivory’s house for dinner tonight!”

  The expression on her sister’s face was pure adolescent excitement, and when she let out a loud scream of delight, Brooke thought she might keel over. Shelly’s enthusiasm was always such a joy. She laughed at her as she quickly stepped into the dress and secured the tie at her waist.

  “Can I borrow your brown ankle boots?”

  “Ohh. Those would look great with that dress,” Shelly answered. “I’ll go get them.”

  She dashed out of the room while Brooke quickly transferred her things from one purse into another. When Shelly retrieved the booties, Brooke put them on and then stood in the full-length mirror, inspecting her outfit.

  “What do you think?”

  “I think you should wear those gold bangles I got you for Christmas last year,” Shelly answered.

  “Great idea!”

  Brooke rushed back to her dresser and found the bracelets. And as she slipped them onto her wrist, Shel
ly said, “Are you okay?”

  Brooke looked at her for a moment, saying nothing. Then she gave her a nervous smile.

  “I don’t know why I’m so anxious. I just … I don’t want to mess up tonight,” she said softly.

  “Why would you think you’d mess up?” Shelly asked.

  “I don’t know,” she sighed, feeling overwhelmed. “I want them to like me.”

  “Brooke, they are going to love you,” he sister said as she studied her. “Oh, my God. Brooke …”

  “I really like him, Shell,” she said before her sister could say the words. But it didn’t stop her from saying them anyway.

  “No. You love him,” Shelly stated with an air of astonishment. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

  Brooke didn’t answer her question. She couldn’t. And then they saw the lights of his car as he pulled into the driveway, and she felt a ripple of nerves run through her. Shelly turned and left the room to go answer the door, and Brooke tried to pull herself together. Was she in love with Otis Ivory? She grabbed the small, brown leather clutch bag sitting on her bed and pushed that question from her mind as she headed downstairs.

  She smiled when she saw him. He was dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a plain navy blue t-shirt that hugged his muscles, and if Brooke hadn’t known any better she would have sworn that they had purposely coordinated their outfits.

  “You two look so great together,” Shelly gushed. “Have a good time, guys. And happy birthday!”

  “Thanks,” Otis called out as Shelly headed back upstairs. “You ready to go?” he asked Brooke, wrapping his arm around her.

  “Yeah,” she smiled.

  “Do you have to work tonight?” he asked, still holding her in his arms.

  “No. I took the night off for your birthday,” she replied, and he smiled.

  “Good. After dinner why don’t you come home with me?” he asked, staring into her eyes. “Then we can have our own birthday celebration.”

  Brooke smiled shyly as she looked up at him, and nodded her head. “Then I can give you my birthday gift.”

  “Oh, baby. You already did that this morning,” he whispered, kissing her ear.

  “Have you forgotten about the requested lap dance?” she whispered.

  “Ooh! How did I forget that,” Otis smiled. “Okay, now I really want to get dinner over with!”

  She giggled at him. “I’m gonna run up and pack a few things.”

  He smiled at her. “Now, you know that’s not necessary. I’ve already got clothes waiting for you.”

  She giggled again. “You’ve gotta stop doing that.”

  “What?” he frowned playfully. “Now what kind of sugar daddy would I be if I didn’t buy you things?” he smiled.

  “Otis,” she sighed, suddenly upset. “You have to stop with the whole sugar daddy thing. Please? I feel terrible about that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I … I feel like I’ve used you. And I thought I could do that …” Her voice trailed off as she shook her head slightly before continuing softly, “But I can’t. And it bothers me that I ever thought I could.”

  Otis ran his thumb across her cheek as she spoke, and he could hear the quiver of tears in her voice.

  “Hey,” he said softly, squeezing her gently to him. “Baby, listen to me. I know that I joke about the sugar daddy thing, but I don’t do it to give you a hard time. That’s just me being a smartass, okay? Don’t pay any attention to me,” he smiled. “But I want you to understand that I don’t buy you things because I think you expect them. I do it because I enjoy it, because I like seeing the surprise light up your eyes. I get a kick out of making you feel special. So don’t ever feel like you’re using me, okay? You just sit back and let me have my fun. And try to enjoy it. Alright?”

  Brooke stared at him in disbelief for a moment. “Where did you come from, Otis Ivory?” she asked.

  He smiled as he looked down at her. “Born and raised, right here in L.A. And you’re about to have dinner with the two people responsible.”

  She giggled again. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

  “What did you mean?” he smiled as he tightened his arms around her.

  “Are you for real?” she whispered.

  His smile grew bigger as he looked down at her. Then he kissed her, long and deep, letting his tongue gently stroke hers as he pulled her even closer. They were both breathless when he pulled away.

  “Did that feel real?” he panted.

  They left the house then, and Otis led her out to his bright red, 1989 Lamborghini Countach.

  “How many cars do you own, Mr. Ivory?” she asked playfully as he slid behind the wheel beside her.

  He smiled at her. “I have three cars. This one, the McLaren, and the one you totaled that has just been replaced,” he answered.

  “The one that I totaled,” she exclaimed.

  “Yes, you totaled,” he repeated. “Don’t even try to rewrite history, Ms. McKenna!”

  He smiled as he drove and listened to the sound of her giggles. He had quickly come to love that sound. It meant that there was a smile on her beautiful face, and he loved that even more.

  He felt a small flutter of what he knew was butterflies in his stomach, and he wondered why he felt so anxious about tonight. He was nervous. Not about whether or not his parents would like Brooke. He had no doubt that they would love her. But he hadn’t done this in forever. Gotten this close to a woman.

  It was odd to think about, but Otis was the type of guy who was never lacking for female companionship. Women were everywhere, like ripe, delicious fruit falling from a tree. He never even had to pick them. They dropped at his feet. And sex was a given. But it was all just a game to him, one that he excelled at. Women were playthings, toys he could amuse himself with for a few hours at a time and then walk away from. But Brooke … Brooke was different.

  He wasn’t sure how to explain it, even to himself. But this thing with Brooke was something he never expected. She wasn’t like the groupies and the fans who expected a wild ride and a cool story and nothing else. She was more than that. She deserved more than that, and he found himself wanting to give her the things she deserved. He wanted to make her happy; he went out of his way to make her smile, and that laughter he’d come to love was like a reward to him. But his last real girlfriend was his senior year of high school, and he hadn’t introduced his parents to a woman since. Yeah. He was nervous.

  When they pulled up in Noah’s driveway, he took a deep breath as he reached for her hand. “Ready for this?” he asked.

  She smiled at him. “Is it that obvious I’m nervous?” she asked.

  “The Ivory clan doesn’t bite, Feisty.”

  “That’s not true,” she said smiling at him. “You’ve bitten me a few times in the heat of the moment.”

  He laughed. “A little love nip during sex doesn’t count,” he said, bringing her hand to his lips. “Come on.”

  They exited the car and he took her hand and led her to the door. And Brooke suddenly laughed when she thought about her sister’s excited screams as they talked about tonight’s dinner.

  “What’s so funny?” Otis asked as he rang the bell.

  “Oh, pay no attention to me, it’s just … nervous laughter,” she smiled.

  “Finally!” Noah opened the door with a smile. “We were starting to think you’d ditched your own birthday dinner. I’m starving!”

  “You’re always starving! Here, take that.”

  He handed Noah a bag as he and Brooke stepped inside, and Noah frowned as he opened the bag and pulled out a chilled bottle of 2008 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon.

  “Oh. You’re giving me alcohol? Really?” Noah joked.

  “Very funny, hot shot,” he said, taking the bottle back from him. “You know that’s not for you. I figured you and Mercy wouldn’t be serving anything alcoholic, so … I brought my own.”

  “BYOB. That’s how we roll,” Noah smiled
. Then he turned to Brooke and offered his hand. “Brooke … good to see you again. You look lovely.”

  “Thanks,” she smiled, feeling slightly self-conscious. She had actually only met Noah Ivory one time, at the wedding when they were properly introduced. But she remembered him from the accident scene, and also from that night at the strip club.

  He ushered them through the large entryway of his home, and Brooke took in the sweeping staircase to the right. The house itself was open and spacious. Not as large as Otis’ but just as luxurious, and the decor was very avant-garde. In fact, it sort of epitomized what Brooke imagined a rock star’s house would look like. The floors were all very dark wood, and the walls were stark white. The furnishings were an eclectic mix of black, brown, white and animal print, and the only pops of real color came from the beautifully framed, interesting photographs that adorned the walls. They were all very large, really cool depictions of live music about to happen - an awesomely backlit drum set, a cache of exquisite guitars lined up in a chest, a lone microphone stand in a spotlight. And those were just three of many such prints that appeared to be scattered throughout the communal areas of the home. There was even one of Jagged Ivory standing arm in arm as they took a bow after a performance. It was lovely in its own way, and Brooke remembered Otis saying that his mother had decorated Noah’s house as well as his own.

  When they made their way into the living room, she was greeted warmly by Otis’ parents, and by Mercy.

  “Let me take that for you,” Mercy said, taking the bottle of wine from Otis. “Shall I pour this now or would you like to save it for the meal?”

  “With dinner’s fine,” he said, kissing her cheek.

  “Your home is very beautiful,” Brooke said.

  “Oh, thank you,” Mercy replied. “It is beautiful. I wish I could take the credit for it, but that was all Kay,” she smiled, turning to Noah’s mom. “She decorated the place long before I moved in. And believe me, I haven’t changed much!”

  “Oh, now, don’t be modest, honey,” Kay Ivory spoke up, patting Mercy’s arm in a motherly fashion. “You have a great eye! You changed all the artwork on the walls, and once we blew up your photographs and framed them, it made a world of difference in here!”