Three of Spades

by W. Ferraro

  After driving from place to place, Dylan was just about to drive to Natalie’s new apartment and sit at her doorstep until she returned. As he pulled into Cal’s to turn around and head there, he noticed her car in the parking lot.

  Quickly parking the Challenger, he headed toward the bar to find Natalie. Dylan entered the front of Cal’s. Looking around he did not spot Natalie. He did a quick walk through and could not find her. He knew it was her car outside. He walked over to the bar where Mary stood, scribbling down things on her order pad.

  “Hey, Mary. You haven’t by any chance seen Natalie, have you?” Dylan asked.

  “Oh, hi-ya, Dylan. Natalie? The cute blonde?” As Dylan answered with a nod of his head, Mary looked over to the now deserted booth. “She was here, right over there with another fella. But they must of left.”

  “Thanks, Mary,” Dylan said, as he headed toward the exit. Natalie was with another guy? Dylan went from concerned to furious lightning fast. He needed to talk to her. He needed to tell her everything that he was feeling.

  She was a few paces away from the side stairs when RJ, once again, grabbed her. This time with no witnesses, he held her by her upper arms with bruising force and brought her small face close to his.

  “Oh what, you can give it to Cross, spread those little legs for him and let him take whatever he wants, but you won’t let me pull those too tight librarian panties off you. Well, why don’t I put you in my truck right now and see if I can change your mind.” Jones kissed her, as he demanded her to partake. Natalie pushed against him, but his grip on her was unbreakable. Trying to dislodge his lips from hers, Natalie bit down, causing him to let go and howl out with shock and pain. She stepped back and watched as fury took over his face, from his mean eyes to his bleeding lip.

  “You bitch! I’ll teach you a lesson, I always take what I want. No one says no to me, your little boyfriend would do well to learn that. No one shits on Randy Jones.”

  Before Natalie knew it, she was pushed behind a powerful sculpted back that she would know anywhere. However, she was not Dylan’s focus; he was glaring at Jones as he stood between the two.

  “You ever touch her again and you are going to wish you had never been born,” Dylan threatened between clenched teeth.

  Jones looked at his former boss, the man he despised, and could not help but smile. Now was his chance to teach Dylan Cross the lesson he fucking deserved.

  “I don’t think this concerns you, Cross. In fact, I was just about to show her what a real man could give her. So why don’t you take your unwelcomed ass elsewhere.”

  “Thanks for the offer, Jones, but I’m good where I am. Besides, if I left I would miss the opportunity to ram my fist into your face like I should have done a long time ago.” Dylan walked closer to the other man, being sure to give him no opportunity to lunge at Natalie. When he was close enough to speak to Jones without Natalie hearing him he said, “Ever touch what is mine again and even your own family won’t recognize you.”

  “Yours? You mean the homely pity fuck over there that you disposed of after you finished? Like all the other women who’ve become members of the, ‘sloppy seconds of Cross.’”

  Dylan saw red. He swung, connecting with Jones jaw then quickly following with a jab to his gut. As Jones, bent over in response to the attack, he let out an evil laugh. “What, the truth hurts, Cross? You should have never fired me. Payback is a bitch.”

  Jones stood, looked at the other man and swung at him. Dylan dodged the first couple of swings, but Jones connected on the third. Natalie watched as the men exchanged blow after blow. It did not take long for Dylan to get the upper hand. She called out for them to stop, but it was as if neither of them heard her. She became fearful that Jones would get severely hurt if Dylan didn’t lessen his intent. Finally, Dylan paused and thought for as good as this felt to physically pulverize Jones, it really wasn’t accomplishing anything. Natalie was his concern. Natalie was whom he needed to put his energy into.

  “You can take your useless self and your threat of payback on your merry way. But, you come anywhere near her again, hell, you even think about her, I will permanently make you regret it,” Dylan said, through the quick intake of breath caused from the exertion of the fight.

  Jones took his battered body to his truck and pulled out of the parking lot.

  Dylan watched as Jones’ taillights faded. He turned to check on Natalie, and he noticed she was gone. Quickly racing to catch up to her, he found her walking toward her car.

  “Natalie!”

  Walking faster, needing to put as much distance between her and him. He easily caught up with her before she could reach her car. He grabbed on to her arm in a gentle, yet firm, grip effectively stopping her escape. She reluctantly turned around so that she faced him.

  “Natalie! Please! Just hear me out.” She refused to look at him and it hurt down to his toes. Wanting so much to grab onto her chin and lift it, so he could see into those brown eyes that showed him his future, but he would not make her do anything she did not want to even if it killed him. “I need to give you this.” He handed her a folded envelope from his wallet that she recognized easily. “I’m so sorry for saying what I did and having you hear it like that. But you have to believe me, I had to do it.”

  Could this get any worse? Would he ever stop slashing at her with the knife of his words? Was she so clingy that the only way he could be honest was to blatantly say she wasn’t anything to him but another woman in his black book. Now he was handing her a monetary amount that she would owe him. Could the Earth just open up now and swallow her whole?

  “Open it, Natalie.”

  Speaking in a weak voice, but a deal was a deal. “You’ll have to excuse me but I don’t have my checkbook on me. I’ll have to get you your money tomorrow.”

  Damn it, she still didn’t get it!

  “Remember, you only owe me what I wrote. This ended because your requirements were met.”

  “Was it mutual?” She hated asking but needed to know.

  Dylan did not answer for what seemed like an hour. He finally said, “Look that woman was a mistake I made and she would stop at nothing to destroy any sort of happiness I had. So, I lied to her. Do you hear me? I lied to her! You deserve so much better than me, but you want me. At least, there was a time that you wanted me. All I know is my life is nothing without you. I hate going home to my house. It’s an empty shell without you, just like I am. I need you to live and if you don’t want me, I’ll let you go. But know I will not rightly live another day without you in my life. I will just go about the rest of my days, hoping and praying you’ll come back to me.”

  She could not believe what she was hearing. Did he just tell her what she was afraid to hope for?

  “Open the envelope, Natalie.”

  With shaking fingers, she opened the sealed envelope and read what he wrote in ink below her own handwriting.

  “My Heart”

  Dylan watched as she took in his handwritten words. She looked up at him with those beautiful dark doe eyes, he felt like if she walked away from him now, he would not be able to take another breath.

  “It’s yours. It always has been. If you choose to leave, take it with you because I will not have any use for it. Not without you, anyway.”

  Natalie looked up at the man that she loved and finally accepted his word for truth. She knew with every fiber of her being that what he spoke was completely sincere and honest. As her eyes filled with tears and a smile spread across her face, she knew she truly had found her soul mate.

  “I love you, Natalie. Please don’t make me live in misery. Marry me. Be mine, forever. I want everyone to know you belong to me and you, only you, will always have the deed to my heart.”

  Natalie kissed Dylan there in the parking lot, where she met him and offered her proposal of indecent terms. T
hey shared tears and touches and soon they were both panting with their desire to show with their bodies how perfectly they fit together. Just as they were meant to be.

  “Please, Natalie,” Dylan pleaded.

  “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  After she agreed to become his wife, Dylan felt as if he had been given the greatest gift of all. Dylan rested his forehead against hers and just enjoyed the feeling of having Natalie in his arms, where she would remain forever.

  “Are you pregnant?” he asked quietly the question that had plagued him for weeks.

  “No,” she answered.

  The pain that ripped through him from her answer was enough to bring him, once again, to his knees. How he had wanted and hoped that she would grow round with a piece of him inside her, always linking them. However, knowing that she was here with him and would soon become his wife thrilled him. He was confident in the knowledge that soon they would build their family and he would be the luckiest man. Natalie would always be his most lucrative business agreement ever.

  ~EPILOGUE~

  Almost a Year Later

  “Hello? Is the new Mama ready for a visitor?” CeCe asked, as she poked her head into the Mother and Child room on the maternity floor of Hamden General.

  “Always,” Natalie responded from the bed, where she held her beautiful day old daughter.

  CeCe walked in carrying balloons, flowers, and a soft pink gift bag with hot pink tissue paper popping out the top. She walked over, depositing her things on the side windowsill. She turned to look at mother and child and, honestly, thought she would cry. Natalie looked so pretty and happy as she sat there cradling the little bundle wrapped in a baby pink plush blanket.

  “Oh my goodness, Natalie, she’s beautiful and so tiny.”

  Natalie laughed quietly, “That she is and perfect in every way.” Just then, the baby made a sound as if thanking her mother for the compliment.

  “May I hold her?” CeCe asked.

  “Catherine has been patiently waiting for Auntie CeCe to come and meet her.”

  Natalie handed the precious bundle over and CeCe held the child close. Closing her eyes she inhaled her sweet smell and placed a kiss on her tiny little nose. CeCe’s gaze roamed over the baby taking everything in. From her tiny little toes, all the way up to her full head of dark brown hair. Seeing the hair made CeCe ask, “Hey, where’s Dylan? I figured for sure he would be chained to the baby by now.”

  “Oh, he’s around,” Natalie said as she watched CeCe bond with her daughter.

  After a few minutes of blissful silence and complete contentment, CeCe looked over at her friend and reflected back the smile she saw there.

  “I have to admit, Natalie, when you and Dylan refused to share the sex of the baby; we had all taken a pool as to what you would have. I did pick a girl; however, I thought you would have named her ‘Gloria’ after your mother. I know Catherine was Dylan’s mother’s name, but still.” CeCe hated bringing up Natalie’s mother, knowing she was still dealing with the grief over her passing eight months ago. CeCe hoped that Natalie found comfort in the fact that Gloria saw her and Dylan wed.

  “Well, it’s funny you mention that.” Just then, with perfect timing, Dylan knocked and opened the door. He pushed in a wooden bassinet that held their other beautiful daughter.

  “Look Gloria, your Aunt finally made it. About bloody damn time,” Dylan said softly to his daughter.

  CeCe was speechless. She looked from Natalie to Dylan and then back to Natalie. She then looked down to the now sleeping baby in her arms and over to her apparent twin sister. She squeaked out, “TWINS!?!”

  Dylan picked his daughter up out of her bassinet and passed her over to be next to her sister. CeCe sat with a child in each arm and Dylan watched as the tears fell freely down her face.

  Dylan then walked over to where his wife was and slid in gently next to her. He wrapped his arm around her, placed a kiss on her smiling lips and shared a private wink. Being sure not to jostle her too much, knowing she was still quite sore from the cesarean.

  After a pleasant and surprise revealing visit, CeCe noticed that Natalie looked quite tired. “I’m going to head out and give you guys some privacy.” She walked over to where Dylan now sat holding his daughters; he looked at them with enough love to last all three of their lifetimes. She leaned down and kissed, first Cat on the head, then Ria, finally giving both Dylan and a sleeping Natalie a smooch before she headed out the door.

  She was almost through the door when Dylan said to her quietly as not to disturb his daughters or his wife, “Ce, you might want to try it. There is no better feeling than finding the one you belong with. Besides, it doesn’t always just have to be you alone and against the world.” He looked down and kissed each of his daughters as CeCe closed the door, leaving the Cross family to start their family life together.

  ~EXCERPT~

  ~THREE OF DIAMONDS~

  She was lost in the maze. The flourishing and impenetrable vines that separated one path from another were as high as she could see. The sky above was bright, she must be outside, but there were no sounds of nature or life. A thick curtain-like hazy fog would sweep in but then vanish as soon as it came. When the fog came on her, she could not even see the path directly in front of her. The hedge was the only thing that gave her any sort of direction when the heavy mist enveloped her. The green vines were lush with small delicate flowers of pink and purples hues, while others were wicker-like with viciously sharp thorns, eager for blood. The satin of her flowing gown became a victim of said thorns. There was no rhyme or reason to the changing of soft green to dehydrated brown, but it changed nevertheless.

  She started to run, trying to find the exit but the faster she ran, the path just stretched on that much further. She could hear his pursuit. He was getting closer. She got to her feet and began looking for a turn or bend that would help put additional distance between them. However, there was nothing. Only vines. Vines, which thwarted her options of escape along with the comfort of safety. She kept going, even though every muscle in her body begged for mercy. She finally came to an opening that offered a choice of three paths. Looking over her shoulder, she took the one on the left and ran, for the first time, feeling that she would make her escape. Too soon, he sounded like he was right upon her. What did he want? She could hear him calling for her, chanting for her to seek him. She was over-come with fear. Fear to protect herself, fear to not become his prey, along with something else, some sort of feeling she was hesitant to explore. She shuffled along quietly hoping her bare feet would enhance her stealth. With the rapid beating of her heart, her eyes found it harder and harder to register any sound other than her own pulse hammering. There he was, just on the other side of the growth of greenery. She stayed as silent as she could, and hoped her thundering pulse would not give her location away.

  “I can smell you.” He exhaled in a husky sensual whisper.

  Oh No! She bit her lower lip to stop herself from crying out.

  “Your smell draws me to you. Do you know that? You could never elude me for long; your essence exposes you to my senses.” He breathed, but for as quiet as it was, he might as well have been using an amplifier. His voice echoed off every surface.

  He extended his arm through the herbaceous border, where the thorns should have shredded through his skin; instead, they pulled back, offering a curtain of opening. His large hand grabbed onto her hip in a grip that froze her movement. He stepped through the opening and aligned his front to her back. With her hair swept to the side it allowed easy access to her neck. He placed his lips at the sensitive base, and let his tongue lick her sweet skin bringing her palatable flavor into his mouth.

  The air seized in her lungs; however, her blood boiled from the sensation. His strong fingers pressed gently but firmly around her hips, anchoring her as well as halting any sort of flight. Th
is close, her aroma swirled around them making a pocket of pure erogenous decadence. He finally could touch her skin. She was pliable and full, like a woman should be. Her body curved and dipped in all the places it should. The satin of her gown flowed over her physique; clinging to her beauty and showcasing a sensual alter for which he planned to worship.

  “Don’t be afraid. This is for you, all for you.” He whispered against her skin.

  He slowly let the strap of her gown fall down her shoulder, leaving skin exposed for his lips. When he thoroughly touched every inch of one side, he moved to the next. She felt her skin become alive from his touch and her body began to beg for more. Her pulse continued to beat erratically, but somehow, it changed reason from fear to desire without her even knowing it.

  He spread her arms out straight so her body would fly if she had wings; he lifted her easily and laid her down on a cushion of soft earth with a natural pillow of green, giving her body plushness and comfort as she looked at her aggressor. His body was fashioned as if carved from stone. His long torso was colored golden, as if it had not spent much time in the darkness. The definition of his muscles from his shoulders, down over his pectorals and beyond, were as if his creator was exceptionally gifted with a chisel. The light spray of hair that covered his chest and created a trail of happiness down below his navel and lower looked soft and inviting. As his waist dipped inward, the muscles of his abdominals constricted, showing that much more of hard sexy male.

  She closed her eyes enjoying the feel of his perusal. Soon his fingers began their participation in the preparation of their tryst.

  “You are a beautiful goddess who deserves a humble servant, such as myself, to tend to your every desire.”

  She yearned to touch him but each pass she made with her hands, when they should have connected with him, just waved through warm air.