by W. Ferraro
However, it was not dark and handsome Derrick on the other side of the door, but Jarod instead. His blue eyes raked over her body several times before meeting her eyes and raising an eyebrow.
“What do you want, and why are you here?”
“I thought you and I could talk. Clear some things up and make this,” indicating with his finger between the two of them, “less stiff.”
She couldn’t help it; his choice of words had her arching her own brow. Knowing Mrs. Snider across the hall was probably at her peephole watching, she stepped back, allowing him to enter. Aware Derrick would be arriving any moment, she thought it best to speed this along. “Can you talk while I finish getting ready?” Not waiting for him to respond she left him standing in the living room as she rounded the corner to the short hall to her bedroom, needing to grab her bag and lip-gloss. When he didn’t say anything, she returned to find he had ventured over to the photographs she had framed on the sofa table. He was studying them when she cleared her throat, “Look, unlike you, I don’t have all night. Was there something you wanted to say?”
He turned to face her, and again, unabashedly, he slowly took her in from head to toe. When he spoke, his voice was husky, “Where is the rest of your dress?”
Batting her eyelashes, one hand on her hip she responded in kind, “Oh, it is all here, have no worry; when I dress, I know what I’m doing.” Just to be a ball buster, she looked down at her cleavage, adjusting her breasts just to ensure they were perky and showing enough.
Unable to hold back the full smile, he shook his head trying to shake the image, but when he looked back at her, the smile was gone, “Got a date?”
“Not that it is any business of yours, but I do. What do you want?”
For the first time, CeCe noticed Jarod looked uncomfortable. He fidgeted before leaning back on his heels and putting his hands in his pockets causing the corded veins running up his forearms to twitch.
“I get that it may have been a shock seeing me, but Dylan just wants to ensure you are safe. He hired me to do a job the cops can’t do. So the sooner you let me do it, the sooner you can say goodbye to me. But until I figure out who this guy is, you are stuck with me, Kitten.”
“Don’t call me that. You lost the privilege long ago. But it seems I am stuck with you. Dylan called me today and told me either I play nice, or my physical address would be changing.” CeCe noticed Jarod’s expression didn’t show any surprise, which irked her even more. “And since that doesn’t really work for me, I guess I will play nice. Well, as nice as I can play with you.”
“Oh, you want to play? I can play real nice,” Jarod smoothly cooed and winked.
CeCe rolled her eyes.
Slowly, Jarod crossed the distance and, if she didn’t know better, momentarily winced, but before she could be certain, he recovered. When he was merely foot away from her, he leaned in and whispered, “Do you have any idea how gorgeous you are when you aren’t sneering at me, Kitten?” He knew he just severed any sort of cordiality they would have, but truth is truth, and she deserved to hear it.
Surprised, she locked eyes with him, searching for something—anything—to explain what a statement like that meant, but realized she was just borrowing trouble, so she settled for, “Thank you.” Knowing she had to keep him at arms-length she added, “Now, was there anything else?”
“Yeah, who’s the guy you’re going out with looking like that?”
“Come again?”
“Oh Kitten, I could make you come and come, but wouldn’t you like to eat first? I know I would.” He bobbed his eyebrows a couple of times to emphasize the sexual innuendo.
“Still an asshole! Who I see personally has nothing to do with your presence and is none of your business. Be sure not to confuse the two. I already have one overprotective man in my life. Trust me, that is more than enough.”
“But see, it doesn’t work like that. You go somewhere; I go somewhere. But don’t worry I won’t be so obvious that your date will feel the need to arch his stream.”
“I’m serious, Gates. You are off duty tonight. I agreed with Dylan that you could hang around the store and observe, and do your little investigation, but it’s not happening when I’m on a date.”
Standing this close, he could smell her perfume, and she smelled incredible. He wondered if she still tasted as good as she did then. He knew he was walking a fine line, “You are missing the point here, Kitten.”
“Okay, Slick, you want me to spell it out for you? I have a date, and with any luck—which I don’t think I actually need—I plan to get quite the cardio workout in afterwards with multiple orgasms. I’d rather not have you around for that. Besides, I’m sure there is some Barbie around who would be happy to give you a whirl.”
Unsure whether it was the mention of what she had plans to do, or her offhand remark about his extracurricular activities that sparked his temper, Jarod barely managed to keep his tone in check. “A whirl? Is that your way of hinting around to my sex life? Don’t worry about who’s warming my sheets. When I’m on the job that is where all my focus is. And I do mean all my focus.”
Suddenly uncomfortable, and thrown off her game with this pissing match, CeCe opted for the easy way out, “Doesn’t matter...”
“I think it does. Where you go, I go, Cees, so perhaps you should rethink your after dinner activities. I hear there is a Julia Roberts marathon on tonight. See, problem solved, you have other plans now.”
The audacity and cocksureness of this one man rendered CeCe speechless. She turned away from Jarod and walked to the door, more pissed off at herself for not having a witty comeback. When she opened it, she was greeted by Derrick’s gorgeous smile. He quickly stepped in, wrapped his arms around CeCe, and placed a light kiss on her lips before saying, “I didn’t think it was possible for you to get any more beautiful, but you just keep amazing me.” It was then he noticed Jarod, “Am I interrupting something?” looking from CeCe to Jarod, and back again.
“No, Jarod was just leaving.” CeCe said with a wide smile, hoping to hide that her nerves were completely thrown off of their axis.
Finding immense pleasure in her discomfort, Jarod walked up to Derrick, with nothing but contempt on his face and in his voice, “Yeah, I was just leaving. Don’t want to interrupt your date.” Turning to CeCe he said, “I’ll see you around.” Then the bastard winked before brushing past Derrick, whistling unapologetically as he strode down the hall.
Derrick watched Jarod’s retreating back, then turned back to CeCe, “Everything alright?”
“Peachy! What time is our reservation?”
CeCe looked at Derricks questioning eye, and knew all hope the date was going to take her mind off everything went completely out the window. Damn, she really wanted Ben and Jerry’s now.
To CeCe’s shock there were no surprise interruptions in the quaint corner of Giovanni’s Derrick reserved for their dinner. Jarod didn’t pose as their waiter, nor did he appear snapping pictures of the two of them from the other side of the windows overlooking a beautiful spot in the gorge of the Green Mountains National Park. By the time their meals came—Beef Wellington for Derrick and Scallop Risotto for CeCe—she began to relax and enjoy herself. Derrick was telling her all about his recent trip to California for the software company he works at. He mentioned, more than once, how much he would love to take CeCe to see the Golden Gate Bridge and the extensive vineyards in Napa.
“I found this beautiful little bed and breakfast right in the heart of Napa I think you would love. I will probably be heading back out there the end of August, please come with me.” Derrick asked as he took her hand and caressing the top with his thumb.
CeCe looked across the table at the picture he made, his rich chocolate hair and his perfectly trimmed beard, his expensive black dress shirt that was opened just enough at the collar, the Rolex at his wrist and his meticulously manicured nails. Derrick Lowell was a sexy man, and he only had eyes for CeCe. She found herself mentally arr
anging things so she could get away with him.
“It sounds amazing,” she answered back, smiling in response.
“Napa is beautiful, but amazing—that word is reserved for you, beautiful.” Bringing her hand to his lips, Derrick kissed her knuckles.
The waitress came by then, “May I get you anything else? Our special dessert tonight is our homemade cannolis.”
Derrick looked at CeCe and they both scrunched their noses and lightly shook their heads—it amazed her how in sync they were.
“I think we will do the Tiramisu for two; the lovely lady will have a cappuccino and I’ll have an espresso, please.” When the server left them alone, he added, “I hope you don’t mind me ordering for you. I know how much you love their cappuccino.”
“No, it’s perfect, thank you. I’m just going to go to the ladies room, I’ll be right back.”
As she stood and began to walk by Derrick, he grabbed her hand, and once again brought it to his lips, “Be quick.”
CeCe’s smile stretched from ear to ear and she was in the midst of bliss when she reached the stairs that went up to the ladies room. Her foot on the first step, she glanced to the left towards the bar, and was ensnared by a blue gaze. Her smile fell instantly. Quickly looking over her shoulder in Derrick’s direction, she walked with purpose to where Jarod sat at the end of the bar.
“Seriously?” she whispered harshly.
“What? I’m not allowed to eat?”
“You know damn well what I mean.”
“So, this is what it takes to get your dress up, huh? Fancy meal and money?”
Every time she thought he couldn’t say anything worse, he surprised her.
“Fuck you!”
“Sure. I’m up for a cardio workout.” He wiped his mouth with the napkin that was on his lap.
“Never happening, Slick!” she had spun on her heels to leave, when he grabbed onto her hand pulling her backwards, landing her in his lap as a result.
Moving his head so it rested on her shoulder, his lips grazed her earlobe, “Really. I rocked your world once, I’m sure I could easily do it again.”
With her fury fueling her movements, she turned her head so they were nose to nose, and she replied, “Rocked my world? The only thing you rocked that night was the car. Don’t think it was anything more than that. Now let go of me, before I make a scene.”
Instantly, he released her, and watched her walk away from him and toward Derrick…again.
If you walked in the front door to Derrick’s home, you would find a clear line of where CeCe and he had been. It would be easy to follow the erotic trail to his bedroom. Shoes and clothes littered the way through the lower level, up the stairs and to the master bedroom where they both lay naked on his king size bed.
With her beautifully bare before him, laid out like a feast for consumption, he began at her feet and slowly worshipped her with his mouth and tongue. When Derrick reached her center and began to delve in, her fingers pushed his head away, causing them to lock gazes.
“What’s the matter?”
CeCe couldn’t believe she stopped him from the much-needed orgasm she could use to blow the cobwebs out of her brain, but as if taken over by an unknown force, she just couldn’t go through with the action.
“CeCe? Talk to me.”
When no response came, only a caress of his face against her inner thigh, he sat up resting his ass on his heels, and waited for some sort of explanation. Again, nothing came.
“Is this about that guy in your apartment, Jarod?”
“What? No!”
“Well, then is it me? Do you not enjoy this?”
“You know I enjoy your talented tongue immensely. I’m sorry. I just have a lot on my plate. I’m still getting flowers from the anonymous asshole, and it just has me off my game. Derrick, please don’t take it personally.”
CeCe was not convinced he wasn’t doing just that by his ironic laugh and he added, “And how, exactly, do you expect me not to take it personally when the last two times we’ve tried to have sex, you wound up pulling away from me? And I’m not just talking about my tongue, or dick, either.” He moved so his feet hung over the side of the bed, as he ran a hand through his dark hair.
She was taken aback by his words, but she knew she was guilty, and she’d hurt him immensely. Pulling herself up, she kneeled behind him and put her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder and remained silent.
He squeezed her arm, turned his head and looked at her. He must have seen what he was looking for because he pulled away from her and reached for the bedside table, pulling a small box from the top drawer and handed it to her.
Instantly recognizing the blue box and white ribbon packaging, CeCe asked in a small voice, “What’s this?”
Giving a one-shoulder shrug, he looked at her hazel eyes, searching for something, then answered, “Coming back from San Francisco, I flew into New York to attend a meeting. It was uptown, so on the way back I stopped in at Tiffany’s and found something I wanted you to have. I was hoping to give it to you in the glow of orgasmic satisfaction, but that just got blown out of the water.”
Extraordinary fear raced through her as she digested his words. Suddenly, the small box was extremely heavy.
He chuckled, “Okay, the look on your face kind of makes up for the bruise to my ego. It isn’t that kind of box, CeCe. It is just something pretty I thought you would like.”
Taking refuge in this assurance, she sat back and gently pulled the ribbon. She took the lid off the top and saw a beautiful circle of intricately set diamonds on a black silk cord. She ran a finger over the gorgeous piece and raised her eyes to his, “Derrick, it is gorgeous.”
“I’m glad you like it. It reminded me of you. May I see how it looks on your sexy neck?”
“Please.”
He extracted the cord from the box, and effortlessly placed it around her neck, where it rested between her collarbones. “Perfect,” he spoke, being sure to rest his gaze on hers before adding, “the necklace is nice, too.”
CeCe fingered the expensive piece while she returned the look in his deep brown eyes that clearly showed how much he wanted her.
Those eyes came closer to her, and when his lips were barely touching hers he whispered, “Let me…”
Why should she deny him, or herself?
Jarod could feel the adrenaline as it pulsed through his veins. Here he was, outside in his truck, with no air conditioning, in this ungodly heat and humidity, while he watched Derrick Lowell’s home like a fucking peeping tom without the binoculars, knowing what was going on inside. Seeing CeCe with this Lowell guy didn’t sit right with him. Yeah, he was a successful software engineer, with a nice six-figure salary, and he owned property here, along with a condo in Aruba. On paper, he looked like a decent guy; hell, even off paper, and through lesser known channels, the kind of places where dirty little secrets tend to be found, where Jarod was quite familiar with, this guy was a straight shooter and clean as a whistle. So what was it about CeCe dating him that stuck in his craw? Well, that’s an easy one, dickstick! CeCe was dating him. Hell, he knew she dated and screwed men, but seeing the type of guy she was with only reminded Jarod of his stupidity. Fuck, he was far from celibate, but he also knew, one way or another, he compared every woman to CeCe, in and out of his bed.
Tipping his head back to rest on the seat, he squeezed his eyes shut. He needed to get his head back in the game. He needed to stop thinking of Lowell sucking on her tits, and start figuring out who was stalking her. With one last look at the house and low lighting on in the master bedroom, he picked up the papers on the passenger seat. Background checks and financials of the last ten guys CeCe dated. As he read the info, he couldn’t help but smile, thinking how pissed she would be if she had any idea the extent of how well he did his job. If only she knew how much income came into Gates Investigations and Private Securities at her expense. But that was between her and Cross.
Looking up from boyfri
end #6’s hidden Cayman account, Jarod took a swig of his Red Bull, and was glad he did. Derrick and CeCe were on the move. Lowell was carefully backing up his Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet out of the drive.
“What’s the matter, Lowell, couldn’t get it up? Or is it more of a two pump hot injection? Fucktard!”
Once the high-end sports car passed him, Jarod pulled out and turned around to tail. Quickly reaching CeCe’s apartment complex, he pulled in and parked in the same spot as when he spoke with CeCe this morning. He had a perfect view of the Porsche idling, and the two passengers still inside. Jarod could clearly see, through the back window, as Lowell ran his hands through her hair and pulled her towards him. Suddenly, Jarod began to clench his teeth so tightly his jaw cracked under the strain.
After what seemed to Jarod like an infinite game of tonsil hockey, Lowell got out, rounded the hood and opened the passenger side door. He extended a hand, which she quickly accepted and he walked her into the building.
Taking the opening, Jarod was out of the truck double time; walking to the Porsche, he made quick work of the lock thanks to his handy pocket tool he never left home without. It was Jarod’s experience that most men with something to hide, they tend to hide it in their car. Quickly, he rummaged through the glove compartment and the sports jacket, which was in the back, and came up with nothing. He locked the car again, and had just made it back to his pickup when Lowell reappeared.
Without any fanfare, Lowell jumped back in and Jarod watched as the taillights faded into small dots. Redirecting his attention to CeCe’s second floor apartment, he noticed she’d just entered her bedroom. Dammit, Cees, ever hear of a shade or blind? Not that he minded the show, CeCe was a gorgeous woman and she knew it, but if he could clearly see her disrobing, then others could too, and that didn’t sit well with him.
