“And what would you do once you had me over your knee, CJ?”
CJ reached for the bottle of champagne and tilted it until the bubbles threatened to spill over the top of Karma’s glass. “I would run my tongue down the center of your back and lavish it all over your sweet sexy ass.”
Karma felt her thong go damp, and CJ didn’t miss the fact that her hand was trembling when she reached for the crystal champagne flute.
After a few sips, she cleared her throat and said, “’Scuse me, I need to go to the restroom.”
When Karma rose, CJ stood and didn’t sit again until she disappeared around the bend. He smiled smugly to himself. He loved it when a woman unraveled right before his very eyes. He wasn’t going to have to put much effort into this one; he knew those panties were already his.
Claude wore two BlackBerries clipped to his waistband. One was for business and the other was for domestic. The domestic began to vibrate.
Unclipping it, he saw that it was his New Jersey home number.
He glanced in the direction of the bathroom. Karma would be returning any moment now, but he’d chance taking the call anyway. “Hello?”
“Claude.” Crystal’s voice came to him from the other end. “Your neighbor Shelly just left here and …”
• • •
CJ had her by the elbow, gently guiding her toward the taxi he’d flagged down. Karma had had a wonderful time with him, even if he did seem a little distracted once she returned from the ladies’ room.
He reached for the door handle and Karma, unable to control herself, suddenly spun around and planted a lingering kiss on his lips. She’d been staring at that succulent mouth for most of the two hours they’d been together and was eager to feel it pressed against her own.
“Wow,” CJ murmured when she finally pulled herself away. “That was a nice surprise.”
“More in store.” Karma gave him a penetrating look as she slid the tip of her index finger along the curve of his jawbone.
“I hope so,” Claude said as Karma climbed into the taxi.
“Take care of her,” CJ called out to the driver before tapping the top of the cab, and then to Karma, “I’ll give you a call in a day or so, beautiful.”
Karma beamed. And when the cab pulled away from the curb, she gave herself a tight hug. Was it possible to fall in love after just one date?
Of course it was, she told herself. She was Karma Jackson and proof that anything and everything was possible.
16
Crystal sent Elvie home early that day and got down to preparing a scrumptious welcome-home meal for Claude.
She was feeling especially happy. Her man was coming home and she’d had a brief conversation with Noah, who’d advised that he would be in New York in the next few weeks, although he hadn’t booked a ticket yet. He would, however, keep her informed.
The house was filled with the spicy aromas of stewed snapper and coconut-infused peas and rice.
She’d made a green salad overrun with fresh tomatoes, raisins, cranberries, and chunks of pear.
For the children, she’d baked a small guinea hen and a pan of macaroni and cheese.
“Hey, baby.” Claude grabbed her by the waist and whispered in her ear.
Crystal was startled, and the spoon she’d been washing clanged noisily to the bottom of the cast-iron sink.
“You scared me,” she said, turning to him and kissing him passionately. “I missed you so much. How was Norway?”
“Work, work and more work! But enough about me, how did you get along?”
“It really wasn’t half bad.”
She’d actually taken the car out a few times, venturing around her neighborhood and up and down Route 22.
Claude moved to the stove and lifted the lid off one of the pots. “Not only does it smell good, but it looks good.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Where are the kids?” Claude asked as he dipped the tip of his index finger into the fish gravy.
“Upstairs … Claude!” Crystal shouted and smacked his hand. “That’s disgusting. You didn’t even wash your hands.”
“Sorry.” Claude gave her puppy-dog eyes. “I’m going to go change and freshen up.”
The children down for the night, Claude and Crystal were lounging on the patio sofa, sharing a bottle of wine and gazing up at the star-filled sky.
“So this Shelly woman, you say she’s a writer, huh?” “Yeah.” Claude yawned as he reached for the bottle. Initially, when Claude had received the call from Crystal, he’d felt his chest go tight and then the anger had rushed through him like a tornado. When Karma came back to the table, he excused himself, went to the back of the restaurant, and placed a call to his attorney. Obviously the bitch had lost her mind and forgotten their arrangement. She needed a strong reminder. The attorney assured him that she would get just that.
That evening Claude didn’t know what he was walking into, but apparently Shelly had kept her mouth shut, because Crystal was no wiser.
“So what’s with her bald head?”
“I dunno.”
“You think she had to shave it? Maybe she had cancer or something?” Crystal mused.
He didn’t have that type of luck, Claude thought to himself.
“I don’t really know,” Claude said dismissively, anxious to move on to another topic.
Crystal smirked. “Really? She seems to know a whole lot about you,” she said stiffly.
Claude’s head bounced with surprise. “Does she?”
“Doesn’t she?”
Claude’s heart began to gallop.
“Why, what did she say?”
Crystal shrugged her shoulders. “She said a lot of things …” Trailing off, she reached for her wine glass and drank deeply. “One thing I know is, she’s been in this house.”
“Yeah.” Claude laughed and took Crystal’s hand into his own. “Before I moved in.”
Crystal gave him a confused look.
“She was friends with the previous owners, baby. She hasn’t stepped foot in this house since I moved in. We simply have a hello-goodbye relationship, as I do with all of my neighbors.”
Crystal felt so stupid. “Oh.”
“I told you, Crystal, I lead a very private life. I let very few people in.” Claude rose, pulling Crystal up with him. “Besides, baby,” he chuckled as he stroked Crystal’s mane, “I like a woman with a full head of hair.”
It was all about Crystal that night. He joined her in the shower, cupped her breasts, licked and sucked her nipples, and then lowered himself down onto his knees, the spray of water beating down on his shoulders as he made love to her clit. Nibbling it, sucking it, lavishing over her soft pinkness. Crystal was beside herself with pleasure. She had a lethal grip on the shower-head, one leg thrown over Claude’s shoulder, and when she finally exploded, the strength behind her orgasm caused her to wrench the pipe out of the wall.
“Shiiit.”
The word slithered from her mouth as she sank down to the aqua-colored glass-tile floor of the shower stall.
After they made love and Crystal was fast asleep, Claude slipped from the bed and down to his study. Gently closing the door behind him, he picked up his BlackBerry and pressed speed-dial number 23.
After a few rings, a woman’s sleepy voice answered, “H-hello?”
“Have you forgotten about the restraining order I have against you and the agreement you signed, you bald-headed bitch?”
“Claude, I was just—”
“You were just nothing! If you come near my house or my family again I’ll drag your black ass into court so fast you won’t know what hit you!”
17
“Karma? Karma!”
Karma’s head snapped up. “Um, yes, Mr. Lieberman?”
Arnold Lieberman was red in the face. “I have been calling you for ten minutes now. Where’s your mind at?”
All over CJ, that’s where.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Lieberman,” Karma stamme
red as she began gathering the stray papers that contained the childish heart-shaped doodles around her and CJ’s initials.
“I don’t pay you to daydream, Karma.”
Karma took a deep breath. She’d apologized, what else did he want?
“You’re absolutely right, Mr. Lieberman.”
Arnold Lieberman glared at her for a moment before he shoved a stack of papers at her. “I need six photocopies of this file, three are to go to me and three are to go to my brother, do you understand?” he ordered in a clipped tone.
Karma’s eyebrow rose. He was being especially bitchy this morning, wasn’t he?
“Yes, sir, Mr. Lieberman.”
Karma decided to do a little shopping on her lunch break, so she strolled down to the South Street Seaport mall. She wasn’t a real fan of Victoria’s Secret, she was a La Perla girl now, but she was in the mood to buy something slinky and sexy and La Perla would be too much of a hassle to get to and back within an hour.
She was holding a plum-colored scalloped-lace bra in her hand when her phone rang.
She didn’t recognize the number and decided not to answer it, but at the last minute changed her mind.
“Karma Jackson.”
“Hello, Karma.”
She recognized his voice immediately and her tone brightened.
“Well, hello to you.”
“Have you been thinking about me?”
Karma blushed. Every second since they’d parted ways.
“Sorta-kinda.”
CJ chuckled. “Do you miss me?”
A girlish giggle was her only response.
“Okay, let me put it this way, do you want to see me again?”
Of course she did!
“Sure, why not,” Karma managed as nonchalantly as possible.
“What are you wearing?”
Karma bit her bottom lip. “Um, a nutmeg-colored linen pants suit.”
“Pants suit? Hiding those lovely legs?”
Karma blushed.
“What else?”
“What else what?”
“What else are you wearing?”
“A white camisole. My diamond stud earrings and—”
“Underneath the suit. What are you wearing beneath the pants suit?” CJ’s tone was growing deeper.
Again, Karma found herself giggling like a schoolgirl. She placed the bra back onto the rack and strolled toward the fitting room. “Black lace thong and matching bra,” she whispered into the phone.
“Tomorrow,” his tone guttural now, “I don’t want you to wear any underwear to work.”
Karma’s neck snapped. Surely he was joking. “What did you say?”
“You heard me,” CJ said before sounding a kiss and ending the call.
18
It was the strangest thing, Crystal thought to herself as she looked down at the three utility bills she held in her hand.
She’d been there for over a month and Claude had not received one piece of personal mail—just utility bills. Not even catalogues.
She shrugged the thought away and started back toward her study, which was located directly across the hall from Claude’s study. The study he kept locked. She’d questioned him about that, not that she wanted to rifle through his stuff, but they were going to be married at some point and she just wasn’t comfortable with locked doors between man and wife.
Claude just shook his head in that sweet way he did when he felt she was being foolish and said, “I keep the door locked because my business is highly sensitive and I can’t afford the kids getting in there and tampering with anything. It’s always been that way, baby, even before you and Javid came to live here.”
Well, that did make sense, but still …
By late afternoon dark clouds had formed over Plainfield, and soon after an explosive sound of thunder rattled the expensive homes. Crystal felt her heart jump in her chest and then heard the children, who had been upstairs in their separate rooms playing, begin to cry out with fear.
Elvie had gone to the dry cleaners to drop off a few of Claude’s suits, leaving Crystal and the children on their own for a while.
“I’m coming, babies, don’t worry,” Crystal called to them as she took the steps two at a time. She went to Javid first, scooping him out of his captain’s bed, and then rushed to Kayla’s room.
“It’s okay, don’t cry,” she hushed the children as she went to the window to close the blinds.
The rain was falling in buckets as lightning sliced through the sky, momentarily illuminating the street below. In that instance, Crystal caught sight of a dark figure standing beneath a looming elm tree just off the curb.
Crystal blinked and when the lightning flashed again the figure was gone.
She dropped the blind, shook her head, and told herself that her eyes were playing tricks on her.
“I miss Deeka so much!” Geneva wailed through the phone. “I’ve been working my vibrator overtime. My poor little clit is starting to feel like a rape victim!”
Crystal was bent over with laughter.
“Stop laughing, it ain’t funny. Every time I pull down my panties, even if it’s just to use the bathroom, she starts to scream!”
“Geneva, you’re killing me!” Crystal squealed, holding her sides.
“It’s so bad that I’m afraid to use anything in the house with a motor. For real! I was making some smoothies the other day, turned on the blender, and my clit fainted dead away from fear!”
“You are one sick cookie!”
“I know, girl, I know.”
Now that Geneva had her laughing, Crystal was starting to feel better, and the storm as well as the dark figure beneath the tree slowly faded into oblivion.
The storm clouds retreated, allowing the sun to show its luminous face again.
“So when will Deeka be back?”
“Oh, I guess in another three weeks or so.”
“Yeah, Claude is off again too.”
“Where this time?”
Crystal couldn’t quite remember. He traveled so much and to so many different places.
Crystal shrugged her shoulders. “You know, I can’t really remember.”
“Oh yeah, listen,” Geneva started excitedly, “the real reason why I called was to invite you to a book signing.”
“Really, whose?”
“Shenelody Miller. Remember I told you about her?”
“Vaguely,” Crystal said as she swung the refrigerator door open and peered inside.
“Anyway,” Geneva continued breathlessly, “it’s this Saturday at two at Roseland.”
“The nightclub?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, that’s an interesting venue.”
“You wanna come?”
“I don’t know, Geneva. Remind me again, what type of books does she write?”
“The hot and steamy kind!”
19
Karma felt like an idiot sitting there in that office without any drawers on. Every time she thought about it, which was every other second, she blushed.
And then every time the phone rang she jumped with anticipation, hoping it was CJ.
“Karma, I’m headed uptown, I may or may not return to the office today. I’ll call you,” Arnie threw over his shoulder as he hurried from the office.
Now there was just one Lieberman left for her to deal with, Joshua, but he was hardly any trouble at all. In fact, Karma was beginning to think that he was either extremely shy or just plain scared of women. At least he seemed scared of her.
Meek, soft-spoken Joshua barely looked at her when he ventured from his office and into the corridor. Not even when he called her into his office to take a letter. During those times he spoke into his notes, avoiding eye contact with her at all cost.
The phone rang and Karma jumped. “Lieberman and Lieberman, how—”
“Are you wet?”
It was him.
Karma squirmed in her seat. “Well, good morning and how are you?” she ventured,
sidestepping the inevitable dirty talk.
“Are you wet?” CJ posed the question again.
Karma didn’t know if she liked this game. Maybe the guy was just a straight-up freak. And what was wrong with that? She had a bit of a freaky streak herself.
“Not yet.”
A low throaty laugh emanated through the phone. “Touch yourself.”
“Are you crazy,” Karma hissed, and shot Joshua’s office a quick glance. “I am at work, you know.”
“Are you chicken?”
“You are crazy.”
CJ cleared his throat, and when he spoke again, his tone had changed. “Well, you have a good day.”
Click.
“Son of a bitch,” Karma breathed. “Mother—”
“Karma, can I see you, please.” Joshua Lieberman’s soft voice floated to her from the intercom.
“Yes, Mr. Lieberman.”
Karma strolled into the office and took the seat opposite Joshua’s desk.
The brothers were as different as night and day. Arnie was tall, with broad shoulders, a receding hairline, and a mammoth gut. Joshua was just as tall, but athletic in build, with mounds of unruly sandy-colored curls.
“I would like you to take a letter … if-if you don’t mind,” he practically whispered as he stared intently down at his notes.
Karma forced a smile, opened her steno pad and began flipping through the pages in search of a clean page. Joshua watched her from beneath his lowered eyelids.
When she finally found a clean page, she crossed her legs, revealing quite a bit of thigh. Joshua’s heart skipped two beats and his mouth went dry.
Ten minutes later she was back at her desk. Her blood was still boiling when she sat down and snatched up her purse. She couldn’t go all day without any underwear and so would have to run to Vickie’s or down to Century 21 and pick up a pair.
The phone rang.
“Lieberman and Lieberman—”
“Are you wet?”
Karma pulled the phone away from her ear and glared at the earpiece. When she pressed it back she said, “Listen, CJ, I don’t know who you think you are but—”
Lover Man Page 6
