A Man's Promise

by Brenda Jackson

  The music continued, and so did her tears—she couldn’t stop. The man onstage, immaculately dressed in an expensive black tux, was her world. He always had been and always would be.

  And then the music ended, and she got to her feet to give him a one-woman standing ovation, clapping as loudly as she could. He smiled before taking a bow. She watched as he set his sax aside to leave the stage and walk toward her, his steps as sexy as he looked himself. He came to a stop in front of her, and her breath caught when he took her hand in his and lowered down on bended knee.

  Looking back up at her, he asked, “Shiloh, will you marry me? Not next month. Not next year. But now, this weekend, in Vegas. Let’s do what we should have done four years ago—what we had planned to do. More than anything, I want you as my wife. We’ll have a reception later at home, but I want to marry you now. Will you marry me and return to Charlottesville as my wife?”

  Shiloh stared down at him in shock as she swiped at her tears. Her heart soared at the thought that Caden wanted to marry her. Now. This weekend in Vegas. His proposal wasn’t just a surprise; it was a gift. The precious gift of a second chance for both of them.

  She smiled down at him. “Yes. I’ll marry you, here in Vegas like we always planned to do.”

  There was clapping, whistles and catcalls. She glanced around to see Caden’s band members, along with Grover, smiling, then lifting their instruments up in salute. Smiling, Caden stood, pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

  Less than two hours later, they were married. Part of the Arena was transformed into a wedding chapel, and with Grover and his band as witnesses, they became man and wife.

  * * *

  “I’m waiting for you to get out of that gown.”

  She glanced down at the ring Caden had slid on her finger hours ago. It was a stunner, absolutely gorgeous. She then looked across their room to where Caden sat in a chair, his legs stretched out in front of him. His tie was undone, his jacket tossed aside and his shirtsleeves rolled up. Her husband was ready for business.

  Her husband. She liked the sound of that.

  With his hands casually resting on his knees, he was looking at her in a way that let her know just what he wanted. “I thought you liked this gown on me,” she said, smiling over at him, feeling his heat from across the room.

  “I do. You look damned good in it. But I know you’re going to look just as good out of it...so take it off.”

  He wanted her to strip, and he had a good seat to watch her do it. She decided to tease him a bit. “You sure you want me to take it off? You’re absolutely certain?”

  Without smiling, with a look on his face that was as serious as he could get, he said, “You either take it off or I’ll take it off for you. But be warned—I don’t know what shape the gown will be in when I finish, because I intend to tear it off of you.”

  Shiloh looked down at her gown, knowing he meant every word. She definitely didn’t want that. This was her wedding dress, the one he had purchased for her, and she had already planned to keep it and cherish it forever. “In that case, I will take it off myself.”

  And she did, making it pure torture for him to watch as she slowly exposed her body to him inch by inch. Caden wasn’t sure how many times he shifted in his seat when his erection became almost unbearable. Its insistent pressing against his zipper was pure torment.

  Her breasts were full, inviting, and the juncture of her thighs made his mouth water. She shimmied out of the gown and took the time to lay it across the arm of the love seat. When she was left in nothing but her thong and high heels, he felt his pulse rate increase. His wife was perfectly made from the top of her head to the soles of her feet.

  He watched as she slid her thong down a pair of gorgeous thighs. She tossed it to him and he caught it, bringing the flimsy piece of black lace to his nose, inhaling her scent. His manhood throbbed even more.

  And when she stood totally naked in front of him, he stood and began stripping off his own clothes. He crossed the room and picked her up, and instead of carrying her over to the bed, he carried her over to the desk in the room.

  “Can’t make it to the bedroom,” he said, pushing everything out of the way and sitting her on the edge of the desk, spreading her legs in the process.

  “I understand. Let me help you,” she said, reaching out and taking hold of his erection and guiding it to her womanly core.

  He was glad she understood, and she definitely had things under control. The moment he entered her, he thrust hard and went deep. Grabbing hold of her hips, he began thrusting inside of her again and again. The urgency, the need and greed that drove him, could not be defined or explained. It just was, and he doubted he would ever tire of making love to his wife.

  The feel of her inner muscles tightening around him almost sent him over the edge, and he kept pounding inside of her, needing her in a way he had never wanted a woman. Knowing she would always and forever be his sent his heart rate increasing and his pulse pounding.

  Several times, he virtually lifted her from the desk in his overwhelming need to go deeper, and when she screamed out his name at the top of her orgasm, he followed her, drowning in a pleasure so exquisite he knew he could die from it. He felt his own body explode, and Caden knew what it felt like to want a woman to the point of craziness.

  The spasms that tore through his body were magnetic, forceful and had him totally out of control. Never had a climax been so intense and electrifying. He leaned in and captured her mouth, needing to kiss her, taste her and brand her forever.

  Breaking off the kiss, he gazed down at her and whispered, “I love you.” And he meant it with his entire heart.

  “And I love you, Caden.”

  A smile touched his lips, and with their bodies still locked, he lifted her hips off the table, and she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck. They would continue this in the bedroom.

  Forty

  Upon returning to Charlottesville on Sunday night, Caden and Shiloh went straight to Shana’s house. After arriving at the airport, they received a text from Jace asking to meet them right away.

  When Jace opened the door, all it took was to look into Caden’s and Shiloh’s smiling faces to know Caden’s mission had been accomplished this weekend. “Congratulations, you two. Come in.”

  “Thanks,” Caden said, giving his brother a bear hug. “This weekend Shiloh and I completed what we’d started four years ago, and we’re very happy,” he said, pulling Shiloh to his side and placing a kiss on her temple.

  Caden glanced behind Jace to see Dalton was already there. Caden smiled and said to him, “You’re still in a bad mood?”

  Dalton shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. But I can still congratulate the two of you,” he said, also giving his brother a bear hug and giving Shiloh a hug, as well. “It would have been nice had you told me what you planned to do this weekend. I had to hear it from Jace an hour ago.”

  “Only because no one could talk to you this week, Dalton. That woman you hired the P.I. to find must have done some kind of number on you.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” he said in a quiet voice, letting his brothers know that it was still a sore subject with him.

  Shana came from the kitchen and congratulated the newlywed couple before saying, “Jules is on her way over here with information she wants to share with us.”

  “Jules? Who is Jules?” Dalton asked.

  “My sister. She’s been checking into a few things regarding Caden’s accident.”

  “Did she find out whether Rita was in Charlottesville that weekend?” Caden asked, sitting down on the sofa with Shiloh by his side.

  “Yes. She discovered a ticket had been purchased in Rita’s name that weekend for a trip from Dallas to here.”

  Caden slowly shook his head. “I just don’t believe it. Jealousy is one thing—killing someone is another.”

  “Yes, but Rita Crews did make those threatening comments about you to your manager. And why would sh
e come to Charlottesville? Do you know whether she has relatives or friends here?” Jace asked.

  Caden released a disgusted sigh. “I don’t know, but I don’t think so.”

  “Well, we’ll know soon, because a P.I. Jules knows in Dallas is talking to Rita.”

  “Talking to her?” Dalton asked angrily. “Why hasn’t the woman been arrested?”

  “Because, Dalton,” Jace said, answering instead for Shana and trying not to let Dalton annoy him, “we have no evidence of anything. Caden didn’t call the police that night, so there’s no open investigation of anyone trying to do him harm. Just because Rita purchased a ticket here that weekend doesn’t mean anything. That’s the reason Shana’s sister arranged for this P.I. friend in Dallas to talk to her.”

  Dalton rolled his eyes. “Does anyone really think this Rita woman is going to confess to anything? I say bring the police in, tell them what we have and let them take over.”

  “Again, Dalton, we have no evidence. If Rita is guilty of anything, then we’ll find out,” Jace said, determined to not let Dalton try his patience...or anyone else’s, for that matter. His brother needed to take a chill pill.

  “So, Shiloh, tell us—how did Caden pop the question?” Shana asked, changing the subject and defusing the tense moment between Jace and Dalton.

  Jace gave Shana a silent thank-you and used that time to pull Dalton aside to say in a low tone, “Hey, man, will you ease up a little?”

  Dalton shrugged. “I don’t like the idea of someone out to get my brother—for any reason.”

  “And you think I do?”

  “Of course not, but it seems all of you are putting a lot of stock in what Shana’s sister thinks. What is she? A cop or something?”

  Jace was about to answer when the doorbell sounded. “That’s probably Jules now.” He left Dalton to head for the door.

  Dalton sighed and turned his attention to the conversation already in progress. Shiloh was telling him how Caden had arranged a concert just for her at Caesars Palace when he heard a feminine voice approaching—a voice he recognized immediately. This was the same voice he hadn’t been able to get out of his mind for weeks.

  He whirled around, and his gaze met the eyes of the one woman he’d hoped never to see again. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Jules was equally shocked, and it took her a minute to regain her composure to fire the same question back at Dalton. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  The entire room fell silent as the two seemed to dismiss their surroundings and face off. Jace stepped in the middle of the fray and calmly said, “I take it that the two of you already know each other.”

  “Yes!”

  “No!”

  Jace shook his head. Jules had said yes, and Dalton had said no. “You either do or you don’t, and I suspect you do. We’re here to listen to Jules’s report on Rita Crews, but I think before we can do that, the two of you have personal business that should be settled in private.” It was apparent he had already figured things out.

  “No, we don’t, and no, it shouldn’t,” Dalton said angrily. “I’m out of here. You and Caden can fill me in later.” He headed for the door, swearing under his breath, and slammed it shut behind him.

  * * *

  Jules just stood there, trying to get a handle on the fact that the man she’d come to think of as Dick was really Dalton Granger, Jace’s brother. She drew in a deep breath and saw everyone looking at her. “I didn’t know who he was,” she said in disgust. “He told me his name was Dick.”

  “Dick?” Caden asked, trying to keep amusement out of his voice.

  Jules shrugged. “He said it was a nickname for Richard.”

  “Which is partly true,” Jace said. “Since his name is Dalton Richard Granger. The Richard came from our grandfather.”

  “Look, Jace is right about you and Dalton needing to straighten a few things out, but I prefer hearing what you have to say about Rita first,” Caden said. He’d seen Dalton’s anger directed at Jules, and although he didn’t know the full story, he did have a clue based on the little he knew. And if what he suspected was true, it would take more than one talk between the two of them before the matter was resolved.

  “All right,” Jules said, coming to stand in the middle of the room. “I agree that Dalton and I have a private matter to resolve, but I’m here to discuss what I found out about Rita.”

  “Okay,” Caden said, his hand tightening on Shiloh’s. “What did you find out?”

  Jules took the seat Jace offered. “Rita admitted to coming here to confront you, but after she arrived she talked herself out of it. She has proof she never left the hotel she checked into. She claims she didn’t even rent a car. She took cabs to and from the airport. She claims the hotel staff will verify her story that she was holed up in her room for those two days.”

  “But why did she come at all?”

  “She thought she could talk to you about the situation. She wanted to apologize. She wanted to give you her word it wouldn’t happen again. She also wanted to ask that you rehire her. It seems she’s having problems adjusting to the group she’s in now.”

  Caden shook his head. “Rita knows me. She knows I don’t put up with bullshit and that there’s no way I would hire her back. I don’t know why she would even think that I would.”

  “Evidently, your manager, Grover Reddick, gave her the impression that maybe you would and suggested she come talk to you.”

  Caden frowned. “That’s odd. I talked to Grover. In fact, I called him to find out what group Rita was now playing with, and I told him about the situation Saturday night and what was suspected with Rita. That’s when he told me about her threats.”

  “And he didn’t mention anything about telling her to come here and that he knew she had been here that weekend?”

  “No,” Caden answered.

  “That is odd,” Jules agreed. “When was the last time you talked to Grover Reddick?”

  “In Vegas this weekend. He helped me pull off everything with my surprise proposal to Shiloh. He was instrumental in arranging everything—the wedding, the venue and contacting the band members so they would be there for my private concert.”

  Jules nodded and glanced down at Shiloh’s hand. “Congratulations.” She then stood. “I guess now I need to check out Grover Reddick.”

  Caden waved off her words. “Don’t waste your time. Grover is my manager and has no reason to want to hurt me.” Caden chuckled. “If anything, he needs to keep me alive and well if he wants me to return to the touring circuit in January. He wasn’t crazy about the idea of my putting my music career on hold to fulfill the promise I made to my grandfather, but he did understand.”

  “So you trust him?” Jules asked.

  “Absolutely. We’ve been business partners for years.”

  Jules nodded. “Probably the same way Jace trusted Vidal Duncan.”

  Jules’s reminder of what Vidal had been capable of doing came as a blow, one from which Caden quickly recovered. “Grover has no reason to want to hurt me, and especially no reason to want me dead, Jules.”

  “Let me find out whether that’s true.” She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “I will check out Rita Crews’s alibi and will also check out Grover Reddick’s whereabouts that weekend, as well. If you happen to talk to him, don’t mention anything.”

  Caden frowned. “I won’t.” He then glanced at the people in the room who were staring at him. “She’s not going to come up with anything on Grover. You’ll see.”

  * * *

  The next morning, Ben glanced across the breakfast table at his daughter. Jules had called that morning and asked if he was cooking breakfast. He hadn’t planned on it, but since she’d asked, he figured there was a reason she wanted to come over...and he had an idea what that reason might be. Yet she’d been here for an hour now, and she hadn’t asked a single thing about his weekend in New York with Mona. In fact, Jules had been unusually quiet over breakf
ast.

  “I thought you would have grilled me to death by now,” he said, glancing over at his daughter while taking a sip of coffee.

  Jules glanced up and looked at her father questioningly. “About what?”

  “My weekend in New York with Mona.”

  She blinked. “Oh. Right. How did that go?”

  Ben smiled. “It went fine. We had a great time.”

  “I’m glad.”

  Jules went back to moving her food around her plate. Ben figured she had something on her mind since she wasn’t eating her favorite breakfast. She had stirred her grits around so much they were looking downright soupy.

  “You want to tell me what’s wrong, Jules?”

  She glanced back up at her father. “Why do you think there is something wrong?”

  Ben chuckled. She must be kidding. “Because I’m your father, and I know my girls. I know when something is bothering them, and anytime you aren’t trying to get into my business, that means something is wrong with you. So what gives? And remember you can tell me anything.”

  Jules smiled. That was one of the reasons she loved her father so much. He could read her and Shana like a book. Her sister hadn’t called her last night after the debacle at her place. Jace had probably convinced Shana to leave her alone to work out her own issues. If that was true, then she appreciated her future brother-in-law for doing that for her.

  “Jules?”

  She sighed. “A month or so ago, I met this guy while working undercover one night. He was nice-looking, smooth and kind of pushy. He asked for my contact information, and I told him if he wanted to get to know me he’d have to find me.”

  “And?”

  “He did find me. Last week, he showed up at my office. He must have hired a P.I. to hunt me down.”

  Ben chuckled. “Well, you did tell him to find you.”

  “Yes, but I really didn’t think he would. At first, I was flattered. But then he turned me off. It’s obvious he’s used to getting any woman he wants.”