by Bliss Carter
“You have such beautiful hair, Red. It’s like a river of fire in my hand. I don’t think any company could replicate this exact shade of red. It’s so unique and so you. Beautiful and one of a kind”, Cade huskily stated, standing close to Kresley’s side. His fingers continued to stroke her hair and pass fingertips over her shoulder and arm.
Kresley took hold of his hand to end the distraction, but couldn’t find it possible to let go of Cade’s hand all together. So, she brought it to her lips, planted a sweet kiss in his palm, closed his fingers around it, then dropped his hand back to his side. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and stood up, indicating with an arm for him to move over to her L-shaped sectional couch on the other side of the apartment. “I’m ready to answer your questions, Cade. I just don’t know what info I could possibly have that would help you with what happened yesterday”, Kresley softly said, looking up at the big man standing near her.
Cade drew in a deep breath and shoved his personal emotions aside, concentrating on Kresley as a victim and possible witness and not as the woman that he wanted to see and feel beneath him on that couch. Detective switch turned on. Boyfriend-wanna-be switch turned off.
“Okay, Kresley. Let’s go ahead and get the questions over with so I can get a timeline of events for my chief and figure out motive. I’m going to be recording our interview, just to let you know. You’re going to see and hear me being a detective. Awesome Cade who wants to kiss your pants off will be absent for now”, Cade told Kres, ending with a sweet smile to reassure her that even though Cade would be all business in his questions, Big Sexy was still there, just waiting in the background.
Both adults sat down close together on the couch and Cade turned the recording app on his smartphone to record, indicating to Kresley silently with a finger that they were now being recorded. Cade’s interview style was easy, but thorough and he put Kresley at ease within the first few questions.
Cade: Today’s date is April 20th, 2019. Detective Cade Grantham with Mercy Springs Police Department is present, along with Ms. Kresley Anderson. Ms. Anderson can you state your full name, date of birth and current physical address for the record.
Kresley: My name is Kresley James Anderson. Date of birth is October 31st, 1988, age 30. I live at 2448 River Ave., Mercy Springs, Georgia.
Cade: This interview is being conducted in the home apartment of Ms. Kresley Anderson and she gives consent for it to be recorded. Ms. Anderson, will you give your verbal consent for this recording to be completed?
Kresley: I consent to recording our interview.
Cade: Ms. Anderson, do you personally know a man by the name of Drake Harris?
Kresley: Yes, I know Drake and his family. I’ve known them my entire life. I went to school with Drake and his brother, Braxton and graduated with Drake in the same year together.
Cade: How would you describe your relationship with Drake Harris, considering both past and present?
Kresley: Yesterday was the first day that I have been in close proximity to Drake since high school. Living in the same small town, we have been at the same events and even the same room before, but we haven’t spoken to each other or been within 20 feet of each other since school. Drake and I dated for a year in high school, our senior year, and I broke up with him a month before we graduated. That was my last personal encounter with him until yesterday, when he and his fiancé, Claudia, came in to my events business together. They were finalizing details about their upcoming wedding. I had a 30-minute meeting with both of them in the room with me and my sister Francie Anderson, some questions were asked and answered and then they left. I continued to work and didn’t hear anymore from either customer after that. I did not see Drake again yesterday until I opened my business back door and saw him laying on the pavement, with a blood stain around his head.
Cade: Just so we can have all pertinent information at the beginning, can you tell me why you broke up with Mr. Harris in high school. Did it end badly? Was there any hard feelings or animosity between you two? I’m asking so we can have a base of problems to look at and discard.
Kresley: *lengthy pause* *clear throat* I was the one to break off things with Drake a month before we graduated high school. We had plans to attend the same college, him on an academic scholarship. Drake was caught having sex with one of our senior teachers. I had no clue it was going on. I was humiliated since the whole school of faculty and students found out the next day and could watch the sex video online of Drake and the teacher….uhhhhh…..having intense sexual relations with each other in a classroom. And cafeteria. And football field. I broke up with him that day and told him to stay away from me. It was a difficult summer after that. I couldn’t wait to leave for college and escape the looks I would get or see whispering as I walked by.
Cade: *clears throat* So after the day you told him to leave you alone, you never heard from Drake Harris again? No phone calls, letters, emails, etc.? Did his family try to reach out to talk with you at all?
Kresley: No, I never heard from Drake or any of his family after that. I attended college and managed to avoid him and his family when I came home for breaks. I finished school and moved back here to help run my parent’s business. That was 8 years ago and I haven’t had a conversation with Drake in all of that time, until yesterday. And I wouldn’t call what we had yesterday as conversation. He mostly sat or stood in the office and let his fiancé talk. I could read his body language and see he was uncomfortable. Whether it was because of me or his impending wedding, I have no clue. He definitely didn’t look excited.
Cade: Okay, so walk me through the rest of your day yesterday. After Drake and his fiancé left, how did your day progress?
Kresley: I had several more meetings at the office that afternoon. I met with each of those clients. My assistant Grace Puckett can give you those names and contact info if you need them. My meetings ended at around 5:30 PM and by 6 PM I was alone at the office warehouse. All three of my sisters and Grace usually leave each day by 6 PM, but I stayed late to get some paperwork done for a big upcoming wedding I have scheduled in several weeks. I found myself looking for an invoice receipt for flowers that I needed for the wedding. It was a large receipt of $24,000 dollars and when I couldn’t find it, I called my assistant, Grace, at her home and asked her where the receipt was. She was on the phone with me by speaker as I walked from the warehouse to the back door and outside.
Cade: Did you hear any strange noises outside? Did something startle you or make you pause in what you were doing?
Kresley: No, I hadn’t heard any strange noise outside. But these walls are thick with brick and the warehouse itself is big. I’m not surprised that I didn’t hear anything.
Cade: When was it that you noticed something or someone in the alleyway outside your building?
Kresley: I had walked to the back door with Grace on speakerphone with me. I told her I was unlocking the door. I had a high-powered beam flashlight that I had grabbed and I shone it around the parking lot. I had noticed as I tried to push the door open that something seemed to be blocking the door from opening very far. After I pushed harder, it opened enough for me to squeeze through. When I got outside the door, I noticed the body on the ground and my flashlight was shining on the red blood stain near his head. I then noticed the ’69 Mustang parked in the alleyway and put it with the body in front of me and concluded that it was Drake Harris lying there.
Cade: What happened then?
Kresley: I began feeling faintish and could hear my assistant Grace on the speakerphone, screaming my name. I then felt a hard push in my side. My head hit the brick wall and I blacked out. When I came to, I was staring up at you and feeling confused.
Cade: We’ve already pulled your records with your alarm company. I know that the alarm was set at 5:55 PM yesterday and wasn’t deactivated or turned off until 8:17 PM when you went outside to try to find your receipt. That tells me that no one exited or entered your warehouse between those times so I know you didn�
�t leave for any reason, including to have a conversation with Drake Harris at your business. We know the ME estimates that Drake died around 7:50 PM, so he had only been dead for 25 minutes or so when you emerged.
Kresley: I’m glad you could get that info so quickly, but am I being looked at as a person of interest in this case?
Cade: No, not necessarily. We have to be meticulous in our methods so we can eliminate people who have motive and no concrete alibi.
Kresley: Oh, okay. I understand. Does Drake’s family know what happened yet?
Cade: Yes, they were informed late last night by law enforcement. I’ll be seeing them later this morning in my office to discuss what we know. Ms. Anderson, do you have any knowledge of anyone who would want to do harm to Drake Harris? Do you know of any circumstances that could have happened to instigate this?
Kresley: Honestly, no I don’t. I haven’t kept tabs on him at all and only knew he was engaged when his fiancé came into our business to hire us to plan their wedding. That was months ago. I feel bad for Drake’s brother, Braxton. I think they were close or were at one time. I see Braxton often around town and we speak and are on friendly terms. Braxton, being a fire captain at the MSFD, is more in the public eye. So, I see him more. Drake’s parents are still alive, but we don’t talk. If we see each other in public, we’re polite, but there isn’t any love lost there.
Cade: I think that’s all the questions I have now for you Ms. Anderson, I appreciate your time and answers. Mark this as end of recording.
Kresley watched as Cade turned off the recording on his phone. He immediately reached for her and pulled her across the couch to sit across his lap. Cade wrapped his massive arms around her and proceeded to just hold her without comment. After a few minutes, Cade cleared his throat and stated, “You did so freaking great, Red. I couldn’t have asked for better answers. You kept calm, answered what I asked and didn’t get emotional. Thank you, sweetheart.” He placed a soft, intimate kiss to her forehead.
“Although you are very sexy to look at, I wouldn’t call what just happened as fun”, Kresley wryly stated, looking up at Cade through the long lashes covering her green eyes. She looked into his and saw so many emotions going on within him. “What’s wrong, Cade?”, Kresley asked. “Did I do something wrong?”
Cade quickly reassured her, stating again how perfect her interview was. He then became serious and said, “I’m so sorry baby. I’m sorry you went through so much humiliation at the expense of that prick. I don’t talk ill of the dead, but he was a complete dumbass for doing that to you, even if you were both only high school age. It’s obvious he had no clue what it meant to have a dedicated girlfriend like I’m sure you were to him. His loss is my gain, though.” And with that, Cade leaned down and took Kresley’s face in both of his hands, placed his soft lips on hers and proceeded to kiss her. Kresley lost all train of thought.
Cade’s fingers pushed into her hair, holding her head captive as his mouth took hers. His tongue showed no mercy, moving into her mouth possessively and dueling with hers, wanting to gain dominance and only give her pleasure. His lips wrapped softly around her tongue, gently sucking when she allowed it, then retreating only to come back again and again. The kiss was a wet back and forth of mouths, lips, teeth and tongue. Needing more contact, Cade pulled Kresley until she was straddling his lap, knees on either side of his thighs on the couch. Fingers back in her hair, Cade tilted her head up to his and pulled his mouth back, looking deep into her green depths, as if he were memorizing this moment. Kresley groaned slightly and reached back up for Cade’s mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck, and pushing her fingers into his dark hair. Cade groaned low and guttural.
She tasted like coffee, chocolate and sugar. Cade soon moved his mouth from hers, leaving soft kisses along her jaw, chin, cheek and nose. Her eyes and forehead were next. Feeling her body relax more against his, Cade felt Kresley’s breasts flattening against his muscled chest and if he were a betting man, he would say that Red definitely wasn’t wearing a bra. Groaning silently, Cade tried to remember where he was, what he had been doing earlier and that it was still an active work day for him. It was working until Kresley moved her hips against his. Then all thoughts went out the window.
Kresley could not think of a single man in her past who could give her so much pleasure and also make her feel so safe, with only kisses. She felt her breasts flatten against Cade’s massive chest, and was very aware that she didn’t have a bra on. She had forgotten until right now that she was only in her pajamas and nothing else. She wondered if Cade could tell. Choosing not to worry about it, Kresley took her hips and wiggled herself on Cade’s lap to get more comfortable. She abruptly stopped and took notice of a growing fullness happening between herself and Big Sexy. She quietly eased herself back away from his arousal and chased down Cade’s mouth for another life-altering kiss. She couldn’t do anything about her hard nipples plastered against Cade’s chest right now.
Cade was thrilled when Kresley reached out to continue their kissing marathon. He took her hair and pulled it with both hands into a pony tail behind her head. This lifted it from her neck and shoulder, exposing them to Cade’s mouth. He began giving soft, wet kisses along Kresley’s throat and that sensitive spot between her shoulder and neck. Cade wanted to leave his mark on her skin so badly, wanted to give her a “hickie” so everyone could see it, announcing to the world that Kresley Anderson was his and no one else’s. But he didn’t because he didn’t want to have her embarrassed with her sisters or Grace or customers who came in to see her. Cade promised himself that he would mark her soon on a place on her body where no one would see it but him and her. He heard Kresley groan again and took her mouth one last time.
Kresley felt Cade begin to ease her back to reality. He ended his kiss with small ones on each of her eyelids and nose. Both opened their eyes, Kresley still straddling his lap and his hands under her shirt on her back, gently soothing her skin. Cade didn’t recall when his hands made it under her clothes, but he wasn’t complaining. Kresley didn’t seem to mind either. Cade waited to see what reaction Kresley would give after this make-out session and was rewarded with a sweet, flirty smile of approval. He saw the glimmer in her eye before she spoke and wiggled her hips again.
“Well, Big Sexy is living up to his name so far”, she stated with a grin. She actually looked like a cat who just ate a bowl of fresh cream. “I guess you’re retiring the whole asshole thing, right?”
“I was never an asshole, Kres. Come on. Your ass was sitting in water! It was funny, dang it! As for Big Sexy, I can only get better with these practice make-out sessions that we’re doing, so the nickname sticks”, Cade shot back with a grin.
“Well one can never have too much practice. I definitely want to be my best for the big game”, Kresley stated, tongue in cheek, her eyes shooting green fire at him.
“Just let me know when the big game is scheduled for and I’ll make sure my team shows up. Wouldn’t want to forfeit on you”, Cade drawled. He smiled bigger when Kresley threw back her head and laughed hard, her upper body and head arched back over Cade’s lap, hair falling down and swirling around his legs. Cade held on to her by her waist, letting her know that he would hold her safe.
Kresley raised herself back to a sitting position and gently smacked him on the chest, stating “you are so, so bad Mr. Grantham. What would Aunt Mae think?”, she asked with a look of amusement.
“She’d slap the back of my head for my less than chivalrous thoughts, then head slap me again if I didn’t create an excuse to see you or talk to you again.”
“As much as I want to continue to cuddle like this with you and forget about what’s going on outside of this building, I need to get up and grab a shower and get ready for my day. I’m dreading all of the phone calls I know we’re getting now and I’ll have to return soon.”
Cade nodded his understanding and picked Kresley up off his lap like she was a doll. He kept holding her as he stood up and had pl
aced her back on her feet. He brushed her hair back from her face, straightened her shirt and wiped away some wetness glistening on her plump lips. Cade groaned loudly and bent down, kissing Kresley one more time. “Thank you for my morning kisses, baby. They will make my day more awesome, that’s for sure. Can I see you tonight? Not anything complicated. I can bring over dinner and we can watch a movie or something. That’s all, I promise.”
Kresley took a long moment to stare at Cade, which made Cade squirm like he was back in high school, asking a girl out on a first date. “I’d love to spend time with you tonight, Cade”, Kresley answered with a genuine smile. Cade felt like he had just won the lottery. He stroked his fingertip down her nose and bopped the tip. He then walked with her to her apartment door and told her he would text her later in the day to check on her. Kresley closed her apartment door back with a smile on her face and her heart skipping beats. She then grabbed her phone and text a group text to her sisters and Grace, who she knew would be clambering to come upstairs to see what happened,
Kresley: Cade left. Don’t come upstairs. Getting shower and getting ready for work. Will talk when I come downstairs. Field any calls and I will return those shortly. ILY guys.
Gertie: Get ready Kres and we’ll see you soon. We promise to be good and not shove questions down your throat. We are fielding calls and only sending through vital ones to your voice mail message.
Grace: Cade waved to us goodbye, but didn’t stop to talk. You know we’re all going to have to attend a “get to know you” dinner sooner rather than later. See you in about 30 sis by another miss.
Kresley locked her phone’s screen and went to shower to wash away the night before, mentally preparing and opening herself up for a new day today, one with endless possibilities and a man who was making her feel so many emotions that she could no longer name them all.
Chapter Eight
