Just Can't Get Enough

by Hodges, Cheris

  Celina turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck. “What a nice thing to say, but I don’t have time to take a break.”

  Darius pulled Celina against his body and stared into her eyes. “There’s always time for a break,” he said, then playfully smacked her on the behind. “But you’re right, we have a lot of work to do.” He let her go, then turned to the workers, asking if they needed any help.

  Celina headed outside to grab more painting supplies from her car. She looked toward the woods, wondering if someone was out there waiting to ruin everything she and Darius had worked for. Don’t worry about that woman, she told herself as she opened the trunk of the car and headed back inside. With all of the people in the warehouse, she knew she was safe. When she walked inside, the columns were in place and she returned to her work and pretended not to notice when Darius sent the crew away for a break. After the five men left, he closed the door and slid the bar lock in place.

  “Darius, I needed that light to paint this wall,” she said as she dropped her brush.

  He walked over to her with a smile on his face. “But I need something else,” he said as he ran his index finger across her collarbone, traveling down the front of her overalls. Darius quickly kissed her before she could muster a protest. When her body responded to his touch, he knew that sending the crew away was the best decision he’d made all day. He unsnapped the hooks on her denim overall set, allowing the oversized jeans to fall from her petite body. Underneath, she wore a simple pair of black lace panties and a cropped T-shirt. As Darius lifted the shirt over her head, he was thrilled to see that her breasts were bare and ripe for his lips. Her nipples were erect, reminding him of juicy berries ready to be sucked, licked, and devoured.

  Celina pressed her lips against his ear. “We’re never going to get this place up and running like this.” Then she reached down and pulled at the waistband of his nylon basketball shorts.

  “If we’re behind because of this—” He slipped his hands between her legs, stroking her inner core with his thumb. “—I really won’t care.”

  The tarp covering the floor became their love nest as Celina eased back, trying not to get the paint on her body, but not really caring whether or not she did, for it had been weeks since she and Darius had been intimate, because of her injuries. Now that she was healed, she yearned for him, hungered for his kiss and craved his touch.

  “Is your back all right?” Darius asked as he covered her body with his.

  Celina’s reply was to suck on his bottom lip then flick her tongue across his top lip. “I’m fine,” she replied. “I want you. I need you.”

  Those words made the nerves in his body sizzle, and he kissed her softly and then more aggressively, as he felt her arch her back against him. He reached between her thighs and felt her desire and Celina ached as she felt him throbbing against her thighs. Neither of them thought about the protection they needed as she stroked and caressed his manhood, guiding him to her center. Her body screamed “make love to me now” and Darius answered, thrusting his hips into hers, drowning in the warm wetness that was his woman. She shivered with burning desire, wrapping her legs around his waist, pulling him into her as if she wanted to make him disappear inside of her. That would’ve been fine with him because he could live inside her love forever. Being with Celina opened his heart to so much and made him want things that he’d ignored in the past.

  Making love to her, he thought about a family, their son or daughter and growing old with Celina by his side. Feeling her against his body, her round hips against his, drove him mad with desire. She did things to his body and made him feel pleasure that he’d never known.

  With his head thrown back in ecstasy, he cried out, “Oh, I love you.”

  She arched her back, wanting to say the same thing back to him, but the words died in the back of her throat, as she reached her climax and every emotion that she felt seemed to spill out of her. Darius had become more than a lover—he was her protector, her friend, and she couldn’t wait for him to be her husband. They lay on the floor wrapped in each other’s arms. Celina grabbed a dry paintbrush and began stroking it back and forth across Darius’ chest.

  “How long did you send the crew away for?” she asked.

  “About an hour,” he replied, grabbing her hand and placing it on his chest. Celina stroked his chest and leaned against his shoulder.

  “I never knew I could feel this way,” she whispered.

  Darius glanced down at her. “And how is that?”

  “Loved. Totally and completely loved. You wrapped your love around me when I really didn’t want you to. I came here angry with my father, sure that every man in the world was out to hurt the woman he professed to love. But you,” she said, pressing her palm against his cheek. “You proved me wrong. Thank you.”

  Darius kissed her hand. “I didn’t know I had that effect on you, and you changed my life, too. I’ve never had a woman that I could relax and be myself around or know that the only thing you want from me is my love. I’ve met so many women who wanted what they thought I represented. You love me because of me, not my money or anything else.”

  Celina squeezed Darius tightly. “So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get married so that we can start on our happily ever after,” she whispered.

  “What are you saying?”

  “We have about a week left to finish this place. I want to get married here. This is our place, a place of love.”

  Darius kissed Celina gently on the lips. “As you wish, my dear. We’ll get married right before the grand opening.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly and then climbed on top of him and ran her fingers down his wrists. She felt him throb against her, then he pressed into her and captured her lips, savoring her sweetness. A soft moan escaped her throat as his tongue danced in her mouth. She rocked her body back and forth against him, drawing him inside her. Then, as if he wanted to send her over the edge, he reached up and teased her nipples with the tip of his tongue, sending a shock through her system. Darius pressed his pelvis into hers and when she tightened her love walls around him, he released himself with a satisfied groan. Darius grabbed her waist, pulling her against his chest, and she fell against him and sighed. He clutched her, following a bead of sweat down the small of her back with his fingertip. They rocked back and forth, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking.

  “We’d better get dressed,” Celina whispered. “I would be so embarrassed if the crew came back and found out what kind of work we’ve been doing.”

  Darius kissed her collarbone and smiled. “If this is work, then how are we going to follow it up with some fun and games?” She turned around and smiled at him.

  “I can think of a few ways . . . later tonight, I might even show you,” she replied.

  When the crew returned, Darius and Celina were sure they could tell what had transpired while they were gone. As Celina tried to focus on her painting, her mind drifted back to Darius and the way he made her feel. Her wanton thoughts of ripping his clothes off in the middle of the gallery in front of the workers made her cheeks warm. Celina dropped her brush and headed outside. She needed some fresh air to clear her head so that she could get back to work. Just as she expected, Darius walked out behind her.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “I just needed some air,” she said. “It was getting a little stuffy in there.” He stroked her shoulder. She turned around and smiled at him. “You think they know?” she whispered.

  Darius shrugged his shoulders. “Who cares? You’re the woman I love and if all of those people in there know we made love, I don’t care.”

  She kissed him on the nose. “I agree. I’ve got to get back to work,” she said as she turned toward the door.

  Darius and Celina toiled in the gallery for the rest of the day. Celina finished the water scene on the walls just as the sun began to set. Darius walked the crew outside. Celina stood in the middle of the space
and closed her eyes. She envisioned the walls filled with her work and the work of local artists. Her picture, H2Love, along with a portrait of Thomas, would anchor the center of the gallery. Celina smiled and rocked back and forth. In her mind’s eye she saw patrons walking into the gallery, oohing and ahing over the art.

  “I hope that smile is for me,” Darius said, breaking into her thoughts. Celina opened her eyes, still smiling.

  “I was just daydreaming about our grand opening.”

  Darius pulled Celina into his arms and gently kissed her nose.

  “I love that sparkle in your eyes. I’ve missed that,” he said.

  “We’ve had so much craziness going on in our lives. I just can’t wait for normal.”

  “It’s coming,” he replied.

  “She’s still out there, watching us, waiting to hurt us again,” Celina whispered.

  “Tiffany can’t hurt us,” he said as he gently stroked her back. “We have each other and nothing is going to come between us. We can take whatever she throws at us.”

  From the rear of the gallery in the woods, deep enough not to be seen, but close enough to hear everything that was going on around her, Tiffany steamed as she listened to Darius and Celina talk about what she couldn’t do.

  You think so, she thought. You’re not going to have a day of happiness. If she wants to be Mrs. Darius McRae, then she’s going to suffer right along with him. No one chooses someone else over me and embarrasses me the way Darius has since that tramp wiggled her way into his life.

  If Tiffany had been honest with herself, she would’ve taken stock of all that she’d lost. Her business had closed down because she spent so much time following Darius, and then there was the talk of the police watching her. No one in Elmore wanted anything to do with her. Squaring her shoulders, Tiffany thought that if she was going out, she’d do it with a bang.

  CHAPTER 30

  The smell of gas was faint, but it had been spread throughout the building. Tiffany, who didn’t smoke, pulled out a cigarette and put it between her lips. The nicotine tingled against her mouth. It didn’t matter, though. Tiffany wasn’t going to smoke; she just wanted to make sure the gallery went up in smoke. She was certain no one had seen her break in and by the time they figured out that she did it, she would be in Mexico. She patted her hip pocket where her ticket to San Pedro was. Just as she was about to strike the match, floodlights flashed on, shining on her. Tiffany was trapped like a deer in the crosshairs of a hunter’s gun.

  “All right, Tiffany, come out with your hands up,” Chief Wayman exclaimed. “The game is over.” Three officers burst into the gallery before Tiffany could run out.

  “Put the matches down,” an officer said, pointing his gun at her. Tiffany did as she was told. Another officer moved in quickly and handcuffed her. The chief walked in and looked at her and shook his head in disgust.

  “Was it worth it? You threw your life away over a man who doesn’t love you,” he said.

  Tiffany dropped her head, unable to respond.

  “Get her out of here.” Wayman pulled out his cell phone and called Darius.

  Darius took the plate of fried chicken from Rena’s hands and placed it in the middle of the table. “This looks good, Mrs. Malcolm,” he said, inhaling deeply.

  “Boy, if you don’t start calling me Rena or Mom, I’m going to hit you,” she said as she set a bowl of potato salad on the table. “Celina,” she called out. “How much longer are you going to be in the bathroom?”

  John laughed as he placed Rena’s freshly baked rolls on the table beside the chicken. “You know that girl was covered in paint, just like she used to be when she was a child.”

  Rena rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth. “Darius, I hope you are ready to have paint specks in every corner of your house. I knew that girl had to be successful because she owes me for years of replacing furniture.”

  Celina walked into the kitchen, dressed in a white T-shirt dress. “Talking about me again?” she asked as she twisted one of her ponytails. Before Rena could respond, Darius’s cell phone rang.

  “Turn that thing off,” Rena said. “I absolutely hate cell phones at the dinner table.”

  He was about to follow her instructions and shut the phone off, until he saw the number displayed on the phone. “I’ll turn it off after I take this call. It’s the police chief.” Darius put the phone to his ear. “Yeah? What? Where? Gasoline, but there was no fire, right?”

  Celina focused her concerned stare on Darius, especially when she heard the words gasoline. Had any of her paintings been damaged by the gas? “What’s going on?” she mouthed. Darius held up his index finger, telling her to hold on.

  “So, she’s in custody,” Darius said. “Thank goodness. It’s finally over. We can check on the place in the morning, I just want to see her in handcuffs. No, chief, I am going to the detention center. After the hell she put us through, I want to see her.” Darius snapped the phone shut and turned to Celina. “They caught Tiffany tonight.”

  “Thank God,” Rena exclaimed. “Where was she? How did she hide for so long?”

  Darius reached over and picked up a roll and broke it apart. “I don’t know, but she was in the gallery again.”

  “What?” Celina exclaimed. “Did she mess with anything ? Is everything all right there?”

  “Well,” Darius said as he popped a piece of bread into his mouth. “Chief said he thinks she was going to burn the place down.”

  Celina ran her hand over her face and mumbled a string of profanities that made her mother flinch. “Where is she?” Celina demanded.

  “At the Elmore City Jail,” Darius said.

  Celina took off like a shot of lightning, leaving her fiancé in her wake. By the time he made it outside, Celina was backing out of the driveway. Not knowing what she was going to do, Darius headed next door and grabbed his car. He tried to catch up with Celina, who was doing a great impression of Jeff Gordon as she tore through the city streets. Deciding that she was going to the jail, Darius slowed his car and prayed that she didn’t crash or get pulled over as she headed there.

  Celina wanted to see Tiffany in handcuffs and she wanted to slap her until her cheeks turned beet red, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to do that. She pulled into the jail’s parking lot, stretching her car over two spots. Celina ran inside, looking like a Flo Jo clone.

  “Where is she?” she demanded when she approached the sergeant’s desk.

  “Lady, what are you talking about?” The man asked in between bites of his sandwich.

  “Tiffany Martin,” she snapped. “She was arrested and I want to see her.”

  “Are you her lawyer?” the man asked, setting his sandwich on the desk and wiping a glob of mustard from his chin.

  Celina rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. “No, I’m her victim.”

  Darius burst through the doors and knew that look he saw on Celina’s face.

  “Celina, calm down,” he said, walking up behind her and slipping his arms around her waist to stop her from leaping over the desk. “Where is the chief?”

  “He ain’t here. Now, I don’t have time to babysit the two of you,” the sergeant snapped.

  “Yeah, your sandwich might get lonely,” Celina retorted.

  Darius whispered in her ear for her to calm down as he called Chief Wayman.

  Celina folded her arms and looked at him. “Darius, I just want to see her,” she said. “I want to find out why she did this to us.”

  “Baby, she’s in jail, let’s just let the police handle it. Tiffany isn’t going to tell us anything. I just want to make sure she is in custody so that we can continue with our lives. She can’t and won’t hurt us again.”

  His words calmed her because she knew he was right. Tugging at her ponytails, she exhaled loudly and said, “This is over. You promise me that this is over because I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

  Chief Wayman walked into the detention center. “I knew w
hen you called me that you two were here,” he said. “I can’t let you see Tiffany, but here’s her arrest report. It’s public record and proof that we have her in custody.” Celina took the papers from his hands and read the list of charges against her. Tiffany was charged with aggravated assault, breaking and entering, and attempted arson. Satisfied, and sure that Tiffany would spend a lot of time in jail, Celina wanted to go home. Before she and Darius left, she turned to Chief Wayman, “Keep her away from me and my gallery. And, Chief Wayman, thanks.”

  He tipped his hat to Celina. “You’re welcome,” he said then waved good-bye to the couple.

  ONE YEAR LATER

  Celina stood at the door of the gallery, eyes closed, holding her breath. She placed her hand on the knob. “That door isn’t going to open itself, Mrs. McRae,” Darius said as he held her from behind.

  “I’m nervous,” she said.

  “Why? Half the town saw the gallery when we got married three months ago,” he said. “And they loved it then.” Darius ran his hand across her belly. Celina leaned her head on his shoulder.

  “But this is my first showing of new work that captures how I see Elmore. What if they don’t like it?” she said as she placed her hand on top of his. “I hope you’re not getting used to this flat tummy, because if I’m anything like my mother, I’m going to blow up in my sixth month,” she said.

  Darius continued to rub his pregnant wife’s stomach. “I can’t wait,” he said, kissing her on the neck. “Now open this door.”

  Celina turned the key in the lock and opened the door. She inhaled deeply before she pushed the door open. Inside, there were paintings that spanned Celina’s career. She had just finished an oil painting of Thomas. He was standing with his arms folded, wearing a charcoal suit and matching bowler hat. He had a big smile on his face. Celina felt that smile was for her, Darius, and their unborn child. On the day of the grand opening of the Thomas Hart Memorial Art Gallery, she knew her father had been smiling down on her. She turned to Darius and watched him as he flipped the lights on.