Dangerous Ground

by Smith, Stephanie Jean

  “Carl how do I know if what I have with Xavier is special?”

  “When did you meet Xavier?”

  “More than six months.”

  “How long have you been dating him seriously?”

  “Since the last time I saw you.”

  “When was the first time you two were intimate?”

  “Carl, I’m not going to answer that question. That is none of your business.”

  “Okay, but I bet I can guess the correct answer. You said you just spent the weekend with him. Knowing you the way I do, I would say that this weekend trip is the first time you made love with him. So it took you about six months before you decided to have an intimate relationship, huh.”

  “Okay deputy dog, what other conclusions have you come to.”

  “A man who is not serious about a relationship is not going to wait six months before he has sex with a woman. A man who is only looking for a sexual relationship will date a woman three to four times before he expects to get laid. If the woman doesn’t put out, he’s going to walk.”

  “Is this all based on your own personal experience.”

  “Yes. My suggestion is that you go talk to Xavier if you want to know how he feels about your relationship. As for myself, I never expected to marry again. When I met Sharon, I thought she was a charming lady and that she would be good for my daughter. As time went on, she became more than just a friend. Sharon touched my heart like no woman ever has, including Vivian. I want to be with this woman all the time, and then it hit me that I love her.”

  “The last time I spoke with you, you seemed to have some doubts about the relationship.”

  Carl gave Loretta a toothy grin. “I didn’t have any doubts, I was just afraid of committing myself to marriage again. Once you’ve lost someone you love, it’s hard to let someone else get that close. You’re so afraid that you’ll lose this person. I got tired of being afraid to love someone because I lost Vivian. I have lived a lonely life because of it, and I refused to settle for anything less.”

  “Thank you for being honest with Carl I know how hard it is for you to talk about your feelings. I think that Xavier feels I’m running away from the relationship.”

  “Are you?”

  “I don’t see being cautious as running away from commitment. What’s wrong with me trying to protect myself?”

  “Speaking from a man’s point of view, I guess it’s just less than flattering if the woman you want can’t make up her mind if she wants you in return. Now that, you’ve spent the weekend with Xavier, he’s going to want more.”

  “What more is there?”

  “If Xavier has claimed you as his woman, he’s going to want you to live with him.”

  “We have an intimate relationship I don’t see what moving in with him would prove.”

  “That’s how a man lets the rest of the world know that his woman belongs to him in every sense.”

  “I thought a man only did that when he wanted to marry a woman.”

  “Yes, a man dealing with a normal woman would. Xavier’s dealing with a woman who has extremely cold feet.”

  “I’m a normal woman I just have a strong sense of self preservation.”

  “You’re a loving woman who got burned badly by her ex-husband. Xavier refused to give up on you, and he’s gradually pulling you out of your shell. I don’t want to knock what you do for the King Center, but you can’t keep using the center as a replacement.”

  “A replacement for what?”

  “A substitute for the family you don’t have any more. You may not see it now, but I noticed a change in you ever since you’ve been involved with Xavier. The King Center is still an essential part of your life, but now it’s not the most crucial part of your life.”

  “That’s not true Carl, the King Center has a lot of needs.”

  “What about your needs Loretta? You’ve given so much of yourself to the King Center. You don’t even see that you’ve put your own life on hold. You’ve been pretending to yourself that you don’t need anyone else to be happy.”

  “You’re right about one thing Carl, I don’t feel that having a man in my life determines whether or not I’ll be happy, it’s just icing on the cake. I’m glad you asked me out to lunch. You have given me a lot of things to think about.”

  “That’s what friends are for.”

  ***

  Marcus Dupree finally found Loretta Brown. Of course, he had to threaten his contact at the agency. He watched Loretta Brown flirt with some man at Alexander’s restaurant. He wondered how many other men she had dancing on a string. Women like Loretta Brown made him sick, it wasn’t fair that she was out having the time of her life while his son rotted in his grave.

  Loretta thought she had gotten away with what she’d done to his son, but Marcus would prove her wrong. No matter how long it took Marcus would make sure that his son’s death was vindicated. When the time was right, he was going make Loretta rue the day she was born.

  ***

  After lunch with Carl, Loretta was in her office trying her best to focus on the work in front of her; her mind kept drifting back to the weekend she spent with Xavier. A part of her came to life when she was in the presence of Xavier. She wanted to go to Chicago with Xavier, but he told her that he wouldn’t get any work done if he kept thinking about her being in a hotel alone.

  Loretta knew that the days would drag by until Xavier came back into town, but Loretta was determine to keep a clear head, and focus on the projects she needed to complete. This was her last week off before she went back to work, and Loretta did not want the King Center to suffer because she couldn’t control her emotions.

  Loretta left her office and went downstairs to the nursery. For some reason, she had an urge to hold a baby. The nursery was bright yellow, trimmed in white. She could still remember the day she and Cookie painted it. There were only two babies in the nursery today, and both of them were asleep.

  Cookie saw the disappointment in Loretta’s eyes. “Spill it Loretta, I’ve haven’t seen that vacant look in your eyes for a long time.”

  Loretta sighed and sat down next to Cookie on the sofa. “The truth of the matter is I miss Xavier.”

  “Loretta he’s only been gone for a day. That must have been some weekend.”

  “One of the best weekends I ever had.”

  “Cookie hugged Loretta, I’m so happy for you. I knew that Xavier was the right man for you.”

  “I found out that his birthday is Thursday. I’m going to give him a birthday surprise he’ll never forget.”

  Before Cookie could answer, she felt a sharp contraction on the side of her stomach. ”Loretta, the baby is on the way. I’ve got to get to the hospital now.”

  Loretta was in a state of shock. “But you’re not due for another two weeks.”

  “Well, I guess that junior has a mind of his own.”

  Loretta didn’t waste any time. She called Cookie’s assistant and asked her to come to the nursery to care for the babies. Loretta ran back to her office to get her purse and car keys. Getting Cookie to the car was no easy task, her contractions were coming every two minutes, and every step she took was followed by some expletive.

  Someone from the King Center must have called John because he was waiting for them at the emergency entrance of Children’s Hospital. Two hours and fifteen minutes later, John Nathaniel Watson Jr.was born.

  Little John was examined by his doctor, cleaned, and taken to the nursery. By the time Loretta got to the nursery, John was holding the baby. Loretta felt so many conflicting feelings at once. She was happy as well as envious of the new life that Cookie and John created.

  John saw Loretta standing outside the nursery, and he brought the baby closer to the glass for her inspection. Loretta had tears in her eyes as she viewed the beautiful baby before her. She gave John the thumbs up sign before wiping tears from her face.

  ***

  When Loretta pulled into her garage, it was almost nine o’clock. Xavi
er was supposed to call her tonight, and she didn’t want to miss his call. As Loretta walked through her kitchen, she felt a strange sensation as if someone had been in her house. She went upstairs to look around, but she didn’t find anything amiss. On her way back downstairs, the phone started ringing.

  “Hello.”

  “Hello, Loretta! I miss you so much, and I can’t stop thinking about our weekend together.” Xavier’s sexy voice vibrated over the line.

  “Hi Xavier, I don’t think you miss me half as much as I miss you. When are you coming home? I don’t think I could take your absence much longer.” Loretta was practically purring like a cat.

  “Baby if I’m lucky, I’ll be home Thursday morning. The branch will be ready to launch in another month or so. I’m just working out some minor details with the contractor. So tell me what’s been going on in your world? Don’t leave anything out I want to know everything.”

  “Well, Cookie had her baby. John junior was born earlier this evening.”

  “John must be on top of the world. Was Cookie at home when she went into labor?”

  “No she was at the King Center, and yours truly took her to the hospital.”

  “I bet you got an earful didn’t you.”

  “Well Cookie did say a few choice words about parts of John’s anatomy. But when she saw her baby, labor was a small price to pay for holding her child in her arms.”

  “Did you get a chance to tell Cookie about us?”

  “I was in the process of telling her before she went into labor.”

  “I told you that we had a good thing, a mere description of our weekend sent your friend into labor.”

  “This weekend is nothing compared to what I have in store for you on Thursday, so hurry home lover man.”

  “You sure know how to get a man excited. I didn’t think you were the kind of woman who would tease her man on the phone. Just wait until I get back into town.”

  “I can’t wait to receive my punishment. What time does your plane arrive?”

  “I should be in town about nine in the morning. If you give me some time to freshen up, I could be over your house around noon to take you to lunch.”

  “I’ll be here waiting for your arrival, who knows I may not feel like leaving the house for lunch. We may have to eat lunch here because I need to resolve some unfinished business with you.”

  “There you go again. A couple of weeks ago you didn’t want to become intimate with me. Now, every other word out of your mouth has some sort of sexual intonation on it.”

  “It’s your own fault, you showed me what I’ve been missing, and now I can’t get enough.”

  “Goodnight honey, I have to go take a cold shower and go to bed. I’ve got an early morning ahead of me, and I have to take care of business so I can come home to you.”

  “Goodnight Xavier, I miss you please hurry home.”

  “I miss you too, good-bye.”

  The line went quiet, and Loretta felt so alone. “I love you,” Loretta whispered before she hung up the phone.

  Xavier was still on the line, when he heard the words come from Loretta’s lips, and it was music to his ears. Loretta would tell him that she loved him again; the next time he wasn’t going to be stuck in some hotel five hundred miles away.

  ***

  It was two o’clock in the morning when Xavier got of the bed. He walked across the room, opened the balcony door and stood outside enjoying the view of downtown Chicago. He was in a strange mood, and hadn’t been able to sleep after he talked to Loretta on the phone. Loretta whispered that she loved him, and Xavier wondered if she would feel the same way if she knew everything about his past.

  He didn’t exactly tell Loretta the truth about his four years in the army. At nineteen, he was young and extremely impressionable. The army changed all of that; reality set in as soon as basic training began. Xavier was an excellent athlete, so the rigorous exercise his troop had to endure was like a regular workout for him.

  He excelled on every level it was all a game to him. Xavier was selected for special teams, which was a polite term to use for the military’s assassins. Up until that time, Xavier believed the propaganda about being a good soldier. Nothing could prepare him for the vile things he would see and do during the next four years.

  Xavier walked back to the bed and laid down. He hadn’t thought about the army in years. When he was discharged from the army, Xavier returned home with a new outlook on life. It was true, he return home a man. His brother Vincent knew something was wrong with Xavier right from the start, twins have that connection. They stayed up and talked about his last tour of duty, and then they never mentioned it again.

  He wanted an honest relationship with Loretta, and he knew that, in time, he would tell her about tenure with the army. You can’t expect everything from someone and not give anything in return. He stared at the ceiling and thought about his future without Loretta in it. As far as Xavier was concerned that was something he didn’t want to contemplate. In a short amount of time, Loretta had come to mean a lot to him. There was no way he was going to let her out of his life.

  ***

  Chapter 10

  Loretta woke up early on Thursday morning. The clock on her bedside table confirmed her belief that it wasn’t quite six yet. She was so excited about Xavier’s home coming that she barely slept at all last night. Loretta decided not to go to the King Center today. She was going to make Xavier the best lunch she could think of, and then she would let him have her for dessert.

  Except for the time Loretta spent at day camp over at the Dodge Park facilities, Wednesday had been uneventful. She went over to the camp-site during the lunch hour to help serve lunch. Then she went to Children’s Hospital to visit Cookie and the baby.

  She went to the Kin Center and got caught up on the rest of her paper work. Wednesday night was even more tedious if that was possible, and this was all Xavier’s fault. Before Loretta spent the weekend with him, Loretta had gotten used to being alone.

  It was six-thirty by the time Loretta got out of bed. Loretta took a long hot bath and thought about how she would seduce Xavier. She has a delightful California Riesling in the refrigerator that she was saving for a special occasion. The wine will go perfect with her homemade lasagna. If she hurried up, she could make a quick trip to the store to get the ingredients she needs. While Loretta was there, she would get some lemons and make a lemon meringue pie.

  Loretta was cleaning up the kitchen when the phone rang. “Hello,” Loretta said cheerfully.

  “Good morning Loretta, I just called to say I’ll be over to pick you up at two o’clock instead of noon. I’ll be getting into town later than I expected, and I still need to stop by my office.”

  “Happy birthday Xavier! You can take your time; I got a few things to take care of myself. I can’t wait to see you. Good-bye baby.” Loretta was excited and nervous at the same time. She went upstairs and changed the sheets on her bed. Cookie bought her some black silk sheets last year for Christmas, and she swore she would never use them. Well, she was going to put all her effort into the seduction of Xavier.

  It was after twelve-thirty, and the lemon meringue pie was cooling, and the lasagna was made. All she would have to do was heat it up before she and Xavier ate dinner. Loretta spent the next hour getting ready for her date with Xavier. She wanted to look good for him, from the top of her head to her toes. Loretta couldn’t decide on which negligee to wear, so she tried a couple of the on and finally settled on the midnight blue silk.

  It was after two o’clock when the doorbell rang. Loretta had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was losing her nerve she still had enough time to change her clothes before she opened the door. Loretta thought she would be surer of her relationship with Xavier after the first time they made love.

  Loretta was just as nervous as she was Saturday night. The hell with it, Loretta thought. She had spent too much time preparing for this afternoon to take the coward’s way out.
The doorbell rang for a second time. Loretta took one more look in the mirror and patted her hair as she went downstairs to answer the door.

  “Good afternoon Xavier, you can’t believe how much I missed you.” Loretta’s eyes gave Xavier the once over, and boy did she appreciate what she saw. He had on a royal blue suit, with a white shirt, and a blue tie that had he’s company’s logo on it.

  “Good afternoon yourself Loretta, and may I say that you look good enough to eat. “ Xavier’s voice was husky as his eyes slowly wandered over Loretta’s body. “Are you going to invite me in or do you want the rest of the neighborhood to know that you answered your door half dressed?”

  “Hurry up and come in Xavier, I can’t wait to give you your birthday present.” Loretta grabbed Xavier’s tie and pulled him into her house. Xavier shut the door behind him as he eagerly followed Loretta upstairs to her bedroom. He’d been thinking about his woman since he left for Chicago on Monday afternoon. Xavier was shocked when he saw the sheets on Loretta’s bed. His baby had missed him. “Undress me Loretta,” Xavier said as he loosened Loretta’s hold on his tie.

  They came together like two lovers who have been apart two months rather than a couple of days. Loretta undressed Xavier with a skill she didn’t know she possessed. She wanted Xavier to the point where she thought she would die if she didn’t have him. Xavier followed her lead; he had her negligee over her head before she could blink. When it was over, they both laid on the bed trying to catch their breath.

  Loretta started kissing Xavier’s chest then she ran her tongue along the tips of his nipples. She heard Xavier catch his breath, Loretta smiled to herself, she was happy to know she could excite her lover. Loretta touched his shoulder and came across a jagged scar on Xavier’s shoulder. “Where did you get this scar from, I don’t remember seeing it on Saturday?”

  “You didn’t see it because you didn’t take a tour of my body like you’re doing now.” He was enjoying every minute of Loretta’s onslaught of his body.