Black Magic (The Black Diamond Series Book 1)

by D. Camille

  “What's the project?” he asked.

  She looked away. “I'd rather not say.”

  “It's imperative that you do.”

  Sage looked at him and put her hands on her hips. “Why?”

  “Because I'm not going to have you sneaking behind my back having secret meetings with Sean. That's why!” he said harshly.

  “First of all, I'm not sneaking behind your back. Secondly if the meeting was so secretive how did you find out about it?” she challenged.

  “Why are you meeting with Sean?” he asked again with barely contained anger.

  Sage was barely containing her own anger. “I. Told. You.”

  “No. You gave me some lame ass answer about a project.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why do you think I'm meeting with Sean, Jordan?” she threw the question at him afraid of the answer.

  “I don't know Sage. That's why I'm asking you!” he snapped.

  She leaned her head to the side studying him closely. “You think I'm messing around with Sean?” she asked incredulously.

  He remained silent watching her.

  “Damn you Jordan!” she said stalking out of the kitchen and he followed.

  She turned back to him yelling. “I can't believe you!”

  “Believe what, Sage?” he yelled back. “Believe that I'm asking you a damn question? If I'm wrong then just say that!”

  “Wrong? Wrong about what Jordan? Wrong about me sleeping with your best friend?” she screamed. “Is that what you want me to say you're wrong about?”

  Jordan shrugged. “What am I supposed to think? You won't say anything!”

  She stared at him and shook her head. “You're supposed to think that I would never do anything like that! You're supposed to think Sean would never do anything like that! You should know that neither of us would do anything to hurt you!” she said grabbing her purse.

  “Take me home. Now!” she demanded.

  Jordan was not done yet. “Why the hell won't you just tell me?”

  “Why the hell won’t you just trust me?” she responded.

  “I want to, but women do this type of stuff all the time! Just tell me the damn truth Sage!” he yelled.

  Sage put her bag down. Women do this type of stuff all the time? Is that what he'd just said to her?

  She looked at him. “Yeah Jordan, I'm sleeping with Sean. We have afternoon trysts whenever he can sneak off the top floor. Sometimes we even include Lily, because I'm a hoe like that!” She watched as his face hardened and continued. “Of course Sean was ready to smash because you told me yourself that's what all men want to do!

  “I saved myself for twenty five years just so I could start sleeping around. Since, I’ve had you and Sean maybe I'll add the security guard at the front desk next!”

  Sage was livid now. She was completely gone at this point. Of all the things Jordan had done, this one had completely crossed the line. She moved to walk past him when he gently grabbed her arm to stop her. She shoved him. Hard. So hard that he was caught off guard and took a step back.

  “I will kick your ass Jordan!” she screamed.

  Jordan lifted an eyebrow at her. Then before he knew what had hit him, she had hit him. A quick hard slap to his cheek and then she'd assumed a fighting stance in front of him. Jordan put a hand to his cheek watching her.

  “Look Sage...” he began before she attacked him. Jordan was not trying to hurt her, merely subdue her, but he recognized precision fighting skills when he saw them. It was evident that Sage had been trained to fight. This was not some girl blindly swinging. This was an accomplished, well trained attack and only someone who was just as accomplished and well trained could withstand it. That and almost a hundred extra pounds of muscle.

  “What the hell?” Jordan shouted when she went for his face again. He blocked blow after blow as she remained on the attack. Finally he managed to grab her arm and twist it behind her back without hurting her. He captured her other arm pulling her closer until her back was flush against his chest. Leaning down he whispered into her ear. “Stop. Now.”

  Sage was breathing so hard her chest was lifting and falling rapidly. Her body was still rigid in its fighting form. Jordan had her subdued with her arm behind her back and the other across her abdomen. In the back of her mind she wondered where he learned to fight this way. It was clear he was knowledgeable and skilled in fighting. “Let me go!” she demanded.

  “Not until you relax,” he said continuing to hold her.

  They stood there until her breathing returned to normal then he leaned down and said, “Walk.” She started walking with him still holding her. Jordan directed her to the media room over to the far end of the large oversized sofa.

  “Sit right here,” he told her. He released her and waited until she sat.

  “Don't move,” he said staring down at her.

  Jordan went and took a seat on the other side of the room across from her. They stared at each other as both realized that the other was more than they ever thought Jordan for his part was even more in love with her. Sage, however was trying to figure out who was the woman who had put the hole in Jordan's heart.

  “Clearly we need to talk,” he began.

  She lowered her head. “You really thought I was sharing physical love with Sean? With anybody but you?” she asked in a voice filled with pain.

  Jordan ran a hand down his face. “When I heard Sean on the phone with you, something just clicked inside of me.” He sighed. “I wasn't thinking straight. I know who you are.”

  He looked directly at her. “At least I thought I did.”

  Chapter 21

  Sage knew that she would have to tell Jordan the truth now. She didn't know what was going to happen afterward and that made her more than a little nervous. Even though she was mad as hell at him right now, she still loved him more than anything.

  “What do you want to know Jordan?” she asked.

  Jordan lifted a brow. “I want to know why you didn't tell me that you could kick a man's ass like that and where did you learn how to do it?”

  Sage looked down at her hands. Here goes...she thought. She looked back over at Jordan. Those dark eyes held hers.

  “I was trained by SASS the South African Secret Service.” she began. “I resigned earlier this year, before I moved here.” She paused. “I didn't tell you because that's not my life anymore.”

  “I wanted to start over. I wanted to live a normal life...for once.” She glanced down then back at him. “I wanted to be able trust people and to have them trust me.”

  “What did you do for them?” he asked.

  “Transported intelligence. My cover as a photographer allowed me to travel basically unnoticed.” she answered. “While I am trained to protect myself, I've never killed anyone. Although I've seen people die,” she informed him. “Too many people. That's why I decided to leave.”

  “How long did you do it?” he inquired.

  “I was recruited in college and I'd been active for three years.”

  Jordan leaned forward. “And you thought this would change how I would look at you? How I feel about you?” he asked gently.

  Sage shrugged. “When you meet people and tell them you were a spy, the reaction is not always positive,” she admitted with a small smile.

  Jordan smiled back at her. “Can I come over there without you slapping the hell out of me?”

  She shook her head smiling at him. Cautiously Jordan approached her and sat down next to her. He took her hand in his slowly.

  “I'm sorry baby,” he said bringing her hand to his lips watching her closely.

  “One day will you tell me who she was?” she asked softly. He gave her a questioning look. “The woman who broke your heart and made you mistrust everyone,” she explained.

  “One day Sage I will tell you everything you want to know,” he promised.

  She shook her head in agreement. She honestly didn't know if she wanted to know everything about Jordan.
She knew it had to be more than she could currently imagine and she certainly didn’t look forward to telling him everything else about her.

  “I'm sorry I hit you Jordan. I should not have done that,” she apologized touching her hand to his jaw.

  Jordan smiled. She actually could hit harder than Nico and if she would have been able to land any more blows he'd be in bad shape right now.

  “No, I was out of line. I know that you're not that type of woman and I know Sean would never do me like that. I was tripping, but you have assured me that my tripping days are numbered,” he told her giving her a look.

  Sage looked down at the floor and Jordan watched her.

  “Where do we go from here?” she asked quietly.

  “Where do you want to go pretty girl?” he countered waiting.

  She looked at him. “I think you should take me home.”

  He lifted a brow at her.

  “I think we both need some time to digest things,” she said.

  Jordan waited a long while before he shook his head. “Okay. I'll take you home.” He paused. “For now.”

  When Jordan got Sage home he walked her inside and handed her the keys. She stood waiting while staring at the wall. Jordan came to stand in front of her.

  “Sage.” He waited for her to look up. Slowly he put his hands on her waist and pulled her gently to him.

  “Nothing comes between us, right?” he asked watching her.

  She watched dark eyes for a moment. “Nothing,” she answered. He kissed her softly before leaving.

  Jordan drove directly to Ray's house after leaving Sage. When Ray answered the door and saw the look on Jordan's face he wondered what was up. He took a seat on the sofa while Jordan took the chair glaring at him.

  “What's up Jay?”

  Jordan stared at him. “So you just didn't think it was important to tell me about your sister?” Jordan asked.

  “What about her?” Ray hedged.

  Jordan huffed. “That she was a damn spy. She tried to kill my ass!” he snapped.

  Ray smiled. “If you remember Jay, I was the one who told your ass to stay away from her.” he reminded him. “I don't want to be caught in the middle of the webs you two have.”

  Jordan stood and paced the floor. “What does she already know about us?” he asked.

  Ray shrugged. “I haven't told her anything.”

  “How much should I tell her?” Jordan said turning back to him.

  Ray shook his head. “It would take days for you two to tell each other about one another.”

  Jordan sat back in the chair. “Damn It's like that?” he said surprised.

  Ray nodded. “What are you going to do Jordan? You want to be done with her now?” he asked harshly.

  Jordan looked at Ray. “Done with her?” He stood.

  “I'm marrying that woman!” He smiled and headed out the door.

  Ray sat shaking his head. Yet everybody thought he was the crazy one.

  Later that night when Jordan arrived back at his house he saw the remnants of Sage's dish still out on the counter. He loved when Sage cooked for him. She was the only one who ever did. She spent time finding recipes that contained the items he liked. She always knew how to make him feel special.

  He placed everything back in its place and moved to his media room and fell back onto the sofa reliving the day. He knew he shouldn't have accused Sage of anything. He'd told himself that he wasn't even going to mention it to her, but his conscious hadn't let him. He'd regretted the words as soon as they'd come out of his mouth; then her answers had only stroked the fire that had already been burning within him.

  Sage had been a spy. Damn, and she could fight her ass off. That was for sure. He smiled. He liked knowing that she could and would protect herself; even against him if necessary. He'd been concerned about telling her about himself for the fear that she would be afraid of him. He had no idea that he was the one who should be afraid. Some of those blows could have been deadly. Yeah, she'd definitely keep him on his toes. He liked that. He liked that a lot. He loved her fire and her passion. He simply loved her. His phone buzzed with a text. He pulled it out and looked at the screen.

  Sage wrote: Hi Jordan.

  He responded: Hi Sage.

  He waited.

  Sage: Long day today.

  Jordan: Yeah.

  Sage: Are we good?

  Jordan: We're perfect pretty girl.

  Sage: Are you in bed?

  Jordan: No.

  Jordan waited again.

  Sage: Would you like to be? With me?

  Jordan: Hell yeah.

  Sage: My taxi is pulling up to your gate now.

  Jordan heard his alarm alerting him someone was at the gate. He was up in a flash to open it. He watched the taxi slowly creep up his driveway and up to the front door. He waited. Slowly Sage stepped out looking like what she was...the woman of his dreams. She was wearing a short skirt that stopped at her thighs showing those long shapely legs with high heels. Her top hugged her breasts and stopped at her midriff showing her flat stomach. Her hair was in goddess twists and she stood watching him as the taxi pulled away.

  Jordan rubbed his chin watching her come up the stairs. When she reached the door she stopped.

  “Hi Jordan.” She smiled shyly at him.

  He smiled down at her. “Hi Sage.”

  She gasped when he scooped her up into his arms carrying her inside. Jordan kicked the door closed behind him before he carried her through the house and upstairs to his room. Laying her across the bed he joined her facing her.

  “I love you Sage,” he whispered touching her hair.

  She touched his face where she had hit him, rubbing it softly. “I love you Jordan.”

  He pulled her close to him and held her until they both fell asleep.

  *************************

  Jordan looked at the calendar on his computer screen and noticed that today was the day he was born thirty one years ago. It didn't matter to him just as it hadn't mattered to anyone else for twenty four years. His pursuit of Harrison Industries only reminded him of that fact. He turned his chair and stared out at the city scape.

  Since his revelation with Sage, things had been good between them She hadn't pressed him about his past and he had done the same. When they were ready to come clean completely, they would. In the meantime he just focused on loving her; and keeping his damn mouth shut.

  Sage had some work to do at the gallery tonight and Sean had asked if he wanted to grab some dinner, so he'd agreed. He shut his screen down and walked to Sean's office. He arrived to find Sean on the phone. Sean glanced up and quickly ended his call and Jordan gave him a look. Although he didn't say anything Jordan still couldn't shake the feeling that something was being hidden from him.

  “You ready?” Jordan asked.

  Sean nodded. “Yes, let's go.”

  At the restaurant Jordan still thought Sean was acting suspicious. He leaned back against the seat.

  “What's up Sean?” Jordan pinned him with a stare.

  “What?”

  “Why the hell are you acting so damn nervous?” he asked directly.

  Sean looked surprised. “I'm not acting nervous,” he denied.

  “Okay then, suspicious, on edge, guilty as hell? Pick one,” Jordan said. “What's going on?”

  Sean reached for his glass. “You're paranoid Jordan,” he told him.

  “What's new?” Jordan responded.

  Jordan shook his head. “Sean, I swear I hope I do not find out anything that I gave you the opportunity to tell me beforehand,” he said pointedly.

  Sean looked him in the eye “There is nothing for you to find out Jordan.”

  The two men looked at each other for a moment then Jordan nodded slowly.

  Jordan could swear he was keeping something from him; and Sean never kept anything from him.

  After dinner Sean suggested stopping at a new club he'd heard of recently. When they pulled up, Jordan reali
zed just what type of club it was. The doors had silhouettes of naked women on them and Jordan paused.

  “Whoa Sean,” he said. “This isn't me, man.”

  Sean smiled. “Come on Jordan,” he said heading inside.

  Jordan shook his head and followed. When he caught up to Sean he would tell him he would check in with him later. He didn't do strip clubs and he had thought Sean didn't either. Sage would really kick his ass if she found out he was here. Jordan walked down the hall to doors that led him into the main room. He found it empty except for Sean. There was one table positioned right in front of a stage with a pole. Jordan looked at Sean with a question on his face.

  “Have a seat and enjoy Jordan. Happy Birthday,” Sean said smiling before he walked back out the doors. Jordan heard the doors lock and looked around suspiciously. He walked over to the table but didn't sit. The lights on the stage came on and his attention was directed there. The first notes of Mariah Carey's My All came through the speakers. Then there she was. His dream. His all...

  Sage came out onto the stage dressed in a black bustier with rhinestones that made her breasts sit up high, a black thong and black platform sandals. Her hair cascaded over her head. Her makeup was a little heavier tonight, her eyes highlighted with extra mascara and eyeliner making them appear even brighter. Those beautiful lips were painted a luscious red and his necklace hung between her beautiful breasts. She smiled at him.

  Jordan took the seat in a trance. He sat back and watched as she executed a series of twirls and twists on and around the pole. Up and down. Around and around. Slow, then fast then slow again. She looked like poetry in motion. Her golden brown skin shone as it was coated in some type of oil and she'd added some type of shimmer or sparkle. Not that she needed it, she had the most beautiful skin he'd ever seen.

  She gave him a sexy look as she rounded the pole. When she turned he got a bird's eye view of her ass and he stood removing his jacket and hanging it on the back of his chair. Sitting back down he had to admit she was working the hell out of that pole. He felt his body's response to watching her and leaned forward.