The Law of Desire

by Gwyneth Bolton

  He tried not to read too much into her sweet glance. But how could he not? He wanted her and he wanted her to want him, too.

  She’d tried extremely hard to just lose herself in the Toni Morrison novel she had gotten from the bookshelf in the den. She usually loved Morrison’s work. She’d taken a contemporary black authors class a few semesters back and had read Beloved and Sula. Both had been rigorous reads, but well worth the struggle. She was pleased to see the full Morrison collection among the books on the shelf.

  She loved to read and tried to concentrate but she kept seeing Lawrence’s smiling face and sparkling eyes. She would have never thought those dark and dangerous eyes could shimmer and shine so much. He seemed like an entirely different person, one she wanted desperately to get to know, among other things…

  When he came to get her for their walk, she was more than ready and more than a little anxious. They walked in silence for several minutes and she just took in the breathtaking sights. She had never seen so many trees.

  Some of the leaves had started falling and brown leaves covered the ground. The trail they followed got steeper and she realized they were walking uphill. They didn’t call it the Pocono Mountains for nothing. She was glad she’d had the foresight to purchase a pair of sensible shoes while they were at the outlet mall. Those stiletto-heeled boot-shoes she’d been wearing while she lived with the McKnights wouldn’t have made it.

  “So what did you say you are you planning on doing with your degree in sociology?” His rich melodious voice pulled her from her thoughts.

  “I hope to go to graduate school and get my MSW. I want to work with at-risk youth and hopefully run a youth center one day. I’d love to be able to make sure that fewer kids got involved with gangs and drugs, help them see other options.”

  “That can be kinda dangerous work, Minerva.”

  “Not as dangerous as your job.”

  “Yes, but I’m a—”

  “You’re a what? A man? I know—”

  “Hold on a minute little womanist slash hip-hop feminist. I was going to say, I’m a cop. I’m trained to work in these environments, to clean up the streets.”

  “And as a social worker, I’d be trained to work with people to make sure the streets get a little less dirty from the get-go. Someone has to make sure that the young people have other options and don’t end up filling the jail cells.”

  “Yes…but does it have to be you?”

  What did he mean by that?

  She stopped in her tracks and put her hands on her hips.

  He walked a couple of paces before stopping. “What happened? Are you okay? Are you tired? You wanna head back to the house?”

  She could feel the heat of anger rising from her neck and coming out of her ears. She tried to tell herself to calm down. It didn’t work.

  “What is your problem? You don’t think I’m good enough to work with kids?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “‘Does it have to be you?’” She mimicked his judgmental voice.

  He tilted his head and scrunched up his brow. Taking two steps toward her, he pulled her to him when he reached her. She hadn’t been expecting it.

  She fell into his arms with very little resistance. He wrapped his arms around her and she let out a soft hiss of breath. He used one of his hands to lift her chin and peered in her eyes.

  Lawd in heaven, mercy mercy me…

  “I asked does it have to be you because for some reason the idea of you in danger doesn’t sit well with me. From the first moment I laid eyes on you hanging with the McKnights, I have been trying in my own…way…to remove you from danger…” He had this intense expression on his face, this perplexed look in his eyes like he was trying his best to figure something out.

  “Oh…” was the only thing she could think of to say.

  “Yeah…oh…” He smiled before his mouth swooped down and covered hers.

  Hot. Searing. Passion.

  She opened her mouth and an explosion of sensation and desire knocked down any resistance she might have had. She’d never tasted anything as delicious as Lawrence’s lips, his tongue. The man’s mouth relentlessly plundered hers, sucking, licking, nipping and devouring. It was all she could do to try to keep up and give as good as she got.

  And she got a lot.

  Her body tingled. Waves and ripples of pleasure traveled from her mouth to her core. He picked her up and walked toward a soft spot on the ground under a tree where the fallen leaves had made a nice cushion. He placed her down and followed, pinning her between the earth and himself, all the while continuing his raid of her mouth.

  His tongue twirled and teased and tempted but never relented. Her tongue danced and relished the flavor of his talented mouth. She ran her tongue past the roof of his mouth, pointing and pulsing. She licked his lips and savored.

  No, she hadn’t kissed a lot of men in the past, and after getting a dose of what Lawrence had to offer, she was sure she would never want to kiss another man. How could she? How could anyone else measure up?

  Moaning, she took her hands and placed then on both sides of his face, holding him in an attempt to quell some of the passion. He wasn’t having it. She knew he wouldn’t stop until he was ready.

  When he finally let up a little, resorting to soft teasing pecks, she groaned. His kiss had blindsided her and she had no clue how to recuperate from the seductive assault. She had no idea how she was going to deal with her overwhelming desire for a man who didn’t believe a word she said and who thought she was a criminal.

  Lawrence eased up, stood and reached out his hand. She took it and he helped her up from the ground.

  He had no idea what had possessed him to kiss her. He only knew that when he looked at her standing there—so sweet, innocent and passionate about wanting to work with at-risk youth—something inside of him melted. He wanted to wrap her in his arms, love her and keep her safe.

  Yes, he was developing feelings for Minerva Jones. And when he really thought about all of his out-of-character actions as far as she was concerned, he realized that he had felt something for her from the first moment he saw her.

  Where did that leave him when he wasn’t even sure if she were a criminal or not?

  “We should probably walk back to the house now.”

  She nibbled her lower lip and nodded, her face flushed and her eyes filled with passion. It was all he could do not to kiss her again. He reached over and brushed a leaf off her shoulder, grazing her cheek lightly. He felt a tingle shoot from his hand to his chest.

  As they headed back to the house in silence, he couldn’t believe he had almost made love to her—outside in broad daylight. He’d been that close, that senselessly aroused, that open. Was she indeed on the up-and-up? For all he knew she could have been the ringleader behind her brother and the McKnights being murdered. Or maybe she really knew who did it and was lying about it. And if she could lie that well and have him setting aside all his normal reactions, then she was damn good, And damn dangerous.

  He’d been burned before trusting the wrong person in the past, and a life had been lost.

  He wasn’t trying to go that way again.

  When they entered the house, she hadn’t said a word and he had been deep in thought. She went into the study and picked up the book she’d been reading before they left.

  “Who killed your brother and the McKnights, Minerva?” He knew he had a hard edge to his voice, but he couldn’t help it.

  If she were trying to play him…

  She looked up at him and squinted. “Maybe you should just take me back to Paterson and let them kill me, too, Lawrence. Because I can’t continue to try and prove to you that I’m telling the truth. I don’t know.”

  “Okay, what made you leave Los Angeles and come to Jersey? Had you been keeping in that close of contact with the McKnights? Why? Something is missing.”

  “They were very close friends of my brother. I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
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  “So your brother didn’t have any friends in Los Angeles? You had to come all the way to Jersey? You didn’t have any friends? No one from school? I just find it hard to believe that your brother is murdered and the first thing you think to do is run.”

  She blinked and paused.

  He narrowed his eyes.

  She’s holding back something. I can’t trust her.

  She nodded. “I’m done. Done.” She got up and calmly walked out of the room. It was all he could do not to follow her.

  “You’d like me to slam the door, jerk. I know you would. But I have home training. I was raised right, and I’m not going to give you the satisfaction,” she mumbled to herself and she carefully shut the door to her bedroom. She wasn’t going to storm through the beautiful house as if she had no class, no matter how angry the detective made her.

  How could someone as well trained as he was get it all so wrong?

  She buried her head in her pillow and screamed.

  She started to tell him that David was in LosAngeles and he was the one who told her to leave. But she didn’t want to drag David even further into her brother’s mess. David had a nice, honest life. As a businessman at a top firm, he had worked hard to make it out of South Central. He had tried to help Calvin and he had helped her more than enough. She wouldn’t name him to anyone if she could help it, not even her dashing detective.

  And how did they go from making out hot and heavy under the trees all the way back to his interrogation mode?

  For the first time she felt like she was really ready to go all the way with a guy. She didn’t have the stress of school and a job that made relationships and getting to know men difficult. And she didn’t have her overprotective, gang-banger and all-the-time-blocking brother there to scare the guy away. And who does she develop an attraction to? A cop.

  Maybe it was for the best. She had waited this long to lose her virginity; she might as well wait until she met a man who at least trusted her.

  Frustration didn’t even begin to describe her feelings. His kisses and caresses had unleashed something inside her. Against all her better judgment, she wanted to be with him. She knew she wouldn’t be able to resist her desire. She just hoped she wouldn’t regret it.

  Chapter 9

  When she hadn’t come back downstairs, Lawrence decided to do some thinking about the case, trying to figure out what she was keeping from him. The more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed that she really was a criminal mastermind.

  But she was hiding something.

  It wasn’t until she’d come into the study to tell him that dinner was done that he realized he’d spent the entire day mulling over and hashing out all the angles, yet he still wasn’t anywhere near figuring her out.

  And the fact she had once again prepared a meal that knocked his socks off left him even more confused. She can cook like my mother! He didn’t take any pleasure in the fact that his long-standing line to keep him forever single was coming back to bite him in the behind. How did a woman her age learn to cook like that? It was just one of the many contradictions surrounding Minerva Jones.

  He got up to clean the kitchen. He hadn’t said much during dinner except to tell her the food was delicious. She accepted the compliment gracefully. But it was clear she could do without conversation. Or at least she could do without talking to him.

  “I’ll help,” she said.

  “That’s okay. You cooked. You don’t have to clean up, too.”

  “I don’t mind. You wash and I’ll dry. And tomorrow you’re cooking for me, Detective.” She nudged him playfully and he could tell it was her way of trying to call a truce.

  Damn if he didn’t want to take her peace offering.

  He smiled. “Okay, Minerva. I’ll make you the best breakfast you’ve ever tasted, and the best turkey and cheese sandwiches for lunch.”

  “Whatever. Get to washing.”

  They cleaned up in silence and perfect harmony. It felt comfortable and right. And he was determined to keep the warm feelings between them, to spark them up even more. Just when she turned to leave the kitchen, he pulled her into his arms.

  Feeling her petite curvy body in his arms pushed all thoughts of suds and ages to the side. Thoughts of how right she felt underneath him when they were making out on the bed of leaves, how he’d come so close to making love to her, and how her mouth tasted like the sweetest candy he had ever savored, pushed past any common sense he had. The only thing he could think of was to finish what they had started earlier.

  He allowed his lips to plunder and peruse. She opened to him automatically and her tongue met his with matching passion and desire. As he suckled on her soft lips, he couldn’t help but roam her body. Her delicate curves had his mind spinning. Before he knew it, he had picked her up and carried her into the nearest bedroom. As he fell back on the bed, he pulled her on top of him and continued to caress her lips with his own.

  He would never get tired of kissing her. Her groans hinted that she might feel a fraction of the same thing he was feeling. He let his hands lift her shirt. He massaged her breasts and felt the soft smooth silkiness of her skin.

  He wanted her. He had to have her.

  Now.

  He halted the kiss and started to remove her shirt so that he could feast on her perfect breasts. Her eyes widened for a moment, but then she held up her arms so that he could take away the annoying barrier. He threw the shirt to the floor and quickly did the same with her bra.

  “Lovely.” He sat up and covered one nipple with his mouth as he massaged the other with his hands.

  “Mmm.” Her head went back and she moaned, “Lawrence.” His name came out in a pant.

  He sucked harder and began a soft twist and twirl of the other nipple with his thumb and forefinger.

  “Ahhh…Ahhh…Lawrence.”

  He could get used to the way she said his name. Her body started to shake and that only made him up the ante. He let his hand slide down to her jeans and unbuttoned them. He positioned her so she was now lying on the bed and he slid her pants off. He decided to leave the lacy underwear on for now and just slide them to the side as he began to probe her heated sex with his fingers.

  God, she was tight, so tight. He stroked her folds and her pleasure spot as his mouth found her nipple again. When she cried out in ecstasy, he knew she was ready. And he was more than ready. He stood and removed his pants, taking the protection out of his pocket and removing it with all the fervor he felt. He slid the lacy panties off her and positioned himself between her legs.

  As he moved to enter her, he found her wet but almost impenetrably tight. He didn’t want to hurt her. So he slowly eased back and forth small inches at a time. He placed his hand between them, touching her pleasure spot and coaxing her to open for him. Soon she was moving her hips tentatively. He took that as a sign to move completely into her and thrust forward as gently as he could. He wasn’t prepared for the resistance he met until it was too late.

  It had been feeling so good, so incredibly good, so unlike anything she had ever experienced. The initial sting of him entering her completely gave her a moment of pause. It caused her to close her eyes as she tried to get used to the sudden fullness.

  He had stopped moving altogether and she was afraid to look at him.

  “Open your eyes, Minerva,” he demanded in a barely controlled voice.

  She had never been this close to anyone, ever. Slowly the stinging ebbed away and in its place remained heightened sensations of desire. She arched her back and moved her hips.

  “Don’t move. Be still. I don’t want to hurt you. Ahhhhhh…You should have told me.”

  “I’m sorry, Lawrence. I’m…I’m okay…honest. Please don’t stop.”

  He let out a hiss of breath and for a minute she thought he was going to get up and walk away.

  “We should stop,” he said, his voice strained.

  She opened her eyes and moved her hips again. But she had no idea how to move t
hem in a way to get him to continue, to finish what he started. She hadn’t really felt anything since her brother’s murder and she needed to feel. She needed this. She needed him.

  “Please, Lawrence, show me how. Show me what to do.”

  His stony, determined stare changed and he covered her mouth with a soul-stealing kiss just as he began to move his hips slowly, in and out. He rocked her, lulling her with the comfort of his loving.

  This was it. This was what she knew would happen the very first time she set eyes on him. She predicted he would be her undoing. And sure enough, every one of her nerve endings had begun to unravel and shock her into the ultimate pleasure. She had never really known what she’d been missing.

  He broke off his kiss and started to move his hips faster and faster.

  “Minerva…oh, baby…”

  Her sex tightened and she exploded as she moved to meet him thrust for thrust. His arm wrapped around her body embracing her and resting at her buttocks. He pulled her body so close to his she could hardly tell where she ended and where he began.

  “Ahhhh…” She moaned.

  “Scream, darling. Let it out, baby.”

  She did. She hollered loud and long as her orgasm raced through her.

  He wasn’t far behind her and soon he was screaming out her name.

  He pulled out and she felt an enormous amount of wetness. When she heard him curse she looked up.

  “The stupid condom broke. Damn!”

  Uh-oh. That’s not good.

  She nibbled on her lips in contemplation. What were the odds the first time she decided to make love with a man the condom would break? Given the fact she was on the run and shouldn’t have been having sex with a cop anyway, the odds were probably very high.

  And the way Lawrence paced the room naked, wearing only his brooding glare and mumbling, let her know any romantic mood they could have had in the aftermath had been ruined by the shattered prophylactic.