Jesse lifted his gaze to Carla. “Who’s Mrs. Boston?”
“She’s the lady who keeps him every day while I’m at work.”
“She’s nice,” Craig said, giving his father a toothless grin.
For the next few minutes Carla stood by the window and watched Jesse talk to their son as the two got to know each other. She was surprised that he hadn’t shown up with some extravagant gift to win Craig over. She really had expected him to. Instead, he was offering himself to his child without any fancy frills. He evidently wanted to build a place in his son’s heart without any material inducements, and she couldn’t help but appreciate that.
“Are you glad to see my mommy, too?”
Craig’s question caught Carla’s attention. Jesse had just finished telling him how glad he was to see him.
“Yes, I’m glad to see your mommy, too.”
“Will you live with us?”
Carla swallowed. Craig had asked her that very same thing when she’d told him about Jesse earlier that day, and she had told him no, his daddy would be living elsewhere. Evidently her son had decided to ask Jesse for himself.
“No, but I’ll never be far away and I’ll come see you every chance I get. Maybe you can even come and visit me.”
Craig smiled. “Will Mommy come, too?”
Jesse glanced across the room at Carla, and before he could answer, she did. “No, sweetheart, Mommy won’t be coming. Whenever you and your daddy spend time together it will be just the two of you and you will have lots of fun.”
Craig looked at his mother and thought on her answer. He pondered it for a while then said in a pout, “No. I won’t go if Mommy don’t go.”
Carla opened her mouth to argue the point but Jesse shook his head sending her a silent message that it was okay. Building a relationship with his son would take time and he knew, understood, and accepted that.
“Can you color?”
Craig’s question recaptured Jesse’s attention and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, I can color.”
“Will you color with me?”
“Yes, if that’s what you want to do.”
No sooner had Jesse answered than Craig scrambled out of his arms and took off.
Carla couldn’t help but shake her head as a grin touched her lips. “You may have made a big mistake. That’s Coloring Craig and he’ll have you stretched out here on the floor coloring with him for hours.”
Jesse chuckled. “I don’t mind.”
The way Jesse suddenly looked at her with odd intensity made her uncomfortable. It also reminded her that the two of them were still at odds with each other. He was trying to hurt her and was willing to destroy the livelihood of her employees in the process. Tomorrow would be the day the board met to decide the fate of Osborne and chances were she, along with a number of other employees, would be given their walking papers.
“Well, I mind,” she said coolly, deciding to reset the tone between them. They weren’t friends and she refused to pretend that they were. “Your attorney said you would only be here for an hour and an hour is all you’re getting.”
He narrowed his gaze at her. Before he had a chance to respond to her statement, Craig raced back into the room carrying several coloring books under his arms.
“Come on, get down on the floor with me to color.”
Without wasting any time and mindless of the expensive suit he was wearing, Jesse stood and took off his jacket. With the agility of a man who made getting down on the floor seem like a common occurrence, Carla watched Jesse join his son on the carpeted floor and although she didn’t want to, she couldn’t help the tears that misted her eyes as she watched the two similar faces drawn together over the open coloring book. It was truly a Kodak moment.
A couple of hours later as Jesse entered his hotel room, closing the door behind him, he could still hear the sound of his son’s laughter ringing in his ears. He’d gone well over the allotted time. He’d known it and Carla had known it. But he’d been having so much fun spending time with his son that in the end she’d had the decency to let things be.
After they’d finished coloring at least three pictures, Craig had wanted to bring out a few of his other toys and in no time at all, the living room had gotten cluttered. Somehow during that time, Carla had managed to sneak out of the room and leave them alone and Craig hadn’t seemed to notice.
When she’d returned and glanced around, Craig had looked at all the toys they’d scattered. He’d then looked at Jesse sheepishly and whispered, “Mommy’s not going to be happy with the mess you made, Daddy.”
At that particular moment Jesse couldn’t do anything but pull his son to him. Craig’s acceptance of him as his father had been the most awarding experience he’d ever encountered. Even now he was still touched and knew he would remember that moment for the rest of his life.
He had just taken his jacket off when there was a knock on the connecting door. Knowing it was Mike, he quickly said, “Come in.”
Mike entered. “How did things go?”
Jesse smiled. “I saw him, Mike, and it’s obvious that he’s mine. And I held him. You don’t know how good that felt. I got nearly three years to make up for and I want to give him everything, especially my name.”
“Did you and Carla get a chance to talk about that?”
Jesse snorted. “No. Although she was cordial, she’s still acting unapproachable and reserved.”
“How else do you expect her to act when she’ll be losing her company to you tomorrow?”
Jesse’s eyes narrowed. “She gave me no choice.”
Mike nodded slowly as he met Jesse’s gaze. “There’s something about that word choice. All of us have choices, Jess. Have you taken the time to consider that Carla had a choice of whether or not she wanted to give birth to your son? What if she’d chosen to have an abortion instead?”
Jesse flinched. His son’s cherubic face loomed in his mind. After seeing Craig, his own flesh and blood, he couldn’t imagine such a thing, and a part of him was profoundly grateful that Carla hadn’t taken that route.
“I’m going downstairs and browse the gift shop for a new razor. I’ll check you out later,” Mike said. And as he closed the door behind him he hoped that he had left Jesse with something to think about.
Chapter 23
Grey hung up the phone after talking with his friend at the Bureau in D.C. Ahandwriting analysis hadconfirmedwhatGreyhad suspected for a while. There was an eighty percent chance that the messages had been written by a female not a male. Now with this most recent information, he needed to go back down the list and check out every female whose name he had recorded, starting with Brandy’s secretary.
He rubbed a hand across his face. Today had almost been a nightmare with all those people checking into the hotel for the Florida Classic. It had been hard as hell to keep up with Brandy and on a few occasions he’d had to depend on his backup to make sure she was being covered. She had been forced to make several last-minute changes to her schedule and no doubt she would be doing the same thing again tomorrow, which meant he needed to bring this to an end and soon.
He glanced up when Brandy came out of the bedroom and his gaze immediately locked on hers. His throat tightened and the palms of his hands suddenly felt warm. Dressed in a long flowing white silk robe, she was a sight to behold and his sharply male gaze held her within its scope, tight. This was a woman made for loving a man, he thought as his body became unbearably hard. He began to ache all over, especially in certain parts and when he breathed in and his nostrils pulled in her
scent, he knew he had to have her.
Now.
Brandy stopped walking when she saw how Grey was staring at her. The heat of his gaze trailed fire all across her body, starting with her breasts then slowly moved downward. When she began feeling this ferocious burning sensation between her legs, she almost gasped out loud. His raw need was reaching out to her, pulling her within its clutches and arousing her in a way she ha
d never been aroused before.
He was going to make love to her again.
That had been a foregone conclusion when she’d awakened that morning in his arms after having spent the better part of the night and predawn hours making love. She had thought about him most of the day when she should have been busy getting ready for the coming week’s festivities. But all she’d been able to think about was Grey and how he had found pleasure in her body and had given her pleasure in return. He hadn’t lied when he’d said he had three years to make up for, and it seemed he would continue making up for it again tonight.
He stood and the hunger she saw in his eyes excited her as well as incited her. Without waiting, without being asked, she untied her robe and let it fall to her feet. His eyes widened when he saw that she’d been completely naked underneath. He slowly crossed the room and when he stopped before her, she inhaled gently, as if letting the aroma of an aroused man fill her senses.
He reached out and his hand automatically went to her breasts, which seemed to come alive with his touch. His fingers gently tugged at her nipple before leaning forward and taking it into his mouth, sucking and making her arch her back to give him more. Without breaking contact with her breasts, his hand automatically went between her legs and found her wet, ready. He hadn’t used a condom and hadn’t given much thought to using one since he had remembered her conversation with her mother that day confirming she was on the pill. For some reason he had needed to come inside of her, ejaculate as much as he could. He had needed to know his release was actually filling her and not a piece of latex. The thought quickly flashed through his mind that his obsession had been extreme and one he’d never encountered with a woman before. Unprotected sex had never been the norm for him. That thought startled him, but not enough for him to put on a condom now. He wanted to feel himself come inside of her again.
Brandy suddenly found herself swept into his arms as he took her back into the bedroom. He gently placed on her the bed and stepped back, almost tearing off his shirt and quickly stepping out of his pants. Moments later he was just as naked as she and just as she had last night, Brandy marveled how beautifully made he was, with his sleek shoulders, broad chest, and firm, flat stomach. His skin was a dark brown and glowed from the moonlight flowing in through the window. But what really held her interest more so than anything was his aroused body part, large, thick, and muscular as it boldly and proudly jutted from the apex of his thighs. He was a man who was made to bring a woman pleasure, and as he took a step forward she knew that like last night, she would be the recipient.
Brandy’s breathing quickened when he got in bed with her, moved his body over hers, began licking her neck and gliding his body tormentingly slowly over hers. He wanted her to feel just what he had for her, what he planned to give her.
In a surprise move he lifted up his body to turn her over, pulling her hips back against him. He wanted her this way and his body slowly pressed against her, seeking her entry. She arched her back, strained back against him, letting him know she wanted it this way as much as he did. And when he entered her, going through the wet folds of her swollen, hot flesh, she moaned, and the sound sent tremors through his body.
He ran his hand over the delectable curves of her backside before firmly gripping her hips and stroking her deeply, moving in and out while he clenched his teeth to stop from screaming his pleasure.
Brandy had no such intentions. She thought, the hell with it, they had an entire floor to themselves and she planned to scream until she couldn’t scream anymore.
And she did. The moment she felt him come inside of her, drenching her insides with his release, she tightened her muscles, pulling more, wanting more and getting her wish when he continued to buck against her, smacking his thighs against her backside penetrating deeper, holding her body pressed close to his, allowing her to take everything his body was giving her, sweeping her off into ecstasy while a feeling of intense pleasure filled her, illustrating and demonstrating just how much he had wanted her and needed her.
When there was nothing left in him to give, when she had literally taken everything, he locked his arms around her and pulled her down to him, keeping their bodies connected and savoring in the moments they had just shared.
Grey slowly opened his eyes, feeling totally depleted of strength. He had never taken a woman with such urgency before. Never before had reaching a climax been so powerful, so gut wrenching satisfying. Even now while holding her against him spoon-style, his body still locked to hers, he felt himself getting hard inside of her all over again.
He needed more.
Slowly lifting her leg over his he saw the minute she became awake and realized what he was about to do. He leaned over and kissed her, elated with the passion he could evoke in her so quickly. And when she began returning his kiss, he began moving inside of her, in and out, making love to her all over again. This woman he now claimed as his in every way a man could claim a woman.
His woman.
That revelation made pleasure rip through his body; joy filled his soul and love overflowed in his heart.
Love?
No, he refused to surrender to the power of love ever again. And when the crushing waves of ecstasy came crashing down on them, he deepened the kiss and somewhere in the back of his mind, the only thing he could think about was that he would not be another Masters who let a Bennett get under his skin. He wouldn’t go there.
His head came up sharply and his gaze narrowed on her face. She had fallen asleep with a satiated smile on her lips. His gut clenched.
Too late, he thought. He was gone.
“Tell me about Jolene Bradford.”
Brandy raised a brow over her cup of coffee. She looked at him as if surprised he had brought up the name.
After she and Grey had made love for three solid hours, they had showered together and then while she’d slipped into a nightgown, he’d made a pot of coffee and said he needed to talk with her. She frowned. Jolene was not someone she wanted to talk about.
“Brandy?”
She met Grey’s gaze. “What made you think of her?”
Drawing a deep breath he said, “As I lay there holding you in my arms and thinking what a damn fool Lorenzo Ballentine had to be, I couldn’t help remembering what he did. Then it occurred to me I hadn’t checked Jolene Bradford out, as closely as maybe I should have. So tell me what you know about her.”
Brandy sighed. “There’s nothing to tell other than she was a woman I had considered my closest friend until I found out she’d been screwing my fiané behind my back.”
Grey nodded. “How did the two of you meet?”
“We became professors at Howard about the same time and hit it off. I never thought of her as a threat or someone I could not trust with my man. After all, she had her own boyfriend, a very handsome guy with a promising career in politics.”
Grey nodded again. “Why do you think she went after your fiané?”
Brandy chuckled. “I’m not absolutely sure she went after him, Grey. It might have been the other way around. Lorenzo may have gone after her and she was too weak to resist. The reason I say that is because after my divorce, Alexia confided that Lorenzo had tried hitting on her while we were engaged.”
Grey leaned back in his chair. “So you don’t blame Jolene for not being able to keep her legs closed?”
Brandy shook her head and studied the contents of her coffee. “I blame Jolene for betraying my trust.”
Grey took a sip of his coffee. “Do you think she knew she was being videotaped?”
She lifted her gaze to his. “No. I may be wrong but I really don’t think she knew. She tried to talk to me afterwards but I refused to talk to her. And then when copies of that videotape surfaced on the Howard campus, she resigned, completely humiliated.”
“Copies of the videotape surfaced?”
“Yes. I don’t know exactly who was responsible for that. I made only two copies: one for my attorney and the other to gi
ve to my brother, since he’d been so taken with Jolene. Victor Junior swears he knows nothing about the copies that started being distributed. If he told me the truth then I can only assume the guy who coordinated my wedding decided to take advantage of what he saw as a good thing. Copies of that videotape began spreading like wildfire.”
Grey set his coffee cup down. “Final question.”
“What?”
“Do you know where she is now?”
“Yes. After she left Howard she got a teaching job at Bethune Cook-man College.”
Jolene Bradford was not teaching at BCC, Grey discovered later after Brandy had gone to bed. With a promise to join her later, he had made a call to a friend in DC to run Jolene Bradford’s social security number through the system. The report indicated that Jolene had been asked to leave a year and a half ago when copies of the videotape began circulating on BCC’s campus. After leaving BCC she worked at the University of Central Florida here in Orlando, but only for a few months. The report did not provide a reason as to why she left, but it did indicate that she had not used her social security number since leaving UCF.
Grey couldn’t help wondering if Jolene was still living in Orlando and if she was employed, then where?
He was determined to find out everything there was to know about the woman.
Chapter 24
Unable to sleep, Cord slipped out of bed and pulled on his jeans. It was way past midnight and he felt restless, agitated, and horny. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this intense about having a woman. Even now his body throbbed just thinking about Amber.
Dev and Briana’s visit had somehow relieved some of his edginess, but only temporarily. He had enjoyed spending time with them and could tell that Amber had enjoyed their visit as well. She had seen Dev in a less professional light and by the end of the evening she was no longer calling him Dr. Phillips.
Amber and Briana had hit it off, too. They had talked for hours about various books they had read, movies they had seen, and places they had shopped, while he and Dev had gotten engrossed in a football game on the tube.
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