Mel finally managed to assure Mick that she was fine and didn’t need to partake in an overnight stay at the house. If anything, she needed to get away from the hubbub and get some quiet time alone. She was rushing toward her rented Acura, her head bowed as she searched for the key ring in her purse. She didn’t notice Yohan already leaning against the car.
“It’ll be fine if you leave it here.”
Melina shrieked, clutching her purse to her stomach. She blinked-dumbfounded to find him standing there and speaking so calmly. “Um I’m-I’m fine, you don’t have to-I just need to get home.”
“Home is exactly where I want to take you,” he said, his deep set dark eyes raking her with seductive intent.
Mel clutched her bag a bit more securely against the strapless lemon tube dress she wore. “I can’t,” she whispered.
Yohan nodded as if he’d expected her reaction. “Until we find Stef, I’m keeping you in my sight.”
“Isn’t that a bit much, Han? I mean, I really don’t think-“
“Listen to me Mel, you can either come with me or I can take you.”
She wanted to moan over the implications his words suggested.
Yohan was already closing the distance between them. “Either way, you’re not going anywhere without me,” he promised.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Mel was walking into her hotel suite, when she thought of a perfect reason not to stay with Yohan who was following close behind her.
“Johari,” she blurted, turning to fix her husband with her most pleading look. “I can’t just leave her alone now-not with everything we found out today. Unless you’re planning to move us both in with you?” she challenged, propping a hand to her hip.
Yohan responded with a slow smile. He dipped his head, massaging his jaw to shield the expression that proved he knew what she was up to.
“Maybe you should check your messages,” he suggested.
Melina blinked, catching the chord in his voice. After studying him for a moment, she went to the phone and wasn’t surprised to find the message light flashing.
“Hey Mel, it’s Jo,” Mel heard her cousin’s voice come through the line, “Yohan called and told me everything. He says he wants to keep you with him and that’s a good idea-don’t fight him on it. Anyway, I’m going to Mama and Daddy in London. I-I don’t want to tell them about Zara over the phone and we should…we should be together now anyway. So…I’ll talk to you soon and you be safe. Love you. Bye.”
Mel fidgeted with the scarf holding back her lengthy coarse locks. She deflated a bit with the knowledge that Johari wasn’t a concern, yet she was comforted knowing her cousin was safe.
“I’ll wait while you pack,” Yohan said once she set down the phone.
Mel bowed her head and debated.
“Please don’t argue with me anymore,” he asked as if reading her mind.
Melina began to pack; making progress at first. Then, a dazed feeling overtook her and she sat on the bed to think over all that had occurred since she’d returned to Seattle. Never, had she expected to learn the things she had.
At last, she could relate to Yohan’s anger-for it was the feeling she held toward Marcus Ramsey now: hate and anger. The rich desire to avenge the hurt he caused to she and her family, flowed like warm syrup through her veins. She’d never harbored such consuming dislike for anyone and it was as frightening as it was exhilarating.
Still, what unnerved her most was knowing that these feelings were yet another obstacle in the way of getting her husband back. Her intense dislike of Marc was the cause of the problems with Yohan at the onset of their marriage. How could they manage-how could they start fresh when her intense dislike was now a deep seated hatred for the man?
She wouldn’t rest until he paid. Until Marcus Ramsey was behind bars, her thoughts would be consumed by him. Behind bars? Ha! The man had eluded charges for well over a decade even after all he’d done. He was powerful and he was evil and no one was going to take him down.
Melina jumped when knocking sounded on the open door to the bedroom. Yohan stood there, leaning half in half outside the room.
“You need any help?” he asked.
The soft, simple question sent a wave of emotion rushing through her chest. Yohan frowned, never expecting such a reaction and came to the bed. He wiped her cheek, watching tears pool in her slanting stare.
“Shh…” he urged, pulling her close to rock her slow while she cried. “Baby it’ll be alright,” he whispered. “Shh…it’ll be fine.”
Mel swallowed her fingers curled into his beige T-shirt and searched his face with a desperate look. “Are you sure? Can you promise me? If you promise me, I’ll believe you. I’d believe anything good right now.”
Yohan pressed his forehead to hers. “Shh…” he urged again, brushing his thumbs against the tears moistening her cheeks. When her shuddery sobs quieted, he kissed her temple. “Come on, let’s get you home.” He said.
***
Contessa pulled Fernando’s hand from her bruised lip and kissed his palm. “I’m fine,” she told him.
Fernando didn’t appear convinced and growled another foul curse into the air. “Bastard hit you,” he noted in a rough tone.
“Baby, it’s fine,” she tried to sooth him and kissed his hand again. “The cops are on this, so are Moses’ men-they’ll find the son of a bitch.”
Fernando toyed with her cropped dark hair and grimaced. “If Wake hadn’t been here-“
“Shh…but he was, he was…”
“I can’t lose you. I waited too long to find you,” he said, sounding as though he were reminding himself.
County nuzzled her nose against the side of his face. “I know how you feel,” she said, watching him take her hand and brush his thumb against the ring she wore.
“Does it fit alright?” he asked.
Smiling, County nodded and started to stroke the ring as well. “It’s fine and it’s beautiful. I can’t wait to see my wedding ring.”
Fernando’s hand stilled and slowly he focused his translucent brown eyes on her face. “What?” he blurted.
Contessa frowned playfully. “Well you are planning to buy me one, aren’t you Ramsey?”
He cupped her face, planting a quick hard kiss to her cheek. “Are you saying-“
“I’m saying yes. Yes Fernando. Yes, I’ll be your wife,” she said, laughing when he closed his eyes as though he were uttering a prayer before he pulled her into a tight hug.
***
“Can you hand me the okra while you’re in there?”
Yohan pulled the frozen green vegetables form the freezer. There was a reverent smile on his dark face as he passed the bag to Melina. “Damn have I missed this,” he said. His black gaze was riveted on the huge pot that was steadily filling with the ingredients for Mel’s jambalaya.
Melina’s giggles filled the kitchen. “Is that why you quickly and loudly suggested this when we went to the market this afternoon?”
It was the day after the disastrous July fourth gathering and there was a rather surreal quality to the atmosphere.
Melina and Yohan woke that morning doing things as though the last eight years had simply been some awful dream. They made breakfast and ate with the morning paper spread on the table. They conversed and bickered lightly over the latest current events. They even managed to chuckle over the fact that the Ramseys had remained out of the black and white print. The day is young Melina had teased. They worked from home and after lunch, Yohan suggested they cook in and together they headed out for groceries. Deep down, Melina reeled with happiness. She imaged this was her life and a tiny seed of hope sparked inside her.
Melina caught the bag when he tossed it over. “I don’t know why you’re missing this when you’re just as good a cook as I am. Maybe better,” she commended, smoothing her damp hand across the seat of the brown boy-shorts before turning to tear into the okra.
“’Preciate that, but you’re wrong,” Yohan argued, c
losing the freezer side door of the fridge. “You do somethin’ special to it. I can never get it to taste the way you do.”
“Mmm hmm,” she drawled in clear disbelief. “Do you ever even try, Han?”
“Tried once,” he said after a brief silence. “One night when I was…missing you so damned bad and wanting to come down to Memphis and not leave until you agreed to come back with me or until I lost my mind and carried you back here kicking and screaming.”
Melina’s hands stilled over the bag as she listened to his soft confession. “Why didn’t you?” she heard herself inquire in a whisper, her hands trembling on the bag causing it to crinkle in the silence that followed her question.
Yohan pulled his hands from the back pockets of his sagging black denim shorts and braced them on the kitchen island. “Why didn’t I…what?”
Mel cleared her throat and forced herself to respond. “Why didn’t you come to Memphis and not leave until I came back?”
Yohan stepped closer until he was standing right behind her. “Would you have come back with me?”
“I may not have let you leave,” she admitted, unconsciously holding her breath.After an eternity-it seemed-Yohan reached out to trail his finger between her shoulder blades bared by the tan backless halter top she sported. Melina leaned back her head, a helpless sound rising from her throat. Yohan pulled her back secure against her, burying his beautiful dark face in her lush tresses. His hands moved up to cup her breasts, his fingers beginning to manipulate her nipples into rigid peaks.
Instinctively, Mel moved her bottom against the iron power that steadily stiffened beneath his denims. She arched her neck when his lips traveled her nape, then began to nip at the satiny sensitive spot beneath her earlobe. Eventually, his hands found their way beneath her top and she shuddered at the feel of his thumbs grazing and circling her pleasure hardened nipples.
Gasping his name, Mel turned and kissed him desperately. She winced when his powerful arms flexed about her and she thrust her tongue deeper into his mouth. A low sound rumbled from Yohan’s chest and a second later he was dragging her to the floor. His hands were everywhere-kneading her breasts, massaging the small of her back and lifting her into the solid length of his arousal.
“Han, make love to me please…please…I need you so much…”
Melina’s lashes fluttered open when she realized Yohan had stopped touching her. Confusion clouded her face as she watched him move away and leave the kitchen.
~~~
Mel fixed her clothes and finished preparing the jambalaya before she ventured off to find Yohan. She wasn’t surprised to hear the savage clang of the machinery from
the weight room. Taking a deep breath, she descended the stairway into the dark, foreboding dwelling. She hadn’t seen him working out in years but she’d fantasized a million times about what he looked like; chiseled dark as midnight and glistening with sweat. She’d dreamed of seeing him that way ever since that first day at the house when she’d come into the gym and they made love there.
Her mouth fell open at the sight of him working out and none of her memories came close to the lusty vision before her eyes. Moving closer, she could hear another sound mingling with the clang of the equipment. Savage, tortured grunts filled the air as he lifted the excessive weights with his arms and legs.
Then, the weights fell with one final clang and he stopped lifting. He turned partially as though sensing her presence.
“What?” he called, but his voice held no trace of harshness.
Mel gave a start anyway, but ventured forward. “Did I do something? Say something wrong? Han?” she said when he didn’t answer.
“You haven’t done anything Mel.”
“Then what happened?”
Yohan smoothed one hand across his silky dark hair and shrugged. “I don’t know,” he sounded honest.
Mel bowed her head and smiled. “Then why don’t I tell you?” she offered, stepping closer to the weight bench he occupied.
Remaining silent, Yohan simply watched her moving through the dim room.
“I’ve told you all there is to tell, Han. Now I need to tell you why I waited so long to share everything. I know the sight of me must remind you of all the terrible things you’ve found out about Marc-about yourself, since I came back,” she said, sounding as though she were relieving herself of some heavy burden. “I’ve been nothing but a source of pain to you and even something as enjoyable as making love probably only reminds you of all the years I’ve been gone-gone with no explanation to you about why I had to leave.”
By now, Yohan was reclining against the bench. His dark, deep-set stare held an incredulous intensity. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. My God, does she actually think I feel this way about her? He marveled.
Melina was baring her soul without a care. She spoke of how she missed him, how she’d longed for him-always wanting to come back, but so terrified, such a coward…
“I know you could never be happy being reminded of all that. I know that and still I came to stay with you,” she said her expression solemn and pleading at once. “I could’ve easily gone to my parents or stayed with Quest and Mick.” She shrugged, fluffing her thick hair while she paced. “I guess deep down, I prayed you’d touch me, kiss me. Making love was more than I hoped for. When we were in the kitchen, I almost screamed I was so happy your hands were on me. I wished you’d never stop; that you would-would rip something off me and do what I wanted you to. If having you again wasn’t in the picture, I wouldn’t care because I’d have that moment and that would be enough.”
Yohan’s intentions to correct her belief that she’d brought him nothing but pain, drained away. He could only focus on her strolling just within his grasp and lost in her despairing thoughts. She spoke with such unconscious seduction on her lips, that every part of him felt heavy with desire.
Melina bowed her head, coming to the end of her rambling. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, turning to make her way out of the gym when her hip brushed a massive shoulder.
Yohan’s hand snaked about her thigh and brought her to him, taking no heed of the gasp she uttered.
“Han-“ Mel whispered, but couldn’t continue the statement. Her lashes were fluttering close, her lips forming a perfect O as his mouth worked her into a frenzy. He tongued her through the stretchy material of the shorts she wore.
Melina’s happy cry floated into the air when she heard the material of the shorts rip. She was bared then to his eyes-his touch. Yohan curved both hands about her thighs and pulled her forward as he lay back on the bench press. Mel wound her arms across the weight bar and virtually screamed her pleasure as he lowered her up and down the length of his tongue while it thrust and rotated inside her. When he was done, he held her draped across his body. His sneaker shod feet were planted firmly on either side of the bench.
His kiss was wet and deep, forcing lusty moans of pleasure from Mel as she suckled his lips and tongue as if she were trying to drink him in.
Yohan sat up then, taking her with him. He stripped away the halter that had teased him all afternoon along with the tight shorts she’d bounced around in.
Beautifully naked, Mel straddled his powerful body clothed in the nylon sweats that slung low on his hips. She ground against him kissing madly-eagerly until Yohan broke the kiss and filled his mouth with her breasts. Melina was weak with passion and cheered Yohan’s strength as he held her to him with one hand braced at the center of her back. The other tugged at the drawstring of his pants and he freed himself.
Mel went to touch him, but he repositioned her and effortlessly set her down upon his erect desire. She climaxed almost instantly but wanted all he had to give. Yohan took his time, carrying her from the weight bench and into the living area across the gym.
Dropping her to the sofa, he covered her with his magnificent form. He feasted on the firm peaks of her bosom-holding her thighs apart as he did so. Mel reveled in the feel of his muscular torso beneath her fingers. Her
eyes snapped open when she felt him move to lie upon the sofa. He straddled her across his lap once again. This time, however, he kept her back toward him as she rode his length. Melina could barely perform the act, yet it mattered little. Yohan played her like a puppet; keeping his hands around her slender hips as he manipulated her movements. He made her ride him hard and fast at times, slow and torturous at others.
Mel begged him, but had no idea what she plead for. Her mind was filled with only the way he directed her movements. At last, he settled behind her and took her body with swift, deep lunges that drew deep, satisfied groans from his throat. He allowed her to melt onto the sofa only when the last of his passion had spent itself.
***
The following morning, television sets all over Seattle were tuned to one of the city’s morning shows. The top news: Houston Ramsey tells all. Brief snippets from the interview to air in a special broadcast that evening; revealed that a spokesperson for Houston would release comments regarding the man’s startling confession. It was a confession that would implicate many-including members of the Ramsey family.
“Damn,” Quest muttered, his gray eyes now onyx with aggravation, “wonder when the phone’ll start ringing off the hook?” he mused. “Maybe Marc’ll come out of hiding now. Unless he plans to send Stef back out for another hit,” he continued in a teasing voice. His expression sobered when he looked over at Mick who had joined him in the study when he told her what was on TV.
Michaela reclined on the sofa. She stared fixedly at something across the room.
“What?” Quest called, tilting his head as he watched her.
“Dr. Steins warned me not to panic if the contractions started,” she calmly explained after a moment had passed.
Quest, however, shot up out of his desk chair.
“He told me to time them,” she relayed calmly, while her husband stood across the room looking the complete opposite of calm. “He told me not to do anything until they were five minutes apart-ten minutes could easily be contractions of false labor.”
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