The Ramseys Boxed Set

by Altonya Washington

  “They deserve beauty,” she repeated, “and if you have to get in bed with the devil to give it to them then you best get past those delicate sensitivities of yours and do it.” Without another word, she left Nile alone in the studio.

  ***

  Michaela Ramsey tugged her bottom lip between her teeth when her searching came to an end. She’d been looking all over for Taurus who’d left the sitting room of his parent’s home following the reading of their wills.

  “Hey? Hiding?” she called out, smoothing a hand along the side of the chic black coat dress she wore. It took some time before her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of Houston Ramsey’s study, but she finally locked in on Taurus sitting there inside. Mick heard his low, grunted response and took that as confirmation that he was indeed hiding.

  “House still packed?” He asked once Mick had shut the door and was heading into the room.

  She sighed and put a refreshing smile in place. “You know how it is with wills,” she teased lightly.

  “Like a damned reunion out there,” Taurus hissed, leaving the massive white leather chair he’d occupied.

  Mick perched on the arm of the chair and watched him venture towards the lighted marble bar which offered the only illumination in the room. “How many have you had?” she inquired softly.

  “Four.” He answered in a fake, perky tone and tilted his glass in her direction. “I hate drinking alone so join me.”

  “I can’t hang.” Mick drawled with a laugh. “One’s my limit.”

  “Alright. One it is.”

  “How about we talk instead?”

  “About what Mick?” he challenged, his hypnotic voice laced with a bit more than its usual edge. “If you came with more condolences, save ‘em- you know how I felt about the man.”

  He was tense enough to snap, Mick thought studying the breadth of his shoulders beneath the worsted material of his black suit coat. “You lost Daphne too,” she reminded him in a small tone.

  Taurus crumpled then at the sound of his mother’s name. The glass he held hit the bar top with a loud clatter.

  Mick moved off the arm of the chair with apologies on her lips. Taurus raised his hand to stop her from coming closer.

  “She’s dead because of him,” he grated, his voice growing raspier with each word uttered. “Her life was hell because of him. God why didn’t I get her out of here?” he drew a hand through the unruly mass of his hair. “She would’ve done it. She would’ve left long before all that came out. She knew he was garbage.”

  Mick folded her arms at her waist. “But he was still your father.” She said.

  “And with everything in me I wish I could forget that.” He raged and began to pace the study. With a flick of one wrist, a framed portrait of Houston Ramsey was torn from the wall and stomped beneath the bottom of his son’s loafer.

  “I think you’re trying to do more than forget. I think you’re trying to understand and you’re angry because he can’t help you do that.”

  “And how the hell could he do that Mick? How could he help me? He couldn’t help me if he were alive and well and sitting in that fucking ridiculous chair!”

  “Do you remember what you told me about going to see Houston in jail?” Mick asked, venturing closer while clutching her hands. “About how he looked almost genuine- truly remorseful…and then he told everything he knew- almost like he was honestly trying to maybe atone for it all.” Mick watched Taurus as he leaned against the wall and slowly raised his cool champagne stare to her face. “Now he’s gone,” she continued, “and you’ll never know if he really meant it. If he was really capable of changing.”

  “What the hell difference does it make Mick?” He whispered with a shrug and pushed off the wall to take a seat on one of the noisy gray leather sofas. Grimacing at the sound, he opted to stand instead. “What does it matter?” He repeated.

  Mick moved before him then. “It matters because you’re afraid that whatever was inside Houston is inside you and you need to know if he could change because you need to know if you could.”

  The words hit home and sent the rest of the bottled emotions spewing. Taurus crumpled for a second time and leaned down to rest his head on Mick’s shoulder as he accepted her hug.

  “I’m scared Mick,” he admitted after they’d embraced for a long time.

  “You’ll never be like him. You’re too good for that.” She swore while smoothing her hand across his back. “Inside you’re good-at the core and that’s more powerful than anything you think you may’ve inherited from your father.”

  With a grunt, Taurus pulled away. “If I’m so good, why am I still alone then, huh Mick?”

  The question threw her so that she was speechless. She honestly had no clue the man even had those kinds of hopes.

  Taurus grinned, his eyes narrowing in amused fascination that he’d stunned her. “Well?” He challenged, savoring the moment.

  “Well I…um…” Michaela could never recall being as robbed of the ability to speak as she was then. “Well,” she restated with a shrug and put a little distance between them. “The uh right one usually comes along when you’re not looking. Isn’t that what they say?”

  “Ah…so you weren’t looking when my cousin came along?”

  Mick’s amber gaze warmed over in the dreamy fashion that was usual when her husband was mentioned. “No…” she sighed, lashes fluttering at the thought of Quest Ramsey. “All of a sudden he was…he was just there and he wasn’t going anywhere.”

  “And now you guys are the happiest couple I know- complete with your own little doll.”

  Mick smiled again, thinking of her beautiful six month old baby girl then. “Quincee’s my life,” she breathed and looked back at Taurus then. “That’s why I know where you’re coming from with all this.” Taking a seat on one of the noisy sofas, she leaned forward and allowed her curls to tumble into her face. “I was so stressed when I found out I was pregnant. More than anything, I wanted to know where my mother was. I only wanted to know if she’d changed or if she was the same heartless bitch who left an eight year old child to raise herself.”

  Forgetting his own agitations, Taurus joined Mick on the sofa and pressed a hard kiss to the top of her head.

  “See I was terrified that the same…evil was inside me- if I could ever leave my child like that,” Mick confessed, her light eyes glistening with sudden tears.

  Taurus nodded, rubbing a lock of her hair between his thumb and forefinger. “How’d you get past it?” He asked.

  Mick looked down at the furry white carpeting beneath her pumps. “I just realized that I already loved Quinn more than my life and that’s a helluva lot more powerful than wondering about the motives of a woman who’s pretty much dead to me.” She shook her head. “I’d find no ‘words of wisdom’ there- so I had to move past it.” She shared and hoped she sounded convincing enough.

  “Like I need to,” Taurus guessed and smiled his agreement. “I s’pose it’d be a lot easier to do if I had what you do-family.”

  “Taurus you-”

  “No Mick. My own family.” He corrected mimicking her position on the sofa by bracing his elbows on his knees. “I’m terrified that I’ll never have what my cousins have all been lucky enough to find. I think about what my father did,” He massaged his thumb into his palm and focused on the gesture, “I wonder if I should even think about family when there’s the possibility that I could put a woman through that.”

  Mick clutched his wrist. “You couldn’t do that. To anyone.”

  “I did it to Zara.”

  Michaela stiffened, recognizing the name of the woman who had affected so many of the Ramsey men. “What happened to Zara was Marc’s fault. The sooner you accept that-”

  “Her getting pregnant and being told to get rid of it-that was my doing not my uncle’s. All that happened with Zara made me realize how much I wanted that life-that family. To prove I could be a better man than Houston-that I could love unconditionally.” />
  “And you can, but finding the right woman won’t be easy-especially for you.”

  Taurus bowed his head. The muscle jumping along his jaw was a tell-tale sign that he was working feverishly to keep his emotions in check. Still, he’d come to depend on Mick for honesty and she never failed him no matter how bittersweet the truth was.

  Mick had cast her eyes upon the floor, knowing he meant for her to go on. Hell, she shouldn’t have been surprised to see that her comment had stunned him.

  Taurus Ramsey had the ability to only speak to a woman and have her ready to bear his children-Mick had heard countless women say it since she’d known him. She was sure it was a gift envied by many men. But what man wouldn’t envy the power Taurus and his cousins held over the opposite sex?

  Beautiful was what women called Taurus Ramsey and even that accolade seemed sub-par. At six foot four and leanly muscular, his complexion compared easily to a milky shade of coffee. The skin was flawless, the eyes a remarkable champagne color-truly unsettling in their intensity. Yet when he spoke, a woman’s eyes fell to his sensually curved mouth.

  “You’re too beautiful.” Mick said, punctuating the softly simple remark with a shrug. She took in the face framed by the mass of heavy curls that often grew unruly and had once dared to brush his shoulders. It was usually tamed-somewhat-into a more acceptable cut but even that couldn’t pull the eyes away from the unexpected shade of light brown with natural streaks of a darker brown visible throughout.

  Taurus rolled his eyes and muttered a vicious obscenity as he stood. The man viewed his so called “beauty” as more of a curse than a blessing. He now believed that while women may crave a night-several nights-in his bed, few were interested in anything more involved.

  “You’re the kind of man women read about in romance novels, drool over on soap operas. A man she never intends to meet-never really wants to-not on a daily basis. You’re…a fantasy-something to be put on a shelf and taken down for pleasure only. I know that’s not who you are.” Mick interjected when he faced her with fire in his gaze.“But I think it’s what most of the women you see know you as.” She smirked. “In their defense, I think it’s all you let them see because of this fear you have of being like Houston.”

  Taurus knew it was true. How often had he exploited his numerous physical and mental assets which drew women in droves? With those women he could pretend he was everything good about the Ramseys-looks, power, respect. The entire package. With those women he could forget the secrets, deceptions, crimes…

  “Hell Mick, so what?” He snapped, not wanting to acknowledge that particular truth. “Does that mean I’ll never have what you and Quest, Quay and Ty and everybody else has been blessed to find?”

  “No honey, it means you’ll have to wait for the woman who wants you more than the fantasy.” Mick explained, turning to face him more fully from her position on the sofa. “You’ll have to wait for the woman you’ll allow to see beyond that fantasy to the vulnerable less than perfect but just as beautiful thing beneath.”

  Taurus drew a hand through his hair and looked as if he understood exactly where Mick was coming from.

  “How will I know who she is?”

  Mick leaned back on the sofa and folded her arms over her chest. “My guess is you won’t. Not until you stop looking for her and not until she becomes as desperate to be seen for her true self as you are.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  The woman Michaela Ramsey described to her husband’s cousin was; at that very moment, placing a tentative knock upon the office door of her business manager.

  “It’s open!” Darby’s high-pitched melodic tone tripped through the light oak.

  Nile couldn’t stop the brief smile that tugged at her mouth. That sweet tone Darby possessed could turn firm and demanding in a flat second. Twisting the knob, Nile entered and stood just inside Darby’s cheery office.

  Darby stood behind her desk once she saw Nile. They watched each other for several moments standing in silence until they both cried “I’m sorry!” in unison. Laughing, the two friends met in the center of the office.

  “Did I ever tell you my big fear?” Darby asked watching Nile frown a bit even as she smiled and shook her head. “I’ve always wanted to find my father’s family and,” she paused to squeeze Nile’s hands, “I don’t know…make a connection-trace my roots…” she shrugged and closed her eyes. “My fear is that they’ll take one look at my blonde hair, green eyes and brown skin and call me trash…or worse.”

  Nile stepped closer to her friend. “Darb-”

  “Let me finish Ny, please.” She sighed, eyes still closed. “Anyway, it makes me feel like a disgusting coward and keeps me from doing something so simple. It’s stupid.”

  “Mmm…like your fear of storms?” Nile teased, smiling when the comment had the desired affect and Darby smiled. “It’s not stupid,” Nile argued, her tone firming a bit. She was well aware that Darby’s bi-racial status had caused her more than a few uneasy moments.

  “Well I think it is.” Darby countered with a shrug. “It’s probably why I gave you such a rough time before. Sometimes the simplest things can be the hardest to handle if they trigger some fear you try your best to ignore.” She gave a saucy wink. “We’ll find a way to save this place. I’m with you no matter what.”

  Nile hugged Darby then and pulled away. “Why don’t you tell me about your plan to sell enough canvas to save us?”

  Darby cocked her head. “You sure girl?”

  Nile nodded. “No,” she admitted with a shaky laugh. “But this is for the kids and I’d walk through hell for them.”

  Darby searched Nile’s face and apparently believed what she saw, for she smiled. “Well this is gonna be sheer heaven and we won’t have to plan a thing.”

  “How does that work?”

  “Hotel Brillante wants you back for another event.”

  “Brillante,” Nile breathed recognizing the name of the Montenegro hotel. She listened as Darby told her how pleased the hotel owners were with the showing she’d done the previous year. As Darby spoke, Nile let her thoughts drift back to other events that occurred during the trip. Events that included a sinfully beautiful man and two days spent making love in his bed.

  “Ny? You alright girl?” Darby asked, having noticed her friend’s far away expression and the soft moan she uttered.

  Nile nodded. “When do we leave?”

  “The show’s set tentative for next Saturday night.” Darby carefully announced before cocking her head again. “You really okay with this Ny?”

  “Confirm the date woman!” Nile ordered and joined in when Darby laughed. While Darby clicked over to her desk to arrange the details, Nile excused herself. Outside the office, she leaned against the closed door and caught her breath. It had happened over a year ago and still the images of him were as vivid as they were on the day she’d left him asleep in his suite. Shaking her head, she ordered herself to focus on the situation. Saving the studio-her kid’s safe haven-had to be her top priority.

  Smiling then, Nile glanced back at the door when Darby’s happy laughter lilted through it. Darby Ellis was a good friend with a beautiful heart. She could be making obscene amounts of money handling PR for some high powered politician or celebrity for her compassion and beauty radiated outward on any and everything she touched.

  In spite of that, Darby had suffered most often because of that very beauty which had the power to achieve such wonderful successes. Nile understood for she too experienced much of the same. Staring across the hall, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirrored framing surrounding one of her portraits on the wall outside the office.

  Men always stared her way as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. It didn’t faze Nile for she’d understood the nature of men at an early age and realized their staring was simply in momentary fascination over something they’d never seen before.

  In spite of Nile’s ‘aversion’ to the tug of looks, she was a bea
uty. Huge dark eyes tilted alluringly and rivaled the flawless dark of her onyx skin tone. The small nose and double dimples drew attention to the lush curve of her mouth. Despite her stunning height, she’d stubbornly always sought to blend in-which she could never do. The amazement she glimpsed in men’s eyes only made her feel more like a circus freak instead of some incredible beauty.

  Nile could only see the negatives. She felt her boobs were too small and decided that was good-one less thing for men to gawk at. Her hair was a glossy straight jet black that she could recall the women (and girls) in her father’s employ constantly pulling to test its authenticity. Nile usually wore the tresses hanging long to shield her face unless she was with Darby or…her mother.

  Of course her attempts to blend in and go unnoticed were moot once she spoke. The low husky voice laced in the unmistakable erotic of French could grab attention from across a room. The sound could keep a listener captivated by her every word.

  Her work was the only thing more erotic. It had been praised by the best, but Nile knew it was her ‘beauty’ that brought in the bucks. Her buyers were almost exclusively male-no surprise there given the seductive quality of her paintings.

  For Nile, unfortunately there was nothing else. She hoped that by drawing until her hands cramped, that she’d one day be rid of the visions that drove her motivation. Selling the work made her feel dirty-too similar to her father. Cufi Muhammad had made his sleazy fortune dealing in sex and Nile swore to never be like him. Yet there she was creating work that depicted images which sold because of that intriguing line they drew between erotica and pornography. She hated herself and what drove her talent even more. All her life she’d seen women’s beauty be used against them. She’d seen them abused because of it.

  She didn’t want to be beautiful because beauty destroyed and could be destroyed. Of course, if her work or her beauty had the power to save her kid’s oasis, she’d damn well use both to the best of her ability.