“I can stop at that…if you can.”
“Yeah, right!” I chuckled, surrendering my lips to him. “Dare.”
The moment his hand touched the softness of my chin, then the side of my face, it was the bodies that were in control and not the individuals. But we went into that kiss knowing just that. Seconds into our kiss, I opened my legs, and nudged him to insinuate himself into that space that was made just for him. Of course he accepted the invitation, and as soon as he felt my middle weeping against his member, he slid inside without hesitation. “Shiitt…Mmmm,” he groaned immediately upon entry into my cove.
It never ceased to amaze me just how wonderful it felt. Just the same it never ceased to amaze me just how sensual our thrusts were against one another’s. Ours was a deep lust that I deduced was only as strong because of the deep love we shared. I pulled him all the way in with my movements—movements that he reciprocated. He reached down to raise my thigh, then placed his palm around the heel of my foot so that he could slide deeper inside. He made sure that there wasn’t a single spot that went untouched.
~*~*~
Rush
“I’m sorry if I’m hugging you so tight,” my mother said, with tears in her eyes. “I love you so much, Hunter. You don’t know what it means to me that you accepted me back into your life after all this time. You just don’t know,” she cried. “I love you, son.”
I took my finger and swiped away a few of her tears. “Don’t cry, Mom. I love you too.” I told her.
She began to sob out loud at that point, yet trying to muffle her cries. “I’ve wanted to hear that for so many years, Hunter…so many years, my beautiful boy. Please forgive me for all the time I’ve missed.”
“I’ve already forgiven you.”
“If I left this world today, that was the only thing I ever wanted to hear. And I will do everything I can to make up for all the time that I missed. I’m so proud of you and all of your accomplishments.”
“Thank you. That means a lot. It really does.”
She was silent for a few minutes as she allowed her cries to die down. She was very emotional, and I felt bad. She had just come back into my life, but already, I hated seeing her cry. I wiped away more of her tears, and told her, “No more crying. We just go forward from today, okay?”
“Okay,” she agreed, producing a beautiful smile, and bringing forth those cheekbones.
“And as far as you…” she said sniffling, while extending her hand for Alika to join the hug. “This is the perfect woman for you. I couldn’t have imagined or wished for anyone better. You two are so blessed to have found one another, and I can’t wait for the wedding.”
Alika and I looked at each other and smiled. We had never discussed marriage. We were too busy being consumed by one another, but I could definitely see her as Mrs. Cambridge someday. Suddenly, breaking into my thoughts and interrupting more overt hintsfrom my mother about marriage, was the announcement of: “Southwest flight 2636 to Denver now boarding!”
“Well, that’s me,” she stated, with sadness in her eyes. “I’m just a two-hour flight away for when you guys want to come out and see me. I’ll be here as much as I can to bond with you two and hopefully with my granddaughter on the next visit.”
“That sounds good,” Alika said. “I’ve never been to Colorado. Sooo, you’ll cook when we come, Siobhan?”
“Of course I will!” she cheerfully exclaimed. “I make a mean spinach lasagna with homemade pasta.”
“Oh my God! Can I just get on the flight with you now?” Alika joked.
“Come on, let’s go!” my mother responded, before the two of them fell into a giggling fit together.
She extended both her hands to us, and we each grabbed one. “Take care of each other.”
“We will,” we responded, in unison.
Minutes later, we watched as my mother headed toward the gate. She turned around a few times to look over her shoulder before proceeding down the corridor. There was a part of me that felt like a little kid all over again watching her walk away. Only this time, I knew she’d be back, that she was never disappearing again, and even better than that, she was accessible.
“You good, baby?” Alika asked, squeezing my hand. “It’s okay not to be, you know?”
“Thank you, babe,” I responded, as we walked in silence back to our car.
“Rush, did you still want to do the dinner party even though Siobhan is gone, or did you want me to cancel?”
“No, don’t cancel.”
“Good, because personally, I think it would be good and could get your mind off of things. Everything has been moving pretty quickly, so taking a nice breather is definitely in order. And seriously, if you don’t want to, I’ll make the calls as soon as we’re back inside. But, if you don’t, how about we go back to the InterContinental. That place was e-ver-y…thing, baby!”
“It was a good time, huh?”
“Yes, it was,” she answered rubbing the top of my hand as I drove along. “Memories…”
I couldn’t help but smile at the memory of spending time there with her. I was sure it was where I knew with my whole being that I was in love with her.
“We can do the dinner party. We’ll plan another stay at the InterContinental soon though.”
“Okay.”
“That’ll work with you?”
“Of course!” she yelped. “And oh! Babe…do you mind if I invite Tracie out for the weekend? I think it would be—”
“This is our home, baby. You don’t have to ask if somebody can come visit. I’m okay with that.”
“You spoil me so good,” she said, lifting my hand to her mouth to kiss it.
THIRTY-THREE
Denver, Colorado
Home of Siobhan Cavanaugh
Home sweet home. Siobhan Cavanaugh exited her shower, and swayed back and forth in her bathroom vanity as she dried her hair with a towel. Once she felt it was dry enough, she removed the towel, placed it on the countertop, and assessed her Clairol dye job. Perfect, she smiled big, as she combed through her newly dark golden blonde tresses. She thought about how dumb it was to stroll around the Bay with her natural jet black hair, albeit a few grey strands in scattered places. But with the blonde, she had fixed that problem. Not to mention she felt like a brand new woman having come back from seeing her son. She closed her eyes as she thought back to seeing his face, touching him, and laughing with him—all the things she had missed out on. The reunion was bittersweet. Bitter because there was a twenty-seven year lapse that she could never get back that included many milestones, a grandchild, and possibly a wedding! But sweet, because above all, Rush accepted all that she had told him without judgment and without stipulations attached. She never thought forgiveness or acceptance would be on the table, and she for sure never in her life thought she would hear him call her Mom again! Life couldn’t be better. She departed the Bay Area fully satisfied that if the walls closed in on her today, she would accept the demise in peace because she had been reunited with the son she was coerced into walking away from.
Siobhan grabbed her brush and sang along to Leona Lewis’s Bleeding Love that blared from her bedroom.
♫
Closed off from love, I didn't need the pain
Once or twice was enough, but it was all in vain
Time starts to pass, before you know it, you're frozen
But something happened, for the very first time with you
My heart melts into the ground, found something true
And everyone's looking round, thinking I'm going crazy
♫
Music was her life and had always been her best company, and today she felt like singing. With each stroke of the brush, she sang louder, until she had given fair attention to her entire scalp. She placed the mass of waves into a ponytail and set off to get dressed in something to relax around the house in.
♫
But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
&n
bsp; They try to pull me away, but they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein that I keep on closing
You cut me open and I—”
♫
Mid-lyric, and mid-step, Siobhan stopped dead in her tracks, and gasped at the surprise before her. Her eyes widened, in semi-terror.
“Uhh…hi…sweetheart.”
Her heart pounded loudly inside her chest and inside her eardrums. Her alerts had kicked into high gear. There was no way he should’ve been inside her house, and certainly not with the look in his eye that she was staring into.
“Hello, Siobhan…”
Oh…NO!
And the moment he spoke her name…her real name…Siobhan knew there was trouble because he only knew her as Gia.
“Kenny,” she said, sweetly, attempting to veil all signs of nervousness. “What are you doing here?”
She made no mention of the fact that he used her real name—a name she hadn’t used out loud in years. She did that on purpose because her goal was to maintain control over their situation for as long as she could.
He walked toward her and took a seat on her pearl down comforter. Inside she fumed because she never allowed a single soul to sit atop her bedding, especially while wearing their street clothes. She proceeded toward him, and set into seduction mode. Still nude from the shower, she moved to sit on top of his lap, but he held his hand out before her.
“I saw you at Chaos the other night.”
Siobhan chose to ignore what he had just said because now her entire body was heating from the inside from the fear.
“Kenny…” she proceeded, still moving to mount his lap.
“Don’t even think about it. I came to talk, not play. Get on some clothes now, Siobhan.”
“Why, Kenny? You never wanted me in clo—”
“Get some damn clothes on!” he ordered, over the volume of the music.
“Okay,” she surrendered, covering her chest, suddenly feeling more vulnerable than she would have liked to feel.
She quickly walked to her dresser drawer and retrieved a pair of panties, then slid into a robe as to quicken the process. The sooner he stated his reasons for being there, the sooner he would leave—hopefully. She felt his eyes on her the entire time, but not once did he move from the spot he had claimed for himself.
“Okay, so now that I’m dressed…why so serious, Kenny?”
“I don’t know, Siobhan. Why all the lies? Was anything you ever told me the truth?” he spat. “Did you actually enjoy any of the times I fucked you? Or were just so excited about my dick because it could get you a direct line to Lance Cambridge’s business? Because I’m sure it wasn’t sheer coincidence that I happened to be fucking…quite regularly, I might add…a woman who birthed his first fucking born child! A woman who as far as the rest of the real world knew, was fucking dead. Was that what I was to you? A fucking portal for the latest events?”
“Of course not, Kenny,” she responded, softly, trying to maintain calm in the situation.
She wanted to tell him that he should be mad at himself for not knowing how to keep work and his personal life separate. He was the one who bragged every chance he got about his top notch client. From the time she scoped him out at the hotel bar it was all he could talk about. And bedding him wasn’t at all difficult. So, if he wanted to blame anybody, he should blame himself.
“Well, what then? And don’t insult my intelligence by telling me that this was all coincidence. Because I remember all the slick questioning that was disguised as you being interested in my work. Then there was the whole asking me about whether Lance was going to make it. Or whether they had any leads on his attacker. Or wait…how about me letting you in on how I don’t accompany him when he goes to…Premier! Remember that, Siobhan? Huh? Remember that?” he yelled, standing from his seat next to her. He was now towering and bellowing over her head in a way that scared her.
“Kenny, please calm down. I can’t do any amount of convincing while you’re so angry?”
“Do you understand that I have a man’s death on my hands? A man who I’ve known and worked for the last ten years? I was supposed to protect him, and instead I end up feeding his murderer information that led to his death! That is how you ended up on surveillance at Premier, right?”
Siobhan released a light gasp, and clutched her chest with a balled fist. “Excuse me…?”
“Didn’t know, did you? Yeah, you’re on camera. Had a visit from a couple of detectives wanting to know if I recognized you from any of the places Lance and I had been while I was guarding him.”
Siobhan tried speaking, but her words were stuck deep in her chest cavity. Of course the thought was always there that she could be found out, but she had only ever really cared about avenging the evil that had happened to her son. She was prepared to pay for that, but in all honesty, she hadn’t really expected it. And now that it was upon her, she felt her life draining from her all over again—just when she had gotten the chance to be a mother again.
“S-s-so…y-you’re here to turn me in?” she managed to say.
“Well, that all depends on you.”
“What do I need to do? I’ll do anything,” she pleaded.
He walked toward her and began unbuckling his pants. “First you’re gonna make all this shit up to me in any fuckin’ way I tell you to.”
Siobhan tugged at her robe trying to secure it tightly, knowing that before long even an armor of clothing wouldn’t matter. She was terrified of what was next.
“You’re not really going to do this are you, Kenny?” she cried. “Not like this…”
“Oh, I’m really gonna do this,” he responded, allowing his pants to fall around his ankles. “Just like this.”
“Kenny, I didn’t come after you for the sole purpose of knowing what Lance was doing. I genuinely care about you. I really do,” she insisted.
He yanked her arms from around her chest and without too much effort, had her robe’s belt undone. “Well, then you shouldn’t mind entertaining the man that you say you care about. You’ve had all this dick before. Now won’t be any different than all the other times.”
“Kenny, please,” she pleaded. “It’s not what it seems like. How would you like to be torn away from your child and threatened for years to stay away? I gave birth to him and couldn’t celebrate in any of his life, Kenny!”
“None of that matters to me, Gia…I mean, Siobhan. You had space and opportunity to tell me that before now. You didn’t have to use me. I loved you. I could’ve helped.”
“See…” she sobbed, holding her hands across her bare breasts. “I didn’t know that, Kenny—”
Her sentence was cut by the ringing of both her cell and house phone ringing simultaneously.
“Go answer it,” he instructed, following closely behind her.
Siobhan slowly picked up her cell phone, then hesitated briefly. After a pause, she swiped across the screen to answer the call.
“Hello…?”
“Siobhan, hi! It’s Alika. I just wanted to make sure you made it back okay.”
“Oh, sweetie, thank you for checking. I’m here safe as can be.”
She looked to Kenny who mouthed, “Don’t try anything stupid.”
“Well, Rush wanted me to check in with you. We wanted to see if you wanted to come back for the dinner party. We could fly you out on a private flight so you would be able to come and return at any time that worked for you.”
“I don’t think I can, Alika. I…uhhh…can I call you back later, hun? Just give me about an hour or two? Is that good?”
“Of course. I’ll be waiting!” she shrieked, excitedly. “I hope you’ll be calling back to say yes!”
“We’ll see,” Siobhan said, with a faint smile and a heavy heart.
After she ended the call, Kenny was upon her…
Two hours later, Alika dialed Siobhan again to see if she could get an answer to her question. It would be a great surprise for Rush if she c
ould pull off getting her to come back for the party. She didn’t want to take no for an answer. When Siobhan didn’t pick up the call, Alika frowned. Stalker much, Alika? she thought to herself. She’ll call you back! Leave her alone!
THIRTY-FOUR
Rush
“What’s so funny, you?”
“Nothing,” she responded, cutting a sly eye at me.
“I promise I’ll throw you over my shoulder right now in front of all these guests and take you upstairs if you don’t tell the truth,” I teased.
“You wouldn’t do that!” she chuckled, under her breath where nobody but me could hear her.
My eyes widened, and the corners of my mouth turned upward in a smile, as I pretended to stand from my seat.
“Oh my God, Rush! Sit down,” she whispered, subtly wrapping her hand around my wrist. “Of course you would.”
“Okay, so tell me what’s got you all giggly?”
When she paused, I began counting backwards from ten.
“If you just have to know, nosy…I was laughing at the United Nations that’s alive and well in our house right now. I see you and your boy, Gavin, are all the way down with the choco-vanilla swirl. Quinton keeps giving Tracie the eye, so my guess is they’re next, and then we got Gigi and Marco over there in all their Blatino beautifulness.”
“It is kinda beautiful, ain’t it?” I commented, looking around at the table.
The dinner had come together nicely. Music was playing and food was strewn everywhere in a huge feast style. We had Mexican and Italian for our savory, a Red Velvet cake, and a Flan for dessert, and of course drinks were abound. There would be much too much food left at the end of it all, but just to have the time with everybody was amazing.
“Have you talked to your mom, Rush?” Alika quietly asked.
“No, I haven’t. I was gonna call her later or tomorrow, even.”
“I was really hoping she’d be here. I called her the other day to see if I could sneak her out on the private plane to surprise you,” she said, frowning.
Rapture 2: a BWWM, Alpha Male Romance Page 18
