Sin

by Crystal V. Rhodes

  Nedra wasn’t impressed by his looks, his family’s position or wealth. When she rejected his advances, she was always polite about it, no matter how he turned on the charm. He was impressed. What a turn on!

  When he moved to California, he was as determined to have her as he had been when they were younger. As the years passed, he had been waiting patiently for the right time to approach her again, because he knew that she would be worth the wait.

  As Richard got out of the car, he noticed how carefully the driveway and walkway had been shoveled. It must have taken her quite a while to clear that much snow by herself. Maybe one of the neighbors helped.

  Her car wasn’t in the driveway, but there was a garage. She must have parked in there. He observed the cabin. There were no lights on.

  Richard was disappointed when he knocked on the cabin door and there was no answer. . Maybe she was asleep, but it was only six in the evening.

  Retrieving the spare key from its hiding place, he slipped it into the lock. There was a click, and Richard stepped inside.

  CHAPTER 9

  She wasn’t there! Richard couldn’t believe it, but, she wasn’t there! In the cabin he discovered an empty closet, and a raised toilet seat. A trip to the garage revealed two sets of footprints in the snow. One was small, the other was larger.

  At first he panicked. Had someone broken into the cabin and abducted her? Frantic, he searched for any clue that something had happened, but everything was in order. The cabin was spotless. It looked as though it had never been occupied. His suspicion grew. A search through the trash revealed evidence he hadn’t wanted to find. The cabin had been occupied, by two people who had shared meals together.

  Richard’s night was a sleepless one teeming with jealous rage. In the morning those feelings grew stronger. The light of day revealed more footprints, a lopsided snowman, and two angels in the snow filled yard.

  Two angels! Those words echoed through his head all the way back to Oakland.

  Hours later, Richard sat in Sharon’s apartment waiting for her arrival and wondering who the second angel could be. He was determined to find out.

  Sharon breezed into her apartment and started in surprise at his presence. Dropping her overnight bag, she rushed to the sofa where he lay, relaxing. In one swift move, she darted into his arms, covering his face with kisses.

  “Hey, baby! I didn’t know you were here?”

  Richard accepted her affection, until she suddenly stiffened. Drawing back, she looked into eyes.

  “Are you high?” Sharon slipped from his lap and stood over him, her hands resting on her slender hips. “How could you?”

  Richard’s eyes left her accusing ones to roam briefly down her shapely frame. Damn! She was fine! Too bad she wasn’t Nedra.

  Ignoring her accusation, he sat up calmly and stretched his arms across the back of the sofa. “How was your social work conference?” She had been to Bakersfield to attend the event.

  “Damn that! You’ve been to East Oakland buying coke! I can tell you’ve had some. I told you if you keep using that stuff we’re through!”

  Her voice was shrilled with anger. She wasn’t ready to be sweet-talked today. He’d have to use another tactic to get the information he wanted. As for her threat, he’d heard it before. His tone was conciliatory.

  “I got back in town yesterday. I spent a night up in Tahoe.” That would get her attention. He was right.

  “Tahoe?” She echoed. “Nedra is in Tahoe. I thought you went to Truckee.”

  He would have laughed at the look of fear in her eyes. He turned the screw a little tighter.

  “Yes, but after I finished my business there, I drove up to Carla’s cabin and stayed there overnight.”

  The color drained from Sharon’s face. Her voice was barely a whisper. “You stayed in the same cabin with Nedra? Why? Why did you go to Tahoe?”

  It took everything for him to keep from laughing. She was so pitiful. The spark of fire that had flickered a moment ago had burnt out. He knew it would! All of that beauty, and she was so weak, so insecure. She stood before him with her shoulders slumped, and her hands at her sides. She looked as if she was about to cry. She’d better not. He was tired of her tears. He’d let her stew for a while.

  Getting up from the sofa, he sauntered across the room and picked up the TV remote. Turning on the large set he could feel her eyes following him. He sat back down on the sofa and placed his feet on the coffee table. She hated when he did that.

  Sharon looked at her beautiful, sexy man. God, did she love him. He was far from perfect, but he was hers. Other women wanted him. They did all that they could to get him, but she had triumphed in the end. She had chased him relentlessly, gone against the advice of his own sister to get him. He was hers and she planned on keeping him, anyway she could. Nobody would take him from her. Nobody!

  “I asked you a question, Richard? Why did you stay in the cabin with Nedra?” He couldn’t have! He just couldn’t have!

  Richard continued to look at the TV screen. “What would make you suggest that St. Nedra would ever allow herself to stay overnight with a man?”

  His tone was venomous. Sharon had never heard him utter Nedra’s name in such a way, but he was right. Despite everything she suspected about Richard’s attraction to Nedra, she knew that she could trust her friend. He was the one about whom she harbored seeds of doubt.

  Richard watched Sharon pick up her overnight bag and move toward the bedroom. He had successfully gotten her off his sojourn to East Oakland, but he still didn’t have the information he needed about Nedra. He decided to put her out of her misery.

  “Carla asked me to check on Nedra because of the snow storm, but she wasn’t at the cabin. Her clothes were gone.”

  Sharon stopped and turned to him. “Not there? What do you mean? Where is she?”

  Richard shrugged, pretending disinterest. He was hoping that she could answer that question. Where was St. Nedra? She wasn’t at home. He had checked.

  Sharon dialed her telephone. “Has Carla heard from her?”

  “I don’t know. She flew to L.A. with Jacob the day she called me. She’s left messages for me, but we keep missing each other.”

  Getting no answer on Nedra’s phone, Sharon disconnected in frustration. “I assume you’ve called Nedra’s phone.”

  “I don’t have her number.”

  Sharon checked her voice mail. Nedra’s voice filled the room.

  “Hey, girlfriend, you know how I am when it comes to snow and there’s too much of it in Tahoe, so I am out of there. I’m heading for the Monterey Peninsula. I’m spending the rest of my vacation there. I left a message with Carla too. I’ll get back in touch with you about the particulars, but I’m okay. Love you.”

  The message ended.

  “Well, that answers that question.” Sharon’s voice was light with relief.

  Picking up her bag, she headed toward the bedroom muttering, “Wonder why she picked the Peninsula?”

  Richard’s jaws tightened in anger as he stared, unseeing, at the television set. Sharon was no help. She was useless as usual! St. Nedra had said why she went to the Peninsula. The question he needed answered was with whom?

  ****

  How had it happened? Nedra had been caught unaware, shed of the armor she normally wore to protect herself against men. Now that protective shield had been pierced, making her vulnerable.

  One kiss had sent her common sense spinning out of control. A few tender caresses had her walking around in a fog. What had she been thinking? There was no way that she could allow herself this indulgence! The devil was working overtime, and unfortunately she wasn’t putting up much of a fight. She had to reverse this course of events. Falling to her knees, she clasped her hands in prayer.

  “Lord, help me! Show me the way and the light.”

  She needed to be led into the light because, right now, she was lost. The self-control she had practiced most of her adult life had became tenuous the mom
ent Sinclair’s lips touched her lips.

  What had started as a chaste kiss had turned fiery with passion. Sin left no doubt that he wanted her. It had been her reaction that had frightened her. She was no virgin, a college love affair had put an end to that; but, in her most ardent of fantasies, the depth of emotion she had experienced when she kissed Sinclair had been beyond anything she could have imagined.

  Shaken, she had backed away, and put distance between them. He had apologized for his actions. She had offered an apology of her own, telling him that it shouldn’t have happened. They had been caught up in the moment. He agreed.

  So why was she in his beach house on the Monterey Peninsula twenty-four hours later? Indeed, she was dancing with the devil!

  They hadn’t discussed their errant emotions. That proved to be a mistake, because every move they made since leaving the cabin in Tahoe was driven by the sexual tension between them.

  Determined to resist further temptation, she had packed her bags, locked the cabin and climbed into her car, headed for Oakland. Sin objected strongly, declaring that it was too dangerous for her to drive alone on the snow slick highway. The declaration sparked a squabble between them. She was going to Oakland!

  With Sin beside her, Nedra drove with care along the road leading to his hotel. Her intent was to deliver him there and then head for home. The drive was subdued, until they arrived. It quickly became noisy when Sin reached across Nedra and took the keys from the ignition. He slipped them into his pants pocket. Nedra was incensed.

  He listened calmly to her rant and rave about how he was a bully, and how she could take care of herself and that nobody ruled her life. She went on and on until she ran out of steam. He still kept the key.

  Quietly, he informed her, “You are not driving back to Oakland alone. I’ll leave my car here, make arrangem ents to have it delivered to my house and I’m driving back with you.”

  Climbing out of the car, he waited for her to follow him. She had done so, all the way to the Peninsula.

  Nedra got off her knees hopeful that her prayers would be answered. She needed all of the blessings that she could get, because yesterday she had been on her way home. Today she was in the man’s beach house. Lord, she had been so easy to convince. She slapped her forehead in disgust.

  They were approaching Sacramento when he brought up the subject of continuing her vacation. She had seven days left. Why spend them at home where she would get no rest once her parishioners discovered she was back? He had a place by the ocean that she could borrow, no strings attached. He’d drive her straight there. No need to stop in Oakland.

  Still angry at him for his strong-arm tactics in Tahoe, she was resistant. No! She didn’t want to go to his beach house. And no strings attached? Ha! Did she look like a fool? He kept talking.

  “I’ll be returning to work, and you’ll have the house to yourself. Don’t you deserve some time alone? What good will you do your congregation if you return from vacation worse off than when you left? Why look a gift horse in the mouth just to be spiteful?”

  She softened. He had a point.

  Nedra loved the ocean. She would take water over snow any day. But what about her friends? She needed to contact them. They wouldn’t know where she was.

  Sin was ready for that one. He whipped out a cell phone from his jacket pocket and told her to call Carla and Sharon, informing her that he had the phone at the beach house removed. Nedra remembered thinking that he hadn’t mentioned having a cell phone when they were snowed in at Tahoe!

  Despite her initial objection, she relented. He blocked his number before she made the calls to her friends. Neither of them wanted the calls traced back to him.

  They drove straight to the Peninsula, where he dropped her off at his house. He left his cell phone with her in case of an emergency. She wasn’t sure how he got back to the Bay Area. His car was still in Lake Tahoe. He simply got into a cab and disappeared.

  Oh, well, why dwell on yesterday. It was time to enjoy today.

  She had spent most of it relaxing in the luxury Sin had modestly described as “a cozy little beach house”—all seven rooms, including a hot tub and a Jacuzzi. It was now time to explore the nearby beach. Grabbing her jacket, Nedra headed out the door.

  Walking along the ocean shore, she reveled in the sound of the waves caressing the rugged rock formations, the calls of the seagulls, and the beauty of the scarlet sunset. The scenery filled her with a tranquility that only the ocean could bring. It also filled her with sadness when she realized that she had no one with whom to share this beauty. She missed that. In Tahoe, she had shared the splendors of nature with Sin—or rather, he had shared it with her.

  When she told him that she hated snow, he had showed her how to enjoy its wonders. They had built a snowman, had snowball fights, and made angels in the snow. She would have never done any of that if it hadn’t been for him. One night he had coaxed her outside to marvel at the sight of the moon reflecting on the snow’s perfection. He called the twinkling results, snow diamonds. She had been touched by his sensitivity. It seemed that Sinclair Reasoner had many sides to his personality and she missed them all.

  The thought brought Nedra to a dead stop. She did miss him. She missed his laughter, his sense of humor, even his devilish teasing.

  Oh, Lord! This couldn’t happen! She had to get that man out of her mind. He was not the one for her! He was too pushy, too bossy, too flashy.

  Pulling her lightweight jacket snugly around her, she retraced her steps back to the house. Shutting the door behind her, she locked it securely, as if she could shut out thoughts of Sin. She couldn’t.

  In the middle of the night she jolted awake from a dream so erotic that she blushed at the thought of it. Springing out of bed, she made her way through the house, into the kitchen, muttering to herself about the excessive life style of her host.

  The beach house he had loaned her was an L-shaped structure of stone and glass. It had three bedrooms, including the master suite where she slept, which provided an ocean view. The rooms in the house were large. The living room, kitchen and one of the bedrooms comprised the square footage of Nedra’s entire condo. Why one man needed so much room was beyond her. Yes, he was flashy! Not her type at all.

  Warming some milk, she flopped down on a stool at the kitchen counter, feeling guilty about criticizing him. She did accept his invitation to stay here. Why berate the man for being generous. She could have refused his offer. She hadn’t.

  Nedra sighed, poured the warm milk into a cup, and headed back to the bedroom. She had never been the kind of minister to tell her flock that abundance was harmful to the soul. No, she believed that one should rejoice in God’s blessings. The sin was in not sharing what one had. Sinclair was definitely sharing his.

  The cell phone rang just as she crawled into bed. Nedra’s heart leaped. It rang a second time. She could barely breathe. Glancing at the phone resting on the night stand, she verified that it was him and let it ring a third time before answering it.

  “Hello, Nedra.”

  “Hello.” She didn’t want to smile at the sound of his voice, but she did.

  “I just wanted to check on you. Is everything okay?”

  She wanted to be flippant. She wasn’t. “It’s fine.”

  “You bought the groceries and stocked the refrigerator?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.”

  She sensed in his silence that he wanted to say more. There was so much more he could say, so much more she could say. Neither did.

  “I know it’s late, so I’ll just wish you a goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.”

  The line went dead. That was it, as it should be.

  Draining her cup, Nedra snuggled between the covers. She had no time for entanglements. She had too much work to do. With another quick prayer, she closed her eyes and waited for sleep to come. Hopefully, this time, it would come without dreams.

  CHAPTER 10

  Lynn Trell
is drooled as she watched Sinclair Reasoner walk across the restaurant toward his table. Undoubtedly, he was the sexiest man she knew. His tall, muscular body was clad in an expensive double-breasted suit that fit him to perfection. He moved across the room like a panther, slow, sleek, and majestic. What a man!

  Eddie kept telling her that Sin was too old for her, but she knew that, secretly, he was rooting for her. Her brother would be delighted if Sin ended up being his brothers-in-law. She was determined not to disappoint him.

  She knew everything about him. They had him thoroughly investigated before doing business with him. In their line of work it didn’t pay to take chances. She knew that he was a loner and had no family. He was raised on the streets of Harlem where he earned a long rap sheet as a teenager. When he was young, he had left New York City for parts unknown. By the age of twenty he ended up in the army where he started out a private and was discharged as one. He had a bachelors and a masters degree, both in Economics. A decade ago, he started his import business in New York City before expanding to California. Their contacts said that he could be trusted. They just never said how good-looking he was.

  Lynn beckoned the waiter over to her table, handed him a note and directed him to take it to Sin. She watched as he delivered it and nodded toward her table. She threw Sin a hundred watt smile, knowing by the look on his face that he was disturbed by her acknowledging him in public. He was a fanatic about keeping their acquaintance low key. No matter, she wanted him to know she was there.

  Begrudgingly, Sin gave her a nearly indiscernible nod. He then crumpled the note, and turned his attention to studying the menu.

  Lynn noted with satisfaction the number of female eyes that strayed to his table. They could look all they wanted. She would be the one doing the touching. When that day came, she didn’t plan on missing an inch of that delectable body.