Keys would take his time moving his finger over her skin. As though he knew what Eminence would want, would like, he would press his fingertip using different pressures with each pass. Hard on some. Soft and easy on others. Each time he flicked his tip over the soft ridge underneath her fingers, she imagined Keys using his tongue on her and not his finger. With the way her clitoris throbbed on each flick, Eminence couldn’t help but see Keys nestled between her thighs and using the tip of his tongue over her sensitive nub. She felt her clit twinge now just thinking about his skilled hands.
Stroke. Tickle. Twinge.
Stroke. Tickle. Twinge.
Keys had played with her body like an expert. His strange expertise had her running away from him and her home. Why not? Her father had done the same thing, ran when he couldn’t handle the pressure.
As much as she loved the way Keys played with her body, she could forget how he messed with her mind. He had been her first true heartbreak. The other relationships she’d had after Keys hadn’t reached the level of seriousness like it had with Keys. Then again, could she really call a high school relationship serious? With a man like Keys Tanksley, yes, she could.
Eminence parked herself next to the refreshments area. She picked up a peanut butter cookie and took a small nibble. She allowed the sugary peanut butter taste to roll around on her tongue, tempting her taste buds while allowing herself a small breather. When she brought her gaze up, she caught her reflection in the shaded glass door.
Back in school, her classmates had called her gangly. In college, she’d been given the “statuesque” label. With Les, her height had been an issue. He had gone so far as to ask her to hunch down, hang her head low. Eminence could be accommodating, but she wouldn’t walk with her head down for anyone. The flat-soled shoes would be her compromise.
Eminence continued staring at her reflection. For this summer night, she chose to wear a long maxi dress. When she moved, the flowers on the dress floated like they had been thrown in a lake. If only she could be that free, that careless.
She could if she would allow herself to be that way. Eminence reached into her purse and retrieved a piece of mail she’d gotten two weeks ago. The all-black, glossy invitation to a club opening called Reign seemed to come out of the blue and possibly to the wrong person.
Eminence stuck to the same routine. Same grits and toast for breakfast. Same spinach salad and tangerine for lunch. Same protein-plus-vegetable combination dinner every night. The only change she’d made to her routine came when she bought a tablet to read her books. Instead of going to a bookstore on Friday, she would go straight home and buy a book on her device. The fact that she’d stuck to this routine for years and still managed to meet Les amazed her.
Eminence stared at the invitation again. It had come from her former best friend, Jordyna Hampton. She hadn’t spoken to her in years, not after what Eminence saw between Jordyna and Keys, her man. The fact that Eminence hadn’t torn up the invite and forgotten about that time in her past had her scratching her head.
Eminence Dutton, account associate at Pyle Enterprises, didn’t do nightclub openings. She didn’t stay out at all hours of the night. Doing the expected would keep her employed, doing the same job at the same company. Although she could do a supervisor job, she didn’t want to take that leap.
Supervisor jobs at Pyle Enterprises didn’t come by that often. When one opened, it did have her wondering about the possibilities. Eminence had certainly worked hard to get a plum position like that. She loved working at Pyle. Each time she’d looked at the job posting, she imagined doing the interview, getting the job, pulling up stakes in Virginia Beach, and moving alone to Maryland.
“Having fun?” A matronly woman touched Eminence on her arm.
Eminence snapped out of her thoughts enough to shove the invite back into her purse and offer the kind woman a smile. “Having a great time.”
“Oh don’t lie on my account.” She shook her head. “I know these things are as dry as toast. My name is Margo. I work with Les.” She held out her hand to Eminence.
Eminence moved her cookie to her hand holding her cup of punch in order to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
She scanned the stranger. Now she looked like a typical librarian. The older woman allowed her light brown hair to carry several sprigs of graying strands. She kept her well-worn light blue cardigan sweater buttoned at the top and allowed the bottom of it to be opened to show off her loose-fitting dress with small purple flowers. Her glasses hung off a chain that she had looped around her neck. Down to her black orthopedic shoes, Margo reminded Eminence of her grandmother. The only thing out of character on her had been the small butterfly tattoo on her hand between her thumb and index finger. Even this woman had a wild side.
The woman glanced back at Les. “He sure knows this library inside and out.”
Eminence nodded her head, but kept her lips shut tight. She certainly wouldn’t want anyone putting down her dream job. She wouldn’t say anything negative about Les’s library gig.
“And you came here with Les?” the woman asked as she scanned Eminence from her hair down to her toes encased in flat, strappy sandals.
“This is only my fourth date with Les.” Eminence nodded.
She glanced at him. Although he fit in her plan, Eminence had to account for attraction. Security or not, she didn’t feel a romantic pull to Les. Maybe more time would change that. Like the old saying went, Rome hadn’t been built in a day. She could be patient. Eminence had certainly held a grudge longer than she thought she would.
“Really?” The woman tilted her head like a confused puppy. “You don’t look like Les’s type.”
“Oh, and what type is that?” Eminence wanted to know how people saw her more than what they assumed Les wanted in a woman.
Before the woman could answer, Les approached the duo. This time Eminence didn’t cover her disappointment with a smile. As she watched the affable man approach her, Eminence fought the urge to drop her cookie and punch, and run out the door like a bad high school prom date.
“Margo, don’t keep—” Les hesitated before he said what Eminence meant to him. “—Eminence away from the rest of the party.”
Eminence’s scowl deepened. Les hadn’t called her his girlfriend. He hadn’t even labeled her as a friend. The word “lover” would never come from his lips. She had a plan for when she got intimate with a man. It would take at least fifteen dates or three months, whichever came last, before she would open herself up intimately with a man. Sex ruined burgeoning relationships. She wanted to get to know a man first before any physical connection like that happened.
“I won’t keep you two away from the action.” Margo winked at Les and smiled at Eminence.
As soon as Margo got out of earshot, Eminence wasted no time in talking to Les. “We need to—”
Les halted her speech with a speech of his own. “Thank you for coming to this event with me. I know a library function can be boring.”
Eminence managed a small smile worthy of Mona Lisa. “Look, Les, I—”
He interrupted her again. “And you look so pretty tonight.” Les brought his hand up like he wanted to brush a curl away from her face.
All night she’d been waiting to be touched in any way. Sparks danced over her body in anticipation of the connection. It wouldn’t be like Keys’s touch on the palm of her hand, but she would take it.
Les disappointed her. He lowered his hand and took a step back. Maybe he had his own standards as far as when he got intimate with a woman. Maybe keeping them waiting for his touch ranked high on his list.
“Were you going to ask me something?” Les nodded toward the party area with his colleagues.
“Yes.” Eminence finished off her cookie and punch, still wishing it held a bit of alcohol. She wiped her mouth. “I have this invite to a club launch.”
“Book club?” Les cocked his head.
Eminence tried holding back the laughter but it escaped
her mouth before she could arrest it. “No. A nightclub. An old high school friend is opening up a club and she invited me to it. Me plus one. Care to be my plus one?”
Les looked like he wanted to reject her. His lips curved down into a frown, and lines etched in his forehead. “When is it?”
Eminence smiled. At least Les entertained the thought. “Next Friday night, about the same time as this event.” She made sure to mention the timing so that Les wouldn’t offer a reason not to go.
If Eminence planned on going to see her former friend, she would need support. A fifth date that would test their bond would let Eminence know if Les could be the one for her.
“Let me think about it and get back to you.” Les offered a solid nod to support his noncommittal answer.
Eminence crossed her arms over her chest. With any business deal, she would have to do some negotiating. She would have a week to convince him to go or she could just stay at home. Going to a club opening had her nervous. Like many things that made her nervous, she wanted to back away from it.
She would never go to a club solo. She hadn’t when she and Jordie snuck into one as teenagers. She wouldn’t be starting anything new now. Jordyna had been the only person to get her to do something out of her comfort zone. If it hadn’t been for her and that one rebellious act, Eminence probably wouldn’t have done something else risky that same night.
Eminence brushed her hand against Les as they walked back to the group. Les pulled his hand away and instead pointed to his coworkers.
Yes, she would need to decide what to do in all aspects of her life. If she wanted to make this relationship work, Eminence would have to put in some work to get it to be what she wanted. Unlike her parents, she would make sure not to give up so easily on the relationship. She would put off applying for the supervisor job located in Maryland. She had a great job, and Les could be good for her if they both worked at the relationship. No need to rock the boat.
****
Keys Tanksley, or Tank as he liked to think of himself now, sat across from potential clients inside of their office. Meetings like this when he started his business five years ago used to knot up his stomach. Back then he equated the feeling to him being a novice and not because an ex-girlfriend’s words about him being a slacker had infiltrated his mind.
Starting his own business had been a difficult decision, but one he had to make. Besides, getting fired from every job he’d had for being too opinionated proved that only he could be his best boss. Tank took a deep breath before he did his presentation.
“Not only would my company cover your physical protection, but we can also protect your assets in the cyber world.” Tank placed folders with his company’s information in them on the table and shoved them to the man and woman sitting across from him.
The man slammed his hand on top of the sliding folder before it reached him. The woman, who reminded him of his fifth-grade teacher, allowed the folder to bounce off her protruding belly before she caught it.
As they reviewed his information, Tank filled the silence. “In this day and age, you can never be too careful in dealing with the general public.”
“We’re just a small clinic,” the woman, who had introduced herself as Gracie when Tank arrived to the office, said as she broke her concentration from his paperwork to address him. “Why would we need any kind of protection?”
“Do you offer birth control information or services?” Tank peered at the woman. When she didn’t respond, he brought his attention to the older man across from him. “Do you perform abortions? What about HIV and AIDS screenings?”
“Mr. Tanksley, this is not the eighties or nineties. No one bombs abortion clinics anymore.” The man closed his folder.
Tank took another deep breath and had to count to ten in his head before his spoke. Sometimes the first thing that came from his mouth tended to be a bit abrasive. He had to learn to curb that, although he would have thought any potential client would like a confident security owner.
“Dr. Bakker, I hate to sell my business by using scare tactics. Unfortunately, as a security company owner, I have to share some hard facts with you that can be frightening.” He cleared his throat. Damn summer colds. It dipped his voice down a lot lower than normal. He probably sounded like Batman without trying. “If you look at the third flyer in the folder I gave you, you’ll see an article about a clinic much like your own that received regular death threats. Once my company took over their security, the threats stopped. You’ll find testimonies from their employees.”
Tank sat up taller. He pulled his shirt sleeve cuffs from under his jacket to lessen the tightening. Thank goodness he had this suit custom made. With his muscular frame, he couldn’t fit most off-the-rack clothing. Ordinarily he would have worn a t-shirt and jeans. He found that his body proved to be the best billboard for his business. He wanted to look like he could keep a person or a business secure, but he wanted to be seen as a serious business owner. Appearances meant everything.
“Do you come out and do the actual security?” Gracie put her hand to the front of her neck like she wanted to hide her extra folds of skin.
Tank noticed the older woman unfastening the top button of her blouse. He gritted his teeth. He wanted her to look at him like a peer. He didn’t want to be viewed as some object to drool at or ogle.
As a BDSM dominant, he could demand that a submissive or slave he had under his control avert their stare from him. He didn’t like anyone looking at him, not since Eminence. Her brown-eyed gaze always managed to bore right through him. Since she left — no, when she ran — he had no interest in resuming another intimate relationship. The play he did at his local dungeon provided him with enough intimate contact that he almost forgot about Eminence...almost.
“I have a capable, bonded staff who I will assign to your business.” Tank put his fist to his lips before releasing a quick cough. As soon as he finished this meeting, he would have to take care of himself. “Plus, my company can offer you cyber security to keep your patients’ information private.”
After a couple of retail stores had their banking information compromised, Tank saw the natural extension to expand his business into that arena. He recognized that people would want overall security. He’d hired a great team to take care of that side of his business.
“I’d be more interested in hearing about that, Mr. Tanksley. What methods do you use to ensure a company’s security electronically?”
This time when Tank took a beat before he answered, he had good reason. He hadn’t been as well-versed in the cyber security side as he wanted. He could almost hear his employee, Rosalie, saying, “I told you so” when she offered to accompany him to this meeting.
Tank knew his business. Hell, he epitomized his business. No one could represent it better than him.
“I’ve hired the best of the best to cover cyber security. My team has worked for the government and has helped develop software needed to protect online systems. You’ll find their credentials inside your folder as well.” Tank wanted his word to hold more weight than anything else.
Gracie placed her hand on the paperwork. “That’s nice but how do they plan on building up our firewalls? How can you help block cyber intrusions?”
Keys remained quiet. He felt heat creeping up the back of his neck. He swallowed but kept his face still to prevent the clients from seeing him looking flustered. His throat tightened, scratched, and burn, and his head throbbed. He couldn’t attribute the feeling to the sickness this time.
“How can you protect against data breach, especially with our patients’ banking information?” Dr. Bakker asked.
Tank cleared his throat. “I can’t give you specifics on how my department handles that. But if you give me a chance, I can—”
“We’ll look over your information and give you a call if we’re interested.” The older man ran his hand over his thinning gray hair before he stood.
Tank recognized a brush off when he heard one. He stood
and held out his hand. “I sincerely hope you consider my company. We can protect all of your assets.”
Dr. Bakker shook Tank’s hand. “It sounds good, but without knowing what every department can really do, I don’t feel comfortable in paying for your services. Your company might be better suited for covering security at a mall or a nightclub.”
The last statement caused Tank to wince. How did this guy know that his company had been hired to do security for his friend Jordyna’s new nightclub? She’d been his first client. He’d done a few small companies. The only other large customer he had had been another small medical practice. The clinic he and his company covered only hired him because of his mother.
Tank wanted to earn clients not because of his friends and family. He wanted to build his business on his own. Call it his dominant side coming out of him, or just him being stubborn. Either way, he would do things his way.
“Thank you again for your time.” Tank shook the two people’s hands before gathering his items and leaving.
As he walked toward his sport utility vehicle, his booted footfalls became heavier and heavier until by the time he’d reached his vehicle, his easy gait became a marching stomp. A good workout would calm his overheated state. For now, he would go back to his office with his tail firmly tucked between his legs, a very foreign feeling for him.
Tank loosened his noose of a necktie as he drove his SUV back to his temporary home/office. He’d set up shop in a townhouse apartment to help Jordie set up her business, otherwise he wouldn’t have come home to Virginia Beach. Except for his family, everything he would have wanted there abandoned him a long time ago.
Scandalous Heroes Box Set Page 122
