Once at Keys’s house, she knocked on his window and waited for her friend to answer. Thankfully he hadn’t been out of town for a school game or even out with his friends, surprising considering how incredibly hot he looked.
Keys opened his window and let Eminence and Jordie in his room. When they got inside, he’d given them his bed. Keys had made himself a bed in his closet of all places. How such an imposing figure, even then in high school, could have folded himself up into that cramped closet, Eminence could never figure that out, not then and not now.
That night, Eminence crept into his closet while Jordie slept. If the small area could barely fit one hulking body, she had no right trying to introduce her body…but she did.
With the overhead light on in the cramped space, she stared at Keys, at how muscular his frame was for a high school boy. Keys spoiled her for other men after him. She wanted a strong man whose physical power matched her mental strength. Years later she got Les.
Back then, Keys had this ridiculous scraggly beard without a mustache. He looked like an Amish guy, not that anyone had the nerve to tell him that. Although Keys could joke around with the best of them, piss him off and he had been known to break a finger or two.
Since Eminence used to play the piano back then, and she and Keys used to be joined at the hip, friends got used to calling them the Piano Twins. Friends called Keys White Keys because of his race. Eminence, of course, had been called Black Keys. That night, they had made beautiful music.
Eminence remembered so clearly how Keys stared at her like he wanted her so much. Instead he’d said, “Let’s wait.”
Eminence hadn’t waited until she got permission to leave the house and go out to a club with her friend by using a fake I.D. She hadn’t waited until adulthood to make her lifelong plans of being a success in her career. She would be damn if she would wait to finally get her friend, the one other girls in her school had said couldn’t be caught. Of course, she would push out the fact that with each of the brave items she’d done, Jordie had pushed her to do them.
As Eminence and Jordie headed to Keys’s house, Jordie had mentioned that she slept hard and wouldn’t hear a thing if Eminence wanted to do something with Keys. Her friend’s not-so-subtle wink cemented what Eminence had suspected. Jordie had suggested Eminence take that next step with Keys.
Eminence had thought about it a lot, something she’d shared with Jordie. She had never been the girl to make a big move without overanalyzing it first. This time, with her brave friend by her side, Eminence would dare to be daring.
“Let’s not wait and say we did.” She’d kissed him.
He’d broken from the kiss long enough to say, “Jordie.” He nodded toward his bedroom.
“Sleeping like a rock.” She pulled her top over her head.
“In a closet?”
Eminence had known exactly what he meant. Even then, it touched her that he would offer to wait so that the moment that would have been her first time having sex would be special. She knew what would have made it memorable. “I’m with you. That’s what’s important.”
Even standing in line now thinking about that experience, caused Eminence to cross her legs to tamp down the slow throbbing in her clit. She would give her left arm to get a mind-numbing kiss like that again. Les had given her quick smooches and kisses on her forehead and cheek.
Keys had handled her body like an expert, like she’d whispered in his ear before he touched her that she liked his fingertips gliding over her skin, or that she loved to be kissed on the back of her neck, her back, between her breasts, and the backs of her knees, or that staring into his hypnotic eyes the entire time he’d made love to her melted her.
Then the other night when she’d seen him again, he’d barely said two words to her. What she did hear, Keys’s voice sounded like he gargled with rocks. His voice had been deep back in high school. Now he sounded even grittier...and angrier. From his quick departure, Keys hadn’t forgotten their past either.
“Damn.” Eminence fanned her face down as she took a step in the line at the club.
She wished she could purge the memory of that man, of that moment, from her mind.
No, that was a lie. Since their breakup, that fateful day when a lover and a friend had betrayed her, she thought about Keys every day. Truly the one that got away in a very real sense. He couldn’t be blamed. Eminence had run away and made it virtually impossible for him to track her down. The image that drove her away still burned in her brain.
That day had been on the top of Eminence’s list of surprises until she received an invitation to the grand opening of Reign. After so many years, how did Jordie find her? Why had Jordie bothered to invite the one person who she knew wanted nothing to do with her?
As soon as Eminence received the gold-and-black invitation, she wanted to rip it up, burn it and send the charred pieces back to Jordie with a note that simply said, “You’ve burned your bridges.” Eminence had grown up, and she needed to react differently.
As an adult, she needed to confront her demons. Plus it would be interesting to hear the reason Jordie had invited her to a club opening. Eminence heard Les’s voice in her head that she shouldn’t be in line at a club opening. Too late. Eminence had to see this thing through and gained something her mother had never gotten, closure.
This trip wouldn’t be personal. As a mature woman, she had to be gracious. If Jordie got too familiar, Eminence would have to remind her that just because she accepted her invitation didn’t mean she wanted to come back into Jordie’s life.
Eminence retrieved the crumpled invitation from her purse and fanned her face, now overheated from thinking about Keys, the betrayal, and how this night would go.
“Oh hell! She’s got an invite!” The woman Eminence had a confrontation with earlier that evening grabbed Eminence’s wrist and held up her hand holding the invitation.
“Let me go!” Eminence pulled her arm down to wriggle out of her grasp.
“Why are you standing in line when you can go up to the front with that?” Mini Mr. T. pointed to her invitation. “You need a plus one to go in with you?” He smiled showing off all of his costly dental work.
“No you didn’t just try to play me with this trick!” His date shoved him back.
Not interested in getting caught up in these strangers’ drama, Eminence started to turn around to go back to her car, back to her home, and back to a much needed glass of wine to forget about this mistake. Perhaps Les had been right about her just staying home and curling up with a good book.
A brick wall of a doorman must have spotted the invitation in her hand. He waved her up to the front door beyond the purple velvet rope.
Damn. No use backing out now. She came here to get answers from her friend and answers for herself. No more running away.
Eminence smoothed her hand over her hair and did a slow stroll to the front door. It looked like the events of the night would be going her way.
Chapter Six
Tank had to blink a few times, rub his eyes, and do a quick and silent prayer when he spotted a sexy woman in line. She looked so much like the first and only real love of his life, Eminence Dutton. What would be the odds that he would see her twice in one week?
Working the door at Jordyna’s new club didn’t make his day…until now. Thanks to a couple of days of rest and Rosalie’s homemade spicy chicken soup, he felt one hundred times better, like he could conquer the world. Now he wanted to capture this woman.
As much as he didn’t want to, Tank thought about nothing but Eminence even after he’d played with Pet. If he truly wanted Eminence out of his system, he could have had sex with Pet. She certainly dropped enough hints for him. Tank had no interest in gaining any more attachments. Sex only brought complications.
“Will you check this out?” Dru, the other doorman, said as he stared at sex on two legs making her way up to them. “Damn. Do you think that swagger is for real or put on?”
The longer he star
ed, the more Tank realized what he suspected. Eminence had accepted Jordyna’s invitation. Jordie had told him she had sent Eminence one. Tank didn’t believe her. From Eminence’s nonplussed expression, she must not have noticed him standing behind Dru. She kept her gaze up and forward.
She styled her chestnut-colored hair in a swept-up hairdo with little sprigs of hair framing her face. Leave it to Eminence to rock a classy ‘do in a place like this. From the neck up, she appeared to be all business. The rest of her looked built for sin.
Her light brown eyes held him transfixed in her gaze. Just like when they were in high school, her full lips looked too juicy to not want to nibble and kiss.
He had loved her body back then. Almost as tall as his six-feet, three-inch height, she used to be all arms and legs. Now she knew how to work her incredible stems. Her tits filled out nicely in her tight outfit.
Even though his body betrayed him, his heart wouldn’t, not again. Ever since that day when Eminence walked away from him, Tank shut down his emotions. Tonight he would give her a taste of her own medicine, see how she liked getting so close to complete happiness then having her dream shattered.
“Hey, I think she’s one of the ones Jay said to watch out for.” Tank nudged Dru in his side.
“What?” The big man split his attention between Tank and the cutie heading toward them. “For real? She’s on Jordyna’s radar?”
Tank kept his gaze directed on Eminence, ignoring Dru and the throngs of people in line trying to get the duo’s attention to gain entrance into Reign.
“Oh, hell. You’re scoping her out? Hell no. I checked her out first.” Dru pounded his fist on Tank’s shoulder.
“Yeah, but you owe me.” Tank pulled his baseball cap down over his eyes to camouflage his facial appearance. “No one else would give you a chance and hire you, and I did.”
Dru sucked his teeth and paced in his spot. “Come on, man. I work hard for you. I come in on time. I stay late if you need me to. I’m here for you.”
“As your boss, I appreciate that. Now as your boss and your friend, you cannot block this.” Tank nodded his head toward Eminence, who was now so close he could almost smell her perfume. “There are other women inside. Pick one of them.” He jammed his elbow into Dru’s side.
“Fuck!” Just as Eminence took a step up toward the door, Dru stopped her. “Sorry, ma’am. We’re going to need to pat you down.”
“Pat me down? At a club? For what?”
As soon as Tank heard her voice, it confirmed his assumption. Eminence’s fiery spirit still existed. He knew as soon as she made him out that he would have a small window of opportunity to state his case. Telling her how he truly felt would be payment for all of those years he had been left wondering.
“In case you’ve been living under a rock, people still bring guns and knives into clubs all of the time.” Dru crossed his arms over his massive chest. Why the man chose to wear sunglasses at night made no sense to Tank. Dru could barely read the names on the guest list while wearing them.
“Yeah, but in this outfit, where would I hide a weapon?” She held up her hands.
Tank took that moment to scan her body. Hourglasses longed to have her shape. He licked his lips, then nudged Dru in his back to get this ruse going.
“Follow this guard to our search area.” Dru nodded toward Tank, who opened the front door for her while keeping his head down.
The thumping music from inside blared as soon as Tank opened the door. He kept his focus on her to hear every word she uttered.
“This is ridiculous. Forget it. I don’t need to come to this damn club anyway.” She tore up the invitation and threw it to the ground, inciting a feeding frenzy among the folks in line.
“I’ll use this if she doesn’t want it!” One woman held one half of the invitation while another man grabbed onto the partner half.
“Let us in! These count as two invites, right?” The man held up his half of the card.
“Hey!” Tank bellowed over the crowd.
She made a slow pivot before putting her fist to her hip.
“The owner would like to talk to you.” He nodded toward the club.
Tank hadn’t been completely full of shit. He and Jordyna had talked about trying to get Eminence to come to the club when Jordyna opened it. Whereas Jordyna wanted to patch up the friendship, Tank had other motives.
He never thought Eminence would show. The last time he saw her while they were still a couple, she’d called him a liar and called Jordyna a whore for stealing her man. She didn’t even believe him or trust him. Tonight he would make her listen.
“Why would she want to see me?” Eminence asked as she made a slow approach back to the door.
The closer she got, the more Tank had to hide his face. He lowered his head, then hunched his shoulders to respond, afraid she would make out his voice.
“This is ridiculous.” Eminence stomped up the steps. “I don’t get all of this cloak-and-dagger shit, but to give Jordie a piece of my mind would be worth it.” She whisked past Tank.
No longer did Eminence carry the fragrance of flowers. Now she smelled like a woman with a heavy vanilla and citrus scent. God, he could have eaten her right there and then. Pain and hurt be damned. His body craved her. Tank would have to punish his traitorous body in the gym after he told Eminence what leaving him so many years ago had done to him.
“Follow me.” He walked by her, purposely brushing his shoulder against her.
“Fine, Lurch. Lead the way.”
Tank bit his lower lip to keep from laughing at her jab. She still had a sense of humor. Good. She wouldn’t be in a jovial mood once he revealed his identity.
“So where are you taking me?” she asked from behind him.
He almost didn’t hear her over the loud, pounding music. “It’s where we do our extensive searches.” As he led her down a darkened hallway toward a room where many of the employees had clandestine encounters, his heart hammered. He’d never taken advantage of the room without any cameras, but he would tonight.
At the end of the hallway, he opened the door for her. “Right this way.”
She paused outside of the door. “Is this where I’m going to get searched and meet with Jordyna?”
Afraid that she would recognize his voice at such a close range, Tank simply nodded. She stormed by him.
The spare, unoccupied office only had a desk, an empty file cabinet, and an overhead ceiling fan. With only a small lamp on top of the file cabinet illuminating the room, semi-darkness cloaked the intimate space. Tank liked that. The more he could hide his identity, the longer he would have with Eminence.
Eminence slammed her purse onto the desk. She whipped around to face him with her arms crossed over her chest. “This seems a little extreme.”
Tank would keep this as straight-laced as possible until her guard lowered. “Interlace your fingers. Hands to the back of your head, please.” He stood before her, but remained in the shadows.
“What is this?”
“A pat down, ma’am.”
“You’re not putting your hands on me. If anyone is going to search my person, it’s going to be a woman.”
“Ma’am, I’m a professional.” He ached to touch her. Tank’s fingertips itched as he thought about caressing her smooth flesh.
She cocked her head. “You’re a big guy who looks intimidating. That’s why you were hired. Unless you’re going to show me a badge, you’re not going to touch me.”
“Fine, ma’am. I’ll just contact the Virginia Beach police department to see if they can send over a female officer to check you out. I don’t know how long it’ll be before she gets here, if they even send one. If they ask why they were contacted, I will have to tell them that you were being uncooperative, which may not be in your best interest.” Tank cleared his throat. “I assure you. I will not hurt you.”
Those were the same words he’d said to her the very first time they’d made love. He’d meant it then, but resentm
ent enveloped his heart now.
“Fine.” As requested, Eminence laced her fingers together and set her hands on top of her head like a suspect.
Tank came up behind her. Her scent nearly crippled him. The first touch, the very first connection since they parted as reckless teenagers, weakened his knees. As soon as he felt her hands, the air escaped from his body. Handling her soft skin jumpstarted his heart.
“Night out on the town, huh?” he began as a way to break the ice.
“Started off okay until this shakedown.” She huffed and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
Without even looking at him or intending to, she’d seduced him with a gentle sway of her body. Despite her hardened countenance, she’d grown up to be quite a seductress. With a bat of an eye, she could have him, all of him. With a flick of his whip, he could control her.
“I appreciate your cooperation.” Tank stroked her bare arms down to her armpits. “Feels like you’re in great shape. Are you still doing pushups?”
“This is not an interview, and I’m definitely not having a good time right now. So you can stop this mindless chit chat.” She cleared her throat. The sound bordered on a growl.
“My apologies. Thought I could make this go by faster with some pleasant conversation.” Partially true. Tank couldn’t deny that he wanted to know more about her, catch up on the years lost.
After releasing a long exhalation, she said, “Not that it’s any of your business, I’ve joined a gym.”
Tank coasted his hands down her body to her waist. As soon as he eased his hands around to her belly, then brought them up to rest underneath her breasts, Eminence’s body stiffened. He used every bit of will to prevent himself from cupping her tits. His cock started to get hard and threatened to let her know just how he reacted to touching her again.
“Wait.” Eminence started to turn her head to face him. “Did you just ask if I’m still doing pushups? How would you know that I did them before?”
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