My Storm

by Tiffany Patterson

  “Look, it’s August and the ceremony isn’t until late October. I still have a little more than two months to convince you. I’m not giving up on this,” she says before abruptly hanging up.

  I’m not surprised because that’s how most of our conversations have ended lately. Camille is the high-strung type, which makes her a great agent, but it sucks for me when we bump heads.

  “Whatever,” I mumble as I get back to typing. I’m enjoying the high of being back in the writing zone too much to let anything else bother me right now.

  ****

  Jeremy

  Stepping off the elevator into my luxury hotel suite in downtown Dallas, I feel the tension releasing from my shoulders. I’ve been booked solid with meetings and business appointments, leaving little time for anything else. Ordinarily, a busy work week is a good thing, but because I haven’t seen LaTasha in nearly five days since she appeared unexpectedly at my office door, I’m beyond a little restless. We’ve communicated mainly through phone calls and text messages this week and she’s been making great progress on her book. It’s funny how I can hear the difference in her voice. The relief in her tone is evident and it makes me crave her even more. But work prevails. I’m due to leave Sunday afternoon for another trip to Tucson, leaving me with not nearly as much time as I’d like to spend with her. I grin as I run my hand down the side of my face, feeling the stubble that’s starting to grow. I may not have as much time as I’d like to get even more acquainted with LaTasha’s body, but I sure as hell will make use of the time I’ve got. Hence, the reason I’m here now.

  I make my way through the huge living room space, removing my suit jacket and tossing it on the couch along the way. I only sleep here on really late work nights and when I’m entertaining women. However, I’ve never brought LaTasha here. When I entertained her in my home it felt most appropriate.

  I enter the bedroom and head straight to the closet where I keep my toys. My hand barely makes contact with the doorknob before I can sense another person in the room. This hotel, my hotel, has the highest level of security possible, especially my suite. There’s only one other person who has access to this suite when I’m not around, and he wouldn’t be in here waiting for me in my bedroom. But his wife on the other hand...

  “At close to eight months pregnant, you’re still sneaking around like the damn spy you are. Does your husband know where you are?”

  “I’m sure Mitch has told him by now,” Coral retorts in an amused tone.

  “I’ve been expecting you. What took so long?” I question, finally turning to face her.

  She remains seated at a chair by the side of my bed. She’d obviously moved it from its original location to prevent me from seeing her when I first entered. She shrugs. “I’ve been a little preoccupied,” she says, rubbing her belly.

  I nod. “How is the little guy?”

  The smile that spreads across her face tells it all. “He’s great. Suddenly, her face turns serious. “But I didn’t come here to talk about me.”

  “I figured as much,” I state dryly, placing my hands in my pockets. I lean against the dresser behind me with my feet crossed at the ankle.

  “Okay, smart ass. So you know if you hurt her, I will be making another unexpected visit. Only it will be in the middle of the night.” Her narrowed eyes and flared nostrils demonstrate the seriousness of her words.

  “I’m sure many men have been intimidated by that look. And I know you’re not all talk. But save the tough-guy shit for someone else. You know me better than to think I’d hurt any woman.”

  “I just thought it was prudent to let you know in person, where I stand.”

  “I know how deeply you take care of your family.”

  She raises a brow at me. “You know she’s my sister?”

  I remain silent staring at her.

  “You had one of your guys do a background check on her?” she asks, standing. She approaches me head-on.

  Again, I say nothing.

  “What did you find out?”

  “Enough to know her family background and that there’s a gap in her teenage and early adult years. No records at all. Someone worked really hard to eliminate any records of LaTasha from ages thirteen until about twenty-one.”

  “Someone must have.” She shrugs.

  “Who hurt her?” It’s a question I couldn’t hold back.

  Coral’s face turns hard and angry. “They’ve been dealt with.”

  “They?”

  Coral closes her eyes for a brief moment, a pained look of regret crossing her face before she quickly masks it. “This damn kid is making me soft,” she states, rubbing her belly and taking a couple of steps back to sit on the edge of the king size bed.

  “You’ve always been a big-ass softy.”

  “Fuck you. Bennett.”

  “Language! You know by now the baby can hear words in the womb.” I chuckle.

  “Yeah, well this baby’s going to come out with quite the vocabulary already between Li’s edgy vernacular and mine.” She grins.

  I laugh even harder at that. “I’m surprised you can still walk the way Li’s been all over you.”

  Coral laughs out loud for the first time. “He loves this pregnant belly.”

  “It’s not just the belly.”

  Another tender smile crosses her face as she falls silent. That smile makes me happy for my cousin and his growing family. He finally has the love he’s waited a long time for.

  “You know she’s writing again.” Coral’s comment breaks the silence. “I know that’s because of you.”

  “That’s because of her,” I correct. “She’s meant to write.”

  “Yeah, but she’s been stuck in that funk of a writer’s block for a while. If I hadn’t been so preoccupied with my own life, I would’ve realized that the move here combined with the pressure she placed on herself to please her readers were the causes. You helped her with that. How? I don’t know nor do I want to know.” She eyes the closet door a few feet from me, and I can see a number of thoughts running through those hazel eyes. I won’t confirm or deny any of them.

  “I’m just happy she’s happy. Thank you for that. Just make sure she stays that way,” Coral says before she stands.

  “Save the threats for your husband. LaTasha and I will be fine.” I grin.

  “Good. As long as we have an understanding,” she says over her shoulder as she walks past the bedroom door. A few seconds later, I hear the chime of the elevator button and the doors sliding open.

  Grinning, I shake my head. I knew sooner or later that Coral would show up making threats about me possibly hurting her sister. I turn back to the closet, finally opening it and seeing my stash of accoutrements hanging on the wall. This is a much smaller version of the playroom I have in my home. It’s always been useful for when I had my past subs stay overnight. I reach for one of my floggers made out of rabbit’s fur, a paddle, and a pair of brand new diamond encrusted nipple clamps. A thrill shoots right to my groin when I imagine LaTasha’s perky brown nipples being squeezed in this clamp. The vision nearly causes me to groan out loud. Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with me? I’ve never been this turned on by just the mere thought of a woman. Shaking the image from my mind, I grab a pair of special, unused razors. I smirk at the plans I have for these babies. Finally, deciding I have everything I came for, I send a text message to LaTasha telling her to be ready by seven o’clock tonight.

  Chapter Ten

  Tasha

  “Coming!” I yell from my bedroom to the front door. I assume it’s Jeremy right on time for our seven o’clock date. Unfortunately, I’m running a little late, having gotten sidetracked at the community center. Then I came home and wrote for hours. I rush for the door and open it wide. “Hey, sorry, but I was helping Coral at the community center. She had to hire a temporary director because she’s going on leave soon and I helped with organizing information for the new director. Then I came home and started writing. Then I got this really great in
spiration from a scene for my cover, so I started sketching that out. And before I knew it, you were knocking on the door. And I know—”

  “LaTasha, take a breath.” His facial expression is serious, but I detect laughter in his eyes.

  Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply and exhale slowly. I blink and my eyes open. Now, I feel less unhinged by the warmth and laughter swimming in his eyes.

  “Hello. How are you? May I come in?” He asks, but enters simultaneously, forcing me to take a few steps back. He closes the door behind him. “No need to fret. I’m a few minutes early.”

  I look at the clock hanging on my living room wall and realize it is still ten to seven. “Oh.” I exhale, feeling slightly relieved that I wasn’t as late as I thought I was.

  “I was in the area already and thought I’d be a few minutes early picking you up. Go finish whatever you were working on and feel free to pack it up to bring for the weekend.”

  “Sure thing.” I start to head off before I stop abruptly, remembering my manners. “Did you want anything to drink while you wait?”

  “A bottle of water would be fine.”

  “Coming right up.” I retrieved the bottle of water and take it to him, before heading back to my bedroom to shut down and pack up my laptop and drawings to bring with me this weekend, along with my clothes of course. Since Jeremy already told me we’d be staying in tonight, I decided to wear a white flowing skirt that stops a couple of inches below my knees and a sky-blue button up top.

  “Don’t forget to pack the Ben Wa balls!”

  I almost drop my laptop when I hear him yell from the living room. Covering my mouth with my hand, I giggle out loud at the same time I retrace my steps and open the drawer where I keep the Ben Wa balls. Grinning I neatly tuck the box holding the balls into my overnight bag before doing a mental check to make sure I have everything else I’ll need over the next day and a half. Feeling satisfied, I turn off the light and exit my bedroom and re-enter the living room where Jeremy’s back is turned to me. He looks hunched over as if he is reading something on the coffee table.

  “What’s this?” he asks as I step closer.

  Shit! I mentally curse after I realize what he has in his hand. It’s the invitation to the National Book Awards Ceremony I’d received today and carelessly tossed on the coffee table. I accidentally left it exposed for Jeremy to see.

  “That’s just some invitation to an awards ceremony. My agent constantly sends me those things.” I roll my eyes as if it’s no big deal.

  “You’re not attending?”

  “No. It’s not until late October, and by then, Coral would’ve had the baby. So I want to be around to help her. Camille is always sending me these things.”

  “Camille?”

  “Yeah. She’s my agent.”

  Jeremy finally looks up from the envelope with half of the letter sticking out. He stares at me. It may just be my imagination, but I could swear his eyes are a shade darker than normal. And it’s not that sexy eye change in hue that happens whenever he’s turned on. My heartbeat doubles and I hold my breath, wondering if he’s seen through my lies. After a few seconds of just staring, he finally takes one last swig from his bottle of water.

  “Is this everything?” he asks, as he grabs my overnight bag from my shoulder.

  “Yup.” I sigh in relief.

  “Great. Let’s go.” He turns and heads toward the door, not bothering to wait for me.

  I find that unusual as he’s usually so touchy-feely, but I brush it off. It is Friday evening. It’s probably been a long work week for him, I reason to myself. I shut the lights off and step out the door, making sure it’s locked behind me. As I turn, Jeremy places his arm at the small of my back.

  “I like this skirt,” he says low in my ear, causing my panties to dampen.

  See. He’s not upset.

  ****

  “You like Italian, right? I had one of my favorite spots deliver,” he says as we enter his home.

  My nose is immediately hit with the succulent smell of fresh basil, tomato sauce, and garlic bread. My stomach answers his question for me.

  “I figured.” He laughs.

  “What’d you order?”

  He places my bag down by the couch and directs me to the dining room where the large table is covered with a delicious-looking spread of Italian food.

  “I ordered the caprese salad, fried calamari, garlic bread, prosciutto wrapped melon, salad greens of course, and a few others.”

  My eyes roam over the spread after he lists the different items on the table. “I’m pretty sure this is enough food to feed an army.”

  “Army?” His voice takes on an offended tone as a crease appears in his forehead. “You meant a marine unit.”

  I giggle, remembering the banter that often goes on between him, Coral and Liam. They tease each other about their respective branches of the military. Liam and Coral served in the army, so they feel the need to deride Jeremy for being a marine.

  “I’m sorry. I meant, this is enough food to feed the marines.” I laugh as he pulls out a chair for me.

  “How was your day?”

  We settle in and I begin telling him about helping the new temporary director get acquainted with the rules and regulations of the community center. She’s a part-time counselor, but she’s been away completing graduate school, so she needed some training on the director’s responsibilities.

  “You didn’t want to take over the director role when Coral is on maternity leave?”

  I shake my head. “No because I much prefer hanging with the kids every now and again and getting my hands dirty in the garden or reading them stories. That’s better than being the director. Plus since I’ve gotten my writing mojo back, I probably will only be there for about two to three days a week over the next few months. My agent has been hounding me to get this manuscript complete.”

  He peers at me over his glass and I see something flash in those green eyes, but he blinks and it’s gone.

  “How about your day?”

  He wipes his mouth with his napkin, drawing my attention to those sensuous lips of his. The moment that napkin leaves his mouth, I’m sure he’s saying something about work, but my attention is fully drawn to the movement of his lips. Absentmindedly, I lick my own lips, remembering the way his mouth made me feel just the previous week. I’ve never experienced anything like it before of course because it was my first orgasm. Unfortunately, it’s been a week and because of Jeremy’s strict rules about not touching myself when he isn’t around, I haven’t been able to even try to replicate it. Not that I’d even be able to replicate the feel of his lips on me. Nothing could copy that, I’m sure.

  “Are you finished?” he asks, breaking my concentration.

  I clear my throat and take a sip of red wine. “Yes, I am. It was delicious.”

  He gives me a panty-wetting grin before rising from his chair to take our plates. “No. Sit,” he insists when I rise to help him.

  Shrugging, I sit back down, popping one of the melon balls into my mouth. My eyelids flutter as the sweetness from the fruit melds with the saltiness of the prosciutto, causing a delicious firestorm in my mouth. “Mmm…” I moan out loud.

  “I love that you enjoy your food with gusto.”

  I lower my head, embarrassed. I laugh. “I’ve always loved food. My grandmother used to pull me in the kitchen to be her little taste tester.” I smile fondly at those memories.

  “I know from experience a woman who is able to indulge in food and savor it is also able to experience pleasure in so many other ways.” He leans down, trailing a finger along my jaw line. He stares deeply into my eyes.

  I shiver from the sheer intensity of his gaze. I’ve always found Jeremy to be an extremely attractive man with an acute ability to convey a message with a single look. Right now, his look is suggesting that he’s a predator and I’m his prey. That thought sends a warm chill down my spine, and I realize I don’t mind being his prey. Leaning into his touch
, I close my eyes and lick my lips again. Months ago, if someone would’ve told me I could feel this uninhibited and so close to such a virile man, I would’ve laughed in their face. But Jeremy makes it easy to just feel, be in the moment, less self-conscious and less fearful. I’m still trying to figure out what it is about him that makes me more inclined to put my fears aside.

  “Stand up, LaTasha.”

  As if attached to his body instead of my own, my legs immediately move, doing as he asked.

  Once I stand, he pulls me into his arms, never breaking eye contact with me. “Have you still been wearing the Ben Wa balls as instructed?”

  I nod. “Of course.”

  “Of course, what?”

  “Sir.” It was my first time referring to him as sir and it felt good.

  “I want you to go into the playroom and remove your clothes down to your panties and bra. Then wait for me on the bed while I finish clearing the table.” It wasn’t a question, but a command.

  “Yes, sir.” I can already feel the wetness pooling in my panties just from the deep rumble of his voice and that sharp look in his eyes. The way he can switch from friendly banter to Dom in seconds is thrilling and sure as hell keeps me on my toes, which I’m sure is his intention. With one last look in the deep pools he calls eyes; I pivot and head down the hall and down the steps to the playroom. As I step inside, I’m assaulted by memories of the last time I was in this room. My first orgasm had occurred right on that bed. I grin, running my hand along the silk sheets that now adorn the bed. The cool, smooth, and soft feel of the sheets beneath my fingers makes me anxious to feel them beneath the rest of my skin. I remove my skirt and shirt and fold them before placing them on top of the dresser. I turn toward the full-length mirror, looking at myself in my matching pink lace bra and panty set. I admire my appearance. I settle on the bed and tuck my legs underneath my butt, sitting up on my haunches to wait for Jeremy.