by Beverly Rae
Outside the runway of Hartsfield-Jackson Airport was growing closer. When the wheels hit the pavement, I popped the last fry into my mouth and thought about the past few days in Vegas. Unfortunately, instead of thinking about the amazing makeup sex we’d had after my tizzy fit, my mind wondered back to the meeting in the bar. What the hell was Tuo Chow? I frowned, perplexed at my use of the word what. Of course I’d meant who. But something about the man bothered me. Was it just his strange appearance? The way his skin seemed shiny, almost as though it was covered in scales? Or did my feelings of unease come from the guy’s creepy personality?
Tuo Chow was definitely odd, but something else kept coming back to bug me. Had I really seen Kaine’s eyes flash from green to gold? I’d checked his eyes numerous times since then and found no gold in them. Not even one tiny gold fleck. So had I seen what I thought I’d seen? My gaze darted toward my husband, but he still sat with his back to me.
In my line of work, you get good at asking questions. After all, what better way to find out what’s really going on than to just put it out there? Resolving that my marriage would be an open book, I stood and took a step toward Kaine. My man had some explaining to do and now was the time for him to pipe up.
Strains of Thad’s voice singing my business’s theme song jolted me from my thoughts. With a quick glance at the still-working Kaine, I flipped open my cell. “Christina Taylor. You’ve reached Debunkers, Inc. Let me take the fright out of your night.” I shook my head. I’d tried several slogans and still hadn’t hit on the perfect one.
“Chrissy? It’s Jenn.”
“Hey, Jenn. Wow, two calls in a week. We’re on a roll.”
Jenn didn’t laugh like I’d expected her to. Instead, she replied with a noncommittal grunt and got straight to the point. Yep, typical Jenn.
“C, I don’t know how to put this, so I’m just going to spit it out. I’m worried.”
“What about?” Had something happened to her husband? She’d gotten married only a short while earlier. Surely their marriage wasn’t on the skids yet.
“About Kaine. And you.”
Her words took all the air out of me. “Kaine? Why?” She hadn’t even met the man and she was worried? I glanced at him to make sure he hadn’t heard me, but his back was still toward me. I doubted an atomic bomb could’ve roused him from his paperwork.
“I got the picture you sent me.”
“Yeah?” The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Not a good sign. Not a good sign at all. “So? Didn’t I tell you he’s gorgeous? But not to fret. He’s definitely a one-woman man.”
“That’s not the problem.”
“Then what?” I tried to keep my tone level, but her remarks were ticking me off. Why couldn’t she simply be happy for me like any good friend should be?
“Well, I noticed something in the pic you sent me.”
If I could’ve reached through the phone and pulled her into the plane, I would have. “Jenn, quit beating around the tree. What are you getting at?”
“I noticed the, uh, tattoo on Kaine’s neck. You know the one I’m talking about, right?”
Of course I did. Yet for some inexplicable reason, I didn’t want to admit it. “Uh, maybe.” Oh, please, girl. Like she’s gonna believe that I’m stupid now. How could I have possibly missed it since I’d licked the area at least a few dozen times in Vegas?
“Are you serious?”
Like I said. She’s not buying the dumb routine. I opened my mouth to deny seeing the mark again, but couldn’t force the words out. She let the pause between us go on far too long to leave any doubt. She knew I knew she knew I was lying.
At last, however, she spoke up. “Come on, C, the one at the base of his throat? Are you really trying to say you haven’t seen it?”
I still wanted to dodge telling the truth. Or at least the whole truth. “Oh, that. It’s nothing.”
“Nothing? I don’t think so.”
“I know so, Jenn. In fact, it’s not there any longer.” Before I could give it a second thought, my vivid imagination took the reins away from my conscience and played Little Red Riding Hood. Damn, what a big liar you are. The better to get away with shit, my dear.
“Huh? It’s gone?”
I ignored the disbelief in her tone and trudged on through the mire of deceit. “Yeah. The tat was a joke, a temporary. He washed it off.” My stomach did a flip-flop with the last whopper. Why was I lying? Because her questioning bordered on an interrogation?
“Good.” I heard the rush of relief behind her sigh. “I’m glad.”
“Yeah, no biggie. So you were worried about a silly tattoo?” Let it drop, Chrissy. Let. It. Drop. But again I ignored reason and opened my trap. Like a scab you can’t help picking at, I kept picking at this sore. “Pretty silly, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Oh, crap. I knew I’d kept this discussion going too long. She still thought something was off. Curse Jenn and her super-sleuth instincts. Sometimes I wondered if she’d missed her calling. Instead of working as a realtor, she should’ve been a private investigator. Or maybe a secret agent.
“So you haven’t noticed anything else strange or weird?”
Now that you mention it… I ignored what the “else” implied because, for once, my mouth listened to my mind. “No. Nada.” I bit my tongue to keep from asking what kind of weird things?
“Good. That’s good.”
I could sense the mood lifting on her end and experienced a fresh flood of guilt. “Yeah, it is good. Real good.”
“So when’s the wedding?”
I should’ve copped to my deception—is this the second or the third lie?—at that point, but I didn’t. What the heck was going on with me? Why didn’t I want her to know I was married? I dug the hole deeper and this lie was easier than the last. What happened to tell-it-like-it-is Chrissy? “Oh, we haven’t set a date yet.”
Kaine, who had suddenly turned his chair toward me, furrowed his brows at me in question. I made a funny face and giggled. He smiled in return, pointed toward the cockpit, and headed that way.
“Oh, I see. Well—and I don’t mean to carry on about this—but keep your eyes open, okay? I mean, if you ever need me for anything, all you have to do is call.”
Oh, hell. Could she be any nicer? Just ratchet up the guilt, why don’t you? “Thanks, Jenn. I will. And I’ll be sure to send you an invitation. Then we can meet each other’s hubbies.” Liar, liar, pants on flame. Or however the saying goes.
At last, however, the rationalizing part of me kicked in. I was actually being nice, too. I mean, why should I bother Jenn with any strange stuff when I knew I’d find a logical explanation? After all, explaining away weird shit is what I do.
During our honeymoon, Kaine and I had agreed on where we’d be living. The discussion, of course, didn’t take more than a couple of minutes. I mean, on the one hand, we had my tiny studio apartment. It was cozy, semi-clean, cheap and my twin bed took up at least half of the square footage. On the other hand, however, we had his huge home. Hmm, which one to choose. Hey, my mamma didn’t raise no pauper—or however the saying goes. I happily agreed to Kaine’s place and today was the day I’d finally see my—um, our—new home.
I gazed out the side window of Kaine’s limousine and watched the city of Atlanta flash by. Just a few days earlier, I’d been wondering how to pay my rent and now I was on my way to a grand house in Buckhead. Who’da thunk it? Not me, that’s who.
Taking another sip of champagne I’d found chilling in the limo’s mini-bar, I couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of contentment—until I realized we’d veered off course and were heading toward the outlying areas of Atlanta.
“Uh, Kaine, where are we going?”
The corners of his mouth tipped upward, signaling he’d planned this detour.
“What did you do?”
He reached over to place a sweet kiss on my cheek and clinked our glasses together. “I should’ve known you’
d pick up on the change in destination.”
“Change? So we’re not going to your home?” I’m not a big one on surprises, but let’s face it, so far his surprises had been nothing short of spectacular. So instead of letting my nerves get the best of me, I returned his smile. “Okay, dude, spit it out. Where are we headed?”
“To our new home.”
Our new home? Had the man forgotten our decision to live in his luxurious Buckhead home? “But I thought we’d agreed I’d move into your place.”
“We did.”
I tried not to let my irritation show, but the Quiet Man routine was getting old. “Then we’re not headed in the right direction. Or did you fib about where you lived?” An uneasy feeling tickled my stomach. Had I been scammed? Was Kaine really who he said he was? Or was he some kind of con man who only pretended he was wealthy? Although if that was true, he’d sure picked the wrong mark. Was I destined to be a guest on Dr. Phil?
“Relax, silly girl.” Kaine chuckled and leaned away from me.
“Okay, first of all, never call me silly.” In my line of work, I meet truly silly, fearful people. Since I prided myself on my practicality, calling me silly was an outright insult. Of course, my new hubby had no way of knowing this so I cut him some slack. This time. “Secondly, I am a woman. Not a girl.” I batted my eyelashes at him, lessening the sting of my words. “I would’ve thought you’d have noticed that by now.”
His lustful gaze slipped from my face, ran a quick race over the rest of my body and came back to the finish line of my lips. “Chrissy, trust me. I am very aware and incredibly pleased that you’re a woman.” He let his perusal make another lap around my body track. “You are the most beautiful, sexiest woman I’ve ever seen.”
Had this guy memorized a book of great lines? Or maybe written it? Yet instead of obeying my heart and falling into his arms, I took a deep breath, secured my raging libido with mental chains and forged ahead. “And last but not least, you’d better tell me what’s going on. I realize I haven’t told you this before and, in fact, have probably led you to believe otherwise, but I’m not big on surprises. So ’fess up. Where are we going?”
“I told you. We’re going home.” He glanced away as though he’d settled the issue.
Could my man have developed a memory problem and lost his way home? But why would the driver have the same problem? I steeled myself against the remote possibility of early Alzheimer’s disease and kept the ball rolling.
“Honey, your, uh, our home is in Buckhead.” Hopefully, I hadn’t sounded too patronizing. But I knew better. Before getting a diagnosis, I’d already started speaking to Kaine like he lacked the mental capacity of a bunny. “We’re headed toward Cumming. You know, one of those towns way outside the Perimeter.”
Like many large cities, a beltway circled around Atlanta. Atlantans, therefore, use the highway to designate areas as being either inside the Perimeter (ITP) or outside the Perimeter (OTP). Kaine’s home in Buckhead was definitely ITP and we were headed OTP. Living ITP had always provided everything I’d ever wanted or needed, so I had rarely ventured OTP. Except, of course, for other basic necessities such as work (money) and lakeside birthday parties (booze).
“I know.” He twisted back to me and smiled. “But I promise you. We are headed home.” His grin grew wider and I suddenly got the image of Jack Nicholson sticking his head through a hole in the door.
“I’m sorry.” I figured those words would cover a bunch of different scenarios. Like I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. Or I’m sorry I didn’t see this breakdown coming. Or I’m sorry you’ve suddenly become a complete moron and can’t find your way home. Or the very popular I’m sorry, please don’t go bonkers and kill me.
Kaine laughed and pulled me to him. I didn’t resist which, to me, proved how much I loved the man. “Chrissy-doll, I know you’re confused, but all you have to do is trust me. This surprise is a good thing. I bought you a wedding present.”
“Oh.” I’m sorry suddenly meant I’m sorry I’m such an idiot. “Another present?” At least I wouldn’t sound like an ungrateful idiot.
Kaine pointed to the ornate gates already sliding open as our car pulled off the road and cruised toward them. The gates opened automatically, sending me into a bit of a panic. I definitely needed an explanation. “Are we visiting someone?”
“No, we’re not visiting anyone.” He inclined his head, directing my attention to the massive building looming ahead. “We’re home.”
Although I knew Kaine was loaded—I’m talking both financially and in the lower extremities (ahem!)—I was still unprepared for my first view of our new house. Perhaps the wrought-iron gate and fence surrounding the estate should’ve given me a clue. Not to mention the beautiful drive passing along the manicured lawn and magnificent topiary. Or maybe the numerous chimneys on the roof. But I just wasn’t getting it.
“Home? I don’t understand. You live in Buckhead in what I’m positive is a great place. But this—” I gestured at the cream-colored walls. “This is amazing. Hell, this is a freakin’ castle right in the middle of Georgia.”
“Well, strictly speaking we’re not in the middle of Georgia, but—”
“Kaine, shut the hell up and tell me what this is about.”
He chuckled again. “I can hardly shut up and tell you anything at the same time.”
Our car pulled up to the steps leading to the front door and I fought to keep from fainting. I leaned my body over Kaine’s to peer through his window. “Why are we here?”
“Chrissy-doll, I don’t know how to say this any clearer. This is our new home. I bought it the day after we were married.”
I swear I did almost faint then. “Our new home?” Again, I looked up the steps leading to the front, and this time, noticed a man, obviously a butler, standing beside the ornate front doors. “Are you frickin’ kidding me?”
Kaine wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. “No, I’m not frickin’ kidding you.”
I stared at the only sight more amazing than my new home—my husband. “But why?”
He placed his palm against my cheek and I melted, unable to resist the heat coming from his skin. “Because when you married me, you turned this poor excuse of a man into a king. Isn’t it only right that my queen live in a palace?” He smiled and tilted his head. “Or at least the closest thing to a palace that I could find in this state.”
I fell into the kiss, forgetting the mansion, the whirlwind marriage—everything except how much I loved him. No Lifetime Network movie had ever been this good.
Kaine kissed me back. Breaking through my lips, his tongue swept through my mouth, running along my cheeks to soak up my taste. He groaned in pleasure, bracing his hand behind my head to tilt it back. His kiss grew deeper, fuller, needier.
I slid down in the seat, ready and willing to do the Backseat Bump. Kaine slid his hand over my chest to cup my breast and I wanted nothing more than to get naked and dirty. Raking his thumb back and forth over my already-taut bud, he pressed his body over mine. I broke off the kiss, but only because I desperately needed air. I glanced toward the driver and the darkened partition separating the front of the limo from us. “He can’t see us, can he?”
Kaine’s mumbled words warmed the curve of my neck.
I pushed him to a sitting position and kept moving, coming to sit on his lap. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Oh, naughty me.
He pulled open my blouse, breaking the top button, and tugged my skirt up to my hips. I grinned at the sound of my thong being ripped off me. Unhooking my front-clasped bra, he pushed the material out of the way and latched onto my tit. I shuddered at the fierce tug on my nipple and rocked against him, delighting at the feel of the sudden growth underneath me.
“Oooh, I always wanted to screw in a limo.”
Swiping his tongue over the top of one breast, then the other, he grasped my shoulders and lifted me more squarely on his protruding cock.
When did he unzip his slacks? But
that was a question not needing an answer. He shoved his thick arrow into my target and aimed for my bull’s-eye. I inhaled and ground my hips against him.
He lifted me, moving me up and down along his shaft. He entered me again, cramming upward until I was sure I’d see his shaft poking out from my mouth. Not that I was complaining. Hell, no. In fact, I rotated faster on top of him, hoping to drive him even farther into me. Up and up until he touched the top of my head.
Moving his hands to my hips, he held me securely. I rode him hard and wet, holding my breasts to feather against his face in a tease-you gesture. Gripping his shoulders, I bit my lower lip and bumped to his hump. I met his every thrust with an equally strong push.
Push, circle, push. The words became a mantra echoing in my mind. I arched my back, finally giving my breasts to him and he played with them, catching first one, then the other as they bobbed up and down with our movements.
His cock filled me completely, rubbing against the walls of my cave, making me spill my essence over his shaft. Reaching down, I found my aching clit and massaged it, my fingers matching the circular motion of my hips.
“Oh, Kaine, I love the way you fuck me.” I licked my lips and clenched my inner muscles. He ground his teeth, a sure sign that his release was near. “Promise me you’ll always fuck me like this.”
His golden—golden?—eyes met mine and I swear I saw flickers of light in them. “I promise you that and more.”
I moaned, readying for the O that I knew was near. We’d made love fast and hard, and I loved it. I loved him.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to a finish. “Omigod, Kaine.” Pant. “We’d better—oh—” pant, pant, “—get out before—” pant, gasp, “—everyone figuresoutwhatwe’redoing.” I hurried the words as the build-up tensed my body, readying for the eruption.
“Chrissy-doll.”
Using my pet name was the final straw. My climax ripped through me a second before Kaine’s did. I bit the shoulder of his jacket, hoping to stifle the scream of ecstasy tearing loose inside me. Kaine gritted his teeth and placed his forehead on my shoulder, his tortured breaths the only clue to his release.
