Tender Touch

by Emery, Lynn

  “But her family dates back to the time when Louisiana was a Spanish colony. Royalty, even.” Jade wore a miserable expression.

  “Give me a break. Royal thieves who spent most of their time stealing from everybody in sight.” Shaena chuckled. “In fact, I heard one of her illustrious ancestors was little more than a high class hooker.”

  “Really?” Jade brightened for a second with the juicy gossip over two hundred years old. Then she swung back to the present. “Anyway, she’s just one of the many. Maybe I should break it off now.”

  “Sure, dump him before he dumps you. At least it’s safe.”

  “Don’t give me that tone,” Jade shot back at her.

  “Yeah, as a matter of fact who needs the attention of a fine, sensitive man who thinks you’re gorgeous, right? No need to wait until he’s done something wrong. Drop-kick the dude now.” Shaena ignored her smoldering look.

  “I’m warning you—”

  “Guilty until proven innocent. He’s a man, that’s evidence enough.”

  “Shaena, you’re on thin ice with a big crack down the middle.” Jade glared at her.

  “Hey, it’s not like good men aren’t a dime a dozen after all. Watch it!” Shaena dodged a rubber band shot at her head.

  “I get your point.” Jade laughed again, this time harder. “What is the matter with me? I’m losing my mind like you said.”

  “At least you can laugh about it, sugar. Look, a bad experience can make it hard to trust again. I know how it feels.”

  Jade grew thoughtful again. “I swore I’d never let any man mean that much to me again.”

  “You put your faith in someone you loved and he lied. That kind of heartbreak takes a long time to heal. I’m just learning how to move on.”

  For several minutes the two women sat silent, each reviewing a painful past. Jade thought of the ardent, sincere look on Damon’s face when he spoke of wanting to have someone in his life he could be close to. He’d been hurt like her. Having been hurt in the way only a lover can, Jade knew the shadow of sorrow in those stunning eyes was not fake. His tender touch was that of a man who wanted to love and be loved in return. A man who wanted true love, not a conquest. And Jade needed the same.

  “Maybe I should, too. Damon doesn’t talk or act like any other man I’ve ever been with, Shaena.” Jade looked up with a glow of warmth in her expression.

  “That’s right, honey. I’ve been doing the tough, don’t-need- no-man thing long enough to realize that. But no more.” Shaena waved a hand.

  “I’m going to stop making myself crazy. Damon is coming over tonight, and we’re going to have a wonderful time.” Jade gave a decisive nod.

  “Good for you, girl. A nice cozy evening is just the tonic you need.” Shaena grinned at her.

  Jade wore a puzzled frown for a few seconds. “Say, hold up. What did you say about not being without a man anymore?”

  Shaena’s eyes shifted to the left then right. She cleared her throat then got up to leave. “Let me get back up there and finish this brief.”

  “Freeze!” Jade jumped up and caught her arm. “Don’t even think about leaving until you tell me who he is.”

  “Hey, my boss is going to wonder where I am soon.” Shaena tried to shake loose without success.

  “So you don’t want to tell me? And I thought we were closer than sisters.” Jade assumed a hurt expression.

  “Stop with the guilt trip.” Shaena glanced around before shutting the office door. “Promise you won’t laugh,” she said so low Jade leaned forward.

  “Speak up, I don’t read lips. Why would I laugh?”

  Shaena bit her lip and paused before speaking. “It’s Brad Pittman.”

  “Brad Pittman!” Jade yelled and slapped her head. “Tell me this is a nightmare sequence from The Twilight Zone. Tall, reddish-blond on the sixth floor Brad Pittman?”

  “Lower your voice, mega-mouth,” Shaena said through clenched teeth. She stared at Jade with a stone like gaze. “I didn’t know you had a hang-up about interracial dating.”

  “I have a hang-up about dating outside your species. The guy is arrogant and condescending. I’ve always suspected he was a bigot, too.”

  “Scratch that last theory, hon.” Shaena giggled.

  “But Shaena, Brad Pittman?” Jade dropped into one of the two chairs for visitors that faced her desk.

  “He doesn’t have patience with a lot of idiot bureaucrats. But neither do we. And his reputation is undeserved.” Shaena lifted her nose in the air.

  “Brad Pittman,” Jade said with astonishment still in her voice. “Have you ever seen him be rude to someone without cause? Think about it.”

  Jade sat without speaking. “Okay, you have a point. But still...”

  “We’ve had only one date so far, so don’t make a big deal.” Shaena tried to look nonchalant.

  “Then why act so undercover when I asked you about it?” Jade fixed her with a critical gaze. “Nah, I’m not buyin’ it, girlfriend. It’s my turn to tell you that you’re not fooling anybody, except maybe yourself. You got a jones for the man.”

  “No way.” Shaena shook her head with vigor.

  “Don’t run away from love,” Jade said with a smirk. “Be honest about your feelings. I’m sure you recognize your own advice.”

  Shaena groaned. “I asked for that.”

  “And more—” Jade broke off to answer her phone. “Hi Damon. Working hard to get things cleared up before I leave. You are?” Jade broke into a wide grin. “That’s marvelous! I’ll see you tonight.”

  “What good news have you gotten?” Shaena asked.

  “Damon is going to the conference, too. Oh, happy day!” Jade got up and did a little dance.

  “Bet you won’t be so grouchy about leaving here now.” Shaena laughed at her.

  “No, indeed.”

  Lang knocked on the door before opening it. “Jade, here are the letters I’ve signed. Hello, Ms. Greene.”

  “Hello, Mr. Lang.” Shaena got up to leave. “I’ll talk to you later.” She waved goodbye and left.

  “Count on it,” Jade called after her. She chuckled at the face Shaena made at her. “Uh, I think I will leave early today to do some shopping.”

  “See? I knew you’d want to get something special to wear. Go right ahead.” He smiled at her. “I’m sure you’ll wow them in D.C.” Lang went back toward his office.

  “Thanks, Bill.”

  Jade arranged the papers on her desk. In a few minutes she was ready to leave. She hummed a favorite blues song as she locked the door to her office. She already had in mind what she wanted to get. With one last set of memos to distribute, she went into Lang’s office on her way out.

  “Here you go. I’ve gotten the last mail out.” Jade nodded to Tavis, who was still in Lang’s office.

  “Efficient as always. Happy shopping.”

  When Jade was gone, Lang leaned back in his chair. “She’s looking forward to our trip as much as I am.”

  “Oh?” Tavis gazed at him with an amused look.

  “Yes. Jade is on her way to buy new clothes. I’ll bet lingerie is on the list.” Lang wore a smug grin.

  * * *

  Jade closed her eyes and held on for a lovely ride. The slow blues tune wrapped around them like a warm blanket. It was magic being with him with all of her senses working overtime. She savored the feel of having Damon’s arms around her in the dark. Her ears hummed with the slow beat of the bass being strummed with such precision. Damon’s cologne was a tangy spice that tickled her nose in a delicious way. The dance floor was packed, but Jade no longer noticed or cared.

  Dorothy Moore crooned. Her rich throaty voice poured out the words to a blues love song, “At Last My Love Has Come Along,” making the old R&B standard sound new.

  The Blues Cabaret was a nightclub in downtown Baton Rouge that catered to the true blues aficionado. Some of the best guitar players and singers came there regularly, mainly because many of them were Baton Rouge or
Louisiana natives. They loved coming home to jam with friends. Local audiences were the happy beneficiaries.

  “Having a good time?” Damon said in a soft voice close to her ear.

  “Hmm,” she purred. Jade rubbed against him, wishing there was a way to get even closer. “I’m at one with the universe.” Damon chuckled. “So love can be a mystical experience, eh?” Jade shivered at the word. She looked up at him. “We’re falling in love?” The way his lips curved up at the comers made her weak in the knees. He needed to be kissed—or rather she needed it, badly.

  “What do you think?” Damon nibbled her bottom lip with a gentle tugging motion. “Tell me.”

  “Damon,” Jade gasped.

  A delicious hot hunger spread up her thighs and hugged her hips. The movement of her gentle rocking motion against him was involuntary. Instinct made her press forward. That he was just as aroused became obvious when she felt his erection through the fabric of his slacks. The music seemed designed to push them into sweet insanity.

  “Tell me you want me, too,” Damon said. “Say it.”

  “Yes,” Jade whispered. Her voice was hoarse with the effort to hold on to what little conscious control she had left. She trembled as a tiny explosion rocked her body. “Oh, yes.”

  “Say it,” he urged. His hands traveled up and down her back, making her tremble more. “Please.”

  “I want you so much, Damon.” Jade groaned with the sweet sensation of arousal. She gave a tiny cry of dismay when the song came to an end.

  “Time to go back to our table.” Damon held her still on the dance floor. His eyes were smoky with passion.

  “Have mercy on me,” Jade said. Her heart was pounding like a drum in her chest.

  They walked back to their seats with their arms encircling each other’s waist. An alert waiter appeared. He handed Jade a cardboard hand fan with an advertisement for a soul food restaurant nearby.

  “Nice cool drink oughta go down just right after that one.” He winked at Damon. “How about it, my man? Looks like you could use something with ice in it.”

  Damon nodded in a numb fashion. “Yes, indeed.”

  “I’ll have another diet cola, please.” Jade worked the fan back and forth. The cool breeze helped calm her.

  “That was some dance.” Damon wore a look of amused affection.

  “I had a great partner helping me keep time,” Jade said with a saucy tilt of her head to one side.

  She was amazed at her boldness. Jade had always considered herself inept at this kind of erotic flirtation. This was her first experience with a man who so enjoyed making love long before consummation. Damon was bringing out a side of her she had no idea existed. Jade liked it a lot.

  “I feel like we’re communicating perfectly on every level. I can’t wait to tell you about even little things that have happened to me. But sometimes just sitting next to you at the end of the day is enough.” Damon locked her in a loving gaze. He sat with an arm draped around her.

  “I know.” Jade emotions soared as she leaned into the crook of his arm.

  At that moment the waiter brought their drinks. Damon paid him. “Keep the change.” He waved the man away, impatient to have him gone.

  “Thanks, brother.” The waiter glanced at Jade with masculine appreciation. He backed off. “I understand. Yes, indeed.”

  “Can we leave now?” he murmured, his lips brushing against her cheek. Damon’s question was one with a charged double meaning.

  Jade could no longer resist. She kissed him full on the mouth, not caring that they sat in the middle of the crowded nightclub. So intent on the delicious taste of him, she did not hear the scattered applause from those around them.

  “People are watching,” Damon said, his lips still pressed to hers.

  “What people?” Jade replied. She eagerly touched the tip of her tongue to his. With perfect timing, they parted just as the music came to a dramatic end with a long guitar solo that ended abruptly.

  “Jade?”

  A loud male voice directly above them broke the spell of passion. Recognition tugged at the comer of her consciousness. She looked up to find her ex-husband, a pouting beauty on his arm, standing two feet away. The look of slack-jawed amazement on his face made her want to laugh out loud.

  “Come on, Nicky,” the woman said. She shot Jade a glance that could curdle milk. “You promised to take me to Chez Irene.”

  “Hello, Nick.” Jade’s manner was cool and offhand.

  Yet she could not help but feel a teeny thrill. This could not have been better had she arranged it! All the nights of smarting from blows to her self-esteem dealt by Nick came back in an instant. There were also moments of rage at her treatment. Moments when she fantasized about showing him a thing or two. I wish I had video of this!

  “It’s been a long time.” Nick glanced at Damon then back at her. “A very long time.”

  “A few months.” Jade smiled at him. “This is Nick Guillory, Damon. My ex-husband. Nick, Damon Knight. And this is...?” She nodded to the woman.

  “Oh, uh, Tiffany—” Nick broke off, a befuddled crease in his handsome brow.

  “Monroe,” Tiffany snapped. She dug her long nails into Nick’s coat sleeve, causing him to jump.

  “Yes, Monroe,” Nick said with an embarrassed laugh. “Sorry, it’s just I’m surprised to see you here.” He stared at Damon.

  “Nice to meet you. Great band, eh?” Damon did not look happy at the way Nick kept glancing at Jade so possessively.

  “Hmm, yeah, yeah. Really good music.” Nick did not seem as though he was thinking of music at all. “Have you two been coming here awhile?”

  Jade almost lost control at the obvious attempt to find out how long they had been dating. Before she could speak, Damon began.

  “Awhile,” he said. His expression challenged further efforts to probe.

  Nick drew himself up and became the imperious man so familiar to Jade. “We usually go to New Orleans but decided to stick around the old town for once.”

  Damon was not impressed. “Oh, yeah.”

  “In fact what was that club I used to take you down near the French Market, Jade? You loved it. We’d stay up until two in the morning then wander over to Cafe du Monde—”

  “Nick, this trip down memory lane is simply fascinating, but I’m ready to leave. Now.” Tiffany spoke in a tight voice of fury.

  “We’re on our way out, too.” Jade lifted her royal blue cape from one of the extra chairs at the table.

  “Listen, if you’re hungry, join us for dinner,” Nick spoke up. He made a point of not looking at Tiffany. “No reason we can’t be friends and get acquainted—or reacquainted as it were, ha-ha.”

  Damon stood up and helped Jade into her cape. “No, we’re going to my place.” He wrapped an arm around Jade and pulled her close. “But thanks anyway.”

  “Oh. Then goodbye.” Nick had the wide-eyed expression of a man who had just had cold water thrown in his face.

  They were silent for the long drive to Damon’s apartment. Jade’s mood of amusement slipped to one of worry at the dark scowl on Damon’s face since they had left the club. Once they were inside, Damon turned on his sound system and began preparing cafe au lait. Several minutes went by before she worked up the courage to speak.

  “As usual the Blues Cabaret had the best jam in town.” She craned around from her position on the sofa to see him in the kitchen just off the living room.

  “Yep,” came his clipped reply.

  “I’m glad you suggested we go there. It was one fabulous evening, honey.” Jade hoped the tension that hung in the air between them like a thin curtain would lift. But it did not.

  “Well, it started anyway.” Damon marched in with a teakwood tray bearing two beautiful white cups with an African kente cloth pattern as a border around the rims.

  Jade bit her lip. “How do you mean?” She was not prepared for the rush of anger that followed.

  “I mean, your ex showed up and stood s
coping out every inch of your body. Right in front of me.” Damon did not touch his mug.

  “Nick isn’t interested in me, Damon.”

  “That’s not the way he acted tonight. And you seemed to eat it up.” Damon turned to her with a look of accusation.

  “Damon, I...” Jade searched for a way to explain.

  “So that means you still care about him.” Damon got up and stood with his back to her, hands jammed into his pockets.

  Jade was well acquainted with the sting of feeling insecure. Knowing how he’d been hurt by his ex-wife helped her to be understanding. Jade stood behind him and put her arms around his waist.

  “Damon, I admit I enjoyed seeing that dumbstruck look on Nick’s face. Not very admirable, I know. But it’s not because I still have feelings for him.” Jade forced him to turn and face her. She lifted her face to his. “You’re the one and only man in my heart.”

  “Are you sure? You were together for a long time. How can I compete with all the memories?” Damon searched her face for an answer.

  “Nick was not only unfaithful to me; he constantly belittled everything I did. Most of my memories of being with him are unpleasant, some downright horrible,” Jade said in an intense voice.

  “I didn’t realize he’d hurt you so much.” Damon’s face softened. He touched a fingertip to her mouth.

  “About one year after he finished law school, he announced that he’d outgrown me. Well, not exactly in those words, but that’s what it amounted to.”

  Nick had joined the thriving family insurance business. The heady life of meeting some of the South’s most wealthy and powerful only made his oversized ego bigger. He went from treating her with mild condescension to outright contempt. Jade stared off. Even that hurt faded. She felt nothing at the image of that last ugly scene which led to the end of her marriage.

  “Are you sure there isn’t at least a trace of love left?” Damon spoke just above a whisper. His expression was one of fearful expectation.

  “No,” Jade said with confidence. After all this time, this was a moment of revelation to her. Nick meant nothing to her now. “I can’t even get mad at him anymore.”

  Damon gazed into her eyes for several long moments. “Then let’s forget about the past. For us, the present is sweet enough.” He traced a line from her lips down her throat.