Tender Touch

by Emery, Lynn

  “No way. I’d have noticed something funny by now,” Jade said with force, but a tickle of doubt went through her all the same.

  “Like I said, be careful.” Shaena cocked an eyebrow at her. “Bill Lang does have that reputation.”

  “I have been keeping my ears open. I just hope Bill doesn’t put too much trust in that sleazy Mike Testor,” Jade said in a very soft voice. This time it was she who glanced around.

  “He’s another reason I don’t like the questions being raised about your section. Testor is a guerilla fighter when it comes to department politics. Lang would do well to dump the dude.” Shaena wrinkled her nose in distaste.

  “Yeah, he gives me the creeps. He always wears a greasy smile, like he’s just looked up my skirt.” Jade gave a shiver.

  “Ugh, what a worm. Then there’s Tavis Collins—handsome and with a mind like a razor.” Shaena spoke with admiration.

  “I can’t quite read him.”

  “He’s considered up and coming by those in the know. Hey, let’s not start worrying for nothing. Like I said, Brad doesn’t think there is anything heavy to it.”

  “Right. Bill is pretty sharp himself. I’m sure he won’t let those people pull any shady stuff.”

  Jade tried to feel as confident as her words. But like Shaena, she had been in state government enough to be troubled by this development.

  * * *

  “Rachelle, I’m involved with someone.” Damon gazed at her with dismay. He thought of ways to quickly cut his losses.

  From the moment they sat down in Copeland’s, he sensed this so-called lunch invitation was more than a pitch for business. Rachelle turned heads in the deep red wool suit she wore with a paisley silk scarf of red, white and gray. For fifteen minutes, while they waited for their meal, she’d hinted at how lonely life was without him. Finally he blurted out his declaration of being serious about another woman in hopes she would back off. He was wrong again.

  “Of course you are, darling. I wouldn’t expect you to be celibate for goodness’ sakes. I know how large an appetite you have,” Rachelle murmured with a glint in her eyes.

  “It isn’t like that with Jade. She’s special to me, very special.” Damon stared down into the cup of now cold black coffee that sat in front of him. He looked forward to their trip to Washington more than ever.

  Rachelle studied him for a good thirty seconds before she spoke. “By that dreamy look on your face, I’d say she’s definitely made an impression. You didn’t even look this strung- out when we were new loves.” A tight line along her jaw made it obvious she was not happy.

  “Look, I’m sorry if you got the wrong impression. Can’t we at least be on good terms?” Damon dreaded a scene. Rachelle was well known for dramatics when her ego was bruised, particularly by a man.

  “Certainly, sugar.” She flashed a warm smile at him and patted his hand with a look of indulgence. “We’ve both moved on with our lives. No need to nurse old bitterness. Here’s to you and...” Rachelle let her voice trail off.

  “Jade,” Damon added. His smile grew wider. “Jade Pellerin.”

  “Yes, how nice.” Rachelle’s top lip curled up for a split second. She lifted her cup of coffee.

  They finished their meal, and Damon hurried back to his office. He tried not to act impatient to be gone, but he thought of all the last-minute details at the office he wanted to double check before the trip. He left her still nursing her second cup of coffee. Rachelle wore a dour expression at his retreating back.

  “Goodbye,” she muttered. “And thanks for nothing.”

  “Rachelle? I thought that was you,” Nick called from a nearby table. “Haven’t seen you since the last Delta Sigma Theta ball. Looking good as usual.”

  “Oh, hello, Nick,” Rachelle mumbled. She stared at the door through which Damon had hurried off away from her. “How’ve you been?” Her upper-class manners kicked in even when she was aggravated.

  “Fine, fine. I hear tell you’re big in public relations these days.” Nick sat relaxed in his expensive suit on an extended lunch break from his grandfather’s thriving insurance office.

  “Marketing,” Rachelle corrected.

  “Umm, yes of course. Listen, since your date is gone, why don’t I join you?” Nick put his head to one side.

  “That was no date; that was my ex-husband.”

  “I thought I recognized the famous Damon Knight.” Nick watched her face. “He’s dating my ex.”

  Rachelle looked at him for the first time. Her face eased into a beguiling expression, like a cat coaxing a bird from a tree. “Nicky, dear, you most certainly can join me.”

  Chapter 9

  “I’m so glad we were finally able to have you over,” Clarice gushed to Damon.

  “Give me strength,” Jade muttered. Her father wore a look of sympathy for her.

  Jade and Damon were in her parents’ spacious den after dinner. Jade stood next to her father, helping him to gather a tray bearing the coffee, cups, sugar and cream. All through the meal, Clarice had been the gracious host. With the skill of a brain surgeon, she had extracted family history from Damon without seeming to pry. Jade’s jaw ached from gritting her teeth.

  “So am I,” Damon said. He pressed his lips together in an effort not to laugh at the flash of irritation on Jade’s face. “Things have been so hectic in the last couple of weeks.”

  “Mama, I told you I’ve been working lots of overtime, what with the legislative session coming up—”

  “That’s not for another month or more, dear,” her mother cut her off smoothly. “Cream and sugar, Damon?” Clarice beamed at him.

  Jade swallowed a tart reply and counted to five. “We start preparing more than a month in advance, Mama.” She bit off the last few words in a restrained tone of reproof.

  “Oh, I see. Well, you’re here now. So, Damon, tell me more about your fascinating family.” Clarice turned to him in rapt attention.

  For the next hour, Jade and Damon sat side by side on the sofa, she chafing at the need to find an opening to leave. Damon seemed completely at ease. He even seemed to enjoy talking to Clarice.

  “Have you met Lanessa? We should get together again and invite her over,” Clarice said.

  “What for?” Oliver shot his wife a sharp glance.

  Jade gazed from her father to her mother. Her senses went on alert when the undercurrent became clear. “I guess Lanessa will meet Damon sometime, Mama.” She wondered what was going on.

  “Since you’ll be coming over here for dinner again soon, might as well be then. Say a few days after you get back. When will that be?” Clarice popped up to get a calendar.

  “Mama, for goodness’ sakes, we don’t have to plan it now.” Jade felt the tug of an unpleasant yet familiar old feeling.

  For as long as she could remember, her mother had a habit of arranging for Lanessa to end up with the best of everything. At first Jade had not understood that it was more than coincidence that Lanessa got the fancier dress or the brightest hair ribbons. Her mother had always said, “This style is better suited to Lanessa, dear” or “This isn’t your color, Jade.” But by the time she was ten, it was clear that Clarice had different plans for Lanessa. Plans that included a glamorous life. For Jade, a life of quiet study and achievement was stressed. Jade felt a spike of anger go through her as she remembered all the dashing young men Clarice steered to Lanessa.

  “Mama, I’ll decide when to introduce Lanessa to Damon.”

  Jade gazed at her mother steadily. Everyone else grew quiet. Damon wore a puzzled look at the sudden tension. Clarice blinked at her in surprise. They stood watching each other for several seconds. Clarice wrung her hands twice in a jerky motion.

  “Yes, of course. Plenty of time.” Clarice smoothed her blouse and patted her hair. “Oh, here I’m rambling on and forgot to bring dessert. I made a special apple spice loaf, Damon.” She left for the kitchen.

  After another thirty minutes of strained small talk, Jade and Damon l
eft. Back at Jade’s home, they sat holding each other and listening to music. Jade pushed away resentful thoughts of her mother’s behavior toward her. She reminded herself that she was grown and did not have to feel intimidated by her mother anymore. Damon seemed to be reading her mind.

  “Honey, don’t let your mother spoil our mood tonight,” Damon said in a low voice as he kissed her ear then cheek. “I’ve learned to ignore my mother’s attempts to control me. It’s gotten easier in the last, oh, six months.” He chuckled softly.

  Jade wanted to laugh it off, but she could find no humor in this. “Mama can be very thoughtless sometimes. Especially when it comes to me.” Her voice wavered a bit.

  “Lanessa is the princess, like my brother Trent was always ‘Mama’s little man.’” Damon nodded with understanding when Jade looked up at him. “Oh, yeah, been there.”

  “But it’s so awful. Sometimes I still resent Lanessa. We’ve only just begun to get close. I don’t think they realize how they’ve pushed us apart.” Jade was tom between worship and dislike for Lanessa even now.

  “You said it right—thoughtlessness. Your mother and mine have a lot in common. They just seem to forge ahead, thinking only of what they want, convinced they’re right. But we won’t let them make life difficult for us.”

  Jade felt a new source of anxiety take hold. “Your mother has said something to you about seeing me?”

  “My mother never wanted me to divorce my first wife. She has this very eighteenth-century idea of marriage. While we were little, she actually picked the three families she expected us to choose our wives from.”

  “You’re kidding.” Jade shook her head, amazed. “And I thought my mother was bad.”

  “Baby, nobody tops Marlene Cormier Knight when it comes to wanting her way. Except maybe Rachelle.” Damon gave a grunt of scorn after saying her name.

  “So Rachelle was one from one of the ‘right’ families?”

  “First on the list.” Damon got up to get them both a glass of red wine.

  “I guess so. The Balleaux family is so old money I’ll bet some of the coins have whiskers.” Jade thought of the proud handsome men and elegant women who bore that name. They were prominent in south Louisiana.

  “Don’t be too impressed, sweetheart.” Damon sat next to her and handed her the wineglass. “They’re just as flawed as the rest of us. Believe me, I know.”

  “But you’re part of that world, too. The Knight family goes back for generations. And your mother’s family...” Jade’s voice trailed off. She reviewed the idle gossip she’d heard over the years. The Cormiers descended from a Therese, an African slave woman left a large tract of land by her owner, for whom she’d had several children. The legend was still fresh after two hundred years.

  Damon put down his glass then took hers. “Listen to me; I’m thirty-four-years old. My parents don’t dictate to me. I did marry Rachelle out of a stupid sense of duty, sure. But I honestly thought I loved her.”

  “And you didn’t?” Jade had almost blurted out the question in present tense. She had seen Rachelle Balleaux Knight several times at social functions. Rachelle had a kind of picture-perfect beauty most women wanted badly.

  “I loved the woman I thought she was, Jade. Beauty on the outside doesn’t mean a thing if it covers an empty shell.” Damon gazed off.

  “That’s kind of cold. She can’t be that bad.”

  “You’re right.” Damon thought for a few seconds. “Rachelle just has no concept that what she wants isn’t best for everyone else. She can be engaging and even generous.”

  “So she isn’t a complete witch,” Jade said with a shade of disappointment in her voice.

  “Is Nick a total wash as a human being?”

  Amusement tugged up the comers of her mouth. “No.” Jade had to admit that Nick was great with children. In his fraternity he always played the clown when they treated inner-city kids to special parties for major holidays.

  “See what I mean? Of course I’d like you to remember what a no-good bum he was as a husband,” Damon said with a teasing note in his voice. He lifted her face to his.

  “And you just remember your ex-wife’s most annoying habits, mister.” Jade brushed a forefinger across his full lips.

  “I can’t think of much when I’m holding you like this,” he whispered. His mouth covered hers. He touched his tongue to her lips, stroking them lovingly as though savoring fine wine. “Wanting you is the only thing on my mind.”

  The soft jazz music was an enchanting accompaniment to their lovemaking. He guided her down onto the sofa. Damon caressed every part of her body as he undressed her slowly. Jade panted in delicious impatience yet was hypnotized by his actions. She watched him touch her breasts with the tip of his tongue and move his hands down her stomach. Jade arched to him when his fingers touched her. Like a brush of fire, his fingers caressed her into mindless pleasure. His lips traced a line between her breasts down until they tickled the soft flesh of her mound. Jade cried out and gripped his shoulders. For what seemed like hours, he brought her to the brink of ecstasy only to ease her back from the edge. Finally Damon groaned with his own need. He mounted her with a quick motion that brought a gasp from them both. Jade wrapped her arms around him and matched his gentle rocking motion, her mind filled with him. This love was like a deep ocean welling up inside her, leaving her breathless. She swam with the current and reveled in the sensation of having him inside her, surrounding her. Damon was everywhere at once. For one bright, shattering moment as the orgasm rippled through her, she lost a sense of being separate from him. Jade screamed his name, and he answered with his own release. They drifted off into a semiconscious state of sexual contentment for an hour, happy to feel completely cut off from the world.

  “You see, baby,” Damon said, his fingers laced through the tangle of her hair. They lay quietly holding each other. “It’s you, just you.”

  “But what about in the cold light of day, Damon? What happens when your parents, and mine, start to press in, dragging all that old baggage back with them?” Jade wanted to believe, but they could not live isolated from their families. She knew how important family was to Damon. It was one thing she knew he would always have in common with the Knight-Cormier dynasty. Could he resist the pull of tradition?

  “We’ll stand together and face them all. It won’t be pleasant at times, but I’ll never let them drive a wedge between us.” He gazed into her eyes. “Never.”

  * * *

  Marlene stretched and enjoyed the feel of satin on her skin. The antique gold sheets had been a gift. She got up from the bed. The master bedroom had a beautiful view of the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans. Tourists with cameras slung around their necks, some with children in tow, strolled toward the Riverwalk to gaze at the new trendy shops. With a contented sigh, she pulled on the black silk robe that matched the teddy and black lace panties she wore. A glance in the wide mirror set on the teakwood dresser pleased her. For a woman of fifty-four, she could easily pass for forty-four, or younger. Her body was fuller, true, but the generous hips curved out from a still relatively small waist and she was firm. Brisk walks and swimming at the club assured that.

  “Where are you going, sweet thing? Get back in this bed,” a voice rumbled from beneath the fabric.

  “I didn’t tell him I’d be here all night.” Marlene belted the robe and gazed back at the bed. “I really should be going. It’s almost five now.”

  “Okay.” A muscular brown arm pulled back the fabric to reveal a body to match of flawless bronze. His lips curled up at the way she stopped in the act of picking up her dress to stare at him. “Guess you should leave. Since it’s still early, I’ll hang out and see what’s up at the House of Blues tonight.”

  “Do you have friends here?” Marlene said with a slight crease in her forehead. She tried to sound casual. The difference in their ages mattered to her, especially when she saw good-looking younger women watch him with hungry eyes.

  “
Sure, you know I do. I went to Dillard University, remember?”

  “Of course. I just meant—never mind. I’ve got things to do anyway,” Marlene said in a voice that sounded like a child pouting. “I don’t exactly sit around waiting to breathe, until I can see you, Tavis.”

  “I didn’t say you did.” Tavis rose from the bed without one bit of self-consciousness that he was naked. “Now let’s not argue. No strings, no questions. That’s what we agreed.” He ran his long fingers down her arms.

  “Yes.” Marlene sagged against him with her eyes closed. “I’m sorry, darling. Our time together is too precious. You make me feel so alive, so...” She shivered when his hand rubbed her buttocks.

  “Oliver must be more attentive now that his retirement has forced you two to be together.” Tavis wore a sly look that Marlene did not see; even when her eyes were open.

  Marlene pressed up against him. “What do I care?” Her voice was too sharp.

  “Sure, baby.” Tavis suppressed a laugh at her expense.

  He knew quite well that Oliver Knight, even stricken with a mild stroke and eighteen years older than he, occupied her every waking thought. Each lover she’d taken in the last twenty years had been with an eye to getting revenge against him. Tavis had a grudging respect for the distinguished old man who still looked good despite his ill health. Oliver Knight could hold a woman in a viselike grip. All without the use of physical force, but with the mind. He was better at it than most men. Except Tavis of course.

  “Besides, I want to talk to Damon sometime this weekend before he runs off to be with that girl.” Marlene allowed herself another few minutes of luxury against his hard torso before she began to dress.

  Tavis drew on his bikini briefs then the jeans that hugged his narrow hips so well. “Damon and Bill seem to hit it off very well. Damon has gained a lot of respect for his work at the center, too.” He spoke with studied nonchalance.