Operation Midnight

by Sharon C. Cooper

  “Tell me what happen,” he said, approaching the sofa. She started to lift up, but he stopped her with a hand on her hip. “Stay here.” He sat on the edge.

  “I was waiting for you.” She told him how she had been drinking tea and heard someone at the patio door or thought she had. She went through the whole story to the point of him walking through the garage door.

  “I’ll check the surveillance footage in a few minutes.” He frowned and caressed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. Her eyes drifted closed, savoring his touch. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Olivia opened her eyes. His frown deepened as he touched the back of his hand to her forehead and then to the side, near her temple. He was probably checking for a fever. Though she felt a little warm, it probably had more to do with the hot tea and the excitement a few minutes ago more than anything else.

  “I’m fine.”

  She moved her legs and curled them underneath her. He sat back on the sofa, his hand now resting on her thigh.

  “We need to talk.”

  “Yeah, I know.” He laid his head back, exhaustion radiating off of him.

  “Cameron, I know seeing my sister again upset you and I’m sure it doesn’t help that I was glad to see her.” When he said nothing, she continued. “But you can’t just walk out on me every time we have a disagreement. It doesn’t help anything and it’s hurtful.”

  He gripped her fingers and brought her hand to his lips, kissing the back of it.

  “I’m sorry. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you.”

  “I know. Baby, you’re my everything and I hate when we argue. But if we are going to make our marriage work, we can’t walk out on each other when we don’t agree on something.”

  “I know, but your sister—”

  “No.” She halted his words and shook her head before turning more toward him. “We’re not talking about her for the rest of the night. She’s been the topic of too many conversations between us lately. Tonight I want this conversation to be about us. Just you and me.”

  No way was she going to tell him that she had agreed to meet Keisha for brunch the next day. He would be furious. She’d admit he had a right to be, but this was something she had to do for her own piece of mind.

  “So what else do you want to talk about?” Wiz asked, pulling her into his arms and kissing the top of her head.

  “How about if we discuss our wedding plans?”

  “Are you going to make my evening by telling me that you’ve changed your mind about a formal ceremony and are willing to go to the courthouse?”

  She pinched his stomach, barely able to grasp any skin thanks to his muscular abs.

  “Ow!” He flinched, laughing. “What? I thought that’s what you wanted to discuss.”

  “No. And you know we’ve been there and done that already. This time, we do the small church wedding with our closest friends and family. Besides, your dad and stepmother have already made arrangements to be back in the country. They’re excited about being here for the ceremony.” She couldn’t wait to see them. Wiz’s dad had remarried a few years ago and couldn’t have picked a better mate. Elaine was one of the sweetest people Olivia had ever met and was perfect for Andrew. Now that they had moved to Fort Lauderdale for retirement and traveled a lot, she didn’t get to see them as often.

  “Yeah, I talked to dad this morning. He said you asked him to walk you down the aisle.”

  “He’s been like a father to me since my dad died. It was like a no brainer.”

  “I’m glad you asked him. He doesn’t think my sister will ever get married, so you might be his only shot at marrying off a daughter.”

  It was Olivia’s turn to laugh. “He’s probably right.” Carmen, Wiz’s sister, loved being single and traveling. She was currently living in Brazil. As a reporter, her career took her all over the world.

  “Tomorrow, Tasha and I are going to take care of some last minute wedding details, including finalizing things for the reception.” Olivia snuggled closer, knowing Wiz was going to hate the next part of their conversation. “After I get off of work Wednesday, I want you and me to do some wedding cake tasting.”

  His brows drew together. “What?”

  “The woman who owns the bakery and will be making our wedding cake, suggested we stop by and taste a few samples. That’ll help us decide which one we want to go with.”

  “Come on,” he groaned, sounding like a two year old. “Can’t you and Tasha do it? I honestly don’t care what type of cake we have. Just pick the one you want. I’m sure it’ll be great.”

  She released an exaggerated sigh. He hated stuff like this, but she was determined to get him involved in some of the planning. Since she had waited until the last possible minute to finalize everything, they needed to do this as soon as possible.

  “I don’t want Tasha to help pick one. I want you.” She looked at him pointedly knowing he would cave.

  The left corner of his mouth tilted up and he shook his head. She knew she had him.

  “All right, Ollie, I’ll go, but it’s going to cost you.”

  She punched him in the chest.

  “Ow, woman! I don’t think you realize how hard you hit.”

  “Well, don’t call me Ollie. You know I hate that name. Besides, only Malik can call me that.”

  He lifted an amused eyebrow and burst out laughing.

  “Oh really?” The wicked look in his eyes had her scooting away from him, giggling. Each move back she made, he moved forward crawling on the sofa.

  “Yes and … ooh …” she purred as he slipped his large hand under her sleep shirt, heat rose within her when his hand made contact with her breast. She moaned as he caressed her with such gentleness and her eyes drifted closed.

  “You feel so damn good.” He crushed his mouth over hers and his hand moved with more purpose. Stroking. Kneading. Tweaking.

  Her nipples hardened under the heat of his caress and currents of desire shot to the tips of her toes. She didn’t know what it was about him. One touch and she felt as if she would leap out of her skin. Adrenaline pumped through her veins and her heart rate amped up with every flick of his finger against her sensitive peaks.

  She tugged on the front of his shirt, pulling him closer, needing to touch him, feel him against her. She whimpered when he pinched one of her nipples, his tongue continuing to explore the inner recesses of her mouth. His hand went lower, but got tangled in her shirt.

  He yanked his mouth from hers panting. “This thing is in the way and I need to feel all of you.”

  “Funny, I was just thinking the same thing. You have on way too many clothes.” She jerked on his polo shirt.

  He lifted up. “You’re right.”

  He stood next to the sofa, toed off his shoes and quickly undressed, his muscles bunching with each move. A slow smile inched across Olivia’s mouth at the sight of him.

  God, he has an amazing body.

  Her gaze followed his every move.

  “Now where was I?”

  Sitting on the side of her, he eased the sleep shirt over her head, leaving her naked except for red, satin panties. His gaze did a slow drag down her body and warmth shot through her at the longing brimming in his eyes. There were moments like now that her heart swelled with love for him. Not only did he always make her feel safe, but when his gaze took her in the way it was doing now, she felt cherished and desired.

  His hand seared a tantalizing path from her neck, down between her breasts, and over her belly, not stopping until he reached the thin lacy material.

  “These need to come off.” He slid her panties down her legs and tossed them to the floor.

  “You’re so beautiful.” The huskiness of his voice matched the passion swirling in his eyes. “I wanted to take this slow, but…”

  Hovering above her, he braced his hands near her head and nudged her thighs apart with his knees. She breathed in his fresh scent and moaned when their lips touched. A wave of contentment s
ettled in her soul. This sweet, loving man was all hers and she melted a little inside thinking about how special he was to her.

  Her palms glided over his shoulders and down his back over his sinewy muscles, delighting in the way they contracted beneath her hands. He belonged to her and she wanted all of him.

  She reached between their bodies and wrapped her hand around his penis. “I don’t want to take things slow tonight,” she murmured against his mouth.

  A low growl rumbled in his throat when she slid her hand up and down his length, squeezing and stroking, enjoying the way he grew within her grasp. She added more pressure and the heat from his body transferred to hers as he moved against her palm.

  He felt so good.

  She glided the pad of her thumb slowly over his velvet tip, moisture coating her finger. Wiz cursed under his breath when she added more pressure. He shivered and jerked out of her hold, his breathing labored.

  “Okay. Okay. Okay.”

  He grabbed hold of her hands and lifted them above her head. Without warning, he plunged inside of her. She sucked in a breath, her back arching off of the sofa as her body slowly adjusted to him.

  “Ohhh,” she said on a breath as he began moving inside of her.

  He stared down at her with lust-filled eyes and then his gaze moved to her mouth. Kissing her sweetly, he rocked his hips and they moved to their own beat.

  This was how she wanted to spend the last moments of her birthday, not arguing with him, but having him buried deep inside of her. He was the only man she had ever been with and she couldn’t imagine ever sharing something so special with another.

  Wiz broke off the kiss and released her hands. Gripping her hips, he plunged deeper. Passion pulsed through her like warm honey and heat spread throughout her body as he increased the pace.

  “Ca … Cameron,” she panted, his hold on her hips tighter, his moves more jerky. On the verge of an orgasm, she matched him stroke for stroke, barely able to hold on to his sweat, slicked arms. She squeezed her thighs together, tightening around him as he continued to thump in and out of her. Faster. Harder. Deeper.

  “That’s it,” Wiz growled, his fingers digging into her skin.

  An electric current seemed to arc through her. “Cameron!” she screamed, her body convulsed against him as she clung to his shoulders. Her world spun on it’s axis as a wave of sensation hurtled her beyond the point of no return.

  With one last powerful thrust, he growled her name as his body trembled and he collapsed on top her.

  Minutes ticked by with neither of them able to speak. Their labored breaths filled the quietness in the house and Olivia wrapped her arms around Wiz’s shoulders.

  “I love you so much,” she whispered close to his ear.

  *

  An hour later, they were settled in their bed and Wiz pulled the sheet over their naked bodies. Olivia snuggled into the crook of his arm, her hand resting on his chest and her leg across his thigh.

  “I’m sorry about what happened earlier. I definitely didn’t plan on ruining your birthday celebration with an argument,” he said. “But I hope you understand that it’s my job to keep you not only happy, but also safe.”

  “After the way we just made up, I am beyond happy and I do feel safe. Remember, I’m not the young, naïve person I once was and I’m not trying to rebuild a relationship with Keisha. So let’s not ruin a wonderful end to the day discussing her.”

  That was cool with him. The last person he wanted to talk or think about was her sister.

  A short while later, after Olivia had fallen asleep, Wiz eased out of the bed and slipped into a pair of pajama bottoms. He had already planned to look through their home’s surveillance after talking with Keisha. But finding out Olivia had heard something or someone on the patio, it couldn’t wait.

  The automatic lights flickered on when he stepped into his office. His gaze immediately went to the floor where the items from his desk lay. Quickly picking everything up that wasn’t broken, he set it all back in its place.

  Clearing the desk that way had been a stupid move. Although, it seemed his night was filled with a lot of stupid moves.

  Wiz sat at his desk. Logging into his laptop, he pulled up the cameras around the outside of the house. He had them installed in various light fixtures on the property.

  The surveillance software opened and Wiz began his search.

  Why would Keisha wait weeks before revealing that she was in the city? And why was she suddenly dressing like Olivia? More importantly, who the hell had been lurking around their backyard tonight?

  So many questions and not enough answers.

  “All right, let’s see what we have here,” he muttered into the quietness of the room. He went back a few weeks to the approximate day Keisha had returned to Chicago.

  They lived on a quiet street, with not much traffic, and scrolling through the security footage proved that up until two weeks ago. One thing that stood out was a small gray car that drove by daily, slowing down in front of their house every time it passed.

  The vehicle didn’t look familiar, but that didn’t mean it didn’t belong to someone in the neighborhood. It wasn’t until Wiz spotted the same car sitting across the street one house down did he think otherwise.

  He zoomed in. He couldn’t make out the person behind the steering wheel. Based on their build, it was a woman, but he couldn’t see her face. And despite Illinois requiring license plates being on the front and back of the car, this vehicle didn’t have one on the front.

  He switched to a different camera, hoping to get a shot of the back of the vehicle in order to see the license plate number.

  Damn. No plates.

  Wiz sat back in his seat and rubbed his eyes. His gut told him it was Keisha, but he didn’t have any proof. No one could ever accuse her of not being street smart. At some point, she would screw up and he’d be right there to catch her.

  He scrolled through footage from the camera at the back of the house. At first, there was nothing, but then the camera picked up a lone, dark figure.

  The hairs on the back of Wiz’s neck stood at attention when a tall, lanky man, dressed in all black, wiggled the handle on the patio door.

  Shit.

  The thought of Olivia being in the house alone with some creep roaming around the back trying to get in sent a rush of heat through Wiz’s body. Zoning in, he didn’t have a good shot of the man’s face, but he froze the image. Hopefully his facial recognition software would be able to get a match.

  First Keisha shows up at their house and now some random guy. Maybe the two situations weren’t connected, but Wiz had a feeling they were. Now all he had to do was make the connection … without anyone getting hurt.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Late the next morning, Olivia walked into the restaurant and did a quick glance around looking for Keisha.

  “Hi, table for one?” the hostess asked when Olivia approached the podium.

  “Actually, I’ll need a table for two. I’m meeting someone.”

  “Okay, would you like to be seated now or wait for your party?”

  Considering there weren’t many empty tables, Olivia figured she should snag one before they were gone.

  “Now is good, and if you have a table near the back, that would be great.”

  The young brunette gathered two menus. “Sure, right this way please.”

  Olivia followed her into the dining room that was buzzing with conversation. When they neared a table where three men were seated, one of them offered her a seductive smile, his appreciative gaze traveling down her body.

  She nodded a greeting, but didn’t return the smile. No need to encourage him. The man looked a little young, but she had to admit that now that she was thirty-five, it felt good to know that she could still turn a man’s head.

  Olivia groaned when the hostess stopped at an empty table next to the group of men.

  “Is this okay for you?” she asked.

  “This is fine.
Thanks.”

  She set the menus on the table. “Your server will be right with you.”

  Olivia slipped out of her wool coat and laid it across the back of one of the extra chairs. She took the seat that faced the bulk of the dining area and hoped her sister would show. With Keisha, she couldn’t be too sure.

  The note in her handbag came to mind. She wanted so bad to believe that her sister had gotten her act together.

  “Damn, there’s two of them,” one of the men from the next table murmured.

  Olivia glanced up. Keisha walked toward her, looking as if she had just stepped off the cover of Vogue magazine. The fitted, white lace top and long, flirty skirt were artsy and chic rolled into one. The red leather jacket hanging open with matching high heel boots and handbag set the outfit off perfectly. And the extra swing of Keisha’s hips ensured that she would get the attention she clearly was going for.

  “Hey, sis, sorry I’m late.”

  “No problem. I just got here.”

  Olivia wasn’t sure how to greet her. She was a hugger, but based on Keisha’s reaction last night, she still wasn’t into hugging.

  Keisha eased out of her jacket and draped it on the back of her chair. Olivia just shook her head as her sister adjusted her clothes, which were already perfectly in place, and put on a show of sitting down. She definitely had the attention of the men at the next table.

  “Whew.” She leaned forward. “Those are some cuties over there, but I guess you probably didn’t notice since Cameron has you on lock down.” The snarkiness behind her words and the way she twisted her mouth in disapproval had Olivia holding her tongue.

  Well, I guess some things haven’t changed.

  As Keisha studied the menu, Olivia did a thorough perusal of her sister’s long, straight hair, conservative make-up, and sensible jewelry. She had noticed the change last night. It was like looking in the mirror at herself. Olivia changed her look often until about a year ago when she let her hair grow out.

  There was a time when her sister would do everything she could not to look like Olivia. Yet, last night and today not only were their faces the same, so was their style of dress. Olivia had to admit that this new Keisha was a little unnerving for more reasons than one.