No More Good

by Angela Winters

  “Emily Post?” Lyndon stood up, holding his hand out to her. “I’m sure Mrs. Chase is thrilled to see you dating me, an actor.”

  Leigh let him lift her up and the strength with which he did it made her tingle inside. Every girl loved to feel feminine against a man’s strength. He led her into the living room, which she had already told him was her favorite room in the house.

  “I already told you,” Leigh said. “She knows better than to mess with my love life.”

  He turned back to her with eager eyes. “Am I part of your love life?”

  Leigh pushed him away as he leaned in. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

  He fell back on the plush sofa and patted the seat next to him. “Okay, but what about King Chase? I’m sure he’s said something.”

  “Why did you call him that?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s just the impression I get of him. Am I right?”

  “That’s what my brothers call him. I guess he has that effect on men.”

  “He’s pretty intimidating.”

  Snuggling up next to him, Leigh patted his thigh. “I know he can come on strong, but that’s what daddies do. Trust me. I would only be afraid if he was nice to you.”

  “I’m sure you don’t want to talk about it,” Lyndon said, “but I know about Richard Powell. The tabloids speculated that your parents played a part in—”

  “Lyndon.” Leigh turned to him. “You’re right. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Those damn tabloids are always lying anyway,” he said after a short pause. “I just want you to know I understand. I’ve had crazy women stalking me. One tried to climb my gate and she slipped. One of the sharp daggers cut her and I came home to see her lying in blood and . . .”

  Leigh watched as Lyndon turned away, visibly shaken by his own words. She placed her hand tenderly on his chest. “Did she die?”

  “Almost,” he answered. “She would have bled to death if. . . She ended up trying to sue me by saying the type of gate I have was dangerous.”

  “Dangerous to people who might be stalking you.”

  “Not according to her. She said she believed I wanted her to come over. We had a secret relationship and I asked her to come to my house. I was supposed to have left the gate open.”

  “Wow.” Leigh tried to wipe away the images of Richard dying in her arms while parts of Leo’s brain were splattered on the walkway in front of her. “Some people are just sick and they don’t . . . they don’t understand.”

  Lyndon smiled, looking as if he was about to laugh. “Leigh, you are something else.”

  Leigh turned his face to hers with her hand. “Why do I get the feeling you’re about to make fun of me?”

  “I just don’t understand how someone can have the heart that you do after such an ugly thing happened. Honestly, are you for real?”

  She placed her hand gently on his thigh and leaned forward. “Does that feel real?”

  That playful expression Lyndon had on his face most of the time quickly faded and Leigh was instantly excited by the look of passion that took over. She was really doing this. She was seducing Lyndon Prior!

  Lyndon’s lips met hers halfway and Leigh was pleased by the softness of his kiss. It was hungry, but cautious and it only made her want him more. Her hands went against his chest and he leaned in closer and she felt the muscle beneath the thin shirt.

  They separated and Lyndon looked into her eyes. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

  “What do I look like to you?” Leigh asked. “A virgin?”

  “No, Leigh. But I don’t just want to kiss you.” His hand came to her waist and squeezed.

  “What do you want?” she asked coyly.

  “You know what I want,” he answered. “I just . . .”

  Lyndon gasped as Leigh ripped at the front of his shirt, pulling it apart.

  “I think we’ve talked enough,” she said.

  In a second, he was all over her, but it wasn’t sloppy and it wasn’t greedy. It had been so long since Leigh had sex that she expected some hesitation, but there was none. The way he touched her face, stroked her breast, gently tugged at her hair quickly wiped away any doubt. He rubbed her in just the right place and in just the right way: not too soft, but not too hard.

  When she realized that Lyndon knew what he was doing, Leigh just let him take over. From the way he positioned himself on top of her, removed her shirt, and then her bra, she could tell he liked to be in charge and she let him. She let him remove every inch of her clothing all while leaving slow, wet kisses all over her body.

  As his mouth warmed her neck, he took her hand and directed it to his groin. When she took hold of him, he was already getting hard and as she gently stroked him, he groaned his pleasure when she reached the pace he liked.

  Leigh’s noises were getting louder with every touch and her body was moving on its own as his hands deliberately traveled from the middle of her thighs, parting her legs. Her arms were around his neck and her fingers pulled at his hair as he rubbed his fingers against her. She let out a loud whimper as two fingers slowly entered her. Leigh’s head went back as he moved his hand in and out of her while he continued to rub her outside with his thumb.

  Leigh was losing control of everything. She fell back on the sofa, her eyes closed, as Lyndon concentrated on what he was doing. He pressed his other hand gently against her pelvis as the pace of his fingers picked up. He wasn’t just trying to make her feel good. He was going for her G-spot and he knew exactly where it was.

  It was only seconds before Leigh’s entire body contracted and she screamed in pleasure. When she opened her eyes, Lyndon was looking down at her with a proud smile on his face. “What?” he asked. “Did you think that was it?”

  He leaned across her and picked up his jeans, which had been discarded on the floor next to the sofa. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a condom. “I’m nowhere near done, Doctor. This is about to get good.”

  8

  “Carter, there’s someone here to see you.”

  Sitting at his desk, Carter looked up from the Wall Street Journal in his hands and eyed the phone on his desk. Patricia, his assistant, always warned him fifteen, ten, and five minutes before an appointment arrived. And she always said the name. He didn’t need to check his BlackBerry to know he had no appointment scheduled.

  “Send them in,” he responded as he tossed the paper on his desk and positioned his chair to face the door.

  When Anthony entered with a threatening scowl on his face, Carter was a little surprised, but he didn’t show it. He kept stone-faced as the man who had stolen his family approached. There was no need to prove anything. This was his domain and Anthony had come to him first as he had planned. Now he could tell Avery that Anthony started this and he wouldn’t be lying.

  “I’m here to tell you to stop,” Anthony said as he stood just at the edge of the desk.

  Carter let a smile flirt at the edges of his lips. “I was just reading the paper. Does that offend you?”

  “You know what I mean,” he said. “You sent my wife flowers this morning.”

  Carter’s smile went flat at the mention of this man referring to Avery as his wife. It angered him that Anthony, no matter how much less of a man, was the winner here. Not only did he have Avery, but he was her husband and she was carrying his child. Carter wanted to explode just thinking about it.

  “Yes, the flowers. You didn’t like them? They weren’t really for you, but . . .”

  “She’s made her feelings clear. She wants nothing to do with you.”

  “Those were over her father.” Carter leaned back in his chair.

  “Bullshit. You sent them to our hotel room and the note didn’t mention—”

  “You read it?” Carter asked. “It was addressed to Avery. That’s not polite.”

  “You son of a—”

  “You weren’t supposed to be there.” Carter enjoyed making him angry. “I i
ntended for them to be delivered after eight a.m. You should have been on your way to the airport. You know, for your Monday trip back to the little school you work at.”

  Anthony shook his head. “Don’t think you can get me riled up with that. So you spend your money spying on people. It’s pretty sad actually.”

  “I wouldn’t expect you to get angry at that,” Carter said. “If you weren’t angry about me spending time in your hotel room last week, why would you care if I sent flowers?”

  Carter felt a wicked sense of satisfaction at the look on Anthony’s face. The man would lose at poker every time. As he expected, Avery hadn’t told her husband about his visit to the hotel room and while debating whether or not Carter was telling the truth, he appeared enraged at the possibility that he was.

  Anthony took a few seconds longer than he should have, but recovered. “I know who you are.”

  “You’ve said that before,” Carter said, “but I don’t believe you do.”

  “I do and it doesn’t matter, because this is my family.”

  Carter controlled his rage to assess Anthony’s knowledge of his upper hand here, his temporary upper hand. He wasn’t as simple as he seemed, but he still wasn’t going to keep Avery. Carter had already decided.

  “You had your chance,” Anthony continued. “And you blew it.”

  Carter gripped the armrests of his thick mahogany leather chair. “Do you actually think you can win against me?”

  “I don’t need to. I have everything I want already.”

  “No,” Carter corrected him. “You were able to take advantage of a situation without me around. Things are different now. You’re smart enough to sense that. Scared?”

  “Scared of what, brother? Avery told me everything. You turned her against you by being yourself, and all your money and power can’t change who you are. I should thank you. The way you lied to her, manipulated her, and acted like such an ass with her family while she was gone only cemented her disdain for you.”

  “And you conveniently swooped in to heal her wounds.” Carter was distinctly hurt at the thought of Avery sharing details of their relationship with Anthony. “You’re a rebound, Anthony, and the rebound guy never lasts long. She got pregnant by accident, so you got lucky. She’s an old-fashioned girl, but even that won’t save you.”

  “I don’t need to be saved.” He hesitated, seeming suddenly very impatient. “Like I said. Stay away from my wife.”

  As soon as Anthony closed the door behind him, Carter slammed his fist on the desk and shot up from his chair. How much had Avery told him? How intimate the details? He was fuming and there was a voice inside him that said give it up. Just let her go. Why did he want her anyway? If she really loved him she would have stayed and worked it out. She wouldn’t have run away and made him crazy. She wouldn’t have slept with another man so soon and certainly wouldn’t have married him. She was no longer the Avery he’d fallen in love with. How could she be?

  But after only a few minutes, Carter’s rage subsided. This was all a waste of time and he knew it. He loved this woman and there wasn’t going to be any getting past this. Despite all the pitfalls he’d made for himself, the year they were together was the best of his life. He hadn’t felt complete since she’d been gone and he wouldn’t again until he got her back.

  He was going to have to take it up a notch.

  Kimberly almost tripped over herself when she stepped out of the Beverly Hills Chase Expressions salon and found David leaning against a parking meter with an extremely pleased smile on his face.

  He didn’t move and Kimberly knew this was his way. His hos came to him, not the other way around. She’d been told that too many times to count. As she composed herself and walked over to him, she felt her stomach turning to mush and prayed that no one would notice or remember they had seen her here.

  “You can’t do this,” she said. Looking around, she put her sunglasses on even though she doubted it would do any good. “You know the tabloids have people with cameras and cell phones all over Beverly Hills. Someone will take my—”

  “This is to teach you a lesson,” David said, his expression darkening. “Do you think I won’t walk up to your front steps?”

  “I didn’t—”

  “You’ve been locking yourself in that little palace of yours to avoid me,” he said. “If you want to play that game, I’ll walk up to your fucking steps.”

  “Don’t you dare come to my home.” If it wasn’t for fear of Michael finding out, Kimberly almost wished David would come to her house. Maybe then she could, she would find the strength to kill him.

  “You got my money?” he asked.

  “I don’t carry that around with me.” Kimberly turned her back to the salon as another patron walked out. These women knew who she was and someone would say something. They were catty, gossipy, and eager to get their hands on her husband. “Can we please just go—”

  “We’ll stay right here,” he said. “This is your punishment for trying to avoid me. You know better than to disobey me, girl.”

  Kimberly wanted to smack that superior grin off his face. He was nothing, a nobody piece-of-shit pimp from Detroit, and he thought he was a god. “I can give you a quarter of a million now, but the rest will take time.”

  “That family has billions!” He looked around as if hoping that someone had heard him.

  She gestured for him to quiet down. “I’m not married to Steven Chase. I’m married to Michael.”

  “I don’t care if you were married to the family dog, you stupid cow. I want the money.”

  “That’s all I can—” Kimberly jumped with a gasp as David started for her. He was faking, but the smile on his face said he was satisfied with the effect.

  “You know what I can do if you don’t give me my money,” he said. “It wasn’t that long ago, Paige.”

  Kimberly couldn’t control herself and began to cry. She stumbled to the nearest support, which was a street sign, and leaned against it to keep from falling to the ground. It was as if the past ten years had disappeared in that second. When he’d fronted, his arms raised at his sides, she remembered the consequences of crossing him and she was scared. It was as if she wasn’t a member of one of the richest, most powerful black families in the country, but a helpless girl with nowhere to turn.

  “It’s okay, baby.” David approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder. With his finger, he touched her chin, lifting her face to him. “I know it’s been a while. You’ve forgotten your place, so I can be forgiving.”

  Kimberly slapped his hand away, leaning back. She could tell from his reaction that this made him angry. “I’m not your little whore anymore. I don’t need your forgiveness.”

  “Fine,” he said. “No more forgiveness. No more patience. Paige, your time is up. I want the money.”

  “I can only—”

  He shoved a piece of paper in her hand. “Bring it to this hotel room by three on Friday. If you don’t, I’ll be calling every local radio and television station to introduce myself. I have plenty more pictures of you, of us. Don’t test me, Paige. You should know better.”

  Leigh stepped outside the clinic salty as she saw Lyndon drive up in his most recent purchase, a convertible Maserati Spyder, with Jack and Nick sitting in the back. Now that they had slept together, things were different between them and Leigh liked that. It had been a long time since she felt safe to care about someone; give herself to someone. Lyndon was exciting, smarter than he liked to give the impression he was, funny, and could throw down pretty well in the bedroom. The gossip was true about that.

  But these friends of his were pure Hollywood and Leigh didn’t like them one bit. And she especially didn’t like Nick, who was already focused on her breasts the second she reached the car.

  Slipping inside, she met Lyndon halfway and he gave her a sweet kiss that made her feel good after a hard day at the clinic.

  “Good stuff,” he said. “How was today?”

  “T
ake a guess.” She looked back, wondering if Lyndon had talked to either of them about the rehab centers she had scooped him on. “Hi.”

  Jack bid an enthusiastic hello while Nick merely nodded, but never took his eyes off her.

  “I know I’ve been MIA for a while,” Lyndon said as he slid back into traffic and sped away. “But this DVD work is killing me.”

  “The clinic isn’t going anywhere,” she said, wishing she had something to tie her hair up with. It was flying all over the place and Lyndon was driving really fast. “At least I get to see you when—”

  Leigh caught her breath, her hand coming to her chest as Lyndon sped through a red light and Jack yelled his approval.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  Lyndon looked at her and winked. “There was no one there.”

  “Not the point,” Leigh said. She didn’t want to nag, so she let it go.

  “Don’t worry,” Lyndon yelled above the traffic. “I’m dumping these bums in Hollywood before we go downtown.”

  Leigh wouldn’t say it, but was very glad to hear it. “Where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise!” He looked at her with that sparkling smile.

  “Lyndon,” Leigh pleaded. “Watch the road. You’re driving too—”

  She screamed as he swerved into the next lane, cutting off a black SUV. Jack yelled again, this time in an incomprehensible holler.

  “Do you know where you are?” she asked. “You don’t cut people off in this neighborhood unless you want to start something.”

  “Don’t worry.” Lyndon pressed on the gas to make a yellow light. “I have protection.”

  “What does that . . .” She suddenly realized what it meant. “You have a gun in this car?”

  “I always have a gun.” Lyndon swerved onto the highway, picking up the pace. “I have a permit, Leigh. You know who I am. I have to—”

  “Slow down!” Leigh grabbed the dashboard as if it could brace her. She turned to Lyndon, who was smiling as if he thought this was a game.

  “Gun it!” Jack yelled. “You drive like my grandma, asshole.”