Devious

by Suzannah Daniels

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Give me a few minutes to rest and get ready, and I’ll take it to them.”

  I walked to my bedroom and collapsed on my bed, folding my arms beneath my head. It felt good to stretch out, and my mind worked furiously to figure out how I could bring some happiness into Dara’s life. I’d given her mother all the tools necessary to call her. Now, I had to sit back and see if she would follow through with her explanation. If she didn’t, then I had to decide at what point I would tell Dara myself.

  I picked up Frankenstein and read a few pages while I relaxed my stiff muscles. Once I’d rested a few minutes, I took a hot shower, brushed my teeth, dressed, and sprayed on a generous amount of cologne.

  I found my mother sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a magazine.

  “Hey, Mom, I’m gonna borrow the car.”

  “Okay, I have no plans to go anywhere, and Dad should be back in a little while, anyway. The keys are on the counter.” She pointed to the end of the granite countertop.

  I picked up the food containers, grabbed the keys, and headed toward the front door. Remembering my mother’s words earlier, I paused and turned toward the kitchen. “Mom, don’t worry if I’m not home before you go to bed. I’m not sure when I’ll be back.”

  “Okay, Stone. Be careful, and tell Dara to let us know if she needs anything.”

  “Will do.”

  I loaded the dishes in the trunk of my mother’s car and drove to Dara’s house. She and Mr. Milton were sitting in the rockers on the front porch when I arrived. Popping the trunk, I got out and grabbed the food.

  “Are y’all hungry? My mom sent over a chicken casserole and a coconut pie.”

  “Maybe a little,” Dara replied, her voice devoid of emotion.

  “I could use a bite to eat,” Mr. Milton said, rising from his chair and opening the front door for me.

  Walking through the living room and entering the kitchen, I set the food on the counter and took three plates from the cabinet. I spooned a serving of chicken casserole onto each plate and set them on the table. Then, I passed out silverware.

  I poured three glasses of sweet tea and handed them out. Mr. Milton and Dara sat down while I passed out paper towels. Then, I took the seat by Dara and leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

  “Did y’all get everything taken care of?” I asked as we all began to eat.

  “We did,” Mr. Milton answered. “Visitation will begin tomorrow and the funeral will be on Tuesday.”

  “Mr. Milton let me pick out the casket,” Dara said softly, her voice quivering. “I found a pretty pink one that Granny would love.”

  I rubbed Dara’s shoulder, knowing how hard this was for her, and I could remember all too well when my parents had picked out Luke’s casket.

  “Granny’s sister, Shirley, will be here in the morning. Her daughter, Vickie, and granddaughter, Felicia, will be with her, too. Do you remember them?” she asked.

  I nodded. I’d seen them at Granny’s wedding shower a few months back.

  “Shirley and Vickie will be staying in the guest bedroom. Felicia can stay in my room with me.”

  “I’m glad that they’ll be here for you,” I said, and Mr. Milton agreed.

  I wondered how Mr. Milton was holding up. He was quiet, his pensive mood apparent.

  After we finished with the casserole, I cut a piece of pie for Mr. Milton and myself. “You want one?” I asked Dara, motioning toward the pie.

  “No, thanks.”

  “Are you sure? My mom’s coconut pies are addictive.”

  “Maybe later.”

  “It is really good,” Mr. Milton agreed as he balanced a forkful near his mouth. “These would sell like hotcakes in my store.”

  “Maybe that could be my parents’ next business venture,” I joked.

  “It would definitely be a success,” Mr. Milton said.

  When everyone finished eating, I loaded the dishwasher and ran it.

  “I need to go check on things at the store,” Mr. Milton said, excusing himself from the table. “Tell your mother that we appreciate her sending food and that her coconut pie was wonderful.”

  “I will. She’ll be thrilled that you enjoyed it.”

  “Be careful, Mr. Milton,” Dara said.

  “I always am.” He smiled.

  He waved to us and headed out of the kitchen. A minute later, I heard the front door open and close, and I turned to Dara. She hadn’t said anything about her mother, and I could only assume that she hadn’t heard from her yet. What the hell? How much easier could I have made it?

  “So how’re you really doing?” I asked, cupping her chin and forcing her to look into my eyes.

  “I’m okay.”

  “What do you want to do?” I asked, releasing her chin. Her hand rested on the table between us, and I covered it with my own, needing to touch her.

  “I don’t know. I kinda feel like a zombie. I don’t know what to do, what to think, what to say. I guess I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed, ya know?”

  “Yeah, baby, I know.”

  “I’m just so tired,” she whispered.

  “You want to lay in bed and watch TV?”

  She nodded.

  “Come on.” I stood and held my hand out to her. She took it, and we walked to her bedroom. She closed the door behind us. “Could we just talk for a while?” she asked.

  “We can do whatever you want to do.” I kicked my shoes off and lay on the bed, motioning for her to join me. After she took her shoes off, she crawled in beside me, snuggling against my chest.

  “What do you want to talk about?” I asked. “Anything in particular?”

  “Do you love me?”

  “Of course I love you.” I squeezed her against my side for emphasis.

  I detected a hint of laughter, and her arm reached around my stomach and squeezed me in return. “Granny loved you. Did you know that?”

  “Most girls do.”

  She smacked me in the ribs. “I’m being serious.”

  “So am I.”

  I was rewarded with another smack in the ribs.

  “What? I can’t help it if I’m a sexy beast. You’ve said so yourself, ya know.”

  “Feeding that ego was my first mistake.”

  I chuckled, rising up on my elbow and moving my palm to rest on her chest. “I see you still respond to me. Your heart’s beating like the wings of a hummingbird.”

  Her smile drifted away as her face grew serious. “Stone, I’m in love with you, even when I don’t want to be.”

  I closed the distance between us, my lips hovering closer and closer to hers until we breathed the same air. “Are you saying that your heart belongs to me?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, her fingertip tracing my jawline.

  I touched my lips to hers, and they were warm and supple and waiting for me. My tongue caressed her bottom lip until she opened her mouth, allowing me entrance. My hand skimmed beneath her shirt, feeling her softness, and it rose higher, tracing her ribs.

  I pulled back, drinking in her beauty and her hooded eyes as she stared at my lips.

  “I’m scared of being alone,” she whispered so quietly that I had to strain to hear her.

  “I love you, Dara. And no matter what happens between us, I will always be here for you. I promise that you’ll never be alone.”

  She nodded.

  “You need to rest,” I whispered.

  I rolled onto my back and pulled her on top of me, her chest pressed against my abdomen, the lower part of her body between my legs.

  I pressed her cheek against my chest. “Just lay down,” I whispered, stroking her hair.

  She obeyed, and it wasn’t long before I heard her even breathing. The emotional toll had left her exhausted. I reveled at the feel of her in my arms, feelings that I’d never experienced before eddying in the pit of my stomach.

  My hands rested on her back, pressing her securely against my body. I didn�
��t know how the hell I was lucky enough to have a girl like Dara in my arms, but I knew that I never wanted to let go.

  With feelings of contentment, I drifted to sleep.

  Chapter 12

  Dara

  I awoke to an amazing feeling of peace. It took a moment to realize that I was lying on top of Stone, my ear pressed to his muscular chest as his heart beat steadily, reassuringly. I could feel the weight of his hands on my back, his fingers threaded together, keeping me securely in his embrace.

  I lay still, afraid that if I woke him, the magic of the moment would be lost forever, and I wouldn’t be able to get back the security that seeped into my soul and chased away the frightening feelings of loneliness.

  Heat radiated from his hands, his warmth spreading across my back. I closed my eyes and listened to his breathing, his chest rising and falling in rhythm with his inhalations and exhalations.

  I wished that I could make the outside world go away. The intense pain of losing Granny crippled me, and I hated it. Until now, I had been able to handle most of the bad things that life had dealt me because I always had Granny in my corner. But now, the one person who knew me better than anyone, the one person who truly loved me unconditionally, the one person who had always been there was gone. Poof.

  Obviously, life hadn’t finished throwing curveballs at me. I guess I’d always known this day would come, but I had hoped that it would be much later.

  Crimson and Scarlet had been more than willing to come over when I’d notified them of the news, but I’d pushed them away. The only person who could offer me the comfort that I craved right now was Stone. And it scared me.

  With every passing day, I depended on him more and more. And now that Granny was gone, I feared that I’d need him even more than I already did.

  I didn’t know what to do about it or if I should do anything, if I should just let my heart be my guide.

  He stirred then, his hands rubbing my back. “How long have you been awake?” he asked.

  “How did you know I was awake?” I hadn’t spoken and had remained very still.

  “Because I know you, Dara Golding. Sometimes I think I know you better than I know myself.”

  “I wish I knew you that well.”

  His chest rumbled with laughter. “No, you don’t.”

  “Why not?” I asked, placing my arms on the bed on each side of him and pushing myself up until I could see his face.

  “Because if you knew me that well, that pretty little face of yours would turn three shades of red,” he said as he lowered his hands and cupped by butt. In one quick move, I was lying beneath him on the bed, the weight of his body pressing me into the mattress.

  “Stone!” I shrieked.

  He nuzzled my neck, planting tiny kisses along the way and sending jolts of desire through my body.

  His hips pressed hard against mine, and I pulled him to me, feeling the ripple of his muscles through his thin tee shirt.

  “I’m on fire for you,” he whispered in my ear.

  Pleasure at his words unfurled within my body. He was doing what he was so very good at doing—making me glad that I was female.

  I pulled him to me for a kiss, and he responded eagerly, devouring me with his mouth.

  He pressed his forehead to mine. “I want you so bad,” he whispered, his hands pushing their way under my shirt.

  A strange combination of fear and excitement shot through my veins like hot lava. In that moment, I thought perhaps that I’d give him anything.

  My phone rang loudly from the nightstand. I tried to ignore it, but when the caller hung up and dialed back, I finally wiggled out from under Stone and snatched it up. I wondered if Crimson or Scarlet would’ve called if they’d known I was in the middle of a serious make-out session.

  I was a little surprised when I didn’t recognize the number. Reality settled in when I realized that it was probably someone calling about Granny’s arrangements.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, Dara.”

  “Mom? Is that you?” Stone released me and helped me sit up, so that I could talk more comfortably.

  “Yeah, it’s me.”

  “Where have you been? You missed my party.” I hung my legs over the side of the bed.

  “I know, Dara, and I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you. I promise. I can’t go into all the details right now, but I’ll come see you soon, and I’ll explain everything then.”

  “Are you using again?” I asked, wondering how else she’d be able to explain the fact that she’d been missing in action for so long now.

  “Oh, no, no, no. I’m still walking the straight and narrow. I just, um…my phone tore up and I just got this new number today. I heard about Granny and I wanted to talk to you.”

  “How’d you know about Granny?”

  “I, um…I heard about it from an old friend, but anyway, I want to come and see you, but I can’t just yet.” She paused. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

  “I hadn’t heard from you, and I was afraid that….”

  “I know. But I’m not. I’m doing good, and I’m gonna come and see you real soon, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “I won’t be able to make it for your granny’s funeral, but I’ll be thinking about you.”

  “What’s going on, Mom?”

  “I’ve got to go, Dara. I want to explain everything to you in person. I promise that I’m going to come and see you just as soon as I can. I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Mom.”

  “I’ll talk to you soon, Dara.”

  “Okay.”

  “Bye, sweetie.”

  “Bye, Mom.”

  I hung up the phone, confused by the entire conversation. What was going on with her? I knew her life was still a little screwed up compared to most people’s lives, but that whole interaction was really bizarre.

  Stone rubbed tiny circles at the small of my back.

  “That was my mom,” I said, a little amazed that I’d just had a conversation with her.

  “What did she say?”

  “Not a whole heckuva lot. Basically, she told me that she wanted to come and see me in person to explain everything, but she didn’t know when she’d be able to do it. Oh, and she said her phone tore up and she just got a new number today. She claims she’s not using, but I don’t know…it seems more likely that she is.”

  “Wait and hear her out before you start jumping to conclusions.”

  Stone sat up beside me, his long legs stretched out in front of him, his feet resting on the hardwood floor.

  “I didn’t think I’d ever hear from her again,” I whispered, relieved that she had called me.

  He kissed my temple. “See, babe, you’re not alone.”

  His words settled in my brain, and I realized that he was right. Maybe I still had my mom, after all. I hugged him, glad that he was here with me. “I think I’d like a piece of your mom’s coconut pie.”

  He laughed. “You got a call from your mom and now you want pie?”

  “I’m relieved, I guess. I didn’t think she wanted anything to do with me…and I’m hungry.”

  “Then let’s go have pie,” he said as he helped me to my feet. The house was dark, and he flipped the living room light on as we made our way to the kitchen.

  I sat at the table while he placed a slice of pie on a plate and set it in front of me with a fork and a paper towel.

  “Milk or tea?” he asked.

  “Milk.”

  He poured me a glass of milk and sat in the chair beside me with his own glass of sweet tea.

  “Don’t you want a piece?” I asked.

  A mischievous grin crossed his face. “Oh, yeah, I want a piece, but I’ll wait until a more appropriate time.”

  “What?” I asked, and then the meaning of his words dawned on me.

  “Stone!”

  “Hey, you asked.”

  I kept quiet while I ate the remaining pie. As soon as I finished, he scooped up our dish
es and set them in the sink.

  I’d never seen this side of him until the last couple of days. He was really sweet and caring, and he made me feel loved. Despite his sometimes hard exterior, this was a guy who could really take care of a woman. I was pretty sure that if Scarlet saw this side of Stone, even she’d grow fond of him.

  “Thank you,” I whispered as I stood and faced him. “For being here for me.”

  “That’s what love’s all about, Dara. One of these days, you’re going to understand just how much I love you.”

  I grinned. “Oh, I am?”

  He held my eyes with his own, his expression serious. “You are.”

  In that moment, he renewed my faith in him and in his love for me. He looked at me so intensely that it was as if he were baring his soul to me through those clear blue eyes. Not only had I forgiven him, but I had fallen even more in love with him.

  I would have been rocked to my core with fear and uncertainty if it hadn’t felt so right.

  “It’s getting late. Shouldn’t Mr. Milton be back by now?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “The store doesn’t close for another half hour. Sometimes he stays and works in the office after it closes. He hasn’t said much to me, but Granny’s death has hit him hard, too. I think he tries to stay strong for me. Knowing him, he’ll pour himself back into work now. I guess it keeps him occupied. There’s nothing worse than an idle mind to make one drown in his own sorrows.”

  “Maybe we should call and check on him,” Stone suggested.

  I dialed his number, and he answered immediately. My suspicions had been correct. He did plan to work a while, and he warned me not to wait up for him because he couldn’t sleep, anyway. I knew how he felt. Adjusting to life without Granny was going to be difficult, and the next two days were going to be pure torture. How could Mr. Milton and I say goodbye to someone we loved so dearly?

  “Maybe it’s better if he does work. His night shift manager isn’t married, and he usually stays and works with Mr. Milton. They’re friends, so maybe he’s helping Mr. Milton, you know, the way you’re helping me.”

  Stone smiled. “I hope so.”

  He reached out and took me by the hands. “You want to sit out on the porch?”

  “Sure.”

  I followed him outside, and he sat in one of the rockers. I walked past him and sat in the one beside him.