“Basketball. Would you like to play a game?”
“I haven’t played in a while. My brothers used to make me participate to even out the players when they had a few friends over. Frankly, I would have rather been reading a book.”
“Both your brothers are doctors, correct?”
“Yes, they are.” She smiled.
“I take it you’re on good terms with them?”
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“No reason other than the fact that every time I mention anything about your family you clam up.”
“Not true. I just don’t talk about my father.”
“You never answered my question,” Jarred said. “Do you want to play a game of B-ball?”
He picked up the basketball. His muscles flexed, causing her mouth to practically drop open. Jarred was all man. A handsome man full of sex appeal. After all these years, he still had an effect on her hormones. Nevealise couldn’t deal with being up close and personal with him in a game of one-on-one. Not with the way her body was reacting to his mere presence. Instead of agreeing to the game, she took the cowardly way out.
“Maybe. I’d like to see the rest of the house first. If you don’t mind.”
“Sure. Come on.” He threw the ball down, took her hand and led her back up the stairs.
With her senses already heightened, the warmth of his hand against hers had her tingling all over. So much so that she couldn’t keep from shivering a bit. Her body’s reaction to his was foreign. Sure, Nevealise had crushed on him for a long time, but this...this need was so strong it scared her.
Oh man, oh man, she chanted over and over in her head. I am so in trouble. Her body was betraying her big time. A chill coursed through her, causing her to shiver again.
“You cold?” he asked.
“Not at all. What’s on the top floor?” she asked, changing the subject.
“Be patient. I’m about to show you.” He laughed.
“Yes, but you’re being slow about it,” she joshed. “You know you’re going to have to let go of my hand in order for me to walk up the stairs.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do,” she said, breathing in his manly scent mixed with what may have been Irish Spring soap. Nevealise was proved right when they couldn’t walk side by side up the steps. Jarred quickly remedied the situation by taking hold of her opposite hand. She had to walk slightly behind him, but not much.
“I told you so.” He looked back at her and smirked.
Before she could react to having his body so close to hers, he went into tour guide mode. “There are four bedrooms up here,” he told her, “including the master suite, three additional rooms and a full bath. Two of the rooms are used as guest rooms and the other I made into a den/office/library. Here, let me show you,” he said, walking past two rooms on the right to get to a third one. He opened the door to a large space. Built-in shelves lined the walls, filled with books and hundreds of DVDs. There were also a leather sofa, a desk and a full entertainment center.
“How’d you manage this, and so comfortable, too? Confess. You had a decorator, right?”
“I sure did and I am proud of it. The decorator did a fantastic job throughout the house. Not too manly or girlie. It’s just right.”
“This is lovely. I love the natural lighting from the skylights. I don’t know how you get any work done in here. I’d surely fall asleep from the warm and cozy feel of the room. So much harmony and balance.” She sighed, closed her eyes and breathed in and out.
“I’m glad you like it. Feel free to stop by and take advantage of it anytime you like,” he said softly. There was a husky catch in his voice. She opened her eyes and glanced over to where he stood next to the doorway. The look on his face couldn’t mask the desire she saw in his eyes.
Nevealise wasn’t overly experienced where the opposite sex was concerned. She had never really had a serious relationship. Her only sexual partner had been a fellow college student, and sex between them was more an experiment than actual lovemaking. She wasn’t even sure they’d done it right. He’d lasted a minute—a whole minute of him huffing and puffing and blowing his hot breath on her. They couldn’t even kiss properly because his braces kept clicking against her teeth. When it was over, he was saying how great it was, but the only thing she’d felt was pain. Nothing else. Thank goodness they’d had the sense to use a condom.
Everything Nevealise knew about sex and how to please a partner, she’d learned from a book and online research. Some of the things she read about still had her blushing.
Granted, she might not have experience, but she recognized what she wanted when she saw it. And Jarred wasn’t hiding the fact that he wanted her.
Time to go.
Nevealise looked down at the slim watch on her wrist. Her eyes bulged. “It’s well past noon! Oh my goodness, where’d the time go?” she cried.
Jarred stared at her. “Time flies when you’re having fun,” he said hoarsely.
“I guess so,” she said softly. “Listen, I need to get back. I have an early flight out tomorrow.”
“Oh?” he inquired, one dark brow lifting.
“I have a job, remember? I’m a consultant, contracted out for our good ole government. NCIS, to be exact. I’m also in the process of designing my own video game. I travel all over for research and work.”
Jarred whistled through his teeth. “Seems like you’re carrying a heavy load. NCIS—isn’t that military?”
“Yes, it is. However, I am not now and never was in the military. I just help design stuff. In some sense you could say I’m a paid hacker.” She laughed outright at the expression on Jarred’s face, a mixture of surprise and shock.
“I would have never thought of you working for the military police. Especially since you got lost coming from Long Island to Brooklyn,” he teased. “Seriously, I thought Heavens was your job.”
“No, Heavens is my baby. It keeps me sane when my job becomes stressful. In any event, I need to get going.” She tried to push past him. He wasn’t having it.
“There’s one room you still haven’t seen.” He didn’t give her time to respond; he took her hand and guided her out of the room, stopping in front of the door opposite the library.
She knew where he was leading her. The only other room to her knowledge that was left to see. The master bedroom.
“And this is the master suite,” he announced proudly, releasing her hand and opening the door.
Nevealise’s feet moved of their own accord. Like a robot, she walked into the spacious bedroom, her eyes roaming the contents. Two wingback, tailored chairs and a small round table sat in front of a large picture window. Opposite the window was an open doorway, and next to that a huge four-poster bed with distinctive carvings. The bureau and nightstands had some of the same ornate carvings, but the bed was the focal point of the room.
Nevealise was in such awe of the breathtaking space that she didn’t notice Jarred standing behind her until she felt his arms encircling her, pulling her back against his rock-hard frame.
“You like?” he whispered huskily in her ear. The warmth of his breath sent tingling sensations down her spine and straight to her center. Her thighs clenched as if to stem the desire coursing through her.
“It’s simply gorgeous. I feel compelled to take off my shoes upon entering,” she croaked. She could feel his manhood growing against her butt and her breathing accelerated, along with her heartbeat.
“This is my sanctuary,” he murmured against her ear. “In this room, in that bed, is where I hope to make all of my babies, while making love to the one woman who will bear my children. Making love to her over and over and over again will be my pleasure, while taking her to sexual heights she never would’ve imagined in her wildest dreams. How does that sound, Ne
vea?” he whispered.
“Wh-why are you asking me?” she choked out. Nevealise felt his stomach shaking against her back and realized that he was laughing.
“You’ll figure it out soon enough,” he said. He leaned forward and nipped her on her neck.
“Ouch! What did you do that for?” she cried, turning in his arms to face him. Uh-oh. Bad move. The next thing Nevealise felt were his lips on hers, and he was kissing her soundly. His manhood, nestled against the apex of her thighs, had her mind wrestling with the idea of moving against him. But before she could decide, he abruptly ended the kiss.
“Sweetheart, if you don’t want to find yourself stripped naked in that bed over there, legs spread wide with me between your thighs, this tour has now come to an end,” he breathed.
“Okay.” It was the only thing she could mutter as she tried to get air into her lungs.
“If you have time, we could go for a walk before you have to leave. I don’t want our visit to end. However, we need to get out of this house before I do something you’ll regret later on. So how about a brisk walk through the neighborhood?”
“Sure. Why not? You still haven’t told me why I’m here in the first place.”
“Yes, I did. You’re here because I want you here. Simple as that.”
“No, you and your brothers wanted to discuss something with me. Remember?”
“Another time. Let me grab a jacket and my kicks, and we can leave.” He released her, then disappeared into the walk-in closet and emerged with a hoodie and a pair of sneakers in his hand. After putting on both, he grabbed her shaky hand and they left the room.
Chapter 6
Jarred sat frustrated at his desk. He was on his fourth conference call and it wasn’t even noon.
“Basically, Jarred, we need to get into this locked computer. I have tried everything and nothing will break it. There’s some kind of software and hardware that I’ve never seen before. Whoever installed it is a genius and we need them on our side pronto,” Emerson, his IT guy, was saying.
“And the answers we need are locked in this computer?” Jarred asked.
“I believe so. Yes,” Emerson responded.
“My question is how do we know that what we need is on this computer if we can’t get into it?” Jarred asked. His voice sounded like he felt: exasperated.
He was exasperated with the entire mess that was Tempest Mortgage, as well as not being able to reach Nevea. He didn’t know why she wasn’t returning his calls. They’d parted on what he thought were good terms. After their walk, he’d convinced her to have lunch with him. They’d gone back to the house and he’d ordered their meal from a local Mexican restaurant that he frequented.
After lunch he’d walked her to her car, parked two blocks away, had checked her GPS to make sure she had it programmed correctly and had even programmed directions into her cell phone. “Use both just in case,” he’d said with a smile, after kissing her thoroughly.
That had been almost a week ago. And he hadn’t heard from her since.
He hadn’t dared broach the subject of Tempest Mortgage that afternoon, nor of her father, not wanting to ruin the good time they were having. Maybe he should have seen that the outcome might be the same.
As far as he could tell she wasn’t aware that Manning Enterprises had acquired her father’s failing company.
“So where the hell is she?” Jarred grumbled.
“What’s that?” he heard Emerson say. The man sounded confused.
Join the club.
“Nothing, Emerson.” He shook his mind clear of its ramblings and focused on the problem his IT guy had presented. “What were you saying about the computer? I apologize. I got distracted for a minute. This one little bitty company is going to send me over the edge.”
“I was saying we don’t know this information is there. However, it would help to get into the computer, if for nothing else than to see what Tempest was trying to hide.”
“Maybe it’s nothing. The old man could have just been particular about his company.”
“I don’t think so. This computer and several others were the main ones in the accounting department, as well as business services, IT and security. Boss, you know what I used to do and who I used to be. No, I’m telling you—you do not go to these lengths for no reason. Either the old man had something to hide or he was protecting someone or several people,” Emerson responded.
Jarred had to agree with him. Something was going on. Throwing his pen on his desk, he sat back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head. A move he’d been doing a lot of lately. However, he needed to think, and this was as good as it got at the moment.
“Have you spoken to Brice?” Jarred asked.
“I spoke to him a few days ago. He feels the same as I do. That upper management at Tempest was hiding something.”
“I pray not all of them. Most of them are working for other companies now. Maybe the senior VPs. They would have access to a lot of information.”
“True. From what I have gathered this was probably put in place after Tempest started its sudden fall from grace. The question is why?”
Jarred listened to Emerson. He liked this man’s thought process, having learned over the years to trust his opinions. Jarred had known Emerson ever since the IT specialist had gone to school with Langston. Despite being a bright young man, he’d left college in his junior year, married his high school sweetheart and then went off to the military after finding out his wife was pregnant. Upon his return from his stint in the service, he started working for his wife’s family, and that was where his life took a downward turn. What Emerson thought was a successful group of people were nothing but glorified criminals. His ex-wife and her family members all went to prison. Fortunately, Emerson had gotten off on a technicality. He was left to raise their now ten-year-old daughter.
Emerson had a stellar military record, and the DA honestly believed he was not aware of his in-laws’ actions, so decided not to pursue any further legal action against him. Still, his legal problems were big news and no one would hire him.
It was by chance that Jarred and his brothers had run into Emerson at a bar, getting wasted. He’d been too drunk to get behind the wheel of a car, so Jarred had driven him to his parents’ home and given him a stern talking to. Two days later he found himself hiring Emerson as part of his IT team. The man was more than qualified and great at what he did. As had been shown by his military record, Emerson was a stellar employee. He was now working on his fifth year of employment with Manning Enterprises. It was definitely time for a promotion. Jarred would discuss it with his brothers.
“Hey, boss, you still there?”
“I’m still here. Listen, get together with the security team and have a discussion with them about our current situation. See if they feel the same as you and I. Also, are you available for a meeting...say, Monday morning first thing?”
“I’ll make the time. How’s nine thirty?”
“That’ll be fine. If you and Security come up with anything in the meantime, let me or my brothers know immediately. And do me a favor. Don’t let anyone know what we’re doing. Remember, we have a lot of Tempest employees working for us. If there’s some funny business going on I don’t want to tip our hand. I want the person gone.”
“Gotcha. Will do, boss.”
“And will you please stop calling me boss,” Jarred snapped. “It’s annoying as hell and you know it.”
“Whatever you say...boss,” Emerson mocked. Jarred could hear the humor in his voice.
He stifled a laugh, a testament to the easy camaraderie he had with the employee who was more like a brother to him. “Goodbye, Emerson. This meeting is over. If you see Brice hanging about, tell him to stop by my office.”
“He’s walking toward me now. I’ll give him you
r message. Talk to you later, Jarred.”
Jarred disconnected the conference call and immediately picked up his cell from his desk and dialed Nevea’s number.
“Hello, you have reached—”
“Voice mail,” he barked, hanging up the phone and tossing it across his desk. With the amount of paperwork that was on his desktop the cell was safe. He stared at the phone a few minutes more, then picked it up and dialed her again. Voice mail. “Where the hell are you, Nevea?”
There was a knock on his office door, but before he could ask who it was, the door was pushed open and in walked Brice, with Langston on his heels.
“What do you two want?” he growled.
“I was summoned,” Brice replied, his tone sarcastic.
“I was on my way to see Brice when he was on his way up here to see you.” Langston shrugged. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” he snarled, rummaging through the stack of files on his desk, pretending to be looking for something. In fact, Jarred had no idea what he was doing. He was angry with Nevea for not returning his calls and angrier at himself for giving a damn. He should have learned his lesson from Lainey, but no, he had to go get heated over Nevea.
“You rang?” Brice barked.
“Cut the crap, Brice. I’m not in the mood,” Jarred snapped.
“Well, why’d you ask me to come see you if you knew your disposition sucked?” Brice asked, throwing up his hands.
Jarred noticed Langston had taken a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk, a grin on his face. What was he smirking about?
Brice was right; he shouldn’t be taking his anger out on them. With a heavy sigh, Jarred relented. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
“What was that? I couldn’t hear you,” Brice said, holding his hand to his ear.
“Don’t push your luck, little brother. Have a seat,” Jarred growled. “Has Emerson made you aware of his thoughts on the computer problem?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
Love Me Forever Page 5
