“I’ll be back,” he said. “With Carmen. And we’re getting to the bottom of this.”
“Don’t. Don’t come back and don’t bring that woman to my suite. Go, just go,” she demanded. When Solomon saw the pained look on Kandace’s face, he knew the best thing was for him to leave and deal with Carmen on his own.
What in the hell is Carmen doing? he thought as he exited the room and headed to the elevator.
CHAPTER 17
Carmen arranged the plates on the table and turned the lights off for the third time in the last hour. Looking down at her body, she was sure Solomon was going to love the black lace teddy she’d been waiting to show him since the day she bought it at Victoria’s Secret two months ago. She adjusted her thigh-high stockings as she crossed over to the bed. Just as Carmen climbed into the bed, the door opened.
“What in the hell is all of this?” Solomon exclaimed.
“Solomon,” Carmen cooed from the bed.
He stormed into the bedroom, ignoring the candles and soft music playing, and turned the light on.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” Carmen said seductively as she lifted her leg.
“Carmen, what in the hell are you doing?” Solomon demanded. “Put some clothes on.”
Carmen hopped off the bed and sauntered over to him. “I’d rather take your clothes off,” she said as she tugged at his belt.
Solomon grabbed her hands and shook her. “What has gotten into you?”
“I’d like you to get into me,” she said. “Solomon, I want you.”
“Okay, you’re a beautiful woman, but this isn’t going to happen,” he said as he dropped her hands.
“Why? Because of Kandace?” Carmen asked with her lip poked out.
“And because of our business together. Carmen, I’m not interested in you. I don’t mix business with pleasure.”
“Fine, I’ll quit and we can just focus on the pleasure.”
Solomon threw up his hands and shook his head. “Carmen, you can quit, but that isn’t going to change a thing. I don’t want to go there with you and I wish you hadn’t lied to Kandace and told her that we’re in a relationship.”
She closed the space between them and stroked his cheek. “But I’m the only woman you will ever need. I have everything that you’ve always said you wanted. How can you not see that?”
Solomon pushed her hand away from his face and shook his head. “Carmen, I don’t want you. I have never given you any hope of a relationship. This is unacceptable behavior. Put your clothes on and get out.”
“But—but, Solomon, I love you,” she stammered.
“And I feel sorry for you,” he said. “Because I don’t love you. Not in the way that you want me to.” Solomon turned his back and headed out of the suite.
Carmen crumpled in a heap on the floor and screamed. “No, no, no! He has to love me. He can’t walk out on me! I saved his life, I saved his life.” She scrambled to her feet and grabbed the bottle of champagne from the ice bucket on the nightstand next to the bed and threw it against the wall.
“I’m not going to lose him to that bitch!” she yelled as she pushed the night table over. “I’m not giving up on Solomon. I’m going to make him love me.”
Kandace pounded the pillow on the sofa and tried to turn her mind off, but she kept thinking about Solomon and that woman. “Why am I doing this to myself?” she muttered as she picked up her book. As she attempted to start reading, Solomon popped into her mind again. She tossed the book across the room and then grabbed the phone. Kandace started to dial Serena’s number, but she hung up. She didn’t want to talk about this. She didn’t want to explain why she was so vested in a man she knew she didn’t have a future with.
“I’ve been a damn fool,” she said as she walked over to the fireplace. Kandace struck a match and dropped it on the wood, then she headed for the bathroom and prepared the tub for a long bath. She poured the hotel-issued bath oil into the tub and headed into the bedroom to grab her robe. As soon as she stepped into the room, her eyes began to burn as smoke filled the room. “My God,” she exclaimed as she ran into the sitting room, which was filled with smoke. Kandace ran into the bathroom and shut the water off, then she tore out of the suite, running smack into Solomon.
“Kandace, what’s wrong?” he asked.
“Something’s wrong with the fireplace. The room is full of smoke,” she said in between coughs. Before Solomon could get inside the room, the smoke alarm began blaring. He pulled out his BlackBerry and called 911.
“I’m going inside,” he said as he pushed Kandace aside.
“No, Solomon,” she cried, but he didn’t listen. She closed her eyes, thinking the room was on fire and he would be hurt. Moments later, two security officers and three firefighters bounded up the stairs and burst into the room.
“There’s no fire,” Kandace heard Solomon say. She walked into the room as one of the firefighters was leaving to get a fan to clear the smoke out of the room.
“What happened?” she asked as Solomon opened a window.
“The damper was closed,” one of the firefighters said.
Kandace shook her head. “There’s no way. I have been using the fireplace all day and…” She stopped talking when she realized that Carmen had as much access to the resort as Solomon did. It was totally possible that she got into her room and closed the damper on the fireplace. Was she really that unstable?
“It’s possible that the wind blew it closed during the day,” the firefighter said as he walked past Kandace to open another window.
“A wind named Carmen,” she muttered as she covered her nose and headed to Solomon. She found him standing out on the balcony. “What are you doing out here?”
“I needed to talk to you about Carmen and what was going on with her. She did tell you that she’s my girlfriend because she came here to make a move on me.”
“Solomon.”
He placed his hand on her shoulder as if he knew she was going to take off from him. “Listen to me, Kandace. She’s gone. I told her to leave. Carmen thought she was the ideal woman for me. We were friends, at least I thought we were. When I was in New York, I’d tell her about the models and the actresses that I dealt with. It was like she was my business partner and my friend. I never knew she was harboring feelings for me,” he said.
Kandace shook his arm off her shoulder. “So you told her about us and how I was a piece of vacation booty that you were enjoying while you were in North Carolina?” she asked incredulously.
“No, because you’re more than that,” he said. “I would never talk about you like that and I didn’t share anything with her other than the fact that I met a wonderful woman.”
Kandace glared at him. As much as she wanted to be angry with him and wanted to slap him for even mentioning what they had going on to Carmen, what he said made sense. She was obviously obsessed with him and seeing him with a woman whom he didn’t toss aside made her angry. Angry enough to come to Sugar Mountain and try to get rid of Kandace and stake her claim on Solomon.
“Where is she now?” Kandace asked.
“I told her to get out,” he said. “I don’t want her and I don’t understand how she could think that there was something between us.”
Kandace shook her head, thinking of the times her mother had thought she’d met the one man who would love her forever and the heartbreak that resulted when she was smacked with the truth.
“Some women can’t take no for an answer,” she said.
“I’m sure she’s embarrassed and on her way back to New York as we speak. I don’t want to talk about her anymore, though. Are you all right?”
Kandace nodded. “Just a little shaken up. I thought this place was on fire,” she said as she allowed Solomon to draw her into his arms. He kissed her on the top of her head.
“You probably don’t want to stay in here tonight. The smell is going to be unbearable.”
“I thought about that.”
“And I’l
l take care of your clothes, have them steam cleaned to get the smell out of them,” he offered.
“You don’t have to do that,” she said.
“I know, but it’s what I’m going to do, so you can grab a few things and come upstairs with me until we find you another suite, which probably won’t happen because we’re completely booked.”
Kandace smirked at him. “So what are you saying?”
“Basically, you’re stuck with me, darling,” he said as he tweaked her chin. “I’m sorry about all of this.”
“Me being stuck with you or that crazy woman who tried to kill me?” Kandace joked.
“I’m definitely not sorry about you being stuck with me, because you owe me for that latte you made me wear and I intend to collect on that debt,” he said with a lustful lilt to his voice.
“I guess I could throw myself at your mercy,” she said. “At least I made sure it wasn’t boiling hot.”
“And for that, I might be merciful or maybe I want to hear you cry for mercy.” Solomon thrust his pelvis into hers, showing her that he was ready to be inside her.
“There are still people in there,” she whispered.
“Do you think I give a damn?” he quipped. “Let’s get out of here. If you have something personal you want to grab before anyone sees it, I’ll wait.” Solomon pulled out his cell phone and called the housekeeping staff to come and clean her suite.
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
Solomon brought his lips to her ear. “That vibrator you compared me to.”
Kandace slapped him on the shoulder and shook her head. “Lucky for you I don’t have one, otherwise I really wouldn’t have given you the time of day,” she said.
Solomon folded his arms across his chest and gave her a look that read, “yeah, right.”
Kandace raised her right eyebrow at him and asked, “What?”
“You’re kidding, right?” he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest. “No vibrator can do this.” Solomon brushed his lips against hers, then ran his tongue across her bottom lip before devouring her mouth in a passionate kiss. Kandace swooned in Solomon’s arms as his hands roamed up and down her back. Solomon’s kiss lit her body on fire and sent any lingering thoughts of Carmen and her craziness flying from her mind.
“Then can we get out of here so you can show me all the things a vibrator can’t do?” she asked when they broke off their kiss.
“Come on,” he said as they headed back inside.
Kandace grabbed a black lace negligee and then followed Solomon to the elevator.
Carmen watched from the corner as Solomon and Kandace walked onto the elevator hand in hand. Her blood boiled in her veins as she saw the doors close. He just needs time to realize that I’m the woman he’s destined to be with. And that bitch needs to get out of the way. Carmen stomped to the stairway and ran down the stairs with tears streaming down her cheeks. After everything she did, how could Solomon just toss her aside for that woman? A woman he didn’t know and who didn’t love him the way she did.
She doesn’t know a thing about him and he doesn’t know who she really is. Solomon knows me and knows that I only want to be with him. If he lost all of his money and everything I helped him build, I’d still love him. I know he loves me. He just needs to get away from that woman. I’m going to make that happen no matter what. Carmen slipped out of the building and got into her rental car. Her plan was to find a motel to check in to and then convince Solomon that he needed her in his life and not Kandace.
Solomon pressed Kandace against the door of his suite, happy that they were alone in the hallway. “What’s that in your hand?” he asked as he took the sexy nighty from her. “Nice, but you won’t need it.”
“Really?” she asked as she tugged at his belt buckle.
“Yes. No need to cover that body with anything,” he said as he brought his lips down on her neck. Kandace moaned as his tongue danced up the length of her neck.
“You’d better open this door before you start something,” she said breathlessly.
“To open this door means I have to let you go and I don’t want that to happen,” he said. Kandace slipped her hand in his pants pocket and pulled out his key card.
“Then why don’t I open the door?” she asked as she turned in his arms and unlocked the door. Kandace pushed the door open and gasped. “Oh my God.”
“What in the hell?” Solomon exclaimed as he surveyed the damage in his suite. Broken glass littered the floor, the mirror in the bedroom had been smashed, and a night table had been turned over.
“I guess this is your parting gift,” Kandace said as she and Solomon stepped over the glass and entered the suite.
“Why would she do this?” he asked as he checked to make sure his clothes and computer weren’t damaged.
“Because she’s nuts,” Kandace said as she surveyed the damage. “How long have you known her?”
“This was probably just her letting off steam. I’ll call someone to clean this up,” Solomon said.
“Are you sure she’s gone and that she isn’t dangerous?” Kandace asked as Solomon dialed the front desk. Kandace wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. “Solomon,” she called out when she walked into the bathroom.
He rushed in behind her and looked up at the mirror.
I know you love me. We will be together, was written on the mirror in bright red lipstick.
“I don’t think we should stay here,” Kandace said. “She’s clearly unstable.”
“You’re right. I’ll get us another room and make sure Carmen is gone before we move back in here.”
“What about my suite? She has a key here. But then again, she got into my room too.”
“I’ll alert the staff to keep her out of the guest area. Better yet, I’ll have her banned from the property.” Solomon walked over to Kandace and wrapped his arms around her. “We keep a spare room in the basement. We can stay there for the night.”
Kandace rested her head on his chest and sighed. “All right,” she said. “This is not how I envisioned this night ending. And are you sure she’s gone? I bet no one would be able to hear us scream in the basement.”
“Listen,” Solomon said as he stroked her cheek, “I know you didn’t sign up for this. But it’s as much of a shock to me as it is to you. I never thought Carmen would do this or that she was in love with me. So, if you feel like this is too much for you to handle and you want out, I understand. I’ll even pay for you to finish your vacation wherever you want to go.”
Kandace mulled over his offer. But she knew he wouldn’t be there with her if she took him up on it, and that meant no more late night kisses, early morning lovemaking sessions, and everything else they’d been doing before Carmen showed up. Kandace enjoyed her time with Solomon and wasn’t ready to give it up quite yet. Looking into Solomon’s emerald eyes, she knew she couldn’t leave. Instead of responding to him verbally, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him ever so gently. “On top of everything that you have going on, I don’t think I could leave you with a clear conscience,” she said after breaking the kiss.
Solomon palmed her backside and smiled. “Just tell the truth. You’d miss me too much if you left.”
“Whatever. You’d miss me so much that you would show up at my next vacation spot and start stalking me again.”
“You’re damned right,” he said.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “But you owe me big time, Mr. Crawford.”
“And how do you plan on collecting this debt?” he asked, bringing his lips inches from hers.
Before Kandace could reply, the housekeeping and maintenance staff entered the suite and started working to repair the damage. Solomon packed an overnight bag and then thanked the workers for coming so quickly to fix the suite.
One of the housekeepers stopped Solomon before he walked out the door. “Mr. Crawford, forgive me if I’m out of line, but there is evil afoot in th
is place,” she said. “First Anita and now this. Something ain’t right here, sir.”
“I thought Anita’s death was a result of domestic violence.”
The older woman shook her head furiously. “Her ex-husband was already in jail when they found her. He’d been in the county lockup for two weeks because he’d been passing bad checks at the Piggly Wiggly.”
“Is that so?” Solomon said. Though his mind wandered to whether or not Carmen had anything to do with Anita’s murder, he quickly shook that thought out of his head. Why would she kill the housekeeper? Carmen couldn’t be that violent, though she was the only connection to the deaths of Anita and Danny. But why would she kill them?
“Solomon?” Kandace said from the doorway. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get out of here,” he said as they headed for the elevator.
CHAPTER 18
Carmen walked up to the Wonderland Suite door and placed the master key card in the electronic lock. She’d seen the cleaning crew leave the suite and now she was going to lie in wait until Kandace returned. She knew that Solomon would probably keep her with him tonight, but she was going to have to come back at some point. And Carmen would be ready for her.
The faint smell of smoke hung in the air, but it wasn’t unbearable. Still, if she had been smart, Kandace would’ve left town, because this was only the beginning. However, if she wanted to stay and fight, then she was going to have to suffer the consequences. Carmen pulled the gun from her waistband and cocked it as she stood in the middle of the suite. Closing her eyes, she felt the door open and saw Kandace walk in. Her lips were swollen from kissing Solomon and her neck had a bright passion mark on it. Carmen pointed the gun and shot her between the eyes before the tramp even saw it coming.
“Solomon is my man!” Carmen said as she opened her eyes, half expecting to see Kandace’s dying body on the floor. “How am I going to make him see that he should be with me and no one else?”
No Other Lover Will Do Page 15
