“We won’t be up long,” he told her. He slipped in between the sheets and pulled back the covers for her to get in bed. “What happens for us next is about a man and a wife connecting,” he said gently as he patted the mattress. “Come, join me.”
She rubbed her fingers together, fidgeting with her hands. Nervous. Anxious. Excited. Shanice lay down beside him, moved closer, and felt his warmth.
“Shanice,” he whispered as his warm hand touched her belly.
“Is Nathaniel your real name?” She asked swallowing hard.
“Yes, it is,” he told her.
“Okay then,” she said exhaling.
“What’s wrong?” He could feel the tension in her body. As badly as he wanted to be with her, he wasn’t going to force her. Not on this night, not on any night.
“You said you will give me and Rocky everything we need. You never mentioned love. Will you give us your love?”
“I will go one better. I gave you my heart that first night you told me I could spend the rest of my life in your arms. I want your love as well, but right now, I need something else,” he honestly revealed to her.
“What is it you need Nathaniel?” His name sounded odd coming out of her mouth. Nathaniel...Nathan...Nate...Man...Mann.
“I need your trust,” he said huskily.
“I trust you a little,” she affirmed.
“Good, let go and love me,” he said, taking possession of her mouth. The kiss was a spark of fire that ran down her right leg, up her left, and tingled everything in between.
“Okay,” she said as he moved over her. His strong hand took hold of her butt cheek. The muscles in his arms strained as he held his weight while he positioned himself between her thighs. The hardness of him sought out the dampness which signaled her readiness to accept him into her body. He raised her knees slightly as he captured her lips again, kissed her, as his tongue played inside her mouth. “Okay...,” she said again, clinging to him. A deep moan of satisfaction rose from the back of his throat as he pressed into the softness of his wife. Her fingers ran down the corded muscles of his arms as she clung to him, embarrassed herself once again, and came undone under him before he even began his powerful stroking game.
So commanding. So strong. My husband.
The same passion in which he took her on Saturday night was toned down a bit as he watched her face while making love to her. He closed his eyes at the passionate connection, and then lost himself in a world where only they existed. It didn’t take him long to pull her in with him as her second orgasm began to build. Her teeth sank into his shoulder as the second powerful crescendo took over them both and brought them both to a robust finish.
No words were spoken as he lay atop of her and held her tightly. “I get to wake up to you every morning,” he whispered in her ear. “Thank you for giving me new purpose.”
“I will be a good wife to you,” she said as she stroked his back.
“I have no doubts, whatsoever,” he said while he pulled away and rolled to his side. He held her closely as soft snores filled the room. Without a care in the world, her husband was sleep.
Seconds later, she too was knocked out. In five years, this was the first time she went to bed without fear. It was a new world for Shanice. A world brimmed full of...possibility.
Chapter 15- Welcome Home
Five tiny fingers touched the soft skin on her face and tried gently to rouse Shanice from her sleep. After several attempts, the little fingers’ touching turned into an open hand slap that jolted Shanice upright in the bed and sent Rocky flying from the bed onto the floor.
“Rocky! What are you doing?”
“Morning Mama!” he said with a grin as he bounded to his feet. Today, he was wearing a new pair of black jeans and sneakers which lit up when he walked. “Look at my cool shoes!” He strolled around the room and made sure he put an extra pep in his step to ensure the soles were bright as he walked.
“Those are really nice,” she told him as she struggled to wake up. Her body ached like she’d been wrestling with a bear and narrowly escaping with her life. “What time is it?”
“The numbers on the clock say six four five...now wait, six four six. You have to get up. Pops is gone, and he wants you up and ready when he gets back,” Rocky repeated what his new dad said.
“Rocky, I guess Pops mentioned to you were he was going,” she said under her breath.
“Yes. He was up making coffee. I smell-ded it, that’s what woke me up. Then my tummy was all rumbly again, but I didn’t have to make the squishy poop, but I was hungry,” the boy said enthusiastically.
“Oh, okay. I am assuming Pops went to get breakfast?”
“Yep. Pancakes! I want the blueberry ones! Those are yummy de dummy in my happy de tummy,” he told her with a smile. “See I even brushed my teeth real good too! Pops got me some toothpaste that showed me spots where I was missing. They turned pink.”
“Your teeth?”
“No Mama! The spots that I was missing!” He said impatiently. “Come on, get up. Get your clothes on. Pops said we are going to our new house today. He said my room is a lot bigger that the one I had. I have a bike, lots of room to run and play, and I get to go to a new school when it starts back. We will fish, swim...hurry up Mama. Don’t you want to see our new house?”
“Of course, I do baby!” she said throwing the covers back. “Let me hit the shower first and get dressed.”
Rocky held up a black lace bra with matching undies. He said with his little eyes wide, “Did Pops buy you these too Mama? I see he bought you some jeans, but your shoes don’t light up like mine!”
Now, she was fully awake.
“Give me those you little rascal,” she said as she bounded from the bed. Rocky took off running. Shanice gave chase as they entered the front room of the suite, only to run smack dab in Nathaniel. The man had returned with food.
“Good morning,” he said to her, holding tight to a cup of cranberry juice. He must have noticed she had a cup at breakfast the other morning. Thoughtful.
“Morning,” she said while trying to cover herself in the negligee.
“Being modest are we?”
“Yeah, well. I will shower quickly and get dressed,” she told him turning abruptly to head back to the bedroom.
It took everything in him not to follow her. The perfect little bottom in the lacy undies sent waves of desire through him. If only there was enough time.
“You do that wife,” he said softly. The way he said it made her turn around and look at him. The man had the nerve to lick his lips. Shanice jumped and pressed her hand to her breasts. Her fingers trailed slowly down the silky fabric, grabbed the edge, and pulled it back to reveal her butt cheek.
Nathaniel watched her closely.
So did Rocky.
“Yuck Mama! Stop showing Pops your boodie. Get showered and dressed so we can go home. I want to see my new room,” he scowled at her.
Nathaniel pressed his lips tightly together to stifle the laughter.
“Yeah Mama, stop showing me that boodie and get dressed,” Nathaniel said with a wink.
Shanice found herself actually smiling. She told them both, “Fine, but save me a pancake.”
Rocky all but dismissed her as he went to the table and stuck a napkin in his tee shirt to protect Elmo from getting syrup on his little red face. He closed his eyes, blessed his food, and dug in.
“You aren’t going to wait for your mother?” Nathaniel asked him.
“Naw, girls take too long. I will have starved-ed to death by the time she is ready,” he said cutting into the pancakes. He looked up at Nathaniel. “You may want to eat yours too, Pops. They will be cold by the time she comes back out here.”
He bit into a sausage link, still talking under his breath. “I don’t know where our new house is, but I betcha we could drive there and come back by the time Mama is ready to leave,” Rocky mumbled.
Suddenly, he stopped chewing. His mouth full of pancakes, ey
es wide as if the greatest idea ever known to a five-year-old had just visited him, and whispered a genius idea to his new dad. “Maybe you can give her some more of that stuff that made her sleepy! Then... Then... You can lifted-ed her in your arms and carry her to the car,” he smiled at Man as if this was a sure fire way to get them all home on time.
The boy so moved him. He leaned down and kissed him on the head. I truly like this kid. He found himself choking up a bit at the thought of raising him to be a Mann.
“Boys don’t kiss each other Pops,” Rocky said as a matter of fact.
“I am going to kiss you every day to let you know that I care about you and am going to make sure you grow up to be a strong, loving, good man. A good man is not afraid to share his feelings,” Nathaniel shared.
“So you are feeling like a girl and wanting to kiss me?” Rocky asked with his forehead crinkled and his mouth twisted to the side.
Nathaniel threw a napkin at him as he took a seat in the chair. The little Mann had a wicked sense of humor. “No, smart guy. I am telling you it’s okay for me to kiss you on top of your head. It would be wrong if I tried to kiss your lips,” he told him.
“Well, if you tried to kiss my lips, I would have to kick your ass again,” Rocky said biting into his sausage.
Nathaniel leaned back so far in the chair laughing that he fell over and hit the floor. Rocky jumped up, ran over to fall on top of Nathaniel, and pretended to beat him up. This only made Nathaniel laugh louder as he struggled to get up and get the boy off of him.
Shanice made quick work of getting ready and walked out to find her new husband on the floor with Rocky on top of him and giving him pretend blows to his face.
“What in the world?” She said as loud as she could.
They both stopped, looked at her, and started back pretending to play fight. Shanice stepped over them to take a seat at the table. She touched her pancakes. “Aww man, they are cold,” she sighed.
Both Rocky and Nate looked at her and fell into a fit of laughter.
“What’s so funny?” She asked, but evidently, it was a private joke at her expense. Her new husband laughed even harder when Rocky pretended to shoot himself in the neck and pretended to pass out on top of his chest. Nathaniel’s laughter filled the room. The crinkles at the corners of his blue eyes had tears rolling from the sides. “I don’t think anything it is that funny! You two get your stuff together so we can get on the road!”
Her guys were still chuckling as the only things which needed to be packed were hers. Rocky leaned into him and whispered, “See...we could have been home already.”
The actual drive home took less time than he thought. Either that or the conversation moved so fast that four hours seemed like minutes in her light. Rocky, who had been up since before sunrise and was excited about going to his new home, slept soundly on the back seat holding his bear. Shanice initiated the conversation.
“Since we have four hours, I think we should start getting to know each other better. You know, considering we are married and all,” she said with a little sass.
“Okay,” he said thinking, and then an idea came to him. “What is the one thing about you that I would never guess in a million years?”
“Oh, that’s easy. I can’t cook,” she admitted.
“What?”
“See, it surprised you too. I have tried. Honestly, I have, but I can’t for the life of me get the balance. If the food turns out right, I can’t get everything on the table at the same time. My taste buds are funky, so I make combinations of foods that don’t go together, but I like it. Nobody else does, but I do,” she explained.
“Now you got me curious. Give me an example,” he said.
“I like neck bones. I like them with spaghetti,” she told him.
“That is just wrong on so many levels,” he replied. “Do me a favor, you can cook that for you, but me and Rocky are going to eat something else.”
She smiled a bit, letting him know that his request was fair.
“Your turn, Shanice,” he told her.
She thought really quickly about it, “When you first saw me in the bookstore, what was your first thought?”
He glanced at her sideways, smiled, and wanted to be honest, yet, hesitant.
“Be honest, I can handle it,” she told him. “I have handled everything else you have thrown at me.”
“Yes, Lord you have,” he said with a wink.
Her cheeks grew warm.
Nathaniel’s fingers tapped on the steering wheel. “Okay. When I first saw you, my initials thoughts were that I hoped you were stupid.”
“Excuse me?” She said turning in the seat and braced her knee against the console as she stared him down.
“I don’t feel guilty about taking out stupid people,” he simply stated.
“You do have a conscience?” She said as more of a question than a statement,
“Of course I do and a moral compass. I have to do what I do to keep my mother safe from some very bad men. One is my father. I only take six contracts per year, which is enough to sustain me. I am debt free, I live off my land, and enjoy a quiet life,” he told her.
“I don’t understand. Why you wanted me to be stupid?”
Lips pressed tightly together silenced the words that were ready to come out. Phrase it the right way. Phrase it the right way.
“Usually, Shanice, when a man puts a hit out on a woman, she has something on him that could ruin him. Nine times out of ten, said woman tells the man she has this information that she has copied and sent to five of her friends, so if anything were to happen to her, the friends would release the information,” he summarized.
He noticed the color drain out of her face. Dammit, she was stupid. She did the same thing.
“It never works. If the person kills you for the information, he already knows who the five friends are, which will make them give him the information to save their own lives, rendering the effort to hide useless,” he said to her. “This will make him kill the person closest to you to get the information. That person is also most likely the individual the stupid woman gave the disk, photos, paperwork or whatever.”
She sat quietly in the seat and looked down at her hands.
“You gave the information to your mother didn’t you?” He asked with concern.
“Yes,” she said as her bottom lip began to quiver. It was true. She was responsible for her mother’s death. Upon her disappearing, Eric’s goons visited her mother every other week. After a year, Eric grew impatient and went to extract the information personally. She had a heart attack during his interrogation. “I couldn’t even go to my own mother’s funeral!”
As badly as he wanted to pull over and hold her, this was a very important aspect of their relationship that needed to be dealt with immediately.
“Shanice, who has the information now, and what is it about?” he pressed her.
“It was a land deal. He planned to flood Mt. Pleasant with rental properties and to bring the property value down with drugs, thugs, and gang activity to make people sell. It was a five-year plan which should be coming to fruition now. He will work with the police and law enforcement in a crackdown, drive them all out, get the taxes jacked up, and drive out everybody else,” she tearfully recapped.
“For that, he wanted you and his son gone?”
“Yes,” she said. After a moment of quiet, she asked. “How much did it cost him to clear his path to real estate riches by having you to take care of us?”
“Oh, he had about fifty thousand incentives to clear the way,” Nathaniel responded.
“Even though you didn’t do the job, he doesn’t know it, so you still get paid?”
“I am going to put half of it in an account for Rocky. I will be adding a few grand every year so it doesn’t seem suspicious, the other half you can have,” he cited.
Her face was flat.
“How much does it cost to take out an asshole? You know, just low grade jerk,” she wanted
to know.
“On the low end, ten, one the high 125,” he quoted nonchalantly.
“Good to know. Why didn’t you take out your father?” She probed.
“I took out his brother by accident, who by the way was the man who hired me, and gave me the first job. If you want to talk about a low grade asshole of a jerk that would be Oscar,” he replied. “He came looking for me and ran into some of my traps on the property.”
“Traps? Will Rocky be safe?”
“I will show you both where everything is. Sections will be off limits, but overall, you will be okay,” he said to calm her instant fears. He knew what she was thinking. Inside, he agreed with her train of thought. Overall, he thought it was a bad idea.
“Shanice, it is hard to come back from a dark path once you start down it,” he told her. “I know this first hand. I don’t enjoy my job. I know lots of players in the game who do. Some are even turned on by it. Over the years, I have learned to turn off that portion of me. Do the job, come home. I don’t like it. I have to either buy out my contract or serve five more years.”
“I was going to ask why you didn’t quit,” she acknowledged.
“The money is good. We were so poor when my dad died that I had to hunt game at sixteen for our food, so we would have meat. I couldn’t afford a processor, and I didn’t know what I was doing, so I wasted a lot of it until I went to the library and learned how to dress an animal. I still grow my own vegetables because we couldn’t afford to buy any of those either. We learned how to safely store veggies so we have food for the winter. The house was drafty and my Mom stayed sick, so after the first contract, I was able to fix up the place. I have been working on it ever since,” he told her.
“Are you finally okay with everything?”
“No, I will never fully be okay, but I have a chance now to be happy with you,” he told her with joy in his voice.
“Yes, but I won’t be happy until the bastard who killed my mother is dead,” she told him.
Blind Date Page 10
