Brock: A Bad Boy Romance (71 page)

was being courted by an admirer was cruel and unusual punishment. He thought that it was romantic, but now he thought that he was making her feel like she was being pulled in two different directions.

“I know that you’re listening. It’s too hard to let you go, but I have something that has been on my mind. There is something in your eyes that I can’t quite understand. I think it’s time that you finally let me in all the way. “
It happens all the time. When I think that I have one of the good ones, they always find a way to make me think differently. I’ve had enough men lie to me in my lifetime and I don’t need it from him. He’s either going to have to man up, or ruin the one good thing that he has in his life. I’m not bragging, because I know the way that he feels for me, even though he wants nothing more than to keep this casual.”
The sticky sensation underneath her had reminded her of how they had got lost in each other. There was nothing that mattered besides the pleasure that they could have with one another. That was the fantasy of their relationship, when the reality was known to be far worse

“I think that I’m finally ready to give you the respect of not only my affection, but of my trust. I have something for you and it might shed some light on how long I’ve been vying for your attention.” Royce helped her to sit beside him in the buff. He saw that she was feeling vulnerable and reached for a blanket to cover her nudity. She once again looked sweet and innocent, but she was anything but.

“Before you say anything, I need to tell you that I’m being courted by…”

“A secret admirer.” They both said it at the same time and then he handed her the box and waited for her to open it. He saw the look of shock and confusion, but then it turned into elation when she finally realized that he was the one.

“She looked up at him and the window on the other side of the limo exploded into fragments like an explosion had just got off. They both shielded their eyes and then she opened them to see that there was a gun pointed into the open window.

THE END

NAUGHTY NIGHTY

Chapter 1

Nicole was terrified and unable to move. She was looking at this gun with the silencer on the end of it and knowing that one pull of that trigger would end it all. She saw the anger welling up inside Royce and the way that he stared down the barrel of the gun like it meant nothing. At first, she thought that he was being brave for her, but it wasn’t like that. It was almost like he had expected something like this to come calling one day. “
I admire him for standing there and taking this, but he’s risking everything. Whoever is on the end of the gun is taking things a little bit too far. I want to do something to help, but I have no idea if I’m even capable of raising a hand, even in self defense. I’m trying to hide my naked shame. I’ve pulled my clothes against me. He doesn’t even look like he’s concerned about his own nudity or what kind of picture we present.”

Royce stared down the gun and knew that the man behind it was responsible for the letter. He always thought that his time would never come, but apparently his day of retribution was at hand. He had the world at his fingertips, but he knew that it came at a very costly price. He never believed that the deal that he made was with the devil. This man claimed to be something supernatural, but he believed in his heart that it was just a game.

“You didn’t have to go this far. I would have gladly met you anywhere, but you decided to announce your presence this way. I would’ve thought that the letter would’ve been enough, but you wanted to make a grand entrance. You wanted to scare me into shaking in my boots, but you have to know by now that I’m not the same man that I was.” He saw the gun move back and forth like he was being chastised for his behavior. “You did this, as a way to see that fear in my eyes, but I hate to disappoint you. I’m not afraid. We both know that you’re not going to get what you want by pulling that trigger. You’ve made your point abundantly clear and now it’s time for you to leave.”

“
I want to know what’s going on and he was this close to telling me something important when all of this happened. I know that he holds something deep inside that he doesn’t want others to know, but what exactly does that have to do with this man and some kind of deal with the devil. My body is still charged from going after each other like wild wildebeests. I don’t think that I could ever find another man that can make me feel the way that he does. I would like to say that I can leave all of this behind, but I don’t think that I can do that with a straight face.”
Nicole was holding onto what was left of her dignity. If she could have, she would have gladly climbed into a hole and covered it with dirt.

“I thought that it might be a good time to remind you that time is not a commodity that is in your favor. You had your day in the sun and now it’s time to pay the piper. You couldn’t possibly believe that I would allow you to live like this for the rest of your life. You’re right, I won’t get what I want by killing you, but I have to say that the idea does intrigue me. I’m going to leave you alone for 24 hours. You have that amount of time to make peace with yourself and those that you care about including Nicole. You may not know that I’ve

been watching. I’ve been waiting to grab that rug from underneath you and pull it away. I would never do that; until that time elapsed and believe me this last year has been making me giddy with anticipation.” The man was known as Caleb. He had so many last names that it really didn’t make much of a difference. He backed away from the window and moved to the silver Lexus sitting idling in behind the limousine. The driver was momentarily stunned and out of commission. Knocking them off the road while they were enjoying themselves physically was unexpected.

Caleb remembered the first day that he met Royce. He remembered the wide eyed innocence and that feeling of going nowhere quickly. He easily spotted him in the coffee shop nursing his caffeine fix for the day. The tattered clothing on his body was like a collar around his neck making him feel domesticated and not wild and free like he wanted to be. This was not the first time that he had done something like this. It wouldn’t be the last. He had several others on the chessboard of life that he moved from pawns with nothing to live for to kings of their own destiny.

He drove away, but he couldn’t help to smile at how Royce was feeling. This was the best part of what he did. He considered himself the devil and if there were such a thing, they would gladly give him that moniker.

24 hours and then he would collect and that would give him infinite joy. It was the only thing that he found fun. He could remember the last time. These insane ventures with those people that really had no place to turn were what he lived for.

He had had a lot of sleepless nights, but that was mostly from the adrenaline rush of the moment getting the best of him. Caleb was a dark skinned man that worked for every dollar that he made. He was what most people would call an idiot savant when it came to business. He could practically predict what the markets were going to do before they did it.

Nicole watched through the window, as the car sped by shooting a shower of gravel against the exterior of the white limousine. She turned towards Royce and saw that he was concentrating on the retreating form of the man that had just caused her heart to stop for a moment. It was beating again, but a little quicker than normal with that moment of indecision that came from the man holding the trigger and having their lives in the palm of his hand. “
I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say after something like this. He looks like he wants to wrap his hands around that man’s throat and not let go, until he turns blue. I’ve known that he is unpredictable, but I didn’t know that he could be deadly given the right circumstances.”

“I have to apologize for that. My business sometimes rubs people the wrong way. Where were we before we were, so rudely interrupted? Oh yes, I was about to give you this.” Royce handed her the box and saw that she was visibly shaken from what had transpired. “I don’t want you to give it any more thought. That’s business for another day. Please, I implore you not to ask me what that was about. It was not one of my finest moments and I would rather leave it that way.” The ticking of the clock was a reminder that the life that he had was not going to be there for much longer. He would hold onto it with everything that he could. He really didn’t know any other way and the man that he once was had been long dead and buried. There was an actual

gravestone to signify that that was the end of his life and the beginning of something new and more interesting.

Nicole opened up the box and saw the piece of puzzle. She stared at it for a moment and then looked up to him to see that he was holding the very box that held the rest of those puzzle pieces. “I have so many questions. I know that you don’t want me to say anything, but I don’t know if I can keep quiet.” She had found the strength to shake herself from the shock of having that window blow up in front of her face. “I can’t believe that you are my secret admirer. I am glad that you finally came clean, but now I have more questions than answers.” “
I don’t want him to go, but he seems a little bit too dangerous to even consider a future with. It might be best that I just cut ties cleanly and walk away before things get too messy.”

Nicole could feel the cool wind of the night air tickling her skin and making the hairs on her arms rise with that sensation. She looked at him for some kind of explanation, but was bitterly aware that he really didn’t want to talk about it.

“I’m sorry that I was a little secretive about my affections for you. From the moment that I met you, I knew that I needed to get to know you. I also thought it might be fun to keep you guessing, until the very last moment. It wasn’t fair of your boss to take away that choice for you. I’m not very happy that he kept those letters to himself, until he thought it best that you know about my overtures. I thought the letters were poignant and romantic, but maybe he took them for something else.” Royce had found a way to change the subject, even though Caleb was very much on his mind.

“I think that you should have been man enough to come to me in person. I will admit that I did enjoy having a secret admirer. Every girl dreams of something like that, but very rarely do they ever get to experience it. You made me feel like I was in a movie and maybe it might be a chick flick, but it starred the both of us.”
“I look at the box in his hand and the puzzle is that of two hearts split down the middle. I’m not sure if he’s trying to tell me that I’m destined for heartbreak or if I hold a piece of his heart. I can’t get that image of the gun out of my mind. It scared me and made me tremble and not in a good way. He’s obviously worried about something, but he doesn’t give me the respect of telling me what it is.”

Nicole didn’t want to believe the worst or that she was wasting her time with a man that couldn’t be tamed. She was kind of thrilled to learn that he was her secret admirer, but the thrill was short lived by the look of the gun and the way that it menacingly moved back and forth in a negative light.

“I want you to know that I will never let anything happen to you. I will shelter you with my body like a human shield. I don’t want you to think that it will come to that. All I’m saying is that your well being is the most important thing to me. I’ve never felt like this with any other girl and I think that you’re slowly getting an inkling of why I have kept most of my relationships professional. I’m just a little sad that this didn’t happen five years ago.” He still couldn’t believe that five years had gone by like that. He thought that he was flying like those clouds in the sky. He couldn’t even fathom to think that one day all of this would be gone in the blink of an eye.

“I know what you’re trying to say and I appreciate the sentiment. It’s just that I don’t think that I can handle this kind of drama. I was hoping for something

a lot more simple and easy. I’m through playing games and I was hoping that I had found someone that was exactly like me. These puzzle pieces were sweet and had an innocent quality to them, but I see now that you were only trying to mark your territory. It might be best that you take me home.”
“I want to tell him that I don’t want to go home. I want to go back to his place and burn the sheets up, until they are twisted around us in a misshapen form. I want to feel his body pressed up against me and to have that bed, as the perfect way to seal the kind of love that we share together. He’s too much to handle and if he can’t be truthful with me, then why am I even bothering.”

Instead of arguing, he motioned for the driver. He whispered through the partition that they were to return to her place of residence.

The driver was still trying to shake the cobwebs from having his head slammed into the steering wheel. He had a small gash on his forehead, but it was barely a scratch in relation to how bad it could’ve been. He could’ve easily lost control of the vehicle and flipped over repeatedly. He was glad that he was able to bring the vehicle to a stop without any catastrophic injuries to him or his passengers.

“I know that I have given you a lot to think about. I would love to say that you have all the time in the world to make up your mind, but I can’t do that. Tomorrow morning, I will return and I hope that you will see things clearer in the light of day. I want this, but I don’t think that the man that you will ultimately end up with is going to be your dream man. I can’t go into detail. I will be able to tell you everything, but not until 24 hours has gone by. I know how strange that might sound, but I’m asking you to bear with me. It will all make sense, but whether you stay with me in another matter altogether.” He took her hand and placed it up against his chest to let her know that the beating of his heart was courtesy of her being with him.