For the First Time: Twenty-One Brand New Stories of First Love (66 page)

That girl had held on to her chastity as if it was the last piece of couture Alexandra McQueen had ever sewn.

“God willing, but no. I have an idea, Paloma darling. I’ll have Kiki shadow me until we get to the Euro Diamond Expo in Stockholm. If she’s pulling her own, then she’ll be on your account full-time as the primary lead.”

“And if not?”

“Then Paloma Gems gets the fiercely connected Duckie Capri.” She’d buy him a dictionary.

“Deal!” From around her wrist, Paloma adjusted an oversized pink diamond bangle.

“Those stones are exceptional. Where are they from?”

“Sierra Leone.” Paloma slid the bracelet off her wrist and placed it on Taddy’s. “That reminds me of one more teensy-weensy thing we must discuss. Then we’re off to lunch at Cipriani, my treat.”

“Okay.” Familiar with clients who waited ’til the last minute of their meetings to slip in some off-the-charts request, she grimaced. Hoping this wouldn’t require half a bottle of Xanax and a vodka martini to recover from, she encouraged, “Let’s hear it.”

“I want to talk to you about something I simply
must
get my hands on.” Her iPad appeared from her bag. She turned it on, tapped the screen a few times, and then slid it across the table.

An image of a semi-clear chunk of ice glared back at Taddy.

“How many carats?” Taddy asked. She’d never seen anything so precious and large. Well, other than her boyfriend’s cock, which she’d fondly coined ‘the anaconda,’ of course. She crossed her legs, feeling a stir in her pussy from the mere thought of her Big Daddy.

“Gemologists call it The Great Nova of Africa. It has four thousand Cs, give or take. It’s the largest diamond in the world. A few weeks ago, Kristie’s put it up for auction. A sheik from the Middle East bought it as a gift for actress Scarlett Johansson. She wasn’t amused and sent it back. It’ll be on display at The Style Gala’s auction party.” Paloma squealed, clapping her adorned fingers. “Oh, Taddy, I simply must buy it.”

“And do
what
with it, exactly?” Almost wet, her thighs clenched as she inched up and squared her shoulders against the seat. Luxurious things, especially diamonds, made her hot.

“Cut the stone. Use it in my next collection. Won’t that be the best media buzz?”

“Yes, very, darling.
Huge.
Now Paloma, I know your brand is doing well. Hell, you’ve squashed Miss Tiffany in editorial. But that sheik, he must be selling this for tens of millions of dollars.”

“Try hundreds of millions,” Paloma corrected.

“Is your brother, Prince Tittoni, making a financial investment in Paloma Gems?”

“No. Massimo’s hands are tied with Easton Essentials and Lex’s pregnancy. I thought of asking…Warner Truman.”

“
My boyfriend?
” she asked as Paloma gave her a nod. “Warner buys hotels, not baubles. And even if I wanted him to do this, I’m not sure I could convince him.”

Warner had only been focused on two things since the day she’d met him: her happiness and his resort empire. Nothing else mattered to that man.

“Jiggle your
gifts
in his face.” Paloma’s attention shot straight for Taddy’s cleavage.

Taddy had always been proud of her breasts. Men loved them. Women were jealous of them. And whenever she played with them, letting Warner watch, he’d pretty much do whatever the hell she wanted.

“Meaning?” Pouting her lips innocently, she glanced down at her own set of knockers.

“I’m opening two boutiques in Warner’s hotels this year. It’s about time Warner invested. The more buzz I get, the more I sell, the more stores I open, the more mini-me’s of you I’ll need to retain. You follow me?” Paloma eyed the statement piece around Taddy’s neck and took her iPad back.

“You know I love my money right where I can see it, on my body. Perhaps I’d understand better if I had some Paloma Gems inspiration.” Letting out a slight sigh, she stroked the necklace perversely with pleasure. “I’m sure my Big Daddy, Warner Truman, would love my girls dressed up in this piece of fine craftsmanship.”

“
Capisce.
Cost me fifty Gs. It’s all yours.” With a flash of her white teeth, Paloma Tittoni, CEO of Paloma Gems, America’s hottest jewelry brand, radiated satisfaction. “Adorn a girl with jewelry and she can conquer the world!”

“Kiki will be tickled pink with this news. But we can’t tell her ’til we get to Stockholm. I don’t want to get her hopes up.” Taddy sat back in her chair. She liked the sound of this, especially if they were going to take Paloma Gems public on the New York Stock Exchange within the year. Her assistant would shine, Warner would have another business to invest in, and Brill, Inc. would keep Paloma happy.
Everyone wins. Right?

*     *     *

Sierra Leone, West Coast of Africa

Dejon cried for
what seemed to be hours. He wasn’t sure why, since they hadn’t seen their dad in years. Was it the lost opportunity of ever getting to know Banja that made his death so hard to take?

Maybe….

But there was no time to be sad. He couldn’t believe his brother forced him into this mission. Dash always got whatever he wanted—their mother’s love, respect from everyone they knew and tons of girls who flocked around him. Simply maddening.

I was so close to being free of you, Dash, and our life in England. What’s Kiki going to say about this?
Could he keep their mission from her? He hated not being able to tell her. But he was used to it, especially when it came to his childhood.

The Hanzfeld Experiments and his past had never been discussed with her. He’d have to keep this from her, too. Dejon couldn’t tell Kiki. His fiancée would dump him faster than a New York minute. Kiki was honest; she’d never agree to steal even in the vein of moral principle. He couldn’t believe he had, either.

Stacked with Dash’s things, Banja’s folder sat in front of him. Hearing his brother’s voice from the far room, he reached over and pulled it out.

Three little stones, huh?

Embossed with the Global Diamond Corporation’s logo, the thick leather binder was stuffed with pages from Banja’s personal journal, dates highlighted.

He read over the dimensions, matching them with their corresponding photos.

One cushion cut stone, The Tivian Yellow Diamond, measured at 302 carats. On exhibit in Dubai, their first heist would be in three weeks. It was located at the Middle East Jewelry Show, an event he’d been invited to spin at many times. “Christ, in less than one month, we’ll be stealing a big-ass chunk of ice,” he said out loud, shocked.

Pink, reminding Dejon of Kiki’s skin coloring when she’d get excited, the second stone was owned by Sweedorski, a large jewelry brand in Stockholm. Graded as Internally Flawless, weighing 575 carats, the gem titled ‘Iced Sherbet’ would be honored at a party during the Euro Diamond Expo, eight weeks away. Could he get ‘in’ there to spin as their cover?

Oh, my God!
Bolting up from the sofa almost to his feet, he couldn’t believe the size of the third and final stone. By far the biggest bling he’d ever seen.

A colorless diamond, called ‘The Great Nova of Africa.’ At over 4,000 carats, it had yet to be split, and would go on display the month after the Euro Diamond expo at The Style Gala in New York City.

Pish.
He felt sick.

“What?” Dash asked, walking into the room and staring at him. Under his arms were more GDC folders.

He held up the Nova brief. “I’d hardly call these
little stones
.”

“No? What are they?” His sat the stack from under his arm next to Dejon and took the paper from him.

“How about the most valuable gems in the world?” A wave of sweat broke out over his entire body, as if he’d just come from a swim. He couldn’t breathe. “What the fuck are we going to do?”

“Exactly what Dad wrote out for us, to follow along.” Dash handed him a set of directions.

He skimmed. Detailed, almost foolproof, he realized, “There’s no way Daddy whipped this list off the top of his head as some helping of clotted cream. Dash, come on….”

“They do read like the work of someone with thievery experience, don’t they? Maybe Dad was more of a nutter than Mum realized.” Dash appeared almost smug. His brother didn’t seem worried. Nothing scared Dash.

“What if we get caught?” He was worried he’d face authorities in the Middle East, Europe and the United States, not in Banja’s backyard.

“Won’t happen.” Dash grimaced. “Appears we should’ve spent time getting to know Dad, and his hobbies, eh?”

“Perhaps….”

“Mom always said Dad was a bit off his onion.” His brother laughed.

Collecting the papers, Dash’s invincible attitude filled the room, making it hard for Dejon to think. “You still don’t get why we’re doing this, do you?”

“Not exactly.”

“I found those folders in Dad’s study.” He pointed at the stack he’d put next to Dejon. “They’re filled with information on how
our
mission will benefit the community.”

Dejon flipped the paper open. A girl, maybe six or seven, an amputee, stared back at him. “Dash!” Quickly, he closed it. Disturbed, he couldn’t take looking at them. “You know I’m more sensitive to images than you.”

“Mate, you used to be. But you’ve iced up into a cold-hearted arse. One by one, you’re going to look at those pictures and read their stories. That little girl’s name is Helen. Rebels took her entire family.”

Later that night, after eating a plate of crayfish, he read the detailed cases. The monies from the Tivian Yellow Diamond, after its return to the community and being resold as conflict-free, would build a library, school and feed an entire village for the next ten years.

As Dejon dug deeper into the files, he realized he hadn’t cried over the loss of a man he barely knew or a sister he vaguely recollected, but for what they’d done on their crusade. Banja and Kamara had stood for something—life. Every day, hundreds if not thousands of his brothers and sisters were being killed for diamonds.

Determined to get Helen, and all of the other Helens out there, a new set of arms, he slid the photo that had troubled him earlier into his wallet.

At that moment, he closed his eyes and thanked his father for bringing him home to Sierra Leone. He and Dash would do their best to get the stones back.

Forgive me, Kiki, but what you don’t know won’t hurt you.

BJs Are Better Than Whippets

Eight Weeks Ago

Stockholm, Sweden

“I
’m gonna keep
eating this pussy ’til you come,” her fiancé said, more determined than ever.

Panties yanked off?
Yup!

Legs up?
And over.

Kiki Izatt should’ve been downstairs at Truman Hotel’s conference center, helping her Brill, Inc. boss with the Euro Diamond Expo. Instead, she entertained a visit from her über-hot disc jockey of a fiancé, Dejon Turay. Unexpectedly, he’d flown in to spin for a private soirée. Dejon didn’t say which one, but then he never did.

“Stop!” Close to climaxing, Kiki tugged on Dejon’s short, curly black hair, hoping to catch her breath. “Miss Brill is going to fire me…if I don’t get downstairs.”

“Good! Then I’ll have you all to myself.” Between her legs, Dejon’s chocolate brown eyes peered up at her mischievously. “Let me shag you, babe.”

Consumed by ecstasy, her head fell back on the pillows. With a loud snarl, Dejon drove face-first into her. Eyes closed, she thought about what she always did when she was with her man: their future together. Jet-setting to the most exotic locales, living the New York City life and starting a family, they’d create their own destiny.

“Babe, you have the pinkest pussy I’ve ever seen. It’s like iced sherbet,” Dejon complimented her between tongue lashings. Sincere with his words, always, but the notion of her fiancé with any pussy before her seemed unfamiliar.

Married at sixteen, Kiki’s parents had both been virgins. That was, of course, before her father had taken on four other sister wives.

Wait. Why was she thinking about her family? No. This ‘going down on her pink sherbet business’ had to stop.

“Dejon. I gotta go to work.” Kiki tapped her heel on his back, signaling for him to come up from under the hood.

An ox, he didn’t budge. Rather, he spread her folds apart. “Look at this li’l butterfly.” Dejon sunk his tongue into the well of her cunt, nearly sending Kiki to the ceiling in an orgasmic fit. “Come out and play with me, my beautiful…butterfly.”

“Please!” She kicked at him, trying to get him to back off.

Shaking his head, he made a
tsk-tsk
noise and replaced his aggressive tongue with magic fingers, sliding deep inside. “Babe, you’re soakin’ wet.”

“What’s gotten into you?” Since the second he’d arrived, she couldn’t get him to cool it.
I’m going out of my mind. I love this man.

Intent on making her orgasm, Dejon pinched her clit with one hand, scissoring his long, masculine fingers through her pubic hair with the other. “We agreed to wait ’til marriage. But let’s do
it.”

“Dejon!”

“Bloody hell! Come on. I flew all this way from Ibiza.”

“No. We can’t….”

“We’ve got this nice room. Babe, I need to be inside you, now.” Dejon pulled himself up, meshing his hard pecs against Kiki’s soft breasts, and kissed her. At six feet tall, his frame compared to her petite stature put a good foot between them. He could have done whatever he wanted to with her body. But Dejon Turay always remained a gentleman. “I love you, Kiki.”

Half African on his late father’s side from Sierra Leone, and half English on his mother’s side from London, Dejon was the most exotic man Kiki had ever seen. Coming across his picture on a DJ blog after downloading remixes to her iPhone, Kiki had done what any other twenty-something, desert native who’d moved to the big city and had never smoked a cigarette, tried drugs, drank alcohol, or tasted coffee did…

She’d cyber-stalked him.

“Your virtual boyfriend looks like a younger, European version of that ’90s rapper who obsessively licks his lips,” Taddy had said when Kiki paraded Dejon’s picture around their Times Square office.