No Ordinary Romance (16 page)

"I want to be there for Chad. I love
him."

Connie hugged Beth, it was hard to love a
man, especially when you didn't know how he felt about you. "I know
you do Beth, give him some time to sort out his feelings. Sometimes
men can be dense about affairs of the heart. Connie realized that
statement could apply to her too.

***

Connie and Thomas left the French Cafe
holding hands as they headed towards Thomas's car. He tried to use
his body to protect her from the harsh wind, and Connie used the
opportunity to meld her body closer to his. When they finally made
it into the car, it was a relief to get out of the cold. "Thanks
for dinner Thomas. Now where are we having dessert, your place or
mine?"

Thomas gave her a devil may care smile. "Well
I have one more surprise for you before I take you to my home, one
I hope you'll enjoy."

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to The Holland Center."

"Really?" Connie usually kept close track of
The Holland Center's events, she'd been so busy lately maybe she
missed something. "What's going on at the Holland Center?"

"A little birdie told me that you love The
Funk Brothers, so when I heard that they were coming to town I got
tickets."

Connie couldn't contain her excitement; The
Funk Brothers were the musicians behind the Motown sound. "The Funk
Brothers! Are you kidding?"

Thomas laughed at Connie and kissed her as he
stopped for a red light. "So I did good, huh?"

"Oh Thomas you don't know how good." She
stuck her tongue in his ear and sucked on the lobe.

"Hey none of that while I'm driving. I didn't
even know the significance of The Funk Brothers until Jenna called
me."

Connie settled back down into her seat for
the short ride to The Holland Center. "What else did Jenna tell
you?"

"I don't know if I want to say. You might try
to keep your friends from giving me pointers in the future. Let's
just say that Jenna told me that it would make you truly happy to
attend the concert."

"Please, I know Jenna, more likely she said
that buying tickets to The Funk Brothers was the surest way for you
to get laid tonight." Thomas laughed aloud, and she knew she was on
the right track. "Between you and me, I was a sure thing before I
even knew about the concert."

Thomas got lucky, he secured parking on
Douglas Street, a block away from the Holland Center. He held the
door open for her and grabbed her arm as they huddled on up the
street. "I must have missed something in life, but I take it The
Funk Brothers are a big deal."

Connie stopped walking and turned Thomas to
face her. "You're kidding right. Are you saying that you don't know
about The Funk Brothers?"

Thomas gave her a quick kiss and tugged her
up the street. "Come on woman educate me."

The
Funk Brothers
was
the nickname of the session musicians who performed the music to
most Motown Records recordings from the late 1950's until the mid
1970's. Momma Lettie was a diehard Motown fan, when I started
playing the drums I used to listen to the drum introductions and
cadences. Back then, I didn't know about the background musicians,
it was all about the sound, not the musicians. I watched the
documentary about The Funk Brothers, and I've been a huge fan ever
since."

As they entered The Holland Center, Thomas
checked her coat and gave their tickets to an usher. The auditorium
was filling up fast, and Connie was surprised by the location of
their seats; up front and center, three rolls back. "You must have
purchased these tickets last month."

Once they took their seats, Thomas casually
placed his hand on her thigh. "I've been trying to get next to you
for months. If I thought a dancing monkey would get me closer to
you, I would have bought one."

Something clicked in place for Connie that
she hadn't considered before. "You've got to be kidding me."

Thomas immediately sensed that something
wasn't right by the sudden frown on Constantina's face. "What's
wrong?"

"How long have they been feeding you
information about my whereabouts?"

Thomas swallowed before responding he could
feel the violet eyes burning a hole through him. "I'm not going to
pretend that I don't understand your question?" He moved his hand
from her thigh and grabbed her hand. "The first time I saw you were
sitting in a dunk tank at some school charity event. By the time I
made it back to the tank, you were gone. The second time I saw you
were at the grand opening party for Jenna and Samantha."

Connie was at a loss for words. She
remembered that event, she felt as if she were being stalked. "That
was you following me around that night. I don't remember actually
seeing you."

"I have to admit, I was a bit of a cynic back
then. I couldn't believe that someone like you really existed."

"You make me seem like some sort of mystical
character. What did I do that was so astounding that you couldn't
believe I was real?"

"You were absolutely fabulous, and you did
nothing to bring attention to yourself. Every move you made was in
difference to your friends. You didn't single anyone out, but you
made everyone feel at ease, and you disappeared again before I
could find out your name."

Connie rubbed her thumb across his knuckles.
"So is that when you started pumping my friends for
information."

The auditorium got dark, and Thomas moved in
for the kill. "No. I became very enamored with you after you first
appearance before the city council. At last I finally had your
name, even that wasn't enough it didn't tell me the details I
needed like if you were married or otherwise entangled."

Connie felt the pull of his honeyed words in
the pit of her stomach. "So that's when you used my friends to get
next to me."

"Shamelessly and I don't feel the least bit
guilty." He kissed her exposed neck and enjoyed the rippled effect
of her emotions. "I can feel your arousal; you want me bad, don't
you. After the concert, I'm going to take you home with me for the
weekend, and you won't see the light of day until Monday
morning."

"Do I have any say in the matter?"

"No!"

"I like a man who knows how to take
charge."

***

It was late in the morning when Connie woke
up, she felt sore and well used. Thomas was an insatiable lover,
and she enjoyed every minute. He was sleeping deeply with one hand
braced on her stomach, his hold tightened when she tried to move.
"Thomas, I need to get up."

Thomas's green eyes pinned her down, and his
hand didn't release her. He moved his hand to cup her breast until
her nipple became erect. "What if I don't want to let you go?"

"Then you're going to have a large puddle in
your bed. Besides, it's time for you to wake up, and get me some
food." Thomas threw the covers off the bed, his cock stiff with
morning wood. He stroked himself his eyes glittering like emeralds
as they rested on her body.

"Baby I got all the nourishment you need
right here, but I'll let you go relieve yourself."

"Thank you for your permission master, I'll
be sure to pay homage to your special parts when I return." She
blew him a kiss and went down the hall to the bathroom.

Thomas couldn't take his eyes from her body,
her firm buttocks seemed to call to him. He often wondered if
Constantina needed him half as much as he needed her. He wanted
her, not for just a weekend, he wanted to lock her in his house
forever.

He could envision her pregnant with his
children. He wanted a mate not just another lover. This
relationship with Constantina was new, and he didn't want to
fracture it with his demands. He got out of the bed and followed
Constantina to the bathroom maybe if he asked nicely he could get
lucky in the shower.

***

Dressed in only a shirt and
socks, Connie scoured Thomas's kitchen looking for food. "When you
spent the weekend at my house I had plenty of food. Either we're
going to have eggs for every meal,
or you
need to go grocery shopping."

Thomas wrapped his arms around her waist as
she set the plates on the kitchen table. "My only thought was
holing up with you for the weekend. I didn't have time to go
grocery shopping when I got into town yesterday."

Connie pulled out of his arms and sat down at
the table; she blessed her food and proceeded to eat her eggs and
toast. "Okay sexy man, you're a ardent lover, but I'm a woman of
strong appetites, and I need some food. So either you take your hot
buns to the grocery store or you can take me home."

Thomas winked at her as he sat down to eat.
"I'm been called many things, but never hot buns. "Make me a list
of what you want and I promise to go grocery shopping. Of course,
you could come with me."

"I'd love to go with you, but my kidnapper
didn't bring me any clothes to wear."

Thomas finished his breakfast; determine to
get the shopping out of the way so they can go back to bed. "That
wasn't a mistake, it was my goal to keep you naked and in my bed
all weekend." He choked down his food and drank his juice. "While
I'm getting dress, make up a quick list."

Connie found a pen and paper and wrote out a
few items she would need to get them through the weekend. She
finished her breakfast and washed the dishes as promised Thomas was
dressed and ready to go. "Stick to the list and no dallying at the
store."

Thomas like her attire, there was nothing
sexier that Constantina running around in his shirt. "I'll be back
as soon as I can, then we are going back to bed."

"I'll be here waiting
lover." Connie loved Thomas's house, he lived in a ranch style home
in Florence. She could see the Mormon bridge from the kitchen
window. She looked around his
house;
it was
unmistakably a bachelor pad. There were pictures of his family on
the walls, she recognized his mother and the man was probably his
stepfather. The two other women in the photo were Thomas's sisters
Charlene and Kimberly.

She came across
another
picture; it was framed alongside
a
news article. It was an article about the Chisum Group and its
first multi-million dollar deal. Oh no. She read the article and a
sense of
dread
filled her body. Thomas was
the CEO of the Chisum Group. That's not
possible;
he would have told her that he was the client
bringing her the land swap deal. "He used me for a land deal." The
last thing Connie wanted to do was face Thomas right now. She
called a cab and put on her clothes from last night.

Connie felt miserable she left Thomas a note,
hoping that the cab would arrive soon. "How could I have been so
stupid? Fifteen minutes later the cab pulled into Thomas's
driveway. She stumbled down the stairs into the cab. She rattled
off her address and rested her head against the back seat. She
couldn't stop the tears from flowing.

"Bad night lady."

The cab driver frowned at her in the rearview
mirror. "Bad breakup."

***

Thomas realized that Constantina gave him
strict instructions to follow the list, but he added a few items
like chocolate syrup and flowers. He could see her squirming as he
licked the chocolate syrup from her body. He sacked up his
groceries and quickly deposited them in the car. This little trip
shouldn't have taken more than thirty minutes. He looked at his
watch; he'd been gone for more than an hour.

He was so happy he began to whistle. He was
lucky with his family, his job, and now he was finally lucky in
love. He stopped whistling when the implications of his thoughts
hit him. "I love her." He pulled into the garage, grabbed the two
bags and entered the house from the kitchen.

"Constantina I'm back." He put the groceries
away and went in search of her. He hoped she was in bed because
that's exactly where he wanted to be. He searched all over the
house. Constantina where are you?" He came back into the kitchen
and saw the note on the table. "Shit!"

He called Constantina on the phone desperate
to explain the situation with the land deal. The call went straight
to voice mail, "Constantina, please call me back baby. There's a
reason why I didn't tell you that I'm the CEO of the Chisum Group."
He paced back and forth in the kitchen. He had to see her, and
there was no point in waiting for her to return his call. He got in
his car and headed to her house.

The situation was dire; he couldn't believe
that Constantina would think he would make love to her for a damn
land deal. He should have told her the truth right in the
beginning. Then he wouldn't be suffering right now. He couldn't
lose her over this misunderstanding. He refused to lose her over
this.

***

Connie called Samantha and Jenna and told
them about the situation with Thomas. Not even twenty minutes
later, they both arrived at her house. She let them in the same
time Thomas pulled into her driveway. "I don't want to talk to him
right now." She left the living room and marched back to her
bedroom.

"Follow her Jenna I'll take care of Thomas."
Samantha went back outside and waited for Thomas on the stoop.

"Samantha I need to talk to Constantina.
She's got the wrong idea about me, and I have to clear it up now
before this situation sabotages our relationship."

"Thomas I was rooting for you, but you messed
up big time. Connie's not going to talk to you, she wants to be
around her friends and call you every type of asshole in the book.
Barging in her and trying to drag her back to your lair is not
going to work. She has to digest everything first, and she'll call
you when she's ready to talk to you."

He couldn't believe he'd
been so stupid. "You don't understand
Samantha;
she's hurt because she believes that I would use her for a
land deal. I would never do that to her, to us. I love her, and I
don't want to lose her over this bull shit."