The Law of Desire (15 page)

She chanced another glance at the woman. She looked familiar. When Minerva looked at her face, she realized where she had seen her before. She was Maritza Morales, the other video model whose picture had graced Calvin’s walls.

“That’s Maritza Morales, the former video girl, right?”

“Yep. She’s a business partner of Penny’s. They own an image-consulting firm. I’m a silent partner in their business.”

“Really? That seems cool.”

“I’m also a record company executive.”

“Wow! That must really be exciting.” She tried to keep her eyes on Terrell and away from Lawrence and the beautiful Maritza. And she was doing a great job of it until the music slowed down and Lawrence and Maritza ended up right next to them on the dance floor.

Just as Terrell started to pull her closer, Lawrence reached for her. “You don’t mind if we switch partners, do you, Terrell? I want to dance with my baby now.”

“I don’t want to dance with
him!
” Maritza screeched.

“Shut up, Maritza.” Terrell pulled Maritza into his arms and danced her away.

Lawrence wrapped her in his arms and held her close as they swayed to Luther Vandross’s “If Only for One Night.” She tried to block out how apt the song seemed to be and how it foreshadowed the absolute and inevitable end of whatever it was they were doing.

“Your
baby
?” She slanted her eye and twisted her lip as she glanced up at him.

“That’s right, Minerva.
Mine.
Terrell is lucky he’s a family friend and my sister-in-law and mother would have my head if I hurt him.”

“You’re crazy…Absolutely nuts…” She couldn’t help but giggle as she let herself relax in his arms. She wished they had more than one night, more than a few breathtaking days of bliss in the Poconos, more than a brief affair that she would never forget. But she was determined to eke out the most of what she could from her time with him. Once she was at the safe house, she probably wouldn’t see him much at all.

“I’m crazy about you, baby. And don’t you forget it.” He brushed his lips across her forehead and she shivered.

“I’m gonna miss you.”

“Miss me? I’m not going anywhere. And neither are you.” He slanted his eyes. “Don’t play me, Minerva. No more trying to run away. Or, I promise you, I will lock you up and throw away the key.”

“I’m not going to run away. I’m talking about once this is all over, once you catch the criminals—”

“I’m still not going anywhere. And neither are you.”

“I have a life in California…” Technically, she didn’t anymore.

He frowned. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. You ready to go? I’m thinking we both need to get a good night’s rest. Things might get hectic pretty fast, and I want to be sharp. I said I wouldn’t let anything happen to you and I meant it.”

“We can go if you’d like. I think your family is really nice. I’d be cool with staying a little longer. At least until Penny cuts her cake…She was really surprised when she walked in with Carla. I can’t believe Penny Keys and Maritza Morales are here. My brother would have loved this party.”

“Yeah, well, Penny Keys is Penny Hightower now and your brother would have had to love her from afar. And even though Terrell and Maritza are fighting it, they are as good as a couple.”

“Is that why he seemed to stiffen up when you stepped on the dance floor with her?”

Lawrence laughed. “Yep. He had my baby on the dance floor, so I had to get his attention. And don’t act like he was the only one shooting daggers. I saw your face when you looked at us. You need to go ahead and admit it. You were heated. Weren’t you?”

“Well, she was more your type, wasn’t she?
Taller, shapelier, crime-free…
” She tossed his words back lightly, even though remembering them made her heart feel heavy.

He stared at her for several seconds before speaking. “Guess I didn’t really know what my type was until a certain little two-toned hair, mouthy, smart-aleck, incredibly sexy woman came my way.”

Her heart thudded loudly in her chest. She had to get off the dance floor before she started believing in and wishing for forever in his arms. Luckily, they were about to cut the cake.

“Penny’s cutting her birthday cake now. Let’s go get a piece.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.” He kept his arms around her as they walked off the dance floor.

She never wanted him to let her go.

The rest of the evening went by in a blur. His family was so nice and they all embraced her with open arms. Their closeness highlighted to her all the more why she and Lawrence couldn’t really be together. Even when she wasn’t playing little miss ghetto girl with the two-toned hair, even when she was her regular, recent college graduate, striving self, the Hightower family was still way out of her league.

And as she entered Lawrence’s spectacular home, she really felt out of place. He had the second-floor apartment in his refurbished two-family colonial home and rented out the first floor. The hardwood floors gleamed in the stunning home and the built-in amenities took her breath away. Like the family vacation home in the Poconos, Lawrence’s place was decorated in warm and inviting earth tones.

The furniture was sleek, top of the line, and screamed bachelor pad. The dark-chocolate leather sofas had an ergonomic design to them as did the wood and glass tables that were stained to match the rich tones of the sofas.

“I love your place.” She hoped her eyes weren’t bugging out of her head as she took in the decorations and artwork in his home. “You collect black art.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Yes. I’ve been collecting for a while. A lot of the pieces at the vacation home are mine also. I don’t have enough wall space here for my love of art.”

“You have some lovely pieces.” She noted he had many signed limited-edition prints and even some originals. His collection put the framed reprints from the little spot in the mall that hung on her Los Angeles apartment wall to shame. Yet another reason why they wouldn’t work…While she fully intended to own this kind of original art when she finished her MSW and got on with her career, it was clear that because of their age difference and class difference, he was already where she had yet to be.

He pulled her into his arms as they walked down the hallway to his bedroom and planted a kiss on her. Her lips tingled and came to life.

She didn’t know how he did it, how he sparked something deep and passionate inside her with just a touch. And at that moment she didn’t want to question it. She just wanted to bask in it, glow with it, let it flow and bathe in it.

She moaned and he lifted her up, carrying her the rest of the way and laying her gently on the bed. He made quick work of their clothing and protected them before entering her in one smooth, devastating stroke.

“Ahhhhhhh….” Her back arched and her head tilted back in reaction to the fullness she felt. Her heart stalled, stuttered and then pumped fiercely.

His mouth covered hers and he stole the breath she had been struggling so hard to hold on to. His tongue mimicked the sure and steady piston of his hips. And she lifted her hips to meet him thrust for thrust.

She wanted so badly to tell him she loved him. The words sat on the tip of her tongue almost refusing to be confined, daring her to defy their power, their inevitability. Even without saying the words, her heart knew what it felt and there was no going back.

He trailed kisses down her neck and took her nipples in his mouth one after the other after the other, making her body sing with each suckle, with each thrust.

“I want you to stay with me.”

She opened her eyes and gazed at him. Did he just ask her to stay?

“I want you to stay with me, baby. Please.”

His lips swooped down again, claiming her mouth.

How could she deny him anything when he kissed her like that? But she had to. Didn’t she? She couldn’t stay with him. That was crazy.

“Tell me you’ll stay with me. Tell me, Minerva. Baby, please.”

His hips seemed to take on a life of their own, indeed a mind of their own. They swiveled and swirled and pulled him out until only the tip was left before diving back in over and over again. Each move called her scream closer. It built up slowly in the pit of her stomach and then exploded into a high-pitched shriek.

He grinned and his expression seemed to say
I’ve got you now!

“Stay.” Withdraw.

“With.” Thrust.

“Me.” Withdraw.

“Please.” Thrust.

He emphasized his words and with the movements of his hips.

Good. Lord.

The man was clearly bent on getting her compliance or driving her out of her mind with lust. She thought it must have been the latter because she was close to proclaiming her undying love for him and telling him that she would stay with him forever. And she could not proclaim her love. She just couldn’t. No matter how much her heart felt like it was going to burst. No matter how many tears of joy threatened to spill. Her feelings had to remain her little secret.

She closed her eyes and kept up with his rhythm as best she could. She didn’t want to look at him. Looking at him reminded her that she didn’t have forever in his arms.

Determined, he kept up his sensuous assault, slowly driving her insane.

“Look at me, baby.” He whispered the words in her ear, taking a nip as he finished his demand.

She shook her head and kept her eyes closed. She felt her sex tighten and release and could have sworn she saw stars lighting up the darkness. The bright boldness of her orgasm made her eyes spring open as a scream poured from the depths of her stomach to the tip of her tongue and out into the room.

He caught her in his gaze and he stilled. “I want us to explore this relationship without all the drama going on. Once we catch the person who killed the McKnights and tried to kidnap you, I want you to give us a shot. I want you to stay. Tell me that you’ll stay.”

He licked her bottom lip and nibbled. “Stay with me.”

She didn’t trust herself to open her mouth. If she did at that moment, with him looking so genuine and true, she would have told him that she loved him. Her heart was full of love and no longer content to hold it inside. So she slowly nodded.

“Is that a yes? You’ll stay?”

She nodded again and he captured her mouth in a soul-stealing kiss.

Then he moved. Slow at first and then faster. His strokes were mind-blowing, atmosphere-altering.

“I’m glad you’re staying with me, baby. So glad.” He kissed her again.

“Lawrence!” She screamed his name and then bit her tongue not to say more.
I love you. I love you so much.
She wanted to say the words. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled his head down, taking his lips with her own.

He held her tight as they both found their release.

He kissed her on the forehead before getting up to remove the protection. When he came back he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her again. The smile on his face made her heart burst wide open. She bit her lower lip to keep quiet.

“I really am glad you’ve decided to stay in Jersey when this is all done. I think you’ll find several great MSW programs at the universities here. You could probably even go to school full-time, since you won’t have to worry about a roof over your head or anything like that.”

Her eyes widened. “Huh?”

“I got you, baby. I want you to be able to reach your goals while we figure this thing out between us.”

“So you want me to be a kept woman?”

“Not a kept woman. I just want you.” He pulled her close. “And I want you to be happy and have everything you ever hoped for.”

“But I can’t just stay here and let you take care of me, Lawrence.”

“Hey, you promised me just now that you would stay. I’m holding you to it.”

“I may stay in New Jersey. But I don’t want to become a leech. I can find my own place maybe…once things are all settled…and we can…ah…we can still see each other if you want…”

“I want…” He kissed her lips softly.

“I want you.” He let his tongue trail the outline of her mouth.

“I want you here with me.” He deepened his kiss, consuming her breath, taking everything.

He pulled away and gazed at her. “I’m not letting you go. But if you feel like you want to do something nice like make me one of your delicious meals every now and then, I won’t complain.”

She laughed. “I knew it. You don’t want me. You want my cooking!”

He gaze turned serious. “I want the whole package. I want all of you, Minerva Athena Jones.”

You already have all of me…
She bit back the words in her mind and snuggled into his embrace. He wanted her, but he hadn’t said that he loved her. She couldn’t put her heart on the line if she didn’t know for sure.

They sat in the safe house, a one-story home on the outskirts of town, with Detective Victor Morales from Los Angeles, members of the DEA and members of the homicide division of the Paterson Police Department.

“I got this package from an anonymous source last week and we’ve been trying to arrest David Sims ever since.” Detective Morales, who actually turned out to be the video model Maritza Morales’s older brother, took a seat in front of her. “Apparently, your brother wanted it to be mailed only if something happened to both you and him. When you disappeared for months, whoever Calvin paid to mail the information must have assumed you met with foul play.”

“There’s enough evidence in here to get David Sims on drugs, racketeering and a host of other crimes.” The redheaded DEA agent, Donald Fitzpatrick, kept his green eyes fixed on her.

“But we want to get him on murder, as well. That’s where your helping us can come in,” Jennings, the guy from Paterson’s homicide division hedged.

“She’s not going to be used as bait!” Lawrence snapped.

“Does she want the man who killed her brother to pay for it? She’s the only person he will come out of hiding for. We already have the person in place to leak the information. In exchange for leniency, your Detective Johnson has agreed to call Sims with the location of the safe house. We’ll all be right here in the garage, listening, videotaping and waiting for him to confess. We’ll get him on everything,” Fitzpatrick stated.