Unconditional (12 page)

“I wanted more time with you on my turf, and thought since the jet is parked on the old airport strip, we could leave without too much drama.”

“You were that confident I would agree? How long ago did you do this?”

He raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. “From the restaurant.”

“I’m going to fire Antoinette!”

“Don’t be like that. I convinced her that you were on board with this.”

“But she never said a word when I called to ask about the kids!”

“Because they’re fine. And you can breastfeed Nikki whenever you want, instead of having to drive forty-five minutes to get there. So will you go away with me, or not?”

“You do realize I just started my job and therefore I’m not entitled to vacation yet.”

“Do you need me to call your bosses?”

“Don’t you dare! I will sort it with them in the morning. I’m going to check on the kids.”

They both walked to the other side of the apartment and looked in on first Matt and then Nikki. Both were sleeping peacefully, the nanny resting in a bed in the baby’s room. Rinah knew to expect her baby to wake by three in the morning for her feeding.

She was on borrowed time, which made her determined to use it wisely.

When it looked like she would remain longer in the room, Dominic spun her around and led her back to their rumpled bed. As she reclined on the pillows, he went in to his walk-in closet and returned with a number of beautifully wrapped packages.

She looked puzzled, then her eyes widened upon seeing them.

“I missed our anniversary, your birthday, and the birth of our daughter. These are for you.”

“Oh my God! I didn’t expect this. Thank you so much!”

“Open them.”

She gingerly unwrapped each present, exclaiming in delight as the treasures were revealed: a sapphire and diamond pendant hanging from a necklace of white gold, a black designer gown, with matching Christian Louboutin pumps and handbag. “Thank you, baby. Everything is gorgeous! I love them. I love you!” She kissed him, not to turn him on but to show him how much she loved him.

He’d missed her sweet kisses more than anything else.

Later, he held her in his arms, spooned against his front, while she slept. He woke her again during the night to love her first with his lips and tongue, and then with his hard, pulsing length, gaining entrance from behind her. Each time they made love, it got better and better. Their passion overrode any lingering bitterness. He had forgotten that in the lonely months he’d been forced to go without her. The need and emotions she evoked from him were so powerful. He wanted to be furious about it: after all, he was a man who had never let emotion control his life, but he knew that he aroused that same feeling in her. It was all there in her eyes when she looked at him, when she touched him.

He clasped her by her slender waist and slid his painfully aroused cock deep inside the impossibly tight walls of her core. They both trembled at the exquisite joining. Lips meeting and fusing endlessly, he stroked in and out of her. He felt as though she was claiming his very soul. He firmly gripped her smooth, round ass, delivering deep thrusts, hitting hard on the bundle of nerves that he knew drove her crazy with lust.

Their climaxes came almost simultaneously with his loud, fierce groan and her aching cries.

Moments later, watching her sleep so peacefully, he felt the need to have his family together. Pulling on his pants, he carefully picked up both sleeping bundles, knowing Rin would kick his ass if he woke them. Only Nikki fussed a little as he got them safely installed in the bed, next to their mother. He guided her head so she could latch on to her mother’s nipple. He congratulated himself on what he thought was inspired ingenuity in getting his daughter fed without waking Rin. Grinning with satisfaction, he watched over his family, feeling gratified and complete for the first time in months. Saying a quick prayer of thanks to God, he allowed himself to surrender to the need for sleep.

***

The morning was a noisy affair as Dominic left for the office to clear his calendar for a few weeks. Rinah made sure the kids were fed, their bags adequately packed, cleared her unpaid vacation leave with her bosses, and ensured their staff were apprised of the family’s absence. By eleven a.m., she and the children were ready for the trip and waiting for Dominic’s return. They were playing on the kids’ bedroom floor when she heard the front door open. She sprinted down the stairs with Nikki held to her hip and Matt following close behind. Expecting to see her husband, she was ill-prepared for the sight of Flavia brazenly entering the foyer.

“Matt, go back to your room and send Antoinette down to collect Nikki,” Rinah told her son without taking her eyes off the other woman’s smirking face. The presence of her children checked her impulse to pummel the bitch into the tiled floor.

“But Mom—” Matt whined.

“Not now, sweetie, just do as I asked.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Her son was not happy to be excluded.

“Flavia, I trust you have a good reason why you just entered my private residence?” She was so angry, her body shook with the need to lash out.

“You’re right about only one of those things: it’s private but it’s not yours.” Flavia walked closer to the bottom of the stairs, glaring up at her.

“Madam?” Antoinette came up behind her.

“Can you take Nikki, please?” When the nanny wordlessly took the baby, Rinah descended the stairs with confident, measured strides.

“Flavia, I’m only going to ask you this once. Leave.”

The other woman laughed out loud. “Really, Rinah, you are so stupid. I practically live here and you’re the intruder. Do you really think you have the power to get rid of me?”

Now she knew what it meant to see red. The thought of bludgeoning the skank until her blood covered every surface of the foyer made her hands twitch with anticipation. “I don’t need power to get you out of this apartment. I can just kick your ass through the nearest window!” Rinah strolled toward her and stood mere inches away. The stance she took was deliberate. She had about four inches of height over Flavia. With clenched teeth and a death glare, she ensured her opponent felt every inch of her diminutive stature. “Being ten floors up, I have so many to choose from. Are you sure you want to try me today?”

“I’m not afraid of you, Rinah.” Her voice trembled. “You’re just proving why a man of Dominic’s status should never be married to a thug and hood rat like you! You’re just like all the other
sistas
!”

Rinah laughed.

“Bitch, you’re out of your damn mind! Do you have any idea what a thug or hood rat is? A thug would have knifed your ass by now. And you’re more of a ‘hood rat’ than I’d ever be, slut!” With her voice devoid of humor, Rinah gripped her by the throat.

Flavia screamed in outrage, but she couldn’t dislodge Rinah’s grip.

“But I digress, you’re still breathing the same air as my children. I promised myself that the only reason I hadn’t stomped your ass into the ground was my lack of desire to end up in prison. But given your brazen provocation, I’m re-evaluating my decision.”

“Dominic would never let you hurt me,” Flavia choked out. “Let me go!”

Rinah was so pissed she felt her muscles hum with abnormal strength. “Listen heifer, Dominic’s not here. And even if he was, I would still kick your ass and his as well. Now how about I fling your ass through that window?”

“Rin, perhaps I can be of assistance.” Neo’s calm, menacing tone startled her. She had been so focused on the ominous presence of Flavia, she hadn’t been aware of Neo lurking in the background.

Looking at him now, she couldn’t help but glare at him for his unwelcome intrusion. “I’ve got this, Neo. Bianca promised that if the police couldn’t find a body, I could avoid prosecution.”

The interfering fool gave her an indulgent smile. “I think there are other ways of handling this without you having such an unfortunate incident on your conscience.” He moved with slow grace toward them.

“Neo!”

He pulled Flavia away from her.

“Ms. Kouris, please come with me.”

“Don’t touch me, you overgrown gorilla!” Flavia screeched as Neo grabbed her forearm and began to drag her out of the apartment.

“Neo, just know that I don’t appreciate your interference!” Rin seethed.

His husky laugh followed him out the door.

The suppressed rage and hurt hit her all at once. Her knees almost buckled under the avalanche of the destructive emotions. But she was too angry to let the pain of Dominic’s betrayal devastate her again.

She didn’t regret what had happened between them the night before. In fact, she was glad that it had happened. Despite knowing what a womanizer he was, she had foolishly talked herself into believing his lies. Like an idiot, she had trusted him when he said that no other woman had been in their apartment. Flavia’s possession of a key told its own story.

It was all too much! She had to act now, this very moment, if there was any hope of her accurately assessing her situation. Knowing that Dominic usually had them under twenty-four hour surveillance, she had to move before Neo returned to his post.

Chapter Nine

B
y late afternoon,
Rinah was in her parents’ home in Trinidad. Her mother happily played with her grandchildren, and her father sat in his favorite chair, smiling indulgently at his wife antics.

“It’s so good to have you and children over for a visit. But why did you not call and let us know that you were coming?” her mother asked in puzzlement from her position on the floor.

“I just needed a break. I thought that a few days with you guys would probably do the trick,” Rinah finished lamely, hating to lie to her parents, but she was unwilling to burden them with her problems. They adored her husband.

“But where’s Dominic? I’m amazed he allowed you to travel on a commercial airline with the children. He once told me that the risk to you and the children would be too great to allow such a thing.” Her father looked at her suspiciously.

Rinah had never told her parents about the estrangement in their marriage. They loved Dominic as a son and would find it too painful to find out he was capable of such a deception.

“Yes, he doesn’t like it, but he had an important business meeting to attend and needed the use of his jet.” Rinah cringed at yet another lie and crossed her fingers for good measure. She had almost not been able to get through the U.S. border with the children. The border control agent questioned her mercilessly as to why she was traveling alone with the children. She couldn’t believe she had such bad luck that she had drawn an overzealous and suspicious immigration officer. He had initially insisted on contacting Dominic to confirm that he had consented to let the children leave the Bahamas. But she managed to fob them off by explaining that he would be joining them in a few days. With Dominic’s former rank in the SEALs, she was terrified they would contact him anyway. Fortunately, the man allowed her to pass this one time, given that she had return tickets to the Bahamas within the week. Still, he gave her a stern warning about having the proper written permission from her husband the next time she traveled.

“But doesn’t he have more than one jet?” her father persisted.

“Oh, Harold, stop pestering the poor child. She’s here now with our beautiful grandchildren, and I, for one, am ecstatic,” her mother crowed in obvious joy.

Rinah loved her mother’s accent. It had the typical “Trini” West Indian flavor on each word. Her father had less of an accent, having been a diplomat for more than forty years and living in so many countries. His voice was a little more cultured.

“The girls will be envious of my good fortune. I have invited them over for lunch tomorrow.” Her mother held Nikki up for inspection again, and again beamed with delight. “Pink, definitely. A powder-pink dress would go beautifully with her golden coloring. She is so much like you were at that age. She is absolutely gorgeous.” Her mother again smiled broadly at the toothless grin of her granddaughter.

Rinah was grateful for the change in subject and deliberately engaged her mother in a discussion about the children’s wardrobe and a possible shopping expedition later.

That night, she slept restlessly, her body refusing to find comfort in her lonely bed. Despite the cooler Trinidadian night, her covers were discarded at the foot of her bed. Her body was damp with sweat and in obvious distress, as she doubted her decision. What was Dominic doing and why hadn’t he called? Knowing the resources her husband had at his disposal, he would have known where she was within an hour of the flight leaving the Bahamas. She was tortured by his silence.

She glanced at the phone on her nightstand, wanting desperately to at least hear his voice. She agonized over and over again about whether she was doing the right thing. She knew she couldn’t run forever, but she had to get a handle on her volatile emotions when it came to him. Her ability to make rational decisions, decisions that were crucial to the rest of her life, was being impaired by their irrepressible attraction. This sabbatical from the situation should help her to decide, once and for all, whether to file for a divorce or not. The lack of response from Dominic on her disappearance would certainly make that decision more clear.

Hours later, she fell into an exhausted sleep and didn’t wake up again until Nikki’s nightly feeding.

***

Dominic had wanted to settle all open issues on his most critical deals and meet with his team before taking off on a month-long vacation with his family. But then, after receiving the confirmation of the source of the article on his supposed vacation in Mexico, he’d been determined to deal with Flavia. Given Rin’s reaction to her the night before, Dom had no doubt of the infuriating woman’s continued meddling in his personal life. However, before he’d called her to his office, Neo showed up with a protesting Flavia in tow.

“What the fuck?” He looked to his friend for an explanation.

“She came into the apartment this morning with a key.”

“What? Never mind! How is my wife?”

“Ready to go to prison for murder.”

“Fuck!”

“That’s a lie! I went there to tell you of an important meeting scheduled for today! I had no idea
she
was there!” Flavia screeched.

“Shut the fuck up!” Dom glared at her.

“How did she get so close? You’re supposed to be protecting my wife.”

“Rin was never in danger. But you needed to see how far this one has gone in antagonizing your wife.”

“Is this an intervention?”

“I’ll leave that for you to figure out.”

“Smart ass! Just make sure the yacht is ready and properly secured.”

“No problem,” Neo promised with his usual unruffled demeanor.

“Thanks, man, for everything. See you in a few.” Dominic turned his regard toward his scheming prey as Neo left the room.

“Dominic, don’t believe a word he said. I’m glad to have an opportunity to speak with you, because I have so much to tell you.”

“Really, and what would that be?” He wanted her to continue digging her own grave.

“Well, I just wanted to warn you that I’ve heard some very disturbing news about your wife and that bodyguard.”

“Is that right?”

“I know you won’t want to believe it, but last night was not the first time they had dinner together. In fact, it is well known that that black guy practically sleeps at your house. This is why interracial relationships are not a good idea. One of the parties always goes back to their own race.”

“Is this the kind of shit you’ve been saying to my wife?” He made his tone chilling.

The stupid woman looked at him in bewilderment, as if not able to comprehend his question. Then her eyes widened, and she became belligerent.

“I have said nothing to that bitch! And if she said I did, she is a liar!”

“That ‘bitch’ is my wife and she is too much of a lady to stomp your ass, as you so richly deserve. Now I can view your actions eight months ago in a new light. If anything had happened to my daughter and her mother because of your actions, I would have ended your ass!”

“I told you I didn’t mean anything by that!”

“And you still continue to tell lies. Do you think I will believe anything you say to me? Have I been that much of a sap?”

“Dom, you have to listen to me.”

“I didn’t understand why Rin kept insisting on a relationship that didn’t exist. I dismissed her concerns. You see, I’m a man of honor, and I expect my wife to know that and ignore anyone telling her crap. Now, here you are, trying to feed me the same bullshit!”

“No, Dominic, I would never lie to you! I only want what’s best for you.” The witch was desperate now, as she saw her machinations unraveling.

“Stop fucking with me, Flavia! I know you fed the newspapers that poison yesterday. Now what were you doing at my apartment? How did you get a fucking key?” He was incensed by the bitch’s audacity.

“That negro is lying about me!”

He had never come so close to planting his fist in a woman’s face. “Enough! Out of respect for my longstanding friendship with your family and the fact that I don’t believe in hitting a woman, I can’t exact the retribution my wife deserves. First of all, you’re fired! And if you ever come near my family again, no one will ever find your ass. Now get the fuck out of my office and my life!”

“Please, Dominic, I love you! This is all a misunderstanding! Please believe me!”

“I hate repeating myself.” His voice had gone deadly cold. “Leave, before you’re incapable of doing so.”

Flavia turned and fled as he revealed the weapon strapped to his side.

Getting drawn into the excitement of her mother’s luncheon party, Rinah was able to forget, for a few hours, her troubled thoughts as she helped prepare a few hors d’oeuvres in the kitchen. By the time the first guest arrived, the house was humming with life and good cheer, and both children were beautifully turned out for Grandma to present: Nikki in a lilac printed fairytale dress and Matt in cute blue jeans and a red polo shirt.

Her mother was holding court, with both children behaving like little angels. Rinah smiled at the mischievous little grin that Matt wore the entire time he was charming the ladies.

The little flirt knows exactly what he is
doing!

Suddenly, Matt erupted in an unholy squeal. He went flying across the room before Rinah could blink.

But when she did, her eyes widened in shock to see the commanding figure of her husband stalking toward their gathering. Her heart rate accelerated, her breathing became choppy, and awareness sizzled through every nerve ending.

Dominic, after having a brief discussion with his father-in-law, followed the noisy chatter of the party being held in his family’s honor. His gaze was immediately drawn to his wife’s tantalizing figure, encased in a black and gold-trimmed bikini as she stretched on a lounger. Knowing her dedication in applying coconut oil daily, he wasn’t surprise that her skin was flawless, even after giving birth. She took his breath away every time. Even as he banked his thoughts in that regard, he was adamant he’d not forgive her so easily for this latest tantrum.

Now, here he was, faced with a wife gazing at him with such hurt and vulnerability. That shit pissed him off all over again. Every time things got a little dicey, she ran home to her parents or she demanded he leave! Just this once, he wished she would have given him a little bit of that unwavering love she’d promised years ago, an unconditional faith in his integrity.

Despite what she might believe, she couldn’t hide the desire glistening in her eyes. His lips twisted in a sensual grin because he knew the impact his presence had on her. And after the night they’d just had, there was nothing that she could say that would convince him otherwise. They devoured each other with hungry eyes, completely ignoring their audience and the pandemonium going on around them.

The spell was only broken by an amused snort from her mother. “For God’s sake, children, not in front of company.”

Dominic recovered first and pinned a charming smile on his face for the ladies in the room. He first lifted his excited son into his arms to drop a fatherly kiss on the boy’s lips. With a wicked grin, he then strode across the room to his mother-in-law and curled her into his arms for a bear hug and kisses on both cheeks.

Rinah rolled her eyes at the girlish giggle and blissful joy on her mother’s face.

Stepping away from him, her mother held his face tenderly and boldly admonished her son-in-law. “I hope you’re planning to stay the rest of the week with your family. We’ve hardly seen you in the past year. Every time we visit the Bahamas, you’ve been away on business. I was beginning to think you were deliberately avoiding your in-laws.”

“Now, Judith, you know that’s not true. I would come and visit you more often, but I have a very jealous wife. She’s not very understanding of our love for each other.”

Judith clapped her hands and hooted in delight. Rinah snorted in disgust, giving him a hard stare.

Dominic ignored her.

Rinah expected him to disengage himself from the women and approach her next, but she was sorely disappointed, as the minutes and then hours passed without him saying a word to her. She watched in mounting fury as he charmed her mother and her cronies, and then retired into her father’s study to catch up with him.

The adults assembled in the dining room later that evening, and still he didn’t address her in any fashion. She had no idea what her parents made of it, or if they even noticed. He had made a special effort to spend most of the afternoon with the children and her parents, but spared barely a glance in her direction.

He helped Rinah feed and put the children to bed and still he never uttered a word to her. Dressing with care in a halter top and long, white skirt with a side-slit reaching to mid-thigh, she entered her parents’ dining room armed with feminine confidence. She knew the outfit was sexy as hell and he wouldn’t be able to ignore her indefinitely. Initially, she had convinced herself that she was glad for the reprieve but by the end of dinner she was nearly frothing at the mouth in anger at his deliberate snub. Not by a look or word did he give any indication he was aware of her as the woman he’d always desired.

As soon as dinner was completed, Dominic rose abruptly from the table, “Harry, Judith, I hope you can both excuse us. But as you can guess, my wife and I have a few things we need to discuss. We’ll see you in the morning.” And for the first time that evening, he looked directly at her. His icy grey eyes left little doubt about his anger. Her parents looked at them with mounting concern. Dominic ignored them and with an arrogant nod of his head, he indicated that she should precede him from the room.

Rinah hadn’t expected him to admit to her parents that things weren’t as they should be between them. But she would be damned before she allowed him to humiliate or intimidate her: she refused to be cowed by her husband’s arrogance. How dare he assume that he could just show up and dictate her behavior? Anger surged through her.

“There is nothing we need to discuss,” she muttered, bristling under his cold attitude.

“Do you want to discuss grievances here or in our room?” he asked her with no visible emotion.