Lorenzo (Members From Money Book 12)

by Katie Dowe

  “I cannot do this now, Janice,” he told her tightly.

  “Then when, David?” She placed the clipper she had been using down on the table and started pacing. “Because I am not going to let you go back to hiding behind your guilt, not after yesterday.”

  “We had a very pleasant time yesterday, Janice, and I want to thank you for that, but I am not interested in a relationship,” he told her coldly.

  “You want to thank me?” She could not believe he had just said that.

  “I have a meeting,” he muttered and hung up the phone hurriedly.

  Janice could not believe he had done that again. Okay mister, you think you can get rid of me that easily, think again!

  *****

  David was shaking. He replaced the phone on his desk and tunneled his hands through his usually very neat hair. He had left her place yesterday and driven along the countryside trying to think and he had come up empty. He had passed her house again and slowed down wanting to go back but he had flown past instead. He had not been able to sleep and thinking of her had made him so hard that he had had to stand underneath the icy cold shower to get some release. He kept picturing her and that made him uncomfortable and fired up. She had gotten under his skin and he had no idea what to do. His mother had wondered where he had gotten to and he had told her he had been at the office. She had looked at him strangely but had nodded, possibly accepting his explanation. He had also lied to Janice. There was no meeting he had to go to but he had had to get her off the phone.

  What the hell was happening to him?

  *****

  “This is nice,” Janet murmured, sipping the wine and leaning back against her chair. She had invited Richard over for dinner and he had brought the wine with him. He had told her that he had not seen Charlene since he had told her he needed space and was hoping that was that.

  “It is,” he murmured, gazing at her over his glass. She was truly a beautiful woman with a beautiful complexion. Her unruly curls had just a hint of grey and she had managed to catch them up neatly at the back of her neck. She had on a casual pink and white blouse and white knee length shorts and she looked very good. Why did he leave her? “I was thinking that I should give up my apartment and move back in.”

  Janet almost choked on her wine. Yes, she enjoyed his company and it had suited her to steal him away from that home wrecker, but she had gotten used to her freedom and it felt liberating! Not that she did not love him; she did and always would, but she needed her space. His coming and going suited her just fine, but how was she going to tell him that?

  “Sweetie, I think we should wait a little bit longer to sort out if that is what we really want,” she suggested hastily.

  “What are you saying?” He looked at her with narrowed eyes.

  She got up from her place at the table and came over to where he was. She wiggled her way onto his lap and took the wine glass away from him. “We need to give it a little more time, this works for now so let’s go with it.” She unbuttoned her blouse and shrugged out of it, unhooking her bra and letting her still small breasts spring free for his greedy gaze. He pushed the chair back and turned her around to him, his fingers pinching her nipple causing the dart to sing through her and then bending his head he started sucking. He did not mention moving back in that evening, he was too distracted.

  *****

  Janice waited until she had closed the store and armed with a bouquet of flowers for the reception area, she headed out. She had called and made sure he would be at the office and the receptionist whom she had befriended had told her that he never left until very late. She smiled at the guard who sent her straight up. The place was empty as it should be at seven-thirty. She left the bouquet at the reception area and continued on her way to his office. His door was half opened and she saw the sliver of light from inside. His head was bent over a document when she pushed the door and entered. He looked up with a frown, his eyes narrowing when he saw it was her. She saw his hands tightening on the folder and hid a smile at his obvious reaction to her presence. “Have you eaten?” she asked him mildly.

  “What?” He looked at her confused.

  “Have you had dinner, David?” she asked again. He shook his head no.

  “Good, we can call up Pierre and have him bring something in.” She walked over to his desk and pressed the buzzer to the kitchen. “Hi Pierre, how are you? Good, could you have something sent up to David’s office? Yes, I am joining him for dinner.” She released the buzzer and looked at him. He had not moved but was watching her as if he could not believe what she was doing.

  “Shall we?” She indicated the table in the corner. She had brought a snowy white tablecloth and went to put it on the table, removing the vase of flowers and then putting it back, running a hand over the cloth. He had not moved, and he was not saying anything just watching her. With a sigh, she went back over to his desk and climbed onto his lap, unbuttoning the two top buttons of his red and white dress shirt. He reacted then, gripping her hands to stop her and then with a tortured groan, he dragged her head down to his, finding her mouth and plunging his tongue inside hungrily. His body shuddered against hers and she felt his erection against her. She moved on him and he pushed against her desperately. It was only when they heard the clatter of trays in the hallway that they sprang apart. Janice went to the door and pulled it open to give him enough time to pull himself together and greeted the smiling Pierre. “This looks delicious, Pierre, thank you.” The man left the tray of delicate seafood platter on the table and left.

  David had left his desk and come up behind her. She was wearing a delicate pink and grey dress with horizontal strips that molded her figure lovingly and had on knee length boots. It was still cold even though spring was slowly drifting away, so she had put on leggings. He reached underneath her dress and pulled down her underwear, his hand spanning her smooth bottom before going under to find her vagina. Janice leaned back against him as his fingers found the core of her and dipped inside, thrusting quickly, She rode his fingers eagerly, her breath coming in short gasps, her heart beating loudly. He took his fingers from out of her and she heard his zipper going down and moaned as he bent her over the chair and took her forcibly from behind. He leaned against her, moving the wisps of curls from the nape of her neck and bit down on her softness none too gently as he thrust inside her hungrily. Janice cried out as the bolt shot through her and his hands gripped her hips, his thrusts seeking and desperate. He spilled inside her with a hoarse cry, his body bucking against hers and held her as she followed suit, her body moving against him frantically. Her leggings were ruined so she got rid of them and he cleaned her up with a piece of napkin, lingering against her.

  They finally had dinner and it was halfway through that he asked her, “What are you doing?” His voice was quiet and his gaze was quizzical as he speared the lobster with his fork.

  “I am eating.” She looked at him in surprise. “I thought you could see that.”

  He gave her a wry look. His hair was messy and that was unusual for him. “You know what I mean, Janice.”

  “No, actually I don’.” She put aside her fork and looked at him. “If you are referring to the fact that I am here now with you having dinner and the fact that you took me from behind just now then I will tell you that this is something that is happening between us and I am not going to let you run away from it.”

  “I am not ready,” he muttered moodily, putting down his fork as well.

  “Your body says otherwise,” she refuted. “I am not going anywhere, David, so get used to it and I am going to want to go out with you in public, maybe to a nice restaurant or to the movies or even to have a picnic in the park and make love with you over and over again, of course.”

  “Stop it,” he groaned, pushing back his chair. “You are confusing me.” He had moved away from the table and went to stand by the window looking out. He looked so lost and alone and she had every intention of changing that. She followed him and stood before
him.

  “I am falling in love with you, David Hattori.” She slipped her hands around his neck, almost laughing at the shock on his handsome face.

  “No,” he said achingly.

  “Yes,” she responded firmly. “I am falling in love with you and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.”

  He stared down at her, taking in her soft full lips, her pert nose and her large dark brown eyes and knew he was in deep trouble. “Janice,” he whispered her name like a prayer.

  “You are not going to avoid me as of now,” she told him softly. “I am not letting you do that anymore.”

  With a helpless groan, he bent his head to feast off her lips, his hands tightening around her small waist.

  *****

  Charlene came to see her at the store on Friday. After the time at his office, he had started calling her. Still very polite and detached, but she knew it was just a shield and she did not pay it any mind. He came over to the house the next night and brought wine and they had dinner together after which he had made slow tender love to her, his mouth tasting and lingering on her body. She had wanted him to stay, but he had left. He had told her about work but nothing personal and only when they were making love did he let his guard down.

  Her friends had called and invited her to go with them to a fashion show, but she had told them she had a date. “You are dating?” Leah had asked her suspiciously as if she suspected that Janice was just saying that to get out of hanging out with them.

  “I am going out with David,” she had told them with a smile. He was taking her to a restaurant to have dinner.

  “And a night of hot sex after?”Candace asked archly.

  “Maybe.” She had told them what had happened the next day following the drunken binge they had indulged in the night before.

  “Have fun!” Leah had told her.

  She was preparing a floral arrangement to go out when the girl charged in. Maggie was attending to a customer and Jake had gone to make deliveries. They had weddings coming up in June and with the summer coming on very soon, flowers were in bloom.

  “I need to talk to you,” the woman said in an undertone. Janice could not believe this was the same girl her father had shown her a few months ago; she looked haggard and the dark roots in her bottled blonde hair were very prominent.

  “What can I do for you?” she asked, forcing her voice to be polite.

  “Can we go around back?” she asked. Her mascara was running and she looked as if she had been crying. Dad, what have you done, she thought in frustration, leading the way around the greenhouse.

  “What is it Charlene?” she asked patiently.

  “Your father is seeing someone!” The admission came out in a trembling voice.

  “Charlene, I am sure I am not the one to talk to about this. Why don’t you ask him?” she suggested.

  “He said he wanted space.” She was twisting her hands together and her eyes were leaking.

  “I see.” She had not spoken to either of her parents in several days and she realized that that was very unusual. Her father had called her and said that he was going out of town so he could not make their usual lunch date but she had been happy about it because she had been with David. “Look Charlene, he is my dad and I love him very much, but I am afraid he is not the most faithful person. You should know that because he cheated on my mom with you, remember?”

  The girl sat down heavily on a green lawn chair in the room and she looked so desolate that Janice almost felt sorry for her. “I thought he was different from all the other losers I went out with.” She looked down at her clasped hands. “When he asked me to marry him, it was the happiest moment of my life and I thought: finally, someone who wanted more than just my body. I fell in love with him and I thought that he would fall in love with me as soon as we get married and settle down. Now I don’t know what to do. He is not taking my calls, and I go to his apartment and he is not there. I am asking you to speak to him for me please.”

  Janice sighed and wished her parents would sort themselves out and not let her be caught in the middle of this mess. “I will try.” The girl looked up at her eagerly and Janice felt sorry for her. “I am not promising you anything, Charlene, because if he does not love you then there is nothing you can do to make that happen.”

  She stood up and straightened her shoulders, her large breasts printing out against her floral blouse. “I will accept that if he is man enough to tell me to my face.” With that she left.

  *****

  She called her mother as soon as the coast was clear.

  “Darling, I have not seen you in a while! Where have you been?” Janet asked her.

  “Mom, Charlene was just here,” she said interrupting the chatter.

  “Who?”

  “The woman Dad is engaged to. She just left, Mom, and she is a mess, saying that Dad told her he wanted space.” She paused and took a deep fortifying breath. “You don’t happen to know anything about that by any chance, do you?”

  “That woman is stalking your father,” Janet said firmly. “She has been calling his phone nonstop and is staked out at his apartment, the poor man is going out of his mind with the stress of it.”

  “That poor man is the one who got himself into this, Mom, and I would appreciate it if he would tell her that it is over. I don’t want her coming to my place of work again, Mom,” Janice told her in an irritated voice.

  “I will tell him when he gets back from out of town,” she said.

  “So he is really out of town?”

  “Of course darling,” her mother said reproachfully. “You know your father would never break his lunch date with you for anything less than that.”

  “Tell him to sort it out, Mom. I don’t like being put in this position.”

  “Okay darling, I will. Love you lots honey.”

  *****

  He took her to a small secluded restaurant on the edge of town. He was greeted warmly by the Maitre D and they were shown to a table at the back of the room. She had gone home and changed into a simple black wool dress that wrapped around her and tied at the back. The neckline was plunging and revealed a hint of her generous breasts. She had used the flat iron to straighten her shoulder length hair and it drifted to her shoulders in gentle curls. “So what are we having?” she asked him brightly. Whenever they were together, he did not contribute much to the conversation and even though she had told him personal things about herself and her family, he never revealed anything and he never spoke about his wife. But she was patient and she was in love with him and could wait him out. He suggested the red snapper with zucchini and black olive tapenade.

  “So how was your day?” she asked him softly. She loved the way the red shirt and dark blue jacket with red stripes looked on him. His hair was ruthlessly combed back from his forehead and she could not wait to mess it up.

  He smiled at her faintly. “What are you doing?”

  “Making conversation like a normal couple,” she told him with a smile.

  “Why are you – I mean what if I can’t –“ he left the sentence hanging. Their entrée of clear pumpkin soup had arrived by then and they started drinking.

  “What if you don’t love me back?” she asked him teasingly.

  He stared at her for a moment but he did not answer.

  She pushed aside the soup and leaned towards him. His eyes went to her cleavage and he felt his body tighten.”There is no fear of that happening. How do I know? Because you are already falling in love with me.”

  “How do you know that?” he asked her huskily, his meal forgotten.

  “You can’t do without me and you are always thinking about me,” she told him saucily

  “I think about you a lot,” he agreed, his voice hoarse. He wanted her so bad that he was not very comfortable. She leaned in and kissed his lips slowly, pushing her tongue inside his mouth. He moaned and the kiss deepened his heartbeat quickening. He broke away from her, his breathing harsh when he heard the foots
teps coming their way. He had never displayed his emotions in public before and he had to fight to control the urge to pull her out of her chair and devour her right there. What the hell was happening to him?

  She gave him a soft knowing smile as she settled back to enjoy her meal. He looked at her in consideration all through the meal and he found himself laughing at something she told him. Janice reached out to take his hand that was resting on the table and squeezed it gently. With a slight hesitation, he turned his hand over and enveloped hers, his eyes meeting hers.

  Chapter 7

  “Are you seeing someone?” his mother asked him curiously. They were having dinner in the large formal dining room. It was Sunday afternoon and he kept glancing at the clock. He had been mysteriously unavailable for the past few weeks and she had noticed him coming home one or two nights very late but she had assumed he was working. He had told her that a new shipment of vehicles had come in and he was having them assessed.

  “I think I am,” he said with a confused smile. She had also noticed that he did not look as sad as he had been before and there was a light in his dark eyes.

  “You think or you know?” his mother asked him in amusement.

  “I am seeing someone, but I don’t know what to think,” he gave an eloquent shrug. “She says she is in love with me and refuses to take no for an answer.”

  “I would love to meet her,” Julia said softly, her heart picking up the pace.

  “I am not ready yet,” he said with a shake of his head. “She has broken through the shield I put up and no matter how much I tell myself that I am not seeing her again, it does not work out quite like that.”

  “Sounds like quite a woman,” his mother said hiding a smile. He was falling in love with her and he did not even know it.

  Just then his phone rang and he glanced at the caller id, his expression changing. “Excuse me, Mother, I have to take this,” he said pushing back his chair and standing.

  “Tell her hello for me,” she said with a smile.