by James, Taki
“What did you say?” she asked him, leaning closer. Please don’t let him have said something vulgar. I’d hate to have to dislike him for being a jerk. She hated gorgeous guys because in her experience, they usually hid an asshole nature. Many of her exes were examples of the stupidity that was men and she would hate for him to be another shining example of male stupidity.
“I said you are a very good dancer.” His voice was deep, deeper than any man she met before, with a timbre made for sex. “I could watch you all night.”
Vanessa didn’t believe him for a second. He couldn’t actually want her. That would be impossible. The fat girl never got the sexy man at the end of the day. And a black girl like her definitely couldn’t hope to draw the attention of the quintessential white man, and for the long term. She gave that familiar polite smile, planning on finding a way to get out of the situation she found herself in. Most likely, he was here with a bunch of male friends and they’d dared him to come and pretend to hit on her. She was not about to be the butt of any man’s joke. “I’m sure you say that to all the ladies.”
He shook his head, tendrils of blonde hair moving with him. “No woman I know can do what you do.”
Vanessa felt an elbow in her ribs. She turned slightly to catch Rachael’s eyes. Rachael just didn’t understand how hard it was being larger around a bunch of men who behaved as if larger women had no feelings or thought she was easy pickings because of her size. If she did, she would understand just how Vanessa felt, and she would have willingly fallen in line with her desire to throw off this man. So, ignoring Rachael’s warning, she turned back to the gorgeous man trying to talk to her, except she no longer had his attention. His focus was on his cell, a deep frown lighting his features. He muttered something she couldn’t understand.
Vanessa allowed a frown to touch her own features. “What?” she demanded.
It was very difficult for him to turn his attention from the phone, but slowly he managed to bring those blue eyes to her. “I must leave.”
Strangely, Vanessa felt a pang of disappointment. He probably had a wife or something he had to go home to. With the way he looked she bet his wife had to be a model of some sort, probably blonde just like him. She moved to turn away, when a strong hand gripped her wrist in a tight grip. It didn’t hurt, but it certainly was not a hold she had ever allowed any male to have on her before. She glanced down at the pale hand holding her. When she brought her eyes back to his he said, “Before I leave, may I have your name, beautiful woman?”
She opened her mouth to give him one of her aliases when Rachael interrupted. “It’s Vanessa, Vanessa Harris. That’s her name and don’t let her tell you any different.”
The smile he bestowed on her was blinding in its intensity. Vanessa felt her knees weaken as a sudden over whelming rush of arousal slammed into her.
“Perhaps we will meet again, Vanessa.” The sound of her name on his lips caressed her body in ways she hadn’t thought existed before. He brought her hand to his lips. One touch and her panties flooded with moisture. If he had asked her to leave with him, she would have gone with him and she would probably be spread legged on the nearest available surface. The thought knocked her back into reality. There was no way she was about to fall for a pretty face. That was a particular trap she intended to avoid. And no way, too, did she want to have anything to do with dealing with cultural differences. That never seemed to work out in real life.
Vanessa didn’t remain at the club for too much longer after her mysterious man left. As much as she enjoyed partying with Rachael, she still had some work that needed to be done the next morning and trying to schedule all that would not be easy. She knew she needed to move to California eventually if she wanted to expand her clientele. Her number one client, the lovely Honey Cartwright put up with Vanessa’s need to remain in her hometown, but only barely if her current track record were anything to go by. But Vanessa wasn’t sure if moving to California was what she really wanted to do. Working with her current clients was fine, but she had an opportunity with a multibillion dollar international conglomerate, which would allow her to stay home where she wanted to be. All she had to do was just land the job and she would be set for life.
She turned onto Lake Shore Drive heading north. In just three short years, she could very possibly place a down payment for a wonderful condo in the prime area along the lake or maybe she would move to one of the better suburbs. Driving through downtown she found she leaned more toward staying in the city. She wanted peace and quiet, away from arguing neighbors, but more than anything she wanted the nice lifestyle that came with metropolitan living.
Vanessa switched lanes, missing the large hole she sped over. She cursed, feeling her car give an odd gait. She pulled over to the shoulder, upset it was late at night with nearly no one on the road as her front left tire had gone flat. She wasn’t sure she had a spare in her trunk and honestly wasn’t sure if she wanted to change the tire if she did. She was tired and cranky. She was horny because of that damn white man she shouldn’t have been enticed by. She just wanted to go home and relax before she went to bed. She got back into her car to pull out her phone, finding she’d forgotten to charge it and it never occurred to her that she should own a car charger for situations like this.
This was the last straw in the night that just couldn’t go right. Right there in the front seat, she just let loose and released a scream. She banged the steering wheel. She cursed. She tried stomping her feet, but had to stop when her stylish heels couldn’t find the right angle. She did everything she could think of not to shed a single tear. Throwing her own pity party had to be enough until she could fight the moisture in her eyes.
She sat as the occasional car continued driving past her, but no one seemed to want to stop and see if she needed help. That was okay, she kept reminding herself, she was an independent woman and she didn’t need anyone’s help. Eventually she would figure it out and if she didn’t…well, she would figure that out when she got there. Being a woman of decent means had to count for something. Stupid night. If that first jackass hadn’t come around I bet things would have gone a lot better than they did. Damn the second guy, too for making her desire having a man around. Times like now, especially after meeting the kind of guy she saw, made it hard to desire keeping her status as independent. I would love to take a ride on that she couldn’t help but think.
A car pulled in front of her. A sleek custom built Mercedes SLS AMG GT Roadster© that had to cost more than a pretty penny, if she had to take a guess. Vanessa sat up in her seat, praying that some crazy rich killer was not about to get out of the car now that she was helpless to do anything to save herself. She searched all over the car for some type of weapon she could use to defend herself should she need to. She hadn’t bought the new can of mace like her mother had warned her. She wasn’t really a gun person though considering the pocket surrounding her home in Chicago, she should probably invest in one if she survived this night.
Please Lord, don’t let her momma have to hear on the news that her daughter had been killed by some psycho because she didn’t listen to a word her mother told her. She even promised to buy the mace first thing in the morning if it would help. All her hand could seem to find was her black stiletto left in the passenger’s seat. Vanessa kept her grip tight as she waited on baited breath. Out of the car stepped the man from the club, the one she’d been thinking about since he left. She sucked in a deep breath. Oh boy, she must have done something to piss off the powers that be. It was either that or she had been a very good girl and was about to be rewarded for her good behavior. She just wished he was dark skinned and either bald or with a very nice buzz cut. Then he would have been perfect. Still, the smile he gave her once he noticed her identity caused a flood to her panties. She couldn’t be blamed for lusting after a man with such sexy dimples, could she? No one could resist such a work of wonder as that.
“Vanessa,” he said when she made the mistake of stepping out of the
car.
“Yeah,” she said, feeling lame. She couldn’t call him by name when she didn’t know it. “I have a flat tire.”
He turned his attention to the tire in question. “You have spare?”
She shook her head. She just remembered the spare was gone from her car, stolen by an ex-boyfriend hell bent on taking everything she owned. He pulled out his cell phone. “What are you doing?” she asked before she could stop herself from speaking.
“I know someone with a tow truck.” He changed languages after he responded to her. Vanessa stood beside him, shivering in the slightly chilly air.
“This is insane,” she said quietly. “I don’t even know your name.” She was nuts to be panting after him like some bitch in heat when he wasn’t her type. Besides, she still wasn’t so sure he was serious about being interested in her. He just couldn’t be.
Her savior paused, a slight frown on his lips. “Did I not introduce myself?”
At her negative response he bowed slightly, hiding the sudden blush on his pale cheeks. Vanessa desperately tried to get her panting libido to understand that the pinkness was not cute. It couldn’t be considered sexy, but none of it seemed to be working. It was just so fascinating to watch a grown man turn red from embarrassment.
“I am Freyr Njördsson,” he said, interrupting her thoughts about his level of attractiveness. Vanessa smiled, trying to hide her confusion. If she’d had any doubt in her mind that he wasn’t American, this just sealed it all away. He’d spoken so fast she wasn’t sure she got the whole name. Freyr did not give her a chance to figure out the meaning of his name. He loaded her down in his luxury vehicle, with the heat running while he stood at her car. Waiting. Inside his car, Vanessa was more than awed. To drive a car like this, the man had to be rich beyond her wildest dreams. Custom leather seats, sleek design. She did not want to know what he paid to be able to drive something like this every day. She spent a half hour in the car, nosing her way through everything before he finally joined her. “My friend will fix your car tomorrow when the shop opens. Until then, I will be glad to take you wherever you wish.”
Her mind told her to just go home. Hell, she should have been calling for a cab instead of allowing him to place her in his car when she really didn’t know him. But when he turned those eyes on her with that dimpled smile, she forgot every reservation she should be having. “I don’t know if I want you taking me home. You could be crazy.” Hell she was crazy for considering what she was about to do. He really could be crazy, or worse yet, he could be horrible in bed and have a small penis to go along with it. That would certainly kill the mood. God, please give me a break on this one. I’ll even go to church on Sunday if it’ll do me any good. Although, praying to God probably wouldn’t be a good idea in this situation since she knew for a fact that sex before marriage was supposed to be a real sin. She took another look at her ride for the night. Maybe she could repent so that she didn’t have to worry about the consequences of doing what she really wanted to do. Hopefully God would forgive her for falling for this little bit of temptation. He would understand her reasons, right?
Chapter 3
Gerd paced the length of her apartment, reddish blonde hair trailing behind her. Her beautiful features curled into a snarl as she thought about her current situation. She could admit it now that she’d had time to think about it. Here she was the beauty of the Aesir, desired by all men and she was alone for the night. Her son wasn’t speaking to her ever since she’d divorced his father. Her sister-in-law had been leaving nasty message after nasty message on her voicemail trying to demean her for her behavior against Freyr. Well screw them all. What she did in her free time was her business. Freyr had been too weak to keep her attention. She needed a real man, someone to satisfy all her needs.
She kicked a chair out of her way, though it did nothing to cool her anger. She thought she had found her man until he dumped her right after the divorce papers were signed. She thought about going back to her ex-husband. He would take her back. After all the trouble he’d gone through to get her to marry him in the first place, he had better still be completely in love with her. She smiled. Of course he was in love with her. She was Gerd. Everyone loved her. He would do any and everything that she asked of him. He would do it, because he knew that as long as he catered to her, she would allow him into her bed. She would once more have the man where she wanted him, wrapped around her finger.
A wicked smile touched upon her lips. In the meantime, she needed someone who was readily available. Since the one she wanted no longer wanted her, she would have to settle for something lesser than was her due. She made her way toward the wall containing her toys. She had the perfect little fool to entertain her for the night. And once she was satisfied she would then concentrate on getting her husband back where he belonged. After all, it had only been a year. How on earth could he have found someone to replace her this swiftly?
This really shouldn’t be happening, Vanessa thought as she released a soft moan. Freyr had taken the initiative to drive them to his condo since she’d refused to allow him to know where she lived. She hadn’t complained since she had been adamant about him not taking her home anyway. But the situation she found herself in made her wonder just what the hell she had been thinking. Part of her wondered if it were possible she really had been slipped a drug and it was something a lot more slow acting than what she had originally had been led to believe. The closer she got to his home the more aroused her body became.
She didn’t do one night stands. She didn’t do white boys, no matter how attractive some were. And she certainly had never done someone as gorgeous as the man next to her. Her inner diva had been panting from the very moment she knew where they were going. Given half the chance, her body was ready and willing to jump into bed with Freyr. Hell it was ready to tear his clothing apart to get at him.
He parked the car in the lot, bypassing the need to check her in with the front desk, as the elevator took them right to his penthouse suite. Freyr held her hand, occasionally rubbing his thumb across her skin. She shivered with every touch. Her eyes were drawn to those perfectly kissable lips of his while her mind kept her wondering if they were soft like a woman’s was said to be or firm like she hoped. She wasn’t sure what happened, and she was sure she’d deny it if pressed later, but she kissed him. His response had been more than she’d prepared for. He took control, sliding his tongue into her mouth. The full body shiver he induced took her completely by surprise. Her back hit the wall of the elevator and Freyr wasted no time pressing against her body. His lips slid against her exposed throat, nibbling at her flesh.
Vanessa arched her back, grinding against the erection pressing so sweetly against the moist flesh between her thighs. At this moment she didn’t care what it was about him that made him attractive to her. She just wanted him.
“What do you know about bondage and submission,” he asked her, panting against her skin.
Vanessa groaned. He would have to ruin a perfectly good sexy moment between them. “You’re one of those freaks? I just met one of your kind today and let me tell you, I was not impressed.” She set her hands between them and pushed hard against his shoulders to get him away from her. She should have known something would be up to ruin her night. Heaven forbid she meet one man that actually had normal sexual desires.
Freyr pulled back from her, his head tilted to the side. “Freaks… kind? I do not understand.”
Vanessa moved to re-button her blouse, unsure when exactly the buttons had been opened. “I don’t do submission.”
Freyr’s grin turned wicked. “But do you allow for a good fuck?” he asked point blank.
Vanessa paused for a moment. Well, she supposed as long as he wasn’t talking about whips and chains or anything involving pain, she could go for a good bout of sex, providing he’d be good at it. She licked her lips. Hopefully he had a nice sized cock and the bulge she’d felt actually met to her standards. If she had to measure length and width
, the erection pressing her stomach seem highly promising. Large hands wrapped around her ass pulling her forward. Before she could say something the doors to the elevator opened. Freyr released her completely, guiding her into the foyer. “Let me make sure the place is presentable for company. Would you like a drink?” She nodded slowly, ready to take the chance for a bit of cooling off. Freyr brought her to the lavish living room. She glanced around, surprised a man could live such a beautiful place. There was no way he wasn’t married or at least had a live in lover.
The long leather cream sofa matched well with the plush clean white carpeting. The walls had been painted to match the furniture giving credence to the dark accents of the paintings. In the center of the room a glass coffee table sat, a few decorative magazines covering the surface. Silk drapes covered the French doors opened to the balcony. A fireplace lay before the sofa, where she would have expected a bachelor to place a television. As she glanced, around she noticed he really had no television. Glass figurines lined the fireplace, instead.
Vanessa felt bad to have her heels on her feet. She took them off, returning to the front entry to set them down. When she returned to her seat, it wasn’t long before Freyr returned holding two glass mugs in his hands. Vanessa lifted a brow in inquiry. It wasn’t exactly a romantic idea to bring beer mugs to a wine moment. “What is that?” she questioned. The color was funny.
Freyr glanced between each hand. With a negligent shrug he said, “Mead.” Now, Vanessa liked to consider herself an open minded drinker, but she had never heard of this mead outside of an old Viking movie she saw once. She hadn’t known then what exactly went in it and she wasn’t sure now, so she had no plans on drinking it. She saw his hidden smile as he set the mugs down on available cup holders. “It is just a fermented mix of honey, water, and yeast. My sister sends it to me when I run low.”