by Lisa G Riley
“That’s an understatement,” he said and took the napkins she offered him to clean up. After putting the napkins in the crumpled popcorn box, he pushed his still-semi-erect cock into his pants and zipped them back up. Taking her hand, he brought it to his lips and kissed the palm. “You are an amazingly talented woman, Kendra Masters.”
She shook her head at him. “I almost backed out of my plan, but I’m as frustrated as you are about the situation at home.”
“Aw, poor baby,” Sloan crooned as his hand slid onto her knee. “Open up, Kennie-girl,” he whispered into her ear. When she did, he slid his hand all the way up her skirt. She was so wet and swollen that he knew he wouldn’t have to do much before she was satisfied.
Kendra buried her face in his shoulder, muffling the cry that escaped her mouth when he turned his hand to cup her cleft. Both hands gripped his arm, and she turned into him as he started brushing his knuckles against that swollen bundle of nerves that so desperately needed attention.
Sloan kissed the top of her head as she curled into him and then went as taut as a wire. He brushed her clit once…twice…three times…four…and then she was clawing at his arm and stuffing her mouth with his shirt to catch what he knew would be high-pitched cries wanting to escape her throat. “It’s all right,” he said and kissed her again. “It’s all right.” One of her curls tickled his nose, and he smiled, burying his nose in them to catch her scent as he pulled his hand from underneath her skirt.
She snuggled closer and went boneless against him. “No, you don’t, Ken. Don’t fall asleep on me. I need a napkin. Have you got any more?”
“In my bag,” she said sleepily without moving.
Sloan reached over for her bag. After pulling it to him, he dug around inside. His hand latched onto what felt like a metal can, and he pulled it out. It was a can of WD-40. He let out a crack of laughter. He hadn’t heard any squeaking from the old theater seats because she’d sprayed the hinges. Shaking his head at her resourcefulness, he reached into the bag again and pulled out some wet wipes, the sight of which was the cause for more laughter.
*
Kendra woke up a few minutes later and looked around in confusion for a second. By the light of the screen, he could see that she blushed deeply but smiled widely. “Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi, yourself,” he said and handed her the pack of wet wipes so she could clean herself. He watched her as she lifted up in her seat a bit to get the job done. “I can’t believe you took your panties off in here with the lights still on. Weren’t you afraid you’d get caught?”
“I didn’t take them off while I was in here,” she corrected and took a hand towel that he hadn’t even noticed from off her chair. She folded it and put it in the bag. “I took them off in the bathroom. Hand them to me, and I’ll go to the bathroom and put them back on now.”
Sloan pretended to think about it. “Nah,” he said with a shake of his head. “I don’t think so. I like the idea of you running around naked beneath your clothes.”
“Sloan, don’t play games. I need to put them back on. If you hadn’t noticed, it’s a bit nippy out.”
“I’ll give them back, but first I need you to tell me why it’s okay for us to do the deed here in a movie theater, but not at home while Kyle is there.”
Kendra frowned. “Your brother is right across the hall, and he would definitely hear us. Here, there are so few people and they’re so far away that the chances of them seeing or hearing us are slim.”
“You hope no one saw or heard us. And tonight, whether Kyle is there or not, we’re making love in our bed,” he finished firmly.
Kendra sniffed. “No, we’re not. You would never force me, and I’m not willing.”
“I don’t have to force you, and it’s quite easy for me to get you willing,” he retorted with unassailable confidence.
Kendra held out her hand. “Give me my panties,” she demanded.
Sloan laughed again, reached into his pocket, and handed them over.
She snatched them and rose from her chair. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she started to scoot past him.
Sloan caressed her butt lovingly. “Take your time, beautiful. I’m fine. Some of the edge is off now,” he said and relaxed back in his chair.
Chapter Eleven
Camille Masters rushed through the crowded street leading to the restaurant where she was meeting Kendra and Sloan. She was a small woman with beautiful, youthful dark skin and a full mouth. She’d let her husband’s abandonment rob her of her sense of security and esteem, defining her life by two timelines: when Cedric Masters was in it, and when he wasn’t. There was almost no room for anything else. She was bitter and just resigned—resigned to the fact that no man was trustworthy. This was her fact, one she’d developed after living thirteen years with Cedric and twenty years without him.
Sloan, she thought, was manlier than a lot of men, and to her that just meant he was even more untrustworthy than most. She believed this with every fiber of her being. No man was to be trusted. As she walked toward their table, she watched Kendra and Sloan huddled together whispering to each other. Sloan’s smile was devilish, and whatever he’d said made Kendra look around in embarrassment before grinning shyly and punching his arm lightly. In answer, he tilted her chin up and placed a lingering kiss on her mouth. She leaned into him and kissed him back. Disgraceful behavior. Just plain disgraceful.
“All right, Kendra,” she said with what she hoped was a playful smile. “Let’s not give the people too much of a show.”
“Mom!” Kendra jumped up and hurried around the table to give Camille a hug. “Hi,” she greeted and kissed her cheek.
“Hi, honey,” Camille said and held her close. “You look great.” Camille released her but held her at arm’s length.
“Thanks, so do you. But then again, you always do. Doesn’t she, Sloan?” Kendra turned to Sloan, who had risen.
“Hi, Camille. As always, you look beautiful.”
“Thank you, Sloan,” she said and turned away from him. “Well then, shall we sit down?”
Kendra settled back in her seat and looked across the table at Camille. “So, Mom. How’s school?”
“Oh, fine. Of course fifth graders are a little wild. They smell the end of the school year coming, and it’s always hard to make them settle down.”
“I know,” Kendra said.” So how was London? We haven’t really had a chance to talk about it at all.”
Camille warmed immediately to the new memories. “Oh, it was wonderful. I went to the Tate Gallery, Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Piccadilly Circus, and I even took a little side trip to Stratford-upon-Avon.”
“Oh wow, that must have been cool!” Kendra said excitedly.
“It was—all of it.”
They launched into a detailed review of Camille’s trip.
“Right, Sloan?”
Sloan looked up to find Kendra and Camille looking at him expectantly. He guessed that they’d been trying to get his attention. “Oh, sorry. What were you saying?”
“I was telling Mom that since she forgot to bring her pictures today, we could go for dinner next Sunday and make a day of it. You know how much Mom loves to make big Sunday dinners. I was telling her that we don’t have anything planned. Right?”
“No, not that I can think of.”
“Lovely,” Camille said, just grateful that she’d get to spend more time with Kendra.
“You know, Mom, Sloan’s been to all of those places you just mentioned. He went to Oxford for a semester in college. Tell her about it, Sloan.”
“Did you make it over to Notting Hill, Camille? You’d love the antique market there.”
“No, I didn’t get a chance to go there, but I did take a tour of Mayfair. I loved the houses. I’m starved. Let’s order.” Preferring the shortest possible conversation with Sloan, she buried her head in the menu.
“So how are the wedding plans coming?” Camille asked a
little later. “Is there anything else you need for me to do?”
“Gosh no, Mom! You’ve done so much already, and we’ve got everything under control. Aside from the caterer telling us she had to cancel because she’d double booked, everything has been smooth sailing.”
“Oh no. I hope you got your deposit back.”
“Yeah, we did. Can you imagine if we hadn’t? It certainly would have left a big hole in our account. Right, honey?”
“No doubt,” Sloan said, “But it’s okay. It’s all taken care of.”
“Account?” Camille was stunned. “You share an account? Kendra, didn’t I teach you that it’s best to have your own account? How many times have I told you that?”
“Please, Mom. I’m not an idiot. Of course I have my own…”
“Oh, please, don’t stop now,” Sloan said in a hard voice. “Finish what you were going to say. Of course you have your own separate account, because when I leave you, you’ll need it. Does that about cover it?” He stood.
Kendra forestalled him with her hand on his arm. “Don’t, Sloan. Where are you going?”
Sloan moved his arm away and pulled out his wallet. “Away, so you two can talk freely without me around.” He threw some bills on the table. “There, that ought to cover it. I wouldn’t want you to have to dip into your emergency savings, sweetheart,” he finished. “I’ll leave the car.” He stalked away from the table.
“I’m sorry, baby,” Camille said simply. She could see that Kendra was miserable. “Maybe you should go after him.”
Kendra looked at her and shook her head. “No, it won’t do any good to try to talk to him now. He’s too mad. In fact, I’ve rarely seen him so livid.”
*
Sloan decided to go home and walked along Michigan Avenue, avoiding the many shoppers as best he could. As he approached the corner of Michigan and Oak Street, he looked over and saw Lake Michigan. It wasn’t as blue as usual, and the water was choppy. He thought about going over to the beach but dismissed the idea. He needed peace, not turmoil. He crossed the street, careful of the speeding cars. The whole street was busy, but where Michigan Avenue turned into Lake Shore Drive was particularly crazy. A taxi stopped just short of hitting him, and Sloan slapped a hand to the hood. “Hey, watch it, jerk!”
“Right back at you, buddy,” the driver yelled and sped off, one of the front wheels of his car barely missing Sloan’s toes.
Sloan didn’t even notice. His mind was on Kendra again. God, she was maddening! He honestly didn’t know what to do to make her trust that he wouldn’t leave her. The irony was that he had never done anything to make her think he would. He was a good man, damn it! He turned onto his block.
She had to let go of her fear of abandonment long enough to see through to him, to who he really was. If she couldn’t do that, then there was no hope for them as a couple, and that’s what scared him. If she didn’t work it out with herself, he feared he’d have to leave her. He refused to be in a relationship where he wasn’t trusted. As much as he loved Kendra and knew they were supposed to spend their lives together, he’d give it all up if she didn’t learn to trust him, so she could be happy. He knew they’d end up hating each other if they tried to be together with her still feeling the way she did.
He cursed Kendra’s absent father. You should count yourself lucky I don’t know where to find you, Cedric Masters. I’d kick your ass for what you did to her. Her inability to trust people could be laid directly at his door. Stupid, selfish bastard. Of course Camille wasn’t totally without blame, but she hadn’t been the one to leave Kendra either. “No, she was just the one to fill her head with destructive thoughts every day of her life.” He let himself into the apartment.
“Who are you talking to?” Kyle asked him.
Sloan looked up to see his brother standing at the closet. “Are you going out?”
“Yeah. I thought I’d go over to the Field Museum and check out the new exhibits.” He paused in putting on his jacket. “Is something wrong, Sloan?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.” Sloan walked into the living room and sat on the sofa.
Kyle sat in the chair across from him. “You were supposed to be having lunch with Kendra and her mom. What happened? You guys have a fight?”
Not in the mood for company, Sloan grunted and pointedly turned on the television.
Kyle snatched the remote. “Oh, so you can stick your well-meaning nose in my business anytime you choose, but I can’t do the same for you?” he demanded when Sloan threw him a warning look. “Stop being such an ass, and tell me what’s going on. Did you and Kendra fight or not?”
Thinking to use him as a sounding board, Sloan told Kyle everything.
“Damn,” Kyle commented with a shake of his head. “I had no idea. But you must have known she was like this before you asked her to marry you, so you can’t act surprised now.”
Frustration ruled Sloan. “No, she’s only been like this since I asked her to marry me. She was fine when we were only dating and living together. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve known about her father almost since day one, and I knew that she had problems with his having left them. But I swear to you, she didn’t get this bad until after the proposal.”
“It’s probably because marriage is the ultimate commitment from one adult to another. In Kendra’s world, men break promises, so now she’s afraid because marriage is the ultimate promise.”
“Thanks for the insight, Dr. Phil. Did all those college degrees you got include one in psychology?”
“No, but I took a couple of courses. So what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sick and tired of Kendra’s bullshit neurosis. With everything else that’s going on, she’s the one person I should be able to count on, and this incident today just brought it home that I can’t.”
“Aw, come on, Sloan.” Kyle sounded worried and surprised. “You don’t mean that. Of course you can depend on Kendra. She’s always there for you.”
“That’s not what I mean.” Struggling to get his thoughts in order, Sloan rubbed his hands over his face. “I mean I shouldn’t have to worry about whether she’s going to freak out on me and decide the relationship isn’t worth it. Her fear scares me. It’s got me completely on tenterhooks. I’m afraid that someday I’ll come home and her fear will have won, and she’ll be gone. It’s unfair that I should have to feel this way, especially since I’ve done absolutely nothing to make her distrust me.”
“Knock it off, Nancy,” Kyle taunted. “What? You can’t take a little insecurity from your woman? You know Kendra loves you, and she’s probably the best damn thing that will ever happen to you. She’s certainly worth it, so give her time.”
“Hell, all I’ve been doing is giving her time. I don’t know what else to do.”
“Talking to her might work.”
“Don’t you think I’ve done that? We’ve been over and over it. I know she understands how I feel, and that it’s difficult for her, but I’m about at the end of my rope. This problem rears its ugly head at least a couple of times a month. It’s got to stop. I’m tired of paying for her dad’s abandonment.”
“Well, her mother’s indoctrinating her didn’t help matters. It’s not just a matter of your telling her to stop feeling the way she does, or even of her telling herself that—which I’m sure she has. If it were, you wouldn’t be so miserable right now.”
Sloan didn’t believe the obvious statement warranted an answer. He shut his eyes and leaned his head on the back of the couch.
Apparently completely oblivious to the hint to shut up, Kyle offered more advice. “Again, I recommend time. But you might also try to convince her to try a little therapy. Now on to other matters. When you say everything else that’s going on, you mean that crap at work, right? Case still going nowhere?”
Sloan gave a tired sigh and opened one eye to look at his brother. “You’re just not going to go away, are you?”
In answer, Kyle stretched his legs out
in front of him, crossed them at the ankles, and rested his entwined hands on his stomach.
“All right,” Sloan began as he trained his gaze on Kyle. “No, I’m nowhere with my so-called investigation. In fact, things are worse, if you can believe that. More money was taken.”
“What?” The revelation sprang Kyle out of his relaxed pose. “How in the hell did that happen with your switching the teams around?”
“The money had already been taken before I discovered the first losses, but apparently there was a screwup at the bank, and they didn’t post the transaction until yesterday.” Tiredly, he closed his eyes again.
“So you know which bank? That’s good. Now you can find out from the bank who the thief is.”
Sloan didn’t even bother to open his eyes this time, saying mildly, “Gee, why didn’t I think of that? Jesus, man, don’t you think that was the first thing I tried to do?” He opened his eyes to see Kyle grinning like an idiot. Shaking his head, Sloan muttered something before closing his eyes again.
“Going to the bank didn’t work because the money was barely there before being immediately bounced to another bank—one that isn’t even in this damn country. It was sent to Andorra. And to top all of that off, I had to go to my friend over at the state’s attorney’s office, something I hadn’t planned to do at this point. She worked her magic, but we’re still stuck.”
“Is the FBI involved?”
“Barely—the guy’s one of Connor’s friends, so he’s doing him a favor. He knows about the situation, but he’s letting me do my own investigation.”
“Jesus, I bet the shit really hit the fan, huh?”
“Not really, but close enough so that you could smell the stench.”
“What stopped it?”
“Me,” Sloan said grimly, “begging them to give me some time to find out who it is.”
“How much time?”
“Not enough.”
“And what was Kendra’s reaction to the new development?”
A smile curved Sloan’s lips as he thought about her fierce response. “Pissed the fuck off, to put it mildly.”