Little Black Box Set (The Black Trilogy)

by Tabatha Vargo

  In shock, I turned away from Kyle’s room and started toward my dad. It was then I saw my mother’s body. I gasped when I saw her killer still standing above her.

  My eyes dropped to my mother’s lifeless body and I made an involuntary move toward her, but her killer jumped to his feet and I froze, not taking another step.

  The intruder’s breathing became louder, and mine seemed to stop completely. The stranger’s eyes connected with mine. Time stopped as we stared at each other. Fear laced his expression and it confused me.

  The harsh sound of his panting filled the room. It looked like he was debating his next move. His eyes moved to the door behind me. Shifting on his feet, the light caught something in his hand. It was my mother’s locket, which had pictures of me and Kyle inside. It wasn’t worth much, which made it strange that the guy was taking it, but then I looked around the room and saw their TV was missing.

  The killer left my mother, necklace in hand, and ran toward me. I stopped breathing and dropped to my knees. Just when he got close to me and I was sure he was going to kill me too, he ran past me and down the stairs. The back door slammed. And then, even though I could hear Kyle crying, it was eerily silent.

  I WOKE UP IN BED, with my pajamas on and a blanket draped over me. The sun from the windows blinded me when I opened my eyes.

  A sound from inside the condo startled me and I reached over to my bedside table. Still in a sleep-induced haze, I pulled open the drawer, and grabbed the gun Sebastian bought me.

  Walking toward the noise on quiet feet, I raised the gun, ready to shoot. Making it to the corner of the kitchen, I took a deep breath and tried to steel my nerves.

  When I stepped around the corner, I came face to chest with a large man. Without thought, I pulled the trigger.

  Nothing happened.

  I looked up and Sebastian was standing before me, looking down with wild eyes. He reached out and took the gun from me.

  “Holy shit. You could have killed me, Roz.” He set the gun on the counter beside us. “Thank God you had the safety on. Speaking of which, you have to make sure the safety is off before you use it.”

  He turned and walked away from me, and back to the stove where he was cooking. I’m not sure how I missed the smell of bacon wafting all around.

  “You’re here,” I stated the obvious.

  “Yes I am,” he grinned at me, as if I hadn’t just tried to kill him. “A ‘good morning’ would be nice.”

  I was still in shock by the fact that I’d almost blown a hole in his chest.

  “Good morning,” I said slowly.

  “Come sit down and eat some breakfast,” he said, setting a plate on the counter full of bacon and eggs.

  “You made me breakfast?”

  “It was the least I could do.”

  I had a million questions I wanted to ask, but I didn’t want to jinx the moment. Instead, I sat on the stool in front of my plate and started to pick at the bacon.

  “Eat. We have a lot to talk about,” he said, taking a big bite of bacon and chewing with a smile on his face.

  I couldn’t wait.

  “I’m sorry, Sebastian. I didn’t think. It just came out,” I said.

  “I didn’t come here to talk about that.”

  “Oh.” Maybe I had jumped the gun, thinking he was actually back.

  “I came here today hoping you’d tell me your whole name.”

  “No,” I said sternly. “I don’t want you to push me away. I’ll stay your Jessica.”

  There I’d said it. I showed my desperation and while I should have been completely embarrassed by it, I wasn’t.

  “So you’re perfectly okay sleeping with a man who calls you by another woman’s name forever?”

  “Well maybe not forever, but…” I stopped. “What do you mean forever?”

  Sebastian never said the word forever. I seriously doubted he even thought about the following week when it came to his girls.

  “I mean, I went a week without you, and I’m not sure I ever want to go that long again.”

  He moved around the counter and stood next to me.

  “Are you saying what I think you’re saying, Mr. Black?” I asked playfully.

  He looked down at me with a soft expression, before pressing his lips to mine. “Tell me your name,” he said against my lips.

  Pulling back, I let my eyes devour his face. If it was possibly going to be the last time I saw him, I wanted to take it all in.

  “Rosslyn. My name’s Rosslyn Harris.”

  He closed his eyes and swallowed hard before pulling me closer. “A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”

  “You think I’m beautiful?” I asked as I batted my lashes at him.

  “You know I do, smartass. And what makes it even better, you’re all mine.”

  “Again, are you saying what I think you’re saying, Mr. Black?”

  “I don’t know, Miss Rosslyn Harris. What is it you think I’m saying?”

  It felt good to hear him say my name. After being called Jessica for so long, it was nice to finally be acknowledged as myself.

  “It sounds to me like you’re saying you’re prepared to throw away you’re little black book.”

  He threw his head back and laughed out loud before leaning down and kissing me softly. I lost my fingers in the soft hair that touched the back of his neck and he filled his hands with my hips. Pulling away, he smiled down at me before kissing the tip of my nose sweetly.

  “What black book? I own no such thing,” he grinned.

  IT WAS OFFICIAL. I WAS the most stupid motherfucker alive. I should have stayed away from her. I should have stayed off her register and cared for her from afar. It was the least I could do for her. But then I’d seen her and my resolve crumbled.

  She had been standing there, across the street, looking at me with that fucking smile I loved so much. I wanted to go to her. I wanted to take her in my arms, put her in the back seat, and spend the rest of the day in bed with her. But I didn’t. I blew her off, got in the car, and drove away.

  I was in my office for the rest of the day and most of the night, doing everything but handcuffing myself to stay there. I hadn’t seen Vick all day, even though I knew she was downstairs when the club opened for the night. She knew it was best to stay away from me.

  It was about midnight when I broke. Grabbing my jacket, I left my office, marched down the stairs and through the busy club, and went straight to Rosslyn. I’d deal with the consequences later, if there even were any.

  After thinking on it all night, I decided I could be with her. She’d never need to know anything about me and Vick. I could make her happy—give her back the life we’d taken away from her. I would give her anything she wanted.

  When I got to condo, she was sleeping sweetly on the couch, clutching her phone. I sat beside her. Pushing the hair from her face, I watched her sleep for a bit, before taking her to bed. I spent the rest of the night staring out at the New York skyline and making plans.

  “LET’S GO SOMEWHERE,” I SAID.

  She was lying beside me naked, her skin flush with mine.

  “Where?”

  “Some place tropical. I’m talking white sandy beaches, palm trees, and fruity drinks with umbrellas in them. I want to see you in a two piece with a big floppy hat.”

  She considered my offer and became serious. “There’s one problem, though.”

  “Oh yeah? And what is that?”

  “I don’t do floppy,” she said, grabbing my dick.

  We broke down laughing and I kissed her nose. “You’re right. Very poor choice of words.”

  “But you definitely had me at white sandy beaches. When do we leave?”

  Two days later, we were on a plane leaving New York. The flight to Barbados wasn’t terrible, at least for me it wasn’t. I’d never seen Rosslyn drink, but she drank like a fish on the plane. She waited until it was time to board to let me know she’d never flown before.

  By the time we landed,
I still didn’t have full circulation in my fingers, and she was slurring and leaning against me. It was adorable to see her so carefree and giggly. Making our way outside, I let her use my body as wall.

  A car picked us up at the airport and took us to our destination. It was a five-star hotel with all the amenities, and we had one of the large suites at the very top.

  The elevator ride up to the room was the longest ride in the history of elevator rides. The only thing keeping me from fucking Rosslyn right there, was the elderly couple who smiled politely at us from the other side.

  “Are you two on your honeymoon?” the lady asked.

  Rosslyn smiled drunkenly up at me, waiting to see how I’d respond. A million smart-ass responses came to mind, but instead I smiled down at Rosslyn and pretended just a little while that a happily ever after existed between us.

  “Yes,” I whispered, never taking my eyes off of her. “She’s definitely the one.”

  “How sweet,” the lady said.

  The elevator chimed and the doors opened to let the couple off on their floor. Reaching across the elevator, I pushed the button to the top floor rapidly before anyone else could get on. I was definitely not in the mood for anymore company.

  “It’s about time,” Rosslyn chuckled, pushing me against the wall.

  She rubbed against me, moving her lips over mine. I smiled and grabbed her ass, lifting her until she could wrap her legs around my waist.

  “Our honeymoon, huh?” she taunted. “Sebastian Black married. That’s kind of funny.”

  “Five more minutes.” I nipped at her chin.

  “Five more minutes?” she asked confused.

  “Yes.” I looked up as the red light lit up for our floor and the doors opened. “Now it’s four, and then you can put that beautiful smart mouth to better use.”

  “Sebastian,” she pushed playfully at my chest and giggled.

  I didn’t put her down when I walked out of the elevator, nor did I bat an eyelash at the couple who nearly jumped out of the way trying to get into the elevator after us.

  “Excuse us,” Rosslyn said as I pushed the key card into the door.

  The night was a blur of crazy, out of control, wild sex. Everything was put to use, our hands, mouths, tongues and every body part possible. We invented new positions and enjoyed old ones. I didn’t give her time to catch her breath, and in return, she didn’t show me any mercy. It was fucking beautiful.

  When we were both exhausted and couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer, we fell asleep in the massive king-sized bed. Before I let my eyes close, I realized sleeping with Rosslyn in my arms was something I never wanted to give up. She could never find out my secret. I just wouldn’t let it happen.

  “CAN YOU RUB SOME OF this on me?” Rosslyn asked, holding out a bottle of sunblock.

  “As if you’d have to ask me to rub your body,” I teased. Taking the bottle, I squeezed a generous amount into my palm and rubbed it on her soft skin.

  We were planning on spending a while on the beach because Rosslyn had never been to one before. And the last thing either of us wanted, was to ruin our mini vacation with a sunburn.

  She looked amazing in a green and yellow bikini. Her long, shapely legs stretched out as she laid on her stomach, with her arms tucked under her face. I ran my fingers across the arch in her back, blending in the sunblock.

  “This is heaven,” she sighed, closing her eyes and breathing in deeply.

  Leaning over her, I placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “The perfect place for my angel,” I whispered in her ear.

  A smile tugged at her plump lips and I had to control the urge to kiss her again and again. The heat from the sun, mixed with the heat I was feeling just looking at her, was too much.

  “So I’ve been curious about something,” she said, keeping her eyes closed.

  “What?”

  “What was the whole deal with the name Jessica? Where did it come from?”

  The dreaded question. I didn’t like to revisit my childhood very much, and I hated talking about it. But for Rosslyn, I’d do it.

  “I didn’t have a typical childhood, and was raised in multiple foster homes. Bad things happened around me, and to me, that I didn’t want to think about. When I wanted to escape, I watched cartoons.”

  She opened her eyes and looked over at me.

  I hated the look she was giving me—pity. “Please don’t look at me like that. Going through hard times makes you who you are. Anyway, I named all the girls in my book after cartoon characters.”

  “The girls were your escape,” she said.

  She understood me like no other. It only made my heart swell more for her.

  I let my fingers linger over her spine, as I looked away and explained. “Yes, but I reserved my favorite character, Jessica Rabbit, for the most special woman of all. When you walked into my club that first night, I knew you were my Jessica.”

  I could feel her eyes on me, but she didn’t speak right away.

  “Does that make you my rabbit? Can I call you Roger?”

  A grin lifted my cheeks until they hurt. She was definitely the one. No pushing buttons or asking questions that made me uncomfortable. She let me come around in my own way, on my own time. Plus, she knew all about Roger Rabbit, my favorite cartoon character.

  I was met with her sweet smile when I finally looked her in the face. She really was the most amazing woman. Leaning closer, I kissed her beneath her ear and inhaled her sweet scent, mixed with the coconut scented sunblock. She shivered and it gave me the satisfaction I’d been going after.

  “You can call me anything you’d like. I’ll be your rabbit all night long, baby.”

  “And keep going, and going, and going…”

  I laid on top of her and tickled her sides. Laughing, I spoke in her ear. "Wrong rabbit, you minx.”

  She squirmed under me and I could already feel myself getting hard. Leaning back, I counted to ten. If this kept up, I’d walk around in a permanent state of arousal.

  “I’m going for a swim,” I said, standing from her chair.

  “I’ll be here,” she said with a little wave.

  The cold ocean water cooled my burning flesh as I waded out over my head and swam against the waves. Turning around, I looked back at the beach. The white sand and blue umbrellas stretched as far as the eye could see. It was paradise, and I was happy to be able to share it with the woman who had captured my heart.

  Later, we left the beach to go for some drinks at a tiki bar that wasn’t far from where we’d been. Rosslyn walked with her sandals in hand, wearing a white bathing suit cover draping from her shoulder. Her red hair was disheveled and full of long loose curls from the ocean water drying in her hair. She was more than beautiful.

  As promised, I order us two fruity drinks with umbrellas and we sat at the bar.

  “What would you like to do next?” I asked, taking a pull from my straw.

  “I don’t care. This is paradise. I’m happy just sitting here,” she smiled.

  “I like making you happy.”

  I was turning into a mushy fucker, but I couldn’t help it. It’s what she did to me.

  “Well, you’re very good at it.”

  Leaning in, I kissed her. The taste of her strawberry flavored drink rolled across my tongue. She was delicious.

  The following day, we moved from our hotel to a beach cottage I rented for the rest of the week. I was seriously considering buying a property while we were there, but I didn’t want to spend any of my time with Rosslyn doing anything business related.

  The cottage was all white, with massive floor to ceiling windows on all four sides. There were views of the beach and palm trees in every direction. I looked through one of the windows after my shower, to see Rosslyn standing on the upper deck looking out at the ocean. Her hair was pulled up in a knot, but stray flyway’s swept across her face.

  I watched as she closed her eyes and let the breeze move across her cheeks. She looked content, and
I knew in that moment I’d spend the rest of my life making sure she always felt that way. There was no doubt about it, I was in love with her.

  The beautiful woman I was looking at was mine, and I wanted her to know it. I needed her to know this was no longer a business arrangement for me. It was more and she was more. She was everything I ever wanted and all I would ever need. She was my happily ever after.

  For a man who didn’t understand emotions all that well, the feelings I experienced for Rosslyn were undeniable. She was the one, and it scared me and excited me at the same time.

  Stepping out onto the deck, I went up behind her and pulled her body to mine. Resting my chin on her shoulder, I took in the sight in front of us.

  “Thank you, Sebastian,” she whispered.

  “For what?”

  “For this. For everything.” She leaned back into me and rested her head on my shoulder. “I just wanted you to know you’ve made me the happiest I’ve ever been. I don’t care if this lasts another week or another day, you’re one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”

  Her words struck my heart like a bolt of lightning and I spun her in my arms and kissed her. The sound of the waves moved around us and she moaned sweetly into my mouth.

  Pulling away, I pressed my forehead to hers and closed my eyes to take in the moment.

  “I love you, Rosslyn.”

  The words exploded from my heart and slipped from my lips. I had no desire to take them back. If anything, I wanted to write them in the sky for the world to see. She needed to know because it was the truth, and as I’d always heard it would, the truth had definitely set me free when it came to her.

  “I LOVE YOU, ROSSLYN.”

  I looked up at him, his words filling me with so much joy, I was sure my heart would burst. He stared down at me with a straight face, his dark hair shifting in the ocean breeze. His blue eyes popped against the white cottage and fading sunset in the background.