by Unknown
Zach entered her slowly and then stopped, withdrawing until nothing but the head of his penis remained tucked inside; he grumbled, “Shit! I don’t have a condom. We have to stop.”
“No, keep going.”
“Carla…”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. “Do you want to make love to me?”
“God, yes.”
“Then make love to me and don’t worry about a damn condom.”
He relented and pushed his hips, plunging all the way back in. She arched her hips up to meet him as he pushed inside her bringing a loud gasp from her mouth. He seemed twice the size she remembered. He stretched her, filling her completely, dissipating the ache she had for him. Carla locked her ankles around his waist as he began a slow purposeful thrust that turned into deep penetrating, rhythmic pumps, pushing her to the edge.
Her body melted against him when he tucked his arms under her to grab hold of her butt, bringing her hips up to meet his downward plunges. Carla felt another orgasm stirring. Her walls tightened around his shaft squeezing him.
Zach’s body tensed with the build of his own orgasm. Carla cried out as he pushed her to the limits and beyond. Their bodies were covered with a layer of sweat, the bed bouncing from the torture the two bestowed upon it. There was no doubt the bed had seen its share of marathon sexual activity, but this was different. She loved Zach.
Carla dug her fingernails into his back, no longer able to hold back. Her womanhood began to throb and naturally milk his erection. “Oh, baby, that’s it! Give it to me, Zach,” she screamed as stars burst in her head. She heard him grunt and increase the speed of his pumping until he released, his seed hitting her inner walls. He collapsed on top of her, she held onto him whispering softly I love you.
*****
Zach pulled out of her and rolled over and brought her with him, tucking her into his side, her head on his chest. He stroked her hair trying to fathom what she softly said, hoping he would not hear. But, his ears were trained to hear what most people couldn’t. He heard her say I love you.
Zach stared at the ceiling listening to her relaxed breathing that indicated she had fallen asleep. His sleeping pattern was on a different sync and at this hour, he’d be up plotting strategies.
He moved Carla gently over on the bed and slipped out covering her with the bedspread. He needed to take a shower. In the bathroom, he stepped in the shower letting the cold water run over him before it warmed. A sudden rush of anxiety fell over him. He closed his eyes hoping the shower would take it away. That didn’t work. Again, he’d let his guard down and had sex with Carla. But that didn’t bother him as much as her indirect confession of love. Since he never slept with the same woman twice, women didn’t get an opportunity to say those words to him. Those words only came from his mother and on occasion, his sister.
Placing a hand on the tiled wall, Zach dropped his head letting the spray of water run over his head. Do I love her? He shook his head answering his question. Get that dumb thought out of your head. There is no way I’m in love with that woman.
He soaped his body and rinsed off but the questions kept coming at him. He was having a battle with himself and losing. He turned off the water and yanked a towel off the rack wrapping it around his waist. Wiping condensation from the mirror he stared at his reflection long and hard. His jaw twitched, his brows slightly bent. The image staring back at him was a face in serious denial. He groaned, slamming a fist on the counter. “I’ve done my job. All that’s left is to deliver her to her Michigan and move on with my life as planned—end of story.”
The next morning they hit the road early. Zach did as promised and delivered her to the doorstep of Paula’s house.
Her mother was a warm and caring person that couldn’t thank him enough for saving Carla’s life. Paula even hugged and thanked him. After agreeing to have lunch with Carla’s family, he decided it was time for him to go. Carla walked him to the car.
Carla stood at the car door. The bright sun beamed down her. She licked her lips and smiled up at him. “I guess this is it,” she said swirling a finger in the middle of his chest.
“I guess so,” he replied. Her touch sent shivers down his spine and raised goose bumps on his arms.
“I’m not going to kiss you and raise any suspicion with my sister because I know her nosey butt is looking out the window. But, I will miss you.”
He shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “There’s an easy solution for that. Just think of what an asshole I am and that will completely wipe out anything nice I’ve ever done for you.”
She laughed. “That might work. Well, I’ll let you go. You seem eager to get away.”
He was eager to get away but not from her. He had to leave before he took her in his arms never to let her go. “I got another assignment. Instead of going to Arizona, I’m headed to Virginia to check in at headquarters.”
“I see. You better get going.”
She moved away from the car door to let him get in. Without thinking, Zach leaned down and kissed her on the lips. It wasn’t a passionate kiss but a sweet unintended kiss. “Take care of yourself, Carla. Remember if you hear from Tyrone or Phillip, call Rodney. He’s still working the case.”
She took a step back touching her lips. “I will if they call me. But, I doubt that will happen since I’ve decided to stay in Michigan. I will apply for a position with the emergency services department here and see what happens.”
Zach slid behind the wheel of the Explorer and turned the key in the ignition starting the car. “You’ll get it. You’ve got a lot of spunk and determination. They’d be crazy not to hire someone like you.”
“Coming from you that means a lot.” She held up both her hands crossing her fingers. “Wish me luck.”
He winked. “You won’t need it.”
He pulled away from the curb and looked in the rearview mirror. Carla’s figure shrunk the further he drove away. Disappointment caused him to frown. He’d hope she would have repeated her confession. But she was as stubborn as he was and would never admit it. Even if she had admitted it, what would he have done? He turned on his blinker and got on the highway. He sighed. “I would not have done a damn thing.”
chapter twenty one
Two Months Later
Zach smiled and nodded, pretending to have a good time at the cookout Patty and Dan threw together in his honor. His brother-in-law, Dan took to the grill again. He’d been visiting for three days and every night Dan came in from work, changed clothes and headed outdoors to cook dinner. Trying to be gracious, he choked down the burnt beyond recognition meals, and suffered with hours of heartburn later. He thought about the last good meal he had. Carla prepared a tasteful meal that made his tastebuds happy. He shook his head. Carla was long gone, and so were her meals and everything else about her.
He sat in a lounge chair manning the CD player hoping none of their socialite friends would pay much attention to him once initial introductions had been made. Antisocial was his way of life, and he preferred sitting off in the cut, so he didn’t have to talk to anyone or deal with people who walked up and tried to talk to him. He sifted through the boring stacks of music CDs looking for something up to date. Barry Manilow, Andy Williams, Liza Minnelli… he tossed the CD’s on the table grunting; Patty was 42 years old not 70.
Switching the radio to a hip-hop station, he watched Patty and two of her girlfriends by the pool keeping an eye on the kids while they played in the water. She was at home in this element while he was uncomfortable and praying for an emergency call from work to take him away from this suburban nightmare.
Zach saw Dan walking in his direction escorting a pretty blonde wearing a fire engine red miniskirt and matching crop top. The blonde was the sort of woman he normally would have enjoyed picking up but not today. He had nowhere to run to prevent a conversation.
Dan had a toothy nerd grin as has he proudly introduced the woman. “Zach, I want you to meet a co
lleague of mine. This is Misty.”
Misty—the name’s befitting. Zach didn’t offer his hand but said, “How you doing, Misty; I’m Zach.”
She smiled revealing perfect white teeth that glowed against the flaming red lipstick slathered in a thick layer across her thin lips. “I’m great.”
“Misty, Zach is visiting for a few days. He’s a very interesting guy; I think you’ll like him.”
“Dan, I’m not interesting,” Zach said annoyed. He didn’t like hookups and this one could not be more obvious.
Misty tossed long flowing curls over her shoulder. “Is that so? What do you do for a living, Zach?”
Apparently Misty wasn’t obsessed with tanning like most women. She couldn’t have been much older than Carla, and had skin as white as eggshells, peppered with tiny brown freckles. Looking her over, he surmised that she came from the same economic background as the rest of the people filling the backyard of his sister’s mansion. She had money, probably fought for some dying or political cause, and expected a mate with the same or similar interests.
He ran a hand through his hair that was getting too long for him. His hair had been long only once. The undercover operation he did with the motorcycle gang had him looking seedy and scary. As soon as that case ended he cut the ponytail that reached the middle of his back to a crew cut and shaved off the long beard.
Nonchalantly he answered, “I’m an FBI agent.”
“How exciting,” she replied, striking an enticing pose. “I would love to hear more about your work.” She twirled a long strand of hair between her fingers. “Dan, I’ll stay with Zach for a while.”
“Well then, I’ll leave you two alone to get acquainted,” Dan said slapping Zach on the shoulder and giving him a sly wink of the eye.
Zach resisted rolling his eyes at Dan as he walked away. His demeanor was as dry as the Arizona desert. “I’m not at liberty to talk about my work. So you work with Dan?” he asked opening a beer and taking a long swig.
“Yes. Dan thinks very highly of you. So how long will you be visiting Arizona? Maybe I can show you around town. We could hit a couple of nightspots and have some real fun. I’m not really into this fuddy-duddy stuff.”
“Really, so why are you here?” It was too late for him to change the harshness in the tone of his voice.
“I came as a favor to Dan. He thought we would hit it off. But I must say for this to be your party, you don’t seem to be having any fun. Say, do you want to get out of here? We’ll go to my place, open a bottle of wine and get to know each other.”
He released a crooked grin. Please don’t take offense to this, but I’ll pass. I’m only here for a few days, and I’m just looking to relax and unwind before my next assignment.”
She surprised him by entwining her arm with his, pressing large soft breasts pressed against his arm. The swell of her breasts spilled over the tight opening of her top. He saw down her cleavage with no problem. He switched his beer to another hand to keep from dropping it.
Her emerald green eyes locked with his as she used a manicured finger to trace the curve of his jawline. “Are you sure? I’d love to see how far those tattoos go and what others you’re hiding under your clothes.”
Her hair smelled like coconuts and mixed with whatever perfume she was wearing. He moved his head away from her traveling finger. “Yeah, I’m sure. But, thanks for coming to the party.” As beautiful as she was he wasn’t interested in a one-night stand.
“Your loss,” she said flipping her wrist as she walked away.
Zach shook his head, watching her narrow hips switch as she walked away. He wondered if Dan had a desire to hit that. He chuckled inwardly. Dan wouldn’t know what to do with a woman like her.
“Zach, there you are,” Patty’s voice called out. He turned and groaned. What now? Patty was ushering another woman; only she was tall and a brunette. He felt she was inappropriately dressed for a pool party. The clingy, white silk dress was too formal, and he heard her clicking across the decorative stone in needle-thin heels. She had to take two steps to Patty’s one, to keep up with her.
He didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Patty, we need to talk.” He took his sister by the elbow and dragged her aside. “Quit fixing me up with your damn friends; I’m not interested.”
Patty smoothed a non-existent wrinkle out of her sundress. “I’m not fixing you up, Zach. Annie wants to join the FBI. I though you could give her some advice.”
“Oh. Well, then that’s different.”
“God, I put this party together for you aware you hate people and the world we live in, but at least pretend to be grateful for the effort Dan and I went through.”
“Patty, I do appreciate the party. I just have a lot on my mind.”
Patty frowned. “Carla occupies every inch of your mind, Zach. Until you do something about it, you’re destined to be miserable and nasty to everyone around you. My house isn’t used to that. So if you can’t lighten up, then leave,” she said storming away.
Smacking his lips together, he chased after her. “Look, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude to your guests. But, we’ll get along great if you cool it about Carla.”
Whatever, Zach. You may be in denial but I’m trained to catch those body reactions that others can’t see, including you. I have to check on my other guests.”
Zach couldn’t argue with her. His thoughts stayed on Carla and it was about time he did something about it.
Early Sunday evening, Patty came out of the house and set a tray of glasses filled with lemonade on the table and plopped in a cushioned lounge chair. “Despite how you treated my friends yesterday, I’m glad you came for a visit, Zach. It’s good to spend some time with you.”
Zach picked up a glass of lemonade and took a sip. “I had a lot of vacation time accumulating. I was pretty much forced to take it.”
“I’m glad I was able to rearrange my schedule for your visit. Although, I have to say you don’t seem happy to be here.”
“I’m happy, Patty. I’m bursting with joy watching your kids play in the pool and Dan burn burgers on the grill.” His sour mood spilled through every syllable.
“Oh, how I’ve missed your sarcasm. So, tell me, if Carla isn’t on your mind, just what has that bug up your ass, little brother?”
“I don’t have a bug up my ass; I’m bored. I need to be doing something. How do people sit around all day doing nothing?”
“It’s called relaxing, Zach. This is what people with regular jobs do.”
“It sucks rocks. And what is it with Dan and his fucked up outfits?” He watched Dan fumbling at the grill once again. The flames were leaping past the hood, but he continued to throw raw food on the hot grill instead of letting the fire calm down. The chef’s apron he wore was ridiculous also. The muscular-chested cartoonish character draped on his skinny body was laughable. If Dan weighed 150 pounds, it would be a surprise to him.
But this was what his sister loved. She thrived in the suburban lifestyle. Patty’s success reflected in her home. They lived in a mansion with a pool, gardens and wrap-around driveway that had three heated garages. Why they needed to be heated was beyond him since they lived in Arizona. The giggles from his niece and nephew playing in the pool got his attention. They were well-behaved and got excellent grades in school. Then there was her husband Dan, the successful software developer. He was completely at ease wearing checkerboard shorts and rubber flip-flops while pulling cooking duties.
This compared to his life, showed Zach definitely was the black sheep of the family. He hardly stayed in the one bedroom apartment he rented in Virginia and didn’t own anything of value other than his 1996 Collector Edition Corvette that never left the garage. He drank more lemonade wishing for something stronger. Patty didn’t allow hard liquor in the house.
Patty snapped her fingers in front of his face bringing him back. “Where did you go? I’m talking to you one minute and the next you’re off in la-la land somewhere.”
&nb
sp; He finished the glass of lemonade and sucked on an ice cube. “My bad, the checkers on Dan’s shorts hypnotized me.”
Patty turned up her lip. She brushed strands of blonde hair away from her face. “Zach, not every woman wants a hunk for a husband. What you see when you look at Dan and what I see is different.”
“Patty, where are you going with this cause I’m not looking at him in any kind of way.”
“Sweetie, when I look at my husband, I see the full curve of his biceps, the ripples of his abdomen and the deeply shadowed groove down his back. Dan’s 150-pound frame is sexy to me. When you look at him, you see dork, wearing dorkier clothing.”
Zach lifted his brow. “He makes you happy and that’s all that matters to me. You have a great life here, and I’m not knocking it.”
She reached across the table and took his hand. “You could have the same, Zach. I’ve seen you playing with the kids. I’ve also seen you sitting out here alone at night just staring at the sky. You’re missing her. Why can’t you let Carla in your life?”
“Carla is not in my life and I don’t follow the institution that white men are expected to live by. I’ll never get married, have kids or own a house in the suburbs. And God forbid if I ever drive a damn minivan. The only way I’ll be caught behind the wheel of one of those things is if it’s revved up to chase criminals.”
Patty rested her chin on her hands. “Sweetie, those blue eyes of yours is telling me a whole ‘nother story. This woman has captured your heart, and you’re shaking in your boots with fear. The man who is afraid of nothing is afraid of love.”
He frowned. “Stop analyzing me. I’m not a patient of yours.”
“Then stop lying to me. Zach, I want to help you. People pay me big money to drag this crap from them; I’m doing it for you for free. Plus, I can say what I want and not get sued by you.”
“Don’t be so sure of that.”
“I’m putting the cards on the table, Zach. How you react will reveal if I’m right or wrong. You’re in love, aren’t you?”
He kept a poker face. “Wrong.”