Aries_Mr. Adventure_The 12 Signs of Love

by Tiana Laveen

  “What? Why would he bother with that guy?”

  “Well, Alex says if it weren’t for what that man had gone and done, none of this would’ve happened. He sees him as the catalyst to this whole crazy mess.”

  “How did you get him to leave her ex alone? When something is on his mind to do, it’s damn near impossible to keep him from going through with it.”

  “I’m telling you right now, it was like trying to stop a freight train. He was determined. I had to physically grab hold of him. Luckily, he told me while we were together that night or I would’ve been none the wiser and there’s no telling what would’ve happened. One thing is for certain though; it wouldn’t have been good.” Kyle sighed and took a deep breath.

  “This isn’t right.”

  “I know it isn’t, but the world ain’t right, Kyle. Bad things happen to good people all the time.”

  “But he finally meets someone that checks all the boxes as he says, and the woman is up to her chin in bad luck. Drowning in it. First she finds out about the affair and then the girl involved has the nerve to say she’s goin’ to the police and filing charges. Funny thing is, I like Snow and I can see why Alex is so head over heels in love with her. She’s a good woman. I can also see why she and Brittany are friends, too. They complement one another. I feel mighty bad for her.”

  “So do I. According to Alex, she’s lawyered up. He also said the other day that Amber called her…”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me?” Kyle said in surprise.

  “Yeah, she sure did. Told her she was going to the police, that she lost a tooth and has had medical bills coming out the ass.” Joshua rolled his eyes.

  “Going to the police for what? To file a false police report? What a lot of nerve!”

  “I told Alex I’d watch out for any reports. If anyone needs to be calling the police, it’s Snow on her.” He cocked his head to the side and smiled then.

  “What?” Kyle said.

  “You just gave me an idea.” The man wiggled his finger. “We need to treat this like detective work, ask questions. Maybe the woman keeps talkin’ about she’s going to the police but not doing it because she’s got a record herself?”

  “Josh, that can’t be true. She’s an attorney just like Snow and Brittany. If she had a record, she’d have been gone a long time ago and Snow would be sleeping just fine at night.”

  “All right, true…” The man tapped his chin, his blue eyes darting about in his head as if his brain were working overtime. “Something’s not right though. This shit happened a long time ago and she’s waving that carrot. Alex said the woman had been lying low for the longest, then all of a sudden she wants to press charges? It’s almost like someone got in her ear… It’s almost like—”

  “She is trying to get Snow to resign from her job, and Snow would think, if she did, she wouldn’t get any prison time. Amber wants to make Snow think they’ve got a new understanding but then the bitch will get her way and ruin her.”

  “That’s right!” Josh pointed across the table at him, his body on fire with excitement. “You’re right, and that leads me to the next question. What is she hiding? Something ain’t right!” He snatched up his cellphone from the table and dialed.

  “Alex, it’s Josh. I’m over here with Kyle. Get your ass in listening mode. We need to talk…”

  … One week later

  “Don’t say nothin’ to Snow yet.”

  They stood inside the empty firehouse. Alex had taken off his firefighter uniform and laid it to the side. It was two in the morning and cold as a witch’s tit, but he didn’t care; this was too important to wait another second holding the goods.

  “What?” Joshua threw up his hands. “Why wouldn’t you want Snow to know as soon as possible? The woman has been barely hanging on, according to you. Don’t you think she’d want to know we found this information for her? Something she can use?” Darkness filled Alex, the kind he only felt on rare occasions. This was bad. Joshua’s face was like stone. Alex plopped down in a metal chair and gripped the thick material of his denim jeans like he would a stress ball. “I raced all the way over here to tell you the good news. I thought you’d be happy about this?” Joshua tossed up his hands.

  “I am.”

  “Well, you sure have a funny way of showin’ it. It was your idea. You gave me the woman’s information and told me exactly what to look for. Hot dog, you were right. Kyle and I didn’t know much about this lady. We needed your input and you even told me exactly what to focus on. How’d you know anyway?”

  “I didn’t,” Alex stated. “It was a lucky guess. I figured since she was so loose like that, she might have a history of being a bed warmer. Turns out I was right. Look, uh, thank you for finding out. Let me think this through. I don’t want to blow it by acting too soon. This needs to be handled with care.”

  Joshua seemed to relax a bit at Alex’s revelation.

  “All right, well that makes sense. I imagine you do have to be strategic about this. I tell you what though, it was like searching for a needle in a haystack. It’s amazing what you can find out about people if you just keep looking long enough and in the right places.”

  Alex got to his feet and grabbed his coat. He patted Joshua’s shoulder and gave him a half hug.

  “Thanks so much, Josh. I know it seems I may not be over the moon about this, but I am. I can’t tell you enough how grateful I am to have you as a friend.” Emotions ran like water through pipes within him. Mostly relief. “This means a lot to me. You didn’t just help me; you helped Snow, her clients, the young ladies who depend on her through her organization, and everyone who loves her. I’ll head on home and think this through. You get back to the station. I’ll talk to you soon, all right?” Alex grabbed his keys, gym bag, and water bottle and headed out the door, leaving his friend behind.

  As he walked out, it took everything in him not to look back at Josh and see the expression on his face. The whole world was burning down to a crisp…

  His friend would know what’s up. Joshua knew him better than anyone else in the whole damn world.

  Most of all, he’d know he was up to no damn good.

  Arrest me now, please, because in a minute it’s going to be too late. Shit is about to go down…

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  A Man’s Gotta Do What a Man’s Gotta Do

  I’m not a complicated man. I’m a man with a plan…

  He was happy to see the woman twice in one day. In fact, tonight she’d be spending the evening at his home and he delighted in that. She’d told him she wanted someone beautiful next to her all night long and there he was, full of love for her.

  The fantasy of a woman indulged in a bubble bath he’d drawn for her was the order of the evening. He was surprised he had the right fixings at his house for such an occasion—candles and bubble bath. The candles were mosquito repellant, but they’d work all the same, and the bubble bath came in unisex scent and in travel size, from a kit he’d received from an associate for his birthday.

  As he sat on the toilet lid gleaming down at her, he inhaled the aromatic scent of the bubbly concoction and delighted in the way the white suds glided down her smooth long legs. She lay with one arm resting along the side of the tub, the other not visible, in the water, and her hair was wrapped up in a white towel. A second towel lay rolled up behind her neck, giving her at least the appearance of being at ease.

  After several minutes of only music playing, starting with “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaak, she cocked a smile at him.

  “You look sexy in your fireman uniform.”

  He grinned. “You liked seein’ me today when you came by for lunch, huh? That turn you on?”

  “Yes.” Her cheeks warmed to a deeper hue. “Funny, I never really thought about that before now. Maybe it has to be someone you care about… someone you love. Well, at least for me.”

  “I imagine many women like how I look in my bunker gear but I only care about what one woman thinks…�
�� He leaned down and kissed her once, then again, while caressing her cheek with the pad of his thumb. He couldn’t fight what he saw in her eyes—pure, animalistic lust.

  Pulling back, he crossed his arms over his lap. “I don’t bring my PPE home.”

  “PPE? The uniform?” He could hear the disappointment in her words.

  “Yeah, Personal Protection Equipment. I’ll, uh, be right back. You want a refill on that wine?” He pointed to the woman’s half empty wine glass of Red Moscato.

  “Yes, I’d like a bit more.”

  “All right,” He got to his feet and stretched. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

  He made his way down to his hallway storage closet. Many moons ago he’d placed an old uniform there, but he wasn’t certain if he had it still. Shoving the door open, he hunkered down and tossed bags here and there. Some containers were filled with old sneakers he once used to do yard work but had forgotten about. Some contained an extensive comic book collection from his youth.

  And then, he saw it. Excitement gripped him as he ripped it out of a clear zippered protective cover and studied it. Then, he searched for the damn boots and found them far in the corner of the closet, looking tired and weepy—but they’d do the trick.

  A few minutes later, he trudged up the steps, all sweaty, holding a glass of wine. When he returned to the bathroom, Snow looked at him and her mouth dropped. She took the glass from his hand and burst out laughing.

  “I can’t believe you did it! Oh, my goodness!” Taking a quick gulp of the beverage, she set it down, not taking her eyes off him.

  “I can’t believe I still had it. I haven’t worn this in years. It’s out of commission.” The enthusiasm on her face and the gleam in her eyes were priceless. For a brief moment, it eased some of the tension. He was worried sick about her… her stress level, the way she went on and pushed herself, trying her damnedest to not think the worst and hope for the best. He wanted what was best for her, too. Some of his reasons were selfish, but others were for the sake of justice, the greater good.

  “Get outta that water and put this fire out…”

  She tossed him a naughty grin and stood, her body wet and smelling divine. Stepping carefully out of the tub, she embraced him hard and he grabbed her arm, guiding the way. She felt so good through the tough material. Running her hands up and down his mask, she left streaky fingerprints while she studied him as if he were some artifact in a museum. She moved around him, circling him, taking her time.

  “You look so damn good, Alex… Yeah, this definitely gets my juices flowing.”

  “Take off this gear. Unwrap me like a present.” He helped her along the way with snaps, buckles, and straps. Finally, fully revealed, his bare skin was kissed by the coolness of sudden exposure.

  She kissed his chest, her hands dancing along his shoulders as she lightly massaged him. Dropping to her knees on the bathroom mat, she wrapped her lips around his throbbing cock. With a gentle stroke, he caressed her shoulder then slid his hand through the strands of her hair as she went deeper on him. He struggled to keep steady, stand his ground. Needing her so badly, he took her into his arms, tossed her over his shoulder, and marched into his bedroom.

  He deposited her in the middle of the bed on her stomach, ass up. Cradling her close, he rested his head on the center of her back, turned on by the slight shivers of her body and the slick wetness of her curves.

  “You ain’t goin’ nowhere, baby. You wanted a man in uniform? Well, you got him!” He entered her hard, needy and demanding, and she screamed out when he moved inside her. He needed to feel her, every bit of her, and savor it. He needed to hear her voice reach the loudest pitch possible as he delivered heart-pounding pleasure. The bed shook violently as he took her.

  With hands intertwined, he bit into her shoulder and rocked against her ass, going as deep and fast as he could. She cursed his name and praised him, for his ruthlessness was never ceasing. He couldn’t… he wouldn’t…

  Snow shivered and moaned, and then her orgasm set her free. Slowing his thrusts, he brought her flush against his chest to wrap his arms around her breasts and give a squeeze.

  “I’m in love with you, baby,” he murmured, kissing her cheek. “Through good times and bad times, Alex is always going to be there for you.”

  Her eyes welled with tears and he quickly patted them dry. Then, he started his rhythm back up, pivoting his hips just so, driving his dick deeper inside her. He wanted to take her breath away.

  His soul shouted relief as he spotted his other half on a little lake, her heart ripped out, the ache of loss still living within…

  His heart stung like sweat dripping into open eyes as he peered at a beautiful creature holding a bottle of lemonade, dripping with condensation…

  His cranium hid the pain just like a gorgeous lady crouching down in the brush secretly hoping to be found by the man who’d become obsessed with all that was Snow…

  His heart broke like the crackle of twigs in a bonfire as two strangers became lovers and ignited the spark that would never die…

  His life had become like Christmas since she’d entered his existence for good. She was a gift from God standing on his doorstep with beer, flowers, and chicken…

  Tears streaked his cheeks as he suppressed what screamed inside him, a need to protect the jewel he’d found. He didn’t cry on his behalf; he cried for her… He’d take the brunt, live that pain. She completed him, which made her so easy to love.

  Daddy’s going to fix it, baby… Daddy’s going to make it right. Just needed a minute to get my plan together. What good am I if I can’t protect the one I love? She could be ruined by the lies of cowards… I hate cowards…

  The men who beat up their wives…

  The friends who talk shit in a roundabout way, dishing passive aggressiveness to the fullest, praying and wishing for our downfall…

  The boyfriends who lie and fuck women who wouldn’t care if they lived or died, betraying the woman who stuck by them through thick and thin, all for some side-dish ass that never gets better than lukewarm…

  The women who had such a love for revenge, they’ve forgotten themselves and tossed their self-esteem in the trash, all in the name of nothingness.

  Cowards…

  They wallow in the cesspools while the trendsetters and leaders set the world on fire…

  …And I’m that leader. Let me do what I do. To the others? Fall the fuck back and let me go to work.

  I fell in love with a woman with no parents. She fell in love with a man with no conscience, who sometimes hurts the ones he loves out of frustration and anger, as well as a lack of self-control. I never really want to be vulnerable, but I crave love so badly, and that’s what she gives me. She gives me class and patience. I give her practicality and optimism. She is teaching me lessons every day and we are making magic where emptiness once existed. It feels like I’ve known her for a few hundred lifetimes and we’ll be together until eternity.

  “No, baby, I can’t ever let you go!!!”

  Mazzy Starr sang “Fade Into You” as he fell apart and burst free like a shooting star, falling to his death in a state of glory. With a roar, he came hard within her. She cooed, comforting him as he shivered violently, his resolve destroyed. He could’ve been blown over like a feather…

  He fell upon the bed, taking her with him. She climbed up his body, her soft warmth a delight as he struggled to catch his breath. Closing his eyes, he relished her nestling close, her wet hair wavy from the water, pressed to the skin beneath his chin. Stomach to stomach, they lay in peace. When he exhaled and inhaled, he made her rise, then fall against him over and over again. In rhythm… in tune… This was love. This was the nature of a ram, an animal with no frills, but so much power, pure strength, bravado. A leader of the pack, the first in line, not easily intimidated, always willing, able and ready to go to war, especially for the ones he loved…

  Alex sat in his truck for longer than he liked. Michael Jackson’s, “Off t
he Wall” played on his radio, on the oldies station his father used to like. He looked at the clock, the bright blue lights beckoning him, then back at the house with disco type lights shining from the windows.

  He opened the driver’s side door and jumped out, the cold air beating against his skin. It had been unseasonably cool the last few days, but he liked it; it was a nice change, especially since his heart raced with anticipation and leapt with excitement.

  As he stomped up the driveway, he took notice of several luxury cars parked there and all along the street. On a swallow, he knocked hard on the front door, then rang the bell. He could hear music playing inside the home but couldn’t yet make out the tune. Suddenly, the door swung open and there stood an Asian man wearing a bright red suit and an earring in his nose. His hair had a bright blond streak.

  This guy is trying too damn hard…He looks like some shit in that Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory movie.

  “Uh, can I help you?” The snooty son of a bitch looked him up and down as if he were a piece of shit that had blown in from the North. Alex imagined him standing there in a ripped pair of jeans, old beat up bomber jacket, and dusty Timberland boots didn’t make for quite the right fashion statement, but why dress up to kick a little ass?

  “Yeah, I’m here for the party.” He smiled as he pushed the pencil thin man aside, his shoulder knocking into him as he navigated past. Once Alex entered the dwelling, he noted people all around, some in the throes of fucking each other with no concern about privacy, while others appeared drunk or high off their asses.

  She’s Black, big fake boobs and ass… Well hell, that makes up about fifty percent of the damn women in here.

  Cursing under his breath, he moved about the crowds, hoping he would spot someone who looked like the lady in question.

  “Hey, baby!” someone called out in his direction. “You are tall and big, just how I like ’em! Let me climb that tree, honey! Yum, yum, yum!”