His Diamond_Simone's Story

by D. Camille

“No, I’m fine. I love my job, and Kent and Lotus are here.”

  “Again, I could find you something in LA,”

  She laughed. “They’re my family and Laurel is my little homie. I don’t plan to be leaving anytime soon. Plus, Dr. Richards is here…”

  “Things are going well with him?” Ray asked.

  “Yes, very well. I was lucky to find him.”

  “On an assignment of all things?”

  She laughed. “Undercover as a sex addict…how appropriate.”

  “That’s when Trent was in charge,” Ray said, shaking his head.

  “He thought so,” Simone added and Ray laughed. “Please tell Isabelle and the children I said hello.”

  “I sure will, and keep in touch.” Ray ordered.

  “I promise I will.”

  They ended the call and Simone stared at her phone with a soft smile. If only more than one Sun God had been created, but that wasn’t the case. Ray Parker was a man that women loved, men admired and the world needed. If she found someone with half of his qualities, she’d snap him up in a minute.

  “Ms. Jenkins?”

  Simone turned to the phone on her desk. “Yes?”

  “A Mr. Webster is here to see you,”

  Checking her watch, Simone got to her feet. “I’ll be right there.”

  She arrived at the front desk and saw her staff staring across the glass at the tall, handsome man in a dark suit and dark glasses.

  “You can buzz him in,” she instructed and when no one moved, she reached for the buzzer herself.

  Nick walked through the door and surveyed the surroundings until Simone approached with a smile.

  “Hello, Nick.”

  He looked down at her. “Hello, Simone.”

  Simone felt the entire staff watching, and turned back to them. Nick watched as the women quickly went back to work.

  “Let’s go to my office.” Simone said turning back to him. “Are you packing?”

  He nodded slowly.

  “We normally don’t allow weapons inside,” she informed him. “But I’ll make an exception for you, since I know your background.”

  “Thank you.” Nick agreed. “And thank you for checking me out, that was a good move on your part.”

  She looked up into his shades. “How do you know I checked you out?”

  “A text, about five minutes ago from Ray Parker, telling me that if I hurt you in any way, all of the Diamonds would be on their way to Atlanta,” Nick replied.

  Simone flushed. “I didn’t know that he was going to do that.”

  “He says that you are one of them and they’ll protect you from anybody.”

  She shook her head. “That Ray…”

  Simone led him to her office and offered him a seat, while closing the door. Nick watched as she walked around her desk and sat down.

  “Have you had any other problems?” he inquired.

  She shook her head. “No, I’ve told the wife to encourage her husband to turn himself in, but she doesn’t think he will.”

  “You want me to get him?”

  “Can you?”

  He nodded. “Of course,”

  She felt that familiar rush at his tone.

  “Maybe we should let the police handle it first,”

  “It’s your call.”

  Simone studied the man across her desk. “I’m intrigued Nick. Tell me about yourself.”

  “I worked Special Operations in the military for several years. I’m trained in a long list of skills. After leaving the military, I came back home to Atlanta and opened a shooting range along with several gun shops,” he explained. “I also helped the Black Diamonds out, when needed.”

  “Ray had wonderful things to say about you,” Simone told him.

  He shrugged. “Ray’s a good guy. I admire what he does…”

  “So do I,” she agreed.

  Nick leaned forward. “So you were a Diamond?”

  “An Uncut Diamond, the second group of Diamonds,” she confirmed.

  “That’s impressive,”

  Simone stared at him. “You think so?”

  “I do,” he said quietly. “Almost as impressive as seeing you in action last night.”

  She fanned a hand. “That was just impulse. You were the hero.”

  “How are the kids?”

  “They’re here with their mother and grandmother. The mother is trying to decide what her next move is,”

  “Is she going back to the husband?”

  Simone shrugged. “I don’t know…she’s left him three times before.”

  He shook his head. “The Seven Times Statistic.”

  “You know about that?”

  “I’m familiar with it,” he told her. “I’ve buried someone, who went back when she shouldn’t have.”

  “I’m sorry…” Simone said softly.

  He clasped his hands in front of him. “Thank you. It was a while ago.” Nick looked around her office. “This is why I’m very interested in helping you.”

  “I appreciate your willingness.”

  “I’d also like to check out your security while I’m here,” Nick told her.

  “I don’t have a problem with that,”

  He stared at her for a long moment. “So I’m also intrigued. Tell me about Simone Jenkins.”

  “I’m originally from LA, but I relocated to Atlanta two years ago,” she explained. “I started managing the Center last year as a way of helping other women who’ve also been victims of trauma.”

  She watched for a reaction from him and when she received none, she continued, “I think that women should learn to better arm and protect themselves from male predators.”

  There was a long pause, before Nick asked, “Did you kill him?”

  Simone looked away. “No, someone else did.”

  “As long as he’s dead.”

  She turned back to him. “Did you kill the one who hurt your loved one?”

  “Very slowly…”

  Simone knew she would have to discuss these irrational feelings of warmth at Nick’s low spoken, deadly words, because they couldn’t be normal.

  She swallowed. “If you’d like to look around, I could take you now.”

  Nick waited until she got to her feet, then stood.

  “Just a few things, though,” Simone said, coming around her desk to face him.

  He looked down at her, then Simone reached up to remove the dark glasses from his eyes. The handsome face she revealed, stole her breath for a moment. Penetrating dark pupils, stared down into hers, before she surveyed the chiseled jaw, covered in a trimmed beard. His full lips were covered by a dark mustache that rested under a broad nose. Her eyes lifted to his black hair, with a professional line across a wide forehead. All of this was covered in skin the color of maple syrup.

  Sitting the glasses aside, Simone put her hands inside of his unbuttoned suit jacket on his chest, before they moved up to his shoulders.

  “I can’t have you walking through here looking like you’re about to kill everybody,” Simone told him and pushed the jacket off his shoulders. Nick caught the material in his hand, then handed it to her.

  “Anything else?” he asked, as she placed his jacket across her desk.

  Simone held his gaze, then reached for his tie. She loosened the knot, and lifted her other hand to release the fabric. Slowly, she slid it around his thick neck, while her mind screamed how she’d love to lick it.

  “I’d like for you to leave your weapon in here,” Simone told him. “The one on your hip.”

  Nick slowly reached for his waist and removed his gun. Unhurriedly, he sat it on her desk.

  “Am I ready now?”

  Simone inhaled his cologne. “I am…” She stepped back and moved to lock his weapon in a drawer. “We can start at the front desk and make our way around.

  She walked to the door and tried to open it, but before she could, a large hand rested against it, from behind.

  “The next time you undre
ss me,” Nick whispered in her ear from behind. “Expect the same…”

  Simone stared at the door in front of her. “Duly noted.”

  He removed his hand, and she smiled to herself as he followed behind her to the front.

  Thirty minutes later, the pair returned to her office. Nick retrieved his tie and began to dress himself.

  Simone sat back in her chair and watched him expertly tie the fabric, then adjust it, along with his collar. He picked up his jacket and slipped back into it, before lifting those dark eyes to hers.

  “May I have my weapon?”

  She blinked. “Oh, I’m sorry.” So caught up in the show, she’d forgotten about everything but watching the way that he moved. Grabbing her keys, she opened the drawer and retrieved the gun, before handing it to him.

  Their hands touched and again, the rush was on, throughout Simone’s body. Those two years of celibacy, had really done a job on her, she thought. Never had a man excited her, by actually getting dressed.

  She continued to watch as he attached the pistol to his side. Straightening his jacket, he turned his attention to her again, as she sat.

  “I have some suggestions for your security, based on what I’ve seen today,” Nick told her taking a seat.

  “I’d love to hear them,” Simone replied.

  “Why don’t you come out to the range and I can give you a tour, without undressing you…then we can discuss my ideas?” he told her.

  She smiled softly. “I can do that.”

  Nick reached for his glasses on the desk and placed them back on his face. “Is there anything else that you need from me today?”

  Simone listed quite a few freaky things in her mind.

  “No, I appreciate your time today,” Simone made her voice neutral. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”

  Nick stood to his feet. “There’s no need trying to neutralize your voice, Simone. I hear everything you’re trying not to say…”

  He walked to the door, then turned back. “Let me know when you’re coming.”

  Simone watched him walk out and close the door behind him. “Oh Nick, I believe I will be coming very soon…” She let out a pent up breath.

  Chapter 4

  Simone watched the door for a few more seconds, before regaining her sanity. She picked up her phone and made a call.

  “Dr. Richards office,” the secretary answered.

  “Hi, this is Simone Jenkins. I don’t have an appointment to see Dr. Richards until next month but I was wondering if he had anything open within the next week?”

  “Hold on Ms. Jenkins, let me check,”

  “Thank you,”

  Simone pulled up her calendar while she waited.

  “Simone?”

  She blinked several times. “Dr. Richards?”

  “Yes, what’s wrong?”

  “She didn’t have to get you. It’s not an emergency. I just wanted to see you again this week.”

  “What’s happened?” he questioned.

  Simone sighed. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out, before I revert back to my old ways.”

  “Okay, just tell what’s going on,” he said calmly.

  “I met a man that kicks in windows and rescues kids from burning houses…and every time he speaks about doing something dangerous, I’m completely turned on,” Simone explained. “I almost completely undressed him in my office.”

  “Who is this man?” the doctor asked.

  “He’s worked with Ray in the past and he knows my friends, Kent and Lotus.” Simone told him. “In fact, Lotus recommended him to me, for my gun training program here at the Center.”

  “So you find yourself attracted to him?”

  Simone turned to the window. “That’s just it. I don’t understand this attraction. I mean sure, I want to lick his neck and everywhere else, but he also intrigues me…that’s never happened before,”

  “Have you flirted with him?”

  She smiled. “Consciously and subconsciously…”

  “And his reaction?”

  Shrugging, she stared outside. “He hasn’t jumped on them, but he also hasn’t rebuffed them.”

  “Give yourself time Simone,” Dr. Richards cautioned.

  She closed her eyes. “I know, that’s what I’m telling myself. I wondered if the celibacy is just starting to get to me.”

  “Are you feeling this way about other men?”

  Simone shook her head. “No, I’ve never felt this way. It’s like his danger pulls at some kind of hidden string deep inside of me.”

  “When are you seeing him again?”

  Opening her eyes, Simone turned to her calendar. “I wasn’t going to see him again, until I had a chance to talk to you. I feel so off kilter…”

  “Do you feel afraid of him?” the doctor asked cautiously.

  “Just the opposite,” Simone admitted. “And I checked him out with Ray.”

  “Good,” Dr. Richards complimented. “Do you want to see him again?”

  “Dr. Richards, I was ready to run out the door and chase the man down,” Simone confided, remembering when she’d slid her hands across his firm chest.

  “Well, don’t do that.”

  Simone chuckled. “No, I showed some restraint. I’ve grown a lot in these last two years.”

  “Trust yourself, Simone.” Dr. Richards counseled. “Darryl made you question your judgement in men, but every man isn’t him, and you need to have confidence in your own perceptions.”

  “You’re sending me out of the nest?” she asked.

  “I have no doubt of your flying ability. It may be wobbly at first, but I know that you will soar eventually,” he told her.

  She let out a breath. “Thank you Dr. Richards. I’ll see you next month. Hopefully, I won’t be banging on your office door before then.”

  “I’m here if you need me,”

  Simone ended the call and took a few deep breaths before dialing the phone again.

  “Hey Simone!”

  Her eyes narrowed. “What the hell have you done to me?”

  Lotus frowned. “What?”

  “Nick Webster, that’s what?”

  Smiling, Lotus asked, “What happened?”

  “Let’s see, you sent Black Panther to rescue me, and he saved three children and an old lady from a house on fire,” Simone told her.

  “Damn…” Lotus said in awe.

  “And now I’m horny as hell because that shit was so damn sexy, just like the rest of him.”

  “I knew you’d like that,” Lotus said confidently.

  Simone groaned. “Why didn’t you warn me Lotus?”

  “I told you he was fine,”

  “Fine! Yes, he’s fine, he’s sexy, he dangerous and he’s got me all messed up in one damn day!” Simone complained.

  “That honey pot is buzzing, huh?”

  She looked at the phone. “What?”

  “You need your honey pot stirred and you want Nick to do it.”

  “I swear, this is why people question your sanity…”

  Lotus laughed. “Doesn’t matter, my honey pot stirrer is on his job, 24/7.”

  “Lotus, I undressed the man in my office,”

  “Wow, how did that happen?”

  Simone shook her head. “I didn’t want him to intimidate the ladies here, looking like a hired gun, so my intention was just to ask him to remove his jacket and tie…but then I decided to do it for him.”

  “Girl…”

  “I know, that was so unprofessional,”

  “What did he do?”

  “He let me,” Simone answered. “Then he told me that the next time I undressed him, to expect the same.”

  Lotus’ eyes widened. “The gods!”

  “I had to call the doctor to ask him was this natural?” Simone said, shaking her head.

  “Is it natural to want a fine ass man to stir your honey pot?”

  Simone closed her eyes. “Don’t say that again. You’re a grown woman with almos
t two kids.”

  Lotus chuckled. “Okay, is what natural?”

  “This…this…desire, that goes beyond just sex.”

  “What is it, then?”

  “That’s why I called the doctor,” Simone told her. “I don’t just want to have sex with Nick. I want to climb and cuddle in his arms, while he tells about all the people he’s killed or wants to...”

  “And people say, I’m crazy…” Lotus said confused.

  “Girl, stop…and listen.” Simone argued. “I need help, here.”

  “Okay, Simone, I’m not a therapist, but I can tell you this. The reason why I wanted you to meet Nick, is because… he’s like the Earth’s mantle-” she began.

  Simone rolled her eyes. “Lotus…”

  “No, let me finish,” Lotus interrupted. “The mantle is the earth’s solid foundation, filled with scorching heat. It’s where gem stones and diamonds are formed.”

  Taking a breath, Simone asked, “What the hell does that mean?”

  “It means that Nick is the solid foundation with the heat that you need, to make you into his Diamond.” Lotus explained simply.

  ******

  Nick walked out of the Women’s Center and entered his black SUV. Close to an hour later and his chest still tingled from Simone Jenkins’ hands on him. To say that he’d been shocked was an understatement, and very little shocked Nicholas Webster. He’d seen and done it all…

  When Nick had entered the burning home last night, the last thing he’d expected was for Simone to dive in the window behind him. She had a strength that she seemed somewhat unsure of, and that intrigued him.

  Nick understood that some man had done something to hurt her and today that man was no longer living, which would have been the case anyway, after he’d found out. He rubbed his temple, thinking about how she’d slowly removed his tie and he could definitely see her doing that again, right before he fastened it around her wrists.

  Those sexy dark eyes, had held his for more than a minute before he’d memorized her high cheekbones and pouty lips. Her long dark hair, flowed around her shoulders and framed her light complexion. Her makeup had been professional, yet provocative and everything about Simone Jenkins oozed fervent heat.

  A woman like Simone was not for a man that was faint of heart, which did not describe Nick Webster in the least. He started his truck and began driving to his next destination. Navigating the streets, he thought about the incident last night and decided to check in with his contacts at the station to see what information they had obtained.